Chapter 24 Taking His First Stumbling Steps The Emperor is right, the Regent is a real...
The lakeside is shaded by willow trees, and in the warm summer breeze, clusters of drooping green willow branches ripple like fish scales on the lake surface.
Along with the rippling water came the boy's sobbing.
Emperor Shang possessed countless peach blossoms and green willows, and worked diligently to cultivate them every night, but only one fruit was produced.
In the vast palace, the young emperor's cries were as distinct as the chirping of cicadas in autumn.
Lin Sizhou frowned. He looked up in the direction of the crying, but a row of lush willows on the opposite shore of the lake blocked his view.
"Could it be that His Majesty was injured in the Imperial Garden? He's been crying for so long, I wonder if the Empress Dowager is by his side?"
Lin Sizhou didn't care much about the young emperor's life or death, but at this critical juncture when the two vassal kings were about to enter the capital, if the young emperor were injured, wouldn't that give the regent something to talk about?
During the conversation, the little emperor's crying did not subside; on the contrary, it grew louder, as if he had suffered a great injustice and was wailing at the top of his lungs.
Pei Muwei gazed silently at the opposite shore with his deep eyes. Lotus leaves floated gently in the center of the lake, and the blooming lotus flowers revealed their pale pink stamens. A delicate and elegant fragrance of flowers wafted in the air.
Although I couldn't see the scenery across the way, that familiar, sweet fragrance seemed to mingle with the scent of lotus flowers, drifting into my nose on the gentle warm breeze.
The image of the woman's slender waist, her moist and rosy lips, and her watery eyes, more shimmering than the color of a lake, gradually appeared in his mind.
Pei Muwei loosened his long finger from the jade thumb ring and said calmly, "Let's go take a look."
Lin Sizhou was slightly taken aback. When he came to his senses, the man had already strode onto the waterside corridor. He quickly regained his composure and followed him.
Beneath the hexagonal pavilion, Chu Yueyuan sat comfortably in a purple bamboo rocking chair, holding an ivory palace fan. In front of her was a table covered with ivy, on which sat a plate of brightly colored cherries.
The woman's slender, jade-like fingers picked up an agate cherry, put it in her mouth and took a bite. Her full lips became even more rosy under the cherry juice, and her slightly upturned peach blossom eyes narrowed with satisfaction.
Ten feet away from the pavilion, Xiao Yun was still sitting on the ground wailing. The Shu brocade round-necked robe he had just changed into that morning was now wrinkled and rumpled, his knees were covered in mud, his little face was redder than a cherry from crying, and the tuft of hair hanging down his head was soaked with sweat.
Seeing Chu Yueyuan enjoying her cherries, Xiao Yun's wailing gradually subsided.
He watched longingly as the woman ate her fifth cherry, swallowed hard, and pleaded pitifully, "Mother, I want to eat cherries too."
Chu Yueyuan slowly waved her ivory palace fan, her wisps of hair swaying gently in the breeze. She slowly extended her hand, revealing a large, bright red cherry in her palm, and smiled sweetly:
"Your Majesty, come and take it yourself."
Xiao Yun's eyebrows immediately drooped, her lips curled up, and her rosy cheeks began to twitch. The next moment, she opened her mouth wide and wailed in a heart-wrenching wail: "Waaah... Mother is a bad person, even worse than the Regent... a... really bad... person!"
Behind the craggy artificial hill, Lin Sizhou saw a scene not far away, his expression grave.
For these newly rich who support the regent, the more useless the young emperor on the dragon throne is, the more disgraceful the old officials in the court become.
At an age when other children are already running, the young emperor couldn't even walk, leading his officials to wonder if the dragon prince born from the emperor's consumption of elixirs and talismanic water might be a weak-legged dragon unable to fly.
In comparison, the direct line of the royal family becomes insignificant, and the upright, strong, and vigorous regent is clearly more in line with the true dragon-like demeanor of a monarch.
