When the Deposed Crown Prince Was Reborn as Troublemaker - Chapter 102

The joyous occasion at Prince Yan’s residence instantly turned into a funeral. Anyone would have felt wretched about it.

Of course, what made people wretched was not Li Xiyue’s death itself, but the fact that she had chosen to die at precisely this moment — her death cast a shadow over the entire Prince Yan’s residence.

Standing atop the Moon-Gazing Tower, Prince Yan stared at Li Xiyue’s body lying broken on the ground and was so frightened that he lost all composure. He shouted at the top of his lungs. “Someone! Someone come!”

At that moment, the servants whom Li Xiyue had sent away finally rushed to the Moon-Gazing Tower.

As they drew near, they caught sight of the body of Princess Yan, Li Xiyue.

She was dressed in vivid red, a satisfied smile of vengeance frozen on her face, and her two pitch-black eyes stared fixedly ahead — so eerie it made one’s hair stand on end. Those among the servants with weaker nerves fainted on the spot.

“Your Highness the Princess Consort, Your Highness, what has happened?” a bolder servant called out.

To have leapt to her death from a tall tower in red garments on Prince Yan’s wedding night, with that ghastly smile still on her face — no matter how one looked at it, she was bound to return as a vengeful spirit seeking retribution.

Some servants recalled the times they had spoken ill of the Princess Consort, and their legs went weak with fright on the spot.

You Yuyi’s reason gradually returned to him. He said, “The Princess Consort, drunk, accidentally fell from the tower…”

Very quickly, You Yuyi had defined Li Xiyue’s suicide as an accidental fall from the tower while intoxicated.

Though the servants found it strange upon hearing this, none dared to contradict him. After all, the scene before them was simply too uncanny and unnerving — they feared that from this day forward, no one would dare set foot in the Moon-Gazing Tower again.

Only after the servants had carried Li Xiyue’s body away did You Yuyi’s mind begin to turn again. He recalled what Li Xiyue had said to him earlier.

“Where is the medicine? Where is the medicine?” You Yuyi demanded of the servants in agitation.

The servants were thoroughly bewildered. What medicine?

“Where is the medicine that fell to the ground?” You Yuyi roared, the veins on his neck bulging to the point of bursting. “Are you going to pick every last one of them up for this prince or not?!”

The moment the words left his mouth, the servants immediately began searching the ground for any pills.

There had been over a dozen pills in total, yet the servants managed to retrieve only two or three — the rest had rolled off to who knew where.

You Yuyi stared at the pills in his hand. These pills, which gave off a sweet scent, were a perfect match for the fragrance that had clung to Li Xiyue’s person. You Yuyi’s expression darkened. Surely he wasn’t truly going to be rendered incapable… Impossible! Not a single word that vile woman said was true. He would simply summon an imperial physician to examine these pills and all would be clear.

“Your Highness, what is to be done about the Princess Consort?” asked a servant who had helped lay out Li Xiyue’s body, trembling all the while.

Only then did You Yuyi come to his senses. He could alter the cause of Li Xiyue’s death, but he could not conceal the fact of it.

With Li Xiyue dead, the Third Prince’s faction — led by the Li family and the Grand Princess — would seize upon her death to make trouble, descending upon him like a pack of rabid dogs, determined to tear a piece of flesh from him.

If he were to secretly suppress all news of her death, his crime would only be compounded.

“Notify my maternal grandfather and the others, then hang the white funeral banners — and why aren’t you wailing in mourning yet? What are you standing there staring for?” You Yuyi snapped.

In an instant, the red silk decorations throughout Prince Yan’s residence were taken down and replaced with white mourning banners, and the servants of the residence went knocking at the doors of every coffin shop in the city through the night.

By now, the Third Prince’s faction, having received word of the matter, had already drafted their memorials impeaching Prince Yan in advance. Come the following day, they would descend upon You Fengyun’s desk like a flurry of snowflakes.

The aged Prime Minister Su was roused from sleep and learned the news from the servants of Prince Yan’s residence, his complexion growing immediately sour.

