The Emperor had heard that Su Rong had arrived in the capital and was eagerly waiting for her to visit the palace.
Since hearing from the elderly Duke Protector about the process of suppressing the rebellion led by Zhang Ping, the Emperor had come to realize that Su Rong was a formidable young lady. Especially impressive was the way she had dealt with Zhang Ping through Zhang Yun and managed to bring a quarter of a million soldiers under her control. It was doubtful, thought the Emperor, that anyone else could have managed this.
It could be said that she was responsible for half of the merit in resolving the crisis within Daliang.
If it were not for her, even if the Duke Protector could win against the soldiers led by Zhang Ping, Daliang would endure heavy loss.
Now, without a single soldier lost or any blood being shed, all hoped for such a desirable outcome.
The Emperor waited for a good part of the day. Hearing that Su Rong had gone to the Eastern Palace first, he wasn’t upset. After all, she had a closer relationship with Yan Huisheng, her cousin, than him, her uncle.
However, upon hearing that Yan Huisheng had been waiting for her at the gate of the Eastern Palace for quite some time, the Emperor felt somewhat miffed and complained to Yu An, "He never showed me such etiquette. I have visited the Eastern Palace several times and he always comes out leisurely from his study to greet me. In such cold weather, he was willing to wait for Su Rong for over an hour, even though he didn’t know when she would arrive, and he didn’t even call her in advance. If Su Rong wasn’t planning to go to Eastern Palace today, wouldn’t he have waited all day? He really is patient."
Yu An replied in a soft voice, "Lady Su Qi has made a great contribution by suppressing the rebellion, which is why the Crown Prince waited so long. Your visits to the Eastern Palace are different since you never announce them in advance. By the time the Crown Prince finds out, what choice does he have but to come out to greet you?"
No one understood the dynamics between the Emperor and the Crown Prince better than Yu An, the Chief Eunuch who was always by the Emperor’s side.
The Emperor nodded, "That’s true."
When he visited the Eastern Palace, there was always an element of surprise; he was trying to figure out what his son was up to when he wasn’t around, whether he was discontented with any of his decisions and whether he was involving himself in palace politics.
On reflecting about his past actions, the Emperor fell silent.
Because every time he had quietly visited the Eastern Palace, he never caught Yan Huisheng doing any scheming. Yan Huisheng kept to himself most of the time, didn’t try to influence palace officials, nor did he gather his staff for meetings. When he had nothing to do, he would just stay in his study, reading books.
Well, there was also Zhou Gu who kept him company, so he wasn’t exactly alone.
When he thought about Zhou Gu, the Emperor realized that he had misjudged him. The Duke Protector and Yan Huisheng were the ones who had recognized Zhou Gu’s potential and had cultivated it over the years. Zhou Gu had always been under his nose, but the Emperor had never thought to pay much attention to him. Even when Zhou Gu ranked alongside Su Xingze, whom the Emperor favored as the Number One Scholar in the Palace Examination, the Emperor hadn’t considered him to be notably talented.
Zhou Gu was a good scholar, and was intelligent. He was educated by Grand Tutor Qin and should have become an official, but instead chose to travel for three years. The Duke Protector was willing to indulge him, and the Emperor didn’t have any objections. He had once tried to tempt Su Rong into becoming queen of Nanchu, figuring it would strengthen ties between Daliang and Nanchu, but Su Rong was determined in her choice of Ye Guixue. Having Zhou Gu as an able minister in Daliang was something he was genuinely pleased about now.
After the rebellion led by Zhang Ping was put down, he would have to think about rewarding Zhou Gu if Dawei did not invade. Perhaps, he didn’t need to worry about that since Yan Huisheng had probably already thought of something.
The Emperor still didn’t know that Zhou Gu had decided not to return after his travels and that Su Rong had cancelled her engagement with Ye Guixue and chosen Zhou Gu instead.
As the Emperor was thinking an assortment of thoughts, he was informed that the Crown Prince and Lady Su Qi were requesting an audience.
The Emperor immediately said, "Please bring them in!"
Yan Huisheng and Su Rong entered the Restful Heart Hall. The Emperor was sitting at his table, not lying in bed as before. When he saw the two, he smiled kindly at Su Rong and waved his hand, "No need for formalities, get up."
Yu An led the servants to prepare seats for Yan Huisheng and Su Rong.
Although the Emperor stopped her, Su Rong still completed her bowing before getting up with a smile and sitting on a chair. She asked with concern, "Are you feeling better, Your Majesty?"
With an exasperated sigh, the Emperor replied, "You little girl, you’re so close to your cousin but so formal with me. Just call me uncle from now on, and not anything else."
Adapting readily to his request, Su Rong said, "All right, uncle, how are you feeling?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
As long as he sat on the throne, he was the Emperor, and she would have to show him respect.
"I’m almost fully recovered," said the Emperor, smiling contentedly. "I’ve heard about your activities outside the capital. I have to thank you. That dog, Zhang Ping, needed to be crushed."
Su Rong smiled, "Restoring peace in Daliang is also beneficial to my return to Nanchu. Helping Daliang also helps myself. You don’t need to be so polite, Uncle."
The Emperor laughed heartily. "This may be true, but it’s still appropriate to show gratitude. What would you like as a gift? I’ve noticed that you don’t have much jewelry. Let me give you the key to my private treasury. Pick a few pieces of jewelry."
Su Rong took out the token the Emperor had given her that bore the inscription ’As if the emperor himself were present’. "You’ve already given me a fantastic gift, uncle. This token is a thousand times more valuable than any jewelry. Moreover, you’ve also loaned me command over a major encampment of three hundred thousand soldiers. I’m not so greedy as to take more advantage of you."
The Emperor laughed heartily. "This token is only useful in Daliang. In Nanchu, it has no use. I’ll be honest; originally, I wasn’t keen on lending you the three hundred-thousand-strong army. However, Daliang’s treasury really couldn’t afford to maintain those troops. Giving them to you is a win-win solution. As for the jewelry, just take it. Otherwise, I don’t know what else to give you. Regardless of your merits, you are my niece. It’s entirely fitting for me to give you a few pieces of jewelry. It can’t possibly be considered taking advantage."
After finishing speaking, he ceased laughing, "Accept a gift from an elder without refusal."
Su Rong smiled, "All right then. I’m not good at spotting valuable things so it will be better if you could pick a few pieces for me. I’ll take these to Nanchu. When I show them to my father, he’ll realize that despite my mother’s absence, I still have someone who cares about me in my mother’s family. He can’t think I have no one to rely on just because my mother is not around."
The Emperor laughed again. "All right, since you put it that way, I’ll help you pick and later have them sent to the Xie Residence."
He then asked, "When are you planning to go to Nanchu? I initially thought that you would head directly to Nanchu. I didn’t expect you to return to the capital."
Su Rong sighed. "If I simply took these three hundred thousand soldiers to Nanchu without providing you with a written agreement or a return date, would you feel comfortable? After all, that’s a three-hundred-thousand-strong army. You would probably have trouble sleeping."
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