Chapter 104 - Accusations

TW: Violence 

As they approached Tianlu Pavilion, screams filled the air, destroying the sanctity of the emperor's study. They were accompanied by a rhythmic dull thumping noise, paired together ironically in perfect harmony but still discordant in Yan Zheyun's ears because he could guess at what was orchestrating the sounds. 

Yan Zheyun paused just outside the moon gate. The garden of Tianlu Pavilion was one of the neatest in the imperial city, with a small clearing just beyond the lotus ponds and the white marble bridge that led up to the main entrance. He had a clear view of the entire courtyard now and this clearing, which was usually unoccupied but for the occasional servant that was sweeping leaves, was now full of people. 

Precisely, it was full of eunuchs, who, from the threatening way they loomed over the bench that had been placed in the middle of the clearing, were probably from the Department of Careful Punishment. This suspicion was heightened by the figure that was strapped down to the top of the bench, flat on his stomach, with his trousers pulled down. He was the source of the raw screams, scraping against Yan Zheyun's ears and leaving a shrill ringing behind. 

There was good reason for all this anguish. Two eunuchs flanking the figure held long sticks in their arms, which they wielded with unrelenting strength, taking turns to land blows upon the exposed skin. Or at least, that was what Yan Zheyun was presumably looking at. He couldn't tell because there was so much blood, both on the figure's body itself as well as dripping onto the floor, flying off the sticks in little flecks that should be too small for Yan Zheyun to see and yet still seared into his eyes. 

[Humans really are complex creatures,] he thought with a self-deprecating wry. He'd committed murder before, going overboard in self-defence, perhaps, but he'd had his hands stained with that same rust red once. And yet, here he was, emptying his breakfast into the nearest bush and wondering vaguely whether soiling one of the many workplaces of the emperor with his vomit would be considered a punishable offence in the inner palace. 

"Lord Yue!" A frantic hand reached out to steady Yan Zheyun, another coming up to pat him on the back. Deputy Eunuch Zheng might mean well but his outcry caught the attention of the others present, namely those standing right at the front of the scene, including a tall silhouette in black and gold, which Yan Zheyun would recognise a mile away. 

Yan Zheyun's felt his blood run cold as they looked up in tandem at him. Through watery eyes, he could see Noble Consort Li's colourful robes as she stood on Liu Yao's right, carrying herself authoritatively as though that was where she was meant to be. 

On Liu Yao's left was Fu Minde, whose frown was so deep that his eyes were half-hooded by his heavy brows. 

"Lord Yue, are you all right?"

Yan Zheyun waved Deputy Eunuch Zheng off. "I'm fine," he murmured. He had to be. There was no choice. As a modern man, the idea of corporal punishment, especially on such a scale, was horrific. That the sight of it would repulse him was not unusual. But to everyone else present, who had no clue that Yan Zheyun's stomach would be more sensitive than theirs, might read things differently. That they might even, god forbid, think that he might be reacting like this out of guilt. 

Noble Consort Li certainly thought so. Her voice called out to him over the commotion. 

"What's the matter, Lord Yue? Why are you loitering at the entrance when—"

She cut herself off abruptly when Liu Yao turned to look at her. He didn't say anything but he didn't have to, the ominous aura radiating off of him more than sufficient to cow everyone in the clearing. 

When he met Yan Zheyun's eyes, some of his anger dissipated. He held his hand out, the same way he always did whenever he beckoned, his palms turned upwards, long, elegant fingers extended in invitation. 

"Yan Yun, come here." 

Those familiar words were reassuring. Yan Zheyun felt his heart settle back into his chest. Although Liu Yao's expression was as inscrutable as ever, although his gentleness right now could very well be a honey trap, Yan Zheyun was going to believe in the trust that they were only starting to learn to share. 

He pulled out a handkerchief from the folds of his robes, dabbed at his lips to ensure that he was presentable, before walking over. 

Liu Yao had issued a command to halt the beating and the screams in the air were replaced by a quiet whimpering. As he passed the figure on the bench, it turned its head to face him and he recognised who it was immediately. 

His eyes widened even though he didn't feel that much surprise inside. If it were Xiao De that they had been punishing, Yan Zheyun was certain Liu Suzhi would have interfered by now or at least shown up to cause a fuss. But Qiu Ji didn't have a backer to support him…or did he? 

Perhaps, his backer was the reason why he was here in the first place. 

Qiu Ji's face was blotchy and his bloodshot eyes brightened with keen desperation when he caught sight of Yan Zheyun. Red froth bubbled from his lips as gasped out, "Little Master! Please save this servant!" 

