By late October, it was already considered the beginning of winter. The capital had been battered by howling winds strong enough to shake the branches of the trees for days on end. The sun hid behind the clouds, and the daylight was dim.
The underfloor heating in the prince's inner chambers had been lit. The ice chests used in summer were brought out again, half-filled with water to prevent the room from becoming too dry.
Yao Huang slept soundly until dawn.
Aji and the other senior maids came in to attend to her, and Aji relayed the prince's instructions from before he left in the dark: "The prince said it's very windy today, and told the princess not to stroll in the garden."
Yao Huang didn't need to go out; she could hear the cold wind howling outside the window just sitting on the bed.
In such terrible weather, even if Prince Hui hid a chest of gold ingots in the back garden, Yao Huang wouldn't bother to look for it herself. At most, she would send her four senior maids along with Jinbao.
It was cold outside, so Yao Huang called Nanny Jin, Nanny Liu, and Eunuch Cao to play cards with her. Aji and the other three senior maids were too familiar, and there was only so much they could chat about. It was better to talk to the three old folks, whose combined age was over a hundred and fifty years, and who had experienced much more. Yao Huang would just pick a topic at random, and the three of them could take turns telling a basketful of stories. Besides, the three of them had a generous monthly allowance, so Yao Huang didn't have to worry about them feeling the pinch if she won a mace or two of silver from them.
When she got tired of sitting, Yao Huang would walk a few laps between the inner chamber and the central room. There were no thresholds, so no one had to worry about her tripping.
In the imperial palace, Prince Hui came to the Ministry of Works for the mandatory morning meeting on the first and fifth days of the month after finishing the early court session.
As the end of the year approached, officials of all ranks in the capital and the provinces had to undergo an annual evaluation. All ministries and departments also had to summarize the tasks they had handled this year and submit them for the emperor's review. Therefore, from now until the twelfth lunar month, the officials would become increasingly busy.
Prince Hui had no salary, no pressure for promotion or transfer, and being young, he had the best complexion and spirit in the entire Ministry of Works.
Qingai pushed Prince Hui to the seat next to Minister Yan Lun and respectfully withdrew.
The other officials arrived one after another. Yan Lun arrived relatively late, holding a stack of files. As he approached his seat, he was about to nod to Prince Hui when his nose suddenly itched. He quickly turned away and sneezed loudly, three times in a row.
After sneezing, the old minister took a handkerchief from his sleeve, blew his nose, and put the handkerchief back. He turned around with a look of shame: "I'm getting old. After winter begins, I always catch a cold a few times. Please forgive me."
The officials below smiled, showing their understanding.
Prince Hui looked at Yan Lun's red nose, his hands on his knees twitching slightly, but ultimately did nothing.
During the morning meeting that lasted for more than two quarters of an hour, apart from Yan Lun's increasingly nasal voice, two other officials also coughed intermittently.
Returning to his office, Zhao Sui ordered Feiquan: "Tell the imperial kitchen to boil a pot of ginger soup. Once it's ready, immediately send a bowl each to myself, Minister Yan, Li Yu, and Gao Zhi. Everyone should have a bowl at lunch to ward off the cold."
Feiquan immediately left.
Zhao Sui thought of the Left Prime Minister coughing twice during the court session and picked up a brush to write a greeting memorial to his father, tactfully reminding him to take precautions when discussing matters with the ministers.
The main reason was that he had taken care of the officials in the Ministry of Works. If he didn't remind his father, and the news got back, his father might overthink it.
In the imperial study, when Emperor Yongchang opened his second son's memorial, the Left Prime Minister was standing opposite him, head bowed, answering his questions. He was standing further away than usual, clearly afraid of passing on his illness.
After the Left Prime Minister left, Emperor Yongchang asked Eunuch Wang to open the window for some fresh air.
Eunuch Wang first weighed down the memorials on the emperor's desk with a paperweight before opening the window. A sudden gust of wind blew in, forcing Eunuch Wang to close his eyes, and Emperor Yongchang, sitting at his desk, felt a chill run through him.
The wind was strong, and the air was quickly exchanged. Eunuch Wang quickly closed the window.
Emperor Yongchang looked at his second son's memorial again and wrote his reply: Every year in winter, the officials take turns catching a cold. Why haven't I seen you worrying about me in previous years?
A young eunuch braved the cold wind to deliver the memorial back to Prince Hui.
Since his father asked, Zhao Sui had to answer truthfully: In my early years, I was not afraid of minor colds, so I didn't care about others catching a cold. Now that the princess is pregnant, I am afraid of bringing the illness back to her. I am alarmed by any cough or sneeze from the officials around me. Knowing that I should be a loving father, I also ought to be a filial son to make up for my shortcomings in my youth.
The young eunuch waiting outside delivered the memorial back to the imperial study.
