In the mist-shrouded mountain, the merry chirruping of birds reverberated throughout the forest.
Through the dense entanglement of trees, wisps of sunlight fell on a youth clad in green-coloured robes. He was sitting on a stone bench with his black hair a bit messy, and a stringed zither rested in front of him. With his eyes squinting a little and a small smile on his lips, he leisurely fiddled with the zither strings.
From his fingers, a clear and pleasant melody constantly sounded in the forest, the music flowed all-round. If you look carefully, you would be surprised to find that in the surrounding clearing, beyond the foliage of trees and grass, the typically found birds species of the forest surrounded the entire scene quietly and obediently, which was very rare.
Tianyin conformed to his intention and brought together a sense of peace and quiet. The falling sunlight cast a layer of golden brilliance on the young man, his ink-coloured hair fastened by a light silver tie fluttered gently in the breeze. With the sunlight, it seemed as if the young man’s figure would to rise with the wind and disperse with the light; unreal and ethereal.
Chu Yu stood behind the young man with a gratified smile on his face. In less than a year, Qi Mingyue had progressed this far. He had to admit that this talent was truly enviable.
As the song came to an end, Qi Mingyue stopped the movement of his hands, “What does Senior think?”
Unknowingly, he had been living on the Lofty Mountain for more than half a year. While practising Tianyin, the Lianxin gu had never attacked, instead, the concentration of Zuizhu had gradually weakened as the bead’s unabsorbed power protected his heart. Though he was unable to utilize it for his own use and his skill hadn’t progressed, Tianyin had progressed by leaps and bounds and now, he was able to control the music with his mind. Although he still couldn’t control the human heart, birds - whether they were moving or still - were not a problem and he could make them act according to his will.
Chu Yu walked up to stand before him with a smug look, “Worthy of being taught by me. You should be able to fully master it soon and then you’ll be able to draw out the Lianxin gu.”
“Then how long is this soon you speak of?” Qi Mingyue couldn't help but ask when he thought of the content of those letters he received from Father Emperor from time to time delivered by Shadow One.
Chu Yu shook his head with a troubled expression, “You should not be anxious for success when it comes to Tianyin. If you only chase after success, you won’t be able to make progress. It's better to go with the flow and let nature take its course.”
In that case, he would have to write to Father tonight and tell him that his date of return was uncertain. He wondered whether he (QX) would be angry and then Chief Liu would have to clean up the mess for the miserable ministers. Qi Mingyue casually caressed the strings of the zither, there was no rush.
“Mingyue, Little Black is here again.” A young and tender voice sounded and a child dressed in blue emerged from the path hidden behind the foliage.
He solemnly walked up to Qi Mingyue, took out a small piece of paper from his robe and handed it over, “From now on, I will hand over all the messages that Little Black brings for you. Xiao Yin is too stupid, I'm afraid he will lose it.”
How was Xiao Yin stupid? Obviously, he did not want that child to be too close to him. Qi Mingyue accepted it with a smile and did not pierce his lie, “Lan is so thoughtful and considerate, thank you very much.”
When the always calm and proper Lan heard these words, he couldn't help but blush and turn his head to the side awkwardly, only to see Chu Yu standing there, “Master, you are also here.”
Chu Yu smoothly smacked him on the head, “Only now did you see your Master. I have been standing here for a long time, but didn’t even see you, this brat, say hello. In your eyes, there is only that child Xiao Yin, and there is also Mingyue, where is your master?”
Lan laughed but didn't refute and hid behind Qi Mingyue who had long grown accustomed to master’s temperament. It was common for them to fight with each other because they knew he wasn’t truly angry.
Chu Yu looked at his disciple with a smile, then swept his eyes over to look at Qi Mingyue, only to see him unfold the paper in his hand and reveal a grim expression.
“Did something happen in the palace?” Chu Yu asked.
Lan also stepped out from behind and looked at Qi Mingyue in sync, his eyes unblinking, very worried.
“Something indeed happened, it’s about the alien star.” With a sigh, Qi Mingyue refolded the letter in his hand. He didn't expect that Father would handle the matter in this way.
“Could it be that someone in the palace is trying to capture you? Or did Emperor CangHe kill some important ministers to quell the rumours?” Chu Yu conjectured. He felt that Qi Xutian would do anything to protect Mingyue.
“Neither,” Qi Mingyue shook his head, “Hua Fengjin was poisoned to death in prison and it was confirmed that the person who poisoned her was her biological son, the Eldest Prince Qi Musheng.”
“Matricide?” Chu Yu exclaimed, wasn’t this what the alien star’s supposed fate was?
Lan stood by and listened to their conversation, then said, “Then he is the alien star, right? He killed his mother, there is evidence and it cannot be denied. The rumours about Mingyue being the alien star will be cleared!”
Seeing the smile in Lan's eyes, Qi Mingyue smiled faintly. This was what Father Emperor wanted.
To clarify the rumours with facts right before everyone's eyes, even if the fact may not be true, as long as people believe it, it was the truth.
“HuangEr’s actions have caused me great sadness and pain. How wrong could she be? She was still your Consort Mother, after all.” Seated high above in the solemn hall, with a disappointed expression, Qi Xutian spoke to the bound boy kneeling on the floor.
“Father! I... I did not!” Qi Musheng's eyes were cowardly as he anxiously denied.
