Chapter 32.
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recap: in the previous chapter, Yi Ran decided to investigate and find people who still believed the late Crown Prince and Crown Princess were framed and unjustly executed. She managed to narrow down to Astronomer Wei. Su Yan visited Yi Ran for a casual talk and grew jealous of the woman's beauty. Back at her quarters, First Prince refused to visit her for dinner and it turned out that the pair were not as loving as the rumours turned out to be.
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With the last final stroke of her brush dipped in white paint, she twisted her wrist that had turned slightly sore from painting for too long. However, looking down at the big and smooth pebble she had just painted on, she let a satisfactory smile spread on her face. Lifting up her head, she saw a petite and slender figure dressed in pale yellow silk that draped her body like curtains, the long dresses messily splayed out on the cold wooden floor. The woman dressed in that subtly noble dress propped her head up with her hand, the other hand almost letting go the roll of book she was reading earlier and her head was already tipping off for a while.
"Princess, First Princess." Yi Ran waved her hand in front of First Princess, who by the third time Yi Ran called out her name, opened her eyes slightly and was met with the sharp daylight piercing into her eyes.
"Ah...I fell asleep?"
"The painting is done already." Yi Ran gently lifted the pebble with her fingers and swiftly turned it around, facing the princess.
"Woah...so this is how your cat Yi Rong looks like? So white...like snow."
"Do you like it? Just keep it."
"Really? Then I will keep it." First Princess stretched her arms out, lifting her sleeves in the process as she fetched the pebble into her hands, carefully blowing small cold winds onto the paint to dry them faster. Seeing how the First Princess was so delighted and very much immersed in the painting, Yi Ran made up her mind and spoke her request.
"That...First Princess...can you help me arrange something?"
"What?" First Princess lifted her eyes from the pebble.
"But you must not tell anyone!"
"What is it?"
"I...want to meet the Head Imperial Astronomer."
"Huh? What for?"
"I..." She began rethinking the excuse she had Bian Li helped conjure up before. Would First Princess think of her as being a dangerously ambitious woman if she said she wanted to ask for the Astronomer to look at the stars for the Yu family? Even she herself found that reason being too presumptuous, let alone others. Blinking her anxiety away, she saw the white painting on the stone and thought of a brilliant idea instead.
"I want him to see if Yi Rong will be pregnant anytime soon. That cat is female, but she has never gotten pregnant, not even once. I want to know when I can have small little Yi Rongs." At the end of her sentence, she realised how dumb she just sounded and internally imagined herself banging her head against the table for it.
"Wh-what...?" First Princess laughed at the ridiculous request for sometime before she managed to calm herself down.
"Such a request, do you really need the Head Imperial Astronomer to interfere? The Capital City should have a lot of fortune tellers, right?"
"Yes...but they said they cannot see anything from a cat's palm... They also asked for her Four Pillars of Destiny, but Yi Rong was adopted. How could I have it? So I think that the Head Imperial Astronomer would be able to do something." The more she said, the more she felt like slapping herself for her own stupidity. Bian Li who was listening at the side while waiting on the two masters were also holding back her laughter and covering it up by faking a chain of coughs.
"Fine, fine. I will think of something, but let me have a laugh first."
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Astronomer Wei agreed to meet you for a while at the palace's side garden, behind the tall stone sculpture.
Yi Ran lifted her dresses up and kept her eyes around at all times, on guard and not forgetting to watch out for the steps she took. Bian Li followed from behind, helping to look around as well.
"You stay here and help me watch out."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Yi Ran pulled out a short veil tied to her sash that was perfectly disguised as a handkerchief and tied it around her face before she dared to take her steps forward, to the stone sculpture. The stone sculpture was tall and wide enough to hide at least five men behind it. Turning to its behind, she saw a man, still dressed in weirdly-paired robes of mismatched colours. Tacky and eye-catching, he wore a hat with three long and stiff bird feathers on it.
"So what kind of precious cat requires a Head Imperial Astronomer to take a look at?" Astronomer turned around and noticed Yi Ran who had her veil cover up her features from nose downwards. When he looked properly enough, there was indeed a resemblance to someone he used to know, only when her features were hidden. He averted his eyes from his face and they found his way to her hands, her dresses and the grounds.
"Where is the cat?"
"The cat is not here."
"Then...Your Servant should take my leave first." Astronomer Wei flashed a faint smile on his face before he proceeded to turn his body around.
"Wait!" Yi Ran exclaimed and he immediately stopped in his tracks. For some reason, he was willing to listen to her.
"I...Will you tell me...what happened eighteen years ago?" Her words struck a bell in his mind and it suddenly felt like the bloody history repeated itself before him. The stench of blood that would not disappear no matter how many days the palace servants had spent scrubbing the grounds and walls. Bodies piling on top of bodies, fire breaking out with rolls of thick black smoke rising up the angry and thunderous sky. He could only thank the Heavens for sparing his life in that turmoil.
"What happened eighteen years ago?" He turned around again, now his eyes set themselves deep into hers, as if he was looking for answers.
"The...the turmoil...the rebel..."
"Your Highness do realise that this topic is better off not talked about, especially in the palace, right?"
"But..."
"Do Your Highness have anything to do with what happened eighteen years ago? Your Highness probably had not been born, or had just been born then. Your Servant excuse myself now." Just as he was about to turn around on his heels again, Yi Ran stopped him in his tracks by saying the most impactful words, almost exclaiming.
"I...am certain that one of your benefactor died that day." Her words felt like a sharp sword slicing at his already-wounded heart. His feet suddenly felt glued to the grounds and he forced himself hard to move but his body would not listen, for some unknown reason.
