This chapter has been brought to you by me, vivie and leecherleechleech.
This chapter is an interesting one.
Chapter One Hundred and Three Who Misunderstood Whom
“The crimes that Shu gui taifei have committed cannot be forgiven. Rui Wang, you are asking for mercy for Shu gui taifei, but have you thought of the innocent Han liangdi and the framed Empress?” Muhou Empress Dowager saw that He Yuan’s forehead was bleeding from kowtowing before demanding coldly, “Should we not punish her because she is gui taifei?”
He Yuan stopped kowtowing. He turned to look at the mufei that was being held by the mamas and with a humble attitude, declared: “Mufei is er chen’s elder. If she has committed a crime, it should be assumed by erchen.”
“Injustice has a beginning, a debt has an owner. If the offenses of the elders are assumed by the younger generation, are there still any laws?” He Heng put down the teacup, frowning, “If all the people in Da Long Dynasty are like you, how can zhen rule the world?”
“Feng shi plotted to kill fei and framed the Empress. She has malicious conduct and is bestowed five feet of white silk,” He Heng indifferently declared, “The Feng clan, due to not properly teaching their daughters, are removed of their title and for three generations, cannot enter the court as an official.”
“Emperor, please give a favor, Emperor,” Feng Zi Jin didn’t think that the Emperor wouldn’t care about past feelings, and even her paternal family would be affected. She wanted to kneel in front of He Heng but was dragged back by two palace maids who pressed her into the ground.
“Emperor!” Feng Zi Jin was so panicked she started to sob. She wanted to beg for mercy but her mouth was stuffed so she couldn’t talk.
He Heng looked coldly at her, no emotion in his eyes as though she was just a stranger.
“Drag her down, don’t leave her here to disturb others,” Qian Chang Xin saw the Emperor’s expression and motioned to the person beside him. Very quickly, others dragged Feng Zi Jin away.
Sitting at the side, Luo Yin Xiu watched Feng Zi Jin dragged down like an animal and couldn’t help but shudder. Her eyes when they looked at Qu Qing Ju became even more worshipping.
Qu Qing Ju pinched a piece of pastry in her hands. Even in this noisy situation, she still had the interest to eat pastries. Detecting that Luo Yin Xiu was looking at her, she smiled at the other. Seeing the other lower her head in awe, she smiled carelessly and watched the farce in front of her with indifference.
He Yuan raised his head to look at the three people that controlled his mufei’s life. He felt powerless. There hadn’t been another time when he had felt this hopeless. Kneeling helplessly on the ground, he dazedly stared at the clean floor.
“Emperor, Shu gui taifei might have been accomplices with the criminal Feng shi, but it really wasn’t her that sent someone to kill Han liangdi. Qie thinks that even though Shu gui taifei’s crimes cannot be forgiven, they aren’t worthy of death.” Qu Qing Ju wiped her mouth, her gaze sweeping across Shu gui taifei, “Why don’t muhou and Emperor spare Shu gui taifei’s life?”
“Oh? What is Empress thinking?” He Heng heard Qu Qing Ju speak and turned to look warmly at her.
“Qie heard in the time of xiandi, Shu gui taifei frequently served by his side. If that’s the case, why not let Shu gui taifei go guard the Imperial Tomb, to pray for xiandi every day and reflect,” Qu Qing Ju smiled as she looked at the two Empress Dowagers, “How about that?”
A woman as used to luxury as Shu gui taifei going to the Imperial Tomb, wasn’t that even more uncomfortable than death? Empress Dowager Wei looked at her erxi. Seeing her sincere attitude, it didn’t seem that she was purposefully making it difficult for Shu gui taifei. Empress Dowager Wei thought she was thinking too much. She turned to inquire of Muhou Empress Dowager, “What does jiejie think?”
