Chapter 460
Chapter 460
Of course, the King was currently leaning toward the Crown Prince as his successor. The Crown Prince was not only very much like him but even more ruthless. If he ascended the throne, he would undoubtedly stabilize the court and manage the officials well. However, his one drawback was his over-reliance on schemes and machinations; he was not righteous. This meant the Crown Prince would also find it difficult to walk the kingly path, choosing to rule through cunning rather than virtue. The path of a true king was an arduous one. It demanded one's full effort in devising ways to govern, handling every matter with prudence and sincerity to strengthen the nation. It was because of the Crown Prince's nature that Ning Yuanxian had also given the Third Prince, Ying Qi, a chance.
Ying Qi was the complete opposite of the Crown Prince. He was upright, fierce, strong, and confident, disdaining ostentation. But Ying Qi also had his flaws; he placed too much importance on martial figures and the Blackwater Terrace. Such a disposition could easily lead to tyranny, and even if not, he was likely to become a ruthless monarch. It seemed there was no truly perfect heir in this world.
The King read Shen Lang's words over and over, trying to accept Shen Lang's persuasion. But after several attempts, what was impossible remained impossible. He simply could not believe that Ying Zheng was suitable for the throne. He trusted Shen Lang, but he had no trust in Ying Zheng whatsoever, nor did he feel any affinity for him. The mere thought of Ying Zheng, the image of his face, filled him with aversion. The King once again emphasized it to himself.
‘Nonsense, utter nonsense! Even if the State of Yue were to fall tomorrow, I would not pass the throne to Ying Zheng, not even for a single day.’
Just then, Li Sun knelt as if to confess a crime, and Ning Yuanxian asked him the reason.
“What is it?”
“This servant sent a dog to record the conversation between Shen Lang and His Highness Ying Zheng, but that dog deceived Your Majesty.”
Ning Yuanxian compared the three copies of the record. They were identical; there was no sign of deception. However, on one copy, the handwriting showed a slight change, as if the writer’s heart had wavered. Grand Eunuch Li Sun said:
“At a critical moment, that dog coughed, alerting Shen Lang and His Highness the Fifth Prince to be cautious in their conversation.”
Ning Yuanxian’s gaze turned cold.
“Bring him here.”
The low-ranking eunuch was summoned. He had thought he was the only one monitoring the conversation between Shen Lang and Ying Zheng, unaware there were two others. But after recording the conversation, he had voluntarily confessed his actions to Li Sun.
“What is your name?”
“Feng Chen.”
*Oh? That name is quite well-chosen. It doesn't sound like it came from a common family.* (In Mandarin, Feng Chen sounds the same as 風塵, meaning ‘wind and dust,’ a term for the chaotic mortal world).
“He is from the Great Grace Pavilion.”
Those raised in the Great Grace Pavilion were all descendants of criminals. Many of the boys raised there were castrated and became eunuchs once they were old enough.
“Why did you cough to alert Shen Lang and Ying Zheng?”
At Ning Yuanxian’s question, the low-ranking eunuch Feng Chen kowtowed and cried out.
“This servant deserves death, I deserve death!”
“You may deserve death, but let us hear your reasons first.”
“This servant heard that His Highness Ying Zheng voluntarily took all the blame upon himself to protect Lord Shen Lang’s concubine. This servant was filled with admiration for him and instinctively coughed to alert him. This servant deserves death…”
In truth, the young eunuch saw his own brother in Ying Zheng. Years ago, when his family fell, Feng Chen was already eleven and should have been executed with the rest. But his older brother had rushed out, shouting that the boy was only ten and shouldn't be killed, telling them to weigh him if they didn't believe it. Feng Chen had been sickly and small for his age, appearing no older than eight or nine, and he weighed very little. Thanks to this, Feng Chen survived and was sent to the Great Grace Pavilion, but his brother, who had saved him, was naturally executed along with their family. His brother had protected Feng Chen, an illegitimate son, until the very end, a perfect example of a brother acting as a father.
Ying Zheng had shouldered the crime of murder to protect Bing'er and was now imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court. Feng Chen was deeply moved by this, reminded of his own brother who had protected him even at the cost of his life. That was why he had coughed at that critical moment, hoping to alert him.
“Give him thirty strokes of the cane. If he dies, so be it. If by some luck he survives, throw him into the Laundry Supervision!”
“As you command. Thank you for Your Majesty’s immense grace.”
The low-ranking eunuch Feng Chen also kowtowed and said:
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s immense grace.”
He was then dragged out and fiercely beaten with thirty strokes of the cane, left a bloody mess, his fate uncertain.
***
The next day.
The King slept until noon. Concubine Bian, despite her heavily pregnant belly, personally prepared a meal for him. She was now about five months along. Seeing her, Ning Yuanxian spoke gently.
“My dear concubine, you are with child and should be resting. Why do you trouble yourself so?”
Concubine Bian replied tenderly.
“It is boring to just lie around. They say it is good for a pregnant woman to move about a little. I only prepared a few simple dishes and stayed away from the oily fumes.”
