Chapter 65 065 "A grown man of eight feet tall, how can you be so weak..."
Family reunions are always a joyous occasion. Xiao Yu drank several bowls of wine with his father and brothers. The strong liquor was mellow and intoxicating, and it also brought out the fatigue from his month-long journey. As a result, after washing up at Shensi Hall, Xiao Yu had an intimate moment with his beloved wife. Afterwards, the couple held each other and only exchanged a few words before he fell asleep.
Luo Fu, on the contrary, did not feel sleepy. Lying on her side, she carefully traced the man's eyebrows and eyes with her gaze.
When Xiao Yu left the capital in January two years ago, Luo Fu did feel very uncomfortable for a while. But gradually, the feeling of not being able to muster the energy to do anything faded away. It was as if she had returned to the carefree girlhood before her marriage, when she only had to think about how to play every day. It was just that she had moved to a new place to live for a long time, her food and clothing were better, and all her friends who came to visit were of noble status.
If Xiao Yu didn't write to her often, or if his letters were as bland and uninteresting as his letters to his mother-in-law, Luo Fu wouldn't actually leave the Marquis's mansion to find another husband. However, with more than three thousand miles between them, the affection she and Xiao Yu had built up over a year would definitely fade away, potentially leading to them being like strangers when they reunited.
It was Xiao Yu's thick letters home, his self-deprecating and arrogant humor, and his detailed account of his time in Loujiang that made Luo Fu, along with her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and even princesses, queens, and empresses, eagerly anticipate Xiao Yu's new letters every month or so. This anticipation lasted for more than two years, remaining as fresh as ever.
Sometimes Luo Fu felt that Xiao Yu was doing it on purpose, deliberately using his humorous family letters to keep her interested in him.
Even if she guessed it, so what? Luo Fu still fell for his trap. She was secretly overjoyed when she heard his voice at the city gate. At noon, he stripped her clothes on the daybed. She was only shy and not unwilling. They spent the whole afternoon together in the curtained room. Luo Fu was just as satisfied and happy as he was. They were so intimate that it was as if the couple had never been apart.
Luo Fu couldn't describe her feelings at that moment; she just thoroughly enjoyed the peace and reassurance of being able to see Xiao Yu before she woke up and be the first thing she saw when she went to sleep.
She gave the sleeping man a tight hug, then rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep as well.
Having gone to bed early, Xiao Yu suddenly woke up around 3 AM. His left arm felt heavy, carrying the soft touch of his wife.
Xiao Yu didn't even open his eyes, but instinctively turned to the side, reaching his right hand towards the lady's thin undergarment.
Luo Fu was dizzy from his kisses, but her reason remained, and she reminded him, "There is a court assembly today. Now that you have returned to the capital, don't you need to go?"
Xiao Yu: "I haven't officially started my duties at the Censorate yet, so I'm not qualified to attend court assemblies. After breakfast, I'll go outside the palace to submit a memorial of thanks. If the Emperor wants to see me, I'll go to meet him first. If the Emperor doesn't want to see me or is too busy, I can go directly to the Censorate."
Since there was no need to get up early, Luo Fu went along with him.
After a thoroughly enjoyable time, both of them were refreshed and leaned against each other to continue talking about what they hadn't finished saying the night before.
"You started your job today, are you about to begin working?"
"Dr. Fan shouldn't be that heartless. He should at least give me about ten days' leave to be filial to my parents. Besides, I returned to Beijing ahead of time. If I had arrived in Beijing in the middle of the month, I should have been able to rest until the end of the month."
Luo Fu traced his chest with her fingertips: "You used your entire ten-day leave to take care of your parents, what am I supposed to do?"
Xiao Yu smiled: "Father is on duty. I'll just go and pay my respects when he comes back in the evening. As for Mother, I'll probably get annoyed with me after a day or two. I'll spend the rest of the time with you then."
Luo Fu then began to plan how Xiao Yu should spend those seven or eight days with her: she would visit her sister and brother-in-law, and spend a day with her parents...
.
This morning at court, Emperor Yongcheng glanced at Xiao Rong several times, because his daughter had entered the palace yesterday afternoon and angrily complained to the Empress about Xiao Yu. The Empress knew about it, and so Emperor Yongcheng naturally knew as well.
