This is a cunning ruler, but also a very calculating and thoughtful father.
“Wei Zhi.” The emperor looked at her expressionlessly, “Take care of your wounds. Once you have recovered, then return to the court as soon as possible. You still need to preside over the Spring Exams. Your house was burned down, I have already gifted you a new one. The Internal Affairs Department should’ve already taken care of it. You can just move in.”
A wry smile appeared on Feng Zhi Wei’s lips.
For the sake of his daughter, the old man had come to bargain with her.
The old man knew that Wei Zhi was not willing to ruin his future to marry Shaoning and as an emperor, he didn’t want to lose such a talent either so he decided to use this opportunity to send Shaoning out of the palace. Without her princess title, then Wei Zhi would not be restricted by the law when he marries Shaoning. The emperor also assured her at the same time– Wei Zhi is still in charge of the Spring Exam, meaning her official position won’t be taken away from her due to marrying the princess.
The matter has progressed to this point. The old emperor said nothing concerning it but had already laid everything in front of her clearly, leaving her no leeway.
If she refused, then she would be ungrateful.
In conclusion, she has to marry Shaoning no matter what!
A bitter taste filled Feng Zhi Wei’s mouth– tonight, the situation changed constantly, everyone had good calculations and plans, leaving her as the only unlucky sacrificial lamb!
But she has no choice but to bow her head deeply to the ground, “Your Majesty, my injury is no longer a problem. I can go back to the court to do my duties once the sun comes up. It’s better to set up the imperial temple for the princess soon.”
The emperor stared at her for a while, there was a trace of relief and resignation in his eyes, but his voice had already become a bit more gentle, “The princess’ imperial temple is close to your new place. In the future, when she is not in the palace, then you will need to take care of her more.”
Take care of her…take care of her…take care of her in bed? Feng Zhi Wei tugged on the grass on the ground bitterly, imagining the grass turf is Shaoning’s face, I pinch, I pinch, I pinch….
“She is not going to take care of her.”
There suddenly came a dry flat voice. The first word was still far outside the courtyard but by the last word, the voice is already in front of the emperor.
The guards standing next to the emperor were stunned, not knowing who was coming to attack them so stealthily, they fumblingly pulled out their swords and spun around. In the dark night, the shining light of swords shimmered like waves.
A figure slowly emerged from the darkness, like a jade carving slowly revealing its brilliance from peeling black paint, showing its exquisite smooth outlines.
It was Gu Nan Yi.
The emperor actually let out a sigh of relief when he saw who it was. Gu Nan Yi had saved his life before. Knowing that this person is kinda odd, the emperor didn’t get angry but neither did he tell the guards that had jumped in front of him to back away, but sat on his carriage frowning as he looked at Gu Nan Yi.
Joy filled Feng Zhi Wei’s eyes– Xiao Dai (Gu Nan Yi’s nickname) is okay?
Gu Nan Yi glanced over at her before casting a cold glance at the room. With a raise of his hand, Gu Nan Yi tossed a disheveled man in front of the emperor.
Then he said in a tone that was more indifferent and displeased than before.
“It’s his responsibility.”
Feng Zhi Wei who was kneeling on the ground, almost jumped up at Gu Nan Yi’s words.
She abruptly raised her head to look at Gu Nan Yi. His face was hidden behind the veil so naturally she couldn’t see Gu Nan Yi’s expression but from the way the veil was moving without wind, Feng Zhi Wei could tell Gu Nan Yi was very unhappy.
And the man on the ground, his clothes were a bit disheveled, and his face blue, looking as if he was actually frozen. By the lantern light, Feng Zhi Wei peered carefully at the man and realized that it was actually Ni Wenyu (the student from the academy), the one who had given false testimony in court the other day!
A person who absolutely should not have appeared here has appeared at this place at this moment with disheveled clothing, a terrified expression, and an exquisite gold anklet chain that only a royal unmarried princess could use.
Needless to say, it was obvious what he did just now.
Feng Zhi Wei let out a hissing sound from between her teeth and looked up to see the emperor’s expression. The old emperor didn’t move and neither did any part of his face move but in that one instant, the crisscross lines of wrinkles on his face suddenly got deeper, and the deep abyss of the sunken eyes hidden in behind the lantern lights appeared like ghost fires, vibrating.
Feng Zhi Wei who had some understanding of the emperor, knew the old man was furious.
His beloved daughter was scammed and raped, no father would be able to bear it let alone a noble and proud emperor? The emperor must want to kill someone right now!
A furious emperor will vent his anger, will silence, and will do whatever it takes to protect the royal pride!
“Your Majesty!” She quickly move forward on her knees, grabbed the still frozen guy, and said vehemently, “So this is the assassin that disturbed the palace, who was so bold to dare to attempt an assassination– such ferocious beast should be beaten to death immediately!”
Her voice sounded a bit hollow in the night. Even though her words were filled with furious energy but because of the emperor’s bizarre expression it floated in the air, unable to land the impact it should’ve. Except for the still unconscious Princess Shaoning and the silently standing Gu Nan Yi, every person is bowing low, wishing they could shrink themselves into the ground.
A bit of sweat appeared on Feng Zhi Wei’s back as she pressed her lips together tightly.
