Chapter 23

The ministers below all craned their necks to look, but after watching for a long while, they couldn’t make out what was written on the scrolls. They could only wait quietly for Huo Qi to explain it himself.

Noble Consort Yan had been kept in the dark by him for a long time. Huo Qi had repeatedly insisted that the Empress Dowager would be delighted and moved, so she hadn’t pried. But seeing it now, she didn’t know what medicine he was selling in his gourd.

Tang Zhuozhuo lowered her eyelids. The icy temperature of Huo Qiu’s palm still lingered in her own. She no longer had the heart to watch Huo Qi’s joke, yet his voice kept drilling into her ears regardless.

“Reporting to Imperial Father: your son knows that Imperial Grandmother is devoted to the Buddha. I heard Master Cangyan mention that a book carved in blood shows the greatest sincerity. Your son is dull-witted, so I specially offer this single volume of sutras to celebrate Imperial Grandmother’s birthday.”

His words landed with a thud. A flash of gloom crossed Emperor Qiongyuan’s eyes. He let out a low laugh and asked Noble Consort Yan with ambiguous intent: “Old Sixth’s idea is quite good. Did you suggest this move to him?”

Noble Consort Yan smiled modestly and respectfully. “How would this concubine know his thoughts? Old Sixth is accustomed to acting on his own.”

Emperor Qiongyuan nodded, his expression unreadable.

Tang Zhuozhuo didn’t have the heart to watch the reactions of the crowd. Instead, she saw Huo Qiu reach out to refill his own wine several times, drinking by himself. His face remained calm and ripple-less, showing no emotion whatsoever.

She gritted her teeth in hatred, thinking that with a personality like his, it served him right to be in pain.

Her heart still felt a bit stifled. Just as her hand reached down to touch him, her wrist was suddenly caught in a firm grip by Huo Qiu. Holding a wine cup in one hand, he looked over with a frown, his eyes filled with the sound of falling, chilly snow.

“Where are your manners?”

Tang Zhuozhuo was nearly piqued to laughter by him. Noticing that the black-purple color on his hand had faded, she squeezed out a smile and stopped looking at him altogether.

Huo Qiu’s face twitched slightly. Without changing his expression, he hid that hand inside his sleeve and followed her gaze toward Huo Qi standing in the center of the hall.

Truly an eyesore.

The ministers and marquises below whispered among themselves. Tang Zhuozhuo listened closely; they were mostly saying the Sixth Prince’s idea was unique and his filial piety moving. She instantly lost interest.

Those civil officials spoke nonsense without discerning the scent, but those military generals who were accustomed to slaughter on the battlefield all kept their faces stiff and remained silent.

Those with slightly fiercer temperaments even wore a look of deep disdain on their faces.

They had killed many enemies on the battlefield and crawled out of piles of corpses, how could they fail to distinguish the difference between human blood and animal blood?

Just how black was this Sixth Prince’s heart? To present such a thing, was he not afraid of shortening the Empress Dowager’s life?

The Empress Dowager looked at the bamboo slips presented to her. Her expression was complex. After a long time, she spoke: “I have acknowledged Old Sixth’s intentions. He is a good child.”

Hearing this, both Huo Qi and Noble Consort Yan looked joyful.

“Go to my palace later to collect some nourishing items to supplement your body.”

To carve a whole volume of sutras like this, how much blood would it take? Those who didn’t know the truth clicked their tongues inwardly.

Tang Zhuozhuo looked at Huo Qiu. Since Huo Qi had been hoisted so high, was it time for him to fall?

Sure enough, a man on the military generals’ side had drunk too much. With a face full of intoxication, he stood up unsteadily, drawing everyone’s gaze.

A flash of a smile crossed Tang Zhuozhuo’s watery almond eyes. She knew the good show was about to begin.

At the Empress Dowager’s banquet, no matter how bold those generals were, they wouldn’t dare indulge in reckless drinking. Moreover, though they looked less clever than the civil officials, they were actually bold yet meticulous, with many thoughts of their own.

