Spring Banquet – 08

amillennium9-11 minutes 18.06.2023

// The remnants of Princess Danyang

Before becoming Li Fengxing, he served as the Chief Historian assisting Prime Minister Sima, and had a deep grudge against Li Huaiyu. During the period when she was imprisoned in Feiyun Palace, Li Fengxing submitted twenty memorials, each one scheming to bring about her demise. This person’s goals in the court, for so many years, have only been two-fold:

First, to make Li Huaiyu die. Second, to make everyone in Li Huaiyu’s faction die!

Now that she’s dead, Li Fengxing still comes to find Jiang Xuanjin. His intentions are self-evident.

Standing up straight, Huaiyu didn’t hesitate and quickly slipped behind the pearwood screen nearby.

Jiang Xuanjin furrowed his brow and glanced at her. “What are you doing?”

“What else can I do? I’m here to uphold your reputation as Prince Ziyang,” the person behind the screen giggled. “Can’t have others seeing a young girl like me in your room, can we?”

A young girl? Hearing these three words from her mouth, Jiang Xuanjin could only sneer.

He stood up, tidying up his washbasin while coughing. “If you want to avoid suspicion, you should go somewhere else.”

“No!” Huaiyu poked her head out from behind the screen, looking earnest. “I feel restless all over if I can’t see you for a moment!”

“You’re lying,” Jiang Xuanjin shook his head.

“Oh dear, you still don’t believe me!” Huaiyu stomped her foot. “My genuine, heartfelt affection is being shattered and trampled on by you!”

Putting down the towel he was using to wipe his face, Jiang Xuanjin turned to look at her, his eyes calm and without ripples. “Do you really have feelings?”

These calm and ordinary three words caused Huaiyu to tremble slightly. Subconsciously, she didn’t dare to meet his gaze and just giggled, jumping out and grabbing his hand. “Whether I have feelings or not, do you want to find out?”

As she spoke, she pulled his hand and placed it over her heart.

Jiang Xuanjin was startled and took two steps back, looking at her in shock. His temples throbbed. “Outrageous!”

He thought yesterday was already the limit of shamelessness, but it turns out today could surpass that? This thing keeps escalating?

He wrested his hand free, and Huaiyu chuckled a couple of times without saying much. She turned around and jumped back behind the screen.

Jiang Xuanjin stared at the screen and suddenly had the urge to kick it.

“Master, the person is outside the medicine hall,” taking advantage of the opportunity, the person bowed and said, “It seems they are in quite a hurry.”

“Hmm.” Suppressing his anger, he sat down on the nearby chair. “Please let them in.”

“Yes.”

The person left, and Jiang Xuanjin looked at the open door, muttering softly, “Don’t blame me for not warning you. If you hear something you shouldn’t, you’ll bring trouble upon yourself.”

“Haven’t you heard a saying?” the person behind the screen answered nonchalantly, “Under the peony flowers, one dies a glorious death.”

Jiang Xuanjin: “…”

One day, he would sew shut this person’s mouth!

“Your Highess!” Li Fengxing quickly walked in, his face serious. He entered and saluted, speaking directly, “I heard that Your Highess captured Qingsi, the personal maid of Princess Danyang, a few days ago.”

Huaiyu’s expression changed behind the screen.

Jiang Xuanjin sat upright, composed, and calmly covered his mouth with a light cough. “Please have a seat, sir.”

Li Fengxing took a deep breath, suppressing his impatience, and sat down at the table.

“If I recall correctly, sir, you should be busy with the examination of the court officials. Why would you come to inquire about this matter?” Jiang Xuanjin raised an eyebrow and looked at him calmly.

Li Fengxing paused for a moment, then furrowed his brow. “While Princess Danyang has been laid to rest, the remnants of her faction are still at large, continuing to cause trouble. How can I not be concerned? Your Highness knows the methods of Princess Danyang. I fear she will not die willingly and may leave behind retaliatory measures.”

