Chapter Seventeen: Master, Rong'er Was Wrong

“All right, you two little rascals, I’m fine—just confined for three days. Now go quickly; it won’t be good if anyone finds out later.” Consort Xuan gently ruffled Shen Qiuning’s hair.

Shen Qiuning looked at Consort Xuan reluctantly. Gu Yan cupped his hands respectfully. “Consort Xuan, please take care of your health.”

With that, he lifted Shen Qiuning and climbed over the high wall to leave.

“We’ve already met, so you can rest easy now,” Gu Yan said, staring intently at Shen Qiuning.

Feeling his gaze, Shen Qiuning’s expression turned somewhat uneasy. “Well... let’s head back first.”

Gu Yan crossed his arms and followed behind her. Suddenly, Shen Qiuning stopped and turned around, colliding with him. Gu Yan steadied her waist. “Watch where you’re going, will you?”

Shen Qiuning pushed him away and took a step back. “Gu Yan, why did you suddenly agree?”

“I—”

“Brother Gu Yan! Finally found you! My handkerchief got caught on a branch by the wind, and I can’t reach it. Can you help me?” The Fifth Princess came running, grabbing his sleeve.

She glanced at Shen Qiuning. “Are you the Miss Shen?”

Gu Yan pulled his sleeve free and looked toward Shen Qiuning. She offered a polite smile. “Yes, Your Highness. If the Fifth Princess has business with General Gu, I will take my leave.”

She bowed slightly and walked toward the palace banquet.

“Fifth Princess, there are guards and servants in the palace; there’s no need to seek me out. Perhaps you should focus your thoughts elsewhere,” Gu Yan said, unwilling to be entangled with other women.

The Fifth Princess stomped her foot in anger as she watched him walk away. What was so special about that Miss Shen anyway?

Since that encounter, Shen Qiuning did not once meet Gu Yan’s gaze for the remainder of the event.

They were merely allies, standing on the same side when necessary, with no need for further contact.

On the second day of her confinement, Consort Xuan received a letter from her master.

“Greetings, my dear. I am your Uncle A Yuan. I wonder if you still remember me. Master Guan asked me to reply to your letter. He has contracted tuberculosis and has little time left. He is bedridden and only seemed a bit better when he saw your letter. I wonder if Consort Xuan might return to visit him once. Master Guan awaits you.”

The letter slipped from her hand as a sharp pain gripped Consort Xuan’s chest. She rushed out of the Chang Le Palace and headed straight for the emperor’s study.

“Consort Xuan, do you realize you are still under house arrest?” Emperor Yongqing’s voice was stern.

“Your Majesty, I beg you, please allow me to leave the palace to visit my master in Yizhou. He has tuberculosis, and if I don’t see him now, I may never see him again!” Consort Xuan knelt, tears streaming uncontrollably.

The emperor’s heart was torn as he looked at her. “Don’t be anxious. I will have Gu Yan escort you back immediately.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” At that moment, Consort Xuan was truly grateful.

She wanted nothing more than to see her master as soon as possible. What should have been a nearly two-day journey was accomplished in one day.

Consort Xuan knocked on the door. “Master, it’s Rong’er!”

Uncle A Yuan opened it. “Greetings, Consort. Your master is inside, but he is on his last breath.”

Gu Yan’s heart clenched upon hearing this. Just days ago, he had seemed well. How did he suddenly fall ill? Could it be that he was already...

Consort Xuan rushed inside and pushed open the door. There lay her master, once so robust, now reduced to a frail shadow.

“Master, Rong’er has come to see you. I am late,” she said, leaning over the bedside, tears falling like scattered pearls.

Guan Hezong gently stroked Consort Xuan’s hair, just like when she was a child. “Rong’er, you’ve grown thin. I received your letter. If life in the palace is unbearable, come home.”

“Rong’er understands. Master, you will live a long life, right? I want you to live a long life.” Consort Xuan held her master’s hand tightly.

“Rong’er, meeting is only to part. I will go ahead first. Seeing you one last time satisfies me.” His hand slipped from hers.

“Master! Didn’t you promise to live long? Wake up! I still have so much to tell you, so many happy stories.” Consort Xuan wept until she fainted. Gu Yan supported her gently.

“Consort Xuan, accept my condolences.” Gu Yan did not know what else to say.

Uncle A Yuan sighed deeply as he looked at Consort Xuan. He turned to a cabinet and retrieved a letter. “Master Guan instructed me to give this to you after he passed.”

Consort Xuan carefully folded the letter and began arranging her master’s funeral. She buried him on a quiet, flower-filled hill—a place he loved, peaceful and serene.

She dismissed everyone and knelt alone before the tomb, opening the letter.

“Rong’er, by the time you receive this, I will have gone. When you were young, you followed me around, calling me teacher. You even thought I was old then. In the blink of an eye, you have grown up and found someone you love. That means I have truly aged. I didn’t want to stop you from following your heart, but I feared the deep palace would trap you forever. You have always been like a little sparrow, chirping and fluttering freely. Going into that deep palace to fly so wildly would only hurt yourself. These past ten years, you never once wrote to me. Perhaps you resented me. After reading this letter, don’t grieve for me. I have been content all my life. My only regret is not seeing you one last time before I left. I wonder what kind of Consort you have become—probably more composed. It’s all my fault for quarreling with you back then, making you unwilling to speak to me. I hope you are well in the palace. I will watch over your safety from heaven. Until we meet again in the next life.”

Signed, “Your Master Guan.”

Tears blurred Consort Xuan’s vision. She folded the letter and burned joss paper for her master.

“Master, it’s Rong’er. I was wrong. I came to see you, and all is well in the palace. Chen Yuan protects me well, but now I cannot understand him. Master, do you think I chose wrongly back then? May you rest in peace, and please watch over Ning’er. She is connected to me by fate. I have no children, so I consider her my own. If you still have spirit in heaven, please bless her. I will not disturb your peace any longer. I will come to see you every year. Rong’er is leaving now. Master, may you live a long life in the next world.”

Consort Xuan stood and walked to Gu Yan’s side. “Let us go. Let Master rest in peace.”

Back at the palace, Consort Xuan sat daily at her desk, gazing at a wooden hairpin. Emperor Yongqing looked at her with immense guilt.

Shen Qiuning came every day to keep Consort Xuan company. After half a month, Consort Xuan’s mood began to improve.

Early this morning, Shen Qiuning brought a carefully prepared calming herbal soup to Consort Xuan and happened to encounter Gu Yan leaving the emperor’s study.

“Gu Yan, has the Empress been acting strangely lately?” Shen Qiuning pulled him into a small pavilion.

Gu Yan narrowed his eyes. “How do you know? You always get news faster than anyone in the palace. Shen Qiuning, what secrets are you hiding?”

“General Gu, we are only allies. Knowing too much isn’t good for either of us. If you don’t wish to tell me, then I will take my leave. I still must deliver this soup to Consort Xuan.” Shen Qiuning stood up to leave.

As expected, Gu Yan grabbed her wrist. Shen Qiuning smiled slightly, knowing this trick would work.