Chapter 39 Will Prince Qi rebel, and when?
The weather in Shangyong City has been exceptionally dry this year, and even after many days of winter, there hasn't been a single snowfall.
This was at the end of the twenty-second year of Xuanyuan's reign.
After recuperating for more than half a year, Emperor Xuanyuan's health finally showed signs of improvement, and he unusually began to care about agricultural matters.
If it doesn't snow before the new year, the harvest next year will likely be poor in eight or nine out of ten cases.
This forces us to consider the possibility of insufficient grain tax revenue next year, and also to guard against famine.
Before the various government offices suspended their operations, Emperor Xuanyuan issued an edict to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of State Ceremonies, and the Ministry of Rites, ordering them to make good preparations for the Farming Festival on the second day of the second lunar month of the following year.
It must be treated with great ceremony.
Upon receiving the imperial edict, the three government offices discussed the matter and decided that since they couldn't celebrate the New Year anyway, they might as well skip it altogether. They packed their bedding, laid it out on the spot in their respective offices, and got to work as soon as they opened their eyes.
After arranging all this, Emperor Xuanyuan seemed to suddenly remember that there was still a concubine named Yao Feifei in the palace. He stripped Yao Feifei of her title of Consort De and moved her back to her original Chonghua Palace.
Monthly allowances and expenses will remain the same.
At the year-end palace banquet, Prince Qi, Xie Xuan, hurried back to Yongdu from his fiefdom.
He was summoned back to the palace.
He seemed to understand what this trip back to Yongdu meant.
Jiang Andong stopped the soldiers from the Prince Qi's mansion who were coming out of the city to meet him. He led several hundred imperial guards to meet him from afar. After they met him, a hundred or so men escorted him back to Shangyong City, while the rest split into several groups and rushed in the direction he had come from.
A bitter smile played on his lips, a smile that also seemed mocking.
He laughed at the people in the majestic imperial palace, his so-called elder brother and father, who had driven him away like a stray dog, and now treated him like a traitorous minister.
The imperial guards who split into several groups to investigate were there to confirm whether their master, who sat high in the Golden Palace, had violated regulations by leading troops back to Yongdu.
To prevent him from being disobedient, they deployed troops on the road behind him where he had come from.
It is said that blood is thicker than water, but the smell of blood is too strong, and it is not as sweet as clear water.
Xie Yuan arrived a few days earlier than Xie Xuan.
While he didn't exactly strive for greatness in his fiefdom of Linxia, he did prioritize stability. He adhered to the principle of "benevolent governance," focusing on agriculture and promoting commerce and industry, leading to a prosperous Linxia under his rule.
The Crown Prince's spies in Linxia did not detect any unusual or outrageous behavior from him, so they did not take excessive precautions against him.
Her birth mother was promoted to Imperial Concubine. Emperor Xuanyuan did not establish a successor empress. Imperial Concubine Xian is now ranked first in the harem and has a noble status.
Princess Consort Xun Shuheng is pregnant, though not yet fully pregnant, her belly is already vaguely visible.
Finally, there was some good news in the palace.
Consort Xian's joy was palpable, and she talked with her for a long time. Emperor Xuanyuan had been ill for so long, and he attached great importance to the upcoming birth of his grandson. He immediately rewarded Xun Shuheng and her family generously, and even granted her special permission to return home to visit her relatives.
The people at the palace banquet, who appeared glamorous and dazzling, each had their own unsavory stories behind the scenes. To outsiders, Xie Yuan was undoubtedly the most fortunate person.
The family is harmonious, with a kind mother and filial children.
Xie Xuan arrived hastily, covered in cold air. He greeted Emperor Xuanyuan, the Crown Prince, Consort Xian, and Consort De, who had been reinstated, and stared blankly at Consort De for a while.
Her nostrils flared and closed, and a tear fell instantly.
The woman who still exuded elegance when he left Yongdu is now more than ten years older.
He noticed that his mother was acting strangely.
She just smiled lovingly at him without saying a word, and even when she asked him to get up, she only gestured.
Life in the cold palace was not easy.
His heart was breaking.
At the palace banquet, Emperor Xuanyuan, as was customary, would bestow gifts upon the princes and their relatives.
