Chapter 30 Snow Lion "It should be punished and it should be regulated."
The Taiji Hall was the largest palace complex within the Liang Palace. Beyond this vast complex lay a secluded garden, rarely visited by ordinary people.
From afar, you can see towering trees rising from the ground and into the sky, standing tall behind the carved walls.
This was a newly opened area after the new emperor ascended the throne in the first year of the Yuan Dynasty. The Liang Palace covered a vast area, and the expansion of such a courtyard between the Taiji Hall and the Ganlu Gate did not seem cramped.
When Qingzan saw the bronze and iron-cast strong guards inside the garden wall, he finally believed that they were actually going to see the lions?
The garden wall is designed with corridors attached. Because it is majestic and tall, matching the emperor's palace, a large section of the road is not immersed in light when passing through.
Qing Zan said in surprise, "I have been in the palace for so long, and I didn't even know Your Majesty kept a lion."
"There's so much you don't know." The emperor, like a scholar whose poetry was praised for its unparalleled talent, had a rare air of arrogance and pride. His usual stern expression was no longer what it used to be.
Just as they passed through a layer of steep trees, his tone suddenly dropped again, and he said meaningfully, "If I had known you were such a troublemaker, I should have kept you hidden like this forever."
Qingzan turned around in surprise and looked at the man, feeling that he was not joking.
This was not a difficult task for the emperor. As long as he wanted, he could erase her name, put her in a cage with golden locks, and not allow anyone to visit or approach her, just like raising a bird or a small animal in secret.
Thinking of this, she shuddered and couldn't help but protest, "I don't want to be a canary, locked in a golden cage year after year."
The emperor remained silent, but Qingzan inexplicably interpreted it as a hint of ridicule.
That's right. Once inside the palace, it's like entering a deep sea. Actually, the cage is just a little bigger now. The only thing to say is that the emperor and she are both in the cage.
The person in charge of raising the lions in the yard was a Persian with a high nose, deep eyes, and curly brown hair, which was very different from the appearance of the Han people.
Seeing the emperor approach, he performed the salute of his native land, placing his arm across his shoulder and leaning slightly forward. The emperor didn't mind the slight or inappropriate nature of this gesture, which shows that this was the way they had always interacted.
The Persian animal trainer asked the emperor in his native tongue with a smile, "This is the first time Your Majesty has brought someone here. Is this your concubine?"
The emperor's eyes swept across Qingzan's face and he nodded slightly.
Qing Zan couldn't understand this strange foreign language, so she could only ask for help: "What did he say?"
The emperor smiled, wanting to tease her, and said slowly, "He asked me if you are my wife."
The Persian animal trainer looked at the emperor in surprise. It was not as if he couldn't understand Han Chinese! Could these two words mean the same thing?
But he didn't dare to raise his voice to question the emperor who was worshipped by all nations, so he could only look away suspiciously.
Maybe... this is some kind of romance between His Majesty and his concubine?
Amid the occasional roars of beasts, the animal trainer accompanied the two of them through the corridor and passed a row of houses on the periphery, then stopped where he was without making a sound.
In the center of the park, surrounded by iron fences on all sides, Qingzan spotted a full-grown snow lion sitting on the lawn, its hooves bent. Beneath the lion lay lush green summer grass, lush and strong thanks to the season's favor, stretching out into a wide, gentle slope. Its fur, fluffy and shiny against the backdrop, looked like snow, a tribute to its abundant diet and comfortable life.
Sensing their presence, the lion moved a little, but lazily did not stand up. It only growled at the two of them in an elegant and deep voice.
It was very familiar with the emperor, so it was not alert. Instead, it treated it as an old friend who came to visit.
The emperor, acting as the interpreter, said: "It is greeting you."
Qingzan was not familiar with the habits of lions, but she always felt that these fierce and powerful creatures should be quite friendly.
After all, if it was too manic, she would have come to Taiji Hall so many times and would not have never heard the lion's roar.
So she leaned over the fence and took a closer look, not showing any fear: "Can I touch it?"
The emperor looked at her with great interest, leaning against the fence and smiling casually: "It has eaten people before, and you want to touch it too?"
In the eyes of Qingzan who was instantly terrified, the emperor said slowly: "A vicious beast is still a vicious beast no matter how long it is raised."
Moreover, he was unwilling to destroy its animal nature, so he would usually have people throw a few live chickens and ducks in, and would also take it with him during the autumn hunt, letting it hunt in the dense forest and release its nature.
Qingzan was afraid that the lion would take advantage of her, so she had already moved away, keeping half an arm's length away from the fence.
Seeing this, the emperor simply pulled her in front of him, put his hands around her waist, and continued to scare her: "A meal of ten pounds of meat can cost two hundred taels of silver a year. Throwing you in there will save you money."
