Qu Dubian followed Imperial Consort Xuan to Shunning Palace.
Shunning Palace was very close to Fengwu Palace. The palace was cold and quiet, with not many people around.
The front hall was the main hall where Imperial Consort Xuan resided. There wasn't a single flower in the garden; the entire plot had been plowed into earth, though it was unclear what was planted there. There were some fruit trees on either side, but their variety was indistinguishable.
Imperial Consort Xuan first instructed someone to prepare a meal in the small kitchen, then turned to look at the Seventh Prince who had followed her and sighed.
She herself was a bit dazed; having this child cling to her, she had somewhat confusedly brought him along.
Qu Dubian followed her everywhere, a perfect little shadow.
He came up and hugged Imperial Consort Xuan's leg, "Consort Xuan~"
Increase the favorability points, please, beautiful and gracious Consort Xuan. Let it fill up quickly, and I'm willing to have a balanced diet of meat and vegetables for life.
The words Imperial Consort Xuan had prepared to notify the Emperor to come fetch the child stuck in her throat. Thinking it would be fine to let the Seventh Prince stay for a meal, she said, "The food will take a while. I need to process the soil I just dug up. Would you like to play by yourself for a bit?"
Qu Dubian: "Okay!"
Ye Xiaoyuan helplessly cupped his hands, "We trouble Imperial Consort Xuan."
Imperial Consort Xuan: "You may come in as well."
The four of them entered the hall. Imperial Consort Xuan placed a porcelain basin over a charcoal brazier, putting the soil in batches into it. After stir-frying it until hot, she transferred it to another wooden bucket.
Stir-frying soil—high-temperature sterilization.
Qu Dubian watched from the side, occasionally helping by passing the small shovel.
The palace maids didn't speak, Imperial Consort Xuan didn't speak, and Ye Xiaoyuan and Wen Xiaochun couldn't figure out why their young master insisted on coming to Shunning Palace, so they also didn't know what to say.
Seeing the child staring intently at the soil, Imperial Consort Xuan thought for a few seconds, then had a palace maid fetch a small bowl. She filled it with the stir-fried, sterilized soil, poured an appropriate amount of warm water into it, and handed it to Qu Dubian.
"Here."
Qu Dubian stealthily shuffled closer to Imperial Consort Xuan: "Consort Xuan, is there anything you need me to help with?"
If she needed his help, she'd have to increase the favorability points!
"No need," Imperial Consort Xuan shook her head. His immediate offer to help showed this child was very sensible. Perhaps it was because life had been too harsh at Ju'an Hall that he developed such a temperament.
A child shouldn't have to learn restraint so early. Imperial Consort Xuan's tone was gentle: "You've been watching for so long but didn't ask me for it. I could tell. This soil has been stir-fried and sifted; it's clean. Go play."
Qu Dubian fell silent for a moment. "Play with what?"
Imperial Consort Xuan pushed the bowl towards him. "Play with the mud. No need to hold back."
Qu Dubian: "..."
Under the encouraging gazes of Ye Xiaoyuan, Wen Xiaochun, and Imperial Consort Xuan, Qu Dubian, with a stiff little face, played with mud for about twenty minutes.
During this time, Imperial Consort Xuan's favorability increased by three points. Qu Dubian relaxed more and more as he played. Mud was really fun.
When the small kitchen finally prepared the midday meal and the main kitchen also delivered a portion of Yunni cakes, Imperial Consort Xuan announced it was time to eat. He immediately pushed away the small bowl of molded mud and hurried to the dining table.
Imperial Consort Xuan instructed Ye Xiaoyuan to wash his hands for him.
"Besides me, Consort Guo also lives in the rear hall of Shunning Palace. The princess she gave birth to is nominally under my care, but in reality, she has been raising her all along. So, I'm not very sure what children should eat. Just tell me what you like."
Qu Dubian rolled up his sleeves and raised his wooden spoon. "I'm not picky at all, very easy to raise."
Imperial Consort Xuan looked him up and down. Although she had never raised a child herself, she had seen others do it. She had a rough estimate of how tall and heavy a two-and-a-half-year-old child should be. But the Seventh Prince looked even thinner and smaller than the princess in the rear hall did at over two years old.
So his previous statement wasn't very convincing.
She didn't say more, just instructed the palace maid to serve him more dishes.
