Manyao froze, then immediately followed the sound.
Behind the rockery, a man dressed in lavish clothes yet with a vulgar, repulsive face stood with his hands on his hips, punching and kicking a woman. The woman’s clothes were stained with dirt, her hair disheveled, blood at the corner of her mouth, yet she looked up at the man beating her with a cold smile. The man was furious and was about to kick her in the face.
“Stop,” Manyao called out in time.
The man turned back in a daze. He had been enraged, but the moment he saw Manyao, his eyes lit up, and he smiled lewdly. “Well, well, where did this beauty come from? Did you see that this young master was lonely and come especially to comfort me?”
So this was Zhaoyun’s husband, the son of Marquis Xiaoyao, Xiao Bu? The infamous ruffian of the capital! Manyao had long heard of him, but she had not expected him to be this contemptible. She could not help frowning, and pity rose in her heart for Zhaoyun.
As the man spoke, he had already sidled over, reaching out to lift Manyao’s chin. But before his hand could touch her, Ling’er grabbed and twisted it.
Ling’er snapped, “How dare you! You dare be rude to my mistress!”
With a crack from the man’s arm, he cried out several times in pain and cursed, “You’re the bold one! You didn’t even ask around to find out who this young master is before you dared to—ah— I won’t say it, I won’t say it! Let go, quickly!”
“Ling’er, let him go,” Manyao said lightly.
Ling’er abruptly released him. The man fell flat on his back, then scrambled up, his expression sinister. “Who are you people? This young master… I’m disciplining my own woman. What the hell does it have to do with you? What right do you have to interfere?”
Manyao was too lazy to bother with him and walked straight over to help Zhaoyun up. Seeing the cold smile at Zhaoyun’s lips, she could not describe the feeling in her heart. She remembered the Zhaoyun of the past, innocent and lively, willing to forsake status for love, only to end up married to such a notorious man. And now, because of the love she had once held, she had to suffer her husband’s humiliation, beatings, and abuse. As for why this man was so arrogant, it was merely because Zhaoyun’s father, Duke Yan, had already passed away. She had heard that Zhaoyun’s elder brothers were all born of concubines and did not care about Zhaoyun’s life or death at all.
This was probably the sorrow of women in this era. Without the shelter of power and influence, they would be looked down upon by others; even if they lived worse than pigs and dogs, they could not escape.
After helping Zhaoyun to her feet, Manyao finally swept the man a glance, her gaze sharp. “Beating a woman is not the conduct of a true man. Though Duke Yan is no longer here, Commandery Princess Zhaoyun still bears a title personally bestowed by His Majesty. If you abuse her like this, are you not afraid it will reach the Emperor’s ears?”
A flash of fear crossed the man’s eyes, and he immediately warned, “If you dare speak of this, I definitely won’t spare you!”
Ling’er scoffed. “My mistress is the princess of Qiyun Kingdom and the wife of the State-Defending Great General. What can you do?”
The man froze when he heard this, his pupils shrinking. No matter how little he understood of court politics, he knew that the State-Defending Great General’s power far surpassed that of his marquis father, who had no real authority. He could only force down his drooling desire, spat at Manyao, “All of you are the same sort,” and then left quickly.
Only then did Zhaoyun thank Manyao. “Many thanks to the Princess for saving me!”
Manyao sighed. “Commandery Princess, there is no need for such courtesy.” As she spoke, she handed her a handkerchief.
Zhaoyun took it and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. When her sleeve slid down, it revealed an arm covered in purple and blue bruises. Manyao could not help shaking her head at the sight and quickly told Ling’er to find some medicine for wounds.
Zhaoyun stopped her. “It’s all right. I’m used to it. It has been so long since we last met; I did not expect the Princess to still recognize me. If the Princess does not mind, could you… walk with me for a while?”
Zhaoyun asked so cautiously that Manyao could not help sighing inwardly. Life truly could change a person completely. The Zhaoyun of today no longer had the innocence and liveliness of their first meeting; all that remained was melancholy and maturity.
Manyao nodded and told Ling’er not to follow.
