Chapter 28: A Widower's Hallucination?

Gao An looked at the handwriting on the scraps of paper.

They were merely a few fragmented words expressing grief, making it impossible to even discern the subject of the mourning.

Yet Yan Bei, whose heart had always been as clear as a mirror, claimed that these few words proved that A-Li's mother—a woman never before mentioned—had appeared!

Gao An had never met A-Li's mother.

Not only had he never met her, but Yan Bei had almost never even mentioned her.

As a palace eunuch who had followed Yan Bei since the boy was still babbling, Gao An had often doubted whether such a person even existed.

After the old Prince passed away, Yan Bei, as the heir to the Prince's mansion, naturally succeeded to the title.

On the very first night of his succession, he killed his tutor.

Shortly thereafter, the late Emperor issued an edict summoning them back to the capital to assist in governance.

At the time, they all thought Yan Bei's act of killing his teacher was so shocking that the late Emperor was likely summoning them to punish him, but Yan Bei did not think so.

At that time, the Crown Prince had not yet been designated, making the prior selection of regents inherently irrational—not to mention that the imperial decree came with the late Emperor's promise to appoint him as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

If it were meant as a reprimand, the Emperor certainly would not have sent Yan Bei back to hold such a vital position.

But if it were truly to employ him, why break precedent by allowing the Jingyang Prince's mansion, which already commanded troops, to also hold the power to mobilize them?

With both powers concentrated in one person, the influence of the Jingyang Prince's mansion would be unrivaled.

As a monarch, would he not fear that Yan Bei, while assisting the young master, might develop rebellious intentions?

Thus, Yan Bei quietly slipped into the capital.

Three months later, he returned to the Prince's mansion. There was nothing particularly startling in the news from the capital, but his behavior began to grow strange. He would often lose himself in thought while reading documents, or he would grit his teeth in resentment, or else stroke flowers and grass with a melancholic expression.

The Dowager Consort had originally arranged a marriage for him, but he had ruthlessly rejected it.

Unknowingly, the time came to head to the capital by imperial decree.

In the past, he would have racked his brains to delay the trip, but now, he had become impatient to leave.

With nearly a month left before the scheduled departure, he took a group of people and left ahead of schedule.

The first time they saw Yan Bei in the capital, he was clumsily feeding milk cakes to a thin, injured A-Li, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Where did the child come from?

Where was her mother?

What was her lineage?

Yan Bei said nothing.

In the second month of settling down, he petitioned the palace to officially recognize A-Li as the Heir Apparent.

Although the Jingyang Prince's mansion was a power left to the Emperor by the late Emperor, the Shen family was clearly not foolish enough to offend them. The process of petitioning for the title of Heir Apparent went very smoothly.

Upon hearing the news, the Dowager Consort and the three County Mistresses rushed from the northern lands to the capital overnight. They were shocked and terrified to see this grandson who had appeared out of thin air, yet none could coax a single word out of Yan Bei.

In the three years that followed, he never let a single word slip.

If it weren't for the fact that no wrongful cases had appeared in the imperial court during these years, Gao An would have certainly speculated that the child was the orphan of some wrongly accused loyal official.

He never expected that just as he had given up the thought of investigating, Yan Bei would suddenly mention A-Li's mother with his own lips at this very moment!

"Could there be a mistake?"

Having lived for over forty years, Gao An's mind could not process this immediately. "This is a trap set by the Du family to kill Zhang Shaode and He Hui. In a place like this, how could there be any trace of the Madam?"

A-Li's mother had never been titled Princess Consort; at most, she could only be called Madam.

Of course, that was not important.

What mattered was that this person—the one person most unlikely to be mentioned by Yan Bei—had actually appeared in this trap set by the Du family, a place where they were least likely to have any connection!

The matter was too absurd; he looked at his master before him with eyes full of suspicion.

Yesterday, he heard Cui Xun say that the master had been staring at the waists of passing women on the main road.

Today, he said he had discovered a memorial written by his former wife in the trap set by the Du family—

Could it be that because he had been a widower for so long, he was experiencing hallucinations?

"The handwriting on the marriage contract she wrote for me, and the divorce papers she gave me, is exactly the same as this!" Yan Bei turned around, the turbulence in his eyes as deep as the night sky. "Even if I cannot recognize my own handwriting, I will never fail to recognize hers!"

Gao An was speechless once again.

Divorce... papers?

Compared to the all-powerful Jingyang Prince, what a fresh term that was!

So, the reason their Prince had never mentioned A-Li's mother for all these years was because he had been abandoned by his wife?

"Your Highness, may I ask what exactly is going on?"

He couldn't help but take two steps forward.

As the managing head eunuch of the Prince's mansion, it was necessary for him to understand the origins of the young master's biological mother!

"What is going on?" Yan Bei snorted coldly. "I want to know what is going on too! If I could see her again, I would surely hang her up to demand redress for the humiliation of being cast aside!"

Gao An stammered, then gathered his courage to ask, "Then why didn't Your Highness go to seek clarification from the Madam later?"

"She can't be found."

"Why?"

"She died right when she left me!"

"..."

Gao An did not know what to say.

Before he could think of how to continue the questioning, Yan Bei had already passed him, passed the carriage, and walked into the night on his own.

...

Wei Zhang had returned earlier. Hearing from Lan Qin that Yue Tang and the other had gone to Feiyun Temple to kill Zhang Shaode, he had rushed there without pause.

After he brought Yue Tang back to the residence, Lan Qin, who was waiting by the door, felt her legs go weak. Without a word, she told her to lay the person on the bed. On the other side, Hua Lin, who had just rushed back, was already prepared to take over and check Yue Tang's pulse.

"Why did she suddenly faint again? It hasn't been like this for a long time."

Lan Qin wrung her hands, staring at Hua Lin's every move as she asked.

Huo Yun had not dared to breathe heavily on the way back. At this moment, he knelt down, wiping away tears: "It is my fault, I deserve to die!"

Lan Qin sighed and pulled him up.

However, Wei Zhang said, "Let him kneel! Until the person wakes up, he is not to get up!"

Lan Qin complained, "At least ask for the facts before punishing him. It's not necessarily his fault that she fainted."

Wei Zhang only maintained a grim expression, watching Hua Lin pulse-check and apply acupuncture.

By the time Yue Tang woke up, it was already broad daylight.

Little Huo was practicing horse stances alone in the courtyard, while from the side wing, the voices of Lan Qin and the others could be heard.

Yue Tang walked over: "Is your master back?"

Huo Yun nodded in pleasant surprise and called out to her.

Yue Tang took out a silk handkerchief to wipe his sweat: "What kind of martial arts are you practicing in broad daylight?"

"This subordinate failed to protect the County Mistress. Master has punished me to practice here for an hour every morning and evening, starting today."

Yue Tang paused for a moment and sighed, "An hour morning and evening... your legs will be ruined."

The people in the room were startled, and one by one, they rushed out.

Wei Zhang stood three paces away, looking at Huo Yun with a dark face: "He failed in his duty to his master; why must the master spoil him so?"

"Spoil?" Yue Tang smiled. "I only know that if his mother were still alive, she would surely feel heartache for him.

"Wei Zhang, in truth, you know in your heart that my fainting was not his fault, and we were not being reckless or taking unnecessary risks. Why must you be so harsh?

"In fact, Little Huo did very well. He was taught by you personally; I believe he will certainly be no less than you in the future."

(End of Chapter)