Chapter 12: Jing Yang Gong
Zhi Hua apparently was expecting them.
More correctly, Zhi Hua's maids were expecting them, as they showed the quartet into the study as soon as they entered the main room. There, in the study, Zhi Hua was waiting for them.
How strange it was that he was entering this house like this, Yong Qi thought. Not exactly as a guest, but not as its owner, either. None of this was his anymore, and he did not want them, either. He only came to take back what was his, and this house, with all the titles and wealth attached to it, was not what he was looking for.
"Where are they?" Yong Qi demanded callously as soon as the study door was closed behind them. Xiao Yan Zi was glaring at Zhi Hua, looking like if she spoke to Zhi Hua now, she would strangle her. Frankly, that was bordering on what Yong Qi himself was feeling right then.
"Good morning to you too," Zhi Hua said sweetly.
"I don't have time for niceties, Zhi Hua," Yong Qi said dangerously, stepping up close to her. "Tell me where my children are."
His entire body was trembling with anger now that he was facing her; there was a fire burning somewhere inside him and he could not remember being so angry in his entire life. There was only a very faint voice in his head that told him that hurting Zhi Hua now wouldn't help him find his children, and it was only this voice that stopped him from doing any rash.
"Zhi Hua, you better tell us where the children are before we take this to Huang Ah Ma," Er Kang threatened behind him.
Zhi Hua smirked. "Any of you set one foot out of here to go get Huang Ah Ma, Fu Er Kang, and I cannot guarantee their lives. One signal from me or my maids can kill any of them."
"You wouldn't dare," Yong Qi said through gritted teeth. Zhi Hua turned to him, looking at him defiantly. Yong Qi stared into her eyes and somewhere in those depths, he saw that there was enough desperation in her to attempt it.
Before he could react to that chilling glint, Xiao Yan Zi brushed past him and grabbed Zhi Hua roughly, shaking her. "Let them go! All this has nothing to do with them! This is between the three of us, they have no part in it. We will work this out among ourselves, just let them go. Please!"
There was a desperate agony in her voice that Yong Qi had never heard before and it clawed painfully at his own heart. He thought this probably was the only situation when Xiao Yan Zi was desperate enough to beg Zhi Hua for anything. It was like a fresh flame of anger flared up inside him and Yong Qi clenched hands into fists to stop wraping them around Zhi Hua's neck.
Zhi Hua meanwhile, looked unmoved at Xiao Yan Zi's plight. "On contrary," Zhi Hua said coldly, "they have everything to do with this. We will work this out, Jie jie, and they will persuade you to do what I want."
The sheer mockery of Zhi Hua's tone made something snap inside Yong Qi. In one stride he had reached the two women, pulled Xiao Yan Zi away from the other woman and grabbed her wrist. His voice was quiet but hoarse and harsh as he said, "Do not test my patience, Zhi Hua. I will not be responsible for my actions if you continue to play with me like this. Tell. Me. Where. My. Children. Are. "
"Not until you agree to my conditions," Zhi Hua said softly. The calculating coldness in her voice both frightened and enraged Yong Qi. How did she get like this? How did that girl, so ambitious, yes, but still innocent and naïve, get like this? Was it all because of him?
Even if it was because of him, the iciness of her expression still made Yong Qi yet more angry with every passing second. What kind of love did she think she have for him that would drive her to this? What did she think all this would actually achieve? He clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on her wrist. "I don't give a damn what your conditions are! Tell me where they are. NOW!"
Zhi Hua's face whitened at the rage now burning his eyes. She struggled against him for the first time. "Let go, Yong Qi, you're hurting me!"
Yong Qi just stared at her with hardened eyes but meanwhile his mind was whirling. Why was he even bothering to get her to talk? The important thing was to find his children and Zhi Hua had gone through all this trouble to get him here, she probably would not tell him where they were even he held a knife to her neck. He shouldn't be asking her, he should be doing something to find them. They were here, they were in Jing Yang Gong, he knew it. He could - he could -
Suddenly, his eyes flicked over the bookshelf beside them. He didn't know whether Zhi Hua knew about the secret chamber behind it. If she did, it was too obvious...wasn't it? It couldn't be so easy.
He let go of her roughly and strode over to the bookshelf. Everyone was looking at him in confusion as he reached behind the books and felt for a lever at the back of it.
The bookshelf swung open and light flooded the secret room. Xiao Yan Zi let out a strangled cry as there stood Jian Jun and Jian Wen, looking defiantly ready to fight off whoever it was that opened the bookshelf. However, as soon as they saw Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi, their jaws dropped in surprise while Xiao Yan Zi rushed forward and pulled both of them into a tight hug. Yong Qi wasn't far behind.
"Sons, are you ok? Are you unharmed?" Yong Qi asked as Xiao Yan Zi was too stunned to ask.
"We're fine, Father, Mother, but - "
Yong Qi could only have a second to breathe with relief that they looked unharmed when he realised that it really wasn't so easy. Ru Yi, where was Ru Yi?
"Where is your sister?" Yong Qi asked urgently.
"She took her somewhere, we don't know," Jian Wen said, looking accusingly at Zhi Hua.
"Where is my daughter?" Yong Qi growled at Zhi Hua.
"Well, well, so you found them," Zhi Hua said impertinently, looking surprised, then put on a mocking smile. "I must admit they are of no use to me, and too much trouble to keep hidden so you can have them back. But the girl - "
"Where is she, Zhi Hua?" Yong Qi demanded forcefully, in an imperious tone that would have made his father proud and anyone else cringe.
Zhi Hua just gave him a thorough look, then turned to Xiao Yan Zi, before saying, "Jie jie - "
"Call me Jie jie in that voice one more time and I will slap you, Zhi Hua, so help me - " Xiao Yan Zi said icily.