At this very moment, the young empress dowager seemed to be possessed by Mencius' mother, secretly training the young emperor to walk independently in the palace, clearly intending to make the young emperor proud in front of all the officials when the two vassal kings came to the capital.
Could it be that the young empress dowager received some expert advice and wanted to gain the support of the stubborn old officials in the court by relying on the young emperor, so as to compete with the regent?
Could the Shen family be the ones who are supporting the young empress dowager?
Lin Sizhou felt a chill run down his spine and quickly informed the Regent of what he had recently discovered.
"Your Highness, during the Privy Council's surveillance of the Phoenix Perch Palace, they discovered that Xiao Yanzi of the Inner Palace Bureau is acting suspiciously. Every first and fifteenth of the month, he leaves the palace under the guise of procurement and secretly goes to the Ink Fragrance Residence. In about three days, a new story by the popular storyteller 'Jade Steps Immortal' will appear in the capital..."
Lin Sizhou, being astute, quickly noticed the oddity of the matter and sent his subordinates to purchase a storybook written by the Jade Immortal at a high price.
He stayed up for three days and three nights to finish reading it, and was surprised to find that although the story was a fabrication of secrets from the previous dynasty's court, the chief minister Pei, who forcibly took the Consort Chu in the story, revealed the shadow of the regent in every aspect, from his appearance to his words and actions.
Moreover, the brilliant and upright scholar in the storybook is quite similar to the Imperial Censor Shen in the court.
"I am truly surprised that such a shrewd and worldly man as Heng Tingsi has a relationship with the Empress Dowager. Back then, when the Prince wanted to recruit him, he was always turned down by Heng Tingsi."
The influence of Moxiangju in the literary world of the capital was immense. The Empress Dowager's slander of the Regent's reputation in her romantic tales infuriated Lin Sizhou.
This move is not only shameless, but also extremely lethal!
Rumors are now circulating in the court that the Regent Prince's late-night handling of state affairs in the Hall of Diligent Governance is just a pretext, and that he is actually having an affair with the Empress Dowager.
Lin Sizhou, a former subordinate who had followed the Regent since the Northern Court, knew exactly how clean-living the Regent was.
The prince was indifferent to women, as aloof as the moon in the clouds or the snow on the mountain peak. He was a transcendent being, a banished immortal. How could he possibly use coercive methods on a young widow?
As Lin Sizhou was fuming, he suddenly heard a man's cold voice: "You said that in the novels written by the Empress Dowager, besides Chief Minister Pei, there are other men?"
Lin Sizhou, with his keen senses, picked up on the displeasure in the man's tone, and quickly replied in detail:
"What I have said is absolutely true. Apart from Chief Minister Pei, the top scholar in the storybooks is quite similar to Shen Zizhan, the eldest son of the Duke of Shen. As for the other ruler of Beiming, I am still investigating those whose characteristics match his..."
Pei Muwei did not ask any further questions. He stood with his hands behind his back, his dark eyes following the woman's every move in the pavilion. He saw the young empress dowager hand the cherries in her hand to the handsome imperial physician beside her.
Unlike the woman who feigned composure in the Hall of Diligent Governance, the young empress dowager was relaxed at this moment, her smile as delicate as a flower blooming in the spring breeze, exuding leisure and comfort.
The man unconsciously lowered his eyebrows, pursed his thin lips, and slowly ran his fingertips over the fading scar on the back of his hand.
Outside the pavilion, Xiao Yun's tears flowed like a continuous river.
Seeing Xiao Yun weeping bitterly, Granny Xu felt a pang of pity and offered words of comfort as she poured tea for him:
"Your Majesty, the Emperor is still young. If he can't learn it today, there's always tomorrow. It's not worth ruining his health by crying in this hot weather."
Chu Yueyuan frowned slightly and shook her head: "Granny, you are mistaken. If we give up so easily, the Emperor will know that he can solve any difficulties he encounters in the future by crying and wailing."
Let's try one more moment.
