Qu Dubian was completely unaware that he had attended court.
He only felt that the buzzing sounds in his ears were partly hypnotic and partly noisy, making his sleep rather restless.
To say he was sleeping isn't entirely accurate; he subconsciously remembered the feeling of being sick at three years old. Occasionally, when he couldn't bear it and whimpered, someone would cover his mouth.
He found it very annoying. After it happened many times, he stopped being polite and simply bit down.
A morning court session, which should have been dignified and solemn to convict the Chu family, concluded amidst hushed whispers.
In the end, Noble Lady Chu was ordered to commit suicide. Her brother, who was implicated in smuggling with her, was sentenced to immediate execution in three days. The rest of her three clans would be executed after autumn. Within the nine clans, three generations were barred from holding office, with various detailed rules to be recorded in the archives.
After the court adjourned, the officials bowed and departed.
Only after they had gone a long way from the Qianji Palace did familiar officials dare to start discussing among themselves:
"Earlier in the hall, did His Majesty bring a child??"
"Probably the Seventh Prince. I heard he was frightened and fell ill yesterday, very dangerously so. The lights in the Zichen Palace didn't go out all night."
The person speaking with him couldn't help clicking his tongue, "But he still shouldn't have carried him to court. What kind of propriety is that?"
Xie Jingshan passed by and, hearing this, cupped his hands in greeting, "Ah, Sir, if you find it unacceptable, you can go to the Censorate to file a complaint. If a censor submits a memorial of impeachment, perhaps His Majesty will admit his mistake."
"Assistant Minister Xie, what are you saying, hahaha," the man laughed it off, "We didn't hear or see anything, just chatting privately."
The Seventh Prince fell ill, and His Majesty screened him off and brought him to court.
It was clearly meant to keep them from knowing; they weren't fools. Moreover, even if this breached protocol, it stemmed from His Majesty's compassionate heart, his paternal affection.
Wouldn't they be asking for trouble by being so tactless as to impeach him over this?
The censors and remonstrance officials in the Censorate have all turned a blind eye and a deaf ear. What would it mean for us to charge forward?
Sometimes, between ruler and subject, it's necessary to turn a blind eye.
Xie Jingshan watched the backs of the two men hurriedly leaving and shook his head.
It was truly an eye-opener. His Majesty, one day, would act like an ordinary father, caring for his child without even changing his clothes.
He didn't think this was setting the Seventh Prince up for a fall. After all, he was the youngest and shouldn't be involved in contention with his older brothers; the ministers' attention was focused on the three elder princes.
He just felt that if this continued, other younger princes might become unbalanced in their minds.
Human hearts are inherently biased. The more the Emperor invested in the Seventh Prince, the more his gaze would unconsciously turn towards him.
-
"Hurry, hurry! Help me!"
Emperor Chongzhao walked swiftly from the Qianji Palace after court. Once inside the Zichen Palace, his composed expression suddenly changed, and he stretched out his hand in distress, "Get his mouth off me."
Eunuch Yu hurried forward, took a look, and his face contorted: "Oh heavens, how did he bite you like this??"
The little prince's eyes were tightly shut, but his mouth was clamped firmly on the fleshy part between Emperor Chongzhao's thumb and forefinger on his right hand. Not to mention saliva, there were also bite marks on the thumb and index finger, and the marks were deep.
He quickly washed his hands and, together with Ye Xiaoyuan, rescued the Emperor's hand from Qu Dubian's mouth.
Eunuch Yu winced just looking at it: "Your Majesty, why didn't you say something earlier?"
Emperor Chongzhao shook his hand, "...I was in court! How could I say anything? Ouch, he bites with such strength."
His pride suffered for his vanity; he stubbornly waited until all the courtiers had left and he had returned to the Zichen Palace before speaking up.
Imperial Physician Yang came in and wrapped layers of gauze around the Emperor's pitifully injured hand. Emperor Chongzhao instructed, "Wrap my fingers well too. How can I meet ministers with bite marks on display?"
"Yes," Imperial Physician Yang complied, covering them. After attending to the Emperor, he focused his attention on Qu Dubian.
"The fever doesn't seem to have subsided much, Your Majesty. Has the young prince not woken up at all?"
Emperor Chongzhao said, "He almost woke up once during court."
Imperial Physician Yang was very troubled. In all his years of practicing medicine, he had seen all sorts of difficult and complicated illnesses, but why wouldn't the Seventh Prince's fever go down?
It seemed the same last time.
With a fever like this, he could become addled.
"His Highness should not be covered too thickly. We can fetch some wine to wipe his body. In a moment, I will prepare another dose of medicine. If His Highness wakes up, remember to have him eat something to regain strength."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qu Dubian's ear twitched.
The child, who had just been lying prone on the bed in deep sleep, slowly crawled up. His eyes, dazed from fever, looked at Emperor Chongzhao.
