The eight-paneled green gauze screen, which in summer was covered with a thin layer of blue silk on its mother-of-pearl lattice to serve as a partition and keep out mosquitoes, had been draped with thick cotton damask embroidered with peonies for the winter. The unusually cold weather in the capital had prompted this change. Originally placed at the foot of the bed to block drafts, Old Madam Pei found it stifling and had it moved behind the headboard, creating a small alcove with an additional bed where Jiafu could rest when she stayed overnight.
The emperor had come in plain clothes, accompanied only by Li Yuangui and two personal guards. It was only when the imperial entourage arrived at the Pei residence that Pei Quan learned of the emperor’s visit. Flustered, he straightened his attire and rushed out with his household to kneel in welcome. Xiao Lie spoke briefly, explaining that Old Madam Pei was a venerable and esteemed figure, and with her eldest grandson away on imperial duties, he had come to visit upon hearing of her illness, dispensing with all formalities.
Pei Quan, overwhelmed with gratitude, rose and hastily led Xiao Lie to the northern hall where the old madam resided. Female family members withdrew, while two imperial physicians followed. Upon entering, Pei Quan saw that the old madam had awakened and moved to assist her, but Xiao Lie stepped forward first, stopping him and urging her to remain lying down.
Old Madam Pei called her son over to help her sit up slowly. Though her face was gaunt, her gaze remained clear. "This unworthy old body does not deserve Your Majesty’s personal visit," she said. "I am deeply ashamed of my impropriety." She then instructed Pei Quan to support her as she performed a symbolic kneeling salute from the bed before leaning back against the carved headboard.
Xiao Lie summoned the accompanying physicians, Hu and another, to examine her. As they approached, Old Madam Pei shook her head. "Your Majesty’s kindness is appreciated, but there is no need to trouble them further. Though skilled enough to raise the dead, their daily visits have been in vain. I know my own condition." She paused, breathless after speaking a few more words.
Xiao Lie’s eyes darkened with sorrow, and silence fell over the room. After a moment, he glanced at Li Yuangui, who stepped forward and said, "His Majesty came tonight out of gratitude for your past care. Physicians, you may withdraw. Lord Pei, you and I shall wait outside."
Pei Quan promptly complied, bowing with the physicians before exiting and dismissing all attendants, leaving only Li Yuangui standing outside the hall to await the emperor.
Alone with the ailing woman, Xiao Li rose in the flickering candlelight and approached her bedside. Bending low, he whispered, "Madam, if there is anything left unsettled, tell me. Whatever is within my power, I shall grant it."
Old Madam Pei’s eyes had been half-closed, as if between sleep and wakefulness. Slowly, she opened them and met the emperor’s gaze. Her lips parted, but her response was oblique: "Your Majesty, when and how did you learn of You’an’s true identity?"
Behind the green gauze screen, Jiafu held her breath. Though she could not see the old madam’s expression, she sensed the weight of the question.The old lady's tone changed. When speaking to the emperor, she no longer maintained the respectful caution she had shown earlier when Pei Quan and others stood before her. Now, her words carried a hint of questioning, as if the man standing by her sickbed was not the supreme ruler of the realm but merely a younger relative of hers.
She asked the emperor how he had learned of "You'an's identity." Jiafu knew that Pei You'an was an illegitimate child brought back from outside by the Duke of Wei, but how did the emperor know? And what did this have to do with him? Why was the old lady suddenly asking him this?
Jiafu was somewhat surprised.
But the emperor's reaction that followed was what truly began to astonish her.
She peeked out through a gap in the green gauze partition.
Xiao Lie's expression showed no trace of surprise, nor did it reveal the slightest hint of displeasure at being questioned so disrespectfully.
He simply gazed at the old woman on the sickbed in silence for a long while before speaking softly, his voice low: "After I returned to Yunnan, Tibet happened to be in turmoil, so I led troops to quell the rebellion. Over a year later, when I returned to Wuding after pacifying the unrest, I learned that Wenjing had passed away from illness at Ci'en Temple several months prior..."
His voice, already deep, trailed off abruptly, as if his emotions had momentarily overwhelmed him.
The old lady remained silent.
After a pause, Xiao Lie spoke again, his voice trembling slightly, and he switched from the imperial "We" to "I": "I knew clearly that when I left Ci'en Temple, Wenjing's illness was improving. Physician Mei personally told me that with a little more recuperation, she would recover. While I was in Tibet, I always assumed she had returned to the palace. I never imagined..."
He took a deep breath, as if steadying himself.
"Later, I sent someone back secretly to inquire and learned that shortly after I left, her condition worsened again. Half a year later, she passed away in the temple. I couldn't believe it. This matter weighed heavily on my heart—I couldn't let it go. Several years later, I personally left Yunnan again in secret and found Physician Mei, who had already retired to his hometown. As you know, Elderly Madam, I once showed Physician Mei great kindness. On his deathbed, he finally confessed to me that shortly after I left, Wenjing discovered she was with child..."
"It was all my fault. I was the one who caused Wenjing's death..."
He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they were filled with remorse and sorrow.
The room fell silent once more.
Behind the green gauze partition, Jiafu held her breath, her heart pounding so fast she could hardly believe her ears.
...
