Xia Niangniang - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Jue Yu, upon the mention that they were coming from the Palace, without any reason, had a burst of anger.

“I knew it. There are no good things coming from that Royal Palace.” He took the sword that hung on the wall, “The whole time we are here, there were never any problems. Now they are coming to look for one!!”

The Blind Concubine hurriedly stopped him, “You alone fighting against that many, we only have a group of children here, even if you are not to think about yourself, please think about the children.”

Jue Yu held the sword tightly in his hand, then said: “I will go out to have a look.”

Both of them stepped into the middle of the garden. At the garden’s gate, a crowd of people wearing black were lining up. Soldiers with swords hung on their waist. The leader of those people was one with dashing eyebrows and starry eyes. Face was of tranquility. Wearing an embroidered brocade robe. On his waist, there was a fine jade. He didn’t hold either sword nor sabre in his hand, only a folding fan.

Upon the sight of this person, Jue Yu let out a cold laughter: “Such a large spectacle, I was wondering who was coming!”

The Blind Concubine was unable to see, he busily asked: “Who are they?”

Jue Yu didn’t answer his question. It was that person who saw the Blind Concubine, opened his mouth and said: “It’s me!”

The Blind Concubine heard that voice, he was unable to restrain his cry: “AH!!”

Why is he coming?

He couldn’t help but have a fit of panic in his heart.

How did he know that I am here? Was it General Qi who told him? But, General Qi wouldn’t do that. It must be him, who interrogated and forced General Qi to tell. I have disappeared for a long while, I didn’t even leave a word behind, will he hate me for that?

In that moment, he had thought of many possibilities. Each and every possibility made the Blind Concubine’s heart skip a beat.

The Emperor moved forward a step, then spoke to him: “Go back with me to the Palace.”

The Blind Concubine flustered and retreated while blurting out: “No… I can’t go back!”

The Empress Dowager wouldn’t let him be. If he went back, he feared that everything would only point to disaster. Perhaps, General Qi and Xiao Bao would also suffer a calamity together with him.

The Emperor’s face was cold and rigid, he said: “You suddenly disappeared, ‘I’ dispatched people to look for you all over the Palace for several days, however, even your shadow was not to be seen. I suspected you must have gone out of the Palace. Made an inquire with the guards who were on gate duty. They said that on that night, there was nothing out of the ordinary. After being severely tortured for two days, they then revealed that Qi Sheng bribed the on gate duty guards. Hid you on the carriage and took you out from the Palace.”

( t/n : for some reason, the Emperor started to use the Royal ‘I’ from here onwards. all over. Maybe he was upset when he use the normal ‘I’ TBC rejected him, so he started to use Royal ‘I’ to show his superiority. *shrugs* maybe… XD )

The Blind Concubine bit down on his lips, his expression became gloomy : “It was me who begged General Qi to take me out of the Palace, Your Majesty, please don’t blame General Qi.”

The Emperor’s face color changed, with a cold remark he said: “Both of you truly have a deep and profound feeling towards each other. Do you know what Qi Sheng told me? He told me that all this was definitely his idea, it has got nothing to do with you. He endured his punishment of ten whips, yet remained unwilling to tell where exactly he had brought you to. Both of you are the pair of unfortunate affectionate couple and I have become a complete villain!!”

The Blind Concubine with a ‘thump’ fell to kneel down on the ground. His head hit the icy cold and hard surface of the earth, “It is me who has wronged Your Majesty. I had committed a sin. Your Majesty, please, just punish me. Please let them go.”

The Emperor’s face appeared with a layer of icy cold expression. He articulated his words in a slow speech: “To secretly run away to the outside of the Palace, you will not end up with a light charge. No need to beg! I will also punish you, what are you worried for?”

He waved his sleeve, immediately, there were two imperial bodyguards who stepped forward. One from the right, one from the left, they pulled the Blind Concubine up from the ground and dragged him to the gate.

Jue Yu flew into a rage: “Rui Xuan!! What do you take my place as?!!”

