99. Mutton Soup
◎ Emotions seem unusual◎
Chapter 99
The young emperor ascended the throne and changed the reign title to Jingping.
When Ji Kang was in power, he left behind a lot of mess. Now that the young emperor was still young, all the burden fell on Ji Ci.
The previously formulated strategies needed to be abandoned and revamped, requiring a major overhaul of taxation, military deployment, and military personnel positions. The recent rainy season has been heavier than usual, impacting much of the eastern coastal region and destroying farmland. The national treasury is depleted, and a method for raising funds is needed.
Another troubling force was the White Tiger Army, which Ji Kang had seized from the Huo family and was now stationed in Quzhou. The newly appointed Huaihua General of the White Tiger Army was Ji Kang's confidant. It was said that he was so brave and upright that he had once single-handedly challenged twenty men.
But if we just lobby them, it will certainly be difficult to buy them off.
Some people suggested that they should directly behead the White Tiger Army generals, which would surely allow them to seize the military power.
But some people oppose this method, thinking that punishing without any responsibility is no different from Ji Kang.
Ji Ci summoned the six ministries to the Taiji Hall to discuss politics. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the fallen rabbit had lost its light.
The Minister of War stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I have a plan."
"Tell me about it." Ji Ci crossed his arms and leaned forward.
The Minister of War said, "The current White Tiger Army General Gao Xian is deeply loyal to Ji Kang, simply because Ji Kang helped him in his time of need. Although he has a heart as hard as stone, he is also a fierce general of the Great Jin. The Northern Expedition is imminent, and during this critical period, the Great Jin needs the help of such a brave general."
"In my opinion, it would be better to start with Wei Qian, the White Tiger's deputy general. As far as I know, Wei Qian is greedy for money and lustful, and is a mean-spirited person."
"It's difficult for a gentleman, but for a villain, the prince only needs to give him jewelry and beauties, and then promise him the position of commander of the White Tiger Army, so that he can interfere in the army and seize military power through special means."
"Then we can bring this man and Gao Xian to Shengjing, assign a vacant position to Wei Qian, and under the pretext of upholding Gao Xian's prestige, find out his faults and punish him severely. Then the prince will be able to show favor to Gao Xian, not only gaining this powerful general, but also regaining control of this army."
"Combining kindness and severity is a good strategy."
Ji Ci highly approved of the Minister of War's plan and quickly formulated a strategy, sending his men to Quzhou at full speed to bribe Wei Qian.
After finally finishing today's important matters, Ji Ci rushed to the palace without stopping.
He pinched his brows, exhausted, feeling guilty for returning home so late. It had been nearly a month since Jiang Qiuye's last bout with the poison, and he didn't know what would happen this time.
He touched his fingers and suddenly thought of something, and immediately changed the carriage route to the Ministry of Justice.
It was long past curfew and the streets were deserted.
After entering the Ministry of Justice, he found the room where he used to work with ease. After entering, he lit two lamps and looked around.
He stopped in front of the bookcase, gave it a push, and began trying to move it, but he was helpless because it was extremely heavy, and there were many vases and other fragile items on it.
After thinking it over, he finally lay on the ground and reached his hand to the bottom of the bookcase, but the gap was too small and only a few fingers could fit in.
After taking a quick look, he took a wooden ruler from the table beside him and swept it across the gap tentatively. In the end, there was indeed a crisp sound.
After a while, a jade ring finally rolled out, emitting a clear white light under the candlelight.
Looking at the ring, he finally smiled, picked it up and rubbed it in his hand. The leaves on it were delicate and exquisite.
Fortunately, it was intact.
He wiped the dust off with a handkerchief and put it on his thumb. He finally left the Ministry of Justice, got on the carriage, and returned to the palace.
It was already midnight when he arrived. He hadn't seen his wife at the palace gate. He headed towards Guihong Courtyard and saw a faint candlelight in the bedroom, flickering.
