Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Falling into the Water Again, Holding Back Tears of Grievance
Zhaoyang Hall was ablaze with candlelight, its golden walls glittering.
This was the Emperor’s personal residence.
Emperor Wu Su was in high spirits today and had had a few extra cups of wine. Feeling flushed from the alcohol, he had already gone to his chambers to change into a set of informal robes.
He wore a long, narrow-sleeved robe of bamboo green, with dragons embroidered in matching silk thread on the collar and cuffs. The garment further accentuated his tall, slender figure.
In the inner hall, layers of dark teal draperies partitioned off the main chamber, keeping the palace attendants outside.
Emperor Wu Su idly flipped through an original ancient manuscript, his expression radiating an aristocratic air.
Li Yuzong approached with a deep bow, taking small steps. From behind the draperies, he whispered, "Your Majesty, Princess Qingyun and Miss Ji have fallen into the water."
His long fingers froze. The priceless manuscript was carelessly tossed to the floor.
The dark teal draperies billowed. Before they could even settle, Emperor Wu Su was already outside Zhaoyang Hall.
*
「By Taiye Lake.」
This wasn’t the first time Ji Qingwu had been in the water.
Faltering the first time, fluent the second. By the time she swam ashore, Princess Qingyun was still thrashing desperately in the water.
Several guards appeared from out of nowhere and swam over to rescue her, but the Princess shouted at them, forcing them to retreat.
’Ji Qingwu couldn’t understand it. What was the Princess being so arrogant about? She was clearly on the verge of drowning.’
She had no intention of getting involved, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch someone die right in front of her.
With a sigh, she dove back into the water, swiftly pulling Princess Qingyun out.
Just as she got the Princess onto the bank, she saw someone standing on the steps, which had been empty just a moment ago.
He stood tall and elegant in a bamboo-green robe, his eyes lowered, watching her.
Ji Qingwu, still half-submerged in the water, trembled the moment their eyes met.
’How did the Emperor suddenly appear on the shore?!’
"Imperial Brother, you’re here! Imperial Brother, I almost died! You have to stand up for me..."
Princess Qingyun sat on the ground, soaking wet, crying pitifully.
But she realized Emperor Wu Su wasn’t even looking at her.
Feeling the weight of his gaze from above, Ji Qingwu tried to climb ashore as gracefully as possible.
But she had just been for two swims, the second while dragging another woman with her. Even if her strength wasn’t completely gone, she had little left.
Her foot slipped, and she started to fall back in.
The next moment, a hand seized her by the arm and lifted her up as effortlessly as if she were a ball of cotton.
’But even if I were made of cotton, I’d be waterlogged cotton. This man’s arm strength is terrifying.’
Ji Qingwu felt her feet swing in a half-circle through the air before she was set down.
Not as swift as the Emperor, Li Yuzong arrived moments later, panting. He held out a robe.
"Your Majesty, your outer robe."
Under Princess Qingyun’s pitiful, aggrieved gaze, Emperor Wu Su unfurled a moon-white robe and draped it over Ji Qingwu, enveloping her completely.
Ji Qingwu looked at his cold expression, her heart pounding with apprehension, but her body was much warmer.
’This robe is thick, but he’s wrapped it so tightly it’s kind of choking me.’
Ji Qingwu was about to say something, but a fierce glare from Emperor Wu Su scared the words right back down her throat.
She shrank back, her brow furrowed. ’He’s not going to blame me for Princess Qingyun falling in the water, is he?’
With such a commotion, people from Cining Palace soon arrived.
Shixi hurried onto the scene and said respectfully, "Greetings, Your Majesty. The Empress Dowager heard that the Princess fell into the water and is on her way. She sent this servant ahead to ascertain the situation."
Princess Qingyun cried out, "It was all Ji Qingwu’s fault! She’s why I fell in! Arrest her and take her to the Empress Dowager for punishment!"
’That wasn’t how it happened at all.’
Ji Qingwu’s lip curled into a sneer, though she wasn’t sure if she was mocking the Princess’s clever scheme or her own foolish kindness.
Emperor Wu Su understood her feelings perfectly.