"Xiao Yan Zi," Zhi Hua corrected herself in an equally artic tone. "Yong Qi, I have a proposition for you."
Yong Qi would not allow himself to bargain with her. "Where is my daughter?"
"You're getting a bit repetitive, my love," Zhi Hua said.
Yong Qi's eyes flashed angrily at this address and he clenched his fist together to try and calm himself. Xiao Yan Zi, on the other hand, walked slowly up to Zhi Hua and looked coldly at her for a moment. Then she slapped her hard. "Damn it, just tell me where my daughter is," she yelled almost hysterically.
Zi Wei stared at Xiao Yan Zi, almost as if scared of her, Er Kang looked quite approving and so would Yong Qi if he wasn't so busy being absolutely furious at Zhi Hua. Jian Jun and Jian Wen looked completely bewildered at Zhi Hua's words.
Zhi Hua ignored the slap and just calmly pushed Xiao Yan Zi away. "As I said, I have a proposition. And I'd like to discuss it with you, Yong Qi. Alone."
"Where is my daughter?" Yong Qi asked again, with an air of forced patience, ignoring Zhi Hua's demand. He was itching to do what Xiao Yan Zi just did to Zhi Hua. But, no. He would not lose control. He would not slap her. It would not help, he told himself. He was rapidly losing the argument.
"You are not going to stop about that, are you?"
"My daughter, Zhi Hua," Yong Qi said through gritted teeth. Keep calm, Yong Qi, he told himself. Your baby's life is at stake here.
Zhi Hua sighed, as if defeated. "She is in a safe place. But I'm not going to tell you where until you do what I want you to do. And I am sure you know what I want you to do."
"Then you should also know the answer is no."
"Then your precious Ru Yi stays where she is."
Yong Qi just glowered at her. He knew he was missing something. Ru Yi was in Jing Yang Gong! He knew she was! He could feel it! But where...? Something was tugging at the back of his mind, telling him he should know, but he couldn't think of what it was. Come on, think, man!
Zhi Hua went on. "Or we talk about this. You and me. Then when we come to an agreement, my agreement, I let you have your daughter back."
"Fine," he said shortly. "You apparently are not going to be persuaded to not have this talk. Everyone, please get out of here."
"What? Yong Qi, you can't be serious," Er Kang shouted.
"Just - please?" He turned to his friends and said, "I can't believe I'm saying this right now, but I believe her. She probably hasn't done anything to harm Ru Yi and she is around somewhere." He looked significantly at them and mouthed, "In this house."
"Are you sure?" Zi Wei asked.
"Yes, quite."
Xiao Yan Zi, Zi Wei and Er Kang exchanged a look and slowly made their way out of the room. Jian Jun and Jian Wen looked reluctant to leave, both looking rather suspiciously at Zhi Hua. Xiao Yan Zi determinedly took their shoulders and steered them out of the room.
"Come, boys."
They looked wildly at Yong Qi. He just slightly shook his head and motioned for them to follow their mother. When the door closed behind them, Yong Qi turned to Zhi Hua.
"What do you want, Zhi Hua?"
"You know what I want. I want you to stay with me."
"No."
Zhi Hua simply gave him a simpering look that made Yong Qi feel repulsed. "Do we have to go through this, Yong Qi? I have the upper hand here."
"How exactly is blackmailing me to stay with you by kidnapping my daughter going to help you, Zhi Hua?"
"Well, it could persuade you."
"Let me make this clear, Zhi Hua," Yong Qi said in a dangerously quiet voice, "you could use whatever means to persuade me, but the more you try to persuade me, the more I will hate you. Do you really want that? Do you want me back so badly that you would have me hate you for the rest of your life for it?"
"Why should you hate me? It's not as if I'm making you leave Xiao Yan Zi either. No, I can be generous enough to let you keep your Xiao Yan Zi and your bratty children on the side."
The insult was too much for him, and he simply reacted. Before even Yong Qi knew what he was doing, he had already sent a blinding slap across Zhi Hua's cheek. While Zhi Hua didn't even react to Xiao Yan Zi's slap, she looked at him with complete horror.
"You - you - "
"I told you not to test my patience, Zhi Hua," Yong Qi hissed, seething. "Let me tell you, I have my limit and I can only take so much. You will tell me where my daughter is, Zhi Hua, or I will tear this place apart until I find her!"
"And by the time you find her, she'd be dead," Zhi Hua spat. "Don't test me, either, dear husband."
Two steely pairs of eyes met in a raging battle of will, both wanting to push the other over the edge. The room was icy and ominous. Neither would give in to the other. Thus they would had stayed for even longer, if they were not eventually interrupted by Er Kang bursting into the room again.
When they had exited the study, Er Kang grabbed Xiao Yan Zi's wrist and pulled determinedly her out of Jing Yang Gong.
"Let go of our mother!" Jian Jun and Jian Wen, who didn't know who Er Kang was and had quite stopped trusting strangers after everything, both yelled angrily. Er Kang simply rolled his eyes.
"This is your uncle," Xiao Yan Zi said quickly to her sons. This, of course, wasn't exactly enough to assure them of Er Kang's trustworthiness considering he was dragging their mother rather forcefully out of the house. Xiao Yan Zi turned to Er Kang, yanking her wrist out of his hand. "Er Kang, what are you doing? Where are you dragging me?"
"Going to see Huang Ah Ma," he said, as if that was enough explanation.
"No!" Xiao Yan Zi yelled. They were standing just outside the gates of Jing Yang Gong now. "No, we are not bloody going to see Huang Ah Ma! You heard her, Er Kang! She would - "
"She's not going to kill your daughter! Good god, Xiao Yan Zi, think! What use is she going to be to Zhi Hua dead?"
