Mother Will Help You Suppress Your Shock
In the imperial palace of Da Shun, the Emperor did not enjoy the new year celebration. Aside from attending court, he shut himself in Zhao He Hall and refused to see anyone.
The palace maids in Zhao He Hall all had headaches and did not know what sort of tea the Emperor liked to drink. Ever since new year’s eve, they had brought out a total of 18 types, and the Emperor never took a single sip of any.
Zhang Yuan trotted in from the outside, a cold aura coming from his body. He tried to say to the Emperor: “Her Highness the Empress has brought all of the concubines here to see you. They said that they wish to invite your Majesty to Zi Lin Pavilion to see a play.”
The Emperor frowned: “See a play? We do not desire to see a play. It’s too cold.”
Zhang Yuan kept a good attitude and discussed with him: “The stage is inside the hall. It’s not cold.”
The Emperor glared at him and shouted: “Is that a matter of inside or outside?” While saying this, he slapped his own chest, “It’s cold in here. Do you understand or not?” As he spoke, a look of sorrow appeared on his face. He then awkwardly said: “We have been in this large imperial palace from childhood, but why is it that I feel my heart getting colder and colder? What’s the point of having so many wives. In the end, I couldn’t even get the one that I wanted.”
Zhang Yuan heard this and thought, dang! The Emperor was about to become despondent once more. It seemed that the Empress’ feelings would be wasted once more. Thus he quickly told a eunuch to the side to report to the Empress. He then took a couple steps forward and desperately tried to console him: “Your Majesty, don’t be like this. This servant knows what you are thinking about. Although Imperial concubine Yun could not be at your side, isn’t she playing the lute in the Winter Palace. On the night of new year’s eve, half of the palace heard it. That can also be considered as accompanying your Majesty for the new year.”
“Played the lute? Hmph!” The Emperor snorted then self-mockingly said: “That’s also fine. In any case, the sound of a lute could be heard this year, unlike in previous years when there wasn’t a single sound that came. Hah, Xiao Yuan, my beloved is clearly in the palace, but why is it that I feel she isn’t in the palace at all?”
Zhang Yuan’s heart quivered, but his mouth was resolute, immediately refuting it: “If she isn’t in the palace, where could she go? Do you think that this is a commoner’s backyard that can be left so easily?”
The Emperor thought about it and also felt the same, thus he waved his hand and sighed, glossing over the matter.
Zhang Yuan let out a sigh of relief but quietly hoped in his heart, imperial concubine Yun, quickly come back. If this matter is exposed, the Emperor burning down the entire inner palace would be considered insignificant. If he also sneaks out like you did, things would truly get out of hand! I just hope that the East is not suitable for people to live in. Imperial concubine Yun, if you’re unhappy with the situation there, just come back after a few days there!
Unfortunately, things would never go as people desired. Da Shun’s eastern border was not that cold, and only the night of new year’s eve saw any snowflakes. After that, no snow fell at all. Imperial concubine Yun was very satisfied with her living conditions. She was extremely satisfied. She had tried all of the delicious foods in the city, everything from the restaurants to the street stalls, she had even snuck into a brothel. once for the sake of trying the fantastic fruit wines. As a result, she was fine at the time but ended up getting drunk for two days. This angered Xuan Tian Hua so much that he ignored her for two days.
Imperial concubine Yun acted freely and without restraint, but Xuan Tian Hua’s days were not that joyous. Not only was every general present a former subordinate of Bu Cong, but the same could also be said of the army. Bu Cong’s troops were extremely loyal to him. Although they did not run away with him, they expressed their disapproval of a new general by refusing to cooperate and remaining silent. Even if the person was Xuan Tian Hua, there was not much of an effect when it came to appeasing these soldiers.
But Xuan Tian Hua was not feeling rushed. He just went to the military camp every day and called for everyone to gather around. After gathering around, he would hold a meeting. Either way, the eastern border was not in disarray, and there were not too many soldiers. Each meeting would last for the entire day from morning until night, and there was not a single day that was an exception.
As the meetings continued, some of the officers began to find them annoying. They began to show up later or even refused to show up; however, who knew that Xuan Tian Hua was waiting for them to make a mistake!
Deputy general of the East, Long Nuo, was the first to defy the rules. After Xuan Tian Hua waited for him for a full six hours and still did not see him show up, the first thing that he said was: “Bu Cong’s crime is one of treason. Everyone within nine generations of relation to him will be held accountable. Do you guys also wish to rebel?”
The second thing was: “This prince does not like getting angry, but this does not mean that I do not know how to. This prince does not want to kill people; however, that does not mean that I do not know how to.”
The third thing was: “Although you were formerly Bu Cong’s subordinates, you are still my Da Shun’s soldiers. This prince did not come to capture you. Instead, I came here to take over Bu Cong’s role as general. Long Nuo’s disobedience of this prince is the same crime as rebelling. Guards, capture Long Nuo and have him executed along with his extended family!”
By the end, these words pinned Long Nuo with a crime punishable with the death of his extended family. Only then did the soldiers of the army realize their position. Only then did they realize that Xuan Tian Hua was representing the court of Da Shun. If they were to oppose him now, that would be opposing the court of Da Shun. Bu Cong was already a wanted criminal. If they continued to protect him, what was the difference between what they did and his treason?
