The rocking chair with its myriad gates swayed gently in front of her, and she held...
Empress Tao seemed to realize something: "Yes, Jun'er is right, she does look a bit like A-Ling when she was little." She smiled at the Luo siblings: "Your Majesty, look, Xing'er had the sweetest smile and was the most well-behaved when she was little. She is still the same now."
Qiao Zheng, her mother from the Luo family.
Empress Tao also stared intently at her, then suddenly said with a serious expression, "Xing'er, your aunt has heard about what happened that day. Pei Qing is a fickle girl, and my cousin has spoiled her rotten. Don't take it to heart. She caught a cold a few days ago and has been resting at home, which has helped her temper." She then changed the subject, smiling, "But speaking of which, Xing'er is no longer someone to be bullied. Your Aunt Tao doesn't have any rabbits to compensate you with now."
Emperor Kang Le was taken aback upon hearing this, then burst into laughter.
Empress Tao gestured for Qingpai to pour her a bowl of sweet soup, as young Luo Zhaoxing loved sweets the most. She smiled and accepted it: "Thank you, Your Majesty. When I was young, I was frail and sickly and rarely went out. Later, I gradually got better, but my temperament was still too soft. My grandmother couldn't bear to see this, so she hired a female tutor to teach me at home for more than four years."
Empress Tao nodded upon hearing this, and said with great relief, "I see. How is she? I have some calming incense here; you can take it back with you later." Her eyes showed concern.
She replied, "Grandmother is in good health. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Everything is fine."
"And what about your father?" Emperor Kang Le asked suddenly, somewhat anxiously, as soon as he finished speaking.
She replied briefly again, "After my father went to Jiangnan, he became a teacher at a private school. In his spare time, he would stay in a small village outside the city and live the life of a farmer."
Emperor Kang Le was lost in thought, his mind wandering elsewhere. Empress Tao poured him a full cup of wine, and he came back to his senses, smiled, and no longer asked about the Luo family.
He shifted his gaze to the other side and said, "Ye Ning's chess skills have improved considerably. I'm afraid that in time, this old man will have to admit defeat." He looked at Chu Ye Ning: "Ye Ning, I still prefer to call you Ye Ning. When you left, you were just a child in your teens, and now you've grown up so much." Emperor Kang Le sighed softly and asked him, "I heard from Zhen Hui that the girl Xing was extremely brave that day, standing in front of you and disarming you with her bare hands." He frowned slightly: "But you had just returned to the capital, and A-Jun was being mischievous, so you joined in. How could you have been assassinated? I sent people to investigate that day. Ye Ning, have you offended anyone?"
"I heard that when the soldiers in the city arrived that day, none of the assassins were alive, and many things were lost to history." Emperor Kang Le sighed, "Well, those assassins were prepared to kill themselves anyway."
Qin Weixi listened intently, her expression unchanged. That day, she vaguely remembered hearing Chu Yening give a brief instruction to Queshe. Later, her brother wanted to take leave to care for her, but she refused. However, her brother still visited her at Tingyuxuan every time he finished his duty. She asked about the assassins from that day, still feeling lingering fear upon recalling the scene and what she had suffered on the river years ago. Her brother said that most of the assassins died in battle, while a small number committed suicide.
No. Why would he have Sparrow Tongue create such a false impression? Just to avoid trouble later?
Chu Yening put down his chopsticks and replied, "Uncle, you know Yening's temperament. Over the years, I have made countless enemies in the Northwest, which has worried me so much that I have raised a few wolf cubs at my residence in the Northwest. It must be that some thieves discovered my whereabouts when I returned to the capital. That day, I did not take many personal attendants with me when I left the residence, which gave those assassins away."
Emperor Kang Le shook his head repeatedly after hearing this: "Ye Ning, why didn't you tell your imperial uncle that you wanted to watch a play? A stage has been set up in the villa for you to go and watch. This is not making things awkward between you and your imperial uncle. Ye Ning, have you been getting used to life in the Northern Division these past few days?"
The Northern Division was in charge of all cases approved by Emperor Kangxi and reported directly to him. When Chu Yening took office, some were resentful, while others rushed to flatter him. Moreover, the current commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was none other than the son of the legendary General Chu Lanze, a war god of yesteryear. He had also repeatedly distinguished himself in battle on the border over the years.
Chu Yening glanced up at Emperor Kang Le's expression for a moment, then looked away and smiled, "Uncle is right, I'm used to it."
However, everyone present knew that after the assassination attempt, the Imperial Guards arrived too late. Later, when Liang Xu led many people from the Zhenfu Division to visit him with gifts, there was an undercurrent of tension. It was as if the loss of his commander position was merely temporary for Liang Xu.
