Chapter 2 Extra Chapter 1: The Daily Life of the Third Year of the Full Moon in Zhangming
In the Yanqin Palace of Jiaofang, the last lamp of the Feathered Man was extinguished.
The moonlight streamed in, illuminating the water clock dripping from the bronze vessel; it was already time for people to settle down.
The maid on night watch dozed off against the wall, and the palace fell silent, so quiet that one could hear the chirping of insects and grass.
Lin Yuan heard Chang Yu push open the door and come in to serve tea, his footsteps rustling on the carpet.
"Ah Sheng, leave it there and go downstairs."
After a long while, no sound of cups falling onto the table was heard.
"Go and rest," she said, turning over.
"Um."
The voice was gentle and cheerful.
The curtains swayed gently.
A shimmering silver light came into view.
Lin Yuan got up barefoot and found herself in a gentle embrace.
"I thought it was Ah Sheng..."
"I stopped her outside." Xiao Xun hugged her and spun her around twice.
Lin Yuan's nightgown was thin and light, the fine gauze trailing on the ground, and she hooked her arm around his neck: "Didn't His Majesty say in his letter that it would take at least two days to arrive in Chang'an?"
"I couldn't wait. I came back first."
He was still wearing his military uniform, with a jade belt and white robe.
On the day of the Autumn Equinox, the emperor visited Ganquan and offered sacrifices at the Five Altars. Afterwards, accompanied by the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Imperial Academy, he toured Taiyuan and Youbeiping counties from Shangjun.
The governor of Taiyuan Prefecture has been in office for three years. The previous governor colluded with the Prince of Yan and Su Dan, and failed to resist the Prince of Yan's rebellion, for which he was convicted and executed.
Youbeiping Commandery had been established for three years. In the fifth month of summer in the third year of Zhangming (1468), the Wuhuan people of Liaodong rebelled. The governor of Youbeiping Commandery dispatched two thousand cavalry to attack them, achieving a great victory and capturing several thousand enemy heads. As a result, the governor of Youbeiping Commandery was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yiyang.
Now that we have returned to Weiyang Palace, it is already the ninth month of autumn.
The night was getting chilly, so he put Lin Yuan back into the brocade quilt.
Has His Majesty visited the Hanguang Pavilion?
"No rush." Xiao Xun leaned down beside the couch. "I want to see you first."
He observed very carefully.
The eyes, lips, and tongue became brushes, meticulously depicting the scene inch by inch, painting with exquisite detail, leaving no detail untouched.
"Ouch, that hurts."
The belt and jade pendant were stuck to Lin Yuan's body.
He took off his clothes himself.
Without relying on anyone else, the golden crown entangled her black hair, and the white jade leather belt hooked onto the sash of the curtain.
The pearls and jade trembled slightly, jingling softly.
Lin Yuan chuckled at his anxious look.
Seeing that she only smiled and didn't move, Xiao Xun called out "Madam" and then "Qingqing". Finally, he got anxious and called out "My good wife".
Lin Yuan stretched out her hand, her fingers landing on the dragon head of the jade belt hook. Instead of untying it, she circled it around: "Your Majesty has been away for so long, has all you learned is these rustic sayings from the countryside?"
"That's not all." He smiled, guiding Lin Yuan's hand to his waist. "I've also learned some moves from rough country folk."
"Is it a sword technique?" Lin Yuan asked, confused.
"Want to know?" He leaned down, his jade belt bumping against the foot of the couch.
A sob came from beside me.
It faintly reached my ears.
The sobs continued.
His kiss stopped on Lin Yuan's neck.
The window leaked, letting in the wind from the passageway.
The Crown Prince was still young and lived with his tutor in the Han Guang Pavilion, the east side hall of the Jiao Fang Palace.
"Could it be a nightmare?" The moisture in Lin Yuan's eyes gradually disappeared.
"Don't worry, there are so many palace servants around." Xiao Xun kept her pinned beneath him.