Seeing the atmosphere had become more lively than at the beginning, Qu Dubian proactively said, "Many consorts came to grab me today."
Imperial Consort Xuan: "Hmm?"
Then she understood. The palace maid beside her had mentioned the matter of the Seventh Prince choosing an adoptive mother. At this juncture, the child had naturally become a hot commodity.
Imperial Consort Xuan: "So you followed me to Shunning Palace to hide from them?"
"To hide from His Majesty. If he finds out about what happened in the imperial garden, he'll spank me."
The child spoke like a little adult, his brows knitted in worry. Imperial Consort Xuan found it amusing and said, "His Majesty wouldn't casually strike a prince. You're still young; he usually doesn't get angry over minor mischief. But... I wanted to ask from the start, why do you call him 'His Majesty'?"
Qu Dubian said profoundly, "It's not yet time to call him 'Father'."
'Father' should be used at the critical moment.
"Then when will you call him that?"
Qu Dubian calculated the time: "Soon, perhaps?"
Coincidentally, a palace servant hurried in to announce, "Your Ladyship, His Majesty has arrived!"
Imperial Consort Xuan frowned and put down her bowl and chopsticks. Without the slightest hesitation in front of others, she said, "Why is he coming at this time? Couldn't he pick a better moment?"
Qu Dubian: "?"
Although the Great Zhou Dynasty didn't exist in his previous life, he knew that a normal imperial consort wouldn't make such a remark about the emperor.
He hid his confusion, got down from the stool, and followed Imperial Consort Xuan to the front courtyard, sticking close behind her and hiding behind her skirts.
Emperor Chongzhao strode in and stood in the courtyard. Chief Eunuch Yu wiped his sweat, desperately making eye signals to Ye Xiaoyuan and Wen Xiaochun.
Imperial Consort Xuan performed a curtsy: "Your Majesty."
Qu Dubian quietly peeked his little head out from behind Imperial Consort Xuan's skirts, revealing a shy, awkward smile: "Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongzhao's face was as dark as a pot bottom. He whipped out a ruler he had seemingly procured from somewhere. "Still hiding! Come out!!" He strode purposefully towards Qu Dubian.
Qu Dubian turned and ran, leading Emperor Chongzhao in circles around the courtyard.
He ran while shouting: "It was Sixth Brother who said it loudly! I only told him secretly. Why isn't Your Majesty going to spank Sixth Brother?"
"If you hadn't said anything, how could Little Sixth have known!"
Emperor Chongzhao was truly furious. In just one afternoon, half the palace knew that he, the esteemed Emperor of Great Zhou, had been uniformly presented with body-tonifying medicine by the consorts. Wasn't this clearly telling everyone he was... incapable? Not to mention that embarrassing business about... whistling!
And he couldn't even refute the rumors. How? Tell the entire palace again that there's nothing wrong with his body, and whistling doesn't work? Wouldn't that be a blatant admission of guilt?
After two laps, Emperor Chongzhao took a sudden large step and caught his scurrying little son. He grabbed him by his thick clothes and lifted him into the air, raising the ruler in his hand. Qu Dubian quickly lunged forward, his hands tightly wrapping around Emperor Chongzhao's neck, his legs locking around his chest, wailing as if his heart was being torn out:
"He's hitting me! His Majesty is hitting me!!"
Emperor Chongzhao, nearly strangled by him, gasped, "Let go of me!"
He even had to free one hand to support the boy's legs. With all this struggling, if he fell, his bones might break!
Chief Eunuch Yu's eyes were about to pop out of his head.
Heavens above, he, Yu Decai, had seen everything in his many years serving His Majesty, but he had truly never witnessed a scene like today's.
Glancing around at the others in Shunning Palace, he felt satisfied again. Among these people, some had their mouths agape, others covered their eyes—none were as composed as he was.
Emperor Chongzhao grew angrier and angrier, but suddenly a cough sounded in his ear. This infuriating little brat seemed to have choked on the wind, coughing several times in a row. Those two laps of running counted as vigorous exercise, and his breathing was also very rapid.
He suddenly remembered: Little Qi had recovered from his illness very quickly, but the imperial physician had said a swift recovery didn't necessarily mean he was completely fine; there was a chance of relapse. The raised ruler began to waver hesitantly. What if hitting him made him sick again? The one suffering wouldn't just be his little son, but him too.