"Which benefactor might Your Highness be talking about?"
"Like you have said, this is a topic better off not said in the palace. Her name is also better off not mentioned," Yi Ran carefully formed her sentences, hoping that they would touch the heart of the Head Imperial Astronomer. He felt the colours of his face drained almost thoroughly while his eyes turned glassy, blurring his vision and his face heated up. He missed hearing that name, but it had not been mentioned for years. Even he himself dared not say her name out loud in his own bedchamber.
"What do Your Highness want?" When Yi Ran heard those words, she felt as if the darkness she had been drowning herself in was suddenly met with a glimmer of light that brought along with it, a tiniest bit of hope.
"I want the the truth about the rebellion."
"Why?"
"To bring the truth to light. To bring justice to those who died eighteen years ago. To...to make clear the difference between black and white."
A crackle sound of leaves startled both of them and they instinctively ducked down their bodies, squatting at another part of the stone sculpture. Looking at each other, they understood that it was too dangerous that day to talk about the rebellion.
"Your Highness is Second Prince's Side Consort. Your Servant is Head Imperial Astronomer. It is not proper for us to meet secretly like this. Your Servant will pass any messages to Bian Li. Your Highness should head back now," Astronomer Wei whispered under his breath, his voice low enough to ensure that any eavesdropper would not be able to hear him. Listening to his tone, it seemed that she m had earned his trust and thus, Yi Ran replied just by a nod of her head.
When Astronomer Wei pushed himself up carefully without creating any sound, he turned his back on her and again, left his final words to her, "Your Highness, it might have just been a while since you entered the palace," he paused for a while.
"But after staying in the palace for a while, Your Highness will know that there is no such thing as black and white."
"..."
"There is only black in the palace. Even if there is any white..."
"..."
"It is just white occasion*."
*white occasion: means death of someone. Opposite of white occasion is red occasion, which usually refers to marriage.
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"Are you serious?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Your Servant heard very clearly how Side Consort asked about Crown Prince Liu Zhong's rebellion eighteen years ago."
A moment of silence ensued with the end of the delivery of the message. The servant kept his eyes on the floor, not daring to look up at his master at this moment. The quietness of the chamber was only broken by the sound of birds chirping outside the windows. The silence tailed along for sometime, until his master moved a hand and placed it on the table.
"Investigate."
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At night, there was not a single star nor the moon on the sky that was vast beyond human's reach. The thunderous wailing of the sky serenaded the tears of Heavens that fell heavily on earth, perhaps possible to wash away the limitless sins humans had committed and left behind on this world. Unfortunately, it was never enough.
Astronomer Wei sat down on the brown cushion in his bed chamber, his hands placed on top of the low table before him as he nervously rubbed his own fingers. His eyes were fixated on the candle that had been blown off, but his mind had wandered miles away since just now. He already began having suspicions towards the real identity of Yi Ran when he saw Ru Yao as Madam Yu at the Yu Manor.
"Yi Ran... Yi Ran...Yi...Ran..." He repeated her name again and again, in hopes of a clue or two.
"Yi...Rong..." He found that name slipping out his throat on its own. The lightning stroke at that very instant, as though the Heavens were really angry, because they had been trying hard to protect the real identity of the pitiful woman but other people kept prying on what was originally meant to be a secret. His hand traveled to his face and he covered up his eyes with it, for he had found a secret so dangerous it was a taboo.
Despite him trying to cover up his eyes, the tears could not stop themselves from trailing down his face as he was crying, not for him nor Yi Ran, but for Crown Princess.
He began recalling his past, where he used to be a pitiful roadside orphaned boy who was already on the verge of death after starving for days. On a day just like this, the sky roared furiously as he laid on the streets, with nobody around until he heard faintly the sound of a horse carriage nearing. It stopped right before him and she came down, carrying with her the aura similar to the Goddess of Mercy, as kindness freely emanated from her, touching the Heavens and stopping the rain in that instant.
That was the first night ever he felt comfort and warmth in her house as her servants took care of her and a physician looked at him. Although her grandfather refused to take care of someone with unclear background, it was then that she pleaded the unmarried and childless Head Imperial Astronomer, who happened to have a close relationship with her grandfather, to take care of him.
If not for her kindness during that night that, he would have just been part of the earth now, becoming the ground that people stepped on every single day.
He knew he was not someone worthy to save, nor was he someone worthy of her. No one could describe the devastation he felt when she was going to be the Crown Princess. Wishing for her best was already the best he could do. However, when he saw her being treated coldly by the Crown Prince, he was filled with rage and finally mustered enough courage to try to convince her to leave with him to a place nobody could reach, to live a life just the two of them alone. Unfortunately, he only had himself to blame for he asked the question too late, only after she was confirmed pregnant. Life had always been toying around with their emotions, pushing people to their limits and he could never forget her face that was trickling down with tears. Were they tears of sadness or regret? When he weakly removed his hand from his face, his fingers traced around his cheeks, finding his face wet with the same tears she shed.
"Qiàn...Wéi Qiàn..." He whispered her name, after so many years he had not dared to even mention her name.
"Qián!" His scream was muffled by the lightning that came down shattering the earth at the same time and he felt satisfied for he was finally able to call out her name, even though it was only after her death.
Tears of hopelessness tasted bitter in his mouth, so bitter that only more of it came out.
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Sorry if I'm updating super slow, but I'm working now @.@ so yeah...I'll still write though!
What do you guys think about this chapter? :)
See you in the next chapter!