Chapter 134, Chapter 134: Shock, Chapter 134: Shock...
Chapter 134 Shock
The common people are always very interested in romantic tales, especially those of the royal family. It is well known that the current emperor has not established an empress, and only six women serve him in the harem. Compared to the previous emperor, this is truly a restraint.
But precisely because there were so few people, the common people only vaguely knew the identities of those six people, and thus paid more attention to who among them was more favored.
“They are all men, so it’s not fair to say they are favored,” muttered an elderly-looking student.
“Why not? Aren’t they the Emperor’s concubines? Since they are concubines, then for them, gaining the Emperor’s favor is something they must do for the rest of their lives!” Someone shut down the old scholar’s words.
Yes, they were all in the Emperor's harem. For them, the most important thing in life was to win the Emperor's favor and gain his affection. In the harem, if one didn't gain favor, what was the point of entering the palace? If one didn't want favor, what was the point of entering? The Emperor had plenty of women he liked; he wouldn't force anyone.
As for claiming the Emperor is a woman, that's utter nonsense. The Emperor is the Emperor, and it has nothing to do with whether she's a man or a woman. She's the Emperor; to still consider her a woman is simply insane. Besides, the current Emperor is diligent and hardworking; since her ascension, the Great Zhou Dynasty is far better off than before. The people aren't blind or unable to see for themselves.
For them, whether the person sitting on the throne was male or female was completely unimportant; as long as they, the common people, could live a good life, that was enough. It was precisely for this reason that the common people paid no attention to the words of those so-called learned men. As for their interest in the affairs of the harem, it was simply a matter of being interested in romantic tales, just as it had been when the late emperor was alive.
The current emperor has never made an exception for any of the men in the harem. Now that she has issued such a strange decree, the people can't help but wonder if something happened to one of the noble ladies in the harem, which is why this decree was issued.
Did the emperor know what the people of the capital were saying? Of course she did, but she didn't care. How could anyone live in this world without being talked about? She was the emperor, so she was probably the one most talked about, and she was well aware of that.
However, the matter of poppies could not be taken lightly. If the people did not take it seriously and paid lip service to it, then the original purpose would not be achieved. Therefore, the emperor ordered that the people be made to witness the power of poppies at the execution ground in Caishikou at noon the next day.
Not only that, she had a condemned prisoner dragged from the death row and fed him opium, wanting the people of Kyoto to see him suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Only by facing fear can one develop reverence.
Upon hearing the emperor's order, Linghao suddenly remembered something. "Oh no, I forgot!" she exclaimed, looking as if the sky had fallen.
"What's wrong?" Gongzi Yu was the first to reach Ling Hao's side. He looked at her with concern. "What happened?"
"I forgot to tell Master Shen to remember to destroy the sea of flowers at Shi Guanyin's place." Linghao was filled with regret at the thought. "It would be bad if those flowers spilled out." How could she have forgotten?
Ling Hao really felt that she had traded a portion of her brainpower for her fighting skills; otherwise, how could she forget such important things? Ugh, I'm so angry.
Gongzi Yu was surprised by this answer, and he immediately smiled, "It's alright, we'll just write a letter to our master right away and ask him for help."
"Is it still possible to catch up?" Ling Hao asked with some doubt. Several days had passed since Shen Lang left, and he had been riding at breakneck speed towards the desert. Could the pigeons possibly make it?
“If pigeons can’t catch up, then we’ll use a hawk.” Gongzi Yu pulled Ling Hao’s hand. “Shici has a hawk. Although it’s free-range, it has never failed to deliver messages.”
Ling Hao's eyes widened in surprise. "Shici keeps an eagle?" She had no idea before.
"Yes." Gongzi Yu nodded. "Shici likes quite a lot of things." Besides people, Shici likes many actions; besides work, Shici likes to do many things. Raising an eagle isn't a big deal, since the eagle hunts on its own after it grows up.
Linghao was quite excited. "Can I see that eagle?"
“You should ask about poetry,” said Gongzi Yu.
"That's natural."
It was just a hawk, nothing serious, and Shici immediately called her hawk back.
Ling Hao's eyes lit up when she saw the eagle; its feathers were glossy and its demeanor was arrogant—it looked like a powerful eagle. She didn't reach out to touch its feathers, though she really wanted to. She just glanced at it a couple more times before entrusting the eagle with her message.
She watched the eagle's departing shadow, watching it until it disappeared completely, and then she took a few more glances.
Seeing this, Gongzi Yu said, "Since Ahao likes them, why don't we raise one too?"
"No." Ling Hao was clearly tempted, but she still shook her head and refused. "I can support myself, I won't take care of anything else. I'm worried that I can't afford to take on a life, so I'd better not."
