Chapter 238: Grand General

Xiao Dongzi heard that and jerked his head up, a look of incredulous horror flashing in his eyes.

Xu Yanchuan is the last son of Xu Chengyuan.

The Northern Border has just been in turmoil because of his father's death news, and the Emperor now does not send a Commander to maintain order, but instead wants to see this just‑twenty‑year‑old youth?

But he immediately suppressed all emotion, bowed deeply and said, "Nubi obeys your command."

Chu Yunzheng seemed not to notice Xiao Dongzi's shock, turned and sat back on the edge of the bed, taking Wan Tang's icy hand.

His fingertips brushed her back of the hand gently, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather:

"Did you hear? The Northern Border is in chaos because of the rumor you released."

He let out a low laugh, his mood unreadable, "Xu Chengyuan's son is serving in the palace; tell me… should he now think of avenging his father, or of how to protect his family?"

Wan Tang's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she were about to wake.

Chu Yunzheng leaned down and whispered in her ear, his voice as gentle as a lover's murmur.

Yet his words were sharp as a blade: "Who sent the news of Xu Chengyuan's death back to the Northern Border?"

"Isn't it just to force me to choose?"

He gently pinched her finger and said, "Now I have chosen you."

"The Xu Family's military authority and the Northern Border's stability can both be offered to you as leverage."

A steady footstep sounded from outside the door; Xu Yanchuan arrived.

Chu Yunzheng finally brushed Wan Tang's pale cheek, his voice so light only the two could hear: "Watch carefully, Tangtang."

"Look at this board, see how I'm playing with you."

When he turned to face the hall doors, every trace of tenderness on his face instantly hardened into imperial authority.

【Does the Dog Emperor know something?】

【In the original work, the Dog Emperor was always one who meddled with imperial power; in the original, the Dog Emperor spent a great deal of effort to retrieve the White Pear.】

【Fortunately, although the Emperor harbored doubts, he lacked concrete evidence to confirm them.】

【Back then the competition was fierce; Chu Yunzheng managed to sit in this position, and no one would truly think it was just his tone!】

【It's not that it can't be investigated, it's just that they don't want a thorough probe.】

The Emperor's footsteps faded beyond the hall, and the Sleeping Hall fell silent again.

Wan Tang's taut nerves suddenly relaxed, and she only then realized her close‑fitting inner garment was already soaked with cold sweat, chillingly clinging to her back, making her shiver.

"Your Highness…" a sob‑tinged call came, Xiao Luzi scrambled and rolled to the bedside, his body also wounded, his face still marked with wet tears, looking utterly disheveled.

Wan Tang suppressed the panic in her heart, her gaze settling on him.

"Xiao Luzi, this time… I have caused you suffering."

Xiao Luzi, startled by the favor, quickly kowtowed: "I am not suffering! To serve Your Highness is a blessing I have cultivated over many lifetimes!"

Wan Tang gave a slight nod, her voice light yet clear: "Your loyalty is commendable, and your protection of the master is meritorious."

"From today onward, you are the Chief Eunuch of Palace of Eternal Joy."

Wan Tang's hand braced on the bed edge trembled slightly, the wound on her back burning with a sharp pain.

Xiao Luzi remained kneeling, incessantly kowtowing, his forehead already flushed: "I will manage Palace of Eternal Joy perfectly, never letting Your Highness worry a single bit again!"

A faint rustle came from the doorway.

Xiao Shunzi leaned against the doorframe, standing there, his complexion whiter than rice paper.

He opened his mouth, a broken gasp escaping his throat, anxiety causing tears to stream down.

"I'm fine," Wan Tang smiled at him, her voice a little hoarse, "See, didn't we turn misfortune into blessing?"

She tried to stand, the wound suddenly jolted with pain, nearly causing her to collapse.

Xiao Shunzi instinctively lunged to help her, but Xiao Luzi beat him to it.

"Your Highness, be careful!" Xiao Luzi attentively supported her elbow, "Your wound is severe; it's better to stay lying down."

Xiao Shunzi froze in place, his gaze dimming as he watched Xiao Luzi's movements.

Using the momentum, Wan Tang steadied herself and gently pushed Xiao Luzi away: "Fetch a basin of hot water and some clean gauze."