Qingzan's breathing was rapid. Taking advantage of the fact that the emperor was standing between her and the fence, she dared to steal another glance at the lion. She quickly calculated, "Isn't that worth the annual expenses of hundreds of poor peasants?"
The emperor said: "You can't count it that way. Even if you feed the lion with your own body, the poor peasants won't get an extra meal."
As if he knew what she was thinking, he refused to let her have her way. He suddenly hugged her, turned around, and pushed her against the fence.
Qingzan's back was pressed against the thin iron rod, and the gaps in the iron fence were just wide enough to prevent the snow lion from getting through.
Her limbs were stiff, and she bit her lip as she looked at the emperor: "Didn't Your Majesty say that even if I gave myself to the lion, it would be useless?"
The emperor lowered his eyes to look at the woman with black hair and fair skin. Because she was preoccupied, she was looking at him very intently at this moment. Only he was reflected in her clear eyes, and she stared at him with anger. Her eyes were powerful, and when she was angry, it would bring out a slight pink on her spring skin.
"My heart is beating so fast." The emperor was silent for a moment and laughed softly.
Qing Zan had no time to respond to the teasing. Fortunately, the snow lion was just lying on the ground, showing no signs of getting up. Wait...
Qingzan heard Sasha's movements on the grass, and the still powerful low howl.
It moves!
Where the animals passed, the grass rustled, and the sound of the grass gradually approached evenly and steadily, and the cold breeze dissipated most of the heat from the scorching sun.
It's coming.
Qingzan closed her ears to nothing else and pursed her lips tightly, fearing that any sound would alarm the lion leaving its nest.
Did it really eat people?
She dodged forward, and then lost the last gap between her and the emperor. The soft silk embroidered with clusters of flowers clung tightly to her, and her snow-white breasts looked like buds about to burst. The air between them became obstructed.
The emperor's eyes locked onto the man, and he seized the opportunity to interrogate him, "When you begged me that day, saying you wanted to stay by my side, was it to save your friend, or—to seek revenge?"
His big palm wrapped tightly around the peach-shaped thing that was sticking out from under her waist, and he didn't forget to play with it casually while asking questions.
Why isn't he nervous at all?
Isn’t he afraid that the lion’s first bite will pierce the back of his hand?
Qingzan slowly calmed down.
Besides, the person holding her is in danger of being no less dangerous than the lion.
She drew her attention away from the emperor, fluttering her eyelashes as she replied softly, "Your Majesty, the Empress, holds great importance in the country and is crucial to the stability of the nation. I dare not do anything that would harm the nation just because of a personal grudge."
Her voice was low and her lips were barely open, her white jade teeth were so reserved that it was annoying.
All lies.
Xiao Fang sneered: "You still want to deceive me with your little tricks?"
As if realizing that she was no longer so frightened, or perhaps still having some sympathy and conscience, the emperor stopped scaring her and called out the snow lion's name: "Songtsan."
When called, the snow lion ran over with its hooves spread out, its hair forming waves of joy.
Xiaosong let go of Qingzan and touched Songzan's head through the fence: "I'll take you out to play later."
The Persian animal trainer brought over a bucket of raw meat, put it down, and left again.
Qingzan squatted beside the emperor with lingering fear, watching him use wooden tongs to pick up pieces of meat and feed them to Songtsen.
The emperor said, "Songtsen came from a cold land further north. He couldn't adapt to the climate here at first and nearly died of illness in the East Palace. I took care of him for a few months and we became familiar with each other."
As he was talking about the lion, the emperor suddenly changed the subject: "If I tell you that the Marquis's life-saving grace to the late emperor was not wrong, and the grace bestowed by the late emperor was not wrong, and the empress will always be the empress, not only will I not help you, I will even feed you to the lions. Will you still want revenge?"
Qing Zan's mind, which had just relaxed a little, was then raised again: "I really don't want revenge. I am afraid that the Queen will not let me go."
The emperor smiled somewhat harshly: "I wanted to treat you with sincerity, but you were so wary of me."
She had actually already somewhat slipped out of his control. If he had known she would cause so much trouble, enough to unsettle the palace, he would have strangled her in his grasp much earlier, which would have been the easiest way to save himself.
It is also in line with his usual style.
Yet, he actually began to pity her for her miserable life and her inability to protect herself. It was clear that this woman was extremely cunning, and had dared to deceive the emperor from the very beginning.
The snow lion swallowed a whole piece of meat and seemed to have eaten too much today. It had no interest in the rest and walked back slowly.
The emperor also stood up, and his towering shadow cast down from above, enveloping the little woman who was still squatting.
