唐龙一年级,11月26日.洛阳.
清晨,天还没完全亮,就有人敲响了东宫牙科诊所的大门.
诊室位于东宫西侧,紧邻我的住所.称其为"诊室"实属客气,其实只是个小院子——前厅是诊室,后厅是药房,再往里走是我的书房.沈月留在了长安,洛阳这边只有我和清远.清远住在诊室旁边的小房间里,我住在后面的主屋里,只隔着一条走廊.李龙基的书房在东南角,走过去也就泡杯茶的时间.
青媛打着哈欠打开了门.她回来时,神情有些不对劲——不是刚睡醒的迷糊,而是紧张.她的手指紧紧握着门把手,指节泛白.
"第三夫人,司法部副部长裴先生也来了.他说他牙疼."
我手中的杵停了下来.裴生.司法部副部长.李日之口中的那个叛徒.周平的线人.泄露卧底名单的人.他怎么会在这里?真是牙疼?还是——太平公主派来试探我的?我昨天才离开公主府,他今天就来了.时间也太巧合了吧.
"让他进来."
裴生走进来时,脚步轻盈,仿佛生怕惊扰了什么.他四十出头,面容清秀,五官端正,身着深青色官服,腰间系着银色鱼袋,一副体面的样子.但他的眼神却不对劲——眼白泛黄,下眼睑布满血丝,瞳孔微微收缩.这是长期失眠,焦虑和恐惧的迹象.他的手指紧紧攥在袖子里,指节泛白.他很害怕.一个如此恐惧的人来到我的诊所,绝不仅仅是因为牙疼.
"裴副部长,请坐."我指着检查床说道.
他坐了下来,双手放在膝盖上,手指仍然紧握成拳."顾医生,我最近牙疼,晚上睡不好觉.我听说您的医术高明——"
"裴副部长,"我打断他,"你今天来这里不只是为了看牙吧?"
他的表情变了.虽然只过了一瞬间,但我看得清清楚楚.他的瞳孔骤然收缩,下巴紧绷,喉结上下滚动.他咽了口唾沫.这是恐惧的生理反应.然后他露出了一个笑容,一个勉强的笑容."顾医生开玩笑呢.我只是牙疼而已."
"裴副部长,您的牙齿没问题."我向后靠在椅背上,看着他的眼睛."您的牙齿很健康.您的疼痛不是牙痛,而是其他地方的疼痛."
"顾医生——"
"Vice Minister Pei, you are grinding your teeth. Grinding happens when something is on your mind. Your gums are bleeding, not from inflammation, but from tension. There are bite marks on your tongue from nighttime clenching." I paused, lowering my voice slightly. "What are you afraid of?"
He looked at me, his gaze shifting. Not anger, but fear. Like an old rat cornered by a cat, knowing escape was impossible but still wondering how to run. His fingers began to tremble. Starting from the fingertips, shaking all the way to his wrists.
"Vice Minister Pei, you're here to test me, aren't you?" My voice was calm. "I came out of the Princess's residence yesterday, and you arrive today. The Princess wants to know if I told the Crown Prince anything."
His face turned pale. Pale as paper.
"I did tell," I looked at him. "I told everything. Your name, Zhou Ping's name, the list of undercover agents. The Crown Prince knows it all."
He stood up so abruptly that his chair slid back a foot, making a piercing screech. His lips trembled; he wanted to speak but couldn't.
"Vice Minister Pei, you took the wrong path," I looked at him. "From the day you let Zhou Ping go, you went astray. It's not too late to turn back now."
He stood there like a tree struck by lightning. Still standing on the outside, but hollow within. Then he turned and left. He walked so fast it was almost a flight. Qingyuan called out "Vice Minister Pei, take care" behind him, but he didn't look back.
I stood by the window, watching his back disappear at the end of the corridor. His steps were unsteady, stepping on the bluestone slabs as if walking on cotton. He headed toward the Eastern Palace gate. The direction he came from, and the direction he fled to. But he couldn't escape. From the moment he walked through this door, escape was impossible.
"Third Lady," Qingyuan leaned over. "What was wrong with him?"
"He was afraid," I said.
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid that his deeds had been discovered."
The Court
Hour of Si (9-11 AM). Court Assembly.
