The Sickly Beauty Official Faked His Death and Now the Tyrant Has Gone Mad - Chapter 22

The sunlight was just right, and the weather these days grew increasingly pleasant compared to the chill of winter. The palace’s underfloor heating had long been turned off.

Yet, in the Qinchun Palace, not a single candle was lit. The room was cold and desolate, as if no one lived there.

Who could have imagined that the Son of Heaven himself would sleep in a bedchamber as frigid as the Cold Palace?

When Defu pushed open the door, he saw Su Yang lying in bed, eyes wide open clearly another sleepless night.

The words urging Su Yang to attend court died in his throat. He approached the bedside softly and asked, “Your Majesty, I had the Imperial Medical Bureau prepare a calming incense. Shall I light it so you can rest a little longer?”

Su Yang released the bedding in his hand and sat up. “There’s no trace of his scent left here.”

Defu blinked, momentarily unable to follow Su Yang’s train of thought. When he finally understood, his mouth moved faster than his mind, and he suggested, “If Your Majesty wishes to have Minister Lin’s scent, perhaps you could visit his residence.”

Su Yang’s lifeless eyes suddenly brightened. He looked at Defu, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Well said!”

He immediately rose, changed into fresh clothes, and discreetly left the palace, heading straight for Lin Huaiyu’s prime minister’s residence.

The entrance to the Lin residence was already devoid of guards, and even the steward was nowhere to be seen.

On the day Lin Huaiyu disappeared from the palace, Su Yang had immediately sent people to his residence. However, the Lin household, which had always been sparsely staffed, was completely empty that day everyone had been dismissed long before.

Upon learning this, Su Yang became even more convinced that Lin Huaiyu had planned everything in advance, waiting only for this day to leave.

Returning to the Lin residence, Su Yang walked through the corridors. He rarely visited; most of the time, it was Lin Huaiyu who came to the palace to see him. During his time in the Eastern Palace, Lin Huaiyu was often by his side. Back then, as his teacher, Lin Huaiyu had no need to leave the palace.

Later, when Su Yang ascended the throne, the Imperial Tutor no longer had a reason to reside in the palace and had to move out.

At that time, Su Yang had wondered how he could keep his teacher in the palace, to see him day and night, every moment.

Su Yang arrived at Lin Huaiyu’s study. If he remembered correctly, the study was filled with ancient books that Lin Huaiyu loved to read. Yet, when he pushed the door open, he was met with empty bookshelves and a desk, not even a single sheet of paper remained.

The vast Lin residence was now deserted.

Su Yang’s heart sank slowly. He walked to Lin Huaiyu’s other rooms, pushing open door after door, room after room. Inside, everything was empty nothing remained. All traces of Lin Huaiyu had vanished completely.

It was as if no one had ever lived in the Lin residence.

Defu was equally astonished. “This is too thorough.”

Su Yang clenched his fists beneath his robes, his eyes darkening with gloom.

He knew that Lin Huaiyu wanted to erase every trace of his existence in the capital, as if he had never been there.

That man had always been ruthless to others and to himself.

Defu looked at Su Yang’s somber expression and sighed inwardly, realizing once again that his good intentions had backfired. Now, His Majesty was even more distressed.

Su Yang immediately returned to the palace. There was nothing left in the Lin residence that belonged to Lin Huaiyu, and after living in the palace for over two months, even the scent of Lin Huaiyu had long since faded.

He sat in the chair of his study, his fingertips tapping intermittently on the desk. Hearing some noise outside, he asked, “What’s all the commotion out there?”

Defu glanced outside and quickly replied, “Your Majesty, the palace servants saw the flowers in the imperial garden blooming so splendidly that they almost overshadowed the people. They couldn’t help but linger, and that’s why they were reprimanded.”

“The imperial garden.” Su Yang suddenly looked up and let out a meaningful chuckle. “Summon Wang Xiangyu to the palace.”

Defu was momentarily stunned, unsure why Su Yang had suddenly called for this person, but he complied nonetheless.

Su Yang didn’t have to wait long before Wang Xiangyu arrived at the imperial study, led by Defu.

Wang Xiangyu felt uneasy, unsure why the emperor had summoned him so abruptly. Ever since he had offended Lin Huaiyu during the imperial consort selection and was punished with a beating that left him bedridden for three months, his grandfather and father had scolded him harshly. If not for the beating he had already endured, his father would have resorted to family discipline. In the end, he was even placed under house confinement, forbidden from leaving the estate, and ordered to reflect deeply on his actions.