He pushed the door open and saw Jiang Qiuye lying on the chaise longue, already asleep. She seemed to have bathed long ago, wearing a thin nightgown, with her black hair hanging down and an open book on her stomach.
He originally thought she was reading another storybook, but when he picked up the book, he found it was a Buddhist scripture, which surprised him.
Jiang Qiuye was awakened by his movement. She rubbed her eyes and hummed again, as if she was not yet fully awake. When she finally saw the person in front of her clearly, she grinned, supported herself on the chaise longue, leaned forward and hugged his waist, curling up softly in his arms.
"My husband is finally back. Ye'er wanted to wait for him, but unexpectedly she fell asleep."
Ji Ci smiled and raised his hand to rub her head. "If you are tired, go to sleep first. No need to wait for me."
He put the Buddhist scriptures aside, hugged her delicate body, and asked curiously, "Why did you think of reading Buddhist scriptures today?"
"These were given to me by the Grand Empress Dowager a long time ago. I've been keeping them in a corner. After all I've been through recently, I wanted to take them out and look at them."
As she spoke, she nudged her head into his arms, causing him to suddenly feel itchy.
He calmed her restless head and asked, "Have you figured out anything?"
Jiang Qiuye raised her head and looked at him, then pouted and shook her head, "I couldn't understand it. I knew every word and sentence, but when they were put together, I didn't understand."
Ji Ci looked at her and thought she was too cute. He chuckled softly, then immediately stopped, "What don't you understand? Let me teach you."
She looked up at the tiredness between his brows, raised her head and stroked his face, feeling reluctant, she said, "Let's forget about it tonight, and wait for next time. Has my husband had dinner yet?"
Ji Ci nodded, and she stood up, opened the door, called Mingyue to add hot water, and then pulled him into the bathroom. Just as she was untying his belt, she suddenly realized that the ring on his finger was put back on.
She looked up in surprise and asked, "Didn't my husband say that the ring was missing?"
"Oh, I found it suddenly later. It had fallen into a corner, but luckily it wasn't broken." After he said that, he touched his nose unconsciously and turned his gaze to the side.
Jiang Qiuye was delighted and took his hand, gently stroking the jade ring. Thinking back to when she had ordered the ring from Jinpin Pavilion, she hadn't felt too much emotion in her heart. She had just used it to create a false alibi for herself and gave it to him as a gift.
But after they got married, she saw him wearing it every day, never taking it off. She seemed to have become a part of the ring, and she felt at ease as long as she was by his side.
She lifted his hand and placed a light kiss on the jade ring. The scent made his fingers itch slightly and feel a little strange.
He entered the tub with her help and asked casually, "Ye'er, how have you been lately? Are you okay?"
"Very well. Why would you ask such a question, my husband?"
"Well, nothing much. I'm just a little worried because I remembered that you suddenly vomited blood and fainted two days before you were imprisoned."
Jiang Qiuye paused holding the handkerchief and shook her head, "Ye'er is fine now, my husband, please don't worry."
"Well, that's good."
Ji Ci didn't turn to look at her, but only stared at the calm surface of the tub, his eyes slightly dim. He had tried to get her to rely on him, so that he could ignore her past, but now, after so much time, she didn't seem to have the slightest sign of confessing to him, which made him feel a little lost.
Maybe she hasn't thought it through yet.
And so many things have happened in the past few days. She has been running around for him. It would be good for her to have some quiet rest for a while.
Since he said to give her time, he shouldn't rush her.
Jiang Qiuye lowered his head, hiding the emotions in his eyes. While thinking about the decision he had made during these days, he thought of the final antidote that Yan Wu had mentioned.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Is there really no way to have the best of both worlds?
She absentmindedly served him and by the time she lay down on the bed it was past midnight. Both of them were exhausted and just cuddled together, not doing anything extra.
Ji Ci seemed to fall asleep quickly, his breathing gradually becoming calmer, but Jiang Qiuye did not sleep all night.
The small medicine bottle and the gold anklet were still hidden in the pillow she used.