For Princess Yan to have leapt to her death at such a moment — let alone the prospect of elevating the newly wedded Secondary Consort Yang to the position of principal consort — Prince Yan’s already precarious reputation would collapse entirely.

“Truly, he has destroyed his own foundations!” Prime Minister Su said, striking his fist against the wooden bed frame.

He could only rue how foolish You Yuyi was — to have failed to keep a proper watch over Li Xiyue, and to have let her stir up such an enormous commotion!

Su Zhou, Prime Minister Su’s son, who had likewise been woken by the news, spoke up. “Father, His Highness Prince Yan may find himself in a very poor position at court.”

After all that had transpired, Prince Yan had all but tattooed the words sanctimonious, treacherous, incompetent, and recklessly impatient upon himself.

Any official who was not blind could hardly be expected to stake their hopes on Prince Yan — for there was simply no raising him up.

Even Prime Minister Su’s own disciples, as well as the newly appointed officials of humble origins, would choose neutrality for their own protection.

Prime Minister Su spoke, his voice weary. “Do you think I am unaware of this?”

His only hope now was that, for the sake of balance, His Majesty would not allow the Li family to grow too brazen.

“Help me up,” said Prime Minister Su. “I cannot sleep anymore.”

At the thought of what tomorrow would bring, Prime Minister Su felt that he had grown old and frail beyond all endurance.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, You Yusui produced a story book entitled The Tale of Lady Yue.

Cui Yan, standing nearby, read the cover aloud. “The Tale of Lady Yue? Who wrote it?”

There didn’t seem to be anyone around the Crown Prince capable of writing a book — and it would have had to be written in the short span of time after Li Xiyue had finished delivering her final words.

“Surely it wasn’t Xie Tan?” Cui Yan could not bring himself to picture Xie Tan — a man as graceful and refined as a clear breeze and a bright moon — writing this sort of story book.

And yet, for the sake of his family, it seems Young Master Xie of the Xie clan can do anything.

“Xiling wrote it,” said You Yusui.

Cui Yan looked at Huo Xiling, who was standing beside You Yusui, and simply could not picture the young General Huo writing tales of romance and sentiment.

“More than a year ago, I was a well-known wastrel in Chang’an,” Huo Xiling said, meeting Cui Yan’s gaze.

So what if a wastrel like him knew a thing or two extra? Back in his day, he had been a notorious young ne’er-do-well in Chang’an. Apart from brawling and picking fights, he had once written a few story books specifically to lampoon a group of pedantic scholars who had claimed he lacked refinement.

You Yusui then curled his lips and said, “This prince’s Xiling is also Qianqiu Xue.”

Cui Yan’s eyes went wide. The best-selling story books in Chang’an’s bookshops back in those days had all been written by Qianqiu Xue. Because Qianqiu Xue’s stories were novel and unconventional — albeit with female characters who were rather too bold — they had eventually been banned after striking a nerve with the Confucian scholars.

Even so, Qianqiu Xue’s story books had continued to circulate privately throughout Chang’an, with a single copy fetching as much as a thousand coins.

“This prince has already instructed Juxian Pavilion to hasten the printing,” said You Yusui. “The day after tomorrow, the books will be distributed to the bookshops across Chang’an. In addition, this prince has arranged for storytellers to go to every teahouse and tavern in Chang’an and recite The Tale of Lady Yue.”

Cui Yan looked at You Yusui and said, “I fear Prince Yan will go mad.”

This was something Li Xiyue had arranged for him — and You Yusui had no objection to lending her a hand.

“Let us go. This prince must attend morning court as well.” You Yusui cast a glance at Prince Yan’s residence, now hung with its white mourning banners, then turned and departed.

****

The following morning at court, the assembled officials discovered that His Highness the Crown Prince — whose presence was a rare occurrence — had actually come to attend the morning session.

Some officials couldn’t help but glance outside. The sky wasn’t raining red, was it?

At this moment, You Fengyun had no inkling of what scene was about to unfold before him.

The morning court that day began with: “This minister has a matter to report — this minister moves to impeach Prince Yan…” — punctuated, at intervals, by the weeping of Grand Commandant Li and his cries of “Give me back my granddaughter’s life.”