The two of them walked quietly, both of them silent. There were no lanterns along this path, and everywhere was reflected in the pale gray of the sky that was neither fully dark nor light.
“Sister Rongle, may I call you that?” Zhaoyun turned to look at her.
Manyao smiled. “Of course.”
Zhaoyun said, “Then Sister Rongle can call me Zhaoyun too.”
Manyao nodded. Seeing Zhaoyun’s hesitant expression, she smiled faintly. “Zhaoyun, is there something you wish to say to me?”
Having her thoughts seen through, Zhaoyun lowered her head and bit her lip before saying, “Sister Rongle, he… has returned. Did you know?”
Manyao naturally knew who Zhaoyun meant by “he,” but she did not speak.
Zhaoyun laughed at herself. “Sister must be thinking, after he treated me that way, why do I still think of him?”
It had been more than a year. Zhaoyun had not dared mention that man to anyone. Many words had been stifled in her heart, with nowhere to pour them out.
Manyao understood the bitterness in Zhaoyun’s heart and sighed softly. “To forget someone… is not easy.”
“Yes, it is so hard. Sister, this past year… have you been happy?”
Manyao’s steps faltered slightly. She did not answer.
Zhaoyun turned to look at her, her smile desolate and her expression understanding. In truth, whether she was happy or not, what need was there to ask? In Zhaoyun’s memory, the first time she saw her was at the Moon Embracing Tea Garden, beautiful as a fairyland. At that time, she had been dressed as a man, her eyes as clear and dazzling as glass. Now, they were misty, empty, and desolate. Zhaoyun stopped and turned her head to say, “I envy you very much, Sister. I was even jealous of you before, and hated you. Back then, I did not know you were a woman. How I wished that I had been born a man too, so I could stay by his side like you. But later I realized it had nothing to do with any of that.”
Hearing someone suddenly bring up those days that had long been buried, Manyao also stopped, her thoughts drifting far away. Those days… she would rather they had never existed!
“You no longer hate me?” she asked lightly.
Zhaoyun shook her head and mocked herself. “He does not like me. What use is there in hating you?”
She had seen through it clearly now.
Manyao smiled faintly and said nothing more. Whether others hated her or not no longer mattered much to her.
The two of them walked along the flagstone path, speaking slowly, and entered a garden. This garden was called Willow-Supporting Garden. It was not very large, but the scenery was extremely elegant. Verdant bamboo groves, gently drooping willows, a green lake stretching into the distance like a sheet of jade; in the lake were vast clusters of white lotuses, some in full bloom, others already withered. Near the shore, an exquisite little boat was half-hidden among them. The boat was moored quietly by the bank, with no lamps lit aboard, and the scene inside the cabin could not be seen.
Zhaoyun’s gaze fixed on those blooming white lotuses, her expression sorrowful. “Sister, do you know why His Majesty ordered the ministers to bring their female family members to tonight’s flower-viewing banquet?”
Manyao said, “I heard half the reason was for the prince of Chenfeng Kingdom.”
“And the other half? Does Sister know?”
Manyao shook her head. Zhaoyun walked beneath a willow tree and suddenly stopped. Seeing that her expression was poor, Manyao halted as well and smiled faintly. “What is it? Zhaoyun, do you know?”
Zhaoyun gave a soft mm, as if it took her a great deal of strength before she could speak sadly. “The other half of the reason… is to choose a consort for Brother Wuyou.”
Manyao’s heart sank. She recalled the expression Fu Chou had worn that day when he stopped halfway through his words. So that was it! No wonder every commandery princess and young lady in the great hall had dressed so enchantingly; it was all for him. Something suddenly brushed across the tip of her heart—seemingly light, yet seemingly heavy. It did not hurt much, but it made it hard for her to breathe.
Zhaoyun turned, looking straight at her. Manyao unnaturally averted her head, for a moment not knowing where to place her gaze.
The air suddenly became stifling and unbearable; even the wind no longer felt cool. Manyao clenched her own hand, her fingertips icy.
“Sister has not forgotten Brother Wuyou either, have you? No matter how well General Fu treats you, if you do not like him, how could you possibly be happy?”
