From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 176: Mystery Man

No doubt more schemes were lying in wait for Yan Zheyun and he did not have to wait for long to find out.

Midway through peeling grapes for Liu Yao, Xiao De interrupted their casual chatter apologetically with a maidservant Yan Zheyun had never seen before in tow.

"Please forgive this servant for intruding," Xiao De murmured, "this is Yuqiu, the head maid in charge of Yuanyin Palace and part of Imperial Concubine Pei Langjun’s entourage, she says that Imperial Concubine Pei is...gravely ill and that the matter may not wait for His Majesty’s celebrations to be over as her master might not..." He let the inauspicious words remain unspoken for fear of triggering the emperor’s wrath. Indeed, Yuqiu’s face was ashen and she trembled beneath their combined scrutiny, probably because she knew just how taboo it was for her to bring up the topic of death on a day such as this.

But it appeared that her loyalty to her master won out in the end. Gritting her teeth, she fell to her knees at the corner of the dais, the little commotion she caused as she kowtowed profusely effortlessly seizing the attention that was already mostly on them anyway.

"This servant begs for forgiveness!" she cried out. "This servant knows that to ask the Lord of Ten Thousand Years1 to visit my ill master on this day is unthinkable but—but if Imperial Noble Consort Yue Langjun could just spare my master a glance—"

Quite brilliant, Yan Zheyun thought. He had to admire the amount of thought put into this. No matter how cautious he was or how suspicious Liu Yao found the entire situation, it remained that as the wielders of the highest power in the inner palace, they both had a duty to the members of the harem to care for them. As emperor and husband, Liu Yao would be branded cold-hearted and ruthless if he chose to ignore an ill concubine after their servant had explicitly called for attention, particularly if they had done no wrong before. As the de facto empress and holder of the phoenix seal, choosing to turn a blind eye to Imperial Concubine Pei’s plight, particularly if he were on his deathbed, would be cause enough for the morning court to flood the emperor’s desk with complaints about his unsuitability for the role. Yan Zheyun could drown in the amount of saliva they generated with their wagging tongues.

Tonight, of all nights, Liu Yao should avoid all contact with the yin energy of ailment. Yan Zheyun would have to go.

He exchanged a long look with Liu Yao, didn’t miss the concern in Liu Yao’s eyes, and reached out to give Liu Yao’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

"The kingdom celebrates with Your Majesty today," he said softly. "Will you not remain here and enjoy the fruits this consort has peeled for you? I will go and return swiftly."

Liu Yao’s sigh was unnoticeable to all but Yan Zheyun, who was close enough to catch the tired forlornness that flickered over Liu Yao’s face before he masked it again.

"Go then," Liu Yao said at last. "And don’t worry."

Yan Zheyun nodded and retreated with a bow. "Your Majesty shouldn’t worry either."

The noises of revelry faded away like a distant memory once the doors to the banquet hall closed behind them and the northern gale howling down the long empty corridors brought along with them a chill that seeped into Yan Zheyun’s bones. The only people they encountered were the guards who stared listlessly on in front of them, so fixated on their posts that they only broke away from their positions to greet him perfunctorily.

The lanterns swayed eerily, their glow leaving long shadows on the guards’ faces, making them look less human and more like the terracotta soldiers Yan Zheyun had once seen in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.

"Langjun," Xiao De said quietly, "your sedan awaits you." Yuanyin Palace was in a quiet corner of the inner palace, presumably because Imperial Concubine Pei’s illness required a lot of tranquillity, which could only be found in the harem with seclusion from the chaos of socialising and politicking.

Yan Zheyun glanced over at the maid again. Yuqiu took care to walk deferentially behind him, her head kept bowed and her demeanour sombre, as befitting a maid whose master was close to a very untimely death. He couldn’t fault her behaviour at all, which in itself felt like a problem.

Call him paranoid, but he just wasn’t convinced this wasn’t a huge set-up. There were too many coincidences, too many aspects that could be blamed on destiny and ill fate. It was impossible not to doubt.

"Let’s walk," he decided, the very picture of calm. "This consort feasted too much at the banquet and need a good stretch." To the onlooker who did not know him well, he might appear like the quintessential haughty consort, so spoiled by the emperor’s pampering that they chose to dally even at a moment when another’s life was at stake.

Yuqiu didn’t say anything, just fell in line an appropriate distance behind Xiao De to not encroach on Yan Zheyun’s space.

Once again, impeccable manners from a servant; it was no wonder she was the head maid of Yuanyin Palace. But this only served to cement Yan Zheyun’s suspicions even further. Now the question he wanted answered was whether her master truly was Imperial Concubine Pei or if this poor sickly soul was the unfortunate scapegoat chosen this time to lead the imperial noble consort into yet another trap.