Yan Zheyun's mouth tightened. He'd known that he was walking straight into another trap, that it might involve this young boy who had attended to him daily for the past month or so. He'd been wary of Qiu Ji but at the same time, hadn't wanted to second-guess him, had hoped that Qiu Ji would prove him wrong because even though he'd told himself time and again to harden his heart against the enemies that he would face in this world, not all of them made it easy for him. The likes of the scumbag gongs and selfish horrible people like Wu Shengqi or his would-be rapist Liang Ming, he had no problems exacting revenge against. 

But he had a harder time pretending that he would be able to look on with indifference if it were someone like Qiu Ji in the equation. No matter how many times he'd steeled himself for this eventuality, he was aware that Qiu Ji might not be all that different from Xiao Ma. 

"Your hands are cold," Liu Yao murmured when he took Yan Zheyun's in his own and pulled him to stand close to his side, Fu Minde wisely making way for him. 

Yan Zheyun shook his head and gave a wan smile. "Yan Yun doesn't like such violence," was all he said, even though he felt like his explanation was unnecessary. Out of the stories and legends, how many generals on the battlefield enjoyed being submerged in a bloodbath and surrounded by the corpses of both their enemies and their men? When given a choice, most sane people would know to pick peace. 

Noble Consort Li's expression twisted. "Your Majesty," she said, stepping forward such that she was right in front of Liu Yao, in a bid to call his attention back. Yan Zheyun noticed what she was doing and tightened his hold on Liu Yao's hand in a show of insecurity. It wasn't entirely an act. Liu Yao was his best bet out of whatever she had planned for him and he didn't know whether he could rely on him yet. Yan Zheyun was feeling insecure as hell. 

Liu Yao nodded at her. "Noble Consort requested for Yan Yun to be present for the rest of the interrogation. Now that he's here, proceed with what you intended." 

"As Your Majesty commands." She shot a lofty look over at Fu Minde. "Perhaps Imperial Physician Fu would like to explain to Lord Yue his relevance in all this?" Her brows, drawn into a delicate arch, gave her a pointed, aggressive look, which was at odds with the benevolent demeanour she preferred to portray herself with. 

This was her tearing off her mask to deal with him? Yan Zheyun was almost flattered. 

Fu Minde bowed, a complicated look passing over his face. "In response to Noble Consort Niangniang, earlier this morning, the guards supervising the medicine stores in the imperial medical bureau caught an intruder attempting to steal black fragrance. As the perpetrator is a eunuch, which falls under the jurisdiction of the inner palace and the phoenix seal, this subject reported the matter to Head Eunuch Cao, Supervisor Liu, and of course, Niangniang yourself." 

Noble Consort Li's rouged lips pressed into in a thin line. "When this consort received word of the incident, this consort was shocked to discover that this matter was related to His Majesty's health and commenced investigations immediately to ensure that those involved would not have any chance to escape." She shot Yan Zheyun a cold glance. "But to my horror, after the perpetrator was brought to me and interrogated, he confessed that he was not only a personal manservant to Lord Yue, but also operating on Lord Yue's orders!" 

Yan Zheyun just looked at her. 

"That's it?" he said, when it became evident that she was done with her piece, the extent of her dramatics being to point a trembling finger—lacquered nail and all—at him in accusation. "Noble Consort Li is relying on just a simple statement from this concubine's servant to pin the blame on this concubine?" 

He gazed up at Liu Yao. "Does this mean, Your Majesty, that if this servant bribed Noble Consort Li's maid with all the fine treasures that you bestowed upon me, to say that Noble Consort Li has a secret lover outside of the palace, this would become true as well?" 

Noble Consort Li's face turned a remarkable shade. "How dare you false accuse this consort of something that is blatantly untrue!" she shouted, before lowering her voice into a helpless pleading as she implored the emperor to 'see some sense'. "Your Majesty, Lord Yue has already said that he would be amendable to bribing this consort's servants, his character is sharply called into question! Now that he knows that his malicious ploy against Your Majesty is about to fail, he is willing to scapegoat his subordinate to cover his tracks!" 

Her words seemed to aggravate Qiu Ji, who started struggling against his bonds on the bench. More blood leaked out of his wounds to spill onto the ground and Yan Zheyun averted his eyes from his pathetic writhing, both the metallic stench and the gory sight bringing bile up to this throat. This wasn't the same as watching action movies, where everything 'brought to life' in 4K HD was still ultimately a picture on a screen. This was real and this was too much for him. 

A hand pressed against the small of his back to steady him. 

