The old emperor’s death was too sudden, catching all parties off guard.
In addition, the head of the Xichang, who took direct orders from the emperor, was not in the capital. Even if some people privately felt that there was something strange about the emperor’s death, but no one dared to investigate.
However, Li Yu, the leader of the Jinyiwei, has been guarding the emperor every day these days. The Jinyiwei’s biggest responsibility is to protect the emperor, so if there is something wrong, the Jinyiwei should have taken action. However, none of the Jinyiwei moved, which has caused speculation from the outside world. Could it be that the emperor really died of natural causes?
When the imperial power changes, the capital appears calm on the surface, but undercurrents surge inside.
Ji Yujin, who was far away at the border, had not received the urgent letter yet. After all, the journey was too far.
After Zhao Yiyu succeeded to the throne, he used extremely tough means, taking the initiative and nipping several major forces in the bud, openly or covertly. He was much tougher than the old Emperor, who would rather divide power to balance the power in the court than confront those major forces openly.
However, during those last few days, perhaps he had a premonition that his time was up, and he swiftly removed several powerful officials with deep-rooted positions. The only one he didn’t touch was Ji Yujin, which made it a lot easier for Zhao Yiyu to take the throne.
On the other hand, the Jinyiwei have always only listened to the emperor, and the emperor’s will clearly stated that the throne would be passed to Zhao Yiyu, so Li Yu and his men’s master changed. Now their only master is Zhao Yiyu, and their only task is to obey the Emperor.
He succeeded to the throne in front of the coffin, and one day was equivalent to one month. After Zhao Yiyu observed mourning for 27 days, the official coronation ceremony was held.
After the ceremony, the reign title was changed to Hongwen.
It was already April, the most beautiful time of the year. The weather was gradually getting warmer, and Chu Fengqing had already changed into spring clothes. There was only one month left until Ji Yujin’s March deadline.
But something happened to Ji Yujin. The letters that used to arrive every few days had not arrived for more than a month. Since then, all the communications between the two of them have disappeared. He wanted to go find Ji Yujin, but… he couldn’t.
The time for him to change his medical prescription is approaching. In the past few days alone, he has had several attacks of asthma. He would gasp for a while if he made the slightest movement. Before, only peanuts would trigger his asthma, but now there are many other things; sometimes even the dust in the yard can cause him to gasp.
One day, his mother specially made a bowl of chicken soup for him and put a few lotus seeds in it. After drinking just a few sips, his asthma came back. Looking at the sadness in his mother’s eyes, Chu Fengqing felt a little helpless and sad at that moment.
He could no longer hide it from his family, and he only found out later. In fact, his parents had always known about it, but Chu Fengqing didn’t want to say it out loud, so they pretended to be ignorant.
His father’s illness has almost recovered. After this incident, his temperament has changed a lot. He is no longer as particular as before and seems to no longer care about the affairs of the court. Before, the most common thing he did every day was to plant some flowers and plants in the yard, but now he often finds Chu Fengqing to chat.
The two old people plus the lively sister kept guarding Chu Fengqing’s side all the time, fearing that they would see him dead if they were not careful. Chu Fengqing explained several times, but to no avail. He stopped talking because he knew they were also afraid and thought that being able to stay together for a while longer would be a benefit.
The world outside had changed, but the fire had not yet reached them. They lived in the yard, feeling somewhat like a recluse.
That day, Chu Fengqing dragged a chair into the pavilion to listen to the wind. The sun was shining brightly outside. He sat in the pavilion with the breeze blowing on his face. Time just slowed down.
He felt extremely comfortable, with veins bulging on the back of his hand that was holding the teacup. He put the cup down and looked at it carefully. Sometimes he even felt a little scared when he looked at himself.
He kept watching like this and didn’t even realize when he fell asleep. When he woke up again, there was a person in front of him.
Chu Fengqing: “Li Yu?”
Li Yu was different from before. His face no longer had the ease it had before. His baby face had become thinner, and his eyes looked a lot bigger. However, there was also something more in his eyes. Chu Fengqing didn’t know what he had experienced during this period of time, but with the new emperor ascending the throne, there should be a lot of things that needed to be dealt with.
Li Yu said “En” softly and asked, “Brother Chu, are you sick?”
People always say that there are several things that cannot be hidden from others, and illness is not one of them. However, Chu Fengqing feels that illness must be included in the list.
