Chapter 66: Burning incense to keep watch on New Year's Eve, those who can keep watch will stay up all night. ...
To celebrate the New Year's Eve, those who can should stay up all night. However, Xiuyu's situation this year was special, so staying up all night was not an option. When the two of them emerged from the inner room, Xiao Tao and Liang Jiugong were already waiting nearby.
Xuanye said, "You two can go out and play. Master Yi and I don't need to serve you here."
Liang Jiugong and Xiao Tao looked at each other.
Xuanye deliberately frowned and said, "Are you still not leaving? If you don't leave now, you won't be able to leave anymore."
"I thank my master for his grace." Liang Jiugong has followed Xuanye for so many years, and it is rare for him to have a vacation.
Xiao Tao glanced at Xiu Yu.
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "Go ahead, but don't lose too much playing cards."
"Master, rest assured." Xiao Tao patted his chest and promised, "Based on my card skills, Eunuch Liang and the others will prepare a whole bag of silver."
Xuanye nodded, and naturally took Xiu Yu in his arms and walked out of the small kitchen first. Liang Jiugong then went with Xiao Tao to play with the palace maids and eunuchs in Yiku Palace.
In the warm room, Xuanye sat on the couch and let Xiuyu sit on his lap. He then handed the memorial to Xiuyu and said, "This is a memorial from Jin Ziyuan. Some of the content in it concerns the riverbank. I think you will be interested."
Xiu Yu opened the memorial and scanned it from front to back before saying, "Master Jin's approach is very professional."
"Yes." Xuanye nodded. "He learns from the ancients' methods, but doesn't use them completely. I suspect he must have found a master in river management. When I go south to inspect the river works, you should come with me and see if Jin Ziyuan's men are more capable, or if my Yu'er is more capable."
"Yu'er doesn't know how to manage a river." Xiu Yu waved his hand and put the memorial aside. "But the method described in this memorial does seem to make sense to me. Does the emperor approve?"
"You think it makes sense." Xuanye looked into Xiuyu's eyes. "If you think it makes sense, then I think it makes sense too."
Xiu Yu asked with a smile, "Is there anyone who thinks this is unreasonable?"
"Wow!" These words seemed to strike a chord with Xuanye. "It's not just a few people who think this is unreasonable. Most of the court thinks I'm throwing money away." He looked at the Western clock. "Let's chat for a while. After midnight, we'll rest."
Xiu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "How dare you, Yu'er, that most of the court thinks the river should be widened?"
"Yes." Xuanye nodded. "They argued for over an hour just for this matter. I'm so overwhelmed listening to them."
"Are you undecided?" Xiu Yu saw the hesitation in Xuanye's eyes. "After all, narrowing the river is a risk."
"Yes, it is a risk." Xuanye picked up Xiuyu and walked towards the bed. "But I vaguely feel that Jin Ziyuan's method is worth a try. You also think it has a future, so I won't hesitate."
Xiu Yu hugged Xuanye's neck and said with a smile: "Yu'er really doesn't understand river management, but I will support you no matter what decision you make."
Xuanye gently placed Xiuyu on the bed and sat down beside her: "That's enough. I've said before that you were sent to me by God. If I think about something that you support, it will definitely succeed."
"Yu'er, I can't promise you anything." Xiu Yu was helped by Xuanye to lie down, and she held Xuanye's hand. "The previous dynasty had disputes over money, and the emperor's decision also concerns the people. No matter from which level, I feel that the emperor must have a reason for choosing someone. Since he has entrusted you with this, why not trust him?"
"Yes." Xuanye put his right arm on Xiuyu's waist: "You are right, I still trust Jin Ziyuan. It's past midnight, Yu'er, happy new year."
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Happy New Year, Third Brother."
Early in the morning on the first day of the first lunar month, Xuanye was woken up by Liang Jiugong. After all, there were a lot of things waiting for Xuanye to do, such as offering sacrifices to ancestors and starting to write. When Xiu Yu was combing Xuanye's hair, she felt that being an emperor, although he held great power, was really tiring.
Xuanye looked at Xiuyu in the peep show and said, "You didn't get much sleep last night. Get some rest today and push as much as you can."
"It's okay." Xiu Yu picked up the braid on the table and braided it into Xuanye's braid: "Yu'er grew up on horseback, so she's not that delicate."
"Things are different now." Xuanye touched Xiuyu's belly and said, "You are not alone now. You must be more careful about everything. You must be more careful when I am not around."
Xiu Yu joked, "Didn't you say that no one in the harem dared to do anything to harm the heir to the throne?"
"Yes." Seeing that Xiu Yu had already braided his hair, Xuanye stood up and embraced her, saying, "It's okay, but you have to be careful. Don't you understand?"
"Yu'er understands." Xiu Yu smiled sweetly, "Don't worry, I know what's going on."
After seeing Xuanye off, Xiu Yu still looked tired.
Xiao Tao helped Xiu Yu lie down on the bed and said, "Master, please don't be so stubborn. The Emperor has already informed the ladies in the harem that you are pregnant. It won't be a problem for you to take leave to deal with all those messy things."