Qiu Ji's voice was wretched as he cried hoarsely for Yan Zheyun. He was a far cry from the meek young teen who had peered shyly at Yan Zheyun from the entrance to Yan Zheyun's bedchambers, a bronze basin filled with warm clean water tucked under one arm as he asked for permission to enter and assist Xiao De in getting their little master ready for the day. 

"Little Master, please save Qiu Ji, Little Master, Qiu Ji was just doing what you told me to, please—"

Liu Yao's interjection was like a sharp blade, slicing through Qiu Ji's pitiful pleas with a merciless finality. "You say you received instructions. What were they exactly? Tell us without leaving out any detail." When he looked down upon Qiu Ji, his gaze was flat and disinterested, like he was staring at an already dead man. Yan Zheyun knew then and there that this beating was by Liu Yao's orders. Of course. No one else would have the right to stain the stone floors of this particular courtyard without his permission. 

But if even after such torture, Qiu Ji was still pinning the blame on Yan Zheyun… 

He bit his lip. Would Liu Yao side with him against reason? Or would he be forced to capitulate to the so-called evidence at hand and pursue the issue further, thus allowing Noble Consort Li to continue with her show? 

Qiu Ji's words shook with the effort it took for him to force them out. "Little Master." Resignation dulled his tone. "You said that your master was angry that your plans were ruined, that you needed a large quantity of black fragrance to—to poison His Majesty yourself." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Qiu Ji committed a crime for Little Master's sake, would Little Master not save Qiu Ji after all that he's done for you?" 

"If by all that you've done for me," was Yan Zheyun's reply, "is to lie to me and lie about me, then no, Little Master will not save Qiu Ji." He spoke calmly but he knew Liu Yao could detect the faint tremor that coursed through his body. This wasn't the result of fear, this was the product of an icy rage that numbed him from inside out. It wasn't directed at Qiu Ji, not entirely, the ones who deserved to be on its end were the bastards who had no qualms using the lives of those less privileged than them as mere chess pieces to be discarded as and when it suited them. 

Qiu Ji shook his head. "Little Master," he said despairingly. "Give it up, how long can you hide the truth from His Majesty?" As though the thought suddenly occurred to him, he started yelling for Liu Yao frantically instead. "Your Majesty, please spare this humble servant, this servant was forced to obey Lord Yue, this servant has evidence! The bracelet! His bracelet! Lord Yue hid the black fragrance in the bracelet Noble Consort Li—he wanted to frame her after poisoning Your Majesty!" 

Yan Zheyun guessed there was no need to ask Liu Suzhi to figure out what was wrong with the bracelet anymore. He could only thank himself for being prepared, that his careful guarding against Qiu Ji meant that Noble Consort Li still didn't know that there was more than one copy of the bracelet in existence. 

He fell to his knees in front of Liu Yao and was adamant against Liu Yao's attempts to haul him back up. 

"Your Majesty," he said quietly. "Yan Yun's conscience is clear, Yan Yun did none of what he has been accused of." He turned to look at Noble Consort Li. "Yan Yun's bracelet came from Noble Consort Li. In which case, Yan Yun would like to know, shouldn't Noble Consort Li be of suspicion too?" 

And he had an inkling that Liu Yao already knew that she was responsible for this, just like how Liu Yao had mentioned her grandfather more than once in the long conversations he'd had with his network in the dead of the night. 

Much harder, however, was to pin it on those who truly were responsible. 

A harsh glint flashed in Noble Consort Li's eyes. "Your personal manservant has already confessed that you had the intention to frame this consort for your own misdeeds! Lord Yue, you really are pernicious, has His Majesty not treated you well? Is this how you repay—"

"Enough." 

Liu Yao picked up Yan Zheyun's slender wrist, sliding the bracelet off gently. He didn't look at Yan Zheyun but the thumb stroking over Yan Zheyun's knuckles was soothing. 

Surely the emperor wouldn't go to such lengths to keep up the pretence of favouring him if he didn't believe in his innocence? 

Liu Yao beckoned for Head Eunuch Cao to come over. 

"Summon the best craftsmen from the Department of Paraphernalia (1), if anyone would be able to discover a supposed secret compartment to this bracelet, it would be them." 

Head Eunuch Cao bowed and rushed off. 

Liu Yao tugged on Yan Zheyun's arm, more insistently this time, until Yan Zheyun had no choice but to rise to his feet. 

"Is Yan Yun scared?" he asked. 

"No," Yan Zheyun replied, meeting his gaze full-on.. "Yan Yun has nothing to hide."