The First Prince’s faction was pummeled by the Third Prince’s faction without any means of retaliation. The officials led by Minister of Rites Yang were driven back step by step, and the powerful Prime Minister Su continued to hold his silence without uttering a single word.

Only the great clans, whom You Fengyun had trimmed back again and again, sat quietly to one side watching the spectacle with relish — thoroughly enjoying the sight of the humble-birth officials and the imperial relatives by marriage tearing at each other’s hair.

In any case, they were not taking sides. The Crown Prince was not on close terms with them; the succession struggle would not reach them. And besides — His Majesty had slain a bear just last year and was in the prime of robust health. Were they not getting ahead of themselves, squabbling over all this?

So You Yusui watched coolly as the officials below seized upon Li Xiyue’s death to impeach You Yuyi one after another, while those on You Yuyi’s side worked to deflect the blame, insisting that Princess Yan’s death had been an accident.

Whether it was truly an accident, or whether You Yuyi had driven the Princess Consort to her death — the final verdict rested entirely with the one seated upon the Dragon Throne.

After the Third Prince’s faction and the First Prince’s faction had quarreled through half the morning session, the matter was finally resolved.

You Yuyi was stripped of all his official posts, and You Fengyun ordered him to return to his residence to reflect upon his conduct for half a year.

In an instant, You Yuyi panicked. If he was confined to his residence for half a year, then the Qianqiu Banquet and the autumn hunt thereafter would have nothing to do with him!

Half a year’s time would be more than enough for the Third Prince’s faction to devour what remained of his influence!

Just as he was about to kneel and implore You Fengyun to rescind the decree, Eunuch An Hai, at You Fengyun’s side, called out the announcement dismissing the court.

You Yuyi could only watch in despair as You Fengyun’s retreating figure disappeared from view.

……

Yet the storm at the outer court had not yet subsided when trouble arose in the inner palace.

Some time earlier, Imperial Noble Consort Su Hewan had been so frightened by You Yusui’s ghost-impersonation that she had fallen ill. But in order to ensure her son’s secondary consort was taken in without a hitch, Su Hewan had forced herself up from her sickbed to preside over the wedding ceremony. Now, upon hearing that the Princess Yan, Li Xiyue, had taken her own life on the very night of her son’s wedding, she could not help but spit up a mouthful of fresh blood.

“That vile woman has ruined me!” Su Hewan glared with venomous eyes at the canopy above her bed.

That wretch Li Xiyue had used her own death to destroy every bit of Su Hewan’s painstaking scheming — how could Su Hewan not hate her for it?

“Your Ladyship! Your Ladyship!” The palace attendants of Jujiu Palace were all terrified by the mouthful of blood Su Hewan had coughed up.

“Quickly summon the imperial physician! Quickly!” said Ruqiu, looking at Su Hewan, who had lost consciousness.

The First Prince was confined to his quarters. The Imperial Noble Consort lay gravely ill in her chambers.

At this outcome, Consort Xian’s face was wreathed in smiles. Heaven itself was aiding her.

…..

Back at Prince Yan’s residence, Mo Shanshan — who had fainted in fright after witnessing the Princess Consort leap to her death — finally opened her eyes.

Xiao Lian, standing at her side, nearly burst into tears at the sight of her. She said in a small voice, “The principal consort has passed.”

“She’s gone,” said Mo Shanshan. At that moment she felt as though she were still inside a dream.

The image of Li Xiyue falling from the tower had been seared indelibly into Mo Shanshan’s heart.

Xiao Lian then produced a key and said, “This was given to me by the Princess Consort to pass on to you. She said that since you have neither family nor a dowry to rely upon from now on, she would leave her box of gold for you.”

Mo Shanshan stared at the key in her hand as tears fell from her eyes without cease.

At that very moment, word came from outside that the Imperial Noble Consort was gravely ill and that the ladies of Prince Yan’s residence were summoned to the palace to attend upon her during her illness.

In an instant, a thought took hold in Mo Shanshan’s mind. She clutched the key tightly and said, “I am going to the palace to attend upon her!”