"You really think it's okay to ask for leave in your first year in the palace?" Xiu Yu lay on her side, closed her eyes, and said, "I'll take a break. I still have to do what I need to do. Kneeling won't make anything worse. Besides, you've been following me all the time."
"I'm really afraid that good things won't work and bad things will come." Xiao Tao said as he prepared things for Xiu Yu for today, "If something unexpected happens right now, not only will it be hard on the child in your belly, but you yourself will suffer."
"When did you become such a jinx?" Xiu Yu glared at Xiao Tao. "Besides, if it's a blessing, it won't cause trouble. If it is, it's inevitable. Since I've already had that dream, I think if I'm more careful, I'll eventually turn the bad luck into good luck."
What does "good things don't work, bad things do" mean? Xiao Tao finally felt it as she carefully examined the daily supplies sent by the Imperial Household Department. There was a bunch of incense sticks, each one looking identical but smelling strange. If she hadn't been so careful recently, she might not have noticed. And her master wasn't particularly sensitive to incense... It was truly terrifying.
Xiao Tao didn't hesitate, nor did he discuss it with Xiu Yu. When Xuanye came over for dinner, he handed the incense stick to him and said, "Your Majesty, my master doesn't care much about this, but this is a matter of life and death. Even if I have to be scolded by my master, I must tell you about this."
Xiu Yu was frightened by Xiao Tao's action. When she looked at the incense again, all the tricks such as lingxiang and musk in later Qing Dynasty TV dramas came into her mind. Is there really anyone who dares to use it like this?
Xuanye picked up the incense stick, smelled it, and asked Xiao Tao, "This one is different from the others? What is it?"
Xiao Tao knelt down and replied, "I am not an expert in the art of burning incense, but if something is different, there must be something evil. This is my guess, and it shouldn't be wrong."
Xuanye nodded and handed the incense to Liang Jiugong: "Send it to the Imperial Hospital and personally hand it to Sun Zhongyan."
"Yes." Liang Jiugong knew that the matter was of great importance and did not dare to delay for a moment.
Xuanye shook Xiuyu's hand, only to feel it was cold: "Xiao Tao, be cautious, don't worry."
Xiu Yu forced a smile and thought to himself: It is indeed easy to dodge an open attack but difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark. How can I feel at ease with this?
Xuanye rubbed Xiu Yu's hands vigorously, then stood up with his hands behind his back, frowning and thinking about something.
Until Liang Jiugong returned to the Yikun Palace, knelt before Xuanye, and said, "Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Sun said this is musk."
Xuanye's hands clenched even tighter.
Xiu Yu stood up and walked to Xuanye, holding his hand, slightly pried it apart, and said, "If it didn't light up, it's not a bad thing."
Xuanye smiled bitterly, "I swore to you, 'No one in the harem dares,' but now it seems someone is quite bold." He put his arm around Xiu Yu, frowned and thought for a long moment before saying, "If not, I'll live with you in Tsinghua Garden. It's almost tidied up there, so it won't be much of a problem."
"This is against the rules." Although Xiu Yu knew that the garden was the Changchun Garden in later generations, it was not the same garden now.
Xuanye said, "There's nothing wrong with it. Going to that garden is no different from going to the southern suburbs. Stay there for two months and then we'll come back. If you feel it's inappropriate, I'll talk to the Empress Dowager and ask her to go with me to take a look."
Xiu Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Then... I'll follow your arrangements."
While Xiu Yu was preparing her daily needs in the Yikun Palace, Xuanye went to the Cining Palace. By then, Xiaozhuang had already heard the news, so when Xuanye came, she was not surprised at all.
"I'm afraid we can't tolerate it this time." Before Xuanye could speak, Xiaozhuang took the lead.
Xuanye also agreed: "Madam, Yu'er has been framed again and again since she came to the capital. It is my fault."
Xiaozhuang looked at Xuanye curiously and said, "It's not easy. The emperor actually made a mistake."
"Tolerance will inevitably breed treachery." Xuanye clenched his fists tightly. He had always thought that as long as the harem remained peaceful and the various palace masters lived in harmony, it would be fine. After all, each of them had a family behind them, so he would let things slide. It was precisely because he had repeatedly turned a blind eye that disasters nearly occurred.
Xiaozhuang sighed, "Xuanye, it's not easy to move the harem. Do you understand what Mama means?"
"Grandson understands." Xuanye narrowed his eyes, his brows furrowed. "We have to remain calm, save face for her family, and make an example of her. Grandson thinks we should 'give someone a taste of their own medicine.'"
Xiaozhuang nodded and said, "Do whatever you want. Mama will take care of the rest."
Xuanye suddenly became suspicious. He sat down across from Xiaozhuang and asked, "Madam, there's something fishy about the incense the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared for the Yikun Palace. Did you know about this a long time ago?"
"If you want to punish someone, you can't punish the wrong person." Xiaozhuang smiled calmly: "Ma Ma also wants to focus on growing flowers. It's tiring to watch over the Yikun Palace every day."
"You..." Xuanye really didn't know what to say: "Aren't you afraid of losing it?"
Xiaozhuang laughed and said, "If I lose my hand, how can I be the ancestor?"
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