Love
In the three months following his ascension to the throne, Su Jing shed his initial fierceness. In the mornings, he would personally style Chu Yiran's hair; in the afternoons, they would discuss state affairs in the Qianqing Palace; and in the evenings, they would stroll and admire the flowers in the Imperial Garden.
The peonies in the Imperial Garden were in full bloom. Su Jing picked up a bright red one and pinned it to Chu Yiran's lapel.
"I intend to establish the position of Imperial Preceptor of the Celestial Empire," Su Jing said with a smile in his eyes, "who will enjoy the salary of a prince, be in charge of the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Rites, and will not kneel before the emperor, but will be allowed to enter the palace with a sword and shoes."
Chu Yiran brushed his fingertips across the peony petals and chuckled, "Is Your Majesty not afraid of what the censors will say?"
"I don't care what the world says about me or how it judges me," Su Jing suddenly grasped his hand. "I only ask the Grand Preceptor whether he will accept the decree?"
Su Jing's hands were cold, yet his grip on Chu Yiran's hand was surprisingly strong, carrying an air of unyielding authority. Chu Yiran returned the grip, saying, "Your Majesty, I would naturally not dare to disobey the imperial decree. But I beg Your Majesty to grant me a private request..."
Chu Yiran changed the subject, saying, "My father is getting old, and I hope Your Majesty will allow him to retire and return to his hometown."
Recently, Chu Zhongling submitted three memorials, stating that he was old and frail and wanted to resign from his post and return to his hometown of Dong'ou with his wife to recuperate. However, Su Jing has yet to approve his request.
Su Jing narrowed his eyes: "It seems that Marquis Chu still harbors resentment towards me..."
Since Su Jing ascended the throne, Chu Zhongling has been claiming illness and has not attended court for days. Chu Yiran naturally understood his father's meaning, and his eyes dimmed slightly: "Father... he just needs time."
Su Jing sighed, his tone softening: "The situation is still uncertain, and we need capable people right now. I will first transfer Marquis Chu to a sinecure in the Ministry of War. Once the court is stable, I will allow him to retire and return to his hometown. How about that?"
Chu Zhongling was a military genius who was rare in a century. Since he went to war at the age of fifteen, he had repeatedly led his troops to break through the Northern Qi. Su Yan was in power for more than forty years. The entire Southern Su royal family was corrupt to this extent, but it was not completely destroyed by the Northern Qi. This was also thanks to Chu Zhongling guarding the northern border for many years.
With the court in turmoil and the princes in their fiefdoms all eager to make their move, and with the Northern Qi also eyeing them covetously, Chu Yiran knew that Su Jing would not let Chu Zhongling go easily. However, seeing that Su Jing was willing to make concessions for him, Chu Yiran was still very gratified.
"Your Majesty, I thank you." Chu Yiran knelt on one knee and bowed to express his gratitude.
Su Jing helped him up, the smile in her eyes more dazzling than the blooming flowers in the garden. Chu Yiran couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty seems different than before..."
These days, Su Jing appointed Huo Yan as Minister of War to streamline the military and improve weaponry, and strengthen army training; at the same time, he appointed Shen Ji as Minister of Revenue to take stock of the national treasury and investigate salt affairs, and in just a few months he took control of the salt tax lifeline in the Jiangnan region; in terms of people's livelihood, he also made great efforts to control floods, resettle displaced people, and reduce taxes.
Su Jing suddenly pinched his cheek: "I promised you I would be a good emperor, how could I break my promise?"
"You've endured so many hardships in your early years, things will only get better from now on..." Su Jing looked down at his clothes, "I only wish that you would be like the peony in this garden, forever blooming in the most magnificent spring light of Jinling."
Chu Yiran shook his head and pointed to a pine tree beside the artificial hill: "Your Majesty, I am willing to be a pine tree to shelter you from the wind and rain."
Su Jing swallowed hard and said to the palace servants behind him, "Everyone, listen to my command, turn your backs to me." With that, he suddenly pulled him into the depths of the pine shadows.
Before Chu Yiran could react, Su Jing suddenly slammed him against the tree trunk, pine needles raining down on his shoulders.
Su Jing gently stroked the corner of his lips and whispered, "Does this mean you agree?"
Chu Yiran's ears turned red, and she asked in a daze, "Agree to what?"
Su Jing pressed down further: "You still haven't given me an answer after that kiss that day."
The kiss in the dungeon that day was too sudden, and many things happened afterward. Chu Yiran had been deliberately avoiding the topic, and the two of them tacitly agreed never to mention it.
Now that Su Jing has suddenly brought it up, Chu Yiran doesn't know what to say.
Su Jing's voice was deep, like a blade soaked in snow water: "At first, I thought you were just another delicate flower in a greenhouse in Jinling City," he said calmly, but with a hint of self-mockery, "unaware of hardship, ignorant of political intrigue, only able to follow a lousy prince with all your passion... I even found it laughable, thinking that someone as naive as you would be crushed by this cannibalistic world sooner or later."
“It wasn’t until I went to Northern Qi that I saw the resilience and sharpness in your bones.” Su Jing’s eyes softened slightly. “You have a deep understanding of things, you are not a blindly loyal person, and you truly understand why we fight. At that time, I thought that having such a confidant was the greatest fortune in Su Jing’s unfortunate life, and you also gave me the courage to break free from this quagmire.”
"I thought we would always know and accompany each other like this..."
His words abruptly stopped, his brows furrowed tightly, as if some invisible pain was choking him.