Xiao Luzi obeyed and stepped back; as he passed Xiao Shunzi, his steps faltered briefly, his back involuntarily straightening a few inches.

Only the master and servant remained in the Sleeping Hall.

Xiao Shunzi knelt and shuffled to Wan Tang's feet, lifted his tear‑streaked face, shaking his head desperately, his trembling fingers pointing at the wound on her back.

"It's just a flesh wound; just let it heal."

Wan Tang whispered, reaching to wipe his tears, but paused when she saw the scar on her own fingertip.

In the end she only patted his shoulder, "Go, take good care of your voice. Palace of Eternal Joy will still need you."

Xiao Shunzi gave a deep kowtow, and as he withdrew, he looked back three times with each step.

Wan Tang walked alone to the dressing table, the bronze mirror reflecting her pale face and the gauze‑bound back.

She reached out and brushed the mirror, her fingertips icy.

Outside the window, orderly footsteps suddenly sounded, the Imperial Guard rotating their patrol.

She listened with a tilted ear until the footsteps faded, then slowly closed her eyes.

On the dressing table, the bottle of imperial gold ulcer medicine the Emperor set down before departing glowed with a warm luster in the candlelight.

In the Side Hall of Palace of Eternal Joy, the scent of medicine was so thick it seemed unbreakable.

When Wan Tang entered, Li Ping'er lay quietly on the bed, her eyes hollowly staring at the intricate patterns on the canopy.

Her hands were clasped and rested on her flat abdomen, fingertips trembling slightly.

"Ping'er," Wan Tang called softly, sitting on the bed edge.

Li Ping'er slowly turned her head, a veil of gray mist clouding her eyes.

She seized Wan Tang's hand with startling force, her voice sounding as if from a great distance: "Sister, tell me…"

She guided Wan Tang's hand to press against her own lower belly, and her body began to tremble delicately.

"Here… was there ever a child?"

Wan Tang's back of the hand was squeezed until it hurt, and she could clearly feel her whole body's trembling.

The hall was so quiet that the faint crackle of the candlewick could be heard.

"The imperial physician said," Wan Tang's voice was extremely soft, "that she's over a month pregnant."

Li Ping'er's watery glimmer in her eyes suddenly shattered.

She abruptly pulled her hand back, clamped her mouth tightly, and suppressed sobs leaked through her fingers as her shoulders jolted violently.

Wan Tang sat quietly, letting her press her forehead against her shoulder and weep bitterly.

Through the thin garment, one could feel the scalding tears constantly seeping in.

After a long while, Li Ping'er lifted her swollen red eyes and forced out a grin uglier than crying: "I didn't even know he ever came… and just like that… it's gone?"

From outside the window suddenly came Xiao Luzi's sharp, ear‑piercing scolding of a junior palace maid.

Li Ping'er trembled as if startled, instinctively shielding her lower belly again.

Wan Tang tucked the blanket corner for her, her fingertip lingering on the brocade for a moment.

"Sleep," she said, "there will be more in the future."

Li Ping'er suddenly seized her sleeve, her nails almost digging into her flesh: "Was it an accident? Sister, tell me… was it really just an accident?"

Wan Tang lowered her gaze at the two clasped hands, one icy, one scorching.

The cicadas outside the hall suddenly erupted in noise, unsettling everyone's nerves.

Inside Palace of Eternal Joy, Wan Tang faced the mirror while grooming, casually ordering: "Xiao Luzi, go to Jingxinyuan and deliver a bowl of lotus seed soup to Lord Li."

Xiao Luzi was startled: "Jingxinyuan? Isn't that…"

Wan Tang glared at him from the mirror, her eyes cold and sharp.

Xiao Luzi quickly corrected himself: "I am foolish! Lord Li is an elder close to the Emperor and should be well cared for."

In Jingxinyuan, Li Defu lay comfortably in a rocking chair.

Two senior eunuchs, one thumping his leg, the other fanning himself. When Xiao Luzi entered, they were too lazy to lift their eyelids.

"Lord Li, greetings!" Xiao Luzi straightened his back, "I am the new Chief Eunuch of Palace of Eternal Joy, Xiao Luzi, sent by Virtuous Consort at her command, especially to deliver a bowl of lotus seed soup to you."