"I don't care!" Xiao Yan Zi shouted. "I'm not risking it, Fu Er Kang! I don't care ... she's probably desperate enough! I'm not risking my baby's life because you want to think there's still something good in her - "
"I don't think there's any good left in her right now and I know she is probably pretty desperate! But she just doesn't have an purpose to - "
"I. Don't. Care. I. Am. NOT. Risking. It. What part of that don't you understand?" Xiao Yan Zi cried.
"Look, you two!" Zi Wei cut in. "Yong Qi is right, Ru Yi is definitely somewhere in Jing Yang Gong. We can find her - "
"What? With her maids running the place?" Er Kang asked incredulously while Xiao Yan Zi looked at him with frustration. "Zi Wei - "
But their conversation was interrupted by two people, standing a little away from them, who were beckoning them over.
"Please, follow us," one of them said quietly, looking around discretely.
Somehow, they all made the silent agreement to trust and followed the duo.
When they got a fair distance away from Jing Yang Gong, the other one said, "Ge Ge? The little girl you are looking are looking for, we know where she is."
"Why are you doing this?" Xiao Yan Zi asked as they lead them back to a side entrance into Jing Yang Gong and then to a small garden at the back of the house. "It could get you into trouble with Rong Wang Fei. And how do you even know who we were looking for?"
Both Xiao Gui Zi and Xiao Shun Zi stopped abruptly and turned around to face Xiao Yan Zi. Xiao Gui Zi said respectfully, "Ge Ge, it was rather hard not to hear your conversation in the study just now and it was not hard to figure out things considering what had been going on lately here at Jing Yang Gong, though we servants are supposed to be blind and deaf to our masters' and mistresses' doings. As for why, we had served Rong Qin Wang for ten years before Rong Wang Fei came along. Our loyalty lies with him and only him. For all these years, we served at Jing Yang Gong out of loyalty for our master, and no one else."
If Jian Jun and Jian Wen were amazed about anything in this speech such as their mother being addressed as Ge Ge, they didn't show it, and considering all things, they were too preoccupied with their sister to think much on it.
Xiao Yan Zi was so touched at the eunuchs' simple statement that she looked as if she could have kissed them. Before she could do more than just looking at them gratefully, however, Xiao Gui Zi turned around again and felt under a small bush.
Xiao Shun Zi said, "I must warn you, there are two men down there, named Liu Cao and Liu Tang who Rong Wang Fei hired. However, they are under strict order not to do anything until specifically told so by Rong Wang Fei herself or her maids."
"Two men to watch a twelve-year-old girl?" Er Kang asked incredulously.
"Down there?" Zi Wei asked, puzzled.
Much to everyone's shock, Xiao Gui Zi pushed the bush aside, revealing a trap door, locked on the outside.
"Hang on," Er Kang said. Then he turned and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Xiao Yan Zi asked after him, confused.
Er Kang didn't answer but returned a little while later with a sword.
"If there are two men down there, I'm not going down there unarmed. I got this from one of the guards outside. I think everyone should stay up here and let me go down first and take them out."
"Are you sure? If there are two of them, maybe you should call some guards - " Zi Wei started.
"No, the more people we pull into this, the riskier it will be. Remember, Zi Wei, no one must know Xiao Yan Zi and Yong Qi are here. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go on, open the door. Xiao Yan Zi, stay here until I tell you to go down."
"I can help - " Xiao Yan Zi started.
"Stay," Er Kang commanded, and for once Xiao Yan Zi didn't protest. Right then, she didn't care what Er Kang did, she only wanted to make sure she would get to Ru Yi.
Xiao Shun Zi pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the trap door.
"Where did you - " Xiao Yan Zi started to ask.
"I've kept the key to this trap door since Rong Qin Wang moved in here, Ge Ge. Though I don't think he even remembers this door and the room it leads to exist or that I have the key, it was so long ago. Rong Wang Fei doesn't know I have the key, she thinks she has the only one."
The trap door was opened and there was a set of stairs leading down into an underground room.
Whether it was sheer luck or Heaven was on their side, Xiao Yan Zi didn't know, but Liu Cao and Liu Tang must had heard the door opening and approached it to see who it was, leaving their prisoner huddled at the back of the room. They were both armed but were still no match for Er Kang, who quickly engaged them both in a fight so that neither could get to Ru Yi. With some struggle, he was able to knock both of them out by knocking their heads together.
As soon as she got Er Kang's signal, Xiao Yan Zi rushed into the room so fast that she nearly stumbled. Sunlight was pouring in from outside but still, it was dark and she could barely make out the back of the room.
"Ru Yi?" Xiao Yan Zi called softly.
"M - Mother?" Ru Yi's terrified voice sounded from the back of the room.
"Oh Heaven," Xiao Yan Zi gasped, rushing to her daughter. She pulled Ru Yi tightly into her arms, kissing the top of her head. Ru Yi burst into tears. "Ru Yi, oh, Ru Yi. Sssh...it's ok, baby, it's all right now."
The first thing that came to Xiao Yan Zi's head then, other than the relief of seing Ru Yi again, was that Ru Yi didn't protest at being called 'baby'. Usually she hated the nickname but right now, she just clung to Xiao Yan Zi tightly.
"Mummy."
"It's all right," Xiao Yan Zi repeated. "You're safe, precious."
She knelt down and gathered Ru Yi into her arms. For the first time she realised how hot her daughter was to the touch and that there was a black and blue bruise on her left cheek. Her baby, what had Zhi Hua done to her little girl? Xiao Yan Zi's heart filled with a boiling rage that she had never felt before towards anyone, even Huang Ah Ma in the days when she hated him the most. It almost made her snap and she might have left Ru Yi with the others and went to find Zhi Hua to really hurt her if Zi Wei's voice didn't bring her back to the present, more pressing, course of action.