He sighed softly, "Tell me, why is this child so troublesome? If we had a daughter, would she be just like you?"
His eyes crinkled into a smile, and then he teased, "Ah Yuan, what do you say, okay?"
“My mother said I was a very mischievous child. I climbed trees, caught insects, played with cats, teased dogs, and did everything the neighborhood kids did. I even got into fights. I would climb trees that were several meters high, and only when I got to the top did I realize how scary it was. Luckily, my older brother saved me.”
"That's wonderful. A young lady should be lively." Xiao Xun quickly changed his tune, leaning down and blowing away a strand of hair from Lin Yuan's temple.
The baby's cries had subsided and faded away.
"The technique I learned from Yan is... a wonderful way to give birth to a baby girl."
"No! No good!"
The crisp sound made Xiao Xun's heart skip a beat.
The Jiaofang Palace was deep, spacious, and quiet.
A series of clattering footsteps followed, accompanied by the rustling of several people's skirts.
"Your Highness, it is late. The Empress has already retired for the night. We must not disturb her..."
"No, I want my mother, I want to sleep with my mother!"
Xiao Jun, true to his name, pounded his fist on the door of the Yanqin Palace, a blow that also struck Xiao Xun's heart with immense weight.
Xiao Xun's arm rested on Lin Yuan's shoulder, and slowly, the veins on his arm bulged.
He deeply regretted choosing such a name.
"Ah Yan, wait a minute."
Lin Yuan gave her child the nickname Ayan.
As soon as she finished speaking, she tried to put on her clothes and get up.
"No. It's chilly outside, I'll go."
Xiao Xun pulled the brocade quilt over her, then got up and silently picked up her robe from under the bed.
Seeing his pale face, Lin Yuan tugged at the hem of his robe and whispered, "Ayan is still young. It's not appropriate to scold or beat him."
"She's already three years old (by Chinese reckoning), she's not a child anymore, she should know proper manners and etiquette."
Lin Yuan watched as he walked wearily toward his crown prince, his face filled with resentment.
She couldn't help but chuckle.
Since the end of the first year of Zhangming, Lin Yuan's heart has always been shrouded in a faint sorrow.
"Your Majesty, starting from March of the fifth year of Jinghe, well, counting from April, it's been more than half a year. Do you think it might be..."
One day, after the rain had stopped, her face flushed, she bit her lip, looked sadly at her flat stomach, and finally revealed her feelings.
Xiao Xun was startled, then breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, the Imperial Physician had previously said that her cold ailment would require years of recuperation to heal, and if she were to carry a child for ten months, the child would compete with the mother for her vital energy, potentially endangering her life. Therefore, he ordered the Imperial Physician to prepare a contraceptive decoction.
It was rare for a man to avoid having children, and it was also important not to harm his health. During those days, Hua Ren's hair, which was tied in a black cloth crown, visibly thinned out considerably.
Xiao Xun held her in his arms, carefully choosing his words, not wanting her to be saddened by the fact that her illness would make it difficult for her to bear children. He heard her ask with tears in her eyes, "Is Your Majesty's health really...?"
"..."
"It's because of my poor health and lack of effort that I've caused the Empress worry."
Xiao Xun readily admitted it and pressed his body against her again.
She later wrapped her arms around Xiao Xun's neck and whispered in his ear, "When we were in Huaiyang, He Ji prescribed some kind of medicine that was supposed to warm the body and dispel cold. He said he had searched high and low and thoroughly researched medical texts to find it. The medicine was sweet and not hard to drink, so I used it like regular tea."
"This winter, I don't feel as cold as last year."
She remembered the day she gave birth to A-Yan. Her face was wet with sweat, and Xiao Xun rushed in from outside the Jiaofang Palace when he heard A-Yan's first cry.
His face was also wet, covered in tears.
