104. Both Magnolia and Begonia Turn to Dust

The Hehuan Palace was situated in the most conspicuous location within the Rear West Palace, separated from the Rouyi Palace by nothing more than the Imperial Garden. It had originally been arranged this way under the assumption that the Consort Xian and the Consort Shu would maintain a harmonious relationship, as they jointly managed the six palaces, making daily visits convenient.

However, this time, when the Consort Xian passed away, the Rouyi Palace wept in inconsolable sorrow, while the Consort Shu in the Hehuan Palace remained deathly silent—a truly strange occurrence.

Pei Jinghong was dressed in a gown of plain white, with a white magnolia blossom pinned in her hair. Between her brows, however, she had painted a begonia flower, vivid and dripping with color. As she crossed the courtyard, she passed a grove of blooming begonias; she paused, reached out to pluck a white begonia, and replaced the magnolia in her hair with it.

Xiyue and Qingyu followed behind her cautiously, not daring to utter a single word. "Very well, wait here. I shall go in alone," she said coldly to the two of them.

No sooner had Pei Jinghong stepped into Cheng Hewei's bedchamber than she saw Tao Xi rushing out, her face etched with anxiety, carrying a bowl of thin congee.

"...Lady Jinghong? This servant greets you, Lady. Please, you must persuade our mistress! She has not touched food for two days. If this continues, how will her body withstand it?"

Pei Jinghong took the congee from her hands and said, "Give this to me. You may withdraw." Tao Xi cast one final glance at Cheng Hewei inside the chamber before retreating.

Cheng Hewei sat upright before a low stool, her gaze fixed on the begonia trees outside the window. Pei Jinghong walked over and sat opposite her, blocking her line of sight. "Why are you not eating? Are you worried about Duke Cheng?"

Pei Jinghong had only spoken half a sentence when Cheng Hewei, looking at the white begonia at her temple, smiled faintly and said, "Have you come to see me off on my final journey?"

Pei Jinghong’s hand faltered. She then placed the white magnolia she had removed onto the table before Cheng Hewei. "This was the flower A-Rou loved most in life; I brought one for you. We lived under the same roof for years; you really should go and bid her farewell."

Cheng Hewei lowered her eyes, visions of those years at the Jiaxu Palace flooding her mind—the companions, the laughter, the days when the sunlight always seemed so bright. Those times were gone, never to return.

She smiled faintly, pinned the white magnolia to her temple, and asked with a smile, "Does it look good?"

Pei Jinghong’s eyes were serene, yet devoid of any warmth. She merely replied, "It is beautiful. As the poet says, 'The Xinyi flowers bloom, their colors tangled with the lotus.'" The Xinyi flower was a bloom of flamboyant passion.

Cheng Hewei looked at her brows, then her eyes, and finally let her gaze rest on her temple. "Not as lovely as the begonia in A-Zhao's hair. 'Lying still, I smell the begonia, its petals like rouge stained by snow.'" She had always loved begonias best.

Hearing this, Pei Jinghong lowered her eyes, masking the sorrow within, and slowly pulled a vial of rose nectar from her sleeve, placing it on the table.

Cheng Hewei watched her movements, her hand gestures elegant and poised, her expression calm as if they were merely discussing poetry.

Pei Jinghong poured a spoonful of rose nectar into the congee, stirred it gently with the ladle, and pushed it toward Cheng Hewei. "Tao Xi said you haven't eaten for two days. Take some; this is the rose nectar you brewed yourself. You should taste it. A-Rou thought it was wonderful and drank a whole bowl." As she spoke, a tear slid down to her collar.

Cheng Hewei stroked the white magnolia at her temple, languidly saying, "Today, I wear the magnolia for A-Rou, and you wear the begonia for me. A-Rou and I can keep each other company on the road to the Yellow Springs." Suddenly, her tone turned chilling, and she asked sharply, "But A-Zhao, what about you? I fear leaving you alone in this world to suffer in misery, loneliness, and cold."

