Chapter 250: Opportunity

Li Yu walked into Hanliang Palace.

Although he had become a member of the imperial family, the Emperor was not close to him. Only by following Princess Jinyu could he come to see the Emperor.

And apart from palace banquets, he rarely had this opportunity.

Several eunuchs were standing in the hall, their eyes unscrupulously sizing him up.

Consort Bai, dressed in a luxurious gown, sat in front of the dragon throne, her posture languid. She opened and closed a memorial over and over again, as if carefully considering it, and as if she hadn’t noticed Li Yu walking in. She neither looked at him nor acknowledged him.

“Greetings, Your Ladyship.” Li Yu bowed in salute.

Bai Ying seemed to notice him only then, but she didn’t put down the memorial in her hand: “Your Highness has come to see His Majesty. Are you here to talk about my younger sister? You don’t need to remind me, I’m still a criminal consort, and His Majesty knows this.”

Li Yu bowed again: “In my eyes, Your Ladyship is not a criminal consort, but a meritorious subject of the Great Zhou.”

Bai Ying let out an “Aiyo” and looked him over. This young man was incredibly handsome.

“Not only are you handsome, Your Highness, but your words are also beautiful. No wonder you can win the Princess’s favor,” she said. “But if the Princess finds out that you’re here flattering me to make me happy, she’ll be angry.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have plenty of bad things to say about Your Ladyship to make the Princess happy. For example,” Li Yu said, looking up at Bai Ying, “your sister is the Young Madam of the Marquis of Dongyang’s Heir, and you knew this but didn’t report it. Moreover, you colluded with Zhou Jingyun to conceal it.”

Hearing this, Bai Ying still maintained a smile, her expression playful: “It seems that Marquis Zhou’s Heir is truly deeply in love with you, Your Highness, to have even told you such a private matter that could bring down the Marquis’s Residence. He really wants to live and die with you.”

Her expression also held a hint of disdain as she slapped the memorial on the table.

“You already know that I’m a meritorious subject, so don’t try to threaten me with these insignificant matters. Just because you’re the Prince of Chu now doesn’t mean you’ll be the Prince of Chu forever. Haven’t you learned enough from your father’s lesson?”

“I’m not threatening Your Ladyship,” Li Yu said, kneeling down in front of Bai Ying. “I’m asking for your help. I want to know what’s so special about your sister that Zhou Jingyun would protect her so much, even at the risk of his own life.”

Bai Ying couldn’t help but widen her eyes. What did he mean? This Prince of Chu was serious? Was he competing with a woman for a man right in front of her?

This kind of imperial offspring was useless.

No, maybe he was deliberately pretending to be like this, to make people lower their guard.

“My sister, naturally, has her merits,” Bai Ying said, looking at him with a half-smile. “But, why should I help you?”

She shook her head as she spoke.

“No, I should help you. But I should help you avoid doing something foolish. I should tell His Majesty to lock you up and teach you a good lesson, so as not to disgrace the imperial family’s reputation.”

As she spoke, her eyes flickered, showing that she was truly considering doing just that.

He had delivered himself to her doorstep.

Maybe she could even pin Li Chengyuan’s death on him. After all, Princess Jinyu wanted to marry Li Chengyuan, so this Li Yu could certainly go crazy for love and kill Li Chengyuan. In that case, even if His Majesty spared him out of familial affection, wouldn’t it be reasonable to make him guard the imperial tombs for the rest of his life?

Yes, that’s right. Such a good opportunity. Bai Ying frowned slightly. Why hadn’t Zhang Ze thought of this? Why had he been so quick to tell His Majesty that Li Chengyuan’s death was absurd?

Lately, Zhang Ze had been becoming more and more incompetent. Did he think that because she had a son, her future position was secure, and he could slack off?

That wouldn’t do. A knife becomes dull if it’s not used. It was just the right time to sharpen the knife with this imperial offspring.

She was lost in thought when she heard Li Yu’s voice again.

“Of course, if I ask Your Ladyship for help, I will also help Your Ladyship.”

Bai Ying smiled and looked at him: “I don’t need Your Highness to please me.”