Lin Yuan wanted to reach out and wipe away his tears, but Xiao Xun held her hand, making it impossible for her to move, as she was already exhausted. She could only smile and say, "Your Majesty, please hold back your tears. If you see the child's face, you will probably cry even more."
Fortunately, as she grew up, Lin Yuan blossomed into a graceful young woman.
"And what about your brother?" Lin Yuan asked with great interest, eager to hear about her brother's embarrassing moments.
"Your brother..." Madam Qin smiled, "They say a nephew resembles his uncle. You'll see soon enough, won't you?"
She only vaguely saw a shadowy figure of what A-Yan looked like before Xiao Xun's face filled her vision.
When the wet nurse cleaned the baby and brought the child in again, she burst into tears.
The tiny baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, slept peacefully. His skin was fair, like a rice dumpling. In the autumn twilight, the sunset painted the sky with golden hues, filtering through the windows and framing the downy hair on his little face.
The Grand Historian wrote: On this day, the Crown Prince was born. Golden light filled the room, and a dragon emerged from the west.
Ayan was made crown prince when he was a month old.
Xiao Xun granted a general amnesty, bestowed titles upon the people, and sent messengers to bestow silk and millet upon the elders and those of filial piety in various prefectures and kingdoms.
Meanwhile, the He family medical clinic, far away in Huaiyang, received five thousand taels of gold out of nowhere.
Xiao Xun searched through the classics, summoned dozens of learned scholars from the Imperial Academy in the Southern Garden, and even invited the old scholar Cheng Xuanzhi, who had been living in seclusion in the Western Mountains for many years, to come out. Finally, he personally named the Crown Prince "Jun".
The term "钧" (jun) refers to the principle by which a sage king governs the world, much like the turning of a lever in crafting a vessel. ①
Two-year-old Ayan wasn't so composed. He couldn't get through the door and was as anxious as a millstone turning in a wheel.
The door opened.
Ah Yan waited outside with her big, round eyes, glistening with tears. Just one glance was enough to melt anyone's heart.
The person who came out was not my mother.
He turned his head and stared at the person opposite him who looked angry for a long time.
After not seeing him for nearly three months, his eyes lit up, and he rubbed them in disbelief.
The man opposite him had a livid face, quite different from his father who had carried him on horseback three months ago to see bears and wrestle.
He hesitated, unsure, and dared not approach.
Xiao Xun's voice was cold and hard as he raised his arm, "Come here."
He pulled Ayan into his arms. Before striding out of the Yan dormitory, he didn't forget to say to Lin Yuan through the screen, "You sleep."
Inside the Zichen Pavilion.
"Tell me, why are you looking for your mother?" Xiao Xun asked, his face ashen.
The young prince looked at him in confusion and said in detail, "Because Ayan likes Mother."
Xiao Xun suddenly froze.
Once that soft body was in his arms, his anger had already subsided by more than half.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Do you know? Father also loves Mother. You've had Mother's affections during the day, but now that night has fallen, how about giving Mother to Father?"
Ah Yan is precocious; like a little adult, she pondered for a moment and nodded.
Xiao Xun was relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to take his hand and hand him over to Madam Fu, who had been waiting at the door for a long time.
Ah Yan wrinkled his nose, took short strides, and ran towards the bed in the bedroom, calling out, "Mother...!"
Xiao Xun reached out and pulled him back.
Ayan kicked his legs in the air: "But, but, Ayan likes Mother during the day and likes Mother at night!"
...
"You know what? It feels like I played the piano for a cow all night long."
As dawn broke, Xiao Xun, his voice hoarse, collapsed onto the bed.
Only then did he realize that the bed curtains were half-rolled up, quietly waiting for his return.
Turning his head, he watched the daylight shine through the glass screen, leaping from Lin Yuan's eyebrows and eyelashes to the tip of her nose, and then to the top of her lips.
She slept soundly, her breath as sweet as orchids.
On the other side, on his right arm, lay a small figure resembling a jade child.