Facing Li Yu’s question, Chu Fengqing did not answer directly but asked, “Is it obvious?”
Li Yu smiled uglier than crying: “You only lost some weight.”
Not only is he a little thinner, he now really looks like he could be torn apart by a gust of wind.
The two were silent for a while. Li Yu hesitated for a long time before asking, “Will you die?”
A hint of emotion flashed across Chu Fengqing’s eyes: “Maybe, I can’t say for sure.”
Then there was another suffocating silence. Li Yu suddenly stood up. Chu Fengqing looked at him and saw that his eyes were red.
He was stunned, not knowing what to do.
Perhaps Li Yu realized that his reaction was a bit too much. He turned around rubbed his face with his hands, and smiled. He opened his mouth, but it was in vain because he had no idea what to say.
Chu Fengqing couldn’t stand this atmosphere, so he changed the subject and asked the question that had been on his mind for the past few days, “Li Yu, do you have any news about Ji Yujin?”
Li Yu’s hand on the embroidered spring sword tightened slightly. “No.”
He paused as he spoke, as if he were struggling over whether he should say it or not. However, when he met Chu Fengqing’s clear eyes, he still said, “The new emperor abolished the Xichang.”
Chu Fengqing’s eyes and heart skipped a beat. Abolishing the Xichang meant that Ji Yujin would no longer have such powerful status. However, this was not the worst.
“Some people also reported that he colluded with forces outside the state, killed innocent people indiscriminately, and set up punishments privately… In short, he was accused of many crimes, all of which are punishable by beheading or the extermination of all nine generations of his clan. Now he is wanted nationwide.”
Li Yu’s face looked a little grim. “As for where he is now, no one knows. Zhao Li has already left the capital to look for him. Most of the former servants of the Xichang have been transferred to Dongchang. Those who have some power have all been imprisoned.”
He gritted his teeth and lowered his head like a child who had made a mistake. “I’m sorry, I can only protect one Jinyiwei.”
Chu Fengqing didn’t know how to comfort him. His mind was in a mess. “I am an outsider. I have no right to judge this matter, nor do I have the right to make comments. I just want to say that as long as you do what you think you should do, it’s fine.”
“You are not the one who caused this situation. You are not wrong.”
The wind in the rain pavilion blew slowly. Li Yu said “en” and let go of the embroidered spring sword in his hand. “Thank you, Brother Chu.”
He smiled and said, “Don’t worry too much. Ji Yujin is not good at anything else, but he is very lucky. Although sometimes I don’t want to admit it, but he is really amazing. He has made it through any difficult situation. This is nothing to him.”
“Rather than worrying about him, I’m more worried about you. Your sister is still using the title of Ji Yujin’s wife. I’m afraid the higher-ups will be angry. The best way now is to cut off all ties with him.”
Their current chaotic relationship will have to end sooner or later. The one who is truly in love with Ji Yujin is Chu Fengqing, and they can’t let Chu Yinyin and Ji Yujin always have this relationship.
Li Yu: “Write a memorial, and I’ll submit it for you, saving you the trouble of making another trip.”
Chu Fengqing lowered his eyes. His eyelashes were very long but not curled. They were thick and black, so when he lowered his eyes, it was as if he had closed them.
“Alright.”
Li Yu worked quickly. On the third day after the memorial was submitted, the news of Chu Yinyin and Ji Yujin’s separation spread to every corner of the city and became known to everyone.
This absurd marriage between a young lady from an aristocratic family and an eunuch from the Xichang has come to an end.
A few days later, the news reached the border.
Ji Yujin coughed a few times after hearing the news. His lips were pale, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry, but his eyes were very deep. He glanced at the collection of stories on the bedside table, and his eyes suddenly turned darker.
In addition to Zhao Li, there was another handsome man in the room. He frowned at the man lying on the bed. Was he the one who married his third sister? An eunuch?
This is simply… too much!
If it wasn’t for him saving his life, he would have died now. Forget it, he turned his gaze in another direction. He will settle the two accounts after his injury heals. He would pay him for saving her life, but he still had to pay for his third sister.
……
If life continues like this, it would be peaceful.
But there are always people who don’t want them to live in peace.
On this day, the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict came to the Chu family, and the new emperor summoned Chu Fengqing.
T/N: This couple is ridiculous for some reason xD if it’s not Dog Ji who’s bedridden then it is CFQ lol