Qingzan also gently clenched her palms, savoring the emperor's words for a long time. Finally, she lowered her eyes and asked softly, "Even if the queen is incompetent and immoral, even if the Duan family is reckless, even if the queen cannot tolerate me, then... can't there be even the slightest exception?"
The emperor was about to respond sternly when a skirt suddenly fluttered up and softly hit her arms.
She clung to him with a wronged look on her face, her hands as translucent as white mutton-fat jade, so clear that she could see the tiny veins.
“…”
Qing Zan continued, "Even if the Empress wants to kill me, can't there be an exception?"
The emperor was momentarily distracted, then regained his composure. "Your recent behavior doesn't seem like you're afraid the Queen will take action against you, but rather like you're afraid she won't."
"Then... Your Majesty, please punish me. In your heart, I bear a grudge against the Empress, and I have been causing trouble repeatedly. I deserve to lose my life. Your Majesty, don't worry about me."
Qingzan raised her head, her eyes became a spring lake after the rain, moist and tearful, with a pitiful look, and charming and bright hair, without a trace of resentment, but rather a teasing look.
This time she was not right next to him, so he could see more clearly the rounded Shu embroidery flower bud on her thin collar, which swayed slightly with her breathing, as if it was about to break out of its shell and bloom.
well.
Realizing her little trick, the emperor chuckled:
"It's time to punish and manage."
Songzan looked outside the fence, seemingly confused as to what the two people who were suddenly entangled with each other were doing.
The heads are stacked together and can’t be separated?
*
Concubine Ying seemed ill. Ever since she was reprimanded by His Majesty in Taiji Hall, she had been seriously ill since returning to the palace, to the point of not leaving the house. She was even excluded from attending the emperor's bedchamber, and had already requested leave early for her three-day visit to the Empress.
The empress had been waiting for the emperor to impose a more substantial punishment so that she could teach him a lesson and avenge her previous humiliation. Unexpectedly, the emperor disappeared without a trace.
When they were paying their respects, everyone was amused by this: "Could it be that he has done something wrong and is too embarrassed to see the Empress, so he's feigning illness?"
"He was at the height of his fame, and he called in sick after a minor setback. Who knows who will regret it in the future?"
The emperor was busy with his affairs and seemed to have forgotten about this person. He had not set foot in Chengluan Palace for more than ten days.
During this period, the Queen sent someone to ask Xu Delu once, and the answer she received was also: "Your Majesty has already punished someone in Taiji Hall. Look, Concubine Ying has been ill, and she may be angry with Your Majesty."
The queen felt even more ridiculous. She even dared to show disrespect to the emperor. She really didn't know how to live or die.
When the wife of Marquis Yongning came to the palace again, the queen told her mother with certainty that this lowly maid must have known that the Duan family had killed her biological mother, and there was absolutely no possibility of peaceful coexistence between her and the Duan family. She might even climb onto the dragon bed with the intention of harming the Duan family.
This was certainly not something the Queen had tried to test, but how could she give up the opportunity to make her parents work together to get rid of Qingzan? Naturally, she would say whatever was beneficial to her.
Of course, she didn't believe anyone had that ability.
It would be too presumptuous for a small nobleman to want to go against the Yongning Marquisate, which had done favors for the late emperor.
The wife of the Marquis of Yongning felt a headache. "If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have supported her for so many years. I could have just sent her to be reunited with her mother earlier, and things would have worked out just fine. It's only out of kindness on my part that I agreed to spare her life."
The Queen always felt that there was something she didn't know about, and asked in confusion, "What is going to happen?"
"Nothing. I'll go back and discuss this with your father. I'm afraid we need to act quickly before anyone gets too powerful. Originally, your grandfather has been away for the past few months, and I've been feeling uneasy, so I thought I'd wait a little longer."
The Queen said disdainfully, "She's probably about to fall out of favor, and now she's even at odds with Your Majesty. Mother, don't worry. Now is a good time."
"I hope so." The wife of Marquis Yongning said nothing more and walked away with a heavy heart.
*
Inside the Taiji Hall, Xu Delu came in to report, "The secret guards have detected that someone has been sneaking around Chengluan Palace lately."
The emperor had expected this: "Everyone can only pretend to be obedient in front of me."
Xu Delu smiled wryly, and waited until the other party put down their pens before asking again, "Someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs just came to ask how Your Majesty plans to divide the ten baskets of grapes that were recently presented as tribute."
The emperor didn't look up, but said, "Send two baskets to her first."
"yes."
When Xu Delu knew who this "she" was, he quickly took the order and left, not daring to ask what to do next.
He ordered two palace servants: "Go, deliver it to Master Ying."
The palace maids carried two large baskets of juicy grapes, but did not go towards Chengluan Palace.
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