The emperor remained silent as he stared at her with his ghost fire like eyes first before looking past her toward the building behind. Inside the building, Princess Shaoning is still unconscious, her face appearing peaceful, there was even a hint of a sweet smile of having her wish fulfilled in the corner of her lips. Utterly ignorant of how her indulgence tonight will affect the entire empire, with immeasurable far-reaching impact. Clueless that while she was slumbering, how many secret shots and conspiracies had happened, going back and forth for several rounds, in silence, who knows how many heads will roll, how many will lose their official posts, how many innocent lives, perhaps including the man she loves will lose their lives because of her.
Tiansheng emperor’s gloomy and furious gaze swept over his daughter and finally landed on the corner of the smiling lips, where it remained unmoving for a long time.
No one dared to breathe loudly. It was so quiet that they could hear the sound of water splashing in the green pound in the imperial garden from a long distance away.
Seemingly after a long time, Feng Zhi Wei finally heard the emperor’s voice. It was deep and slow, with a bit of hollowness to it.
“Breaking into the palace to attempt an assassination is naturally a heinous crime, one we can’t let go easily.” He said, “Sixth, this matter will be handed to you. Handle it quickly.”
Ning Yi bowed and said yes.
Feng Zhi Wei let out a breath she had been holding, secretly relieved. Tiansheng Emperor is such a cold unfeeling emperor that it was already unusual for him to cherish this particular daughter to this extent. Judging by his personality, the most possible outcome would be for him to kill everyone he can kill and send this daughter far far away.
There was absolutely no chance at all that Shaoning would be given to Ni Wenyu. Kill Ni Wenyu and marrying Shao Ning off far far away would still be problematic since there is no way the still clueless Shaoning would go without making a big scene. Now that Feng Zhi Wei is voluntarily willing to take responsibility, the emperor eventually chose to go along with Feng Zhi Wei’s words out of concern for his daughter’s future happiness.
“Whi Zhi.” Sitting high on his carriage, the emperor looked down at him, “You have suffered because of the exam case. Work diligently after you returned to court, as long as you are loyal to the throne, I will naturally not let you down.”
On the surface, he was talking about the Spring Exam court case but he was actually referring to what happened tonight. The emperor had no choice but to swallow a bitter pill but at least he also found out that Wei Zhi had to swallow an even bigger and more bitter pill than him. Now that the initial anger has passed, the emperor is ready to assure Wei Zhi a bit.
It was assurance but also a warning. Feng Zhi Wei bowed her head humbly, “This servant is ready to die serving with all my heart and soul.”
Tiansheng emperor stared at her for a few long moments, satisfaction flashed across his eyes but then he let out a sigh that was barely audible and waved his hand. The imperial carriage slipped silently into the darkness, the floating red lanterns weaved in the night like mysterious ghost eyes, blinking open and close.
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Not sure what just happened? Does Feng Zhuhai Wei have to
Marry the Princesss? What is the imperial temple? Does that make her a commoner? Head scratching!
It means that Gu Nanyi has saved Zhiwei from the situation – by bringing out the actual culprit who raped Shaoning, the emperor silently conceded that Zhiwei is not to be blamed. And so “warned” her to be dedicated to her future work in court. He cannot admit that Shaoning has been sullied by the commoner, neither can he pin it on Zhiwei. So sending her to the newly constructed temple is the best way out for now.
In ancient China, the son-in-law of princesses cannot bear any official duties or hold any official post in court.
The emperor has weighed all his options in this last calculated speech.
*By sending her (the princess) to the temple
*by sending her (the princess), to the temple.
Zhiwei retains her official duties, Shaoning gets shipped off till he deals with the matter later, whilst giving Zhiwei a warning that he is above all, giving Zhiwei a fairly lenient treatment already.
Wait, so Zhiwei will not be made to marry Shaoning? Or will he be made to marry her a little later when she comes back from the temple?
I find the emperor so much more interesting in the book, in the Tv show he seems a bit passive but here he’s seems more scheming.
Thankyou so much for all your hard work on the translations, they make my Monday!
We are left on a cliffhanger on that question. The emperor had made it possible for Wei Zhi to keep his job AND marry Shaoning now even if he has also found out Wei Zhi did not do anything wrong. However, to save everyone’s face (except Wei Zhi’s) it would be logical for the emperor to compel Wei Zhi to marry Shaoning. At this point in the story we are not sure if the emperor would choose to tell his daughter the truth or let her keep her belief that Wei Zhi was the one she slept with. Telling her the truth would risk Shaoning going crazy thus making it difficult to bury this whole thing that’s so embarrassing to the emperor. Not telling Shaoning would mean she would demand and expect Wei Zhi to marry her. With Shaoning’s personality, she might very well choose to reveal she had already slept with Wei Zhi in order to force the emperor’s hand…which take us right back to the whole embarrassment thing that is so important to the emperor.
Our poor heroine. I do find it amusing that Feng Zhi Wei can really handle everyone including Ning Yi for the most part, but she frequently gets stumped when it comes to Shaoning.
That is such an interesting observation! Shaoning does seem to be the only one the Feng Zhi Wei can’t predict and gets her in trouble.
It feels like Feng Zhi Wei can’t win either way here. I’m guessing she will have to reveal her gender to the Emperor soon. I’m interested to see how the Emperor reacts in the book compared to the TV show. He seems much more unpredictable in the books.
Thank you so much for all your hard work! These posts really do make my Mondays!