The Emperor’s face sank like water. His pitch black pupil darkened as if bottomless, “Jue Yu. I was taking into account the feelings of the Former Emperor so I give you a way out by treating you leniently. Don’t push your luck! If I wanted to destroy your small Pear Garden, it would be as easy as turning my hand. The Former Emperor had formed some kind of pledge with your father. Definitely not with me. You certainly understand, don’t you!”   

His words were filled with rage. His face had also turned livid with rage. He turned his body and strode out of the garden.

The Blind Concubine hung his head so deeply like he couldn’t lift it up anymore. Blood was seeping out from his forehead. His originally plain but neat clothes had been covered in dirt. He was being fuddled while being brought down the mountain. His hands and his legs was being shackled by black and icy cold chains, just like that, he was thrown in the horse carriage.

The Emperor opened the curtain and entered the carriage as well. He said lightly to the carriage driver: “Go!”

The carriage slowly moved forward. The wheel grinded as it weighed down on sharp pointed rocks, then swayed violently.

The Blind Concubine couldn’t bear it, he closed his eyes and stretched his hands to cover his ears. He curled up his body in a form of a ball.

The Emperor’s face had still looked angry. Firmly, he jerked the hands and threw them down, “You make this kind of pitiful appearance, for whom?”

The Blind Concubine only shook his head, he tried hard to restrain his tears from falling down.

The Emperor spoke again: “I hold you dear, I do whatever for you. You actually commit this kind of shameless affair, who gave you the nerve?!” The last sentence was spoken with the utmost weight, as if the words were squeezed out from the space between his teeth.

The Blind Concubine, from head to toe, trembled greatly. He forced himself to get up and kneel before the Emperor. “It was me who caused the trouble. General Qi took me out of the Palace, I admit my wrong doing…..” He bumped his head on the carriage floor and made a thumping sound.

When he lifted up his face, a thread of fresh blood was zigzagging like a centipede crawling down his face to the corner of his mouth.

His face was ghastly pale. His eyes were ashen and dimmed. The entirety of his face was completely lacking of the blood color. There was only the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth which was horrible to see as it astonished the heart.

The Emperor unexpectedly pushed him away, “I will never believe you again!”

The Blind Concubine’s face was filled with despair seemingly already giving up all the hope. His body gradually slid down, slanted to the side, silent with no more words.

-------

After several days, the large troops finally arrived at the Capital.

Xiao Bao was in the middle of feeding the two red-billed leiothrix birds when he suddenly heard voices passing by from the front gate. It was a kind of clamoring voice. His heart skipped a beat. Hurriedly he put down the birds’ food in his hand, then with lightning speed, he ran over to eavesdrop.

On the corner of a certain place, several of the Palace’s maidens gathered and talked in a whisper. Xiao Bao carefully inched closer as he cautiously walked along the wall’s side while sticking his ears out for better listening.

“Did you know? His Majesty has come back to the Capital today.”

“The guards on the gate duty said, they brought back the Blind Concubine who absconded from the Palace.”

“You guys didn’t see the Emperor’s face color. It was so dark to the point of being similar with the bottom of the pot. Frightened the front Palace’s servants, even they didn’t dare to bring in the tea.”

“So, how was the Blind Concubine punished??”

“The Blind Concubine has been thrown into the prison, severe punishment is impossible to be evaded.”

The Palace’s maidens one by one nodding their heads in agreement and sighed with sadness.

Upon hearing that, Xiao Bao gradually sank in sadness.

At the time when the Blind Concubine disappeared, The Emperor also came to him and interrogated him. He was totally anxious to the point of losing his sanity at that time. That kind of expression was not easy to be feigned. Therefore, he escaped the calamity of the interrogation. The guards on the gate duty couldn’t be as fortunate as him and imitate his luck, they were tortured severely during the interrogation and by then they confessed the name of General Qi. General Qi also suffered the whip punishment, but he stubbornly didn’t say a word all through the punishment. In the end, The Emperor caught that very day carriage driver; he could finally ascertain the Blind Concubine’s whereabouts. Immediately he set out to search for him.