The handling of Long Nuo caused them to no longer dare to belittle Xuan Tian Hua. They also no longer dared to spread rumors of the seventh prince being kind, soft and refined while concealing their kindness to bully him. They finally understood that no matter how kind, he was still a prince. No matter how refined, his surname was still Xuan.
Xuan Tian Hua’s thunderous might caused imperial concubine Yun to applaud. If it was not for the guards that were familiar with her stopping her, she would have rushed to the center of the crowd to applaud. Even like this, she still craned her neck and shouted: “Good killing! Serves him right! You all bully him because he’s easy to get along with, but you are all cowards!”
That night, imperial concubine Yun ordered the chefs of the general’s office prepare some good food for the sake of helping Xuan Tian Hua suppress his shock. A good jar of wine was also prepared. When Xuan Tian Hua finished up his meeting and returned to the manor, she dragged him directly to the dining hall and personally helped clean his hands and seated him at the table.
Xuan Tian Hua sat on the chair and looked at the food on the table. His heart filled with bitterness! It was all meat, and not a single shred of green could be seen. How could this be eaten?
He discussed with her, “Mother, how about son has the chefs prepare some vegetables? Eating greasy foods every day is no good.”
Imperial concubine Yun glared: “What do you mean every day? Today is no ordinary day. Didn’t you execute that Long what was his name again? Oh right, Long Nuo, you had him executed. You also had his extended family punished. How could I not help suppress your shock after such an important thing happened?”
Xuan Tian Hua facepalmed, “I’m not afraid. Where did suppressing my shock even come from?” He picked up his chopsticks and placed some fish in imperial concubine Yun’s bowl then patiently removed a thin fishbone, “Go ahead and eat, mother. If you want to eat delicious foods, just tell the chef. There’s truly no need to make up this sort of excuse. The East is not like the North, where there is an active battle. It’s also not as barren as the North. The climate here is very mild, and all kinds of things can be grown here. The citizens have fulfilling lives, and providing mother with some delicious food shouldn’t be a problem.”
Imperial concubine Yun began to earnestly devour the fish. Xuan Tian Hua saw that she liked eating it, thus he picked up another piece of fish and placed it in another bowl, slowly removing the fishbones. He then heard imperial concubine Yun say: “Last time, that princess of Zong Sui wanted to harm Heng. Wasn’t quite a large amount of gold demanded from them? I figure that the gold should be arriving in the capital very soon.”
Xuan Tian Hua nodded, “It should have arrived before the end of the year.” Speaking of Zong Sui caused him to unconsciously furrow his brow, as he said to himself: “At a time like this, what is most worrying would be if Zong Sui and Qian Zhou began working together. That’s why son had to personally come to the East to defend it. This will also prevent Ming’er and them from worrying about a disturbance coming from their rear.”
Imperial concubine Yun ate with gusto and said with satisfaction: “Right, brothers must help each other. You should help your ninth brother. Otherwise, I would have wasted my time raising you over the years.”
Xuan Tian Hua was speechless, “Mother, can you speak a little more properly? It sounds as if you only raised me for the sake of finding someone to help ninth brother.”
Imperial concubine Yun waved her head, “Hah, that’s not what I mean. On the other hand, if something happens to you and that brat doesn’t come to help, I’ll break his legs.”
Xuan Tian Hua smiled bitterly. Based on imperial concubine Yun’s temper, there was nothing that he could do. But it was exactly as she had said. No matter what happened to either of them, the other would risk his life to do everything possible to save it. If one did not put forth all of his effort, imperial concubine Yun really would break his legs. No matter if it was her own son or an adopted son, there was no difference in the treatment.
Of course, this was also the reason Xuan Tian Hua treated imperial concubine Yun like his own birth mother over the years. It really was hard to find a mother like this.
“Don’t worry!” Imperial concubine Yun patted Xuan Tian Hua’s shoulder with her oily hands, “With your protecting the eastern border, the old man couldn’t possibly be any more at ease. Even if Zong Sui has some wicked tricks, they had best not hope of taking a single step through the eastern border.”
Xuan Tian Hua smiled and said: “That’s right. If they want to go around Da Shun and enter Qian Zhou directly, their army will need to march for nearly a full year. By the time that they get there, Heng would already be seated on Qian Zhou’s throne, right?”
When he mentioned this, he revealed a look of yearning. Imperial concubine Yun raised her hand and waved it in front of his eyes, “Hey, wake up.” She then smiled slyly and said: “Say, after Heng becomes the ruler of Qian Zhou, will we be able to go to Qian Zhou as freely as our own kitchen?”
Xuan Tian Hua laughed while looking at her, speaking a truth that caused imperial concubine Yun a great deal of heartache: “You can’t even leave your own palace as freely as your own kitchen.”
Imperial concubine Yun laughed bitterly, muttering: “I really did waste my time raising you two. One doesn’t speak up for me, running out all the time and leaving me alone to feel bored in the palace. He finally found a wife that is to my taste, yet she’s even busier than the two of you. My life really is bitter!”
The mother and son chatted inside the room. At this time, someone knocked on the closed door to the dining hall, as a retainer raised his voice and said: “Your Highness.” After pausing a bit, he added: “Brother Tian.” He then continued: “Just now, there were two children sneaking around the entrance of the manor. This subordinate saw them while patrolling and was about to chase them away, but one of the children said that they came looking for your Highness the seventh prince.”