He never expected that the renowned Prime Minister Lin would be in the imperial harem, nor did he anticipate that Lin Huaiyu would come to the imperial garden to join the excitement on the day of the selection.

A few days ago, when he heard that Lord Lin had died, his grandfather breathed a sigh of relief. But now, with this sudden summons to the palace, could it be that the emperor was reopening old wounds?

The emperor had issued a widespread arrest warrant for Lord Lin, refusing to believe he was dead. For several months, he had even skipped morning court sessions. It was said that he was overwhelmed with grief and had fallen ill. If this was merely due to the passing of his imperial tutor, such sorrow seemed excessive.

He recalled the scene in the imperial garden that day. Su Yang had initially taken his side, but when Lin Huaiyu handed him water mixed with sand, Su Yang not only failed to stop him but insisted that he drink it himself. Clearly, he was protecting Lin Huaiyu. When Wang Xiangyu tried to act coquettishly toward Su Yang, the emperor sternly dragged Lin Huaiyu away. That scene didn’t seem like the attitude one should have toward a teacher.

It was more like.

All these actions led Wang Xiangyu to a bold speculation, but he dared not voice it.

He could only follow Defu into the study with trepidation, carefully kneeling down. “I pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

He slowly raised his gaze to the person seated behind the desk. The emperor, clad in black robes, no longer exuded the spirited confidence of the past. A few strands of hair fell loosely over his forehead, adding a touch of disarray. The overwhelming air of desolation was a far cry from the Su Yang he had seen in the imperial garden.

At this moment, Su Yang seemed like a lonely soul who had lost his spirit, yet the atmosphere around him felt even more oppressive.

Wang Xiangyu dared not look for long and lowered his head, waiting for Su Yang to speak.

“Wang Xiangyu,” Su Yang called out to him.

Wang Xiangyu replied, “Your Majesty, your subject is now named Wang Anzhao.”

Su Yang raised an eyebrow slightly. “Why?”

Wang Xiangyu glanced at Su Yang and cautiously explained, “Your Majesty ordered your subject to change his name after offending you and Lin… Lord Lin that day.”

Su Yang seemed to recall the incident. It was true, though it wasn’t about offense but rather because the other’s name contained the character “yu,” which clashed with Lin Huaiyu’s name. He didn’t like it.

Su Yang had no interest in Wang Xiangyu or rather, Wang Anzhao or what name he had changed to. He said coldly, “You said you offended Lin Huaiyu that day. Then tell me exactly how you offended him.”

Wang Anzhao was taken aback. “Huh?”

He truly couldn’t understand what Su Yang meant by this.

Su Yang’s sinister gaze immediately fell upon Wang Anzhao: “What? Do you not understand?”

Wang Anzhao had no choice but to speak slowly: “That day, your subject mistakenly took Lord Lin for Your Majesty’s male favorite. Thinking his status was lowly, I spoke out intending to teach him a lesson. I never imagined it was actually Lord Lin. At that time, I truly did not know Lord Lin’s identity. Otherwise, even with a hundred times the courage, I would never have dared to insult Lord Lin!”

Indeed, with Lord Lin dead, His Majesty was now settling old scores. Today, he too would find it difficult to escape death!

After he finished speaking, Su Yang looked at him impatiently and said, “What I want to hear is not your excuses. I want to hear how you insulted Lin Huaiyu. I want to hear every detail of that day. Do you understand?”

“This…” Wang Anzhao was even more bewildered now. “Your Majesty, so many days have passed, and I can no longer clearly recall the specific circumstances of that day. If Your Majesty wishes to punish me, I accept it without a word of protest.”

Su Yang slowly furrowed his brow: “If you don’t remember, then I will make you remember.”

Su Yang gave De Fu a cold glance. De Fu immediately waved his hand, and two guards entered from outside, holding rods in their hands.

Having been subjected to court caning before, Wang Anzhao naturally recognized these rods. The pain was still fresh in his memory, and he quickly said, “Your Majesty, I remember now!”

Su Yang raised his hand and looked at him again: “Speak.”

