We arrived at the capital city, at the Chongzheng Hall of the Imperial Palace.
In the past, the palace servants dared not say a word or move an inch. Now, the quiet bedchamber was bustling with palace servants.
Pearls, jade, gold and silver jewelry, rare treasures, and silks and satins were all displayed on the open ground.
The dazzling array of gold and dazzling displays made it seem as if all the world's most precious treasures had been gathered together.
"Your Majesty, all the tributes from various regions this year are here. Would you like to store them all in the treasury?"
The emperor at the head of the table kept his eyes focused on the memorial in his hand, without even blinking, and waved his hand to indicate that everything was normal.
"etc"
The palace servants who were moving things stopped again.
The chief eunuch listened attentively, awaiting orders.
"Select some of the finest newly woven silks from Suzhou and send them to the princess."
The emperor suddenly remembered that his daughter Jingning had once come to him to ask for his help, saying that the clothes given as part of the annual allowance were not nice, so he added a comment.
After a few seconds, silence returned. The head eunuch gestured for people to start moving the items, but dared not make a sound.
His Majesty has grown to dislike crowds and is as cold as ice.
Perhaps only Princess Jingning could be an exception. Consort Yan is truly lucky; she gave birth to a daughter who actually... The Grand Eunuch thought to himself.
After a long while, the emperor finished reviewing the memorials in his hand. He reached out as usual but found nothing. He looked up and saw that the important stack of memorials had already been reviewed.
He rubbed his temples. "Bring all the memorials from various regions to me."
The chief eunuch looked at the sky and saw that it was already completely dark. The meal had been going on for quite some time. Instead of trying to be clever and offering advice, he personally moved the memorial that had been placed aside onto the imperial desk.
These memorials were generally of little importance, often consisting of a lot of rambling and the main point being a simple greeting. Occasionally, they might contain some confidential information, so they were usually placed at the end.
The first one in the list is the red-bordered envelope, which means that this person has the right to submit a memorial directly. When the emperor opened it, he saw the signature: Zhao Rui—his cousin.
"This fellow, the area north of Jinling is suffering from disaster, and refugees will definitely be heading to Jinling. Instead of focusing on pacifying the people, he's submitting memorials."
In the past, the memorials sent by Governor Zhao were all greetings, which the emperor did not take seriously. He would just chuckle and make a few sarcastic remarks before casually flipping through them.
"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation... Empress Zhangde... remains among the common people."
The words on the memorial seemed to drill into the emperor's brain from his eyes, causing him to gasp for breath and widen his eyes in disbelief, yet also with a glimmer of hope.
Yue'er and his... child.
He never imagined that there was a peerless treasure still out there, his own daughter, the daughter Yue'er gave birth to for him!
The emperor's heart, which had been as barren as a withered tree, seemed to receive a divine blessing, and in a moment of great compassion, he sent down sweet dew.
Having reached the end, the emperor anxiously turned to the next page, wondering why the passage ended there: "After your detailed inquiry..."
With a ripping sound, the head eunuch was startled to hear the sound of paper tearing.
Peeking up, I saw His Majesty was unusually agitated, flipping through the memorial in his hand, and in his haste, he tore the paper to shreds.
My fingers seemed to have lost their grip; the torn paper trembled and wouldn't come together. The once neat and orderly words now seemed blurry and illegible.
A loud shout rang out: "Bring the candlesticks!"
The head eunuch was startled. His Majesty had never been so out of control. As he handed over the candlestick, he glanced at His Majesty and his heart skipped a beat.
His eyes were bloodshot, he was breathing rapidly, and his hair was disheveled. He had long lost the image of a powerful and aloof emperor.
The emperor held the candlestick closer to examine it, "...I recall the late Empress's voice and appearance, and dare to guarantee that Princess Luoyang is real."
The emperor burst into laughter as he read the line of text, his laughter a complex mix of bitterness, joy, and shock.
"Princess Luoyang, does Zhao Rui still remember that imperial edict?" The emperor seemed unable to hold on any longer and slumped back in his chair, murmuring to himself.
Much later.
"Give the order to clean Chang Le Palace."
"Yes," the head eunuch replied, completely bewildered. Chang Le Palace was the residence of the Empress, and since there was no Empress in power at the moment, it was naturally empty.
No one dared to covet it.
The emperor treated Chang Le Palace like a vicious dragon, tearing apart all the concubines who tried to lay a hand on it.
The chief eunuch could understand; after all, the late Empress had never lived in Chang Le Palace, which was a great pain for His Majesty.
"Wait, although the items in Chang Le Palace are fine, they are old after all. We should open the storeroom and select the best ones to replace them."
The emperor, without any hesitation, used the word "old" to describe the luxurious furnishings of the empress's palace, wanting to give his daughter the best.
Even without seeing it with my own eyes, this is just one person's account from Governor Zhao.
The emperor was completely immersed in what felt like the most beautiful dream.
Suddenly, Chang Le Palace was brightly lit, and the coming and going of palace staff and the various precious items that appeared one after another were dazzling.
The incident was noticed throughout the palace, and reactions varied.
In Changchun Palace, a young girl was acting coquettishly in front of Consort Yan.
"Mother, I've been asking Father for that calligraphy by Wang Xizhi for so long, but he wouldn't give it to me. Now he's gone to Chang Le Palace, along with the jade screen and the mutton-fat jade lion..."
Princess Jingning pouted and said with dissatisfaction.
Consort Yan looked at her daughter with gentle eyes. Her fair skin was adorned with almond-shaped eyes that were both playful and delicate. Her small nose and diamond-shaped lips exuded the air of imperial nobility and the carefree nature of a pampered princess.
"You're so silly," Consort Yan said with a smile, tapping her daughter's nose. This drew her displeasure, and she continued:
"Chang Le Palace has been uninhabited for a long time, and His Majesty has suddenly started cleaning and decorating it. Who do you think it's for?"
"Could it be that Father Emperor gave it to me?" Princess Jingning's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but cheer.
Yes, none of the concubines in the palace were favored; among the princesses and princes, she was the only one who received such favor.
Father Emperor will never appoint another Empress; Chang Le Palace must be for him!
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