Admittedly, it was a bit daunting to go up against an enemy with so many unknown variables. Yan Zheyun didn’t have much information on Imperial Concubine Pei, mostly because he had never met the man before. His chronic illness was the optimal reason for his reclusive habits and Yan Zheyun wasn’t so much of a busybody that he would go out of his way to badger the man just to ensure that he wasn’t a threat in some way or another.

Rumours were all he had to go on and these were sparse, given that Imperial Concubine Pei had used the excuse of feeling unwell from day one of entering the harem, apparently. He was a mystery for Yan Zheyun, who had seen neither hide nor hair of him, even when the ex-Noble Consort had been around to command everyone to pay her respects day in and day out.

The only other juicy tidbit that Yan Zheyun had heard about him was that he somewhat resembled the emperor’s dead lover. This was the story that was told to justify why the emperor had accepted him into the harem and allowed him the luxurious benefit of having the imperial medical bureau at his beck and call instead of tossing him back to the Pei Family.

It was odd indeed. Yan Zheyun had never thought to ask Liu Yao about him before, which in hindsight was a mistake. But until now, Imperial Concubine Pei had remained such a wallflower that Yan Zheyun felt like surely he could be forgiven for forgetting all about his existence...

"What happened to Imperial Concubine Pei?" he asked out of the blue, acknowledging Yuqiu for the first time since leaving the banquet hall. For all the fuss she had kicked up by coming all the way out on a cold night like this to plead for attention on behalf of her master, she had been very fuzzy on the details. "Was it a stomachache? A headache? A fever? What are we working with? Surely you can tell me more than just sickly, he’s been sickly for years now, I’m not sure why you’re hoping for any different today."

His deliberate attempt at being callous provoked no ire from Yuqiu. Her attitude towards him remained one of utmost respect and he had to admire her tenacity; she was either very well-trained or a lot less caring towards her master than she made herself out to be. "In response to Imperial Noble Consort Langjun, this servant’s master has been suffering from worsening health with the change of the seasons. Tonight, his coughing fits have been particularly bad and this servant is afraid that he would be overwhelmed and not be able to recover from them."

Yan Zheyun yawned. "Is that so? Has an imperial physician been called to see him?"

"Imperial Physician Meng was summoned before the start of the banquet but said that there was little that could be done apart from keeping my master warm and using some herbal medicinal soups to soothe his throat."

Yan Zheyun didn’t know who Imperial Physician Meng was but it wasn’t like it mattered. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the Imperial Medical Bureau managed to remain free from corruption. Given the current state of the morning court and how desperate the nobles were to sink their fingers into the pie, he was surprised that there was even one doctor left that Liu Yao dared to trust with his life. Whatever this Meng said meant little when he couldn’t discern how truthful it was.

The closer they drew to Yuanyin Palace, the more certain Yan Zheyun was that he was headed towards a Hongmen Feast. In the distance, he could see the main gates thrown open in silent invitation, like the maws of a beast awaiting its prey, but it was otherwise quiet—too quiet. By his side, Xiao De had gone tense but Yan Zheyun didn’t let his trepidation show. He knew that if he asked where all the guards had gone, Yuqiu would no doubt have a beautiful excuse up her sleeve, ready to be presented to him with a flourish. Something like, "Oh, the other lords have left to attend His Majesty’s banquet and taken their entourage with them, perhaps the grounds have become slippery with the first coating of frost and the guards went along to escort them."

He gave Yuqiu a meaningful smile, choosing to linger outside the gates to make conversation to see whether she became more nervous, to see whether he could detect any impatience in her stance. "You know," he said casually, "I’m very convinced that you’re a good servant but I’m less certain that you’re a loyal servant."

To her credit, she didn’t really miss a beat when she fell to her knees in panicked confusion. "Yue Langjun?" she stammered, folding into a complete grovel, the way the palace servants were taught to do by their predecessors whenever they had displeased those in power. "Please advise this servant on what I have done wrong, this servant is very dedicated to my master and will do anything as long as Yue Langjun saves him..."

"If you say so." It didn’t seem like he was going to be able to get much out of her if he didn’t let her—and whoever she was serving—carry on with their ploy, so despite Xiao De’s clear reservations, he stepped past the raised threshold of Yuanyin Palace’s gates to face whatever waited within.

If Imperial Concubine Pei was in on this, Yan Zheyun would ensure that he got what he deserved. If he was innocent, then hopefully he would be able to save him before he became collateral damage.

"I’m just saying, for someone who professes to be very concerned about the imminent death of your master, you seemed very content to let me take the longest route I could think to Yuanyin Palace on foot."

Yan Zheyun cocked his head in cold amusement as he watched her stiffen up. The courtyard also appeared empty but he had a hunch this wouldn’t be the case for long.

"Is this because your plan isn’t time-sensitive or perhaps walking fits into the grand scheme of things better because if His Majesty grows impatient and asks after me, someone back in the hall would naturally let him know that I chose to walk and hence would be delayed for a bit longer?"