Female Consort Chapter 85: Ayue

The Crown Prince understood what he meant: “Just because the Crown Prince suffers doesn’t mean the Emperor suffers.” He snorted coldly right away.

With a sneer, he said, “Who knows, if I ascend the throne, whether I’ll end up just like Father.”

That statement was loaded with subtle meaning.

The shadow behind the folding screen hesitated slightly and asked, “Your Highness, what do you mean by that?”

“You, Yu Zheng,” the Crown Prince lifted his chin and said coldly, “be honest with me, are you planning to team up with Prime Minister Wu to make me a puppet emperor, then push me off the throne? Otherwise, why haven’t you ever let me come to blows with Wu?”

After all, it was Qiu Che who planted that seed of suspicion in his mind, which had now taken root.

Yu Zheng fell into an eerie silence.

The Crown Prince waited a moment but got no answer. His fury boiled over: “If you’ve pledged allegiance to me, then you should forget your past loyalties! How dare you still think of your former lord!”

“I would never dare,” Yu Zheng sighed, as if just waking from a daze. “I never thought of such a thing.”

“Are you willing to swear that?”

Yu Zheng was silent.

But inside, he was laughing to himself.

So naive and foolish, to still believe in swearing oaths.

Seeing his silence, the Crown Prince snorted coldly again, then turned and threw a pillow at him, hitting the folding screen with a heavy shake.

He shouted angrily, “Get out! Don’t let me see you again! None of you are good people!”

Yu Zheng sighed again but said nothing. “Your Highness, just remember this, no matter what, I will never harm you... Take care of your health.”

With that, he turned to leave.

But the Crown Prince called after him, “Wait!”

“Today Qiu Che suggested founding a school for girls. What do you think?”

“What do you want me to think?” The Crown Prince glared at him uneasily. “You’re my subordinate, your job is to advise me!”

Yu Zheng smiled and didn’t take offense. Stroking his beard, he said, “I thought about it before coming to Your Highness. In my opinion, it’s doable.”

“Besides... they won’t live long enough to see the school established.” A faint glint flashed in Yu Zheng’s eyes. “Why stir up trouble for yourself, Your Highness?”

Seeing the Crown Prince’s confused look, he paused and lowered his voice to say something.

The Crown Prince’s eyes suddenly widened. “But, but Father hasn’t, ”

“It doesn’t matter,” Yu Zheng smiled reassuringly. “If not real, then use fake.”

“Your Highness, great achievements require bending the rules.”

As the two continued their discussion, someone knocked on the door.

“Your Highness, Crown Prince.”

It was Fuzi.

Yu Zheng stopped, bowed to the Crown Prince, then turned and left.

Fuzi brushed past him, wearing her usual polite smile, and cupped her hands to the Crown Prince. “Your Highness, His Majesty has woken up again.”

The Crown Prince frowned and instinctively glanced at Yu Zheng.

Yu Zheng’s back paused briefly.

The Crown Prince waved his hand impatiently. “Such trivial news? If he wakes, just knock him out with medicine again. That Consort Xu really makes a fuss over nothing every time...”

Fuzi stepped forward and whispered, “His Majesty seemed to say something to Consort Xu.”

The Crown Prince’s voice cut off abruptly.

“What did he say?”

“I couldn’t hear clearly.”

The Crown Prince glared coldly at Consort Xu, who was kneeling on the ground, avoiding his gaze. “You’d better explain clearly, or else, ”

Consort Xu shivered.

“I really don’t know, I really didn’t hear clearly, Your Highness...”

The Crown Prince waved his hand.

Two guards immediately stepped forward, holding red-hot iron branding irons that were about to be pressed onto Consort Xu, 

She suddenly screamed, “No, no! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”

She collapsed backward onto the floor, trembling as she said, “His Majesty, His Majesty said, if he dies, he won’t let you off even in hell!”

The Crown Prince’s face darkened instantly.

Consort Xu stammered, “And he said, anyone who harmed him... all of you... will meet a bad end.”

Her last words were barely a whisper, ghostlike.

The two guards exchanged glances, their usual impassive expressions faltering for a moment.

Finally, Yu Zheng waved his hand, breaking the silence, and ordered them to take her away.

The Crown Prince stared at Yu Zheng with a dark expression.

Yu Zheng’s face didn’t change. “Does Your Highness believe her?”

The Crown Prince retorted, “Don’t you?”

Yu Zheng pondered for a moment. “The chances she’s lying are slim.”

Before bringing Consort Xu to the East Palace, they had searched her thoroughly, she carried nothing unusual.