Xie Xuan declined all the rewards and knelt on the open ground in the middle of the banquet. He begged his father, "After the New Year, please allow my mother to return to Zhuodong with me, so that I may fulfill my filial duty to her."
When such a sour topic was brought up during a time of harmony, Emperor Xuanyuan immediately frowned.
When Xie Xuan took up his fief, he betrothed the daughter of Hanlin scholar Wu Tingchen to his first wife, and also took two daughters of civil officials as concubines. The commonality among these three women was that their maternal families did not hold high official ranks, but they were all from scholarly families and families of high moral character.
Unexpectedly, less than a year later, his principal wife, Wu Yun, suffered from postpartum hemorrhage during childbirth, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child.
Once the mourning period for his wife and children was over, Xie Xuan married Lu Renxi's sister as his second wife.
Lu Renxi came from a military family, and the Sima position was in charge of both military and political affairs.
Xie Xuan was secretly expanding his military by winning over military generals and aristocratic families in Zhudong. How could Emperor Xuanyuan not be wary of this?
Consort De, Yao Jiyue, is now the kite string that Emperor Xuanyuan holds in his hand, restraining Xie Xuan.
Although the thread was thin, Xie Xuan would be wary of it once it was in his hand.
If he were to be asked to take his birth mother back to his fiefdom, Yongdu would be without a hostage. Whether or not he would rebel, and when he would rebel, would depend entirely on his own mood.
Consort De gave Xie Xuan a wink and gently shook her head.
Xie Xuan obeyed her and returned to her seat to join the banquet. Halfway through the New Year's banquet, a palace stewardess invited Consort De to leave.
Xie Xuan was completely confused.
Strange, everyone's reaction was strange. It seemed as if they were deliberately preventing the mother and child from having too much contact, and forbidding them from talking to each other.
It's one thing to forbid the mother and son from reuniting, but is it really not allowed to just have a casual chat with his mother?
Xie Xuan gulped down a mouthful of wine and didn't return to the Qi Prince's residence after the palace banquet. He disregarded all rules and etiquette, barging into Chonghua Palace with practiced ease.
With a livid face and a tough attitude, he punched a palace guard who came to stop him, sending him flying.
Without even recognizing the person, he raised his leg and kicked.
"Get out of here! You bunch of lackeys!"
The guards dared not lay a hand on Prince Qi, and could only endure his punches and kicks, thus fulfilling their duty.
Hearing the commotion, Consort De hurried over and saw Xie Xuan fighting violently with the palace guards as if he had lost his mind.
She went up and held Xie Xuan's arms with both hands, pulling him away from the palace guards' encirclement, gesturing incoherently.
She was speechless, only able to utter broken sobs, like a gale blowing through a narrow alley in the dead of night.
"Whoa~" The sound sent chills down one's spine.
Xie Xuan froze on the spot, her hands and feet seemingly frozen by the cold, and it took her a while to recover.
He knelt before Consort De, covering his face and weeping bitterly.
"Mother, what's going on? What happened?"
Consort De naturally had no way to answer him.
He grabbed a young palace maid, pulled her thin arm, and dragged her to the ground. "Tell me! Who did it? Who did it!"
The young palace maid was still quite young and had just fallen and was in pain. When Xie Xuan roared at her face like that, she was so frightened that she trembled like a leaf.
She immediately prostrated herself on the ground, kowtowing, her teeth chattering, "This servant... this servant is... this servant just entered the palace, this servant didn't know. Your Highness, spare my life!"
Consort De supported his arm and helped him up from the ground.
Then it made some sounds and gestures.
The gestures were completely haphazard, yet Xie Xuan understood them.
That was to tell him not to ask any more questions, to leave the palace quickly, and to leave Yongdu and return to Zhudong immediately after the New Year.
"Why shouldn't I ask? Mother, is it the Crown Prince? Or..."
Before he could utter the words "Father Emperor," Consort De covered his mouth, waved her hand, and gestured for him to be quiet.
It means: Don't ask.
He then made a "walk" gesture.
"The son is unfilial."
Xie Xuan wiped away the tears on his face with his sleeve, knelt down deeply, and kowtowed to her, "Mother, please wait a little longer, your son will definitely come to take you away."
A cold wind howled, and the night grew even colder.
Xie Xuan pulled his black bearskin cloak tighter around himself, and as he stepped out of the palace gate, he turned back to take one last deep look at the endless palace buildings behind him.