In the second year of the Tianxi era, a great flood struck the capital. After the floodwaters receded, a plague spread. Though the newly enthroned Tianxi Emperor ordered the Imperial Medical Bureau to combat the epidemic with all its might, hundreds still died daily within and beyond the city walls. Even the palace, despite its high walls, was not spared. Cases appeared one after another, eventually reaching the inner palace. The young empress, unfortunately, also contracted the plague. With several in the palace already beyond cure, the emperor, upon his ministers' advice, decided to leave the palace and relocate to the West Garden hundreds of miles away to wait out the plague. To prevent further spread within the palace, the officials proposed sending Empress Pei Wenjing to the Royal Ci'en Temple to recuperate.Pei Wenjing was not only exceptionally beautiful but also highly intelligent and talented, possessing an extraordinary memory. The Tianxi Emperor was deeply devoted to her. At the time, he couldn’t bear to leave her behind, especially as she was already gravely ill. But as the emperor, burdened with the weight of the nation and its people, and with the urging of his officials, he ultimately made the painful decision to send her to the temple.
Pei Wenjing’s condition worsened day by day. Imperial Physician Mei, who had accompanied her to Cien Temple, was at a loss. When the Tianxi Emperor heard the news, he was frantic with worry and attempted to visit her several times, only to be dissuaded by his ministers each time.
It was during that period that Xiao Lie secretly risked leaving Yunnan, traveling day and night to reach the capital in secret. Disguised as a guard, he infiltrated Cien Temple and brought Physician Mei some indigenous remedies from Yunnan.
Perhaps it was because Pei Wenjing’s time had not yet come, or perhaps for some other reason, but over the following weeks, her condition gradually improved. Xiao Lie remained hidden in the temple for those months, refusing to leave until her health finally showed signs of recovery. Only then did he quietly depart the capital and return to Yunnan.
“The late emperor’s status was far too exalted to risk close contact. When this old woman went to visit her, even the palace maids who had accompanied her to the temple were trembling with fear, avoiding her as much as possible, terrified of catching the illness. Yet you, upon hearing of her grave condition, willingly took the risk to leave Yunnan and bring her medicine. For this kindness you showed Wenjing, I am deeply grateful.”
Old Madam Pei’s eyes gradually welled with tears.
“But I know my daughter. Wenjing was always dignified and composed. As the empress, how could she not understand the stakes? Even if you had risked your life to come for her, even if she still held some affection for you from their youth—I refuse to believe my daughter would have acted so recklessly! Your Majesty, you saved Wenjing’s life back then, but in the end, it was you who took it from her!”
“Wenjing is gone. No matter how despicable I am, I would never dare to defile her memory. You are right to rebuke me, Madam. At the time, I lost control and forced myself upon her. But I was exceedingly careful—I never imagined that after I left, she would become pregnant. It was I who ruined her.”
Xiao Lie’s eyes reddened as he gazed at the elderly woman on the sickbed. His posture slowly lowered until, at last, he knelt before her, his knees striking the ground with a heavy thud.
“By the time Physician Mei told me the truth, years had already passed. By then, You’an had long become the Duke’s son, and there was nothing I could do…”
Jiafu stared at the emperor kneeling before Old Madam Pei. Though she now understood everything, she found it all too unbelievable, her entire being overwhelmed with shock.
But Old Madam Pei seemed lost in her own emotions, as if unaware of Xiao Lie’s kneeling. After a long silence, she spoke again: “Your Majesty, when Wenjing first realized she was with child, she even resorted to drastic measures to rid herself of it. But the child refused to be expelled. In the end, she could not bring herself to kill it. Under the pretense of recuperating, she remained in the temple and gave birth. Barely two days after the child was born, Wenjing succumbed to hemorrhage. The child was premature, only seven or eight months along. At the time, this old woman believed that even if the child survived, it would not live long. Unable to bear the thought of it suffering alone in the world, I took it back to the estate and raised it under the eldest branch’s name…”"Your Majesty, you must know that from the very first day I decided to take him in and raise him, I never intended for you to learn of his connection to you. My original thought was to let the child live well for a few years—even if he were to pass in the end, it would still fulfill Wen Jing's final wish. But I never imagined the will of heaven would prove far beyond human reckoning. You'an grew into adulthood, and at sixteen, believing himself to be my son's illegitimate child, he seemed to despise his status and willingly left the capital in disgrace. When he was severely injured, it was you who saved him. From that moment, I knew you must have discovered his true identity. Ever since then, I have harbored constant unease..."
Perhaps due to the intensity of her emotions, Old Madam Pei suddenly began coughing violently, her face turning deathly pale.
Xiao Lie scrambled up from the floor in alarm and rushed to support her, gently rubbing her back.
Gradually, Old Madam Pei's breathing steadied, and she waved her hand weakly. "Your Majesty, though you now sit upon the throne as ruler of all under heaven, this may not be a blessing for You'an. To love him is to keep him at a distance—to act as though he were not your son at all. That would be the greatest protection you could offer him. Yet you have not done so! Over these years, I have watched with my own eyes as you drew closer to You'an. I presume Your Majesty also never intended for him to learn of his true origins. But have you considered, Your Majesty, what would happen if one day his identity were revealed? Where would that leave You'an? How would he bear it? And what would those around Your Majesty think?"
The room fell into silence once more.
After a long pause, Xiao Lie raised his head, clenched his jaw, and spoke each word with deliberate emphasis: "He is the son born to me by the one I loved most in this world. I will never allow anyone to harm him in the slightest—you need not worry, Madam."
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