It hadn’t been a year since xiandi had passed. If they took care of Shu gui taifei now, some people might gossip. Sparing Shu gui taifei’s life but sending her to stay at the harsh Imperial Tomb, it was the best choice. Muhou Empress Dowager looked in approval at Qu Qing Ju. It was perfectly normal that the Emperor was able to fall in love with her: “Aijia feels that it is very good. When xiandi had been alive, he had been very much in love with Shu gui taifei. We have all served xiandi, and aijia doesn’t bear to take your life. It’s good for you to go serve xiandi. At the very least, if xiandi knew in the underworld, he certainly would be comforted.”
He Yuan hadn’t though the person that managed to keep his mufei’s life in the end was Qu Qing Ju. He looked towards Qu Qing Ju, making a full formal bow; “Thanks Emperor, thanks muhou, thanks …… huang sao.”
Hearing the obvious pause in He Yuan’s words, Qu Qing Ju knew the other wasn’t willing to bow to her. But she didn’t care. Smiling slightly as she waved her hand: “San shu doesn’t have to be so courteous.”
However, He Heng looked at He Yuan with a complicated expression before standing and declaring: “Since the case has been solved, zhen will take Empress back to the palace. It’s been cold recently, both muhou should take care.”
Empress Dowager Wei and Muhou Empress Dowager both smiled and nodded. Empress Dowager Wei replied: “Aijia knows, you two should also be more careful.”
Qu Qing Ju and He Heng walked out of Fu Shou Palace. Seeing a yellow plum tree bloom beside the road, she took a breath, the cold wind and fragrance entering her nose: “This scent is so nice.”
“If you like it, then get someone to go to the plum gardens every day to pick fresh ones to put in the room,” He Heng held her warm hand, “I don’t dare to move this one.”
“Who said I wanted to pick the flowers here?” Qu Qing Ju peeked at him from the corner of her eyes, “I’m not Emperor. I’m not interested in any flowers.”
“Why do I find the words strange?” He Heng laughed lowly, disregarding Qian Chang Xin and Mu Jin holding the umbrellas for them from behind. Looking forward, he abruptly declared: “My hougong really is just only you, do you still not know?”
“Just like Yu Ming Emperor of the previous dynasty?” Qu Qing Ju asked him with a smile.
“Qing Ju, I will never become Yu Ming Emperor, and you won’t become Zhao He Empress.” He Heng looked with a solemn expression at Qu Qing Ju. Before she could react, he twisted his head, “I’m going back to the front hall.” Finishing, he quickly rushed off, even leaving the Imperial carriage to Qu Qing Ju.
Watching as He Heng rushed off, Qu Qing Ju’s lips curled but there was no mirth in her eyes. Behind her, Mu Jin detected that her mood wasn’t right and handed the umbrella to Jin Zhan, carefully supporting her, “Zhuzi, let’s go back to the palace.”
Qu Qing Ju saw Mu Jin’s caution and laughed silently: “It’s fine. The Imperial carriage of the Emperor, the Emperor isn’t here, I can’t ride it. You all can accompany me on the walk back.”
Mu Jin looked at the clean swept road head and looked at the shoes on the Empress’ feet. She hesitated before motioning for Yu Zan to come forward, the two of them right and left, protecting the Empress in the middle.
“Huangsao, please wait.”
Qu Qing Ju returned her head and saw He Yuan walked in front of her, bowing deeply, professing: “Thanks, huangsao for just now asking for mercy for chen di’s mu fei.”
“San shu doesn’t have to be this polite. Ben gong didn’t ask for leniency, but spoke the truth.” Qu Qing Ju slowly walked forward. Seeing He Yuan maintain a distance three strides away from her on the right behind her, she didn’t know what the other was doing. But she didn’t speak.
“No matter what, today’s favor, chen di will remember,” He Yuan placed his hands behind his back, his pale face turning ruddy from the cold wind. He looked at the side profile of Qu Qing Ju, “The fact that mufei is alive is due to the Emperor’s generosity.”
Qu Qing Ju stopped walking, turning her head to look at He Yuan’s expression. She found the other was sincere and hesitated before asking: “Ben gong doesn’t understand why Shu gui taifei would spend the effort to deal with ben gong, is it of benefit to her?”
