Chapter 17 This made him even less willing to leave Yejing...
After much deliberation, the Empress Dowager finally summoned Emperor Jing after Wei Xing's downfall. The two discussed something, but in any case, Wei Xing's affair did not implicate her.
The late emperor had five sons and one princess who were publicly known. It was widely rumored that the late emperor was a romantic and charming man, and that he had countless unseen beauties among the common people, but none of them came to his door.
Among them, the eldest prince, also known as the former crown prince, was the most favored by the late emperor. He was born to the late emperor's beloved concubine, Consort Ling. However, after the former crown prince died of illness, Consort Ling became depressed and rarely went out to see people until the late emperor passed away.
Long Langyue and Long Zhaoming were both the biological sons of Consort Shu. The two were only two years apart in age. Consort Shu was gentle and did not compete for anything, but she fell ill after giving birth to her second son, Long Zhaoming. She passed away a year before Long Langyue ascended the throne.
At this palace banquet, Consort Ling came to the banquet at the urging of Empress Dowager Wei. She looked much more haggard, but she was still a stunning beauty.
She kept her head down and ate the food in front of her listlessly, looking rather listless.
Below Consort Ling was Consort Zhi, the birth mother of the fourth princess, Long Minghui, who married into Lingnan.
She was a lively person and had only given birth to one little princess. She was deeply loved by the late emperor and was living a comfortable life in the palace. However, she did not treat Consort Ling very well and instead chatted with Consort Rong beside her.
Emperor Jing took a sip of tea, suppressing the darkness in his eyes.
It's no wonder that Consort Zhi disliked Consort Ling. Back when the former Crown Prince was still alive, the late Emperor doted on Long Minghui, his only daughter, and neglected the former Crown Prince for a long time. Consort Ling was out of her mind and actually went to cause trouble for Consort Zhi.
From then on, the two became enemies. However, since she was just a princess, there was nothing to fight over. Consort Zhi turned a deaf ear to what was going on and focused on raising her only daughter.
Consort Rong gave birth to twins. A few years ago, when they turned sixteen, Emperor Jing bestowed upon them titles and residences, and they moved out of the palace. At this time, because of the palace banquet, the two brothers also came over and sat opposite Consort Rong, looking at their mother with smiles.
A man who looked exactly like him gently pinched him; he was clearly much more composed.
Emperor Jing had no particular thoughts about his two twin brothers. One was skilled in martial arts and the other in literature. The more prudent one stayed in Yejing to assist Emperor Jing, while the other went to the north.
As the music and rituals progressed, the dancers gracefully moved about in the center, creating an illusion of seeing fairies descending to earth.
Emperor Jing was not in a good mood. He drank a few sips of wine and picked up a few pieces of food with his chopsticks when he heard what sounded like gurgling next to him.
He turned his head to look, and saw that Seventeen's face was serious, and he could not tell at all who had just had his stomach growling.
Emperor Jing chuckled and softly instructed, "Seventeenth, the banquet has begun. Go find a seat and rest."
Seventeen was taken aback. As His Majesty's guard, could he still attend the palace banquet?
Eunuch Yuanfu had good eyesight. He stepped forward and gently pulled Seventeen: "Your Majesty is kind-hearted. Seventeen, guard, come with this old servant."
Seventeen nodded blankly, and after bidding farewell to Emperor Jing, he followed behind Eunuch Yuanfu and was then led to the bottom of the banquet.
Although it was at the bottom, no one was sitting there. This position was reserved by Emperor Jing for the palace guards, but they would have to wait until their palace banquet was over.
Hearing Yuanfu's explanation, Seventeen felt a surge of warmth in her heart.
Emperor Jing repeatedly broke his traditional view of emperors, not only caring about the people and putting himself alongside them, but also thinking about everyone on duty in the palace.
Admittedly, even if Emperor Jing hadn't prepared this delicacy, those still on duty on the 29th and 30th would have received double their salary, but he still thought of it...