Li Yu also smiled: “Then perhaps Your Ladyship needs me to help you keep an eye on others. For example, Zhang Ze went to see Zhou Jingyun.”

The smile on Bai Ying’s face faltered slightly, but quickly returned to normal: “Your Highness is too petty. The Marquis’s Heir is a court official, of course he needs to interact with other court officials. He can’t just revolve around you.”

“If you ask Zhang Ze what he went to see Zhou Jingyun for,” Li Yu ignored her words and continued, “Zhang Ze will definitely say that he went to inquire about the case of Li Chengyuan’s death, because Marquis Zhou’s Heir was also present that day. But actually…”

He looked at Bai Ying, his dark eyes shining brightly.

“They’re not going to talk about that.”

Bai Ying blurted out: “What is it?”

But the young man just smiled: “I don’t know.”

Bai Ying looked at his bright face, picked up the memorial and placed it on the table, letting out a soft sigh.

“My sister, she’s not an ordinary person. She’s…” she looked at Li Yu, “a natural ghost.”

When the Emperor came out, he saw that Bai Ying had already arranged the desk neatly and was personally wiping the tabletop, only occasionally covering her eyes.

The Emperor asked in confusion: “What are you doing?”

Bai Ying said: “Look not at what is improper. I’m afraid of profaning the memorials, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor was amused and pulled her over: “There’s no one else here, don’t be so cautious.”

Bai Ying smiled and fell into his arms, but the next moment she moved behind the Emperor and pushed him with her hands: “Your Majesty must be tired from carrying the child. Consort Lin comes from a family of physicians and is very knowledgeable about massage and bone-setting. I’ve already summoned her, she’s waiting in the side hall.”

Consort Lin. The image of a charming woman flashed through the Emperor’s mind.

“Ah Ying, you’re truly thoughtful,” he said with a smile, then thought of something and asked, “No one came here before, right? I seemed to hear voices.”

“No,” Bai Ying said.

Wang Degui smiled obsequiously from the side: “It was this servant talking with the guards, asking them to help carry some tables and chairs.”

None of the eunuchs and palace maids standing in the hall made a sound.

The Emperor, hearing this, didn’t ask any further.

“Your Majesty, please go quickly,” Bai Ying said, with a hint of shame. “It’s because of our son that Your Majesty is always troubled.”

The Emperor said with a smile: “He is also my son.” With that, he followed the eunuchs and palace maids to the side hall.

The hall quieted down, and the smile on Bai Ying’s face faded.

“Your Ladyship,” Wang Degui said cautiously, “that Prince of Chu hinted that the Inspector General has ulterior motives towards you, but he didn’t say anything concrete, and we don’t know what the Inspector General went to see Zhou Jingyun for.”

Then he said he could inquire for Her Ladyship.

And then Her Ladyship actually told the Prince of Chu about her sister.

“You, you believe the Prince of Chu?”

✿✿✿

“I don’t believe him,” Bai Ying said with a smile. “I don’t believe him, but I can still use him. He offered himself to be used, why should I refuse?”

Besides, he was asking about Bai Li, which was inconsequential. The Prince of Chu could use it however he wanted. It was better for more people to know about her sister, the jinx, who had cursed her mother to death and then her entire clan.

As she spoke, her expression darkened slightly.

“When the Inspector General returns, have him come see me.”

Although she didn’t believe the Prince of Chu, he had indeed reminded her that she should be more wary of Zhang Ze.

“Your Highness.”

Seeing Li Yu emerge from the Imperial City, Cai Songnian hurried forward and asked:

“Did His Majesty see you?”

After meeting with Princess Jinyu, His Highness had said he wanted to go to the Imperial City to see His Majesty.

“After all, the night Li Chengyuan had his accident, I came to the Imperial Street and told the Imperial Guards that I wanted to see His Majesty. I can’t just drop it, lest it arouse suspicion.”

His Highness was meticulous and thoughtful, Cai Songnian immediately followed.

Hearing Cai Songnian’s question, Li Yu shook his head: “No, Consort Bai stopped me.”

Cai Songnian frowned, but wasn’t surprised. Consort Bai was shrewd, using her son to control the Emperor. Court officials now had to go to her Hanliang Palace to see the Emperor. It was said that some officials were even bribing Consort Bai to get more opportunities to meet with His Majesty.