Pei Jinghong sat motionless, entirely unprovoked by her emotional outburst. She said calmly, "So, you originally intended to drag me to the Yellow Springs with you, but you accidentally harmed A-Rou instead."

"Yes. What did I want with A-Rou’s life? From beginning to end, all I ever wanted was you, Pei Zhaojin! Alas, Heaven did not pity me." She spoke with a proud, defiant tilt of her head, her features set, as if dying with her were the most natural thing in the world.

"When did you become so wicked and heartless? Cheng Hewei, you are no longer the friend I remember. Why? Just why?!" Pei Jinghong shoved the bottle of rose nectar off the table, the sound of it shattering against the floor ringing out sharply. Though she tried her best to conceal her grief, once it broke through, it became uncontrollable.

"Why? Hahaha! Why?" Cheng Hewei reached out and gripped Pei Jinghong’s hand. "A-Zhao, look at me. What kind of life have I lived these past years? For you, for you, I turned against my own uncle. I was willing to abandon the interests of the Cheng family, yet you? You always treated me as an outsider." Dressed in her goose-yellow court robes, with a white magnolia tucked among her golden hairpins, she appeared indescribably desolate and sorrowful.

Because she was so agitated, Pei Jinghong was startled. "So you intend to follow your fourth uncle’s path? Back then, to obtain my mother, Duke Cheng did not hesitate to collude with enemy forces, cutting off her escape route and causing her to die tragically in Chelan City."

Cheng Hewei closed her eyes, trembling, as two lines of deep tears slid down. She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her emotions, and spoke with clarity: "In this life, I have nothing left. I can no longer fail the Cheng family or my fourth uncle. My surname is Cheng; I am a daughter of the Cheng family. No matter when or where, I must stand on the same side as my family."

Pei Jinghong’s expression shifted, and she stared at Cheng Hewei for a long time. "Yes, your surname is Cheng. If you betray us for the sake of your family, we have nothing left to say. You have studied the classics since childhood; you understand the principle of 'no regrets in a game of chess.'" She pulled her hand away from Cheng Hewei’s, without the slightest hesitation.

A resolute smile touched the corners of Cheng Hewei’s lips. She picked up the congee and drank it, spoonful by spoonful, without a moment’s pause, until the bowl was empty. Pei Jinghong turned away, pressing her hand firmly over her mouth to keep from sobbing aloud.

After a while, Cheng Hewei began to speak slowly of the past, her eyes no longer filled with resentment. "That spring, we went to visit the estate of the Grand Princess Qingyan—the apricot rain, the pear blossoms, the beautiful scenery. You said that the spring in the entire garden was not half as beautiful as I. I was young then and didn't realize you were just teasing me, trying to make me happy for a moment." These were all memories of their childhood.

Pei Jinghong was overcome with grief and suddenly reached out to grasp Cheng Hewei’s hand, but she pulled away. "I longed for your hand my entire life. Now that I am dying, are you pitying me? I am a daughter of the Cheng family; I do not want your pity." Blood began to trickle from the corners of her mouth, more and more.

Pei Jinghong choked back a sob, shaking her head frantically. "No, A-Wei, no. You are still my best friend."

As one approaches death, their words become sincere. Cheng Hewei’s eyes were red. "A-Zhao, after I am gone, live a good life with His Majesty. He has truly missed you for many years, just as I have. So, I can only entrust you to him. When I reach the Nine Springs and see the Great Aunt and the Little Aunt, I will apologize on behalf of my fourth uncle and tell them that you are living well here." (The Old Duchess Cheng, having no daughters of her own, had adopted Pei Xuewan and Pei Xueyun as her goddaughters, and Cheng Hewei had always called them Great Aunt and Little Aunt.)

Cheng Hewei wiped the tears from her face with force. "After I die, I do not wish to be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum. Help me tell His Majesty that I wish to be buried beside my grandmother, to accompany her forever."

Pei Jinghong felt her entire body trembling; she could barely utter a single word in response.