I did not attend court. But when Chen Xuanli's soldier returned with news, Qingyuan blocked him at the gate, questioning him endlessly, then ran all the way back, face flushed red, panting breathlessly.
"Third Lady—His Highness at court—"
"Speak slowly."
She took a deep breath, her eyes shining like stars. "His Highness reopened an old case. Not Qian Wansan's case, but another one. A very small case. Last year, a minor clerk in Luoyang County named Wang Er died at home. The county magistrate ruled it 'suicide.' No one suspected anything. A minor clerk dies; no one cares."
"And then?"
"His Highness said Wang Er did not commit suicide." Qingyuan mimicked Li Longji's tone, putting on a stern face,压低 (lowering) her voice. "He said Wang Er'steeth were telling him that Wang Er was murdered."
I paused. He was quoting me again. In the court, before all the civil and military officials, repeating my words.
"The entire court fell silent. No one dared to speak. Then Vice Minister Pei stood up." Qingyuan lowered her voice further. "He accused His Highness of 'confusing the public with demonic words,' saying 'How can teeth speak?'"
I closed my eyes. I could imagine the scene. He standing in the Crown Prince's position, wearing black robes with red trim, a jade and gold belt, and a distant-travel crown. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a nail, hammered into every pillar of the great hall. His gaze fell on Pei Sheng's face, like a knife, slowly, inch by inch, cutting.
Qingyuan took a deep breath, straightened her body, lifted her chin slightly, and her eyes turned cold. In that moment, she didn't look like Qingyuan; she looked likehim. "Vice Minister Pei, your teeth are also speaking. They are saying—you are very afraid."
My fingers froze in mid-air. In the court, before all the officials, before Princess Taiping's faction, before Pei Sheng, he had said the exact same words I had said. He was protecting me. He took the matter of "teeth speaking" upon himself. If the charge of "confusing the public with demonic words" was to be borne by someone, let it be him. Not the female doctor from Changzhou, but the Crown Prince of the Great Tang.
"Vice Minister Pei said he wasn't afraid. His Highness said—'Then why do you dare not look into my eyes?'"
His gaze fell on Pei Sheng's face, calm as if looking at a stone. Not anger, not disgust, nothing. Only cold. That cold wasn't the cold of winter, which freezes hands and feet but is bearable. His cold was the cold of the dead. The kind of chill that goes from your fingertips to the bottom of your heart when you touch a corpse's skin in the morgue.
"Vice Minister Pei looked up at His Highness for a moment. Then he lowered his head again." Qingyuan's voice grew softer. "His face was white. His lips were purple. His hands were trembling. His Highness said—'Pei Sheng, your hands are shaking.' Vice Minister Pei said no. His Highness said—'Raise your hands, let everyone see.' Vice Minister Pei didn't raise them. So His Highness ordered Chen Xuanli to go up and lift Vice Minister Pei's arm."
Qingyuan mimicked the action, raising her arm, fingers splayed. "Third Lady, you should have seen it. His hands were shaking like chaff in a sieve. All the officials saw it. Even Princess Taiping, sitting behind the curtain, stopped her prayer beads for an instant."
"His Highness said—'Pei Sheng, do you know your crime?'"
"Did Pei Sheng confess?"
"No. He said he didn't know what His Highness was doing. His Highness said—'Several pages are missing from the Ministry of Justice files.'"
I paused. "Which files?"
"Zhou Ping's files." Qingyuan's voice dropped lower. "His Highness said several pages were missing from Zhou Ping's file. Those pages recorded—who informed Zhou Ping. Those pages vanished. His Highness asked Pei Sheng where those pages went."
The court fell silent. Pei Sheng stood there, hands shaking, face white, lips purple. He wanted to speak but couldn't.
"His Highness said—'Vice Minister Pei, your teeth are telling me you are afraid. Your hands are telling me you are lying. Your face is telling me you know where those missing pages went.'"
Qingyuan mimicked the tone, pressing her voice extremely low, as if rolling out from her throat. In that moment, she didn't look like Qingyuan; she looked likehim. Like the him who, step by step, cornered Pei Sheng to death in the court.
"Vice Minister Pei knelt down. He said he knew nothing about the files. His Highness said—'Then do you know where Zhou Ping is?' Vice Minister Pei said he didn't know. His Highness said—'Then I will tell you. Zhou Ping is in Princess Taiping's manor.'"
I was stunned.
