Ciqing Palace.
When Shen Qingchen followed the eunuch to the Crown Prince's study, Zhu Yulu was sitting in a grand chair, lost in thought, his short, thick eyelashes partially obscuring his eyes.
He was still wearing the nine-patterned imperial robe he wore during court ceremonies, with four-clawed yellow dragons embroidered on his slightly thin shoulders. On the table beside him lay a half-read booklet, a Calabash Brothers book given to him by Qingchen.
When he saw Qingchen arrive, he looked up at her, the tassels on his forehead jingling, his slightly immature face showing a faint expression, his brows slightly furrowed.
Zhu Yulu dismissed the palace servants, then raised her eyelashes to look at Qingchen, her lips slightly parted, and said, "...There's something I want to ask you."
Qingchen nodded. "Has Your Highness encountered something troubling you?"
Zhu Yulu frowned and remained silent for a moment before speaking: "After the court assembly just now, I went to see the warhorses presented as tribute by the Chagatai Khanate. Those horses looked rather short, not as well-fed and strong as the horses raised by our Great Ming, with neat manes. So I couldn't help but say in front of their heir that I didn't see anything good about such short horses, and that they were probably inferior horses."
Qingchen thought for a moment and said, "Then the Crown Prince of the Chagatai Khanate must be indignant, right?"
His eyelashes fluttered. "How did you know?"
"The Chagatai Khanate was one of the four major Mongol Khanates, and the Mongolian horse is the best warhorse in the world today," Qingchen patiently explained. "Although Mongolian horses are short and unassuming in appearance, unlike many of our country's horses with their graceful physiques, they excel in their tenacity, resilience to cold, speed, and endurance. On the battlefield, they are bold, courageous, and not easily startled. Therefore, this type of horse is the best military horse, and it is precisely what our country lacks."
"The Chagatai Khanate came from afar to offer tribute, but His Highness the Crown Prince said they had presented inferior horses, so naturally they..."
Qingchen studied history, so this knowledge was basic common sense for her. But Zhu Yuluo was only twelve years old. Although he was the crown prince of a country, he was still a child, so it was perfectly normal for him not to know these things.
Zhu Yulu lowered his head. "You really do know everything. It's just a pity that you've only just arrived at the Eastern Palace, and no one has told me any of this. My words today have brought shame upon Father Emperor and the Ming Dynasty..."
The brilliant lights shone on his still-childish face, and his expression showed some regret and self-blame. His dark eyes were dull, and his eyelids were drooping.
Qingchen understood. As the crown prince of the country, and with his mother gone, he had carried a heavy burden of pressure since childhood. The reason he had always worked so hard was undoubtedly to perform well in front of Zhu Rui and to gain the world's approval as the heir apparent. Now, he had inadvertently slipped up, especially on such a joyous occasion as New Year's Day, in front of so many people. One could only imagine the pain he felt.
He sighed and continued, "The crown prince of the Chagatai Khanate also said that, in order to prove their sincerity in paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty and to prove that the horses they presented were the best, he would send people to race their horses against those of my crown prince."
"If I, the Crown Prince, do not agree, the world will think that I am afraid of him, that I cannot compete with him and therefore dare not accept, which would be a disgrace to my great nation. But if I do agree, his horses are excellent, and his riders have grown up on the grasslands since childhood, their horsemanship is superb, and I am not certain of victory. If I lose, it will be just as shameful..."
"I was unsure what to do just now, so I asked my father. He said that since the matter arose because of me, I should make the decision myself. If I couldn't decide, I could consult a talented person." Zhu Yuluo paused as she spoke, her clear gaze falling on Qingchen through the swaying crown tassels. "I... I thought of you."
Wang Lishun was the person he trusted most, but he wasn't exactly a talented individual, a fact Zhu Yuluo clearly understood. After Zhu Rui's reminder, the first person who came to his mind was this somewhat unfamiliar person in front of him, someone who had seemed different to him from the very first glance.
This gentle and refined person, who is not unpleasant to look at, and whose temperament inexplicably carries a touch of feminine tenderness and charm, will be with him for a long time.
Qingchen lowered his eyes and said respectfully, "Thank you for your appreciation, Your Highness."
"What should we do?" he asked, his brows furrowed, his tone a mixture of helplessness and childishness. "Father is going to hold a banquet at Fengtian Hall later, and they will definitely take the opportunity to bring it up again."
"Your Highness need not worry," Qingchen comforted him. "Our Great Ming Dynasty is a great and powerful nation. We need not fear such a small country as them. We should just agree to their request."
Zhu Yulu hesitated for a moment and said, "I agreed to the horse race, but if we lose..."
“Since we’ve agreed, we certainly can’t lose,” Qingchen affirmed. “Therefore, Your Highness shouldn’t agree too readily. When they press you for answers, you should put on a very troubled expression. That way, they will think we are afraid of the battle and have forced the Ming Dynasty into such a dilemma. They will inevitably become complacent and will only accept the conditions that are favorable to our horse race easily when we propose them.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yulu's eyes suddenly lit up. "You mean, we should pretend to be outmatched first, and as long as they accept our conditions, we can win?"
Qingchen nodded. "Exactly."
"What are those conditions?"
"It seems like a fair condition. They get to choose the day of the race, but we have to choose the location."
"You mean, as long as we pick a good location, we can win the game?"
“Your Highness can understand it this way,” Qingchen continued. “Moreover, it’s not just about winning the competition and regaining face, but about winning more. That’s what true victory is.”
Zhu Yulu blinked. "Winning the competition is already great. How can we win anything more?"