"She's burning up," Zi Wei breathed as other people in the room, sans Liu Cao and Liu Tang, also rushed over. "Good Heaven, it's freezing down here. We must get her out of here."
"Ru Yi, Ru Yi, baby, are you awake?" Xiao Yan Zi asked, as her eyes were closed, whether in pain or in unconsciousness, she didn't know. No, Zhi Hua could wait, the important thing now was to make sure that Ru Yi was all right.
Ru Yi just nodded weakly.
"Ge Ge, Fu Da Ren, there's a stair here that leads to the master bedroom," Xiao Shun Zi said. "We can get out of here that way and put her into a warm bed."
"The master bedroom? We're under the master bedroom?" Xiao Yan Zi asked in disbelief.
"Yes."
"Let me take her up, Xiao Yan Zi," Er Kang said. "She's too heavy for you to carry."
Xiao Yan Zi nodded shakily. However as soon as Er Kang touched Ru Yi, she whimpered and clung tighter to her mother.
"It's ok, Ru Yi. It's ok," Xiao Yan Zi soothed. "I'm here. I'm going to be here, I'm not leaving you, baby."
Er Kang picked Ru Yi up into his arms, though she still held tightly onto Xiao Yan Zi's hand.
"What shall we do with them, sir?" Xiao Gui Zi asked, indicating the unconscious forms of Liu Cao and Liu Tang.
"Lock them in here for the time being," Er Kang said.
So Xiao Gui Zi went out the trap door to the garden to lock it from the outside while Xiao Shun Zi showed the rest of them up another set of stairs, which lead to another trap door, opening up to the master bedroom.
Er Kang put Ru Yi on the bed while Xiao Yan Zi stared as Xiao Shun Zi covered the trap door with a rug. How odd that she had lived all those years here without knowing there was a whole secret room under her feet. But this was no time to think about that now.
She rushed over to sit on the edge of the bed, tucking blankets around Ru Yi. She only vaguely heard Er Kang saying he'd go tell Yong Qi. Xiao Gui Zi had entered the room and together he and Xiao Shun Zi stood to the side, awaiting her orders as if nothing had changed.
Zi Wei had gone to get a basin of cold water and a towel to put on Ru Yi's forehead while Jian Jun and Jian Wen stood by the bed looking at their sister with worry. Ru Yi, on the other hand, looked relieved at seeing her brothers again.
A moment later, Yong Qi burst into the room, closely followed by Zhi Hua and Er Kang. Zhi Hua looked murderous.
"Ru Yi, precious," Yong Qi said, rushing to the bed. Despite his relief, he caught Xiao Yan Zi's eyes and they shared a panicked look at how pale and sickly she looked.
"Daddy," Ru Yi cried weakly at seeing him again.
"You two!" Zhi Hua was raging at the two eunuchs. "You showed them - you - you - "
She was about to strike them, but Yong Qi was quicker than her. In a flash, he was up and gripped her wrist before she could hit them. "You will not touch them, Zhi Hua," he said angrily. "They are not your servants to punish!"
"Forgive us, Rong Wang Fei," Xiao Shun Zi said. "A good wife marries only one husband, a good servant serves only one master. If we maybe so bold, if you insist on keeping your side of that teaching, then we will keep our side of it."
Zhi Hua looked angry enough to burst. Yong Qi only smiled approvingly at them and ignored her, turning back to Ru Yi. It was then that Yong Qi saw the bruise on her cheek for the first time.
He brushed his thumb light against her cheek, feeling his heart twist with pain and anger. Neither he nor Xiao Yan Zi had ever felt right at laying a hand on their children so the sight of the bruise marring his daughter's still chubby, baby-fat cheek was startling as it was agonising to see.
He looked up at met Xiao Yan Zi's eyes for a moment, and seeing as she didn't appear to know how Ru Yi got the bruise either, he turned back to his daughter. "What happened?"
It was his sons who answered him, however, both pointing accusingly at Zhi Hua and said, anger shaking their voice, "She hit her!"
There was a rustle as Xiao Yan Zi made a wild gesture as if to rush at Zhi Hua but then somehow, Yong Qi wasn't sure how, managed to grip the bedpost in an attempt to stop herself from committing murder. Yong Qi found he couldn't look at his wife and focused, instead, on Ru Yi, Ru Yi who looked so much like Xiao Yan Zi. If he only looked at her eyes, wide and fearful and desperate for his comfort, he could tell himself that Ru Yi needed him right now, and she didn't need him to kill Zhi Hua…
In the end, Yong Qi wasn't sure how he achieved it, but he said, not looking at anyone and desperately trying to keep his voice even, "Er Kang, please take her out of here before either Xiao Yan Zi or I break her neck. I think you could take her to the study, perhaps now she will see what it's like to be locked up. Her maids can join her."
"You wouldn't dare, Ai Xin Jue Luo Yong Qi!" Zhi Hua cried, and exclamation which was greeted by a collective gasp from all his three children. Her words didn't bother Yong Qi as much as he thought they would, because now he would have to tell his children the truth anyway. It was her tone that was making his blood boil.
Yong Qi stood up and clenched both his hands into fists so hard that could feel his nails digging into his palm painfully. His entire body felt uncontrolled and he was shaking with the attempt to simply not do anything. He looked up into Zhi Hua's defiant eyes and it was only thoughts of his children, who probably still had no idea who Zhi Hua was, and what was going on, that stopped him from doing the unspeakable. No, the priority now was his children, they deserved his attention and his explanation now, not Zhi Hua.