After Seventeen took his seat, Eunuch Yuanfu turned around and gave a few instructions. The palace maids then brought out the delicacies that had been prepared in advance and placed them in front of him.
Looking at the delicious food in front of him, Seventeen's eyes also became a little hot.
How could His Majesty be so kind? This makes him even less willing to leave Yejing.
He sat down without attracting the attention of others. After filling his stomach to about 70-80% full, he let out a small burp and stood back down beside His Majesty.
By this time, the palace banquet was halfway through, and the officials were all quite drunk. Several of them had already gotten up and taken their leave.
Emperor Jing asked, "There will be fireworks later, why don't you stay and watch?"
The minister who was about to leave wasn't very interested in the fireworks, but his grandson tugged at his sleeve, looking at his grandfather with clear, hopeful eyes, clearly very excited.
Emperor Jing also noticed it, chuckled, and said, "Someone, bring some hangover soup."
"Yes," Eunuch Yuanfu replied, flicking his whisk as he went to make the arrangements.
In the midst of the joyful atmosphere, Consort Ling rose to take her leave. Emperor Jing did not linger, but watched her departing figure with a dark expression.
Seventeen didn't notice the change in that instant. He looked at the courtiers, who seemed a little sleepy, and wondered when the palace banquet would officially end. He wanted to go back to sleep.
"My esteemed ministers, the banquet is over and the wine is flowing freely. It is a fine night, and I have ordered fireworks to be set up in the Imperial Garden. Why don't you all enjoy them together?"
Emperor Jing's face was young and serene, and his words were sincere and proper. But the courtiers would not forget that not long ago he had decisively eliminated a major corrupt official.
"Your Majesty, we are grateful for your great favor and wish to join you in enjoying the New Year together."
An elderly minister stepped forward and answered Emperor Jing's question on behalf of the others.
"Then let's go."
With Emperor Jing in front, Eunuch Yuanfu and the Seventeenth Prince stood on either side. Now, the officials had all accepted that the Seventeenth Prince was often by His Majesty's side, so they did not pay much attention to him.
The Imperial Garden is quite far from the main hall where the banquet was held. You have to pass a pond along the way. Now, in the cold winter wind, the flowers and plants by the pond have withered, leaving only gusts of cold wind blowing by.
A group of people walked behind Emperor Jing, chatting as they went. Because it was an auspicious day, Emperor Jing was in a good mood and occasionally offered a few pointers, making the atmosphere even more lively.
Just as the group approached the pond, a young eunuch rushed over. Yuanfu, with his sharp eyes, spotted him and immediately shouted, "What are you doing?! Come here!"
The unexpected interruption broke their conversation, and they all turned to look.
The young eunuch walked forward tremblingly and knelt on the ground to pay his respects.
"This servant greets Your Majesty and Eunuch Yuanfu."
What are you rushing about for?
Yuanfu's sharp eyes scanned him up and down, with a hint of suspicion.
The little eunuch trembled and dared not hide anything, so he confessed everything: "A wild cat fell into the pond in front and was crying pitifully. I wanted to fish it out, but the wild cat was not very cooperative, so I thought I would go and find some people to help."
"You're so kind-hearted, making such a fuss over a stray cat."
Yuanfu, the eunuch, lightly patted the young eunuch's shoulder with his whisk. Emperor Jing then spoke up, "Seventeenth, go and take a look."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Seventeen took a few steps forward and asked the little eunuch to lead him to take a look. Eunuch Yuanfu glanced at Emperor Jing, then turned around and said with a smile, "I've disturbed the enjoyment of you gentlemen. Please follow me this way and don't go to see that unlucky thing."
The courtiers had no objections and quickly echoed their sentiments. Then they saw Emperor Jing turn around and walk in another direction.
Seventeen followed the little eunuch to the pond, but did not hear any meows. The cold pond was also completely still, without even a ripple.
The young eunuch bowed and scraped before Seventeen, saying, "My lord, this servant has accomplished everything."
"Okay, you can go now."