Besides, inventing such words without reason would only anger the Crown Prince and get her executed immediately.

Given Consort Xu’s cautious, survival-focused nature, it was more likely she was hiding these words.

Still, Yu Zheng sensed something was off.

The Crown Prince interrupted his thoughts with gritted teeth, “I also think she’s telling the truth.”

That old man really wanted him dead.

Of course, he felt the same way.

Yu Zheng shook his feather fan calmly. “When Your Highness chose this path, didn’t you already prepare for it? The curse of the defeated... is the fate of the strong.”

“Besides, anyone can talk trash. Your Highness must understand, the one about to die is him, not you.”

The Crown Prince’s expression flickered for a moment before slowly settling back to calm.

Though his mood was still sour.

He snorted, sank back into his seat, seemingly lost in thought.

Then he waved his hand, signaling Yu Zheng to leave.

After Yu Zheng left, the sound of the Crown Prince angrily throwing things around the hall could still be heard, he was still full of energy.

At the corner, Fuzi glanced at Yu Zheng with concern and quietly asked, “Your Highness causing you trouble?”

“Don’t worry.” Yu Zheng smiled, unfazed. “He wouldn’t really tell me to leave.”

After all, besides him, no one else would help a powerless Crown Prince, pushed to the brink, without expecting anything in return.

He was Yu Zheng’s only hope.

The next day at court, the Crown Prince grudgingly approved the memorial.

But the school for girls took several more days of negotiation before finally getting official approval.

Life gradually returned to calm, as if the previous peace had been restored.

In his free time, Li Qingwu would visit the palace to play with Princess Pingyi, but really to gather news.

So far, however, Pingyi had not sent out any messages, likely still under close watch.

Li Qingwu kept things low-key, visiting infrequently. Once, she casually asked about Consort Xu, and the palace maid escorting her replied apologetically, “Consort Xu has been busy caring for His Majesty and hasn’t paid attention to the young princess for a long time.”

Li Qingwu knew this was to keep the Crown Prince and others from focusing too much on Pingyi, but Pingyi herself didn’t.

For months it had been like this. Young and sheltered by Consort Xu, Pingyi didn’t know how to hide her feelings. Pouting, she asked Li Qingwu gloomily, “Sister, Mother hasn’t come to see me in so long. Does she not want me anymore?”

Li Qingwu gently stroked her head and whispered, “You don’t understand. Your mother just went to take care of Father...”

“You all say I don’t understand,” Pingyi looked up at her seriously, interrupting, “Mother Consort often says that too, but sister, I’m already eleven years old. I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“I know Father is ill, and Mother Consort has to take care of him. But why won’t they let me see Father?” Pingyi said, frustrated. “I always feel like Mother Consort looks so sad every day, but I can’t help her. Sister, I don’t know what to do.”

Their voices were low, and the palace maids nearby kept their distance.

Li Qingwu was momentarily stunned.

She glanced around discreetly, then lowered her voice, “Your Mother Consort... has important things to attend to. It’s alright. As long as you’re safe and sound, that’s the greatest wish of your Mother Consort.”

“But I can get hurt too,” Pingyi said. “If I get hurt, does that mean I’m not safe and sound anymore?”

“Then do your best not to get hurt.”

Pingyi looked confused, “How can I make sure I don’t get hurt?”

“By studying,” Li Qingwu said softly, looking into those clear eyes before her, as if seeing herself from over a decade ago. “Study hard, until you have everything under control.”

“Is studying hard really enough?” Pingyi held her hand tightly, nervously asking, “If I’m safe, then what about Mother Consort? What about Father?”

Li Qingwu was silent for a long moment.

Instead of answering Pingyi’s last question, she asked again, “Shushu, do you want to protect Mother Consort?”

Pingyi nodded firmly, “I do!”

“I want to become really powerful, like you, like brother-in-law, then I can protect Mother Consort, right?”

Li Qingwu smiled and corrected her, “You should say ‘sister-in-law.’”

Pingyi blinked in confusion, “Why?”

“Because your ‘brother-in-law’ is actually a girl.”

“I already know that. Mother Consort told me,” Pingyi tilted her head, “But doesn’t ‘brother-in-law’ mean ‘sister’s husband’? Why does it have to mean a boy?”

Li Qingwu was taken aback again.

…Compared to Pingyi, a child, she herself seemed narrow-minded.

She sighed deeply, “Yes. But if you want to become very powerful, you can’t keep playing around like this.”

“Then I can protect Mother Consort and sister, right?”

“Not just them. You can protect many people.”

Pingyi immediately said, “I can! I’m really good at math! The teacher even praised me!”