"Shixi, take the Princess back to Cining Palace and have an Imperial Physician examine her. Tell the Empress Dowager we will discuss this matter tomorrow."
Princess Qingyun said resentfully, "Imperial Brother, but Ji—"
A single, weightless glance from Emperor Wu Su was enough to silence her. Qingyun’s lips trembled, but she dared not object further.
It was already late. Interrogating the matter overnight would only cause unrest throughout the Imperial Palace. Shixi understood this. She and several other maids helped Princess Qingyun leave.
Emperor Wu Su stood on the bank, looking down at Ji Qingwu, who was huddled into a small ball with only her face showing.
"Explain yourself."
"After the banquet, the Princess asked me to meet her by the lake to warn me..."
But seeing the Emperor’s thunderous expression, the words caught in her throat.
Emperor Wu Su took a step closer, and she was terrified he might throw her back into the lake.
She immediately rushed to explain, "The Princess warned me to stay away from Mr. Li, because she has chosen Li Chengxun to be her Prince Consort."
Emperor Wu Su didn’t seem surprised at all. He gazed at her damp hair and bright, dark eyes. "And how did you respond?"
Ji Qingwu said with an air of righteousness, "Of course, I couldn’t agree to that."
’Competing for someone’s affection openly is one thing, but threatening a rival to back down is hardly a noble tactic.’
She was merely expressing her disdain for such tactics, but to a certain someone’s ears, it sounded like a declaration of her unwavering devotion to Li Chengxun.
Emperor Wu Su’s eyes darkened. His gaze fell upon the lips that so often spoke words he did not wish to hear. He asked nonchalantly.
"And then?"
"Then she pushed me into the water, so I pulled her in with me."
He saw how casually she said it, as if drowning were nothing to be concerned about.
The air around Emperor Wu Su suddenly grew frigid.
Ji Qingwu clutched the robe tighter, sensing the shift in his mood.
’She suddenly realized she’d been too honest. Princess Qingyun was the Emperor’s sister, a precious and delicate royal. How could she possibly compare?’
’They were worlds apart—the difference between the clouds and the mud.’
’So what if the Princess pushed her? She shouldn’t have dragged the Princess in too. Just because a princess could do something didn’t mean she could.’
Ji Qingwu pressed her lips together, swallowing the grievance in her heart. "I was in the wrong," she said weakly.
"And where were you wrong?" Emperor Wu Su asked.
She frowned. "I was wrong to disregard the Princess’s safety. It was just an argument, and I’m a good swimmer. It wouldn’t have been a problem even if I fell in. But the Princess has a priceless life. If anything had happened to her, ten of my lives wouldn’t have been enough to atone for it."
Emperor Wu Su turned to look at the now-calm surface of the lake, but a storm was brewing in his eyes.
"It’s true that nothing would have happened to you if you fell in."
It was one thing for her to say it, but to hear the Emperor say it himself was another matter entirely.
For some reason, a bitter pang shot from Ji Qingwu’s heart to her eyes, which filled with a film of tears.
She forced the words out. "Yes. I am a good swimmer. Even if I were pushed in, I could swim ashore on my own."
Emperor Wu Su remained unmoved. "Did you know," he said coolly, "that the guards on the bank were prepared for you? Of course I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you."
’What does he mean, "prepared for me"?’
Ji Qingwu’s mind raced, and she looked up, horrified.
’Princess Qingyun was on the verge of drowning, yet she forbade the guards from rescuing her.’
’A woman’s robes are thin. Once wet, they cling to the body. To be rescued by a guard would be tantamount to being intimately touched. If others were to see...’
’...her reputation would be ruined, and she would have no choice but to marry that guard.’
’The guards were prepared for *her*. If the plan had succeeded, she and Li Chengxun would have been forced to part ways for good.’
Emperor Wu Su watched as the realization dawned on her. The color drained from her lovely face, her clear eyes wide with horror. Her rosy lips parted slightly as her hand clenched the moon-white robe.
The moon shone brightly in the sky, but the ground below was riddled with shadows.
’He had known for a long time that she was out of place in the Imperial Palace.’
’So easily ensnared in others’ schemes.’
’And at the banquet, she’d practically handed them the ammunition to use against her.’