She certainly loved the pitiful, fluffy creatures, and she loved the feathered ones flying around in the sky, but she was even more afraid of taking on the responsibility for the entire life of a little life. The thought that if she adopted a cat, she would have to be responsible for everything about it, including the future of that little life, made her hesitate.
Therefore, she doesn't plan to keep any pets, not even her favorite eagle.
Seeing that Linghao really didn't want it, Gongzi Yu nodded and said, "Alright, we won't keep it." He wouldn't give her one just to surprise her; she had clearly refused. If he insisted on giving it to her, then it would be his fault.
“However, the royal family has a zoo with animals of all sizes. Ah Hao, why don’t we go take a look?” Gongzi Yu said again. They just wanted to look; they wouldn’t keep any animals. “My men have already searched the entire capital, and there is indeed no trace of Shi Guanyin. She is no longer in the capital. In that case, we don’t need to guard the house all the time.”
"That's good." Ling Hao nodded. "So when shall we go?"
"Why not seize the day?" said Gongzi Yu.
"Not going to Caishikou?"
"Is Ah-Hao going?"
“No.” Ling Hao shook her head. “I’ve seen too many of those kinds of images. I don’t want to watch any more.” When she was in school, the school used cartoons for anti-drug propaganda. She didn’t know when it started changing, but it seemed like it was being promoted like that without her even realizing it.
However, her parents felt that wasn't enough. When they were in school, the anti-drug propaganda they saw consisted of real photos and videos. They believed that the resulting shock and fear, which instilled a sense of distance, was far more powerful than cartoons. So, they showed their daughter the photos and videos they had collected.
Ling Hao's parents' plan was successful, except that their precious daughter was so frightened that she was afraid to sleep alone for several nights. After that, Ling Hao always kept her distance from drugs and despised them. Even though she was grown up, those images still left a deep impression on her.
She's grown up now, and the memory no longer evokes horror or fear, but it's still vivid in her mind.
"In that case, let's go." Gongzi Yu took Ling Hao's hand and walked out. They finally had time to spend together, and he wouldn't miss a single moment.
The Beast Garden isn't located within the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, but rather outside the city. This is understandable, given that the Beast Garden is quite large; placing it within the Imperial Palace would be inappropriate.
Ling Hao looked around and touched every furry creature she could. However, she was a little curious. "The Emperor doesn't seem like the kind of person who would build this animal park." Based on her understanding of the Emperor, building an animal park would be like stabbing his stingy heart in the back; he wouldn't be willing to spend that kind of money.
Gongzi Yu immediately understood Ling Hao's implication and said with a smile, "Indeed, this beast garden was ordered to be built by the late emperor, and my sister did not agree to it at the time."
However, even if the emperor, who was still the crown prince at the time, disagreed, it wouldn't matter, because she wasn't yet the emperor. Most importantly, this happened while she was out supervising the repair of the Yellow River dikes. It was a calculated move by the late emperor; if she dared to interfere, he would withhold the funds allocated for the dike repairs.
He didn't need to say it; she understood perfectly well. Not only the late emperor, but also members of the imperial clan at the time, had hindered her actions, even resorting to various atrocities. This was one of the reasons why the emperor, after ascending the throne, launched a massive purge of the imperial clan.
"So now this animal enclosure..."
"This place is still under the jurisdiction of the royal family, but it's not just royal children who can enter," Gongzi Yu explained with a smile. "This beast garden only receives ten people a day. As long as you pay for a token, you can come in and take a look. As for the silver, 60% goes to the national treasury, and the rest goes to my sister's private treasury."
He remembered his elder sister saying she needed to save money to marry her sweetheart, but she was just talking nonsense; she didn't actually have a sweetheart. The women in the harem were just there to make her happy; if she wasn't happy, she wouldn't even acknowledge them.
Gongzi Yu knew exactly what the money was for.
Good heavens, the emperor has become a zookeeper, starting to make money by selling tickets. Ling Hao was utterly astonished. "Really making money?" She was increasingly surprised by this emperor. Because this emperor was truly unlike an emperor; there were just too many surprising things about him.
However, Linghao likes this kind of emperor because he is a humane emperor who cares about ordinary people.
"The Iron-Eating Beast is just ahead. It's big and clumsy, we'd better not go..."
"What? A giant panda!?" Ling Hao grabbed Gongzi Yu's hand and ran wildly in the direction he had pointed. "Quick, let's go see!" That's a giant panda! Maybe she can even touch it. Oh my god, just thinking about it makes me excited.
"You... Gong Jiu?" When the two arrived at the Iron-Eating Beast Garden, the first thing they saw was not the giant panda, but Gong Jiu dressed in white.
"What are you doing here?" Gongzi Yu couldn't bring himself to give this person a friendly look.
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