“She was proud for a lifetime, and couldn’t tolerate failure,” He Yuan laughed at himself, “Mufei and I dreamed for so many years. Waking up, not everyone can bear it.”
Mother and son were pretty brazen and proud in their dreams.
Qu Qing Ju continued to walk. Occasionally, palace maids and taijian would be encountered and they would all move aside and kneel, “If a person doesn’t dream, then they wouldn’t have done anything. San shu, have you regretted what you once did?”
He Yuan looked deeply at her: “Maybe regretted once, but now, everything is settled and it isn’t important.”
The delusional person finally healed. Qu Qing Ju felt that he had jumped from his delusional stage of life into the elderly stage, his mentality had changed very rapidly. She remembered the last time she was near He Yuan. That was on Rui Wang Fu. At that time, his delusional state had been very serious.
“History is the best teacher,” Qu Qing Ju smiled, “It’s good that san shu can think clearly now.”
“Drinking, listening to songs, and being idle all day is good,” He Yuan thought about the days he lived now. He didn’t have to go to court, didn’t have to manage any other matters, didn’t have to pay attention to the cards others sent. Closing the doors of the wang fu, he could amuse himself in any way, “Carefree like an immortal.”
Qu Qing Ju didn’t know why He Yuan was saying such things to her, but he didn’t seem to be implying anything. She could only reply, “Those days are very admirable.”
“Huangsao must also like leisurely days,” He Yuan’s smiled, allowing the snow to fall on his head and shoulders.
Qu Qing Ju turned to see his state. She still remembered the first time she went to Rui Wang Fu, she had been in the sedan, He Yuan had been standing like this, black hair, fox skin cap, youthful.
When they neared Tian Qi Palace, He Yuan stopped. He bowed again to Qu Qing Ju: “Does Empress know the ending of Yu Ming Emperor and Zhao He Empress?”
Qu Qing Ju’s eyebrow raised slightly: “The historians of the previous dynasty recorded that the feelings between Yu Ming Emperor and Zhao He Empress was stronger than gold. After Zhao He Empress died due to illness, Yu Ming Emperor died not long after due to heartbreak. In the end, they were entombed in the same coffin. Not born at the same time but to die in the same coffin, isn’t that the final ending?”
“Huangsao might not know that Yu Ming Emperor in his later life had relations with a palace maid. When it was discovered by Zhao He Empress, Zhao He Empress had a heart attack and died. Yu Ming Emperor regretted it greatly, but the deceased cannot be revived and it was too late to repent. Even though the two were buried together after Yu Ming Emperor’s death, where was the meaning? In the end, the two didn’t leave behind a heir and the successor was Yu Ming Emperor’s didi’s son, what kind of fulfillment is that?” He Yuan raised his hand, concluding, “The reality of a story is often harsher than the books. So Yu Ming Emperor and Zhao He Empress weren’t perfect. Chen di asks to be excused.”
Qu Qing Ju looked at his back. She suddenly smiled a beat later. It seemed that He Yuan had heard what she and He Heng had talked about. But was he explaining on He Heng’s behalf or reminding her to not believe the Emperor’s monogamy?
Or maybe both? He might not be willing for her to be hurt over what He Heng had just said and didn’t want her to believe in the Emperor’s monogamy which would cause her hurt in the future?
But, why was He Yuan so good-hearted to remind her? Was it to repay her for saving Shu gui taifei’s life?
“Emperor?” Qian Chang Xin didn’t understand why the Emperor had rushed back to the front hall. He carefully brushed off the snowflakes on He Heng’s shoulders, tentatively asking, “Before going to Fu Shou Palace, you said you want to have a meal with the Empress. So should the servants prepare now?”
He Heng nodded unnaturally. He rubbed his slightly reddened ears, saying: “Right, go see if the Empress has returned. If she has, come back and tell zhen. Zhen hasn’t finished the weiqi match with her.”
“Yes,” Qian Chang Xin left in helplessness. Since he was thinking of the Empress, then why did he just leave, was he teasing the Empress? The thoughts of the Emperor, it was hard to guess.
