The Qing Mountain Sect Leader successfully managed to stay on at the Great Qi Imperial Palace, infuriating Emperor Yuanyou so much that smoke practically billowed from the top of his head.
On this day, Shen Mingwen and Ye Shijie once again brought their dispute to the Purple Dawn Hall.
When scholars 'fight', it means they debate.
Emperor Yuanyou looked at the two faces flushed red with anger before him and sighed for the hundred and first time. What was so great about being emperor, anyway?
That old man from Qing Mountain could get Ah Huan to accompany him sightseeing all over the capital, but he, the emperor, could not.
Because whenever he left the palace, it had to be a grand production with countless eyes watching him.
Even that good-for-nothing from the Eastern Palace was now trotting happily behind the old Qing Mountain man, under the pretext of protection, but in reality, it was just a father who couldn't bear to be apart from his daughter. How pathetic!
Emperor Yuanyou's heart trembled slightly. What if he... stopped being this emperor?
"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Ye Shijie!"
Shen Mingwen's voice abruptly yanked Emperor Yuanyou out of his beautiful daydream. Looking at the two men who had already come to him for a ruling no less than three times, Emperor Yuanyou pulled a long face.
"You two are fighting over the future position of Imperial Tutor to this extent. Is it really worth it?"
Shen Mingwen nearly choked on his own saliva. What did he mean... 'Is it worth it'?
It absolutely was!
"Your Majesty, Ye Shijie's temperament is as cold and hard as a stinking rock. How could such a person properly instruct His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Shen has more schemes than a honeycomb briquette. He would surely lead His Highness astray."
Emperor Yuanyou pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Finally, after the two continued attacking each other for another quarter of an hour, Emperor Yuanyou spoke. "Who said the Imperial Tutor can only be one person?"
Upon hearing this, the two men glanced at each other and promptly slipped out of the Purple Dawn Hall.
Dual Imperial Tutors was exactly what they wanted!
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
Once outside the hall, they snorted at each other again in mutual disdain, leaving Emperor Yuanyou inside staring out the window in a daze for a long time.
"Go, summon the Crown Prince back to me."
......
And so.
Song Yu, who had been having a grand time playing outside, entered the palace utterly bewildered.
"Father, instead of reviewing memorials in your hall, why have you summoned me to the Imperial Garden?" Song Yu wrapped his cloak tighter around himself. "It's bitterly cold in the middle of winter."
He saw Emperor Yuanyou wearing a look of paternal kindness, which only made Song Yu feel uneasy.
"Yu'er, you are my most outstanding son."
"You only have four sons in total. One died, one was deposed, one is a fool, so that just leaves me."
The emotion Emperor Yuanyou had painstakingly built up was shattered by Song Yu's words. Giving up the pretense, the Emperor laid his cards on the table:
"I intend to abdicate the throne to you."
Song Yu immediately jumped up. "No."
"Why not?" Emperor Yuanyou was exasperated. "A Crown Prince who doesn't want to be emperor is not a good Crown Prince."
"Being emperor is too exhausting, even more tiring than preparing for the imperial examinations." Song Yu waved his hand dismissively. "You hardly get a few days off all year, and you have to play judge settling disputes. Father, you are still in the prime of your life for striving. What's all this talk of abdication?"
"I'm over sixty!"
Emperor Yuanyou roared in anger. Over sixty and still in his 'prime for striving'?
"But your son needs to spend time with Ah Huan now. If I become emperor, I won't have as much time for her." Song Yu grew somewhat sorrowful at the thought. "When Ah Huan gets a little older, she'll have places she wants to go and people she wants to see. Then I'll only be able to watch her back as she leaves."
Emperor Yuanyou's lips trembled with rage. He wanted to spend time with his granddaughter too.
But before Emperor Yuanyou could say anything, Song Yu whooshed away.
As he left, he tossed back a line, "Father, you are hale and hearty. Take good care of yourself, and you might even father another princess."
He ran faster than a rabbit.
But that very night, Song Yu sat facing Song Shihuan with a grave expression.
"Ah Huan, the old man wants to shirk his duties and quit."
"What should we do?" Song Shihuan had no experience in this either.
"Run."
Song Yu's thin lips parted slightly. "Didn't you say Yu Fan and the others want to go to the Northern Frontier? We've been sending grain and silver there for years. It's perfectly reasonable to go see the people of the Northern Frontier. The situation is urgent. We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."
Song Shihuan felt conflicted. Would this make Grandfather so angry he might faint?
"Ah Huan, if I become emperor, I'll be tethered to the palace. Shen San, Zheng Fang, and the others would also be stuck in the capital. Then no one would be able to accompany you on trips outside the city anymore."
"I think Grandfather is still in the prime of his life. It wouldn't be too late for Father to share his burdens in a couple of years."
Song Shihuan spoke against her conscience, her mind racing to figure out how to placate the old man after running off like this.
She did love her grandfather very much.
Just two years. In two years, she'd let her father become emperor.
......
At the same time, in the Northern Frontier.
Snowflakes fluttered, the north wind howled.
Gu Mingning, clad in armor, sat on the ground holding a roasted lamb leg, but a trace of loneliness, not easily shown to others, flickered in his eyes.
Another New Year had come.
He could scarcely remember how long it had been since he celebrated the New Year with his father and sisters.
Though young, he stood like a stone stele planted in the land of the Northern Frontier.
"General, a letter for you."
The soldier's words were like a beam of light falling upon Gu Mingning. He finished the lamb leg in a few quick bites, carefully washed his hands, and only then accepted the letter.
Looking closely, Gu Mingning's hands trembled.
It was a letter from Mingzhu.
The letter said all the Gu family members were safe and well, that Yu Fan had received honors and rewards, and also described the turmoil at court.
Of course, the longest part was about little Tuan.
The corners of Gu Mingning's stern mouth turned up slightly, a rare sight that the surrounding soldiers witnessed with curiosity.
Having suppressed the naturally belligerent Northern Di tribe for so many years that they dared not provoke easily, Gu Mingning was regarded by the soldiers as a brilliantly talented young general.
"My Tuan is truly beautiful."
Through the words, Gu Mingning seemed to traverse time and space, seeing the tiny figure in swaddling clothes.
When his gaze reached the last line, Gu Mingning froze completely. They... they were coming to the Northern Frontier?
A heart long dormant instantly began to pound wildly.
Just at that moment, another urgent voice sounded.
"General, Prince Qi has led troops to patrol the border line."
The border line, mere steps away from the Northern Di territory, was fraught with danger. Surface patrols were actually demonstrations and warnings, usually completed swiftly by seasoned veterans.
Hearing this, Gu Mingning cursed under his breath. "Why didn't you stop him?"
"Prince Qi said the Northern Frontier is his domain, and he has a duty to protect its people," the soldier reported woodenly. "He also said that if he patrols, the people living near the border will feel at ease."
Gu Mingning was taken aback. Had Prince Qi taken the wrong medicine?
Just yesterday he was complaining that the Northern Frontier people trusted Gu Mingning more than they did Prince Qi, a royal scion, and today he was nobly risking his life?
As it turned out.
Prince Qi had miscalculated.
Walking along the border line, on one side were the Northern Frontier subjects looking at him with admiration in their eyes, on the other were the Northern Di people, weapons in hand, watching him like a tiger eyeing its prey.
Prince Qi swallowed hard, his legs feeling weak.
He shouldn't have listened to that damned advisor's suggestion to win over the people's hearts using such a dangerous method!