"But you went back to Jinling..." Su Jing's voice suddenly became hoarse. "For three whole months, I have never experienced such torment. Even when I was in Northern Qi, I didn't think it was a big deal. I thought death was nothing. I schemed against people's hearts and controlled the situation. I always thought that no matter what the outcome, I could remain indifferent. But only with you—every bad news brought back by the scouts increased my anxiety tenfold. I even... had a delusion I had never had before, wishing I could abandon everything and rush to Jinling to protect you."
He took a step forward, his gaze as fiery as iron, fixing firmly on the stunned Chu Yiran.
"Ah Ran, tell me, is this kind of loss of composure, this constant anxiety, this desire to crush someone and tuck them into your heart to protect them... still the affection of a true friend?"
Chu Yiran was completely stunned. He had never imagined that Su Jing would open up to him like this. His lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. He could only murmur, "I...I don't know either..."
“Then let me tell you,” Su Jing leaned down again, their breaths almost mingling, and said in a tone that was almost a sigh, yet incredibly certain, “This is love, Ran. I love you, do you understand?”
Su Jing was abandoned his whole life, but Chu Yiran was like a martyr who didn't care about his life. Even though he had seen Su Jing's dirtiest methods, he was still willing to follow him.
Sometimes Su Jing felt that the two of them were actually reversed; it was Su Jing who was clinging to Chu Yiran and craving the warmth he provided. But the more she craved that warmth, the more afraid she was of losing him.
Su Jing stared at him silently, as if awaiting a judgment, a chance for the light to smile upon him, or perhaps... eternal damnation.
Chu Yiran touched his pounding chest and said after a long while, "I don't know what love is, I only know that I am willing to walk with Your Majesty forever."
——
Chu Yiran and Su Jing got together inexplicably. On the day of the appointment of the Imperial Preceptor, the auspicious robes sent by the Imperial Observatory were extremely complicated. When the ceremony was completed, all the officials knelt down. Su Jing gave him the highest honor and even granted him permission to stay overnight in the Qianqing Palace. The two were inseparable every day.
The golden brick floor of the Qianqing Palace always felt cold, but Chu Yiran preferred to walk on it barefoot. In the morning light, through the carved lattice, even the palace servants could see Su Jing carrying his shoes and socks and following behind.
But before long, these sweet moments gradually faded into rumors, and discussions about Su Jing's "forced abdication and usurpation" spread more and more among the people, and even rumors circulated that the new emperor had "homosexual tendencies".
Inside "Zui Xian Ju," the largest restaurant in Jinling, a storyteller struck his gavel with vivid detail: "Let me tell you about that day when blood rained down outside Jinling, and the new emperor challenged the retired emperor's jade seal with his sword—"
Chu Yiran suddenly lifted the curtain and entered, throwing a gold ingot onto the table: "Let's change the story."
The storyteller was taken aback: "What would you like to hear, young master?"
"Who are you? Get off the stage!" someone in the audience jeered.
Chu Yiran seized the opportunity to take over the storyteller's position, waving the three copper coins in his hand and said, "Do you all remember that fifteen years ago, at the coming-of-age banquet of the daughter of the Vice Minister of Works, I once performed a divination?"
The room fell silent instantly; everyone knew about that strange event from years ago!
The daughter of the Vice Minister of Works suddenly suffered a hysteria at her coming-of-age ceremony, and even the imperial physicians were helpless. Coincidentally, the Marquis of Zhenyuan's family also came to the banquet. The heir, Chu Yiran, only glanced at the young lady's birth chart and concluded: "She is born with the element of Yi wood meeting spring, but she happens to be born in the month of Ding fire. She needs to be regulated by Ren water. If she is near a water source, she can turn misfortune into good fortune."
Not long after, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Works was rescued after falling into the lake, and her hysteria was cured. From then on, Chu Yiran's reputation as a "divine strategist" spread throughout Jinling.
"So it was him!"
"It's that fortune teller from the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion!"
The crowd below the stage began to stir.
"What I want to talk about today is the celestial divination on the day the new emperor entered the city!" Chu Yiran tossed a copper coin aside, his voice suddenly rising, "On that day, I cast a divination on Zhuque Street and saw purple clouds coming from the east, the seven stars aligned, and the four characters 'Heaven's Mandate Returns to Its Glory' appearing in the cracks of the tortoise shell!"
As he spoke, a blinding golden light suddenly shone through the window. Looking up, everyone saw the setting sun shining precisely through the array of bronze mirrors suspended from the tower, the reflected light forming a dragon shape in the clouds. Even more exquisitely, several doves adorned with gold foil kites flew by, their wings scattering a shower of gold dust, like the breath of a golden dragon.
"Look, everyone! Heaven is sending blessings!" Chu Yiran pointed out the window and exclaimed, "His Majesty has quelled the rebellion, cleansed the court of corrupt officials, controlled the floods, and reduced corvée labor. He is truly the hope of the people. Heaven blesses our Southern Jiangsu!"
Everyone listened with rapt attention, and upon seeing this, they all knelt down and shouted in unison, "God bless our Southern Jiangsu! God bless our Southern Jiangsu!"
Chu Yiran clenched his fists, his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat. Only he knew that the so-called "celestial phenomenon" was nothing but a trick to fool people, and the pigeons were trained by Huo Yan and released in advance.
However, if the rumors are allowed to spread, they will only gradually threaten Su Jing's throne. With the current situation uncertain, Chu Yiran has no choice but to lie to appease the people.
Chu Yiran breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked up, he suddenly saw Chu Zhongling standing on the second-floor corridor.
Chu Zhongling stood with his hands behind his back, his face ashen, and his eyes were devoid of any warmth as he looked at him.
"Father……"
Chu Yiran murmured softly.
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