To be “drunk” like this, it was ten-to-one an act.

Indeed, the general first cupped his hands, then pointed at the smiling Huo Qi and blurted out: “The Sixth Prince is truly not decent!”

Lady Liu was startled out of her wits, but Huo Qi remained composed. He frowned and said, “General Chang must have had too much to drink?”

Tang Zhuozhuo suddenly realized, so it was someone from the Chang family!

They were a hidden support for Huo Qiu. On the surface, they were neutrals—loyal officials and famous generals for generations, but in reality, they had long joined Huo Qiu’s camp.

The general’s eyes were full of anger, and the hand pointing at the bamboo slips was somewhat unsteady. His tiger-like eyes were majestic, and his voice held the specific slurred tone of drunkenness, yet it was enough for everyone in the hall to hear clearly.

“The Sixth Prince shouldn’t fool us rough men. The scent of human blood and animal blood can be told apart with one sniff. If You were unwilling to shed that much blood, You should have changed the gift. This animal blood smells foul; are You not afraid of fouling the eyes of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager?”

Relying on his drunkenness, General Chang spoke with a mix of truth and fabrication, yet he successfully caused the faces of the three people sitting at the top to darken.

The Empress Dowager and Emperor Qiongyuan were angry; Noble Consort Yan was anxious.

Emperor Qiongyuan swept his gaze over the bamboo slips piled on the table and frowned deeply. “Old Sixth, is what Chang Xuan said true?”

His voice clearly carried a heavy note of displeasure.

Huo Qi hurriedly forced a smile. He bowed and said, “Reporting to Imperial Father: General Chang is likely drunk and confused. Your son would never dare to deceive Imperial Father and Imperial Grandmother in this way.”

To carve these few volumes of bamboo slips, he had indeed made a few cuts on his hand and symbolically squeezed out some blood, then supplemented it with other animal blood and mild medicinal ingredients. He had combined these perfectly; it was impossible to be sniffed out like this.

Even if the Imperial Physicians came to examine it, they wouldn’t be able to find anything definitive.

Thinking of this, Huo Qi straightened his back a bit more, his expression becoming increasingly gentle.

Emperor Qiongyuan glanced at the military generals’ side, and his gaze landed on Tang Xuanwu, who was smiling without speaking. After a moment of deliberation, he asked, “Why is Minister Tang laughing?”

Tang Zhuozhuo looked at her father and saw him drain a cup of strong liquor without his face turning red or his heart racing. He straightened his sleeves and rose calmly, his slightly rough voice exploding like muffled thunder.

“Empress Dowager, Your Majesty.” He cupped his hands and continued: “Animal blood has a heavy stench; the smell is somewhat foul, and the longer it sits, the stronger it gets. Human blood is different; once the bloodstains dry after a long time, if you lean in, there is a sweet fragrance to the blood.”

Tang Zhuozhuo silently turned her head. She had never heard that blood had a “sweet fragrance.”

With a look from Emperor Qiongyuan, the head eunuch behind him leaned in to sniff. He then replied with a grave expression: “Your Majesty, the foul stench is indeed strong.”

Huo Qi felt the questioning gazes from all directions. He hiked up his robes and knelt down: “Imperial Father, your son absolutely did not! If You do not believe me, You can summon the Imperial Physicians to examine it.”

He had calculated everything, how did he fail to calculate the noses of these military generals?

Huo Qi’s face turned somewhat red. He nearly didn’t dare to look at Noble Consort Yan’s reproachful gaze.

Tang Zhuozhuo was worried about the Gu insect in Huo Qiu and thought about asking him properly once they returned to the Eastern Palace. She didn’t pay much attention to Huo Qi’s matter, only hearing the man beside her, who was as unmoving as a mountain, let out a cold snort when Huo Qi asked for the physicians.