“These matters have already been entrusted to me by His Majesty,” Jiang Xuanjin looked up, giving him a faint glance. “Are you worried that I am not handling them effectively, sir?”

“…I dare not, but several days ago, Your Highness already had Qingsi in custody. Why hasn’t she been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice until now?” Li Fengxing hesitated, then asked.

Jiang Xuanjin picked up the medicine next to him and took a sip, lowering his gaze to the brownish liquid without answering.

Li Fengxing was an impatient person, but in front of Prince Ziyang, he didn’t dare to act rashly. After waiting in silence for a while and seeing that he still didn’t intend to answer, a sense of panic rose within him.

“What is Your Highness thinking? Han Xiao and Xu Xian, they are all waiting for Qingsi’s testimony to pass judgment. As long as the remnants of Princess Danyang’s faction are all captured, Your Highness’s wish will be fulfilled!”

Jiang Xuanjin didn’t even lift his head. “My wish, from beginning to end, has always been the young emperor assuming power and the stability of imperial authority. What you speak of, sir, is your own personal agenda, not what I seek.”

Huaiyu behind the screen listened to these words silently and coldly laughed.

How nice it sounds, your wish is only for the young emperor to assume power and for the imperial authority to be stable? If that’s truly the case, why go through all the trouble to kill her?

Li Fengxing was choked by these words, his face slightly turning green. After a moment of silence, he eased his tone and said, “Regardless, eliminating the remnants of Princess Danyang’s faction does not contradict Your Highness’s wish.”

“Remnants?” Jiang Xuanjin slowly chewed on these two words, sneering and looking at the person in front of him. “The remnants you speak of, are they General Xu Xian, who is loyal and devoted to the country, or the eminent ministers from two dynasties, Han Xiao? Or perhaps Yun Lanqing, who just returned from a diplomatic mission to Xiliang and made significant contributions?”

These individuals all had a deep relationship with Princess Danyang, but at the same time, they were pillars of the country.

Li Fengxing couldn’t find words to reply. He glanced at Jiang Xuanjin and suddenly understood that he had approached the wrong person.

He had originally thought that Prince Ziyang would assist in killing Princess Danyang, believing that he stood on their side. However, that was not the case. This person truly only cared about preserving the monarchy, and he would lend a hand in matters that aligned with his objectives. For those with different goals, he had no interest at all.

Clutching his fist, Li Fengxing stood up and said, “I have overstepped my bounds. Your Highness should be the one to make decisions on this matter.”

Jiang Xuanjin nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries, and watched him leave.

After the door opened and closed, Huaiyu walked out from behind the screen. The complex expression on her face had disappeared, and she raised her head with a mischievous smile.

“Your Highness is amazing,” she praised, holding her heart.

He glanced at her askance, and Jiang Xuanjin coughed twice.

“Oh, look at this poor thing. He’s sick and still has to worry about these matters.” She leaned against him, reaching out to pull him up from the chair. “Come, let’s go lie down.”

“Let go,” he frowned.

“I won’t let go. Stop saying these useless words.”

“…”

With a smile, she pressed him onto the bed, covered him with the blanket, and Huaiyu supported her chin, blinking at him. “Don’t you think I’m good at taking care of people?”

Jiang Xuanjin was impatient with her nonsense. “Get to the point.”

“Alright, I’ll be direct then.” Clapping her hands, Huaiyu smiled and said, “Will you accept a maid?”

“No!” Jiang Xuanjin saw through her thoughts and firmly spat out two words, leaving no room for negotiation.

Huaiyu looked disappointed. “You’re so heartless. After all, we’ve kissed, hugged, and slept together…”

“Shut up!” Jiang Xuanjin sat up straight, his face stern. “I’ll have Cheng Xu send you home right away.”

“No!” Huaiyu pouted and shook her head vigorously like a drum. “Either you personally escort me, or you accept me!”

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Xuanjin coughed even more severely. He even started to wonder if this was a curse laid upon him when Dan Yang died. How did he end up encountering such a person?!