This time, The Blind Concubine returned to the Palace, he might have to endure the hardship.

His body was as weak as a cat. Even a gust of wind could blow him away. How could he endure any kind of punishment?

Upon these kinds of thoughts, Xiao Bao was on the verge of crying.

He had been taking very good care of the Blind Concubine. He would assist him for every little thing he needed thoroughly. The Blind Concubine couldn’t see, so even the smallest chores he didn’t want to let the Blind Concubine do. Scissors, sewing kits, he put them all in a far far away place, unreachable for the Blind Concubine. He even trimmed all the thorns on the flowers in the garden, Yu Li’s nails were also clipped and pruned, he was afraid that if not being careful, all those things would hurt the Blind Concubine.

He had served the Blind Concubine for a very long time, the Blind Concubine despite being thin, there wasn’t even a single scar on his body. The Blind Concubine was unable to see, even for the things in front of him, he could only grope wildly to feel it, therefore his hands could be easily injured. However, the Blind Concubine’s hands, white and clean, his fingers also beautiful and well distributed, even the tiniest scraped mark couldn’t be found.

But the Emperor, who only came not long ago, has the Blind Concubine’s entire body already full of bruises and marks.

How could his heart not hurt?

How could he not be having a grudge?

The Blind Concubine was sitting in a dark and cold prison. The straw mattress under his body was wet. The iron shackles on his hands and legs were icy cold and difficult to bear. In front of his eyes forever would be the unlimited darkness.  It was as if he was falling into a deep pond, a deep and quite icy cold lake. The water soaked him from his ankles, overflowed to his waist, drowned his neck, poured into his mouth, filling all his lungs. Little by little, the suffocating feeling tormented his body.

There was nobody that could help him and pull him out. He could only sink deeper and deeper. To the depths of darkness.

“Master!!”

There was a piercing anxious voice like a clap of thunder by his ear side, “Master, It’s me, Xiao Bao!! Master, please wake up!!”

The Blind Concubine suddenly woke up with a start, he opened his mouth as if gasping for air. It was like he was just being saved from his drowning and being pulled to the land. Fresh cold air was gushing in and filled his lungs. Almost like hearing the calling.

Xiao Bao’s voice was carrying the hint of sobs: “Master just now was spirited away. Only exhaled without inhaling. Your fingertips have also become white!!”

The Blind Concubine groped about to touch Xiao Bao’s hand, once he touched it, he held his hand firmly: “How do you come here?”

Xiao Bao was answering him while crying: “I begged the Little Prince to bribe the prison guards, to let me enter and see you, Master.”

The Blind Concubine gritted his teeth: “I am fine, it doesn’t matter. You quickly leave!”

Xiao Bao was unwilling to go, “What are you going to do Master? The Emperor was enraged to the utmost. Even the pleading and begging from the Little Prince he didn’t want to listen to anymore. If by any chance something happened to Master in this prison, even if I was crying to death, I would never be able to get you back.”

The Blind Concubine shook his head repeatedly. His power seemingly had been exhausted, “What I am afraid the most at the moment, definitely is not about this.”

Xiao Bao’s voice had become hoarse: “What are you afraid of, Master?”

The Blind Concubine slowly sighed a mouthful air: “Empress Dowager.”

“Empress Dowager?”

“Mmh!”

“But…….” Xiao Bao was hesitant for a while, “The Empress Dowager had already been a vegetarian and prayed for Buddha for many years already, she didn’t mingle herself in the Palace affairs anymore. Master, why are you wary of her?”

The Blind Concubine shut his eyes and shook his head, “Others affairs, The Empress Dowager wouldn’t mind. My affairs, the Empress Dowager most definitely would want to mind.”

Xiao Bao was totally at a loss as he didn’t understand.

The Blind Concubine laughed with a saddened tone for a while, “Who do you think was the one who messed with my eyes and made me blind a long time ago?”

End of The Blind Concubine chapter 19.