Li Qingwu laughed, stood up, and ruffled Pingyi’s hair without a word.

Before leaving, she whispered to Pingyi, “Don’t tell anyone what we talked about today. And don’t mention it to your Mother Consort yet, she’s very tired and shouldn’t be disturbed.”

“Okay! Pinky promise!”

“Pinky promise.”

Not far away, from the Yao Hua Palace where the Virtuous Consort lived, clear bird songs drifted through the air.

Li Qingwu didn’t look back as she stepped out of the palace gates.

After several days of consideration and lengthy discussions with Yu Ming and others, Li Qingwu finally chose a location for the new girls’ academy, not far outside the capital.

An old abandoned martial arts training ground in Yeming City, unused for a long time, was repurposed and incorporated into the school grounds to serve as the students’ future training hall.

When Li Qingwu had people start constructing the academy, the date quietly arrived on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Lantern Festival night, no curfew, lantern parades, riddles, and even masked young men and women who met and liked each other could pursue their feelings openly.

It was one of the liveliest festivals in the human world.

Since Li Qingwu told her their first meeting was actually after the Lantern Festival, Qiu Che had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

She had even promised Li Qingwu she would personally make her a new lantern.

Unlike the hurriedly made one from when she was fifteen, this lantern would represent her feelings for Li Qingwu.

Open and mutual.

But last year, Qiu Che was on a northern campaign and couldn’t accompany Li Qingwu to see the lanterns. It was a regret.

This year, she planned to go with Li Qingwu again, but just the night before, while halfway through making her lantern, news came from outside the city.

There had been a conflict at the training ground between the city guards and the original patrol guards. Someone was accidentally injured, and had died.

The messenger was Ayue, the vice captain of the all-female guard unit who usually followed Yu Yan, and one of the few who remained in the capital.

Ayue was now captain of the city guards, a position recommended by Yu Yan herself.

Qiu Che’s expression darkened, and Li Qingwu immediately said, “Go.”

They exchanged a glance, understanding the meaning in each other’s eyes.

The city guards had not yet replaced the patrol guards, and already there had been a fatal incident, this was very bad.

Qiu Che exhaled and put down her lantern, pulling on the fox fur cloak Li Qingwu handed her.

“Let’s go. We’ll talk on the way.”

They took a shortcut and quickly left the princess’s residence.

Passing through the back gate, they ran into Fu Ling returning from shopping.

They passed each other; after Fu Ling bowed, she looked at their backs, frowning slightly in puzzlement.

Inside the main bedroom, Li Qingwu was reviewing the ledgers again.

Fu Ling entered, added firewood to the stove, then hesitated before speaking.

“Your Highness, I just saw the prince consort leave with someone…”

“I know. That was Ayue, the captain of the city guards.”

“I meant to say,” Fu Ling paused, carefully, “Doesn’t she look different from before?”

“Hm?” Li Qingwu looked up. “Why do you say that?”

Fu Ling spoke sincerely, “She has scars on her face from a ‘human skin mask’ Your Highness, you know I’m skilled in this area. I’m the most familiar with such things.”

Li Qingwu’s expression immediately changed.

“Also,” Fu Ling quickly added, sensing the change, “I’ve seen Ayue before… but she didn’t seem this tall?”

Outside the city.

Before the gates closed at nightfall, two figures hurried through the city gate.

“Tell me, what exactly happened?”

Ayue stumbled a bit behind Qiu Che and said, “It was the fourth member of the team who had a conflict with the patrol guards. They said since we’re all women, we shouldn’t be in the city guard. The fourth got angry and…”

Qiu Che paused.

Under the night sky, the moon was bright.

She saw the shadow behind her speak as it followed her at a step’s distance.

The shadow was nearly half a head taller than her.

She had left in such a hurry that she hadn’t noticed, Ayue was supposed to be about her height.

Qiu Che squinted and stopped.

“...Ayue.”

“Yes, my lord. Your orders?”

“You used to call me General, not ‘my lord.’”

The sound of wind broke the silence.

Qiu Che turned her head quickly, dodging three sharp silver needles flicked from Ayue’s fingers.

She raised her hand, and a throwing knife flew from her sleeve.

Ayue was equally agile, avoiding it. After a few exchanges, neither landed a hit.

Ayue immediately stepped back about five paces, took a defensive stance, but didn’t speak again.

Qiu Che caught the throwing knife that returned to her hand and twirled it expertly.

Her expression darkened, but she still said:

“I was just kidding. Ayue does call me ‘my lord.’”

Trouble brewing, trouble brewing.