"The entire court erupted in uproar. Some looked at His Highness, some at Princess Taiping. Princess Taiping sat behind the curtain, unmoving. Her prayer beads stopped for a long time, then started turning again."
"His Highness said—'Pei Sheng, you informed Zhou Ping, you leaked the list of undercover agents, you are one of Princess Taiping's people. Your teeth, your hands, your face—everything has spoken.'"
Qingyuan stopped, looking at me. "Third Lady, do you know what was most terrifying?"
"What?"
"His Highness's voice remained calm throughout. From beginning to end, very calm. He didn't lose his temper, didn't slam the table, didn't draw his sword. He just stood there, looking at Pei Sheng. Like a cat watching a mouse. Like winter watching a withered leaf. Pei Sheng just collapsed."
Pei Sheng collapsed on the ground. The entire court was silent as a crow. Princess Taiping sat behind the curtain, unmoving. Her prayer beads stopped for a long time, then started turning again.
"His Highness said—'Guards, take Pei Sheng away. Hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation.'"
Qingyuan finished. I stood by the window, looking at the sky outside. The sky was blue, the clouds white. The bell of Luoyang City rang, toll after toll, distant and heavy.
"Third Lady," Qingyuan whispered. "His Highness was so scary today."
Scary? Yes. Terrifying. But that terror wasn't rage; it was cold. Cold to the bone. He didn't need to lose his temper, didn't need to draw his sword. He just needed to stand there, looking at you with those eyes, and you knew—you were finished.
But that terror wasn't directed at me. It was for enemies. For Pei Sheng. For Princess Taiping. To me, he was forever the youth with the toothache. Forever the one who said "Then let's not go back" under the moonlight. Forever the one who draped his cloak over my shoulders and pressed his forehead against the back of my hand.
My eyes suddenly grew hot. Not from fear, but because—in the court, before so many people, he spokemy words. He was protecting me. He carried all the risk on his own shoulders.
"Third Lady?" Qingyuan looked at me. "Are you crying?"
I touched my face. Wet.
"No. The wind blew."
"The windows are closed."
I was silent for a moment. Outside, the bells of Luoyang City continued to ring. Toll after toll, coming from the direction of the palace city, passing through the eaves of the Eastern Palace, landing in this small dental clinic. I remembered my time in Vancouver; I never cried. Didn't cry after night shifts, didn't cry when scolded by professors, didn't cry when failing exams. Carrying everything alone, never crying. But now, he spoke my words, he protected me, and I cried.
"Qingyuan."
"Hmm?"
"Go heat up the tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). Wait for him to return."
Waiting
Evening. He didn't come.
I sat alone in the clinic, waiting all afternoon. The sky outside changed from bright to dim, from dim to black. The lamps of Luoyang City lit up one by one, from the Eastern Palace study to the palace gate towers, from Chongren Ward to the South Market. He didn't come. I knew he was busy with important matters. Interrogating Pei Sheng, investigating Zhou Ping's whereabouts, removing one by one those who threatened me. But I still missed him.
Missed the words he spoke in court. Missed him mimicking my tone saying "Your teeth are telling you." Missed him此刻 (right now) in the Ministry of Justice dungeon, sword in hand, like an unsheathed blade. Wondered if he would come straight to the clinic when he returned. Wondered if he had eaten well today, drunk enough water, used dental floss properly. He had promised me. Use floss daily, brush daily, eat well daily. He had promised.
"Third Lady, eat something first." Qingyuan brought in a bowl of tangyuan.
"Not hungry."
"You've been waiting all afternoon. From the hour of Shen to the hour of Xu."
"I'll wait a bit longer."
Qingyuan sighed, placed the tangyuan on the table, and turned to leave. At the door, she looked back. "Third Lady, His Highness will come. He always comes."
"I know."
She left. I sat alone in the clinic, staring blankly at that bowl of tangyuan. The tangyuan had cooled, the skins sticking together, the sesame filling solidified. What was he doing? Finished interrogating? Caught Zhou Ping? Eaten? Used floss? He promised me.
I buried my face in my palms. Gu Qingyan, you're done for. You're truly done for.
Footsteps sounded at the door. Not Qingyuan's footsteps, buthis. I recognized them. His steps were steady, neither hurried nor slow, stepping on the bluestone slabs, each step the same length. Just like the first time he came to the clinic. Just like every time he came for a dental check-up. Just like every moonlit night he walked me back to my residence.