On that day, the unconventional and unrestrained Marquis of Jingning gave everyone the cold shoulder, but the next day he acted as if nothing had happened and invited everyone to tea.
After the death of the old Marquis Jingning, all the soldiers who had fought alongside him but had not gone to Huangtupo with him returned to the capital with the Marquis's heir. However, before the soldiers could recover from the devastating news of the old Marquis's death, the heir, carrying the sword bestowed upon him by the founding emperor, entered the palace and wounded Cai Yuan, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Their former commander was now dead, his son exiled to the border, and these soldiers who had fought alongside Chu Lanzhe were subsequently dispersed to various posts.
Some secretly thought that the glory of the Chu family was gone. Others thought that if these soldiers were only loyal, the current Marquis of Jingning was not his loyal father. If he were to develop rebellious intentions in the future, and if these soldiers were to become his strong backing, the Marquis of Jingning would become emboldened and his disloyalty would be nothing more than a matter of a word.
But as everyone knows, Emperor Kang Le treated this young Marquis Jingning like his own son, and the deceased old Marquis Jingning, General Chu Lanzhe, who was deeply loved by the people, was also like a brother to the current emperor.
Tao Qingyun was just picking up a piece of meat with his chopsticks when he interrupted, "Hey! Just inviting me to watch a play isn't enough. Do you know how much food that sudden wind has eaten from my Tao family over the years?" He put down his chopsticks, held up five fingers, and said lazily, "Five hundred taels. I don't need much. Just a token is enough to repay you."
Empress Tao slapped the hand away, feigning anger, and said, "You have no manners!" Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Jiang Yuanfu, who had been silent all along, and asked with concern, "Why is Zhenhui not talking today? Are you not feeling well? Your mother has already asked someone to take care of Ayi's funeral arrangements." She sighed, "You don't have many guards around you. It seems that in the future, we will have to choose a few more steady and capable ones for you."
Jiang Yuanfu forced a smile and was about to speak when a commotion came from outside. Emperor Kang Le's gaze darkened slightly, and he coughed lightly. The group saw Chen Guiyi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, walk in.
Chen Guiyi seemed to be holding a scroll in his hand. He bowed and greeted the group before calmly saying, "Your Majesty, this was presented by Lord Zhou."
Emperor Kang Le's gaze sharpened, and he exhaled, saying, "Send it to the Imperial Study later."
Chen Guiyi nodded in agreement and turned to leave when a palace maid carrying a bowl of hot soup came from outside the hall and bumped right into him.
Hot soup spilled all over the floor, and the palace maid's hands were covered in red burns. The scroll Chen Guiyi was holding was also knocked to the ground. As it landed, it naturally unfolded, revealing a painting of famous mountains and rivers to everyone.
As the Grain Rain fell softly, the mountains and rivers stretched far and wide. The four men rode their horses and gazed at the vast landscape. The founding ancestor of the Jiang clan smiled and said, "Heaven above and the earth above bear witness. The imperial Jiang clan has made a covenant with Chu, Qin, and Luo. If the Jiang clan ever breaks this covenant, then this beautiful land will be destroyed."
The group noticed a striking inscription in the blank space of the painting: "The Four Musketeers."
The palace maid knelt down in alarm, and Chen Guiyi also knelt down.
Empress Tao said solemnly, "Step down now!" The mother of the nation was full of majesty.
Just as Chen Guiyi was about to pick up the painting, Emperor Kangxi sighed softly, "Grand Master, there's no need. Unfold the painting. The children are all here, and there are some things they should know."
Chen Guiyi raised his head slightly and saw Emperor Kang Le beckoning to him. He responded in a low voice, picked up the painting, and hurried forward.
Chen Guiyi displayed the painting before everyone. Emperor Kang Le looked at the painting with a sorrowful expression: "Father loved this painting very much back then. It appeared out of nowhere a while ago, and I was a little dazed, wondering if it was you few who were behind it?" He raised his eyes and looked at the people surrounding him with feigned anger: "But I watched you grow up, how could you not know that this would cause turmoil in the country?"
Emperor Kang Le let out a long sigh, casually handed the painting to Chen Guiyi beside him, and then looked at Chu Yening and said, "Yening, this matter has caused quite a stir, as you must know. Your imperial uncle would like to ask you, what is your opinion on this matter?"
Qin Weixi scooped up a mouthful of sweet soup and put it in her mouth.
