Chapter 86 Celestial Phenomenon
Chang'an City.
After the autumn chrysanthemums bloom, all other flowers die.
When Yuan Chi returned triumphantly with his elite troops, the imperial city was covered in golden purple chrysanthemums.
The rebellion in Qianzhong Road has been quelled. Yuan Chi and his soldiers seem to have low morale. The little joy they felt when they saw Chang'an City was simply because they could return home.
But when I think of the word "go home", I can't help but think about where those refugees in Qianzhong will go home.
Emperor Murong Yu was very happy and rewarded Yuan Chi and the soldiers, praising them repeatedly:
"With your elite troops and generals, I have no reason to worry about unrest in the world."
Murong Yu was so happy that he remembered that Yuan Chi's cousin had entered the palace as a talented woman two years ago.
Yuan Cairen has a pretty appearance, but she does not stand out among the group of beautiful women in the harem and does not win the favor of the emperor.
When Murong Yu remembered, he summoned Concubine Yuan to sleep with him and favored her for several days.
Yuan Cairen was promoted to Jieyushi, and instantly became a celebrity in the harem. The Lingyu Palace where she lived also became lively, and many concubines came to visit her.
In comparison, Shufei's Yaohua Palace is a bit quieter.
The news from the previous dynasty spread quickly to the harem. Many people knew that Shufei's grandfather Qin Xiao had disagreed with the emperor during court some time ago, which made the emperor unhappy.
Now Qin Xiao has resigned from his post as Minister of War and is recuperating at home.
Inside Yaohua Palace.
Concubine Shu sat lazily on the couch, admiring the chrysanthemums in the yard through the window.
Chrysanthemums are as beautiful as people.
The people who admired the chrysanthemums sighed:
"well--"
Concubine Shu was a little worried, with a frown on her face.
But she was not worried about her grandfather displeasing the emperor.
She thought it was a good thing that her grandfather could retire from office and enjoy his retirement. He had worked hard all his life, and it was time for him to enjoy his old age at home and be with his grandchildren.
What Concubine Shu was worried about was her second prince Murong Li.
The second prince Murong Li and the third prince Murong Di are both eleven years old this year and will be twelve in a few months.
There was nothing wrong with being twelve years old. According to the rules of the previous dynasty, the princes could not leave the palace and start their own households until they were fifteen years old.
But it just so happened that they had an eldest prince who was driven out of the palace at the age of twelve.
Since there was a precedent for the eldest prince, how could the queen let the later princes have an easy time? She would definitely try to drive them out of the palace and set up their own residence.
It would be fine if the prince was well-behaved and sensible, but to be honest, Concubine Shu felt that her own son was not much better than the eldest prince.
Just as Concubine Shu was feeling worried, she saw Murong Li enter the hall.
Murong Li looks more like Murong Yu, with handsome features and deep eyes. Although he has not fully grown up yet, one can already glimpse the boy's future handsomeness.
"I am here to pay my respects to my mother."
Murong Li walked up to Concubine Shu and started yawning when he was halfway through his greeting.
Concubine Shu: "...Li'er, come here."
Murong Li walked forward, his sleepy eyes looking as if he had just woken up.
"Li'er, mother asks you, if your father asks you to leave the palace and start your own household next year, what will you do?"
Murong Li rubbed his eyes and answered very naturally and in a Buddhist way:
"Mother, the child will move out and come back to visit you often."
Concubine Shu: "Aren't you afraid of opening a mansion alone?"
Murong Li: "Inside the palace and outside the palace, we eat and sleep the same. If you miss your mother, you can come back to see her. What's so scary about that?"
Concubine Shu had no words to refute.
Murong Li couldn't help but yawn again:
"Mother, I am really sleepy. Please forgive my rudeness."
Concubine Shu looked helpless and waved her hand: "Go."
When Murong Li walked out the door, he happened to meet Princess Ning'an who was returning from Lihe Hall.
Ning An stepped forward and asked, "My Royal Brother, why are you only here to pay your respects to Mother at this time of the day?"
Murong Li touched his sister's forehead and said, "I overslept this morning and just got up."
Ning An: "So what are you going to do now, my royal brother? Are you free to play with me?"
Murong Li shook his head: "I'm too sleepy, I need to go back and rest now."
Ning An put down his hand in disappointment.
Concubine Shu listened to the conversation between her children and sighed deeply from the bottom of her heart again.
Just as everyone knows that the eldest prince is unlearned and the third prince is stupid and cowardly, everyone also knows that the second prince suffers from narcolepsy.
Murong Li loved to sleep when he was a child. At that time, Concubine Shu thought her son was just lazy.
But later, as my son grew older, he slept longer and longer, to the point of nearly eight hours a day!
