The Princess Wei Yang Chapter 138 - Part 2
January 13, 2021Chapter 138: Virtuous Consort Tragically Dies
The Emperor was in Consort Lian’s palace when an eunuch came to the Emperor and reported: “Your Majesty, Virtuous Consort niang niang sent an attendant with a box over, saying it was to be presented to Your Majesty.”
“Virtuous Consort?” It was the only thing the Emperor asked about.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The eunuch obediently replied.
The Emperor coldly said: “Throw it out.” At that moment, Consort Lian softly spoke up: “Your Majesty, this consort was overly emotional for a bit. Thinking back now, this consort wasn’t actually harmed. Virtuous Consort niang niang must have regretted her actions. What do you say, how about easing the punishment? Or at least take a look at what is in this box.”
The Emperor sighed and took Consort Lian’s hand: “You are sensible after all, Virtuous Consort has deeply disappointed me, if I didn’t consider the fact that she had given birth to the Seventh Prince, I wouldn’t have even given her a chance.”
The eunuch sensed that now was the time and held out the box to the Emperor with both hands. The wooden box was delicately crafted from rosewood with gold traces. The Emperor felt it was vaguely familiar. Thinking about it, it seemed that this was the jewelry box he had given Virtuous Consort when she first entered the Palace. To think she had kept it up until now, his heart suddenly softened. He said to himself: “I made some speculations about today’s affairs too, have I wronged Virtuous Consort?”
Consort Lian slightly smiled and calmly said: “Your Majesty is right.”
The wooden box opened with a snap. Everyone around them suddenly held their breaths. Consort Lian noticed that the Emperor was stiffly sitting there, his face pale and eyes fixated ahead like a wooden puppet. Consort Lian was curious. Thinking that Virtuous Consort had sent something unexpected, she tilted her head and inspected it. It turned out to be a knot made from red cord, shaped like a peach, two intertwining cords woven together to form a double layered knot, tightly secured. It was obviously a concentric knot, but it had been cut into two at the middle.
“Oh, it’s a concentric knot! But why did someone cut this concentric knot—” Consort Lian seemed confused.
Concentric knots are used to express the mutual love between a man and woman. Although Virtuous Consort is a part of the harem, she and the Emperor had naturally had some old stories between them. When Virtuous Consort first entered the Palace that year, the Emperor favored her for several years. He even personally tied a concentric knot with her as a token of promise, but he didn’t expect to see that Virtuous Consort had actually cut the concentric knot. The Emperor’s eyebrows twitched with a flicker of anger, she was threatening me, my actions made her heart turn cold, so she wanted to end it between us! The audacity! Thinking of this, he flung out his arm, sending the box onto the ground.
“Send a decree, immediately send for Virtuous Consort to see me!” The Emperor coldly ordered, but there was no affection on his face.
Virtuous Consort was as good as dead! Consort Lian revealed a look of regret, or rather she had long anticipated this. Was a person’s fate this delicate? Virtuous Consort’s fate was tied to a little concentric knot!
That night, the Emperor strongly condemned Virtuous Consort, rushed her with a heavy scolding, refused to hear her explain and even had her kneel in the rain all night. Virtuous Consort always had a bit of a self-righteous personality. After being treated like this, she felt extremely wronged. She couldn’t figure out how the concentric knot she had sent according to her son’s wishes had been cut... Once she returned, she brought wine out and swallowed a piece of gold. After Tuoba Yu learned about this, he knelt at the palace gates for an entire day before the Emperor allowed him to invite an Imperial Physician, but by then, Virtuous Consort was at death’s door. The Imperial Physician kept on saying: “Late... It’s too late...”
Tuoba Yu almost fainted on the spot upon hearing this. Suppressing his grief, he looked at the dying Virtuous Consort, unable to say a word. Virtuous Consort died from swallowing white wine and gold, ultimately dying from the pain in her stomach. She didn’t close her eyes even after her last breath, dying a tragic death.
Tuoba Yu came out of the Imperial Palace. When he was getting on his horse, he missed a step and fell down, rendered unconscious.