Qingchen looked at him and slowly said, "This is the second reason why I advised Your Highness not to agree readily, but to feign reluctance. If we delay, the Chagatai Khanate will be even more eager to compete. Then we can say that a simple horse race, which only determines a winner and loser, does not bring any real benefits and is therefore meaningless, which is why our Great Ming will not compete. The Chagatai Khanate will surely think that this is just an excuse for our cowardice, and since they feel they have a better chance of winning, they will definitely propose adding stakes to force us to accept the challenge."
"Whatever His Highness the Crown Prince wants to win, that's what we'll wager."
Zhu Yulu listened and remained silent for a long time. After thinking carefully for a while, he looked up at her and said, "I want warhorses. Since their horses are the best in the world, I want their horses, lots and lots of them."
"The stakes are relative. Isn't the Crown Prince afraid of losing?"
"The tributary trade between the Ming Dynasty and countries like the Chagatai Khanate was originally a matter of giving generously and receiving little in return, a gesture of appeasement. For the Ming Dynasty, losing face meant losing everything; what did a little more gold, silver, and silk matter? It was just a matter of appeasement. But if we won, we would have the warhorses we desperately needed. On the surface, it was a fair gamble, but in reality, it was biased towards us. Am I right?"
Qingchen was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected that his thoughts would coincide with hers. He was indeed intelligent; he understood immediately.
Zhu Yuluo continued, "Liu Bei of the Three Kingdoms period said, 'If you employ someone, don't doubt them; if you doubt someone, don't employ them.' I believe in you." His eyes were firm, and in this twelve-year-old boy, the beginnings of a wise ruler were already evident.
Qingchen bowed respectfully, "Your Highness, I will certainly make careful plans for you."
After leaving the East Palace, Qingchen took a carriage back to the Song residence.
When they returned to the Song residence, it was past noon, and light snow had begun to fall. Song Yue had not yet returned home.
A banquet was held in the palace to entertain officials of the fourth rank and above, as well as people from various princely residences and foreign countries. As a Grand Secretary, he should still be at the banquet.
Qingchen went back to her room to rest for a while, then went to see her father. Her father was sleeping soundly in his room, so she spoke a few words to the servant who was in charge of looking after him. The servant said that Old Shen was quite quiet all day; when he was awake, he would just sit there blankly, and when he got sleepy, he would lie down and go back to sleep.
After speaking with the servant, she returned to her room to plan for the prince's horse race.
The choice of location was very important. Based on her memory, Qingchen wrote down all the places in the capital with water, and then selected from these places.
For some reason, she wasn't at peace, and no inspiration suddenly struck her. She chose several places but felt dissatisfied, as if something was missing.
After writing and drawing for a while, she finally put down her pen and picked up a book to read.
Time passed slowly, and the candle flame on the table burned slowly, slowly, until the candle wax dripped down the candlestick and onto the table.
After an unknown amount of time, Qingchen felt her eyes getting sore, so she put down the book and rubbed her eyes wearily.
Outside the window, it had already gotten dark.
I wonder if Song Yue has returned yet.
After a while, the steward came to find her and said from outside the door, "Lord Shen, the meal is ready. You may go and have your meal."
Qingchen stood up and opened the door. "Thank you. Has Teacher Song returned?"
The steward shook his head. "Not yet. According to previous years, it will be a while before he returns. Before leaving, the master instructed that Lord Shen need not wait for him, but should have his meal with your father first."
Qingchen thought for a moment and said, "I'm not hungry, I'll wait for the teacher."
"Well... there are so many people in the palace. After the banquet, the master may have other engagements and may not be able to return for a while. Please eat first."
"Thank you, I'm really not hungry."
The person in charge left first. Qingchen sat alone in the room, holding the kitten Shiyue, staring blankly at the candlelight, her stomach already rumbling.
She left in a hurry this morning, only having a little porridge before attending the court assembly and then going to the Crown Prince's Cining Palace. She hasn't eaten anything since returning, and hasn't since.
She was hungry, but she didn't have much of an appetite.
After sitting there for half an hour, Qingchen went to find her father. Her father had woken up, and she talked to him for a while before she heard his stomach growling.
Just then, the steward arrived again and advised, "Lord Shen, the palace is bustling today. Perhaps the Emperor is in a good mood and has kept Lord Song here again. He won't be back for a while. It's getting late, so you should have your meal first."
As he spoke, he looked at her father and said, "If you go hungry, Lord Song will blame us."
"...I'm sorry to have troubled you." Qingchen thought for a moment, then helped his father along. "Please take us there."
When they arrived at the hall where they had dined the previous night, the furnishings were almost unchanged, the window decorations were still as red, and the dishes were still as fragrant, but there was one less person at the table.
Qingchen served her father some food, then ate only a little herself before returning to her room. As she passed through the courtyard, she glanced at the screen wall; there was still no movement at the gate, and the light from the red gauze lanterns was faint.
In the deep blue night sky, snowflakes slowly fell, gradually filling the cobblestone path we had walked on the day before.
When it's 7 PM, it's time to go to sleep.
After Qingchen finished washing up, he asked the servant who served his father, who said that Song Yue had not returned yet.
She nodded, turned off the light, and went to bed.
The room was pitch black, the silence of the night spreading out around her. Her eyes were open, but she could see nothing.
She couldn't sleep. She had already slept through the night, and although her eyes were tired and sore, she just couldn't fall asleep. It seemed like there was something on her mind that she couldn't let go of.
After flipping over several times, Qingchen sighed softly.
Time to sleep.
Just then, a voice rang out from outside the door, "Are you asleep?"
It felt so familiar, like a lifetime ago.
"Are you asleep, Qingchen?" he asked again. "I heard you haven't eaten much."
Qingchen didn't answer. She didn't know why, but she suddenly didn't want to talk to him and wanted him to experience what it was like to wait for someone.
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