Wang Anzhao had no choice but to kneel obediently and begin again: “That day during the selection, I entered the palace with the others. Everyone thought I had a chance to become the male empress, so I became quite arrogant. Unexpectedly, they saw Lord Lin and began praising his graceful demeanor. In a fit of anger, I wanted to go up and compete with him. At that time, I didn’t know it was Lord Lin. Lord Lin spoke with a haughty tone, and I thought he was relying on favor to act arrogantly, so I wanted to teach him a lesson.”

After listening, Su Yang still felt unsatisfied. He raised his hand, and the two guards immediately swung their rods toward Wang Anzhao.

Wang Anzhao cried out in pain: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, spare me! I… no, Lord Lin did not speak out. It was I who, unwilling and jealous of Lord Lin, provoked him. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”

Su Yang’s eyes flashed with pain. Even though he had guessed early on that it couldn’t have been Lin Huaiyu who provoked the incident, at that time he had only wanted to make Lin Huaiyu jealous, solely focused on seeing Lin Huaiyu care for him. He had even helped Wang Anzhao insult Lin Huaiyu.

His throat tightened as he coldly looked at Wang Anzhao and raised his hand again. The rods in the guards’ hands fell once more.

“Ahhh! Your Majesty, every word I’ve said is true!” Wang Anzhao burst into tears on the spot, begging for mercy.

Su Yang rested his chin on his hand, his gaze deep and heavy: “I want you to recall every detail of that time. I want to know every word Lin Huaiyu said, his tone, his expression. Do you understand?”

Wang Anzhao, trembling with fear, dared not think randomly and could only nod repeatedly: “Your subject understands.”

Enduring the pain, he thought carefully and began again: “That day it was snowing. Oh, no, it seems it wasn’t snowing that day, but it was still cold, with a biting wind. I was walking in the imperial garden with the others. They all praised my good looks, thinking I had the best chance of becoming the male empress. I also thought I should at least become a male consort. But as they spoke, they suddenly began praising someone else.”

“That man stood amidst the flowers, and when the courtier looked over, he too felt as if a figure had stepped out of a painting. Yet, hearing their praises, the courtier felt a deep envy in his heart.”

Su Yang listened quietly as Wang Anzhao recounted the events of that day bit by bit, even down to such precise details as “Lord Lin frowned at that moment” and “Lord Lin’s gaze was cold and indifferent.” Though in some parts, Su Yang could tell at once that Wang Anzhao was fabricating such as when Wang Anzhao claimed Lin Huaiyu had cursed at him Su Yang never once interrupted him. It was as if, through Wang Anzhao’s narration, he had returned to that day, seeing Lin Huaiyu once more, with every movement, every smile and frown, vividly before his eyes.

For the first time in many days, the corners of Su Yang’s lips lifted slightly.

Wang Anzhao, however, was so frightened by Su Yang’s expression that his words began to tremble.

“And then… then, oh, there was also Miss Bai Jianqing. Miss Bai stepped forward in front of the courtier and said to Lord Lin not to pay him any mind, that the courtier was out of his senses. Lord Lin gave Miss Bai a faint smile at that moment.” Wang Anzhao narrated while embellishing, exaggerating what he clearly remembered and fabricating what he did not. In any case, he had come to understand that His Majesty had no real knowledge of the day’s details and merely wished to torment him.

But Su Yang suddenly interrupted him: “Bai Jianqing yes, there was also Bai Jianqing.”

Su Yang turned and instructed Defu: “Summon Bai Jianqing to the palace.”

Defu: “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Wang Anzhao raised his eyes to look at Su Yang, who had once again propped his head on his hand, appearing lazy and weary somewhat resembling Lin Huaiyu. He had only glanced for a moment when Su Yang’s gloomy eyes met his: “Continue.”

Wang Anzhao quickly averted his gaze, lowering his head to continue describing the scene from that day.

He was mistaken. His Majesty was nothing like Lord Lin.

Upon entering the palace, Bai Jianqing saw Wang Anzhao kneeling below, muttering incessantly, while the Emperor of Great Yong sat at the desk, listening to Wang Anzhao’s words with half-hearted attention. To an outsider, it might have seemed as though Wang Anzhao were reporting on some matter of national importance.

Bai Jianqing knelt beside Wang Anzhao but kept a distance of two people between them: “I pay my respects to Your Majesty.”