"You can't do this!" Zhi Hua said, shaking her head and looking at him in disbelief.
"Watch me!" he said venomously, before turning to Er Kang. "Make sure that no one that shouldn't leave or enter this place."
Er Kang nodded and then took Zhi Hua by the arms and dragged her out.
"Let go of me! How dare you lay a hand on me!" she struggled.
"You were the only who insisted he act according to his title, Rong Wang Fei," Er Kang mocked. "I think that was an order, and I cannot disobey an order now, can I?"
Yong Qi closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself. Then he turned to Xiao Gui Zi and Xiao Shun Zi.
"Thank you, you two," he said gratefully.
"We didn't as good as grow up with you to take part in blackmailing you, sir," Xiao Gui Zi said simply.
"Right. Xiao Gui Zi, I don't care how you do it, go into the Imperial Medicine Room and steal if you have to, but go find me a set of acupuncture needles." Yong Qi pulled out the letter that Zhi Hua sent him that morning. "Xiao Shun Zi, take this to Huang Shang and ask him to come here."
"Yes, sir."
And with that, the two of them left.
Yong Qi turned to his sister. "Zi Wei, can I ask you to go down to the kitchen and prepare some hot drink for Ru Yi. Some ginger tea, preferably."
"Of course."
That left him in the room with Xiao Yan Zi and the children.
Xiao Yan Zi would had liked for Yong Qi see to Ru Yi first before having to explain anything to them but knew some explanation had to be given now after Zhi Hua's revelation of his full name. She gave him a look and a shrug that said, "Well, this is it."
"Sit down, sons," he said wearily, indicating a couple of chairs next to the bed. They obeyed but still looking up at him as if they didn't quite know what to make of him. Yong Qi paced around for a moment, before sitting down next to Xiao Yan Zi. He reached over and brushed a stray strand of hair off Ru Yi's forehead before taking a deep breath.
"What you should know right now is that I was born Ai Xin Jue Luo Yong Qi," he said as calmly as the situation would allow. "I am the fifth son of the Emperor Qian Long. That woman, Zhi Hua, was my wife, who I was forced to marry for...many reasons, despite the fact I was already married to your mother. Let us just say, this was not the first time Zhi Hua had brought some grief upon your mother and me. In the end, we just left; it would had made all of us miserable to live with Zhi Hua, and so I just gave up all my titles and left with your mother."
A shocked silence greeted his brief explanation. The appropriate description for the expression on Ru Yi's face would be flabbergasted. Her brothers were looking at each other with disbelief written on every single one of the feature.
"Listen," Xiao Yan Zi said, "I know you all have questions and there is so much that we have to explain to you, but now is not the time. Let your father have a look at Ru Yi first, all right?"
They just nodded mutely.
"Where was she?" Yong Qi asked Xiao Yan Zi as he felt Ru Yi's forehead and took her pulse.
"In the secret room under this room. Do you know the room existed?"
Yong Qi turned to stare at her. "The room under - " Then he slapped his own forehead. "Oh why didn't I remember it? Why didn't I think of it?"
"You know about it?"
"Of course I know! I lived here for ten years, Xiao Yan Zi. Good Heaven, it's like a bloody icehouse down there! I forgot all about it because I never used it - "
"Use it? What would you use it for?"
Despite everything, a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "I believe that room was designed for princes to keep women they have illicit affairs with down there, women who, for some reason or other, could not be taken as a wife or concubine."
Xiao Yan Zi stared him, incredulous that such a room with such a purpose existed. Though on second thought, why was she surprised?
"But never mind that. How long were you down there, precious?"
"I don't know," Ru Yi gasped.
"How are you feeling exactly?"
"Cold."
"You're sweating profusely, darling. And you're burning with fever," Xiao Yan Zi said worriedly.
"I feel really dizzy and sick."
"Dizzy? Can you see clearly?"
"Not really...sometimes everything would be blurred."
"Could it be the Mi Hun Xiang, Father?" Jian Jun asked.
"Mi Hun Xiang?" Yong Qi turned to look at his son.
"Yes, it's a – "
Yong Qi quickly brushed aside the explanation. "I know what it is."
"Well, apparently Liu Cao and his brother used it on us all the way from Dali to here. We don't remember much about the trip but they told us when we got here..."
"How are you two feeling then?" Xiao Yan Zi asked worriedly.
"Well, when we first woke up, we were really disorientated too, but we're better now. But Ru Yi, she's smaller - "
"And the cold didn't help either," Yong Qi muttered. "Does anything hurt, Ru Yi?"
"My head aches. My neck hurts."
"Where, baby?"
"I don't know - everywhere. My neck just feels really stiff."
"Try and sit up for a while," he said, helping her up and letting her lean against him. Then he pressed at various places along her neck. "Tell me where it hurt."
After he'd determined that the whole of the back of her neck was causing her pain, Yong Qi eased her down again, with Xiao Yan Zi putting an extra pillow down to cradle her head. She then leaned down to kiss Ru Yi's bruised cheek before looking up desperately at him.
"There's nothing to do about that now," Yong Qi said with a sigh. "Even if what Zi Wei said was right and nothing's changed about this house, all the balm we had around were still here they wouldn't be good to use now."
Zi Wei had re-entered the room with a cup of hot ginger tea, Er Kang with her. Xiao Yan Zi took it from Zi Wei with a grateful smile and fed it to Ru Yi with a spoon.
"Zi Wei, Er Kang, these are the rest of my children, Jian Jun, Jian Wen, Ru Yi," Yong Qi made the long overdue introduction. "Children, my sister Zi Wei and her husband, Fu Er Kang."
After the greetings, Jian Jun suddenly exclaimed, "Ji Xiang!" as if he just remembered her. It was perhaps Yong Qi's statement about the rest of his children that alerted him to his twin sister.