What followed was like a play. The Imperial Physicians quickly identified the animal blood. Huo Qi, his face ashen, kept crying out that he was wronged. Tang Zhuozhuo had no heart to watch further until finally, an enraged Emperor Qiongyuan ordered Huo Qi to be confined to his estate to reflect on his mistakes. The palace banquet slowly drew to a close.

With such a scandal occurring at a long-prepared birthday banquet, Emperor Qiongyuan’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot when he left.

With Huo Qi confined, the several tasks he had on hand all fell into Huo Qiu’s grasp. Tang Zhuozhuo blinked and finally heard Huo Qiu let out a satisfied “tsk.”

Sure enough, everything was proceeding according to his calculations.

Tang Xuanwu walked somewhat slowly. When Tang Zhuozhuo and Huo Qiu left the Great Hall, they saw that solitary figure.

Tang Zhuozhuo’s nose felt prickly. Before she could speak, she heard Huo Qiu turn his gaze away and say: “The time of one incense stick. Keep it short.”

Tang Zhuozhuo finally broke into a smile. Seeing Tang Xuanwu secretly enter an exceptionally dark little pavilion, she also carefully crouched and slipped inside.

“Father.”

The night wind carried a bit of a chill. Tang Xuanwu’s black sleeves fluttered loudly as he turned and made room in a corner of the pavilion.

“Mother?” Tang Zhuozhuo’s eyes went wide with surprise and joy. When Lady Liang saw her, tears fell in streams as if they couldn’t be wiped away. She didn’t dare make a sound for fear of attracting someone’s attention.

“Zhuozhuo has suffered!” Lady Liang took Tang Zhuozhuo into her arms, her voice choked with emotion. She stroked Tang Zhuozhuo’s delicate face and asked repeatedly: “Are you adjusting to everything in the palace? Is His Highness good to you?”

Tang Zhuozhuo only had time to nod before being interrupted by Tang Xuanwu, who said in a rough voice: “Why are you crying? Since His Highness gave his promise before us, how could it be voided?”

Tang Zhuozhuo’s eyelashes fluttered. Just as she wanted to ask what promise Huo Qiu had given, she heard Tang Xuanwu say with a frown: “Was the content of the letter you sent home last time true?”

Just then, a chilly wind blew past, seeming to seep straight into the bones. Tang Zhuozhuo shivered slightly, then nodded firmly: “Father, the Wang family cannot be trusted. You needn’t give them much care in the future.”

That group of greedy leeches is never satisfied. They suck your blood and then think of how to step on you to rise. Whoever helps them is unlucky.

Tang Xuanwu’s thick brows furrowed into a bunch. He cast a hidden glance outside the pavilion and then said: “Previously, I felt guilty toward the Wang family. I even put in effort for that boy Wang Yi to turn around and ask to marry the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Ningyuan. I didn’t expect him to be a dog that knows how to use people.”

Tang Zhuozhuo lowered her eyes and nodded silently. After a while, she asked, “Are my brothers all well?”

Lady Liang held her youngest daughter’s hand and refused to let go. While shedding tears, she said: “The few of them are all well, they just miss you often. This palace is not like home; Nan-nan must restrain your temper, be good with His Highness, and guard against the concubines and maids below.”

These words, which had annoyed Tang Zhuozhuo in her past life to the point of wanting to flee immediately, now brought tears to her eyes. She squeezed Lady Liang’s hand and said lowly: “I understand. Father and Mother must also be well.”

Tang Xuanwu’s beard twitched. Looking at the color of the sky outside, he said: “Alright, your mother and I should leave the palace.”

If they left the palace too late and were seen, it would ultimately have a bad influence.

“Zhuo’er.” Tang Xuanwu took a few steps and then turned back. The cold moonlight spilled down like layers of gauze curtains. Tang Zhuozhuo looked up and felt as if the distance between her and her parents was separated by a galaxy.

“Treat whoever treats you with a sincere heart with a sincere heart in return. Do you understand?”

Tang Zhuozhuo smiled slowly, her fingers like green onions resting on the pavilion railing, glowing faintly in the moonlight.