After Wei Zifu departed, Liu Che spent a little more time playing with the two children before preparing to whisk A'Jiao away to Xuanshi Hall.
Liu Run clung to Liu Che’s leg, refusing to let go. "Imperial Father is leaving again. Please stay with Run'er and Little Brother for a while longer. Run'er misses you so much; I want to be with Imperial Father every moment. Please play with us a bit more!"
Liu Bo followed his sister's lead, mimicking her actions.
Liu Che picked Liu Run up and pinched her cheek. "Run'er, be good. When Imperial Father has time another day, I will come to see you again!"
A'Jiao watched this scene, lost in a daze of thought. *In this life, I am still so young. By the time I grow up, how old will Liu Che be? Sigh!*
Liu Che set the child down, grabbed A'Jiao by one small arm, and started walking. A'Jiao was pulled so abruptly that she stumbled and fell to the ground.
*Ah, I forgot A'Jiao is lame!* Liu Che frowned and ordered Guo Dun to pick her up. It was a pity; the clothes she had worn for less than a day were already soiled.
A'Jiao pouted, patting the dust off herself. *Chen A'Jiao, wake up! What do you mean "young in this life"? Is age the issue here? Can this man be married? Can he?! You really haven't had enough of dying miserably in your last life!*
A'Jiao slapped herself once, then turned her head to the side with an air of defiant pride.
Liu Che boarded the palanquin and reached out, signaling Guo Dun to hand A'Jiao to him.
Lady Xing took in their interaction, her expression remaining soft and gentle. To her eyes, the Emperor seemed to place extraordinary importance on this little girl. It almost felt as if the so-called "study companion for Run'er" was merely a pretext.
Finding herself alone with Liu Che in a confined space once again, A'Jiao felt quite nervous despite her current appearance as a young girl. She stealthily reached out, her hand finding the long sword hanging at Liu Che’s waist, and pressed down on it firmly.
*If Liu Che draws his sword to strike me, even with my small strength, I should be able to buy enough time to jump off the palanquin, right?*
Liu Che wordlessly pried A'Jiao’s hand away. Then, he lifted her by the scruff of her neck and said helplessly, "Jiaojiao, do you think I need to draw a sword to kill you?"
A'Jiao tried to pull his hand away with both of hers, but she couldn't budge him an inch.
"Besides, your leg is lame. You couldn't run even if you wanted to!" Liu Che set her down, shifting into a comfortable position to hold her.
"..." *When I grow up in this life, I’m definitely going to hold you by the neck when I talk to you, you old man,* A'Jiao thought resentfully.
The palanquin swayed until they reached Xuanshi Hall. Liu Che carried A'Jiao inside and, as before, dismissed everyone.
The two were left alone in the bedchamber.
"Jiaojiao, I want to ask you a few questions. You must answer me truthfully, alright? I know you’ve always wanted to return to my side, and I’ve missed you dearly as well. See? I recognized you the moment you appeared. Now, be good." Liu Che sat opposite A'Jiao, holding a brush, ink, and bamboo slips.
"..." *I think, according to the regulations of the Netherworld, I shouldn't be able to answer a single one of your questions.* A'Jiao remained silent.
Liu Che didn't care and spoke directly: "First, Jiaojiao, how did you come back?"
As expected. "I don't know," A'Jiao bluffed.
"How could you not know?"
"I really don't know. If you're so capable, send someone to investigate." A'Jiao didn't believe Liu Che had anyone around him who could probe the affairs of the Netherworld. If he truly had such people, would he have been deceived by those occultists time and time again? She had heard that Liu Che married Wei Zifu’s eldest daughter to an occultist named Luan Da, only to discover a year later that the man was a fraud, after which Liu Che had him executed.
He had lost his wealth, sacrificed his daughter, and been secretly mocked by others.
As for that Chu Haiguang, his cultivation was likely mediocre. When the time came, she would report this to Lord Yuandeng, and the Netherworld would surely handle it.
"How can you not know? Even if you were reborn, it has only been three years. How did you spend the three years before that? You must know what you encountered and what happened."
"I don't know!" A'Jiao’s eyes darted around. She grabbed Liu Che’s hand and began to wail. "I entered your dream before, wanting to reminisce about the past with you. Who knew that as a ghost, my magic was insufficient, and I fainted! By the time I woke up, I had already been reborn! Waaaah, I’ve been so scared this whole time, terrified that people would think I’m a monster and tie me up to be burned!"
In the three years since her rebirth, A'Jiao hadn't gained many skills, but her ability to cry had improved day by day. It couldn't be helped; newborns just love to cry—crying for a reason, crying for no reason—and they can't spend a long time building up the mood. It had actually required quite a bit of effort on her part.
Liu Che looked at A'Jiao, who was wiping her tears directly onto his clothes, and found himself speechless. However, he had a faint feeling she was lying. He remembered clearly that when she entered his dream, she had been snatched away by a hand!
"Then, second: what is the treasure on your person?" Liu Che pulled his sleeve out of her chubby little hands.
"What treasure? I don't know." A'Jiao sobbed. "Ah, are you talking about the treasure Chu Haiguang mentioned? I don't know either. I'm curious too—how could there be a treasure on me? Why don't I know about it?"
Liu Che slammed the brush onto the floor and barked, "Chen A'Jiao, stop playing the fool on purpose!"
*Look at that, just look!* Just a moment ago he said he missed me, and now he’s losing his temper.