He stood at the door. Moonlight shone on him. There was blood on his cloak—not his, but someone else's. A few strands of his hair had come loose, blown across his forehead, covering one eyebrow. His eyes were very bright, brighter than the moonlight. He stood there like a sword that had just killed someone and been returned to its scabbard. Blood still on the blade, but the scabbard was cold.
"Qingyan."
My eyes grew hot. "Your Highness."
He walked in and sat on the examination couch. "Check my teeth for me."
Return
I washed my hands and walked to him. He opened his mouth; I examined them. His gums were red. Not the red of periodontitis, but the red of staying up late, high stress, and lack of sleep. Dark circles under his eyes, cracked lips, fingers trembling slightly. Not a single thing he promised me today had been kept.
"Your Highness, your gums are red again."
"Mm."
"Didn't brush properly?"
"Mm."
"Didn't sleep well?"
"Mm."
"Didn't eat well?"
"Mm."
I put down my tools and looked at him. "Your Highness promised to keep all promises made to me."
He paused. Then he smiled. That smile was light, faint, but his eyes were bright. "Good. Starting tomorrow, I will brush properly, sleep properly, eat properly."
"What about tonight?"
"Tonight—" He reached out and took my hand. "Tonight I want to stay with you a bit longer."
His palm was warm. As warm as the first time he held my hand. As warm as every moonlit night he walked me back. I sat beside him, not pulling my hand away.
"Your Highness, today in court—"
"You know?"
"Mm. Chen Xuanli's soldier returned with news; Qingyuan blocked him at the gate and questioned him thoroughly."
He smiled. "Then you heard me quoting you?"
"I did." I looked at him. "Aren't you afraid of being accused of 'confusing the public with demonic words'?"
"No fear." He looked at me. "You said teeth can speak. They really can. Today in court, Pei Sheng's teeth were saying—he is very afraid. His teeth did not lie. His teeth were more honest than his mouth."
"Your Highness—"
"Qingyan." He tightened his grip on my hand. "Every word you say, I remember. Every single word you've said, I remember."
Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on our clasped hands. The lamp shaped like the osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace on the windowsill was still lit; the candle flame swayed unsteadily, casting the shadow of the osmanthus tree on the wall.
"Your Highness, did Pei Sheng confess?"
"He confessed." His voice was calm. "Zhou Ping is in Princess Taiping's manor. The list of undercover agents was leaked by him. The traitor within the Ministry of Justice is not just him."
"Who else?"
"Still investigating." He looked at me. "But soon."
"Soon?"
"Soon." He smiled. "Qingyan, I said I would protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you again."
I looked at him. Under the moonlight, his eyes were very bright. Not the light of anger, not the light of impulse. But another kind—the light of victory. The victory of restraint. Of someone who clearly could have won aggressively but chose the steadiest way to win.
"Your Highness, take me to see him."
He paused. "See who?"
"Pei Sheng."
"Why?"
"Because I want to see him with my own eyes." I looked at him. "To see what the man who caused Qian Wansan's unjust death looks like."
He looked at me for a long time. Then he stood up, taking my hand. "Let's go."
Under the Moonlight
He took me to the Ministry of Justice dungeon.
Not the area where prisoners were held, but the courtyard at the back. A carriage was parked in the yard; sitting on the carriage was a person—Pei Sheng. He wore prisoner's clothes, hair disheveled, tear tracks on his face. His hands were bound, still trembling. Seeing Li Longji, he shrank back as if scalded. Then he saw me, and his expression changed. Not fear, but—resignation.
"Pei Sheng." His voice was calm. "She has come to see you."
Pei Sheng looked at me, lips trembling. "Doctor Gu—"
"Vice Minister Pei," I looked at him. "Your teeth don't need treatment anymore."
Tears flowed down his face. Silent, drop by drop, falling onto his prisoner's clothes.
"His Highness said your teeth spoke. Your teeth spoke the truth." I stood before him, moonlight shining on me. "Qian Wansan's teeth also spoke a sentence."
"What sentence?"
"He said—he didn't want to die."
Pei Sheng cried. Cried miserably, shoulders heaving, snot and tears smearing his face. He looked at me as if looking at a ghost.