He harbored hatred for these many palaces.
In a moment, he suppressed his hatred and leaped onto his horse.
***
A stone bridge spans the Xu River.
Several pleasure boats leisurely passed under the bridge.
Painted boats and pleasure boats have existed for a long time, but their widespread popularity only began in the twentieth year of the Xuanyuan era.
That year, Qin Sensen, a famous courtesan from Yifeng Pavilion, performed a dance and competed in poetry at the East Mansion. She received a painting titled "Ode to Snow" from the old princess, which made her famous.
She left behind a romantic tale with the talented scholar Sheng Yu'an.
This sparked widespread admiration for the "talented woman."
The courtesans seized the opportunity and followed suit.
Painted boats and pleasure boats became popular around that time.
The painted boat was decorated in a simple and elegant style, complete with the Four Treasures of the Study, ancient books and painting manuals, zithers, chessboards, and more. People could discuss poetry and recite lyrics, or lie down and listen to music.
He was also accompanied by beautiful women skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
People yearn for it and linger there, reluctant to leave.
Few people enjoy boating during this season. The temperature is low, and a thin layer of ice forms on the river at night. When the sun shines on it, the ice floats on the water in small pieces, broken apart by the oars and drifting with the current.
Xie Xuan was still wearing that black bearskin cloak, sitting in the boat.
Zhai Ji was sitting opposite him.
Several braziers were lit on the boat, and the charcoal was burning brightly. A beautiful woman wearing a flower crown and a gauze dress was playing the zither at the bow of the boat.
The wind blowing from the river was damp and cold, carrying moisture with it.
This place is really not a good place, but there are people watching around the Prince Qi's mansion, and there are also spies inside the mansion.
After serving as a prince for several years, Emperor Xuanyuan suddenly issued an edict this year summoning him back to the palace. It is highly likely that he intended to place him under house arrest in Yongdu.
Only in places surrounded by water on all sides can one avoid having to crawl into a corner.
Even if there were truly extraordinary people who were to lie on the bottom of the river listening, they wouldn't be able to withstand the low temperature of the river water in this weather, and would float to the surface before they could even climb ashore.
“Your Highness, Prince Qi,” Zhai Ji succinctly explained the purpose of his invitation to Xie Xuan, “I can help you out of your predicament.”
Xie Xuan asked, "What predicament do I face?"
"Your Highness already has the power to seize the throne, yet you have been holding back for so long. Is it not just because your birth mother is still in the palace? Your Highness's concern is the 200,000 troops under Chen Linjun in the Northern Border."
Zhai Ji still had her hair braided, with beads at the ends, and her winter coat was embroidered with a pattern of white cranes soaring through the clouds, with a white fur collar slanted across her chest.
"I regret to inform Your Highness that the future troubles are no longer limited to Chen Linjun alone."
Xie Xuan: "Oh?"
"Chen Liangyu has taken 50,000 troops with her to the Southern Continent, and His Majesty has also granted her a handwritten edict, making it easier for her to mobilize the garrison in the Southern Border. With the two siblings attacking from the south and north respectively, what are Your Highness's chances of victory? Moreover, His Majesty, while ill, has given Chen Yuanqing the imperial edict to command the Yongdu garrison and the Twelve Guards. How can Your Highness achieve great things without eliminating the Xuanping Marquis's mansion?"
Xie Xuan said, "What can you do about it?"
“What if we pin Chen Linjun down and make him unable to move? These past few years, the nomads have been restless, constantly bothering Chen Linjun and keeping him from escaping. If our Great Yong is willing to send troops to cause him more trouble, even if he has three heads and six arms, he can only take care of one thing and not the other.”
Zhai Ji placed his hands above the charcoal fire, then flipped his palms over.
"As long as we can hold off Chen Linjun, Chen Liangyu is nothing to fear. Nanzhou is thousands of miles away from Yongdu. Even if the news reaches her, it would take at least ten horses to run to their deaths. Even if she gets the news, it will be too late."
Xie Xuan said, "Even if what you say is true, there is still Marquis Xuanping in Yongdu."
Zhai Ji smiled and said, "Your Highness once had the strength to rival the Crown Prince. With so many years of planning and scheming, how could you not have set up hidden traps?"
