Leaving the Changmen Palace - LTCP 13: Emotions

Chen Jiao was abruptly awakened from a deep slumber.

In her lovely dream, she saw a pair of hands wanly kneading the most delicate and delicate areas of her body, much like a master musician looking for her strings, tightening them one by one, and then softly playing a song of luscious and mesmerizing music.

The music’s sound was as dense as honey, slowly seeping into her heart and onto her lips.

The passion was still there when she opened her eyes.

She rolled over uneasily, slowly awakening. She bit her lip to open her eyes because she was a little embarrassed, but she still looked directly into Liu Che’s eyes.

Her spring feelings had never been as strong as they were tonight, despite the fact that she had woken up from her dreams innumerable times since she was a child and had long been accustomed to the heartbeats that felt like falling.

Even more bewildered, she was shy and hardly ever showed anything but calm.

But Liu Che did not approach her bewilderment with the same curiosity, sympathy, and arrogance that he had previously shown. He had a grumpy and somewhat deep attitude.

He just smiled with a hint of embarrassment and moved his hand away when he saw her awaken, “Awake?”

His irritation was already clear from these two low, hoarse notes and that tense jaw. The “take off the mask” game may not be something he feels like doing with her tonight.

Instead of sharing his thoughts before bed, presumably because he didn’t want to play with her, Chen Jiao realized right away that he had teased her and woken her up, whether on purpose or accidentally.

“What’s wrong? Is it something in the court?” she said softly, pushing his hand away and covering her chest uneasily without acting coy.

He shook his head.

Chen Jiao had plenty of servants in the Jiaofang Hall to tend to her needs throughout the day. After uttering the word “water” and reaching out from inside the tent, she was presented with a cup of warm honey water.

Halfway through, she sat up, gulped down the cup of sweet dew, and waited in silence.

Finally, after some time, Liu Che said softly, “All of you, step back!”

Disregarding everyone else, the couple stood facing each other in their tent on this late night.

“You sleep so soundly. What’s going on?” that curiously swirled around Chen Jiao’s ear even had a hint of annoyance in it.

Something that could cause Liu Che so much distress is probably not insignificant. The answer is readily found by simply remembering the significant occasions that surrounded him this year. She must have been aware of her husband’s problems and found it extremely difficult to earn his trust at the time, as evidenced by the fact that she is unable to recall this.

She looked at him patiently while holding her breath.

“Someone told me that before the empress dowager entered the palace, she had a daughter who was lost among the common people,” he said quietly after patiently waiting until the footsteps had entirely stopped coming from the palace gate.

Chen Jiao realized right away that Han Yan could no longer contain himself.

“Look, such a good person, in the end, was still taken away by him!” was the voice’s last lament after realizing.

Whether or not it is human feelings is difficult to determine.

Chen Jiao was taken aback when she first learned about this.

Based on her knowledge of Liu Che, he was generous and filial, but he was also very careful about his reputation. How could he recognize this half-sibling with such joy and eagerness?

Despite the adage that a woman, regardless of her suitability, is not a very important issue.

The empress dowager was chosen for the palace because she came from a good family, which set her apart from the previous Empress Dowager Bo. Emperor Gaozu, after all, knew full well that the former Empress Dowager Bo was descended from a Chu general’s family.

However, unmarried young girls were the obvious choice when the Han Dynasty chose women from the general populace to enter the imperial palace.

The fact that Jin Wangsun is still alive and well makes it somewhat acceptable to say that he hadn’t died back then. Even though people might not discuss it, they would undoubtedly believe in their hearts that the empress dowager’s private morals were ultimately flawed and that she had deserted her first husband and children in order to pursue wealth and power.

Her reputation would unavoidably be damaged if this were to be documented in history and passed down through the generations.

Furthermore, this issue has only recently come to light, hardly passing for a matter of human feelings.

The grand empress dowager, sitting high in the harem, would likely not be pleased with the empress dowager’s loss of virtue. The empress dowager would have had a hard time handling both sides if it had been brought up a few years ago, before Liu Che had taken the throne.

“I’ve told you before,” Chen Jiao said slowly in her mind, “the empress dowager would have brought this marriage proposal straight to the emperor if she had wanted to accept it. The time isn’t right yet because she hasn’t brought it up yet.”

But this person is still a person, regardless of how challenging the situation is. It is impossible to call Han Yan’s action stupid because the grand empress dowager will no longer be able to take action after her death.

“Your Majesty is concerned about the grand empress dowager?” After a long period of silence, judging that she had sufficiently surprised Liu Che, she softly and subtly addressed her worries.

Even after being filtered through the curtain, the candlelight was still insufficient to brighten half of Chen Jiao’s face.

Liu Che looked at her curiously, once more in vain attempting to detect the plots within her heart.

Naturally, he wouldn’t be successful this time either.

He became a little agitated and went silent once more, “What ‘Your Majesty’, ‘Son of Heaven’? Do you really believe that I’ve become lonely as a result of sitting in this position? Not even ‘A’ Che’ will be used to refer to me!”

Respect from others is undoubtedly necessary for someone in a low position to feel validated.