Emperor Yongchang smiled after reading his son's words.
He had also been young once. When he was young, he was preoccupied with his studies and play, and didn't understand the late emperor's hardships. When the late emperor died of illness, he immediately took over the state affairs. When he had a moment of leisure, he would favor his concubines for amusement. When his concubines gave birth to princes and princesses, he would only hold them and test their studies when he was free. Most of the time, he left them to the concubines and the civil and military tutors.
Therefore, he didn't know filial piety in his youth, and he didn't know paternal love in his middle age. It was only in his old age, when his favored heir apparent was severely injured on the battlefield, that he finally developed some feelings of a loving father.
His second son was better than him. He had the time to accompany his wife during her pregnancy and the opportunity to show filial piety to his father above.
Despite his sighs, Emperor Yongchang had no regrets. Without his thirty years of diligent governance, how could his children have such peace and stability now?
...
Due to this cold that swept through the Ministry of Works and even the entire court, Zhao Sui didn't eat or spend the night with the princess for several days. When he came back, he would meet her in the courtyard. He sat inside the covered corridor, making the princess stand outside the corridor at a distance of about ten paces. The princess complained that he was overly cautious, but Zhao Sui would rather be glared at than let the princess catch the slightest bit of illness.
Perhaps because Prince Hui had his own office and rarely interacted with the officials, he didn't catch a cold. However, Emperor Yongchang developed a fever.
The fever started in the evening. Emperor Yongchang forbade Eunuch Wang from alerting anyone else. He only summoned an imperial physician and invited Empress Zhou over.
The imperial physician prescribed a formula, and the imperial kitchen delivered the decoction. Empress Zhou fed Emperor Yongchang spoonful by spoonful.
Emperor Yongchang felt dizzy and heavy-headed. Looking at the empress sitting by the bed, he mocked himself: "My second son is afraid of catching a cold and passing it to his wife just by hearing someone cough. I'm sick, but I still call you over to serve me. It shows that when it comes to doting on a wife, I'm not as good as my second son."
Empress Zhou smiled: "Yao Yao is pregnant, so Prince Hui is naturally nervous. If I were pregnant, Your Majesty would definitely not have called me tonight."
Emperor Yongchang held her hand: "You've worked hard."
Empress Zhou knew he was referring to the matter of children, shook her head, and gently continued to feed him the medicine.
After feeding him, Emperor Yongchang signaled Empress Zhou to lie down on the inside of the bed, sighing: "My second son said he used to not be afraid of a cold. Not to mention he's only in his twenties, even in my forties, I didn't think much of a cold. But once I passed fifty, my courage has noticeably grown smaller and smaller."
He was afraid that a cold would lay him low, and afraid that one day he would suddenly suffer a stroke like some of the officials in their fifties and sixties.
Therefore, the older he got, the more he knew he had to establish an heir apparent early on without the officials' persuasion, lest his lifelong wisdom be ruined by leaving a disaster for the state when he passed away.
Empress Zhou leaned into his embrace, gently stroking his chest, and said: "It's just a cold. There are so many imperial physicians in the palace. Your Majesty shouldn't overthink it. Go to sleep early. Sweat it out tonight, and you'll be fine tomorrow morning."
Emperor Yongchang nodded and, after holding Empress Zhou for a while, fell into a deep sleep.
Empress Zhou did not dare to sleep too deeply. She checked on Emperor Yongchang's condition every so often. In the middle of the night, Emperor Yongchang finally broke a sweat, and his burning forehead gradually cooled down to a normal warmth. Only then did Empress Zhou's long-suspended heart finally settle.
When dawn broke, Emperor Yongchang woke up from his sleep, feeling completely refreshed.
Empress Zhou smiled and said, "Your Majesty's dragon body is as healthy as before. This is Your Majesty's own blessing, as well as the blessing of the people of the world."
Not being bedridden made Emperor Yongchang very happy. After eating breakfast, he told Empress Zhou to go rest quickly while he continued to attend to state affairs.
.
In mid-November, Prince Kang brought Di Xian into the capital.
Traveling continuously for some twenty days in the dead of winter, it was fortunate that Prince Kang consistently practiced martial arts and that Di Xian had built a strong physique from half a year of enduring the wind and sun while building the canal. Otherwise, at least one of them would have fallen ill.
Emperor Yongchang ordered Di Xian to rest at the official residence first and enter the palace to receive his reward directly at the morning assembly the day after next. Prince Kang's status was different; he could enter the palace to see the Emperor as soon as he returned.
In the imperial study, Emperor Yongchang carefully observed his eldest son, whom he had not seen for two months. He noticed that his eldest son had become darker and thinner, but his eyes were exceptionally bright. When talking about the wastelands and the commoners he saw in Qingxia County, his eldest son's eyes and voice were full of compassion. When talking about the newly built canal, he exuded a simple joy, as if he too would rely on the new canal for a better life.
