Leaving the Changmen Palace - LTCP 12: Wind

The inner court and the outer court are different, after all.

Even though Han Yan has been gaining favor with Liu Che every day, he is able to move around the palace virtually unhindered.

Nevertheless, Chen Jiao, another key figure in this case, who is meant to be “one of those who should know,” was the last to be informed.

This made Han Yan a little more interested in her.

Given his position, he was barely able to resist the empress dowager’s anger. Although the empress dowager purported to want to engage the empress in a confrontation with him, the true goal was to incite the grand empress dowager’s displeasure. Even Liu Che couldn’t defend him then, so it would be best if the elderly woman took the initiative.

There can still be some emotional bond between a mother and son. The empress dowager orders are not always followed by Liu Che, but things change when the grand empress dowager speaks.

This was a day that Han Yan had long dreaded; he simply didn’t think the grand empress dowager would get involved.

For more than a decade, Zhou Wenren from the former dynasty was preferred, and the Zhou family was never under pressure from the grand empress dowager.

Han Yan simply didn’t anticipate that the empress would not only not be provoked, but would also defend him and absolve him of any suspicion of partiality.

In any case, it has eliminated the terms “luck” and “nepotism” from everyone’s vocabulary.

The innocence of Liu Che and Han Yan has been personally verified by the empress herself. Wouldn’t it be slapping Han Yan across the face if someone continued to treat him like a male pet?

The empress dowager’s instructions had already been conveyed to the majority of the palace servants, who were generally unfriendly toward him.

His circumstances had temporarily improved significantly as a result of Chen Jiao’s remarks. He had no intention of appearing ungrateful towards her, yet he couldn’t help but find the concept of gratitude in this situation slightly ironic: it was expected for a concubine in the palace to show appreciation. However, his position was somewhat delicate, making it unclear whether or not he should acknowledge her thanks.

Liu Che appeared to want to increase the embarrassment the more challenging it got.

Although Han Yan had always been free to move around the Yongxiang and Yeting, Liu Che now occasionally even accompanied Chen Jiao on his leisure excursions.

The empress was only left in the city when he was required to spend the night away for the so-called inspection tours.

Naturally, one must ride and gallop when hunting, and it is nearly impossible to avoid the so-called strict separation of men and women.

Chen Jiao swiftly rose to prominence alongside Liu Che.

Quiet as an orchid, this empress has generated a lot of conversation, and of course, some admiring eyes are trailing her like shadows. Luckily, Liu Che is surrounded by intelligent people; all the undercurrents are well hidden from the two nobles.

“People like us can easily desecrate or offend the status of the empress,” Han Yan told his brothers in a firm warning. “She is well aware of the taboos. We have to comply with her even more. Never, unless it is absolutely necessary, should we examine the empress’ appearance, much less speak to her. This is a serious violation. Even if the emperor doesn’t mind, I will have to handle it in accordance with family rules once we get back if we offend her.”

If Han Yan didn’t know how to act properly, it would be hard to gain Liu Che’s approval. Even though they laughed freely and even playfully punched the emperor when they were pleased.

He would watch Chen Jiao warily and suspiciously, only letting himself indulge when he was certain that no one was looking.

As though she were encased in a layer of ice, she was always extremely quiet. She was also exquisitely hard, dazzling, and indifferent, in addition to being beautiful and translucent.

She would only melt a little in Liu Che’s eyes, revealing a ripple-like smile. But this smile had a cold core as well.

As the empress of the Han Dynasty and the noble daughter of the imperial family, Han Yan was very interested in whether Liu Che realized that his wife was a true ice person. He was uncertain whether she was ever real, and even her smiles would be phony.

However, it appeared that Liu Che had become used to her temperament and even accepted it, seeing her coldness as typical. He showed her some love and sympathy because, after all, this young wife of his was not like the others.

Han Yan was acquainted with many of the men and women who had been on the dragon bed. Liu Che, who appreciated their skill, ability, or simply the capacity to bring him joy, had in fact given preference to some of them.

But this was all too self-serving, and maybe all emperors were like that.

Liu Che had no need to care and never gave a damn about other people’s happiness or sorrows. Han Yan only knew that he cared about Chen Jiao; he had no idea how he felt about the grand empress dowager or the empress dowager.

Since the road was muddy and uneven and Chen Jiao’s riding appeared to be lacking, the emperor would repeatedly turn around after a rainstorm to see if she was in any pain.

Eventually he led the way out of the thick forest, whispering to the empress as he simply and intimately drew her into his arms.

He was able to display some of his uncommon tenderness only when he was with her.

Han Yan’s heart was moved, and he briefly experienced an unfathomable sadness that even startled him.

Did he still think Liu Che would show him love and tenderness and give him special attention?

He’s so sick of living, then.

Those behind them released their horses one by one.

With an intriguing expression, Li Danghu teased Han Yan by whistling at him and kicking his horse in the belly.

Han Yan awoke instantly.

With a hint of concealment, he gestured toward the horizon, and before he could say anything more, a girl’s gentle, carefree laughter erupted from beyond the forest.

The laughter was sharp and abrupt, like porcelain dropping to the floor.

It surprised even the person who laughed that the laughter would reveal so much joy and innocence. With the flick of ten fingers, it was as though someone’s heartstrings were suddenly taut, creating an unending clamor.

There was still a hint of surprise in Chen Jiao’s voice as he heard her say, “Your Majesty, look, a rainbow.”

Unexpectedly and simultaneously, the two of them saw the rainbow at the edge of the sky from dozens of steps away.