"Ji Xiang is absolutely fine," Xiao Yan Zi assured them. All of them looked absurdly relieved. "She is at the Fu family's home."
"Ji Xiang is fine, but you three are not," Yong Qi said. "Ru Yi, try to get some sleep, darling. And you two," he looked at his sons. "You haven't had a decent night of sleep lately either, have you? Come, I'll take you next door where you can get some sleep. I don't want you two falling sick as well."
He took his sons to the next bedroom, what used to be a guest room, and made sure that they got in bed.
"I know you will want to talk, and I know it seems like you wouldn't be able to sleep after everything that's happened today," Yong Qi said with a sigh, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "but try to get some sleep. There will be plenty of time to talk later. I will tell you everything you want to know, after you've gotten some rest. All right?"
They nodded. As he was about to walk out of the room, Jian Wen called, "Father?"
"Yes?"
"Did you ever love her?" he asked.
Yong Qi turned slowly to look at his sons. Then he shook his head. "No. Always your mother. Always."
He met Xiao Gui Zi in the hallway, where Xiao Gui Zi handed him the box of acupuncture needles and, to his grateful relief, a pot of medicinal balm for Ru Yi's cheek. Trust Xiao Gui Zi to have caught the entire situation and spotted what he forgot earlier to ask for.
"How did you get them?" he asked.
"I went to the Imperial Medicine Room, sir, and said they were for Rong Wang Fei. They didn't even blink."
"You are going to have to make another trip, for some medicine." Then, he gave Xiao Gui Zi a list of medicinal herbs and sent him on his way.
"Ru Yi is asleep," Xiao Yan Zi said when Yong Qi returned to the bedroom. "She just drifted off."
Yong Qi handed her the balm; Xiao Yan Zi sighed with relief and started to apply it on Ru Yi's cheek.
"What is wrong with her, exactly?" Zi Wei asked.
"It's not a cold or pneumonia," Yong Qi said. "She'd be coughing and sneezing a lot if it was. With the headache and neck pain, it seems to be a type of influenza, but I'm not sure what until she develops more symptoms. It could be that some of her fatigue now is just result of lack of sleep and the stress lately and might clear up with some rest. Anyway, in the meantime, we just have to keep her fever down, make sure she is hydrated and get her comfortable. I can try to ease the stiffness in her neck now by acupuncture."
After he finished the acupuncture treatment, he looked at Er Kang.
"Rong Wang Fei is enjoying the company of her maids in the study," Er Kang said before Yong Qi could ask. "Let us hope she doesn't set your favourite room of the house on fire."
"If it will make her regain some of the sense of moral she once had, I'd let her."
Before anyone could comment, however, Qian Long stepped into the room. They all stood up to greet him.
"Huang Ah Ma ji xiang."
"Huang Ah Ma, why didn't you have yourself announced?" Zi Wei asked.
"That would bring you out into the main room and I suspect from what Xiao Shun Zi told me, you didn't need to be pulled away from Ru Yi right now. What exactly happened?"
Zi Wei and Er Kang took turns explaining to Qian Long everything that happened that morning since neither Yong Qi nor Xiao Yan Zi looked like they wanted to.
"How are the children then?" Qian Long asked.
"The boys should be well enough with some rest and food, Huang Ah Ma," Yong Qi said. "Ru Yi isn't too good right now, but I hope to be able to treat her symptoms as they come."
"You all probably have realised there are quite a few things we have to consider right now," Qian Long said. "Firstly, will you stay here while Ru Yi is sick?"
Yong Qi sighed. "To be honest, I'm not totally comfortable about moving Ru Yi right now, but staying here would make things so complicated and very risky. I would much rather be at Xue Shi Fu, Huang Ah Ma. "
"It's not that far from here to Xue Shi Fu," Er Kang pointed out. "Surely if we move slowly and carefully, not much harm can come to Ru Yi."
"How are we going to move her without attracting attention, though?" Xiao Yan Zi asked.
"Go at night," Qian Long said. "Are you sure you want to return to Xue Shi Fu then?"
"Yes, Huang Ah Ma," Yong Qi said. "It will be much easier and more convenient."
"Very well, you can leave tonight. Meanwhile, I'll see to it that no one suspects you are here and make the necessary arrangements for you to leave without anybody knowing you were ever in the palace."
"How are you going to do that?" Xiao Yan Zi wanted to know.
"You'll be surprised what can be achieved when the Emperor wants it, Xiao Yan Zi," Qian Long looked at her, amused.
Yong Qi knew Qian Long would bring up Zhi Hua soon enough and wanted to delay talking about her as long as possible, so he said, "Huang Ah Ma, in Zhi Hua's letter, she talked about Xiao Jian and his family - "
"My brother!" Xiao Yan Zi gasped, as if only just remembering them. "Oh my god, what they must have been going through all these days!"
"Ah yes, I am getting to that," Qian Long said. "While I believe that Zhi Hua has enough conscience to not harm Qing Er or her family for Lao Fo Ye's sake - "
"How nice of her," Xiao Yan Zi muttered sarcastically.
Qian Long ignored her comment. " - but obviously the situation Zhi Hua describes them living in now cannot be comfortable. Though I am a little at loss of how to fix it - "
"Maybe you could send someone to Dali, Huang Ah Ma," Zi Wei suggested, "to release them from their captors. Zhi Hua said there were only two of them and by all accounts the only reason Xiao Jian can't fight them off is that they drugged him."
"I think that is a good idea, Huang Ah Ma," Er Kang said. "With your permission, I could take a few men to Dali. I believe we can reach Dali in less than ten days if we travel quickly and release the Fang family."