When the news came, Li Wei Yang was practicing calligraphy. She frowned when she heard about it, and then her brush paused.
“How could this be?” A trace of doubt appeared on her pale face.
Today, Li Wei Yang wore a light blue silk pleated overcoat, layers of her skirt spreading out like flowing water, sparkling in the light. At that moment, Li Min De’s worried eyes rested on the folds of her cuffs. He happened to reach out and smooth them out, then indifferently said: “What’s wrong, was it not within your expectations?”
“I told Tuoba Yu to have his Concubine Mother send a sentimental item to the Emperor, let him remember old sentiments and remember the gentle, dignified and virtuous Virtuous Consort of those days. Although it won’t immediately allow Virtuous Consort to escape her predicament, at least it would not make things worse. Why did it anger the Emperor all of the sudden? This is——really unusual.”
Li Min De smiled and said: “Your approach itself wasn’t bad, it could have made the Emperor reminisce old sentiments. It’s a pity—”
Li Wei Yang looked up at him: “From the sound of your tone, it seems like you have some inside information about it.”
Li Min De’s smile broadened: “It doesn’t really count as inside information, I just happen to know a little more about it than you do. Although the news was blocked after the accident, it’s impossible to keep something from being leaked out. It’s said that that night, when Virtuous Consort sent the concentric knot over like you suggested, someone unexpectedly tampered with it. The concentric knot was perfectly fine until it was cut up, how do you think the Emperor would feel after seeing it? As a man, he would feel that Virtuous Consort isn’t sensible and feel resentful, won’t he?”
Li Wei Yang was surprised: “Someone tampered with it? The Empress?”
Li Min De only smiled and leisurely said: “Of course, the Empress and Crown Prince are just puppets under someone else’s control, and the person behind them is hiding the shadows, secretly watching.”
For some reason, Li Wei Yang sighed and said: “It’s Tuoba Zhen.”
Li Min De’s voice was mesmerizing: “What’s the matter? Unhappy that Virtuous Consort couldn’t be saved?”
Li Wei Yang was taken aback, then she immediately laughed and said: “She is only human and would have to die anyways. I only gave Tuoba Yu a chance, so he would come to understand this. From the moment I came up with this idea, I have warned that it is dangerous to act rashly, but if you don’t act, you will certainly die.”
“I even thought that you—” Li Min De’s lips curved, mocking himself: “You did it for Tuoba Yu’s sake.”
Li Wei Yang’s smile was no different from usual, one could see that she didn’t care at all: “Whether or not Virtuous Consort dies, it won’t affect the endgame, so I don’t really care. I only care about what Tuoba Zhen does next.” Speaking of which, she suddenly paused and looked at Li Min De with a passive smile, “But what surprised me is that you even dared to burn down Ji Xiang Palace and still managed to walk out of the Imperial Palace unscathed. It must not have been easy.”
Li Min De revealed a charming smile: "Don't underestimate my connections in the Palace..."
“So, what do you know then?” Li Wei Yang had known of Li Min De’s extraordinary capabilities for a while, but she didn’t expect him to have eyes and ears in the Imperial Palace. In other words, there are Yue Xi spies in the Da Li Imperial Palace. It’s not surprising though. Many countries have set up elaborate spy networks in other countries for several decades. The thing is, the Emperor of Yue Xi even handed over the spy network to Li Min De, it goes to show how much he loved and valued this son.
“I know that Jiang Hua secretly colluded with the Empress and Crown Prince, wanting to put you to death. But they are too naive, there’s no way that their amateur tricks will be airtight. I realized something was wrong the moment Jiang Hua invited the Mo Bei Prince, but I deliberately did not act and let them proceed, in order to act at the most critical moment, only to fail when they are about to succeed, so I can see their faces and see them vomit blood...” Li Min De’s smile was very kind and compassionate, making Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu by their side with no choice but to exchange a look with one another.
Acting at the most critical moment, strike to scatter the opponent’s troops, this kind of mentality seemed a little twisted.
It turns out he already had his suspicions since the Fourth Mo Bei Prince appeared... It was Li Wei Yang’s turn to ridicule herself: “I thought my sources were well-informed, but it seems you have already guarded against the things that even Consort Lian had no idea of.”
