Chapter 0154: The Two Who Know Full Well, What Exactly Happened in the Past
“You may leave now,” Emperor Jian waved his hand, signaling the palace attendants to withdraw.
The western chamber of Kunning Palace was where the Empress often secluded herself to practice Buddhist rituals. At this moment, the hall was brightly lit by candlelight, and faint murmurs of a woman chanting scriptures could be heard. Emperor Jian hesitated briefly at the entrance before stepping inside.
In the main hall, a small golden Buddha statue was enshrined on a red wooden table. An incense burner on the table held four sticks of incense, one of which appeared damp and unlit, while three thin trails of white smoke curled upward.
Cao Qingran knelt on a cushion, dressed in an opulent golden phoenix robe—the very garment symbolizing her status as Empress. Her eyes were lightly closed, her right hand rotating a string of peachwood prayer beads as she murmured incantations under her breath.
Hearing footsteps, she did not cease her chanting. Only when she sensed someone kneeling on the cushion beside her did she slowly open her eyes, casting a detached and indifferent glance to the right.
Kunning Palace had long remained unvisited.
Emperor Jian, the Crown Prince, Consort Hua, and that child…
Her fingers tightened around the prayer beads. Cao Qingran calmly averted her gaze back to the golden Buddha statue before her. “What a rare guest. Has Your Majesty encountered some difficulty?”
Unless he needed something from the Cao family, Emperor Jian would never come to Kunning Palace to seek her out. Both of them knew full well what roles they played within the harem.
One with bloodstained hands, the other watching coldly from the sidelines.
How could either rest easy knowing inhumanity lay beside them?
Emperor Jian cleared his throat softly and also turned his gaze toward the golden Buddha statue. “Can I not visit my Empress without a reason?”
“Heh.” Cao Qingran’s lips twitched. “Since Your Majesty is so willing to believe your own words, then continue believing them.”
Emperor Jian: …
Why was every mouth in his harem sharper than the last?
Another day missing Hua Ning, for her tongue was the sharpest of all.
“Chengze is hosting the New Year’s banquet in Liaozhou,” Emperor Jian said in a casual tone. “That boy, who knows what new contraptions he’s been studying, is clamoring for me and the consorts to attend. Would you like to go?”
Liaozhou, huh…
Cao Qingran lowered her eyes. “Your Majesty plans to spend the New Year with the Second Prince? What about Jinyu?”
Her expression remained unreadable, leaving others unsure whether she pitied her son for lacking paternal affection or was subtly criticizing the Emperor’s favoritism by speaking up for the Crown Prince.
“He’s probably too busy to go to Liaozhou,” Emperor Jian stated matter-of-factly. “If only he were more capable and had resolved the snow disaster in Yingzhou sooner, he wouldn’t have to spend the New Year alone in another land.”
He added with schadenfreude, “How pitiful. But this isn’t my fault—it’s his own for having no friends.”
Back in his day, at least the Minor Chief Minister had secretly kept him company during the New Year.
The thought of that stern, frail man—who had once scaled the inner palace wall in disheveled disgrace to bring him supper while he knelt in punishment—brought a flicker of bittersweet amusement and longing to his eyes.
“Your Majesty blames me?” Unexpectedly, Cao Qingran beside him seemed pricked by these words, turning to glare at Emperor Jian in anger. “You blame me for failing to educate the Crown Prince properly?”
Hah, yes, she truly hadn’t raised Jinyu well—he couldn’t even compare to a single finger of Xie Chengze. Her Jinyu couldn’t invent explosive gunpowder, create a land of abundance, or build heated brick beds. Even when sent together to handle the snow disaster, he fell short compared to Xie Chengze.
Her meticulous upbringing had been nothing but a joke!
Without waiting for Emperor Jian’s reply, Cao Qingran abruptly turned her head, her gaze coldly fixed ahead. “Since Your Majesty favors the Second Prince so much, why not make him the Crown Prince? Surely, under his guidance, Jian’an could become a millennium-spanning great nation recorded in history.”