Xie Xuan asked suspiciously, "What are your intentions in instigating this king to rebel?"
“What ulterior motives could I possibly have? I have been away from home for many years and I do miss home. Naturally, I hope that His Highness Prince Qi will be lenient and allow me to return to my homeland. That is my first reason.”
"And the second one?"
Secondly, it can be said that it was a shared goal between him and Xie Xuan.
"I want the Chen family dead."
His words were cold and indifferent, without much emotion. Later, feeling that Xie Xuan might not have understood, he added a few words to clarify, "Not a single one will be left."
Xie Xuan looked at him with an indescribable gaze.
His gaze was sharp and piercing, as if it could peel away everything and see into people's hearts. He said sarcastically, "Marquis Xuanping has forged military defenses in the three prefectures and sixteen cities of the northern border to resist border troubles. The biggest border trouble is Bei Yong! The Chen family is all dead, which makes it easier for you Bei Yong to invade my Da Rong territory."
“Zhonglin is full of talented people. If we lose the Marquis of Xuanping’s mansion, can’t we find other good generals? Chen Yuanqing has always listened to only the Emperor, Chen Linjun supports the legitimate dynasty, and Chen Liangyu is close to Prince Shen. If such talents cannot be used by Your Highness, it will be a great disaster.”
He always gets straight to the point. But it's hard to persuade Xie Xuan with just a few words.
The next sentence was what truly made Xie Xuan harbor murderous intent towards the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion.
"Those who refuse to support His Highness are of no use, are they?"
Xie Xuan glanced in the direction of the palace. Of course, the palace buildings could not be seen from the painted boat. He merely raised his eyelids slightly.
He glanced at it, but Zhai Ji quickly and astutely gleaned new clues from it.
“Your Highness will not be able to return to Zhudong,” he said.
He may not return to court without being summoned.
You may not leave the residence without being summoned.
One decree aimed at exile, the other at house arrest. He accepted the first decree, and presumably the second one would arrive soon.
Xie Xuan remained silent, his face cold. Everyone knew perfectly well that he couldn't return to Zhudong; it was just a matter of someone being the one to break the silence.
"Your Highness, what do you think is the cause of Consort De's aphasia?"
Xie Xuan finally reacted more strongly.
"Who did this?"
"The Crown Prince's Palace. Your younger sister."
Xie Xuan: "Jiangning?"
"Do you have any other imperial sisters?" Zhai Ji asked. "Has His Highness Prince Qi examined Consort De's injuries?"
Xie Xuan: "Injuries? What injuries? My mother is injured?"
Zhai Ji said, "The Consort De's loss of speech is not due to a damaged voice. It's because her tongue has been cut off."
He suddenly felt a force lifting him up.
Xie Xuan gripped his collar tightly, emphasizing each word: "What did you say?"
The suffocating feeling surging from his heart made it hard for him to breathe.
Amputated? He couldn't imagine how his mother must have suffered a fate worse than death in the cold palace after he was enfeoffed.
"Does Your Highness still wish to bring the Empress to live with you? But you yourself are in dire straits. If the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, will there be a place for you and your son to hide in this vast world?"
Zhai Ji gently pried open his fist, which was clenched in front of his chest, one finger at a time, and carefully removed his hand, smoothing out the fabric.
"A mother's status rises with her son's. If you ascend the throne, Consort De will become the esteemed Empress Dowager; if you do not seize the throne, or cannot seize it, she will remain a deposed concubine in the cold palace."
Although Emperor Xuanyuan has now stripped her of her title of Consort De, she is now mute and disabled, and is clearly no longer favored by the emperor.
They could only eke out a living in the Chonghua Palace, which was comparable to a cold palace.
He had said everything he needed to say. He wanted Xie Xuan to do two things: first, let him return to Bei Yong; second, eliminate the Xuanping Marquis's mansion.
It doesn't really matter to him who becomes emperor in Zhonglin. If he wanted, he could stir up the waters in Zhonglin even more and sit back and watch the tigers fight.
The only person who could possibly help him accomplish these two things was Prince Qi.
He warmed himself up for a while longer before getting up.
Neither Zhai Ji nor Xie Xuan touched the tea or the dishes in front of them.
They do not trust each other.
"Remember, you must personally plow the fields in February."
Author's note: Thank you for reading this far!
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