Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"This unfortunate fellow is a bookish scholar who, on his way to the capital, encountered a beautiful woman and immediately fell head over heels for her. He became infatuated and followed her closely, not realizing whether he was lucky or unlucky; he managed to sneak up to the window of the beauty without being noticed by her companions."
Elder Brother Li recounted the events as told by the scholar: the scholar had intended to spy on the beauty, but little did he know that there was not just one beauty inside, but two identical ones. One was tied up, while the other was dressed like the beauty he had seen on the road. Then, the two beauties changed their clothes and styles. The scholar, not being foolish, quickly recalled the tale of Li Dai Tao Jiang and wanted to escape. However, in his panic, he made a noise that alerted the beauties' guards, who knocked him out and disposed of him in a lake to silence him.
"The scholar had originally come to the capital to take an exam, but after this incident, he was so frightened that he dared not stay any longer and decided to return home. He vowed not to come back to the capital for at least ten years," Elder Brother Li said. "This serves as a lesson for him; he should not disregard everything just because of a beautiful woman and resort to sneaking around like that. What a shame for someone who is supposed to be educated."
"Stories are often filled with tales of scholars and beauties from ancient times, right? Plus, with youthful infatuation, it’s understandable. In 'The Legend of the Dragon Slayer,' didn’t Song Qingshu get caught spying on Zhou Zhiruo by Chen Youliang because of his infatuation? He even threatened to kill Mo Shenggu," Hanno chuckled.
Elder Brother Li scoffed, "The problem is that this scholar is no youth; he's older than I am."
Hanno laughed quietly for a while before asking, "What happened next? Did you go save the beauty?"
Elder Brother Li pretended not to catch Hanno's teasing and replied, "The beauty who was replaced is no ordinary woman; she is the Emperor's most favored Consort X."
Hanno, having heard earlier about Elder Brother Li's involvement with royal matters, was not particularly surprised and asked, "Is this case of swapping sparrows for phoenixes some scheme by an ambitious person imitating Lu Buwei?"
Elder Brother Li nodded, "My wife is quite clever."
During a palace banquet featuring Consort X—though not witnessed firsthand but through Divine Sense—Elder Brother Li noted that men and women were separated during half of the banquet. Only during family banquets could concubines attend alongside the Emperor. When Elder Brother Li recognized that one of the beauties was Consort X, he realized he had fallen into a conspiracy. To be safe, he concealed his appearance. Thanks to experiences from both worlds, Elder Brother Li learned various skills besides martial arts from Hanno; skills such as music and calligraphy were essential for children from noble families. The most remarkable skill they both acquired was disguise.
"Consort X is fortunate; her heart is located on the right side, which led those people to believe she was dead." This also reduced Elder Brother Li's troubles and lowered their vigilance.
Hanno squinted his eyes. "You didn't personally treat that Consort X's injuries, did you?"
After all, she was wounded in the chest.
Elder Brother Li quickly assured him, "No, no! It was Jiang Shi'an's wife who treated Consort X's injuries."
Hanno asked, "You brought them into this too? Aren't you afraid of dragging them down?"
Elder Brother Li replied, "It's fine. I helped them change their appearances as well. You should have seen their expressions at the time; they were dumbfounded, like clay figures in a temple. Once they recovered, they all clung to me wanting to learn how to disguise themselves, including Jiang Shi'an's wife, who appears gentle and composed. Surprisingly, she turned out to be the best learner among the four."
Hanno said, "I really want to meet your two brothers and their wives."
Elder Brother Li responded, "You will have the chance. Fortunately, they helped this time; otherwise, we wouldn't have uncovered the truth so quickly."
Hanno inquired, "Oh? Which prince are you talking about?"
Elder Brother Li explained, "The emperor's younger brother, Prince Ryan Li Xuanxian."
Previously, the emperor was born into a lowly status and was relatively transparent within the palace, but his brother was quite different. After their mother passed away, Li Xuanxian was adopted by a favored concubine of the predecessor emperor who had no sons, and she treated him as her own. Because that concubine was highly favored by the predecessor emperor, Li Xuanxian also enjoyed considerable favor compared to other princes and had ambitions for that position. However, fate took an unexpected turn; first the predecessor emperor died, and then Li Xuan Zong managed to endure and scheme his way to become emperor. Although he was Li Xuanxian's biological brother, Li Xuanxian could not tolerate him being emperor. If it had been another half-brother on the throne, Li Xuanxian might not have felt so resentful; but with Li Xuan Zong... Li Xuanxian had always looked down on this biological elder brother—how could he accept being subordinate to him? As the emperor's true younger brother, his title and treatment were far superior to others; however, Li Xuanxian did not see it as an honor but rather as a mockery. He was determined to bring down Li Xuan Zong and take the throne himself. Perhaps because they were brothers, Li Xuanxian was quite adept at acting; at least before this point, Li Xuan Zong had not suspected any treachery from him.