They do, however, always wish to have a close confidant with whom they can share their deepest thoughts, regardless of social standing, who can provide sage advice and assist in resolving their issues when they are feeling weak and agitated.

During the time when the emperor was incapacitated, Chen Jiao was the preferred candidate, either due to her position or the affection people had for her. And it’s no wonder why.

With a helpless smile, she put her arms around Liu Che’s neck and softly exclaimed, “A’ Che! Why do you feel so agitated? I am here to support you, regardless of the magnitude of the issue.”

It’s ten times sweeter than normal.

Since they had shared a home for a long time, Liu Che could also relate to her lack of interest. This was how she would sometimes behave, and it immediately made him happy.

His heart slowly calmed: Yes, as a couple, sharing honor and shame, if she wasn’t by his side, who else would be, regardless of how serious the problem?

And she remembered her customary respect for the empress dowager. With the exception of one occasion when she vented her complaints, she had never spoken harshly to the empress dowager, despite the fact that she had been reprimanded and nitpicked multiple times.

“Mother is too ruthless!” At last, he opened up to Chen Jiao about some of his feelings and thoughts, “I was afraid of complications, so I didn’t bring it up before, but now it doesn’t matter. That’s her blood and bone, though, so I still need to ask someone to watch her a little.

“Do my uncles both live off of handouts? It is sufficient to provide her with some backstage assistance to keep her from going hungry or cold. I’ve heard that she even does laundry—she is my eldest sister, after all!”

Blood is thicker than water, despite the fact that they have never met.

It was evident from his words that he already harbored strong feelings of guilt and a desire to keep this “eldest sister” safe.

Chen Jiao said nothing in response to his remarks.

She said helplessly only after his bright, and piercing eyes met hers, “The empress dowager has her own difficulties too, right…”

The sentence ended in an ambiguous manner, with a lengthy sound.

Liu Che became somewhat sympathetic to her plight, and he once more fell silent.

“It can’t continue like this since I know about this matter,” he said bitterly after a long time. “However, I won’t be able to do anything if my mother is unreasonable and severs all ties.”

One of his traits is his protectiveness of his own people. Even if you are the empress dowager and his own mother, or if you are just a weak person under his protection, he will continue to speculate about the empress dowager maliciously as long as you are always on his side. He has already protected Jin Su’s father and daughter.

This concern is not unfounded, as no one knows a mother better than her son.

“Are you afraid that if the empress dowager thinks about it… even if you meet your eldest sister in the future, it will be difficult to avoid embarrassment?” Using the personal “eldest sister” as her new address came naturally to Chen Jiao.

With a hushed moan, Liu Che implicitly accepted her hypothesis.

At last, the voice comprehended.

“He has also been very thoughtful…” it uttered softly, voice full of emotion. “So it turns out that he wasn’t blind to what kind of person Wang Zhi was.”

Despite having a clear view of the empress dowager, Liu Che was unable to talk about her personality.

Chen Jiao firmly repressed the slight smile—it was not the appropriate moment for distractions.

She focused all her attention on the current issue, contemplated for a while, and then stated, “In that case, the best course of action is to create a bigger commotion and involve the eldest sister in the palace. It is unlikely that the empress dowager will reject her, correct? There are no obstacles between a mother and her daughter that cannot be resolved. Despite the challenges, I believe she still cares for eldest sister…”

The more she discusses this, the more uncomfortable she gets. “A’ Che, if you’re worried about grandmother…”

After repeatedly hesitating and letting her embarrassment show, she muttered, “I can try my best to be considerate.”

“You’ve worked hard!” Liu Che said as he instantly gave her a hug and became much more relaxed.

Chen Jiao was suddenly unsure of whether he had woken her up in the middle of the night because he had no one else to confide in and talk to, or if he had decided to wake her up when she was most confused and had made this show of breaking his heart just for his sake.

He would not be so suspicious of her now, would he, even though he had his own imperial mind?

She looked up at his face, but he was too tight around her. All she could smell was his breath, and his warmth was comforting.

The confident voice in her head responded to the constant self-examination in her heart: “If I were you, I would never underestimate his scheming.”

Did he need to be so meticulous in his planning, though, to his wife, who had grown up with him and was also his cousin who had hardly ever opposed him?

Who could be so cunning as to keep up the pretense for years on end?

The next instant, Chen Jiao couldn’t help but laugh after asking herself this question.

She’s the ideal example, isn’t she?

However…

In Liu Che’s arms, she was utterly bewildered, and after a long time, she let out a quiet sigh.

Once more, he embraced her tightly and whispered in her ear, “Jiaojiao, it’s really hard on you.”

Two days later, Han Yan informed the emperor about Jin Su’s situation.

The emperor was pleased and inquired, “Why did you not inform me earlier?”

He personally went to visit her.

Jin Su resided in the small market of Changling. He directly went to her residence and instructed his attendants to search for her. Her family was scared, and Jin Su ran away.

He assisted her to pay her respects, “Sister, why were you hiding so well?”

He then took her to Changle Palace, where they encountered the empress dowager.

The empress dowager cried.

It appeared that Han Yan’s plan had been quite successful.