The fact that their daughter disobeyed the city order was a minor matter to the Emperor and Empress. They wouldn't be angry if Xiao Yu stopped his daughter, and they would just listen to his daughter's complaints for amusement without taking them to heart.
Emperor Yongcheng was even more curious about what had become of Xiao Yu after two years of hard work governing the southwestern frontier.
After the court session ended, Emperor Yongcheng returned to the central hall for breakfast. After taking a couple of bites, he greeted Eunuch Ma, who was standing beside him, "Has Xiao Yu brought in the memorial of thanks?"
Eunuch Ma smiled and said, "It's been handed over and sent to the Imperial Study."
Emperor Yongcheng nodded.
After the meal, Emperor Yongcheng strolled leisurely to his study, reviewed several memorials, and then sent someone to summon Xiao Yu to the palace.
Xiao Yu followed the young eunuch to the outside of the Imperial Study, only to find several important officials waiting to meet the emperor. At the head of the group was the Left Chancellor, Yang Sheng, and behind him were Liu Baoxiu, the Minister of Personnel, Xu Lian, the Minister of Works, and Gu Xi, the Minister of Revenue, all of whom were familiar faces to Xiao Yu.
The four high-ranking officials were unaware that Xiao Yu had returned to the capital. Upon seeing him, they all stopped their whispers and stared at Xiao Yu.
The warm spring sunshine shone on the young man dressed in a blue casual robe. In Princess Kangping's eyes, Xiao Yu was tanned to the point of being as dark as charcoal. However, among the four high-ranking officials whose combined age exceeded two hundred, the tanned Xiao Yu was still handsome, upright, and dashing, a youthful appearance that they could never return to.
"Your humble servant Xiao Yu greets the four lords."
While his words might not be pleasing, Xiao Yu never neglected etiquette. He stopped five steps away and bowed.
All four said there was no need for formalities, and the three ministers first looked at the Left Prime Minister, who was related to the Xiao family by marriage.
Yang Sheng gave a light snort and turned directly to face the Imperial Study.
Liu Baoxiu, the Minister of Personnel who personally signed the official document transferring Xiao Yu back to the capital, saw that the Left Chancellor had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Xiao Yu. He smiled and called Xiao Yu to his side, quietly inquiring about Xiao Yu's experiences upon returning to the city, speaking only the usual official platitudes. Xiao Yu answered each question in turn. After the pleasantries were over, he stood at the back of the line, patiently waiting.
A moment later, a man came out from inside. It was another important official related to the Xiao family by marriage, Duke Dingguo, Li Gong. However, two years ago, Li Gong was upright and imposing, but now the Duke was leaning on a cane with one hand and being personally supported by Eunuch Ma with the other. He even coughed twice as he stepped out of the threshold.
Yang Sheng and the other three whispered their advice to the old Duke to take good care of himself.
Li Gong nodded with a smile. He looked up and saw the young man behind the four. The old Duke squinted, still trying to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Xiao Yu quickly stepped forward and respectfully bowed deeply: "Xiao Yu greets the Duke."
Li Gong was overjoyed and gestured for Eunuch Ma to lead Yang Sheng inside. He then asked Xiao Yu to help him walk a few steps to the side and said happily, "You're back! I thought you were going to miss this last time I saw you."
Putting aside the kinship between the two families, and the old Duke's care for his second brother and his cultivation of his second son, just based on the old Duke's illustrious military achievements in the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Xiao Yu couldn't bear to hear such words. After comforting the old man for a while, Xiao Yu said worriedly, "In just two years, how could the Duke..."
Li Gong shook his head, pointing to his full head of white hair, and said, "I accumulated a lot of injuries when I was young. It's already a blessing from heaven that I'm still healthy enough to be over sixty. But I'm getting old after all, and a few colds have greatly depleted my vitality... Never mind, let's not talk about this. You go and wait. If you miss me, come and see me at the Duke's Mansion after you leave the palace. The Emperor just granted me permission to retire at home. Yuanzhi can come anytime."