Emperor Yongchang felt gratified, yet also a little guilty. He tactfully advised, "You see, Imperial Father knows what you are good at, and you handled this assignment very well. As for things like competing to be first in hunting, you can just watch the excitement like those civil officials. Imperial Father will not look down on you for it, because there are truly not many people in this world who are masters of both the pen and the sword. Being able to utilize the talents you possess to their utmost limit is already very good."
Prince Kang respectfully accepted the teaching, "What Imperial Father says is true. This son will definitely do every duty within his bounds well."
Emperor Yongchang looked at his eldest son's still radiant, slender eyes and told him to go pay his respects to Consort Xian.
When Consort Xian saw her son, she first asked about his assignment in Liangzhou, and then asked what Emperor Yongchang had said to him.
It was the first time Prince Kang had been praised by his father with such a long speech. He recounted it with both happiness and restraint.
Consort Xian listened with a smile and smilingly told her son to return to his estate to rest. However, as soon as her son left, Consort Xian's smile vanished.
He knows what the eldest is good at, so he sends him to do an honest, labor-intensive job of inspecting a canal?
Is it just that the eldest doesn't need to compete in hunting, or does he not need to compete in other aspects either?
.
On the eighteenth of November, Emperor Yongchang held the morning assembly again.
The biting cold wind raged, and it was freezing outside the great hall. Even when it was time to enter, there were only rows of lamps inside, with no underfloor heating.
They first discussed the important matters of various ministries. Only after the court officials had finished reporting everything did Emperor Yongchang summon Di Xian into the hall.
At the Wenxi Banquet in March of this year, almost all the civil officials in the hall had seen the new advanced scholar Di Xian, and they remembered his spirited demeanor when discussing the canal in front of the Emperor. Looking back now, they were surprised to find that the relatively fair-skinned scholar had turned into someone with a wheat-colored complexion and a tall, sturdy build, looking just like a farmer or laborer.
"This humble subject, Di Xian, kowtows to My Emperor, ten thousand years!"
Kneeling in the center of the great hall, the former scholar only retained his clear and resonant voice.
Emperor Yongchang told him to dispense with the formalities, walked down from the imperial dais, circled Di Xian once, squeezed his shoulder, and smiled. "There is no need to say much. Just by looking at how you stand in the hall today, I can see your hardworking figure personally supervising the construction of the canal for half a year."
Di Xian replied, "Having been entrusted with such a heavy responsibility by Your Majesty, this humble subject dared not be anything less than entirely devoted."
After a round of praise and humility between monarch and subject, Emperor Yongchang rewarded Di Xian with a thousand taels of silver and ordered a stele to be erected at the head of the Fengyan Canal to record the biography of Di Xian and his father. He allowed Di Xian to temporarily return to Qingxia to continue serving as the county magistrate, with the promise of an exceptional promotion after completing his three-year term.
Di Xian and the other officials could all understand this. After all, the canal was only built this year. Over the next two years, if Di Xian truly managed to irrigate those forty thousand qing of wasteland into fertile fields and truly lifted the local commoners from poverty to prosperity, only then would this great political achievement be fully realized.
After rewarding Di Xian, Emperor Yongchang walked up the imperial dais and sat back on the dragon throne, then rewarded Prince Kang for his merit in inspecting the work.
Prince Kang respectfully gave his thanks for the imperial grace.
At this time, Emperor Yongchang looked at the Minister of Works, Yan Lun, and said, "The ancients said that only when there is a Bole can there be a winged steed. Di Xian's father, Di Yong, was born at the wrong time; he had talent but was unable to utilize it. Today, Di Xian has been able to realize the ambitions of two generations of his family, and it is all thanks to Yan Lun's recommendation. In governing the world, I need great talents like Di Xian and his father, and I also need wise and capable ministers like Bole who can recommend such great talents to the imperial court. Therefore, today I will also reward Yan Lun for his merit in recommending talent..."
"Your Majesty's profound love makes this old subject feel unworthy!"
Yan Lun, who was just being envied by the other officials, suddenly walked quickly to the center of the great hall and dropped to his knees with a thud.
Zhao Sui slightly clenched his left hand and raised his eyes to look at the dragon throne.
Emperor Yongchang looked at Yan Lun in confusion. "What is the meaning of this, Minister Yan?"
Yan Lun used his sleeve to wipe away tears of shame from the corners of his eyes, then looked tearfully toward Prince Kang... or rather, at the wheelchair mostly hidden behind Prince Kang, and said with absolute clarity, word by word, "This old subject is busy all day with various construction projects. How could I possibly remember a lowly Qingxia county magistrate from several years ago? This person, Di Xian, was actually recommended to Your Majesty by this old subject at the behest of His Highness, Prince Hui!"