I am only awake for four hours a day and spend most of the time sleeping.
And judging by this trend, I’m afraid I’ll have to sleep even longer in the next two years.
The imperial physician said that this was a rare case of sleepiness and that all one could do was to take care of it and let nature take its course.
Concubine Shu asked the imperial physician to prescribe various refreshing soups and medicines, and even cruelly let her son try hanging his head from the beam and piercing his legs with a needle.
However, when she discovered one day that her son could fall asleep with his eyes open, she finally gave up...
She didn't expect her son to become a successful person, but her son looked confused all day long. How could she feel at ease letting her son leave the palace?
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. If it really comes to that, you can just send some trusted people to look after it."
Nanny You whispered comfortingly beside her.
"If I were to tell you, Your Majesty and the Second Prince don't have to worry so much. Concubine Hui and the Third Prince are probably the ones who will be in trouble."
When Concubine Shu thought of Pei Shu and her son, she indeed felt that things were even more difficult.
Thinking of this, even the chrysanthemums in the yard lost some of their color in my eyes.
The flowers, plants and bonsai in the palace are all precious items. Not only are they excellent tribute items, but they also require someone to carefully maintain them every day.
There is no such chrysanthemum scene in Myeonghye Palace.
The scene inside Myeonghye Palace remains unchanged year after year, with an old, dry and thick locust tree always standing in the middle of the courtyard.
The side hall that was burned down was recently rebuilt and renovated, and it looks not much different from before.
Chujiu is no longer a kitten. He has grown a lot and is more active than before. He always likes to jump onto the old locust tree.
It is a cat with great spirit and temperament.
Pei Shu wanted to hold it in her arms but it refused.
In the inner room of the main hall, Pei Shu was checking her son's homework.
Dongyue was guarding the door vigilantly.
Pei Shu's eyelashes drooped, suppressing the coldness in her eyes:
"Di'er, if I let you leave the palace and start your own household next year, would you be willing?"
Murong Di put down his pen, but his childish face was still raised, and it was clear that he was still just a child.
"Mother, what difference does it make whether my child is willing or not?"
Pei Shu: "If you don't want to, there are ways to keep you from leaving the palace. The important thing is that you think it through clearly."
Murong Di pondered for a while.
In the clepsydra, water drops fell one by one, and the sound of the water droplets hitting each other was infinitely amplified in the ears.
After a while, Murong Di looked at his mother and said seriously:
"Mother, I want to leave the palace. Not only do I want to leave the palace, I also want to leave the imperial city, the farther the better."
It is so far away that people in the imperial city cannot see it, and it is difficult to get information in time.
Pei Shu stood beside her son, her hands on his shoulders, gripping him so tightly that even his clothes were wrinkled.
Both mother and son understood that only by leaving would they have a chance to break the situation.
The mother and son listened quietly to the sound of wind blowing through the treetops outside the window, silent.
…
Imperial Astronomical Observatory.
The end of the year is a busy time for them.
Because during the New Year they had to present some recorded auspicious omens, and then based on them, they speculated that Dayu would surely prosper and have long-lasting peace.
Compared with other positions in the court that are full of intrigue, the position of the Imperial Observatory is still very stable.
Wan Jian, who was assigned to the Imperial Observatory, had been in office for more than ten years without moving.
It was he who observed the auspicious sign of the lucky star descending to the mortal world seven years ago. As a result, the emperor appointed the fourth prince as the crown prince and changed the reign title to Zhaoqing.
At that time, Wan Jianzheng also felt that there was no problem.
The lucky star descended to the mortal world, and a prince was born. The weather was good and the world was prosperous. This prince was the lucky star.
But recently, Wan Jianzheng noticed that something was wrong.
He saw the light of the Purple Star flickering, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.
The direction corresponding to Chang'an City seemed to have a leak, and the luck was dissipating.
Luck continued to flow towards a dim star not far from Ziwei Star.
The star was so dim that it was often unobservable, but now it seems to be getting brighter and brighter.
"No...I shouldn't."
Wan Jianzheng muttered to himself.
The lucky star can gather the luck from all over the world and turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
If the prince is a lucky star who has descended to the mortal world, the good fortune of the place where he is will not be dispersed.
If the prince is not a lucky star, and the Ziwei star is getting dimmer and dimmer, and his luck is scattered...
Wan Jianzheng was shocked by his own thoughts and didn't dare to think further.
He didn't even dare to write this down.
If he fails to do so properly, he will be the first to lose his head.
After much deliberation, Wan Jianzheng finally put pen to paper:
[Observing the celestial phenomena, auspicious signs are coming. The people are in harmony and peace and happiness are endless.]
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