In the following days, she always had nothing to do, and later began to copy the Buddhist scriptures given to her by the Empress Dowager.
She didn't quite understand every word and sentence in it, nor could she figure out any profound meaning, but she found that focusing on copying could gradually calm her mind and allow her to rethink Yan Wu's words.
Hearing that the north was ready to make a move, the State of Jin was gathering troops to the northern border. Although the war had not yet begun, the panic among the people could be felt.
As Qiu Ying's due date approached, she was ordered to stay at the Duke of Anguo's mansion all day, not leaving the main entrance or the secondary entrance. During this time, Jiang Qiuye brought Mingyue's tiger-head hat to the mansion. Seeing her swollen belly, he felt a surge of anxiety, even causing Qiu Ying to laugh.
Upon returning to Prince Qi's residence, he heard reports of a battle from the north: the Li army, with 50,000 troops each, was attacking the cities of Huaixi and Nanyang. Fortunately, the Jin state had been well prepared, and its border garrisons responded promptly. Zhou Chengwu was reappointed as the General of Eternal Power and assigned to lead 30,000 troops in the vanguard to support Huaixi.
At the same time, Jiang Qiuye received a secret letter from Concubine Shu. It seemed that she had contacted Yan Wuyi. As the war was getting tense, she became increasingly impatient and began to press for the Shengjing city defense map.
After burning the secret letter, Jiang Qiuye finally made the final decision.
That night, news reached the palace that Ji Ci had returned early. Since the start of the war, he had become increasingly busy, and each time he returned home, it was close to midnight.
After a long time, Jiang Qiuye finally went into the kitchen again since the death of the previous emperor and made the same bowl of aconite and mutton soup that he had made when he was in the Ministry of Justice.
It was almost nightfall, but the weather was still a little hot. She casually changed into a pink dress and did not make any extra dressing up. She just stood at the gate of the palace and waited quietly for his return.
Watching the carriage in the distance slowly stop in front of her, as soon as Ji Ci got off the carriage, she couldn't help but rush over and hug him. The familiar scent of bergamot entered her nose again, light and elegant.
"Husband, why are you back so early today?"
Ji Ci frowned slightly after hearing this and reached out to scratch the tip of her nose. "Why, aren't you happy that your husband is back?"
He keenly noticed that her mood seemed unusual today, but he couldn't tell why.
In recent days, especially after the war with the north, the number of secret guards sent to watch her has doubled, but the daily reports did not show that she had done anything suspicious.
Besides spending her days copying Buddhist scriptures in the palace, she would occasionally dine with the Grand Empress Dowager in Anhe Garden. To outsiders, this seemed like a truly benevolent and filial act. But Ji Ci knew that during this period, Feiyan Pavilion must be making some move, assigning her additional tasks, though she didn't know what they were.
He had not been able to return to the palace for meals for many days, so Jiang Qiuye pulled him directly back to Guihong Courtyard and sat him down at the dining table in the dining hall. The table was filled with delicacies from land and sea that the chef had prepared all afternoon, as well as a bowl of mutton soup that she had made herself.
"My husband has finally come home for dinner, so I must eat more tonight."
She first served him the dishes, then poured out a bowl of mutton soup for each of them and pushed it in front of him.
Ji Ci picked up the spoon and stirred it, sighing, "It's been a long time since I last had this mutton soup. Every time I see it, I always think of the scenes in the Ministry of Justice."
"Yeah, I didn't expect that after so much time, everything is still so vivid in my mind, as if it happened yesterday." Jiang Qiuye smiled and drank the mutton soup in front of her first. The bowl of soup hid the strange look in her eyes. After putting the bowl down, she licked the corner of her lips and glanced at him secretly, "Husband, drink it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
Ji Ci narrowed his eyes and looked quietly at the smile on her face that was no different from usual, then looked at the empty small silver bowl in front of her, and finally slowly picked up the mutton soup and drank it down.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