"A-Zhao, forgive me, forgive me... I will go and beg A-Rou for forgiveness myself. So, you must forgive me..." She gripped the hem of Pei Jinghong’s robe with a desperate, death-defying tenacity.

"A-Wei!" Pei Jinghong finally broke down, wailing in a manner that alarmed Xiyue, Tao Xi, and the others waiting outside the door.

"Consort Shu!!!" She died suddenly in the Hehuan Palace, only one day after the anniversary of Consort Xian’s death.

On the fifteenth day of the fifth month, the day Prince Huai and his son were escorted back to the capital, the Grand Princess Yongqing, far away in the Southern Frontier, took her own life by poison.

The Great Yi Imperial family was in deep mourning.

Outside Guangling City, at the capital’s suburban camp:

"His Majesty has already announced to the world that the Consort Shu took her own life to atone for her sins. My Lady, if you enter the camp of Duke Cheng to negotiate now, I fear... it is fraught with danger." Song Gu was strongly opposed to Pei Jinghong going to negotiate alone, as were Zhang Qi and Wen Zhi behind him.

"Uncle, you have been stationed in the Western Frontier for years; perhaps you do not understand my character. I never do anything without being certain. His Majesty has agreed to let me go, naturally after careful consideration." Pei Jinghong wore a snow-white brocade cloak with cloud patterns. Her long hair was pinned atop her head with only a single magnolia hairpin, and the lotus-fire flower decal between her brows remained like a mark—a mark exclusive to the Pei family.

"Then I shall dispatch three thousand soldiers to accompany you and ensure your safety," Song Gu said in a deep voice.

"That is unnecessary. I shall just ask Uncle Xianqing to accompany me," Pei Jinghong declined Song Gu’s kindness.

"I will go too," Zhang Qi added hastily. Before Wen Zhi could speak, Pei Jinghong said, "Uncle Xuezhen, please trust me as well, won't you?"

Her voice was calm, clear, and melodious; her eyes were gentle and elegant as water. General Feihong had joined the army as a youth and spent a lifetime in turmoil; although she was kind to those beneath her, her brow always carried a prideful, sharp heroic spirit that made people fear to defy her commands.

In terms of appearance, she did not look much like General Feihong, and in temperament, they were different, but in heart and mind—one meeting force with force, the other meeting force with gentleness—the outcome was no different.

In the golden glow of the sunset that day, as dusk descended and the evening breeze brushed her sleeves, Pei Jinghong, accompanied by Wen Zhi, walked into Cheng Jingyun’s main tent with a smile, passing through the ranks of thousands of soldiers.

"You are General Feihong’s daughter, the second miss of the Marquis of Wujing’s estate?" A senior lieutenant beside Cheng Jingyun exclaimed the moment he saw Pei Jinghong enter.

Pei Jinghong nodded faintly and looked at Cheng Jingyun. He was sitting on the ground, staring straight ahead, lost in thought. He neither saluted nor spoke, remaining cold and arrogant.

"Thirteen years have passed. Does anyone in the Northern Frontier army still remember my mother?" Pei Jinghong mocked with cold eyes, her voice rising so that everyone inside and outside the tent could hear.

Cheng Jingyun abruptly looked up at her and waved his hand, signaling the lieutenants to leave the tent. They exited hesitatingly. Only then did he stand up, walk toward Pei Jinghong, and look directly into her face.

He saw her skin like snow and her brows like a painting; she truly did not look like one of the Pei family. He knew of Pei Zhaojin’s background, yet he had never imagined she was a woman. That Pei Xuewan had inherited the title of the Marquis of Wujing as a woman had already been a world-shaking event.

To ensure the hereditary title of the Pei family, the Old Marquis had constantly urged Pei Xuewan to choose a son-in-law from the noble families of the capital, but how could she agree? After dragging it out for years, the Old Marquis eventually compromised, adopting Pei Zhaojin from a branch family. To ensure the continuation of the Marquis estate and to prevent a repeat of Pei Xuewan’s situation, it was decided that Pei Zhaojin would be presented to the world as a man.