Xiao Yu agreed and watched as a servant from the Duke's mansion helped the 68-year-old Duke away.
Returning to the end of the line with only three ministers remaining, Gu Xi, the Minister of Revenue who was in front of Xiao Yu, turned around, first nodding his own head to indicate that Xiao Yu should look at the Duke of Dingguo's full head of white hair, and then giving a look towards the Imperial Study. In fact, he was reminding Xiao Yu to be prepared for the Emperor's old age, so as not to show it when they met later and upset the Emperor.
Gu Xi and Xiao Yu had no romantic relationship. What he feared was that if Xiao Yu displeased the Emperor, and the Emperor became irritable, all the officials, including himself, would have to be on tenterhooks when they met with the Emperor again.
It is said that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. In fact, an elderly emperor is even more difficult to serve than a tiger. The historical records of emperors who were wise when they were young but became senile when they got old are irrefutable proof.
Xiao Yu cupped his hands in thanks, offering his gratitude silently.
After waiting for about 15 minutes, it was finally Xiao Yu's turn.
The windows on the south side of the Imperial Study were all stained glass windows, and the spring sunlight illuminated the spacious interior, as well as the mottled silver hair of Emperor Yongcheng.
Xiao Yu's gaze met the emperor's for a moment before he looked away. He quickly took a few steps, knelt down on the long couch where the emperor sat cross-legged, and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I, the guilty subject Xiao Yu, thank you for your forgiveness."
Emperor Yongcheng then put down his pen, glanced at the young man with his head bowed, and said, "No need for formalities. Stand up and show me what a charcoal-faced man looks like."
Xiao Yu: "..."
Once he stood up straight, revealing his still handsome face, Emperor Yongcheng pursed his lips unhappily: "I heard from your wife and the Empress that you wrote in your family letters that you had completely destroyed your former glory. But these are still there, aren't they? It made me think that the two portraits you painted yourself were forgeries. I only stamped my private seal on the one you commissioned to be painted."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu looked up in shock: "Why would Your Majesty stamp the portrait of a criminal?"
Emperor Yongcheng said matter-of-factly, "Since you were imprisoned after the palace examination and then became the top scholar, the historians have already written you into the history books. They must have also mentioned your outstanding appearance. I will stamp the two paintings of your achievements and the portrait of the painter. When future generations see them, they will think that you were tanned and tired because you personally cultivated the land and encouraged farmers and crossed the mountains to recruit barbarians. They will praise your virtuous ministerial character even more."
Xiao Yu: "...Then this humble subject will have his face whitened in two years and will paint another portrait. At that time, I would like Your Majesty to affix your personal seal to this humble subject once more, so that future generations may know that this humble subject is worthy of the historian's praise."
Emperor Yongcheng: "...How can a man of your stature be so vain?"
Xiao Yu: "This sinful subject had no intention of letting future generations praise my appearance, but I do not wish to be judged as ugly by posterity."
Emperor Yongcheng stared at him for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter, which startled the two fat sparrows that had just landed on the roof of the imperial study.
After some lighthearted banter, Emperor Yongchang inquired seriously about the situation of the three barbarian tribes of Qianxi and the four barbarian tribes of Dian, including the governance policies of Dian officials. Finally, he asked, "In your opinion, is it possible for our Great Zhou to also annex the land of Dian?"
Xiao Yu: "As long as Your Majesty guarantees long-term peace and prosperity within the Great Zhou territory, once Your Majesty has taken Liaozhou, you can then devote your energy to discussing the strategy of attacking Dian."
It sounded like a delicious-sounding pie. Emperor Yongcheng smiled with anticipation. Admittedly, he knew that neither of these two great achievements could be realized in his lifetime, but as long as his descendants continued to expand the territory of the Great Zhou, his reputation as the founding emperor would continue to shine.
"Go down. In the future, you must think twice before you act. Be especially careful with your words when it comes to the deposition and establishment of the crown prince. If it weren't for my appreciation of your concern for the people, you would already be a pile of bones in a coffin."
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Author's Note: Here it is! 100 little red envelopes! See you at the second update tonight!
P.S.: This story will span three reigns, so be prepared for a long farewell to two emperors [doge emoji].
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