Although she spoke coldly, she still ordered Imperial Physician Zhao to check on Xiao Yun's condition. After learning that he was alright, she fed him a few sips of warm water.
Chu Yueyuan put down her ivory fan, gave Xu Mama a look, and deliberately raised her voice: "Yun'er, Mother not only has cherries here, but also sweet and soft Xue Su Shan."
With cooperation, Granny Xu opened the carved lacquer food box and took out a bowl of Snow Crisp Mountain, which was emitting a wisp of cool air and was decorated with a few bright red cherries on top.
Chu Yueyuan took the silver spoon from Jin Tong and muttered to herself, "Sigh... this Snow Crisp Mountain is afraid of hot weather. It will melt into sweet water in no time and the taste will not be good. Before it melts, I will try it first."
"Mother!"
Xiao Yun struggled to open his swollen eyelids, which resembled two walnuts, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light: "Mother, I want to eat too..."
Chu Yueyuan put down the silver spoon in her hand, her gaze gentle, and encouraged, "Yun'er, try standing up again and walking over to eat by yourself."
Xiao Yun pouted as if to cry, but then heard the woman say softly, "The snow melts quickly. The longer Your Majesty lingers, the smaller it will melt. If Your Majesty keeps lying on the ground and can't get up, you can drink a few sips of sweet water to your heart's content."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yun immediately raised his head and looked eagerly at the snow mountain in the glass cup. Just as his mother had said, the white snow mountain seemed to be a little shorter than before!
In her anxiety, Xiao Yun forgot about crying and wailing. She put her hands on the ground, stuck out her little bottom, and then stood up unsteadily.
He tried to take a small, shuffling step forward, then another small step, worried that the snow mountain pastry would melt, and then he looked up anxiously, his body swaying from side to side.
"Yoona is amazing, she's almost halfway there!"
Chu Yueyuan beamed and led the applause. The palace servants beside her quickly followed suit, not only showing expressions of amazement but also clapping and praising the emperor for his swift movements. They hadn't even had time to react before he was already walking into the pavilion!
Xiao Yun felt smug from being praised by everyone, and his whole body was filled with energy, making his steps more powerful.
After staggering for about half a cup of tea's time, amidst the sycophantic shouts of the palace servants, Xiao Yun stepped up the stone steps and walked step by step toward the smiling Chu Yueyuan, finally throwing himself into her arms.
"Mother!"
Chu Yueyuan smiled and quickly scooped up a spoonful of Snow Crisp Mountain and personally fed it to Xiao Yun.
Is it sweet?
"sweet!"
Chu Yueyuan wiped the sweat from Xiao Yun's forehead with a silk handkerchief, then carefully cleaned his dusty little hands, and said with a smile, "Eat quickly, there is ice under the glass cup to keep it chilled, it tastes just right for Your Majesty to eat at this time."
Xiao Yun rubbed his rosy cheeks against the woman's hand, a hint of guilt in his eyes, and said in a childish voice, "Mother, I shouldn't have called you a bad guy."
He paused, then added, "Only the Regent is the bad guy!"
Chu Yueyuan was slightly taken aback. Perhaps it was because Xu Mama and Jin Tong had deliberately avoided mentioning the Regent in front of her these past few days, but now, upon suddenly hearing Xiao Yun mention this person, Chu Yueyuan actually smelled a faint sandalwood scent in the pavilion where a gentle breeze was blowing through.
She instinctively wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Although she did not meet the Regent after the Flower Festival banquet, she gradually overcame the shame in her heart.
However, having one's body seen for no reason, one can only swallow one's anger in the end.
Chu Yueyuan patted Xiao Yun's chubby little hand, her bright, watery eyes curving slightly, and nodded affirmatively:
"The Emperor is right, the Regent is a big villain!"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Tomorrow is the VIP chapter, and I'll be posting a long, 10,000-word chapter. There will be a "recovery bonus" (or "heartfelt reward") in the chapter, so remember to leave a comment! [heart emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com