Wang Anzhao’s voice trailed off at Bai Jianqing’s arrival. Su Yang looked up at Bai Jianqing, studying her, and recalled what Wang Anzhao had just said about Lin Huaiyu’s smile directed at her.

That day, when he arrived at the imperial garden, he had indeed witnessed this scene. Wang Anzhao’s words on this matter were not fabricated.

A sudden surge of jealousy rose within him as he looked at Bai Jianqing, his expression darkening: “Since you are here, you may both speak together. Or rather, reenact it for me.”

Wang Anzhao glanced at Bai Jianqing, resignedly preparing to speak again. But Bai Jianqing, fearless, met Su Yang’s gaze coldly and said directly: “Lord Lin is already dead. Rather than interrogating your subject now, Your Majesty should consider who it was that wounded him most deeply that day.”

As soon as she spoke, Wang Anzhao stared at her in shock. Not only Wang Anzhao, but even Defu looked at Bai Jianqing with astonishment.

Yet Bai Jianqing merely met Su Yang’s gaze coldly and directly.

Su Yang raised an eyebrow, looking at Bai Jianqing, and asked: “When did I say I intended to interrogate anyone?”

Bai Jianqing let out a scoffing laugh. “If Your Majesty is not here to accuse me of a crime, then why summon me to the palace to question me about that day’s events? And to put on a performance for you is it to reminisce about Lord Lin?”

Defu had already regained his composure, but Wang Anzhao, who had previously found the situation unbelievable and dared not speculate, now felt that Bai Jianqing was truly courting death by speaking so brazenly.

Su Yang, however, showed no anger. Instead, he looked at Bai Jianqing with interest. “I do indeed miss Lin Huaiyu. I want to see him. Do you have any good ideas, Miss Bai?”

Bai Jianqing rolled her eyes. “If Your Majesty knew it would come to this, why did you act as you did? Lord Lin was utterly devoted to Your Majesty, but what did you do? All I saw was Your Majesty wounding him, trampling his heartfelt affections underfoot! Now that he’s gone, who are you putting on this lovesick act for?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Defu beside her immediately dropped to his knees with a thud.

This young lady truly dared to speak! Was she not afraid His Majesty would order her execution on the spot?

Yet Su Yang merely stared at Bai Jianqing, his eyes gradually filling with disbelief. “What are you saying? You mean Lin Huaiyu he cared for me?”

Bai Jianqing rolled her eyes again, her expression impatient. “Of course! Could you really not see it?”

Su Yang shook his head. “Impossible. Lin Huaiyu said it himself he only wanted to leave the palace, to leave my side. I once longed to hear him say he cared for me, but he always insisted he wouldn’t stay by my side for long.”

Bai Jianqing laughed in exasperation. “Your Majesty! Some things don’t need to be spoken aloud. Even I know that surely Your Majesty understands? To love someone, to care for someone look into their eyes, listen to their heartbeat. That’s enough. What kind of person Lord Lin was, his temperament you should know better than I do!”

Bai Jianqing had no patience to waste further energy arguing with Su Yang in the palace, so she decided to say everything at once. “If Lord Lin didn’t care for Your Majesty, why would he allow you to keep him in the palace? If he didn’t care for Your Majesty, why would he endure Young Master Wang’s humiliations with your tacit approval?”

“By seniority, Young Master Wang was practically his junior. To let a junior demand tea from him and for Your Majesty to actually allow it! Such immense humiliation, yet Lord Lin never showed anger. That day, it was Your Majesty who dragged him away with a darkened face!”

“Your Majesty, Lord Lin was your teacher!”

These words struck Su Yang like a thunderbolt, jolting him awake from his dazed nightmare. He stood frozen in place for a long time so long that Defu nearly thought Su Yang was about to order someone’s execution.

Finally, Su Yang abruptly stood up and swept all the memorials off his desk. “Get out! All of you, get out!”

Bai Jianqing turned and left without hesitation, as if she had never been there. Wang Anzhao, however, kept glancing back until Defu pulled him out.

The doors of the imperial study closed, shutting out the sunlight and plunging Su Yang into darkness. He lowered his head and let out a muffled cry of anguish.

Every word Bai Jianqing had spoken turned into blades that pierced his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

Lin Huaiyu had cared for him too?

So, when Lin Huaiyu said he couldn’t stay by his side much longer, it was because he already knew his time was limited…

But what had he done to Lin Huaiyu?