In the room, He Heng played with the pouch at his waist. The embroidery wasn’t as good as the handiwork of the embroidery women, but it was his most favored possession.
Thinking about Qu Qing Ju, he couldn’t resist touching his still blushing ears. A man saying words of love seriously, it was slightly embarrassing.
Thank you so much!! 😘😘😘
Aww so cute. He’s blushing. I’m feeling more sympathy for HY. It’s not really his fault since his father spoils him and his mother. When the emperor was dying he remember many times about him but nothing about HH.
Thanks. HY really has matured.
Shu gui taifei and Feng Shi are bother delusional to the end. QQJ’S punishment is inspired. Shu gui taifei will really suffer.
HH is a lovesick fool. No wonder he was so upset being compared to Yu Ming Emperor.
Hehe! I actually doubted HH for a split second and thought he realized he was truly falling for QQJ and couldn’t accept it – I regret my doubts! He was actually confessing in a way, hehehehe.
He’s not good at communicating his true feelings. A bit awkward, but I like it better than all the other promises he made before this.
HH is acting so cute all of a sudden.
HY… I can’t seem to place if he’s repented or he’s having thoughts of QQJ. The way he hesitated made me think he didn’t want to call her sister-in-law.
Thank you as usual for the chapter!
Ohhh! I thought the same!
“bestowed five feet of white silk”?
is it death sentence?
I think it’s the cloth that they would hang themselves with to commit suicide.
What a waste of silk.
Yes, the silk is to hang herself with.
Death by suicide aka hanging with white cloth over a beam.
yes. like people that commit suicide hanging from the roof beam
aww., He Heng is blushing.so actually that was his confession
O dear, He Heng is such a shy dude lol
“My hougong really is just only you, do you still not know?” love declaration and then he flee wahahahhahaaa
Good thing He Yuan save the day by telling the truth about Yu Ming Emperor, he can’t bear to see Qing Ju hurt by some misunderstanding ’cause He Heng just too shy to explain why he doesn’t want to be like Yu Ming Emperor
Oh wow… Even as a guy, I felt He Heng was a bit too cute at the end. Dang…
Lol. 😄
I love how sweet He Yuan is and how matured he became, especially his interactions with Qu Qing Ju. If only he was like this from the beginning…-sigh-. It is kind of sad that Qu Qing Ju already knows that HH can break his promise to her, :(.
Thank you for your hard work! 🙂
I don’t know if He Yuan really matured or he was just trying to maintain a good impression in front of Qu Qing Ju.
I was a silent reader till now. My first reaction for this lovely translation. Thank you so much for your effort! Your updates are most constant / frequent, my kudos for this. My whole morning routine changed because of your daily updates, whahaha. I’ll miss this when this story ends.
I share the same thoughts. If HY really changed then he’ll be better for his wife/concubines/women. Till now I didn’t see the change of behaviour (yet?).
Thanks for commenting! You’ll see some changes in him over the last chapters but I don’t know if they are the changes you want :P.
Lol! It was a confession of his love in words?! That was so round about that I can even understand how it was misinterpret by QQJ
Ehhh… What happen to HY?! He’s suddenly matured. I like his current state now. That conversation with QJ is really sweet for me. I got the sense that he still likes QJ, admiring her beauty and talent. Now I’m very intrigued by him. Hope there will be chapter explaining abt his behavior.
HH.. He’s like puppy in love. So cute to get embarassed like that.
Thanks for this chapter.
A death sentence by hanging, at the very least the woman is gone for good
Does HY really turn over a new leaf or is there a hidden agenda somewhere? I can’t just believe he just give up after everything he done before 😟
Oh HH, such a cutie lol
Thank you very much for the chapter
hahaha…what a confession. HH is so cute
Thank you….a blushing emperor….😁😘😘
Lol! So in the end, he was just being bashful? Laughs.