Nodding at seventeen, the little eunuch nimbly ran off, his previous timid and hesitant demeanor completely gone.
After the eunuch left, Seventeen prepared to go around to find His Majesty from the other side, but suddenly noticed some movement in the grass next to the pond.
He focused his attention for a while, and then heard a weak meow.
There really are cats?
Seventeen was surprised. This was just an excuse, how come a cat actually appeared?
He cautiously walked towards the direction from which the sound came, and after parting the thick grass, he found a small orange cat with dirty fur and extremely thin skin lying on the ground, barely alive.
Seventeen quickly picked it up. Fortunately, it was still breathing and was meowing weakly. One of its paws was weakly pawing at Seventeen, as if it wanted to live.
He felt sorry for the cat, so he picked it up and went to the imperial kitchen. Chef Fang was still there. Seeing him come in, he smiled and said, "Hungry again? What would you like to eat?"
"No, I'm not hungry. I have a kitten. Could Chef Fang please get it something to eat?"
Only then did Chef Fang notice the kitten that Seventeen was holding. He was startled and quickly reached out to take it, saying, "Oh dear, it's so thin! You can leave it here. I'll feed it for a few more days and it'll get back to normal."
"Okay, then I'll trouble you."
After saying that, Seventeen turned and left quickly; he still wanted to go to His Majesty's side to watch the show!
Emperor Jing and his entourage walked a short distance, enjoying the evening breeze as they sobered up considerably.
Chen An rubbed his arms and complained, "It's really cold these days."
Wang Qiao, the Minister of Revenue standing beside him, nodded: "Otherwise, why would it be called the dead of winter?"
The two chatted on and on, their feet treading on the hard bluestone path, indicating they were almost there.
Emperor Jing smiled and turned to the side, saying, "My dear ministers, you must keep a close eye on your children at home. Fireworks don't discriminate."
Behind him were several ministers; the position of Minister of Rites was vacant, but the others were all present.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
The ministers who brought the child instructed their wives that the child was the most difficult to control and could run off somewhere in the blink of an eye. Although there was certainly no danger in the palace, the Emperor would surely be displeased with such a large-scale search for him.
Seventeen appeared from the side. Emperor Jing glanced at him, seemed to have noticed something, frowned, pulled him to his side, and asked, "Where did the bloodstains come from?"
When asked by Emperor Jing, Seventeen was slightly taken aback. Following the emperor's gaze to his chest, he smiled and said, "I just picked up a cat, and I have some injuries on my body. Perhaps I got them around that time."
"There really is a cat?"
Emperor Jing raised an eyebrow. He was just asking someone to find an excuse. Surely those palace servants wouldn't actually find a cat and throw it into the pond?
"It must be a stray, it's very thin and small. I sent it to Chef Fang to be cared for."
Their voices were very soft, and only Grandpa Yuanfu could hear them.
Just as he was saying this, Seventeen's expression froze, and he stopped in his tracks, cautiously looking around while standing in front of Emperor Jing as if he were a guard.
The ministers were somewhat puzzled by his action, but some of the quicker ones already understood.
"But is something wrong?"
Chen An stepped forward and asked. As the Minister of Justice, he was also skilled in martial arts. Although he was not as skilled as the secret guards, he was still much stronger than ordinary people.
Seventeen glanced around and said softly, "There's movement."
Chen An frowned and listened intently for a while, finally his gaze falling on the woods some distance away from them.
The route they took was quite far from the Imperial Garden, and few people usually came here, so some of the vegetation grew rather wildly.
Chen An and Seventeen walked quietly towards the grove of trees where the noise was coming from. The flowers and plants there were already knee-high and were exceptionally thriving. It was likely that even if several people hid there, they wouldn't be noticed.
"Who goes there?!"
Chen An shouted angrily, and Seventeen immediately slipped inside. At that moment, two dark figures actually appeared in the woods, trying to run away in a panic, but Chen An and Seventeen were fast enough to subdue them immediately.
This restraint was no small matter; Seventeen was immediately stunned.
A note from the author:
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