For Consort Bai, Li Yu, the former Grandson of the Emperor, was a major taboo. She was very guarded against him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Cai Songnian quickly reassured him. “It’s good that Your Highness came, it wasn’t a wasted trip.”

Li Yu hummed in response, saying nothing, his face calm as he boarded the carriage.

Of course it wasn’t a wasted trip. He hadn’t come to see the Emperor, but to see Consort Bai.

He couldn’t clearly understand what Bai Li was like, but Bai Li’s sister must know.

Sure enough, through Bai Ying’s account, the Bai Li he knew became clear again.

Bai Ying said that Bai Li was a jinx, a natural evil spirit. Whoever encountered her would suffer misfortune, would go mad.

The girl’s face appeared before his eyes. Very early on, he had thought she was a ghost, and she could only see him occasionally.

She had said: “I used to think I was very unlucky, extremely unlucky, but fortune and misfortune are intertwined in this world. I met you, Young Master.”

Bai Ying said that she had escaped punishment with evil sorcery. Her entire family was dead, only she had escaped.

That girl had said: “You saved me first, that’s why I could save you.”

She had called him her benefactor.

Bai Ying said that Bai Li even disliked her family, didn’t want to stay in the harsh border region, and sold herself into servitude to a scholar who taught literacy, Zhuang Feizi. As a result, misfortune struck, and that Zhuang Feizi also died. She was truly a bringer of harm.

He remembered her asking him to help keep an eye on a Madam Zhuang.

When he asked if she had encountered anything dangerous, she had shed tears in front of him, her face full of bitterness, but she hadn’t said anything, hadn’t said what hardships she had suffered. But when she asked him for help, she had repeatedly reminded him, “You must be careful.”

With the swaying of the carriage, Li Yu couldn’t help but close his eyes, his hands clenched tightly on his knees.

Bai Li, she had really existed, by his side.

She had saved his life.

There really was a Bai Li in the world.

Ever since they met, he had been helping her, because she was always getting into all sorts of danger, although she never described in detail what those dangers were.

“You can help me by sleeping.”

Until the Lantern Festival palace banquet, she hadn’t let him sleep, had made him stay awake, had made him hold a lotus root.

“Because of you, the lotus root was able to save my life.”

That time, two moons had appeared. Everything had changed from then on.

So, that time, he hadn’t been able to help her, she had still encountered danger, her body had been taken over by that ghost.

“Your Highness, Zhang Ze has entered the Marquis of Dongyang’s Residence. I’m afraid it won’t be easy to investigate. Zhou Jingyun’s security is very tight…”

Cai Songnian’s voice came through.

Li Yu kept his eyes closed: “No need to investigate.”

When one stopped dreaming, things became much clearer.

Yes, what did Zhang Ze do? He pursued remnants of Empress Jiang’s faction, and even issued a wanted notice for Bai Li. But later, he became very close to Zhou Jingyun, even went to the pleasure boat, but posed no threat to Bai Li, didn’t ask or investigate.

And Zhou Jingyun, although everyone said he was driven out of the court by Empress Jiang, he hadn’t been beheaded by Empress Jiang, and for so many years he had been upholding the laws enacted by Empress Jiang. Not to mention, Yuqing Hall had also found out that he had once shielded two members of Empress Jiang’s faction.

And then there was that Master Zhuang.

Li Yu opened his eyes.

“Have Shopkeeper Huang go to Dengzhou again,” he said.

Cai Songnian was stunned. Shopkeeper Huang was an operative disguised as a merchant. Dengzhou? Why suddenly go to Dengzhou? What was there to investigate in Dengzhou?

Li Yu looked at the swaying carriage curtain.

“Investigate the people who have had dealings with Madam Zhuang,” he said slowly, “especially those who appeared around Madam Zhuang when she returned to Dengzhou and when she left Dengzhou.”

Cai Songnian didn’t ask any more questions and responded with a “Yes.”

Li Yu slowly closed his eyes again, his hand clenched tightly over his heart.

Ah Li, wait for me. I will definitely find you.