Ning Yuanxian gazed at Concubine Bian. The Queen was his official wife, but she was too proud, too proper. The woman before him, Concubine Bian, was the wife who truly connected with his heart. He adored her so much that he wished he could love every part of her. Ning Yuanxian cherished this feeling dearly; Concubine Bian was one of the few people he considered close to his heart.
Looking at Concubine Bian, Ning Yuanxian felt a warmth and happiness spread through him, but a dark thought followed. The imperial physicians had repeatedly given him grim reports. Concubine Bian’s body was too frail and was not suited for pregnancy in the first place. The fetus had been unstable from the start, and there had been several near-miscarriages, which she had forcefully prevented with medicine. Concubine Bian had told them not to inform the King, but the physicians, not daring to deceive him, had reported everything.
Yet Ning Yuanxian, knowing this, could not bring himself to let her know that he knew. He could only pray in his heart. Even in that moment, Ning Yuanxian only wished for his wife's well-being; he dared not be greedy about the child in her womb.
Sensing the King’s gaze, Concubine Bian turned slightly and smiled tenderly, but the smile froze on her face. Her complexion suddenly turned pale, and her whole body began to tremble. Then, a gush of blood poured from her.
“My husband, Your Majesty…!”
Concubine Bian cried out his name in a tragic voice before collapsing. Ning Yuanxian felt a chill run down his spine, frozen as if struck by lightning. After a long moment, he shot up and rushed forward to embrace her. As he held her in his arms, bright red blood gushed from between her legs. Ning Yuanxian let out a desolate, sharp cry.
“Someone, someone! Come and save her, you must save her!”
***
The King was on the verge of losing his mind. Dozens of imperial physicians went in, but no good news emerged. Ning Yuanxian, who had never prayed in his life, now hid himself away, knelt on the floor, and prayed to the heavens and gods.
“Lord on High, I beg you, do not take my wife from me. Heaven, you have already taken one of my wives; you cannot take the second. I, Ning Yuanxian, cannot bear it anymore. Lord on High, please have mercy. I, Ning Yuanxian, will accumulate merit and perform good deeds from now on. I, Ning Yuanxian, will gladly die ten years earlier, just please, do not take my wife.”
Half an hour later, an elderly imperial physician knelt and kowtowed.
“Your Majesty, this subject has done everything in his power, but Concubine Bian took too much medicine to preserve the fetus, and her body was already severely damaged. With the miscarriage, she has suffered a massive hemorrhage, and this subject… is truly powerless.”
A massive hemorrhage meant a great loss of blood. Even the imperial physicians could not stop the bleeding. She was certain to die. Ning Yuanxian screamed in a hoarse voice.
“If you cannot save my concubine, you will all be buried with her!”
The old physician immediately kowtowed and said:
“This subject is old and does not fear death. But even if Your Majesty kills me, Concubine Bian will not be saved.”
His words all but confirmed Concubine Bian’s death. Ning Yuanxian staggered, unable to stand, and collapsed to the floor as tears streamed down his face.
*Have I committed too much slaughter, sinned too greatly, that the heavens are now punishing me? Heaven, why have you chosen Concubine Bian to bear the price of my sins?*
Ning Yuanxian was filled with despair, his entire world turning dark. Just then, Grand Eunuch Li Sun spoke.
“Your Majesty, what about summoning Shen Lang? He possesses miraculous medical skills. Did he not cure Zhang Chong’s incurable appendicitis? Perhaps… perhaps he can save Her Highness, Concubine Bian!”
In Ning Yuanxian's mind, the image of Concubine Bian turning to smile at him replayed endlessly. A sense of fate washed over him. His first wife used to turn and smile at him just like that. When a woman feels the gaze of the man she loves on her back, she naturally wants to respond. What could be more fitting than turning to offer a smile?
His first wife, back when she was the Crown Princess, had also cooked for him almost every day. It wasn't to curry favor, but simply to care for her husband. She alone knew what foods he liked, what he needed to eat, and she personally cooked for him to ensure his meals were balanced.
But Ning Yuanxian had betrothed Princess Ying Han to the yet-unborn heir of the Kangli Prefecture, which put him in a difficult position and forced him to depose the then-Queen. His first and true wife had died of a broken heart because of it. Ning Yuanxian knew well that his former wife, though deeply hurt at the time, had never blamed him. And now, Concubine Bian had turned and smiled in the exact same way as his long-departed first wife, who had left such a deep scar on his heart, before collapsing in a pool of blood. Now, Ning Yuanxian had lost his unborn child and was about to lose Concubine Bian as well.
The repetition felt like fate, as if the heavens were punishing him. His mind filled with images of all the people he had killed, all the sins he had committed. It felt as if heaven was taking away the woman he loved because of his sins. It had already taken his beloved first wife long ago, and now it was coming for Concubine Bian. Was heaven decreeing that Ning Yuanxian was fated never to love anyone? The moment he loved a woman, heaven would take her away. Could it be that he was a true Star of Calamity, destined to bring misfortune to those around him and live a life of solitude?