Maybe he should just make a token gesture and hit him once.
The ruler was raised again!
The boy on his shoulder wailed, "Dad! It hurts!"
...The ruler couldn't come down.
Emperor Chongzhao said angrily, "I haven't even hit you yet!"
Qu Dubian whimpered twice, "I really didn't do it on purpose."
"You know to call me 'dad' when you're about to be beaten... Also, I am your Imperial Father. Calling me 'dad' is most improper!"
"Oh," Qu Dubian said, "Your Majesty."
Emperor Chongzhao: "..."
He couldn't bring himself to hit, nor could he simply not hit. It was Chief Eunuch Yu who stepped forward then, with great perception, and took the ruler away, giving Emperor Chongzhao a way out. "Your Majesty, the young prince has just recovered from a serious illness, and it wasn't intentional. He knows he was wrong."
Ye Xiaoyuan nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Your Majesty."
He shot a glance at Wen Xiaochun, who immediately took the ruler from Chief Eunuch Yu and hid it behind his back.
"Let go of me!"
"No."
The child clung to his neck and whispered in his ear, "I know everything now. You took care of me at night. You're... well, a tiny bit better to me than I thought you'd be!"
He pressed his thumb against the first joint of his index finger to show just how tiny that 'bit' was.
So, was this the reason the child had become more attached to him? Emperor Chongzhao glanced at Qu Dubian's fingers. "Only that much? I haven't slept well for two or three nights."
Two or three nights was just a small interest payment. What more did he want? Really, this old man. Qu Dubian reattached himself to his neck, hanging on, and delivered a straightforward, childishly blunt line with perfect precision: "You're good to me, and I'll be good to you. I'm still small, but I can grow up, and my goodness to you will grow up too."
"..."
Emperor Chongzhao hoisted his bottom up a bit and said with a stern face, "All this 'you' and 'I', no sense of seniority or juniority. Let's return to the Purple Palace Hall."
He glanced at Imperial Consort Xuan and gave a slight nod, not as one would to a consort, but as to a friend for whom one felt a pang of guilt.
Imperial Consort Xuan: "We respectfully see Your Majesty off." So, 'dad' was for moments like this.
The entourage left Shunning Palace. Along the way, Chief Eunuch Yu tried to take Qu Dubian, but Emperor Chongzhao didn't let go, carrying him himself for a good part of the journey before finally handing him over to Ye Xiaoyuan.
Inside Shunning Palace.
The earlier liveliness had departed along with the Seventh Prince, vanishing completely.
It reverted to its original quietness, a sudden change that felt momentarily unsettling.
Imperial Consort Xuan stood still for a while, lost in thought, then looked down at her palm. The warm sensation of the child's small hand gripping hers still lingered there.
From the rear hall, five-year-old Princess Zhiyi came over curiously, holding a smooth, round piece of wood. "Consort Xuan, was that Father Emperor who just came?"
In the Great Zhou imperial family, princes and princesses were ranked separately. Though young, Princess Zhiyi was the eldest princess.
Imperial Consort Xuan snapped back to attention. "Yes, and your Seventh Brother too. Why have you come, Zhiyi? Did the noise disturb you?"
Zhiyi held up the wood. "The axe in the rear hall is broken. Mother needs to use it for her woodworking now and asked for your help."
Imperial Consort Xuan took the wood, gripped it with both hands, and exerted a slight force. Crack. The leg-thick round log was split cleanly in two.
Zhiyi, accustomed to this, said happily, "Thank you, Consort Xuan. They're having a meal in the rear hall. Will you join them?"
"Mm, let's go. Your mother is doing woodwork, so she'll probably need more help. Remember to send someone to get a new axe tomorrow morning."
"Mm-hmm!"
-
Purple Palace Hall.
Western Warmth Chamber.
"How on earth did he end up at Shunning Palace?"
After retrieving Qu Dubian, Emperor Chongzhao used the spare time before bed to review some memorials.
He pondered over and over but couldn't figure it out. "I know about Imperial Consort Xuan. Usually, she just tends her vegetables and chops firewood. She doesn't pay me much mind either, never stepping beyond her own gates. How could these two have possibly run into each other?"
"It was truly a coincidence, Your Majesty. The other ladies of the rear palace were pursuing him quite vigorously."