“Why is the Eldest Prince denying it? The prison guards only let you inside and only after eating the food you gave her did Hua Fengjin die. If it wasn’t you, who could it be?” A minister with a face full of anger went forward to rebuke. He did not expect that the seemingly weak prince would do such a thing.
“What my beloved minister said is accurate. I sent people to investigate and since Hua Fengjin was thrown into prison, no one else came to visit her, only you, my eldest son. And you have gone to the prison several times to visit her, taking pastries and soups inside. If you say that the death of your consort mother has nothing to do with you, who can believe it?”
Qi Musheng knelt on the ground and while facing all the ministers’ as well as Father Emperor’s questioning, he was unable to defend himself[1].
[1] Rephrased. Originally, it was 百口莫辩 which is a Chinese idiom that means ‘even if there were a hundred mouths, it’s impossible to defend/describe things clearly’ and it’s used in situations where someone is suspected or has been wronged.
He didn't dare to visit freely because he feared that Consort Mother’s matter had aroused Father’s repugnance and it would affect him. However, once he heard a private discussion between a few palace personnel saying that he was not filial and even though his consort mother had an accident, he did not care at all. Fearing that Father Emperor might also think the same, he often brought things with himself when he went to visit her.
How could he know why his Consort Mother died for no apparent reason even though she was alright? Or was it really because she ate the food he sent? ”I truly did not... I have been wronged! Someone framed me, Father!” Someone must have deliberately framed him and intended to make him bear the charge of matricide.
“Someone framed you? I wonder who you think it is that framed you and the reason they did so?” Qi Xutian questioned with doubt as if he didn't believe it.
Qi Musheng noticed it, bit his lip, and hesitantly spoke, “Maybe... maybe it was Second Imperial Brother. He realised that he fell out of favour and was rumoured to be the alien star, so he framed me to save himself...” As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered.
When the ministers heard the Eldest Prince say the two words ‘alien star’, their hearts shuddered. Although the narrative of the alien star had spread, it was taboo in the palace after all. It wasn’t known where the Eldest Prince heard about it from, he actually said it in public. This incident also involved the mysterious disappearance of the Second Prince. Therefore, they did not know how His Majesty would react. Between the two princes, who was the alien star?
Concealing their trepidation, the ministers secretly stole a glance at the monarch’s face and saw that he was neither displeased nor furious. His countenance was unfathomably deep and they were unable to guess what His Majesty was thinking at this time.
“Oh? You said that he framed you?” Qi Xutian smiled profoundly, and it was difficult to tell whether he was livid or in agreement because of his unsmiling eyes.
When Qi Musheng saw that there seemed to be a turnaround, he raised his head and hurriedly continued with widened eyes, “Please, Father, look into this. This child truly did not kill Consort Mother, I have been wrongly accused.” He spoke anxiously with his eyes red, and by the time he finished, tears had fallen.
After sweeping a glance over the ministers’ expressions, Qi Xutian looked at Qi Musheng with cold eyes and unhurriedly spoke, “Ever since the rumour about the alien star spread, I sent MingEr out of the palace. He is not in the palace; how can he frame you? Or do you think that he, like you, used a lot of money to bribe the guards and palace personnel and used it as a driving force to secretly win over the officials in court to work for him?”
As soon as he said this, Qi Musheng's face suddenly went pale.
The ministers who wanted to intercede for him did not dare to speak freely out of fear of being implicated.
For a while, no one dared to ask why His Majesty sent the Second Prince out of the palace, where he had sent him and when he would return. They only felt their suspicion towards the Eldest Prince become increasingly deeper. The alien star was prophesied to commit the crime of killing his mother and it was exactly what he did.
Feeling the change in the eyes of the surrounding people as they looked at him, Qi Musheng lowered his head, but tears kept streaming down his face as he continued to explain, “All that is what my Consort Mother taught me. This child is ignorant, I did wrong, I beg Father for forgiveness... The thing concerning Consort Mother was not done by me. Father, don’t kill me...”
Hearing him begging for forgiveness, Qi Xutian had only frostiness and thick murderous intent in his eyes. Suddenly, Chief Liu approached him, whispered a little and handed something over.
The ministers saw that His Majesty intended to execute the Eldest Prince and were about to speak, but they saw the paper in his hand and did not say anything, wondering what was written on the paper handed over by Chief Liu.
Carefully looking at the person seated on the throne, they saw Majesty ponder for a short while and place the letter in his hand into his sleeve before speaking, “Since MingEr pleaded for you, I will not execute you for the time being. As the Eldest Prince, you solicited and connived officials to conspire as well as murdered your own mother; I will spare your life but abolish your position as an imperial prince. Once deposed, you cannot stay in the palace. I will give you three days to prepare and leave for Tanzhou.”
Tanzhou was located in a remote area, near AnYang. Bandits roamed there often and it was not a peaceful place, once there, one could be said to have lost everything and no longer had any hope in life. Perhaps, for an imperial prince, this punishment was even more painful than death.
In this way, the alien star would no longer be able to cause trouble. As long as he stayed far away from CangHe, the country and its people would be secure and CangHe would be considered peaceful.
After hearing what His Majesty said, all the ministers agreed. They also came to know that the letter was sent by the Second Prince to plead for the Eldest Prince and appreciated his benevolence in their minds.
Qi Musheng sat limply on the ground, silent. Only a faint fire seemed to pulsate in his eyes until it died and fell as quiet as ashes.
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