Inside the hall, everyone saw Chu Yening holding a wine pot in one hand, walk straight to the painting, turn his back to everyone, gaze at the painting, and say, "Uncle, one cannot stay in the same place forever; one must look forward. Isn't that what you told Yening back then?"
In an instant, he picked up the pot and poured it on.
Qin Weixi's hand holding the spoon trembled. On the other side, Jiang Yuanjun also suddenly stood up: "Ye Ning! You..."
A palace maid cried out in surprise, and Chu Yening shot her a cold glare.
Empress Tao said, "Drag him away!"
"Your Majesty! Your Highness!" The palace maids' pleas for mercy echoed throughout the hall.
Luo Ling pressed him down with one hand.
The Emperor and Empress were taken aback. Emperor Kang Le quickly dismissed the palace maids and Chen Guiyi who were serving inside. After a short while, only the two of them remained in the inner palace.
Emperor Kang Le sighed deeply: "My children, to your uncle, Xu Zhi and Cheng Ji were both my flesh and blood. But to me, it wasn't just the Qin and Chu families, but also the lives of over ten thousand loyal generals of our Great Xia, buried far from home. Beyond those generals lie the voices of countless people of Great Xia. Cheng Ji risked his life for Great Xia, protecting our nation and its people. I cannot let the hearts of my people be broken. As for my mistakes, I will apologize to my ancestors and to Xu Zhi when I am in the afterlife."
"This painting was created by the old Duke of Dingguo, my Uncle Qin. He presented it to my father, and it should have remained in the royal family, but it disappeared along with my father after his death. I searched for it everywhere back then, almost turning Penglai upside down. Now it has appeared out of nowhere. My uncle, do you know if someone did this on purpose, or if there were indeed members of the Qin family left behind?" He continued, "But where are the Qin family members now!" His eyes seemed to be filled with tears, and they reddened. "I have dreamed of Xuzhi many, many nights. I miss him terribly. I never imagined that he would commit suicide in front of me, leaving me with no peace of mind for even a day."
Qin Weixi looked at the painting. His grandfather's broad and robust back seemed to remind him of his sharp eyes and imposing face. He was dressed in armor, riding a horse, holding a spear, his white beard fluttering in the wind.
Her childhood memories are fragmented and hazy. Her grandfather passed away early, when she was very young, so she doesn't have much of an impression of Zhuang Bicheng, who was close to her grandfather, nor does she remember her grandfather ever having a big argument with the Chu family's grandfather. But what she remembers most vividly is that her grandfather did indeed suffer a serious illness and died with his eyes open, yet the day before, he was still smiling and saying that he would take her and her brother on a trip the following midsummer. But her father said that her grandfather couldn't let go of all of them and didn't want his soul to return to the underworld.
If only her grandfather were still alive! She thought more than once that if her grandfather were still alive, would the Qin family be in a completely different situation?
It was as if I had returned to that late spring afternoon, to the dimly lit room where the late emperor lay in a rocking chair, the shadows of the trees around him. His eyes were fixed on the painting hanging on the wall, and his body was growing weaker day by day.
As a child, she didn't understand, but she kept asking, "Grandpa, Grandpa Jiang, what are you looking at?"
The rocking chair swayed gently in front of her, and she fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan before the late emperor. The late emperor said to her, "Look at your old friends, they've come to fetch your grandfather. Xi'er, go and hide this painting, hide it. Your grandfather can't walk anymore."
She asked, puzzled, "Why hide it?"
The late emperor said, "If we don't hide it, it will be stolen!"
The palm-leaf fan in her hand stopped in mid-air. She immediately ran over, stretched out her hand, tilted her head back, and stood on tiptoe to reach the painting hanging in mid-air, but no matter what she did, she couldn't reach it. She was so anxious that her forehead was covered with sweat. When she turned around, she found that the late emperor had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Finally, she called Ah Bao, who took it down for her. She said, "Grandpa Jiang said that if we don't hide it, it will be stolen. Grandpa and Grandpa Ah Bao are on this. This is a secret. You must not tell anyone."
Finally, she buried the painting under an old locust tree, where it remained through the changing seasons.
She turned her gaze to Emperor Kang Le opposite her, noticing his composed expression. A continuous laugh echoed in her ears. She turned to see Empress Tao silently observing her. Then she heard Emperor Kang Le say to her, "Xing'er, you and Jun'er have been inseparable since childhood, your bond is exceptional, a rare affection that others cannot match. Your uncle and aunt treat you like their own daughter. Xing'er, since your brother is here today, your uncle wants to ask you, would you be willing to enter the Eastern Palace one day and be protected by the Crown Prince for life?"
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