"Virtuous Consort?" Li Defu snapped his eyes open, his cloudy pupils rolling, "She sent you?"

He waved the other senior eunuchs away and gestured, "Come closer to speak."

Xiao Luzi attentively lifted the food box and stepped forward.

Li Defu leisurely opened the lid, scooped a spoonful of lotus seed soup: "How has the Virtuous Consort been lately? I heard she suffered some grievances at the Empress Dowager's place the other day."

"Indeed!" Xiao Luzi instantly perked up, "The Empress Dowager made the Consort kneel for four hours; if the Emperor hadn't arrived in time…"

Li Defu's hand paused: "Did the Emperor go?"

"Yes, yes!" Xiao Luzi lowered his voice, "The Emperor, for the Consort, even defied the Empress Dowager."

"And Noble Lady Li…" he leaned in closer, "I heard she was pregnant with a dragon seed, but it was lost while kneeling in the Fotang…"

"Clang."

Li Defu suddenly smashed the bowl onto Xiao Luzi's head, the sticky lotus seed soup streaming down his face.

"What a Virtuous Consort! To let Ping'er suffer such a crime—do you really think we are dead?" Li Defu, furious, his whole body trembling, jabbed his slender finger at his nose.

He seized Xiao Luzi's collar, a fierce glint in his eyes: "Go back and tell your master, we have recorded this bowl of lotus seed soup!"

Xiao Luzi fled, rolling as he went.

Li Defu stared at the soup scattered on the floor, then let out a cold laugh, his nails digging deep into his palm.

Xiao Luzi fled Jingxinyuan as if running away, and even after he had gone far, he could still feel his back grow cold.

He wiped the sticky lotus seed soup from his face with his sleeve, muttering low: "Old monster! All these old monsters!"

Yet despite the curses, his heart couldn't stop trembling.

Li Defu's authority in the palace was immense; those gloomy eyes and the throat‑constricting cold laugh had already been etched into the bones of us junior eunuchs, not something that could be erased quickly.

He drew his neck back and quickened his steps.

A few days later, the Forbidden City's banners fluttered.

Wan Tang stood alone atop the towering palace wall, dressed in elaborate, resplendent court attire, the wind brushing her sleeves and carrying the scent of distant sand.

Below the wall, the newly commissioned army prepared to march to the Northern Border.

Xu Yanchuan, clad in silver armor, sat upright on a high‑headed steed, sunlight gleaming off his armor in a dazzling glare.

At the moment the troops were about to set out, he seemed to sense something, spun sharply around, his gaze cutting through the bustling crowd, landing directly on the solitary, lofty figure on the wall.

Their eyes met, only for an instant.

No words, no gestures; that glance seemed to convey a thousand sentences.

Wan Tang's eye sockets reddened instantly; she clutched the cold parapet with white‑knuckled fists.

The troops began to move, and Xu Yanchuan resolutely turned, urging his horse into the rolling tide of iron.

Wan Tang still stared blankly at the receding figure, until a slightly lazy voice beside her said, "Everyone's gone far, still watching?"

She turned abruptly, and it was Hui Guifei.

Today, she unusually shed her usual sleek riding garb, changing into a soft, water‑red dance dress, wide sleeves like clouds, the hem fluttering.

Her ink‑black hair fell like a waterfall, loosely gathered with a simple jade hairpin, lightly powdered, and she was stunningly beautiful.

She carried a unique charm that blended heroism with allure, making Wan Tang feel a pang of self‑contempt in an instant.

Hui Guifei did not look at her; her gaze was distant, as if piercing the wall and gazing toward the far Northern Border.

She walked step by step to the most conspicuous, wind‑facing spot on the wall, ignoring the myriad soldiers below and the puzzled looks of the surrounding palace staff, and slowly stretched out her arms.

She even faced the raging wind, leapt into a vigorous yet endlessly lingering War Dance.

Each of her spins, each lift of her sleeves, seemed to be telling something.

It was a prayer, a farewell, or perhaps a certain heroic feeling, incomprehensible to anyone, deeply buried in the heart.

The gale whipped up her skirt hem and Chang hair, forming a mournfully beautiful scroll behind her.