Li Xuanxian plotted meticulously to overthrow Li Xuan Zong and seize the throne for himself, but now that Li Xuan Zong's position as emperor was becoming increasingly secure and all rebels were suppressed by him, Li Xuanxian understood that any rebellion would only lead to his own demise. He had no choice but to abandon his thoughts of bringing down Li Xuan Zong. While searching for books in his study to alleviate his boredom, he stumbled upon "The Lüshi Chunqiu," which sparked a bold idea: if he couldn't become emperor himself, he could have his son take the throne while he became the Retired Emperor.
Offering a pregnant woman to the emperor was certainly unrealistic; aside from the fact that Li Xuan Zong was not particularly fond of women, every woman entering the palace underwent thorough background checks. Moreover, there were physical examinations before entering the palace. That path was blocked! However, there was still hope for him. Li Xuanxian encountered a woman who looked almost identical to Consort X.
"This woman is actually Consort X's half-sister," Elder Brother Li informed Hanno.
Hanno pulled the fruit platter closer and munched on sunflower seeds while listening to Elder Brother Li's melodramatic tale.
"Consort X's mother and that woman's mother are twin sisters, while Consort X's father is their cousin."
"Oh~~~ I see. Cousins can easily develop feelings for each other. Did both cousins fall for their cousin? Or did one sister fall in love with her cousin while he married her sister?" Hanno asked.
"Elder Brother Li said, 'Both cousins have fallen for their elder brother. Consort X's father's character is quite good; he wouldn't do something like liking the younger sister but marrying the elder one.'
'So what?'
'Actually, women in ancient times were quite bold. They thought, "I may not win your heart, but at least I can have you once." The younger sister drugged her brother-in-law and pretended to be her elder sister, having an intimate encounter with him. Later, the younger sister married far away and gave birth to a daughter who looked just like Consort X. When she returned due to the chaos of war, her entire family was killed by the marauding troops, and her daughter ended up in a brothel, where she was seen by Li Xuanxian.'
'So Li Xuanxian came up with this scheme of replacing one with another?'
'Yes, he set his sights on Yunyan, that is the child of the younger sister.' Elder Brother Li continued, 'Li Xuanxian was ruthless; to conceal Yunyan's identity, he left no survivors among the over a hundred people in the brothel. Fortunately, Yunyan had not yet taken clients; otherwise, there would have been even more deaths.'
'This plan has been in motion for three or four years. Li Xuanxian has been training Yunyan to make her more and more like Consort X. As soon as Yunyan becomes pregnant, they will switch her into the palace with Consort X.'
Hanno asked doubtfully, 'Is it that easy to enter the palace?'
Elder Brother Li replied, 'Li Xuanxian has colluded with the Empress Dowager. Previously, Li Xuan Zong released a large number of palace maids under the pretext of offering prayers, cutting off many of the Empress Dowager's personnel. However, even a rotten ship still has three nails left; some deeply hidden ones were not discovered. The Empress Dowager completely severed ties with Li Xuan Zong over this matter. Just then, Li Xuanxian was gathering information in the palace and was caught by someone from the Empress Dowager's side. The two of them became allies.'
'Why did Li Xuan Zong want to cut off the Empress Dowager's personnel?' Hanno asked curiously.
Elder Brother Li fell silent for a moment before recounting everything about the Snow Orchid County Mistress.
Hanno reached through the time-space portal and patted Elder Brother Li's head: 'Well done! If anyone tries to scheme against you again, you should do the same.'
Elder Brother Li smiled: 'Don't worry; I won't be schemed against. The unfortunate ones will be those who try to plot against me.'
Hanno nodded, somewhat insincerely saying: 'That's true. One Snow Orchid County Mistress and one Cui Pingbi—let's light a candle for them!'"
Elder Brother Li gazed at Hanno in disbelief, while Hanno responded with a radiant smile, brighter than the blooming Red Plum in winter. Elder Brother Li decided to have a servant pick two branches of Red Plum from the garden later and bring them to his room.
"Now that we have clarified the situation, what will you do?" Hanno asked.
Elder Brother Li frowned at the question. "We must expose Li Xuanxian's scheme, but it involves the inner court, which makes it difficult to speak about."
Hanno inquired, "Couldn’t Mo Yan, the Princess, handle it?"
Elder Brother Li shook his head. "She could, but..."
What Elder Brother Li did not say was left unspoken. Hanno thought for a moment and asked, "How is Consort X's injury?"
Elder Brother Li replied, "Although her injuries were severe, she has been saved and is currently recovering."
Hanno said, "Then let Consort X go directly to the Emperor."
Elder Brother Li frowned again. "There is already a 'Consort X' in the palace. What if the Emperor does not believe this Consort X? Moreover, how do we get Consort X close to the Emperor?"
Hanno chuckled. "That's simple. Since ancient people believed in ghosts and gods, we can create another Miracle."
"Create another Miracle?" Elder Brother Li exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes!" Hanno said with a smile. "Since we managed to make the Ancestors manifest in Aoyama Village and even granted them the title of Land God, creating a Miracle to make everyone believe that Consort X was saved by divine intervention should be easy."
Comment 0 Comment Count