nycdaug Chapter 52 The Imperial Concubine's Dream
Chapter 52 The Imperial Concubine's Dream
transaction?
Chu Qingyin looked completely puzzled.
"Yes, let's make a deal."
"If you tell me who you are, I will release Chu Muyan."
Pei Yuanling stared intently at her, his deep voice unhurried, like a hunter gently enticing his prey into a trap.
Chu Qingyin wanted to jump, but she suddenly came to her senses.
Why was Pei Yuanling so certain of her identity? She had clearly not given anything away.
Thinking about it carefully, Pei Yuanling's change in attitude towards her seems to have started from the day she fell into a coma. Could it be that something happened that day? Or is the Buddhist chant that caused her to fall into a coma related to him?
No, now is not the time to think about these things—
Even if Pei Yuanling is now certain that she is Chu Qingyin, she absolutely cannot admit it.
Thinking of this, she looked up at Pei Yuanling, pretending not to understand, and said, "What does Your Majesty mean? I am Qiao Gongquan's daughter, Qiao's eldest daughter, Qingyin."
"Then how do you explain your concern for Chu Muyan? What I do with him is none of your business."
"As I said, it was out of pity for the Noble Consort..."
Chu Qingyin wanted to explain, but Pei Yuanling interrupted her: "Yinyin, this explanation won't convince me."
The man's tone was firm, yet carried an unyielding authority befitting someone in a superior position.
Having been in love for many years, Chu Qingyin knew his temperament, so she took a deep breath before speaking, "Alright, Your Majesty, I will confess."
Pei Yuanling's eyes sharpened instantly.
Although he was certain she was the Imperial Concubine, this certainty often felt like a beautiful dream he had woven for himself, one that, once he awoke, would likely be nothing but an illusion. Fortunately, now she was finally willing to admit it.
"When I was unconscious the other day, I had a dream. In the dream, I saw a woman who looked similar to me, weeping sadly. After asking her, I learned that she was the late Consort Chu. In the dream, she told me that she loved Your Majesty deeply, but unfortunately died unjustly and could not continue her relationship with Your Majesty. Now she is wandering in the underworld, unable to be reincarnated, because her worldly desires are not yet fulfilled and she cannot leave."
"And her greatest concern was her elder brother, General Chu Muyan."
As Chu Qingyin spoke, she looked at Pei Yuanling, her eyes reddening slightly: "In the dream, the Imperial Concubine cried pitifully, begging me to serve Your Majesty in her place. She also said that if I had the ability, I hoped I could speak out for her. Your Majesty, I only dared to speak to Your Majesty because I pity the Imperial Concubine's last wish."
"The palace has always been very superstitious about such talk of ghosts and spirits. I was worried that if I told Your Majesty about the Noble Consort's dream, Your Majesty would not believe me, which is why I hesitated to bring it up before. But now that Your Majesty has doubted me, I have no choice but to tell the truth."
She lowered her head slightly, adopting a posture of apology: "Your Majesty, please judge for yourself that everything I said just now is true. If I have lied, then punish me..."
Before the oath could be uttered, a helpless sigh came from above: "Alright, I believe you."
In fact, Pei Yuanling didn't believe a single word of it.
If it really was the Imperial Concubine appearing in his dream, why didn't she just appear to him directly, instead of sending it to a new concubine she didn't even know?
"Get up."
Pei Yuanling noticed the redness at the corners of her eyes, raised his hand to help her up, and gently wiped away her tears: "Don't cry, it breaks my heart."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingyin stopped crying, only sobbing as she said, "I also wish I were a Noble Consort, but I truly am not. Otherwise, how could I bear to be so estranged from Your Majesty? And how could I forget the loving past we shared?"
This was true, but it also served as a wake-up call for Pei Yuanling.
If the conditions he just proposed were for his Yin Yin, she would certainly not refuse to acknowledge her identity, but the woman in front of him hesitated to admit it...
That day at Taiji Palace, during the soul-summoning ceremony, he was certain that her soul was that of the Imperial Concubine. The reason she refused to acknowledge him was perhaps because she had forgotten the past.
If you really forget, it's alright.
Anyway, they have a long future ahead of them, and sooner or later, she will remember the loving times they shared.
"Rest assured, I will investigate the matter of Chu Muyan thoroughly. If there is any injustice, I will certainly give the Chu family justice."
Hearing this assurance, Chu Qingyin felt much more at ease.
She knew that Pei Yuanling was not the kind of foolish, muddle-headed, and incompetent ruler who could not distinguish right from wrong. The reason he dealt with the Duke of Chu's mansion earlier was because the secret passage in the mansion and the letters exchanged with the Northern Di were too conclusive.
Even Chu Qingyin herself was startled when she heard that there was a secret passage in the mansion, and that there were weapons and armor inside. She had lived in the mansion for so many years and she had no idea that such things existed! Not to mention Pei Yuanling, who was the emperor.
But she firmly believed that her brother was not the kind of treacherous villain who betrayed the country. She just didn't know who was so vicious as to set up such a trap to frame her Chu family.
Although it was Lu Zhiheng who reported the Duke of Chu's mansion, Chu Qingyin had a vague feeling that it didn't quite seem like him. After all, the Chu family were military families, while the Lu family were civil officials; the two families kept to themselves. Why would Lu Zhiheng target the Chu family? Or was Lu Zhiheng acting under someone else's orders, with someone else behind him?
A jumble of thoughts swirled in her mind. Chu Qingyin nestled obediently in Pei Yuanling's arms, but her eyes remained dark and brooding.
Lu Zhiheng, what secrets are you hiding?
Meanwhile, at the Lu residence.
Lu Zhiheng sat at his desk, looking at the messages from the palace's secret agents: "Since the day the Consort summoned her soul, His Majesty's attitude towards Consort Qiao has changed. Their relationship has become much closer, and His Majesty's favor towards her is even greater than before."
"This eldest daughter of the Qiao family does have some tricks up her sleeve... Could she really be possessed by the ghost of the Imperial Concubine?"
Lu Zhiheng, who was always clear-headed and unperturbed by honor or disgrace, was unsure about something for the first time.
His slender fingers tapped rhythmically on the table. After a long while, he suddenly looked up, and the tapping had stopped.
"Ling Xiao, give the order to thoroughly investigate everyone in the Qiao family who is related to Qiao Qingyin."
"Yes!" A shadow leaped down from the roof beam in the darkness and then swiftly disappeared into the vast night.
Lu Zhiheng walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, and narrowed his dark eyes as he gazed at the mottled bamboo shadows cast on the green wall.
Qiao Qingyin, who exactly are you?