"Are you sure you want to go, Er Kang?" Yong Qi asked. "There is no one I would rather trust with this but - "
"Of course I'll go," Er Kang said. "Besides, Xiao Jian would know me and he'd only trust me anyway."
"True, that," Xiao Yan Zi nodded. "Zi Wei - ?"
"Er Kang is right, Xiao Jian would only trust him," Zi Wei said. "I wouldn't mind him being gone for a while, as you will all be staying for the time being at Xue Shi Fu anyway."
"Then it is settled, then?" Qian Long said. "You should start off as early as possible, of course. But perhaps set off early tomorrow morning, so you can see everyone back to Xue Shi Fu tonight."
"Yes, Huang Ah Ma," Er Kang said. "And I'll go gather some capable guards later this afternoon for this mission."
"Yes, take as many as you think you would need."
"Thank you, Huang Ah Ma. I'll of course bring the men who are holding them captive back to Beijing. Oh and speaking of, there are two of them down in the basement under this room. They apparently were the men who kidnapped the children and brought them to Beijing."
"Put them in Zhong Ren Fu. We will sort them out when we have them all in one place."
Er Kang nodded.
"Now, Zhi Hua," Qian Long sighed heavily.
They all winced, but she must be talked about. Qian Long looked at Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi.
"Where is she?"
"In the study, Huang Ah Ma," Er Kang answered.
"And what shall we do with her?"
Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi exchanged a look.
"What exactly could be done, Huang Ah Ma?" Xiao Yan Zi asked. "You can hardly do anything without telling the whole world that we were here and what happened."
"What you said is true," Zi Wei said, "but surely we cannot just not do anything. I think Zhi Hua had proved that she would do anything to get Yong Qi back. And now that she knows exactly where you live and other details about your life, if we don't do anything, I don't think any of us could guarantee she would not try again and perhaps in an even more desperate manner."
"She will not go unpunished, there is no question of that," Qian Long said coldly. "If it were anyone else, I would not hesitate to send them to the scaffold. Even with Zhi Hua, I would say she deserves it."
Xiao Yan Zi gasped. "Huang Ah Ma, surely - surely - it won't come to that - "
Qian Long looked at her in surprise. "She threatened to kill your children, Xiao Yan Zi, and looking at Ru Yi like that, you still could say that?"
Xiao Yan Zi sighed. "Huang Ah Ma, if she had done something serious to them, if she did manage to harm them, I wouldn't ever forgive her, and I am not sure what I would do to her. But - she - I won't say what she did was justifiable, but I do think she doesn't deserve death - "
"No, death is too good for her," Yong Qi said harshly, standing up and not looking at any of them, his fists clenched. Everyone stared at him with varying degrees of surprise at his uncharacteristic vehemence.
"Yong Qi?" Xiao Yan Zi said tentatively, almost fearfully.
"Right now, I cannot even describe how angry I am at her. I don't know how I managed not to murder her in there," he said, his voice dark with rage. There was a pause. Then he turned to Qian Long and said in a slightly calmer voice. "Huang Ah Ma, whatever you want to do to her, I will not complain, as long as she cannot pull something like this again."
"You know what I think?" Er Kang said. "I think perhaps her position as a Wang Fei is getting to her head a bit. I mean, look at this plan of hers. She did nothing to hide any of it from us. All of it was very blunt. It was as if she felt she was secure enough where she was to do whatever she needed, whatever she wanted. It lacks her usual subtlety, don't you think?"
"I don't think she had enough time for subtlety. It seemed like she was desperate enough to be so blunt," Zi Wei said.
"Well, whether it was lack of time or lack of humility of her position that allowed her to be so blunt, one thing is for sure," Qian Long said. "She's putting her allowance money in all the wrong places. She must have paid those kidnappers a lot for that elaborate kidnapping plan. She is definitely exploiting my indulgence in letting her maintain all the privileges of her title. Er Kang, you can tell Zhi Hua that she is moving to Jing Xin Yuan. Today."
"Jing Xin Yuan?" Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei exclaimed. "The place where ... Huang Hou Niang Niang was?"
"Yes," Qian Long said shortly. "She may take with her anything in her room, but nothing else in this house. Do not worry, Xiao Yan Zi, I will be make sure she has enough money to keep herself relatively in the standard to which she's been accustomed, just not with enough to fund anything illicit. And she will not set a foot out of the palace without permission, either."
"So basically you're putting her under house-arrest in what is probably the coldest, most isolated and most miserable part of the palace," Xiao Yan Zi said.
Qian Long nodded grimly.
Xiao Yan Zi looked at Yong Qi and gave a helpless shrug.
"And er - how long will she be there?" Er Kang asked tentatively.
"As long as I see fit. And at the moment, it looks like it will be forever."
"Are you sure, Huang Ah Ma?" Zi Wei asked. "Not that I'm saying she doesn't deserve it, but what are you going to tell everyone?"
"I will think of something," he replied. "That is not something any of you should think about right now. Right now, my priority is making sure she won't have the chance to do anything like this again."
There was a pause when no one else said anything. It was obvious that Qian Long had it all under control.
"You can escort her to Jing Xin Yuan now, Er Kang, then you can go put together whoever you want to bring with you to Dali," Qian Long went on. "Her servants can collect her things after you have all left. Xiao Gui Zi and Xiao Shun Zi will stay here, as they have obviously proved that they can be trusted."
Er Kang gave Xiao Yan Zi, who looked a bit uncomfortable at this verdict, a look that said, "It's an order." Out loud, he said, "I'll drop by at home later to tell the children that all is under control here so they can stop worrying," before leaving.
Qian Long stood up as well. "I will get going to make sure that your departure later will be inconspicuous. You lot just stay here and make sure no one knows it."