"...Food."
Emperor Chongzhao: "..."
He quickly called to someone: "Go prepare some of the Seventh Prince's favorite foods."
Qu Dubian lowered his head, his head lolling forward. Emperor Chongzhao reached out to support him, and the child, using his support without exerting any effort himself, yawned.
"Eat... the food made by Concubine Xuan and Concubine Guo..."
He still remembered his dining agreement with Concubine Xuan.
An image of a rather ugly-looking soup popped into Qu Dubian's mind. After thinking, he added, "That day, Ritual Day, food, also want to eat."
His forehead was so hot it could warm hands, yet this child was still thinking about food.
Emperor Chongzhao: "Go, send someone to Shunning Palace. As for the food on Ritual Day..."
Ye Xiaoyuan, still holding a grudge, said: "The Court of Imperial Entertainments prepared it."
"That wasn't prepared by the Court of Imperial Entertainments. It's the Xu family's Mai Xian Geng, a sour soup for children," Emperor Chongzhao explained, then pondered for a moment, "Bao Youfu, you make a trip. Find Xu Jianyan... no, his version is too inauthentic, the presentation too ugly. Go to the Sword-Holding Marquis's residence and ask the Dowager Marchioness for a bowl."
Ye Xiaoyuan: "?"
His grudge turned to embarrassment. He silently crossed out a note in his little book of grievances.
Eunuch Bao: "This servant will go immediately, I guarantee the young prince will get the hottest bowl!"
One group went to Shunning Palace. Eunuch Bao left the palace, rode a fast horse, and headed straight for the Sword-Holding Marquis's residence.
-
Xu Residence.
Xu Tingfeng, unaware that his culinary skills had been disparaged by the Emperor, sneezed several times in a row, blaming the bad weather for catching a chill.
He had received a letter from his aunt, the Dowager Marchioness at the Sword-Holding Marquis's residence, last night. The letter subtly mentioned the Chu family's affair.
The Chu family's fate was already decided. The destruction of their clan was the end for them, but for others, it was a beginning.
The Chu family conducted business in Baojiangfang on the Dongchen River. The people may die, but the wealth remains.
His uncle is in the northern frontier, his aunt cannot intervene openly. His second uncle's family is foolish and ignorant, solely focused on currying favor, and doesn't seem like people who would seek justice for his little nephew.
Since the Chu family struck first, they cannot blame others for pushing them when they're down.
Baojiangfang is far from the capital. The economic development along both banks of the river is good. We can take this opportunity to acquire a few clean trade routes, consolidate them, and save them for my little nephew's pocket money in the future.
Outside the window, bamboo branches curved. Xu Tingfeng set up a game of chess.
Sitting opposite him was a young man in purple robes; they were about the same age.
"I'm about to leave, and after helping you like this, you're still bullying me with chess?"
Xu Tingfeng said with a smile, "Let's play something different this time. Gomoku, have you heard of it?"
The purple-robed young man went from listless to fully alert in one second: "Oh! I know, we're playing that? Come on, let's go."
Xu Tingfeng smiled without speaking.
One minute later, the young man in purple robes went from grinning to not grinning.
He flapped his hands in frustration, complaining, "Switching to Gomoku just made me lose faster!! You did that on purpose, didn't you? You absolutely did!"
Xu Tingfeng: "Go is too slow. The journey to the Dongchen River is about speed," he said, sitting in his wheelchair, cupping his hands with a bright smile. "A fast game to see you off. Have a safe journey and a swift arrival at Baojiang."
The purple-robed young man snorted.
"You and your silver tongue. Don't worry."
-
Wispy cooking smoke rose from the Sword-Holding Marquis Estate.
The Dowager Marchioness was personally cooking.
She was quite skilled at this. As time was tight, Mother Fang came to help. Working together, a fresh pot of authentic wheat and salted porridge was ready.
The Dowager Marchioness practically wanted to shove the entire pot into Eunuch Bao's arms.
"I can't eat that much, truly, I can't."
Dowager Marchioness: "I'm worried the Seventh Prince will go hungry. Take more, oh, and there's also this." She hurriedly pulled out a packet of medicinal pills stored in a small green vial. "If he can't be fed liquid medicine, these pills might work. I heard from the eunuch that the Seventh Prince had a fright and caught a chill from the wind. This medicine is commonly used by the border troops; it's effective."
"After you return, show it to the imperial physicians and ask them about the appropriate dosage for a child."
Eunuch Bao: "Yes."
"There are still some other things..."
A quarter of an hour later, Eunuch Bao was laden with bundles large and small, his hands completely full. Under the Dowager Marchioness's 'you can do it' gaze, he struggled to mount his horse.
Exhausted, he returned to the palace.
Qu Dubian was already eating the meal sent from the Shunning Palace.