I am liking the changes in HY’s nature but he is still an awful husband towards his women. One step at a time, I guess. Like the story of the prodigal son, nothing is better than the return of the prodigal son. Its not that bad to give some leeway for forgiveness and peace.
i read somewhere that “bestowed five feet of white silk” is the silk one receive when ordered to kill themselves. if i remember corectly is used in nobles/imperial families.
HH suddenly became so bashful, not even his first confession to QQJ and he was fine with other times
I really like this awkward, bashful, roundabout-honest HH more, rather than his usual flowery speeches that were hard to know whether he truly meant it or not XD
For some reason, I have this vision of He Heng practicing his speeches multiple times before actually giving them to Qu Qing Ju and this one was just an accident because he was caught off guard. Hee hee.
I was so confused. I get HH was saying, “I only have you.” But I still think QQJ doubts him. She loves him, but I think she’s stopping herself from being IN love with him. HH is innolcent in a sense. He may love her at this present moment, but it might not last forever. People don’t get married thinking that they will eventually cheat. QQJ is older and wiser. She knows that her life won’t be a perfect fairytale.
He Heng is a rash and inexperienced youth now.
HH, that was awesome XD
I’m quite curious about HY, I don’t think he matured that much… I feel like he just finally understood the reality of the situation and doesn’t want things to worsen for him.
Thanks for the chapter
I like this new HY a lot more than before…he really mature even tho his treatment of his wives is the worst x-x I wonder what he wanted by telling QQJ the truth of that story? And I knew itttt when HH left like that it was most likely that story didn’t have a happy ending! XD well the conflict ended well. And I have a feeling HY holds an infatuation towards QQJ…really hopes he doesn’t do anything hopeless and get his head chop off.
thanks a lot—–!
finally, feng zi jin suffers! she should have died, too, though….well, qing ju stepping in to help shu guifei is good, and as expected of her! ni—-ce! oh? i was surprised that he heng said they wouodn’t become that way, since the reputation of that yu ming emperor was pretty good…it’s cool that he yuan came and explained the ‘hidden’ truth. ah—-! so what he heng means, is that he will be truly loyal to qing ju, and won’t look at anyone else at all, unlike yu ming emperor betraying the empress. i’m sorry that i doubted you, he heng! haha, wait, he went away because he was embarrassed?! rofl!
sorry, i forgot that indeed, feng zi jin is going to die…she deserves it!
would the empress be willing to dance for him now? would this be considered being good to her?
thank you so much for the chapter!!
Thanks for the update. Took me a while to understand why HH went off so fast. Unexpected move. Glad to see that HY has changed for the better and even he had to explain to QQJ so that she would not have any misconception about the Ming Emperor.
First time we see He Heng embarrassed!
Cute He Heng, misunderstood by everybody lol
I wonder how HH would react if he found out that HY accompany QJ back to Tian Qi Hall
And just like I thought, HY is infatuated with QJ, he won’t bother curry favor the emperor, but when his servant mentioned QYS is the empress sister, he quickly changed his mind, and I don’t think he send those gifts to QJ to gain her favor, he just really like her
And what was HH’s conflicted feelings when he looked at HY? Jealousy?
Ugh. HH has no idea how much his confession failed big time. What’s the point of proclaiming your love if no one understands it. Never thought I would say this, but thank god for HY. He saved your bacon there. Maybe QQJ might trust HH’s feeling after 30 years? Or maybe never.
FZJ is totally deluded. She thought that the emperor would be lenient on her framing his wife and murdering someone because of their past. She overestimates her appeal and deeply underestimates his feelings for QQJ. And yet another one in this story who has ruined their family for the next few generations.
All the concubine of Heheng were so delusional except Jiang YY and Luo.
There is really no point in harming QQJ actually, because it will never be their turn to be the wife even if QQJ is dead.
If QQJ is gone, the emperor or Jing Fei would definitely find him another noble lady from a good clan that to replace her.
After being in the palace, they will never have a chance to be an empress either… Beign a favored one is also rather unlikely, not only because their age is bigger, their status are still low and stupid women like them would never last long in the back palace.