Manyao frowned. She disliked this feeling of having her heart peered into by another, and instinctively said, “No, I am very happy. In truth, forgetting one person and falling in love with another… is not so difficult.”
She smiled faintly, accustomed to burying all her emotions deep in her heart.
Not far away, there seemed to come a muffled sound. It was very, very soft, yet unusually heavy, making one think it was an illusion, yet impossible to ignore. Manyao subconsciously swept her gaze around the garden. Apart from her and Zhaoyun, she saw no one else.
Zhaoyun smiled bitterly. “It does not matter if Sister refuses to admit it. For such things, deceiving others is easy; deceiving yourself… is very hard!”
Manyao unconsciously tightened her hand into a fist and frowned. “I will go back first. If it gets any later… the General may come out looking for me.” With that, she turned to leave. She had only taken a few steps when Zhaoyun called from behind her, “Sister Rongle, did you truly ever love Brother Wuyou?”
Such a direct question made Manyao’s body stiffen. Zhaoyun continued, “If you truly loved him before, can you bear for him to be unhappy for the rest of his life?”
Her heart felt as if it had been pricked by a needle, stinging faintly. With her back to Zhaoyun, Manyao lifted her chin slightly and suppressed the tremor in her heart, saying lightly, “Whether he is happy or not is not something you or I can control. Besides, is he not about to choose a consort?”
“He will not be able to choose the one he wants!” Zhaoyun caught up and ran in front of Manyao. There were many things she had always wanted to say but never had the chance. This time, Zhaoyun no longer intended to keep them stifled in her heart. She grabbed Manyao’s arm and said urgently, “Sister Rongle, I do not know what exactly happened between the two of you, but I want to tell you that Brother Wuyou has you in his heart. If Sister Rongle still has Brother Wuyou in your heart too, please do not abandon him! All right?”
Zongzheng Wuyou had her in his heart? Manyao found it laughable. Looking at Zhaoyun’s earnest gaze, she asked strangely, “Do you not hate him?” She clearly remembered that one year ago, Zhaoyun had shouted at them with incomparable resentment, “I hate you!” Then she had run away crying.
Tears rose at once in Zhaoyun’s eyes. She turned her head to look into the distance, her voice desolate. “I do hate him. I hate that he was unwilling to give me happiness… but I hate even more that he has made himself unhappy too.”
Manyao was stunned. She had always thought Zhaoyun’s feelings for Zongzheng Wuyou were merely a young girl’s infatuation. She had not expected them to be so deep. She could not help sighing. “Forget him. He is a heartless, unfeeling man. No matter how much you do for him, he will not appreciate it.”
“No, that is not true! Sister Rongle, you are wrong!” Zhaoyun shook her head hard. Tears suddenly fell, and her gaze grew distant, as if she had fallen into memory.
“Brother Wuyou is not as you say! He used to be very upright and kind. If not for him, Ninth Brother would not have lived to this day. Do you know? My mother and Aunt Yun were very close sisters. My father disliked me because my mother died of difficult labor while giving birth to me, so Aunt Yun took me into the palace and raised me… At that time, Aunt Yun was in poor health. Brother Wuyou was extremely filial to her, and especially good to me. Everyone inside and outside the palace liked him. Until the year I was four. For some unknown reason, Aunt Yun… suddenly left us behind and departed… After that, Brother Wuyou became like another person. I never saw him care about anyone or anything again. Even when His Majesty fell ill, he would not enter the palace to take one look…”
Zhaoyun paused, sniffed, wiped away her tears, then suddenly turned and grabbed Manyao’s hand. Her emotions grew agitated as she continued, “But he cared about you, Sister! From the time he went to the tea garden for more than ten consecutive days, to later bringing you into his prince’s residence, for you… he caused an uproar at the wedding, disregarded his status and abducted you. He even dispatched the Shura Seven Fiends of Wuyin Tower! He also locked you and him together in that dark secret chamber. You definitely do not know this, but he only enters that secret chamber when he is in terrible, terrible pain. Just like during the days after Aunt Yun had just left, he spent them in that secret chamber—seven full days without a drop of water or a grain of rice, nearly dying… And for you, he left the capital for more than a year… He has never gone more than three months without visiting Aunt Yun at the imperial mausoleum…”
“Sister Rongle, did you know any of this?”