"I know perfectly well what they're scheming. The selection hasn't even begun, and they're already fighting over him. Do they really think my son is a piece of meat?"
Emperor Chongzhao was also annoyed. What would people think if this got out? So undignified, how could they be fit to raise an imperial heir?
Chief Eunuch Yu: "Actually, Imperial Consort Xuan could also..."
"No." Emperor Chongzhao cut him off. "You saw for yourself. Little Qi is mischievous and stubborn. If he annoyed Consort Xuan, he'd get a beating. Besides... she probably doesn't want to see me either."
"None of those consorts who were in the imperial garden today are suitable."
Chief Eunuch Yu: "Then there aren't many people left. Perhaps you could... let the young prince choose for himself? After all, the young prince should be satisfied, shouldn't he?"
Emperor Chongzhao worriedly held his forehead. "This matter requires balancing court relations, considering the consorts' temperaments, and also making Little Qi happy... Is this child here to collect a debt from me or what?"
Chief Eunuch Yu: "Your Majesty is both sovereign and father. Worrying for one's children is unavoidable."
"If there's truly no other way, then let him choose for himself."
Bedchamber.
Qu Dubian had eaten half his meal at Shunning Palace and finished the other half at Purple Palace Hall.
He sprawled out, monopolizing Emperor Chongzhao's dragon bed. The incense burning in the bedchamber today was a different kind again; it smelled faintly of pine.
"Xiaochun, is Father Emperor going to choose a new mother-consort for me?"
Only the two of them were in the bedchamber at the moment. Wen Xiaochun asked, "How did you know, Your Highness?"
"I overheard it accidentally."
Actually, he guessed.
Although the higher the sunk cost, the more his emperor father in this life would care about him, he couldn't live in the Purple Palace Hall forever. The court and the rear palace wouldn't stand for it. Coupled with the attitudes of the ladies today, it was easy enough to guess. He could figure it out.
Wen Xiaochun asked softly, "Does Your Highness want a new mother-consort?"
Qu Dubian thought for a moment. "I don't know. What does it feel like to have a mother?"
He seemed to have no natural affinity for mothers. He didn't have one in his previous life, and he didn't have one in this life either, so he didn't know what it felt like to be loved by a mother.
Wen Xiaochun had had one, but his own mother had sold him for money.
Those closest could wound the deepest.
But he couldn't say such things to His Highness.
He merely said, "Perhaps you'll find out in the future."
Emperor Chongzhao stood in the outer chamber and listened for a while. When the voices inside fell silent, he stepped in. After washing up, he lay down on the bed and said, "In the imperial garden today, was there any lady you liked?"
Qu Dubian rolled over, propped himself up on his elbows, and rested his chin in his hands. "The scents they wore weren't as nice as the ones you blend."
Emperor Chongzhao gave a light humph. "You have good taste. Classes at the school start tomorrow. You recovered quickly, but it's best to rest a few more days. Do you want to go?"
Qu Dubian: "Walking is too tiring."
"You don't have to walk. A servant will carry you."
"They'll get tired too."
"So you don't want to go?"
"Father Emperor, do you have any dogs?"
"..."
The topic change was abrupt. Emperor Chongzhao weighed the implied value of this 'Father Emperor'. When he called him 'dad', it was because he was in trouble and scared. Calling him 'Father Emperor' meant he wanted something?
He replied cautiously, "Yes, I do. If you want one, you can pick a gentle one and raise it. What do you want to do?"
Qu Dubian said mysteriously, "I'm not telling you."
Emperor Chongzhao glanced at him. "Skipping the academy is fine. In seven days, it is the ceremonial day for your mother's posthumous conferment. Someone will come to have your robes made."
Although Emperor Chongzhao had abolished the old dynasty's protocols, the posthumous elevation of an imperial consort to empress was still no small matter. It required the coordinated efforts of multiple departments, including the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. On the ceremonial day, following the proper procedures, music would be played, and nine immortal lanterns would be enshrined in the Fengde Hall.
As the son of Consort Yun, Qu Dubian, despite his young age, was required to attend.
Qu Dubian hadn't known about this and sensed something unusual. He poked Emperor Chongzhao's arm. "Tell me about it."
Emperor Chongzhao closed his eyes. "This emperor won't tell you either."
"..."
Bah! You old fogey!