Especially because HH is not an idiotic emperor like his father.
Noble families would not send their Di daughter to a Wangfu, but very few would be unwilling to send their Di daughter to an emperor.
So…women like FZJ and HLD are far inferior to them.
They are really so delusional
Aw he heng is soo cute🙊
I felt that this was a turning point for HY. He already found QQJ physically attractive and interesting (especially compared with his own wife). But with his newfound gratitude, his positive feelings sprout new roots. He probably explained about the Yu Ming emperor as he did not want to see her sad. Finally he has matured through all the hard knocks and also learns how to be decent to a woman other than his mother.
Thank you for the update, HH blushing look cute. HY accompanying QQJ and explaining HH words is good, regardless his true intention. If he can keep that kind of attitude then his life would be enjoyable.
Am I mad to be shipping He Yuan & Qu Qing Ju? I like how he explained the history of the Yu Ming Emperor (how I hate you so for your betrayal) and the Zhao He Empress. I hope he will not die.
I understand how you feel, if you think about it HY is a very pitiful person whose life was doomed because he was overtly spoiled. He was trapped in the world of dreams, believing the world was his and it was his right to be arrogant. Who could really blame him for being like that when he had the wrong upbringing?
We were all born the same, our personalities would end up taking shape according to our environments. And even HY who doesn’t have the best upbringing was woken up to reality, partially thanks to QQJ-the only person he had sincerely love so far(this is merely a speculation on my part, don’t kill me.). Perhaps, the only one, forever away from his reach.
Definitely not. From very early on in the story, I couldn’t help but entertain the idea of her being with He Yuan, instead of He Heng.
With Qu Qing Ju by this side, He Yuan would have straightened up and likely have ascended. It’s a pity.
Ai, He Heng, your words of love is so hard to understand! I’m starting to like He Yuan more, in fact, starting from the egg incident. I can’t help but think that if it weren’t for his father’s spoiling and his mother’s attitude, he would have grown up to be a better person. It’s sad that he had to do his growing up only when things reached the point of no return.
Awww, he’s cute (He Heng)! Also, if only He Yuan had been like this from the start, he wouldn’t have had such downfall. Karmic retribution sucks.
Thanks for the chapter!
thanks for the chapter!
So he left in a hurry because he was embarrassed? lol!
OMO OMO OMO
HH’s sooo cuuute!!!! So he left because he’s embarrassed? AWWWWW
Lol HH behaviour is so confusing XD I thought he is angry that QQJ dare to compare them with that historical figure but….. he is just embarrassed for declaring his love! 😀
I got a feeling HY likes QQJ (like from ages before, he just doesn’t realise it at the time and now he do). His reluctant in saying “thanks huang sao” might not be his reluctant in thanking QQJ but rather calling QQJ as “huang sao”…. and HH seems intuitively felt it, as a man instinct, that is why he looks at HY like that (since early HH also instinctively acts more possessive in front of HY, like hiding half of QQY from HY etc). I think in this novel so far, He Yuan might be the most contradicting character thus far. Very interesting character.
I feel like HY has fallen for QQJ, I’ve been suspicius since the egg accident,
Why would HY buy commoner food just because he seen QQJ buy it?
and how many times HY feels QQJ is stunning and force himself to look away, because QQJ is HH’s
Am I the only one that is disturbed that he sorta forgot his wife out in the snow and now she has to walk back while pregnant?
I have wanted to comment a few times, but restrained myself.
He Yuan is probably the most pitiful character. I only truly started to pity him once the previous Emperor refused to punish him for his crimes. At that point it really cemented in his future. While I’m not absolving him of all the bad he’s done or excusing his behaviour, it is a little heart breaking. It’s fine to love your kids but if only the Emperor had told him no, just once, he may have stood a change.
No person that’s endlessly pampered, not taught discipline or subjected to unfavourable or difficult situations can ever have a meaningful and fulfilling life. Like Qu Qing Ju, I truly do look down on the previous Emperor – hopefully he is reflecting on himself.