Zhaoyun choked up and could not go on, while Manyao stood rooted to the spot, her mind in complete chaos.
From Zhaoyun’s fragmented words, she could tell that Noble Consort Yun’s death had dealt Zongzheng Wuyou a tremendous blow. But Noble Consort Yun’s health had always been poor; a normal death should not have had such a great impact unless her death truly had hidden circumstances, as the rumors said. Manyao thought of that cold, gloomy secret chamber—no light, no food, even the air thin. She thought of how Zongzheng Wuyou had been so quiet during those three days that it was as if he did not exist. She thought of the expression he had worn when he finally let her leave, and that sentence: As long as you are willing to turn back, I will treat you with true sincerity, never abandon you, and even if I betray the world, I will never betray you.
“Sister Rongle, I hope he can be happy. I want him to be happy! Only you can give him that.” Zhaoyun lifted tear-filled eyes and looked at her beseechingly.
Manyao did not react for a long while. The word happiness was so far away from her that it was beyond reach. She herself could not be happy, so how could she give happiness to another? Moreover, that person was Zongzheng Wuyou. A man who had used her feelings, trampled on her dignity after obtaining her body, and forced her to bow her head to fate. He was so powerful and domineering, as if there was nothing he could not do. How could she possibly give him his happiness?
Pulling free of Zhaoyun’s hand, Manyao stepped back and forcefully suppressed every emotion in her heart, striving to keep her tone calm. “I’m sorry. I cannot help you. My place in his heart is not as important as you imagine. No matter what happened between us in the past, now that things have reached this point, there is no going back.”
Leaving aside the fact that a person like Zongzheng Wuyou would never want a woman who had been married to someone else for a year, her identity alone was not something that would allow her to do as she wished. Fu Chou would not permit it. Her imperial brother would not permit it. And she herself could not get past her own heart. The bitterness in her heart was like a poisonous vine; once touched, it spread uncontrollably. She lowered her eyes, concealing the hollow, empty look within them.
Zhaoyun looked at her indifferent expression, and despairing reproach rose in her eyes. Suddenly, she laughed and murmured in a low voice, “I understand. You do not love him! What use is there in me begging you? You never truly loved him at all!”
Whether she had loved or not, only she herself knew. Manyao gave no explanation. If she could, she would rather never have loved. Pressing her lips together, she turned to look at the lake, hoping its calm surface would bring her a moment of peace.
Just then, Eunuch Chen hurried over. Seeing Manyao, he was slightly stunned, then hastily greeted her before walking quickly toward the lakeshore.
Manyao’s first reaction was that there was someone in the lake. Then she heard Eunuch Chen respectfully call out to the exquisite little boat half-hidden among the white lotuses, “Your Highness.”
Manyao’s heart abruptly sank, and her body suddenly stiffened. Zhaoyun also froze in place.
In the entire Lintian Kingdom, there was only one person who could be addressed in such a way.
Manyao subconsciously looked toward that little boat. Two people walked out of the cabin. One held a folding fan, his features handsome, forever wearing a careless, heartless smile. The other emerged from the cabin and stood at the bow with his hands clasped behind his back, his face incomparably handsome, his eyes wicked and arrogant like Yama of hell. Who could it be if not Zongzheng Wuyou?
Cool white moonlight shrouded the green waters of the lake. As dust fell with the wind, faint phosphorescent glimmers rippled across the surface, finely shattering the reflections of the white lotuses in the water.
This was their first true reunion since parting after those three days of confinement in the secret chamber. From where she stood to the shore of the lake, several zhang separated them—not far, yet not close either. For an instant, Manyao was dazed. She gazed from afar at that face that had once been incomparably familiar. Just then, that man’s gaze also swept toward her. It was only a faint glance, yet her entire body trembled. In this hazy, cold night, she vaguely felt that this man seemed even colder than he had been a year ago.