Two mirrored rainbow clouds were neatly dispersed across the horizon after a recent downpour, their incredibly exquisite and extravagant colors accentuated by the clear sky.

Liu Che laughed a lot, his loving reprimands resonating through the leaves. They were not as clear as Chen Jiao’s, and they were even a little muffled, but they were still full of joy.

“Uncultured, just a rainbow in the sky—” The empress’ glare may have caused the voice to break off in the middle, and low laughter reverberated.

His voice then became very affectionate, “From outside the palace, isn’t it much more beautiful than from inside?”

Although Chen Jiao’s response was still enticing, her words had once again taken on a chilly tone.

Laughing lightly, she said, “That’s what you said, not me.”

The laughter became even more fervent.

After Han Yan’s hand gradually dropped, he saw Li Danghu ride out of the forest, following the chaos. After the rain, he allowed the thick greenery to envelop him as he stood astride his horse in the deep forest.

The golden hair tie that bound his hair and his clothes were lifted by a gust of wind.

Han Yan drew back his long eyelashes and let out a slow, inconsistent breath.

…

The empress dowager also had her issues with Liu Che’s bold behavior.

“It would have been acceptable if you went out alone, but instead, you decided to bring Jiaojiao along!” She reprimanded him directly in front of Chen Jiao, “Considering she is the head of the harem, it is inappropriate for her to act in such a way with you. How can she uphold her dignity if she is behaving recklessly with you?”

She looked at Chen Jiao, she noticed that her back was tense and her face had fallen awkwardly, indicating that she was bowing her head to hear the reprimand.

Even though Liu Che was filial to his mother, his impatience was visible on his face. He wouldn’t take a word of her repeated words seriously for such insignificant matters and appeared even more subtly annoyed upon witnessing Chen Jiao’s embarrassment.

His expression slack, as though he was only partially paying attention.

The empress dowager apologized for Chen Jiao and lowered her voice, “Everyone is aware of Jiaojiao’s generally good behavior. They are willing to go out and cause trouble with you for more reasons than just making you happy. In addition to the fact that the people in your immediate vicinity failed to counsel you, avoid doing this in the future.”

Ultimately, she continued to dislike that group of Han Yan’s noble relatives and the sons and daughters of the marquess.

Liu Che was wrong and refused to respond, but he also steadfastly disobeyed her orders.

He muttered and complained for a while before looking at Chen Jiao, “Jiaojiao, let’s serve the empress dowager her meal.”

When they finally succeeded in getting the empress dowager to smile grudgingly, they walked side by side back to Weiyang Palace, leaving together.

It would take nearly half a day for the two deities who lived in the Changle Palace to pay their respects. Liu Che was required to take Chen Jiao out for play and to spend the night hunting close to Shanglin Garden and Ganquan Garden outside of the city.

He was clearly not very interested in state affairs anymore. His meetings with ministers had become much less frequent in the last few months.

In Chen Jiao’s heart, she wasn’t perplexed, and she had also questioned the voice, “What does this mean? Instead, you loosen the string when it comes to it.”

“I really have no interest in court affairs…” it responded in a slightly uncomfortable tone.

Helpless, Chen Jiao could only sigh for it to hear. But this greatly annoyed it, which huffed repeatedly and for days refused to speak to her.

The thought is amusing: being so old and still pouting like a child, making oneself appear like a grumpy old person, and not even being able to use a little charm.

She couldn’t tell if it was a moment of emotional lapse, but it kept repeating: “I’m just an old lady, nothing like you! I didn’t think you would end up this way.”

It’s really gotten far between you and me.

Unconsciously, a small smile crept up the corners of Chen Jiao’s mouth.

After a while of walking elegantly, she became aware that Liu Che was staring at her.

After a sudden awakening, she was able to act slyly by saying, “I’m just walking, why are you looking at me…” in her agitated state.

He finally expressed his impatience with a snort, “After being lectured for that long, you still manage to smile.”

Sigh, he was still upset that the empress dowager claimed he was unsure of how to act.

Involuntarily, Chen Jiao’s eyes darkened as she recalled how the empress dowager had insisted that she was only following Liu Che for show.

It was almost impossible for her to leave her home in her lifetime. Unlike other noblewomen, she was never meant for hunting, showing off her beauty, and coming home with flowers in her hair.

For her, being able to leave the imperial palace and explore, even if only a few times, is still a unique pleasure that she would not trade for anything.

Even the sight of a rainbow could cause her to become agitated and cry out in shock.

She was so appreciative of Liu Che for this alone. Though he had only exerted a small amount of effort, he was unaware of the true value of this kindness toward her—it was worth more than gold.

“I was thinking about the last time we saw a rainbow outside the city, and you hunted a rabbit again…” she was a little bashful and leaned lovingly near his ear. “Mother wouldn’t say I was being good if she knew. It is likely that she would accuse me of being bad and enticing you to leave the palace to play.”

Her infrequent, innocent, and childlike remarks made Liu Che laugh while also quietly expressing his feelings: Chen Jiao enjoyed going on excursions, and he had successfully won her heart with this gesture.

Feeling somewhat taken aback, he looked at her and said in a low voice, “I thought you were really trying to cheer me up…”

She gave a low hiss and pointed to the prominent female official in front of them. This was one of the empress dowager’s preferred servants.

Liu Che ceased talking and simply grinned at her.

He had taken her hand before he even realized it. She laid her head on his shoulder as he went on talking.

After several more days, the empress dowager once more chastised the words of Liu Che’s group, which somehow made it to Han Yan’s ears.

Han Yan was still a little uneasy and thought it was time to do something about it.