Li Min De stared at her and his voice softened: “You’re wary of Tuoba Zhen, so you would not dare to plant too many eyes and ears in the Palace. Consort Lian is your main source of information. However, there are times when the Emperor may not completely trust her. In that case, you will need to use other people.”
Li Wei Yang smiled, her eyes like clear crystals with flowers quietly blooming underneath. She thought to herself, compared to Li Min De, she was too cautious. If he hadn’t set Ji Xiang Palace on fire, she was afraid she would have to work much harder to get rid of the Fourth Mo Bei Prince.
Li Min De lowered his head and pointed at her writing: “As with anything, as long as you persist, it will get better. Look, your writing was really ugly at first. Isn’t this significant progress now?”
Li Wei Yang: “...” Can’t you be a little more subtle?
Li Min De only laughed. His eyes were bright as stars. He smiled and warmly said: “I’m only telling the truth.”
Li Wei Yang had nothing to say to that. Although Li Min De was a man, when he smiled, his eyes would curve up, enough to seduce anyone’s heart, making her unable to refute even when she wanted to. She carefully looked down at her writing and couldn’t help but sigh: “Drawing a tiger, only to end up drawing a puppy, my calligraphy is simply inadequate.”
Not everything can be changed with hard work in this world. For instance, Li Wei Yang’s calligraphy is a lost cause. Not much progress has been made even after practicing for so many years. Forget reputed families, she couldn’t even compare to young ladies of ordinary households. What a pity. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She lowered her brush and said to Bai Zhi: “Alright, put it away.”
Seeing her disappointment, Li Min De smiled and said: “Today is the Day of Release, do you want to go out?”
Li Wei Yang raised her eyebrows and said: “Day of Release?” Yes, today is the annual day of Release. How could she forget about this? There is a custom among the Da Li common folk on February 16th every year known as the Day of Release. On this day, every family must set some animals free, specifically at a designated release site, either in the suburbs or rivers as a way of accumulating good karma.
“Lao Furen said that she needs good karma this year, so she has already prepared birds to be released. She asked Xiaojie to release them for her.” Bai Zhi relayed what Luo Mama had just instructed her to Li Wei Yang.
Li Wei Yang nodded, then reprimanded her: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Bai Zhi felt a little wronged. She saw that Xiaojie was wholeheartedly focused on practicing calligraphy just now, so she didn’t dare to speak for the time being.
“Go and prepare the carriage, let’s not go too far and return once we’ve set them free.” Li Wei Yang said.
Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu knew they could go out after hearing this and immediately rejoiced. They hurriedly went to prepare the carriage. Everything was ready in less than half an hour. Li Wei Yang sat on the carriage and looked at a row of bird cages behind her and laughed: “How come Lao Furen is like this, bringing well-cared for pet birds out to be released?”
This time, Li Lao Furen released a total of 18 birds. Apart from the six bird cages on the carriage, there were twelve more in the wagon behind them. Lao Furen originally had these bird cages hanging in the corridor. Some of them had been raised for several years. Each of these birds usually cost a few dozens of silver, all of them were rare species that were hard to come by. It’s such a pity to release all of them this time.
“Fourth Brother suddenly caught a cold and is coughing a little. Lao Furen is distressed for him, so she said to release more animals to accumulate good karma. The Heavens will see her sincerity and allow Fourth Brother to recover soon.” Li Min De smiled. When he spoke, his pupils retracted and emphasized his pale amber irises, making one’s heart race.
Li Wei Yang felt a bit of warmth inside: “With an elder’s care, Min Zhi can be happy too.”
“Indeed, even if there was no Lao Furen, Li Xiao Ran will protect Fourth Brother to preserve the bloodline and will not allow anyone to hurt him.”
“But... He still has another son.” Li Wei Yang suddenly said.
Li Min De smiled and said: “From the moment you forced Jiang Hua to reveal Li Min Feng’s whereabouts, he was as good as dead.”
“Dead?” Li Wei Yang was dumbfounded, then she said: “But the person I had sent failed to find him, which goes to show that Jiang Hua had lied about this.”