She let out a light scoff, staring at the broken incense stick in the burner that refused to burn. “After all, he is a heaven-sent lucky star.”
“Why must you say such things again?” Emperor Jian frowned, feeling helpless about her unchanging mindset over the years. “The Crown Prince’s position will always belong to Jinyu. What exactly are you still worried about? You know very well…”
You know very well that Chengze lacks imperial bloodline—how could he ever become Crown Prince?
“So, if he had imperial bloodline, Your Majesty would make him Crown Prince?” A trace of mockery flickered at the corner of Cao Qingran’s lips.
Others might not know, but she understood best: if Consort Hua were still alive, if Consort Hua had borne him a son, the Crown Prince’s position would never have been Xie Jinyu’s.
Emperor Jian opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then remembered something and ultimately remained silent.
Cao Qingran, do you know that for your sake, Hua Ning…
Never mind, never mind…
Emperor Jian wiped his face, resolved not to argue with her further, and asked sternly, “I ask you one more time: the child invited you—are you truly not going?”
“I am not. I have always preferred tranquility.” Cao Qingran closed her eyes, her expression filled with coldness and detachment. “If Your Majesty has no other matters, please return early to rest. If you feel lonely, you may visit other consorts’ palaces. I’m afraid my humble abode cannot offer you hospitality.”
Emperor Jian: …
“Who’s lonely?!” Emperor Jian instantly lost his composure, springing up from the kneeling cushion by pushing off his knees and pointing at Cao Qingran as he shouted, “I’m not going anywhere! I’m sleeping right here! What can you do about it?!”
For such a grown man, he was now so angry that he stood with hands on his hips, trembling all over. He strode to the doorway and ordered loudly, “Attendants! Prepare the bed in the east chamber! I will stay at Kunning Palace tonight!”
Xie Ping’an and Xie Shu had always been well-informed through gossip. If they found out that their father, the Emperor, had wandered around the rear palace with no one willing to take him in—not even the Empress—every consort would surely hear about it… Who knows how they’d secretly mock him then!
Did he have no dignity to uphold?!
Cao Qingran watched Emperor Jian’s dramatic outburst with a slight frown, utterly puzzled by his intentions. Only when Emperor Jian headed toward the east chamber did she turn to Qing Momo, who had just entered. “Did my father trouble His Majesty?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, he did not.” Qing Momo shook her head. “This old servant heard that Eunuch Zhao sent messages to all palaces, saying the New Year celebration would be held in Liaozhou to admire the ice sculpture scenery.”
Was it really just to invite her?
Cao Qingran watched Emperor Jian stomp away in a huff, a trace of bitterness surfacing in her eyes. “He hasn’t visited me in three years. Now, just because that child mentioned it, he’s willing to condescend and seek me out.”
“Your Majesty…” Qing Momo looked at her with heartache, “Why must you torment yourself like this…”
“Momo, do you think I should go?” Cao Qingran slightly raised her head, her gaze lost and sorrowful as she stared at the moonless, overcast night sky, mirroring the state of her heart.
“Your Majesty, what wrong has that child committed?” Qing Momo supported Cao Qingran, “The Soul Incense has been extinguished. You should let yourself be free.”
Let herself be free…
But she had long lost the ability to forgive herself. From the moment jealousy distorted her beyond recognition, when she inserted that Soul Incense into the Buddha statue, she had already become irredeemable.
“Just go and see,” Qing Momo continued to persuade, “Didn’t… you once yearn for the snow of Liaozhou?”
Yes.
She had once yearned for it, the snow of Liaozhou.
Even more than just the snow.
Thus, when Emperor Jian slowly woke from his bed in the early morning, upon opening his eyes, he met a pair of dark, icy eyes, startling him so much he nearly lost control, “Cao… Cao Qingran! What are you doing? You scared me to death!”