"Shall you join us for lunch, Huang Ah Ma?" Zi Wei asked.
"I am having lunch with some officials, but I will return before you leave."
"Xiao Yan Zi, if you say that you feel bad for her about this arrangement, I shall strangle you," Zi Wei said after Qian Long had left.
She just smiled helplessly.
"You're thinking it, aren't you?" Zi Wei asked suspiciously.
There was a shrug.
"Xiao Yan Zi - "
"What I regret," Yong Qi cut in suddenly, "is not her punishment. For what she did, it is absolutely just. What I regret is that she had ended up like this, because of me, because she thinks she loves me. When we first met her, she was so...innocent."
"Love doesn't give her the right to do whatever she wants, to harm whoever she wants, Yong Qi," Zi Wei said. "Besides, I wonder now whether she was ever really innocent from the moment she agreed to marry you. She might be naïve in thinking that she could manipulate you to love her, maybe, but innocent? She was hardly innocent when she had plans to steal you away from Xiao Yan Zi all along."
"When we first met her in Haining, she was innocent, Zi Wei. Somewhere along the way, she lost it."
"Not to you, but to her ambitions of becoming Empress. Neither of you forced any of this on her, she made the decisions herself, so she alone must suffer the consequences."
"I know," Xiao Yan Zi finally said softly. Then she let out a bitter chuckle. "I really should make up my mind about her, shouldn't I? One moment, I hate her for what she's just done, but then I pity her that she'd have to suffer those consequences, just as they are."
"You have too big a heart, sometimes, Xiao Yan Zi," Yong Qi smiled wanly at her. There was a pause as he looked thoughtful. "I should probably see Zhi Hua before she..."
"You don't have to, Yong Qi," Zi Wei said quietly.
"No," he sighed. "But I should."
Zi Wei looked like she would stop him but then just sighed with resignation.
Yong Qi stepped into the study to find that Zhi Hua was not taking Er Kang's news well.
"No! I refuse to be banished just like this!" she was crying hysterically when he entered the room.
"You refuse to obey Huang Shang's order?" Er Kang asked coolly.
But Zhi Hua didn't answer him, because by then she had spotted Yong Qi. She threw herself at his feet and tugged on his hand.
"Yong Qi!" she cried desperately. "Please, please, I only did it because I was desperate, because I wanted you back, because of you! Can't you understand that? Please, Yong Qi, you have all your children back now, unharmed – "
"Unharmed?" Yong Qi was staring at her in disbelief. Then his voice rose, his anger getting the better of him. "Unharmed? Did you just say that? Do you know what I see now when I look at that bruise on my daughter's cheek and take her pulse and see how weak she is? I see what pain and fear you have inflicted on all three of them! Unharmed! You even dare say that to me! I can't – "
He had to stop. He had to stop and catch his breath, because the anger was near choking him now.
Zhi Hua was still crying, however. "Please stay with me. I don't need anything, I just need you to stay with me."
Yong Qi only spoke when he was sure that he had managed to regain control of both his voice and his emotions. "You change your tone so very fast, Zhi Hua. Yet the answer is still no."
"Yong Qi - "
"No. Now, if you will swear on everything that is holy to you that you would never do anything to harm me or my family again, that you will stop doing whatever it takes to get me back, I might be able to persuade Huang Ah Ma to let you stay here, to not do anything to you. I have not forgiven you for what you just did, Zhi Hua, but I think my leaving, for you, will be punishment enough. If you will swear, then you can stay here, as you are."
"No!" Zhi Hua exclaimed vehemently, standing up abruptly. "I will not swear to let you go! I won't!"
"Then, to Jing Xin Yuan you will go," Yong Qi said simply.
Zhi Hua just looked at him in disbelief. Then, her eyes hardened and she said, "Then I will go to Jing Xin Yuan, and it will be for you, because I refuse to let you go, Yong Qi. I will swear to do whatever I can to get you back, even if I die trying."
Yong Qi shook his head sadly. "Am I worth all this, Zhi Hua?" he asked simply.
"Yes," she whispered.
"Then I am disappointed, disappointed in you, disappointed for you. You could have had so much, you could have had everything you wanted, you could have done so much more and be so much happier, only if you realise that I cannot be your destiny. You, alone, are your own destiny, yet you chose to cling on to me to make your happiness. It is disappointing."
"You are disappointed in me," she repeated, as if confused.
"Disappointed. Angry. Pained. For what you did. For the fact that after everything, it has to come to this. For the fact that after everything, you still refuse to face the truth, still think you could get me back."
"I will. I will do it. Somehow, sometime. But I will, Yong Qi."
Even now, it amazed and pained him that she still was thought that.
"You think that if it gives you something to think about, if it keeps you going. It is clear now that if you don't think that, you have little to live for."
"It is clear that you've said all you want to say, Yong Qi," she answered in a flat, hollow voice.
"There is only this. Goodbye, Zhi Hua."
She didn't answer but just looked at him for the longest time, but he met her gaze, until she looked away. When she did, Yong Qi looked at Er Kang for the first time since he entered the room and gave a small nod.
Er Kang said, his voice devoid of any feeling, "I will take you to Jing Xin Yuan now, and your maids can come back here for your things tomorrow."
He gestured towards the door. Zhi Hua walked, her head held high, out of the study, her two maids following in her wake, Er Kang right after them.
Yong Qi watched her go and everything that happened between them seemed to flash before his eyes. Their first meeting, their wedding night, the first and only night they consummated the marriage, finding out about the baby, losing the baby, leaving, returning, facing her again, her plans, her schemes, her threats, her tears, her voice telling him she loved him...All blurred in front of Yong Qi for a moment, so that when he cleared his vision again, she was gone and he was alone in the study.
He knew he would never see her again.