“No, half of it is true, and half of it is false. It took me a while searching in the direction that he pointed. It took me a month to find him. The thing is, I didn’t kill him, he killed himself.” Li Min De’s gaze fell on her like a cool breeze brushing the surface of a lake as he spoke.
“What does that mean?” Li Wei Yang couldn’t help but frown.
“Meaning that while he was on the run, day and night, worried and uneasy, he ended up coming down with an infectious disease. By the time my people arrived, he had stopped breathing.” Li Min De said everything without a trace of emotion, simply stating the facts in a calm manner.
Li Wei Yang was a little surprised, then shocked before her smile finally returned: “This is very good.” Li Xiao Ran only had Min Zhi and will only have Min Zhi forever and now. In order to preserve his bloodline, he will cultivate Min Zhi’s talents even at the cost of his life.
“This way, you won’t need to do anything for Fourth Brother anymore.” Li Min De added with a strange smile on his face.
Li Wei Yang looked at him, inexplicably a bit confused. This kind of confusion brought out a little unease rarely seen at her age onto her usually cold face. Li Min De’s smile widened, but he didn’t offer the slightest explanations for his words.
The carriage stopped by the side of the Wang Xiang building, the tallest in the Capital. Li Min De purposely chose a quiet and peaceful room, and the servants went to release the birds. Even Bai Zhi and Mo Zhi also followed them, joining in on the fun in setting the little birds free. Li Wei Yang leaned against the corridor rail and watched as the girls’ faces filled with excitement, smiling softly. There were many people releasing animals downstairs, and Li Wei Yang’s eyes stopped on a young woman among them. In front of so many people, this young woman broke open a large, longevity peach. A little bird unexpectedly flew out, spread its wings and soared to the limits of the sky. Everyone looked up at the sky and happily clapped their hands.
Li Wei Yang looked at the young woman who was around the age of 17 or 18. She wore a wide robe with a thin scarf draped across her shoulders and bright red boots on her feet. She looked completely different from people in the Capital. Just as she looked at the other party, the other party also noticed her. She looked up and smiled at Li Wei Yang, revealing her gleaming teeth.
Li Wei Yang suddenly stopped smiling because she clearly saw that there was a man standing beside the young woman. It was none other than Li Yuan Heng, the Fourth Mo Bei Prince. At this moment, his gaze also shifted upstairs—
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Translator: Chau
Editor: Chau
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10 comments
Yesss new chapter!! Thank you!!❤️❤️✨✨
ReplyDeleteI'm early for once! Thanks so much for the new chapter as always, Chau! Oh no, what could the Prince of Mo Bei be trying to do this time?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter!!!
ReplyDeletei guess TY will change since his mother died...
Thank you for the chapter !
ReplyDeleteI feel that this part was weird, very weird, a litte rushed about rhe death of the consort too, TBZ knew the plan? Min De was acting strange too...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter!
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI think it seems rushed because all the key figure men now also had character development. It is no longer only Wei Yang that had advantageous due to her past knowledge. Min De had grown too. It seems Min De now may even accepted his position as Yue Xi's heir, possibly wanting to own the power behind it to give Wei Yang's ultimate support. Touba Yu also needed this growth. I had long suspected, the only way to make this naive child more ruthless is by having his mother killed by other throne's contestent. If not, he won't know the weight of that throne. Touba Zhen also seems to be growing sensible. No longer trying to pick bone directly with Wei Yang. Calculating his time to rise to the throne then decreed her into her harem. I bet Touba Zhen knows, but he let the Crown Prince do it since it benefitted him and the spear will fall on Crown Prince's head. If you remember Touba Yu till now still feel he is responsible for Touba Zhen's biological mother death. Now this debt is cleared. So we can anticipate how Touba Yu will turned out after this heartbreak.
DeleteThanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeletethank you for the update.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the Fourth Mo Bei Prince planning to do next? Tuoba Zhen going to be helping him again.
Thank you for the chapter! 💕💕💕
ReplyDeleteWhat a pity... TY might turn against LWY after this incident...