"You're shouting at me!" A'Jiao began to wail even harder. (╥﹏╥) "Liu Che, I’ve been thinking of you constantly, and now not only do you not comfort me, you shout at me! I might as well just bash my head against a wall and die!" A'Jiao made a show of leaning toward a nearby pillar.
"..." Liu Che felt his patience wearing thin.
"Jiaojiao, stop crying." But he still had to endure and coax her.
"I will cry! Why shouldn't I cry? If you don't like hearing it, then leave!" *At worst, just kill me again. That way I can go back to the Netherworld and see how Mother and Lord Shen are progressing!*
*Tsk tsk, if I can't go back for decades, maybe Mother will have even given birth to a younger brother by then!*
"A'Jiao—" Liu Che pulled A'Jiao into his arms. "Behave yourself!"
...
*Behave yourself.* She had heard those words hundreds of times in the past.
A'Jiao buried her face in Liu Che’s chest, her crying now carrying a bit more genuine emotion.
"Jiaojiao, all these years, I haven't been able to find peace, do you know that? Right after you passed away, I had a dream. I dreamed you were crying and crying, and Imperial Father and Aunt kept saying I had mistreated you. When I woke up, I felt wronged. While you were in Changmen Palace, I gave very clear instructions—you received the stipend of an Empress and enjoyed the treatment of an Empress. How could I have mistreated you? Thinking that you felt your life was so miserable made me feel terrible!
"So, when I woke up, I ordered a grand funeral for you and provided so many burial goods. Did you see them? I thought if you lived poorly, I would make sure you lived well after death. I selected burial goods for you that were nearly the rank of an Empress, all because I was always thinking of you.
"Later, even after the funeral ended, I could never forget you. Every time I opened or closed my eyes, it was you. Memories of us stealing Grand Empress Dowager Bo’s malt candy as children, catching crickets in Nangong together, the scene of our grand wedding, the scene of your coronation as Empress... they played over and over in my mind. Hmph, even Yang得意 said I had grown thin. I even specifically had people perform divinations for you, fearing you wouldn't be happy in the Nine Springs! It took a long time before I slowly emerged from that grief!
"But Jiaojiao, you don't know. Even now, you don't trust me. If I had any ill intent toward you, I would have killed you long ago! Do you understand, Jiaojiao?"
Lies mixed with truth are always the hardest to discern.
A'Jiao stared blankly at Liu Che, tears falling. "Then, since you love me so much, why didn't you bury me with the rites of an Empress?" Her large eyes blinked.
"..." *If I had known you’d have this kind of miraculous encounter, I definitely would have buried you with Empress's rites long ago!*
*Liu Che, you bastard! If Mother hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known you intercepted a huge sum of my money. In my burial goods, those funds and treasures made up seventy or eighty percent of the total. The burial goods you gave me yourself were barely the standard for an ordinary consort!*
*You scoundrel, you're actually using this to trick me!*
"Jiaojiao, that was... that was... because, as you know, the Wei family’s power was great. I couldn't ignore the Wei family's face... Furthermore, you had been deposed after all. There was no precedent for such a thing!" *Zhongqing, you'll just have to take the blame for this one!*
"Hmph!" A'Jiao crossed her arms.
"But Jiaojiao, look at me now. Am I not making it up to you?" Liu Che stroked A'Jiao’s head. A child's hair is soft; it felt fluffy and very comfortable to the touch.
"Making it up? How have you made it up? A useless title like Lady Huikang? This isn't even as useful as my status as a deposed Empress back then!"
"Then tell me, what do you want?"
"Me? Make me a Grand Princess. I am your cousin, after all! I also want a fief. The bath-and-comb fief must be carefully chosen—why don't you just give me Guantao like before!" To be honest, during her years in the Netherworld, A'Jiao found she envied her mother most. If only she could have a status like her mother's!
"...No." Liu Che refused flatly.
"Why?"
"Jiaojiao, use your head. If you are titled a Grand Princess, you become a member of the imperial clan. How would you enter the palace when you grow up?" Liu Che sighed, feeling that A'Jiao was as naive as ever.
???
A'Jiao was instantly bewildered!
*When did I say I wanted to enter the palace when I grow up? Liu Che, can't you change your conceited personality?! Aunt and my youngest uncle clearly said you were such a good child when you were little!*
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
宣室殿 | Xuanshi Hall | The main hall of the Weiyang Palace where the Emperor resides and handles affairs.
刘润 | Liu Run | Princess Run, daughter of Liu Che and Wei Zifu.
刘髆 | Liu Bo | Son of Liu Che and Lady Li (historically), here appearing as a young prince.
刑美人 | Lady Xing | A concubine of Liu Che (Meiren is a rank).
栾大 | Luan Da | A historical occultist/alchemist who deceived Emperor Wu.
元灯 | Yuandeng | A figure in the Netherworld (Lord Yuandeng).
九泉 | Nine Springs | A poetic term for the underworld or the grave.
仲卿 | Zhongqing | The courtesy name of Wei Qing.
长公主 | Grand Princess | Zhang Gongzhu; usually the title for the Emperor's sisters or highly ranked female relatives.
汤沐邑 | Bath-and-comb fief | Tangmuyi; a fief whose taxes were used for the personal expenses of a princess or noble.
馆陶 | Guantao | The title/fief of A'Jiao's mother, the Grand Princess Guantao.