"Pei Sheng," his voice came from behind, very cold. "Do you know what crime you committed?"
Pei Sheng knelt down, forehead knocking against the ground. "Your Highness, this subject knows his mistake—"
"Knows his mistake?" His voice was cold, so cold my back went chill. "Can you repay for Qian Wansan's life? Can you repay for the lives of those undercover agents?"
Pei Sheng knelt on the ground, kowtowing continuously. His forehead hit the stone slabs,thump thump thump, soon breaking open, blood seeping out, gleaming dark red under the moonlight. He didn't look anymore. He stood there, watching Pei Sheng kowtow. Under the moonlight, his profile was as cold as a knife. But I noticed his hand gripping mine tightened slightly.
Then he pulled me, turned, and left.
Walking out of the Ministry of Justice dungeon, moonlight shone on his face. His eyes were bright, but his eye rims were red. His hand still held mine, very tight. He walked slowly, his steps much heavier than when he arrived. Reaching the dungeon gate, he suddenly stopped. Didn't turn around, just stood there. Moonlight shone on him; his cloak billowed slightly in the wind. He paused. Just once. Then he continued walking forward.
"Your Highness."
"Hmm?"
"Did you cry?"
"No." He turned to look at me. "I didn't cry."
"Your eyes are red."
"The wind blew."
"There's no wind today."
He looked at me and suddenly smiled. That smile was light, faint, but his eyes were bright. Completely different from him in the court. Completely different from him in the dungeon. Right now, he was the youth with the toothache. The one who said "Then let's not go back" under the moonlight. The one who draped his cloak over my shoulders.
"Qingyan, do you know, today in court, I thought of one thing."
"What thing?"
"I thought of that sentence you said. The bones of those who died unjustly will speak." He looked at me. "Qingyan, Qian Wansan's bones spoke today."
I looked at him. Under the moonlight, his eyes were very bright. Not the light of victory, but the light of relief. The light of someone finally securing justice for another.
"Your Highness."
"Hmm?"
"You will be a good emperor."
He smiled. "How do you know?"
"Because you care about Qian Wansan's life. Because you care about the lives of those undercover agents. Because you care about every person who shouldn't have died."
He looked at me for a long time. Then he reached out, brushing the stray hairs from my forehead to behind my ear. His fingertips grazed my cheek, slightly cool. He didn't speak. Just looked at me. Under the moonlight, his eyes were very deep, like a bottomless well. There was light in the well, the kind of light that had been buried for a long time and finally dug out by someone.
"Qingyan."
"Hmm?"
"I will win. After winning—" He smiled. "I'll take you to the best tavern in Luoyang to drink. You mix the drinks; I'll pay."
I couldn't help but smile. "Your Highness, I am the Medical Doctor of the Eastern Palace; I have a salary."
"Then you pay yourself."
"Your Highness—"
他没有说话,只是看着我,目光柔和下来.月光下,他的眼睛格外明亮,比洛阳城的灯火更耀眼,比曲江潭的河灯更璀璨.他的喉结微微动了一下,然后低下头,轻轻地吻了我的额头.很轻,很短暂,像羽毛落在水面上一样.他的嘴唇是温暖的,与宫廷里的冰冷截然不同.
"晚安,青岩."
他转身离去.马蹄声沿着蓝石板路渐渐远去.我站在司法部地牢入口处,摸着额头.
"晚安,"我说.我是在对自己说.
返回
回到东宫牙科诊所,清远还在等我.桌上的汤圆已经完全凉透了,皮粘在一起,芝麻馅也凝固了.
"三夫人,殿下带您去见裴生了吗?"
"毫米."
"可怕吗?"
我沉思片刻."可怕.但对我来说并非如此."
青媛看了我一眼,突然笑了."三夫人,殿下对你真好."
"毫米."
"那你还在等什么?汤圆凉了就不好吃了."
我低着头,吃完了那碗冷汤圆.芝麻馅已经凝固,汤圆皮也厚了些,但依然甜美.窗外的月亮又圆又亮.窗台上那盏形似月宫桂花的灯还亮着,烛光摇曳不定.
他说,从明天开始,好好刷牙,好好睡觉,好好吃饭.他说,那些冤死的人的骸骨会说话.他说,我会赢.他说,我请你喝酒.
我相信他.他说的每一个字.
（第十七章完）