Consort Guo's cooking leaned towards sour and spicy flavors, which Qu Dubian loved. The imperial kitchen's food was delicious but tended to be sweet, becoming cloying after too much.
Eunuch Bao presented the sour soup, still steaming hot.
Qu Dubian leaned over and took a deep breath—the aroma was tantalizingly sour and fragrant.
Emperor Chongzhao: "Did the Dowager Marchioness have any other instructions?"
Eunuch Bao took out the items one by one, arranging them on the table. "She gave some fever-reducing pills, a 'Banish All Illnesses' herbal pillow, assorted small pastries. She only gave the items, nothing else was said."
Emperor Chongzhao: "Hmm."
His gaze fell on the small herbal pillow. He remembered Yueqing had also started making one like that, personally overseeing the preparation of the herbs, but hadn't had time to finish it.
The Dowager Marchioness, alone in the capital, must be lonely. The pillow was likely prepared long ago and sent in on this occasion.
"Your maternal grandmother cares for you deeply. In the future, you should find time to visit her."
Qu Dubian: "?"
He slowly dialed his simulation level down to zero, allowing his brain to think clearly.
The Xu family counted as his maternal relatives, a natural connection. He had to pay some attention to them, so he had gradually extracted quite a bit of information from Attendant Ye.
An emperor like his cheap father, obsessed with face and petty-minded, would inevitably be wary of his grandfather, who held military power and guarded the northern frontier.
The reason for maintaining peace was that his grandfather had no heir.
If he guessed correctly, his cheap father would later select new people to send to the northern frontier, gradually replacing his grandfather to ensure a smooth transition of military power.
But if he, a prince, grew close, causing the old marquis to refuse to relinquish or share power, harboring ambitions for the throne and controlling the north, wouldn't his cheap father lie awake at night?
Keeping him distant from the marquis's household was exactly what a petty-minded old fogey would do.
Any closeness would have to wait until someone capable of replacing the old marquis appeared in the north.
He didn't believe that the familial affection born from a few short days of interaction would make the emperor yield any power.
So, was this the dog emperor father's test?
Thinking this, Qu Dubian kicked the small pillow away disdainfully. "Who wants that? Shabby and tattered."
"..." Emperor Chongzhao was incredulous. "This was made by your grandmother with her own hands! Your mother's mother!"
"Ugly. Dirty."
He even patted his own foot.
"Grandmother? Don't know her. Don't want to use it. I have better ones."
Emperor Chongzhao stared at the kicked-away pillow, remembering how Yueqing had worked hard on a pillow while pregnant, remembering how the Dowager Marchioness had urgently entered the palace when this little brat first fell ill, kowtowing and begging him... A nameless fury surged within him.
A vein throbbed at his temple.
"How old is your grandmother? She prepared this for you long ago. Don't you feel even a shred of gratitude?"
Qu Dubian gave a sleepy yawn. "Full now. Want to sleep."
"..."
Emperor Chongzhao had someone pick up the pillow. He casually patted it clean, threw away the pillow Qu Dubian was currently using, and replaced it with this herbal one.
With a dark expression, he said firmly, "From now on, you'll use this pillow!"
"Oh," Qu Dubian grabbed a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil, pretending to draw while lying on the bed. "Whatever. Fine."
No matter what you say, he just doesn't react.
But it was precisely the lack of reaction that was most infuriating.
Emperor Chongzhao choked on his words, then spoke earnestly: "The Dowager Marchioness is your grandmother. Although you are a member of the imperial family, you should still visit her in the future. She is good to you; you should show her some filial respect."
The child nodded with extreme perfunctoriness: "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
He yawned again. "But can't I just send some gifts back later? Besides, Father is going to pick a new mother for me soon anyway."
Emperor Chongzhao took a deep breath. So, the original ones just didn't matter anymore, was that it?
Originally, in Emperor Chongzhao's plan, in a few years, Little Seven could be allowed to get close to the Sword-Holding Marquis household. After all, every prince had maternal relatives; it would be useful for checks and balances later.
But if he became too close to the Sword-Holding Marquis household, he would certainly intervene to stop it before the military power was reclaimed.
The medicinal pillow had stirred his memories of Yueqing, making him think that since Little Seven was often ill, letting him get close to a lonely old woman wouldn't hurt. He never expected the child to say such things today. If this was his attitude towards his grandmother, how many years would he remember his deceased birth mother?
But no matter whose perspective he considered, Emperor Chongzhao felt more and more aggrieved the more he thought about it. Watching the small pillow that his little son had used as a footrest and kicked around, a trace of sympathy actually welled up in his heart.
Maybe during the New Year celebrations this year, he should still let this little brant visit the Dowager Marchioness.
Busying herself back and forth, only to be met with disdain—she had it rather tough too.