While reading the words of the sages in the Zichen Pavilion, when he came to the passage where Zengzi said that a filial son should "please their hearts and not go against their wishes, please their ears and eyes, and make their sleeping quarters comfortable,"② Ayan fell asleep on his lap.
He wanted the wet nurse to take him away, but then he saw a small hand tightly gripping his belt.
The belt was embroidered with three bright red plum blossoms under the rising sun.
The next day.
Moonlight flickered between the curtains of the Jiaofang Palace.
"Today, Ah Yan has finally become sensible and is willing to give you to his father."
Xiao Xun chuckled, quite pleased with the initial success of the etiquette he had taught yesterday.
Lin Yuan smiled and flattered, "It's all thanks to Father's good teaching."
On this fine day, she instructed her wet nurse and palace servants to take Ayan to Jianzhang Palace early in the morning. They chased after raccoons, caught crickets, climbed the swing set, and she even had the Imperial Guards Captain lead him in wielding a bamboo sword for most of the day.
By dusk, A-Yan was so exhausted that he could no longer even call out "Mother".
“Ayan is our first son, I know. After all, the eunuchs and servants are outsiders. You are not at ease leaving everything to them, so you do everything yourself. That’s why he relies on you more. He will be fine in a while.”
"Mmm," Lin Yuan replied obediently. It would be better if she grew a little older.
"So, what do you think of what we talked about yesterday, young lady?..."
He brushed the stray hairs from her forehead, his breath brushing against her neck.
"Ah... um."
Lin Yuan's face gradually turned red, and her voice seemed to come down from the highest heavens.
A small, childlike voice echoed through the clouds.
During the day, she asked Ayan what her father had said to her last night.
Ah Yan held up two fingers: "Father told Ah Yan that Ah Yan has liked Mother for two years, but Father has liked Mother for six years."
Ah Yan frowned, her voice tinged with frustration. She couldn't count six on one hand, so she couldn't possibly calculate how much more six was than two: "It's many, many, many more years, many, many, many more days, and nights..."
It will be fine in a few days.
Xiao Xun smiled as he looked at her damp hair and the blush on her face.
Half a month ago, in Youbeiping County.
Xiao Xun and Lin Yu inspected the border garrison and then had a horse race on the grasslands south of the Great Wall.
After they had finished enjoying themselves, they rode side by side, chatting about the gains and losses of the prefecture.
Xiao Xun suddenly spoke up: "I want you to be the Crown Prince's tutor, to assist the Crown Prince. You are the Crown Prince's uncle, you won't refuse, will you?"
Lin Yu hesitated: "The Crown Prince is not even three years old."
Xiao Xun coughed lightly: "The Crown Prince is intelligent and spoke early; he could call out 'Father' at just six months old. By one and a half, he could already recite poems. At a little over two, he had heard the Analects and remembered it. After the New Year, he will turn three and begin his formal education—just right."
Lin Yu wanted to say something more.
"Go back to Chang'an. The Crown Prince misses you very much."
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince only saw me once when he was an infant."
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Xun spurred his horse and galloped ahead into the wind.
A gust of wind blew in and said, "Ah Yuan, I miss you too."
The author's note: ① This sentence borrows the meaning of the name given to Wanli by the Longqing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
②From the Book of Rites.
③ Here's an explanation: it's possible for a six-month-old to call out "A-fu" (阿父), but this is an unconscious utterance from a young infant and doesn't mean they actually know how to say "Papa" or "Mama," "A-fu" or "A-mu." Also, the male protagonist in this story often speaks incoherently, so don't overanalyze it. It's possible for a one-and-a-half-year-old or two-year-old to recite ancient poems. However, this is purely mimicry and incomprehensible.
The next chapter, an extra chapter, after much deliberation, will be written from the female protagonist's first-person perspective, telling the story of the fifth year of Zhangming, mainly focusing on the brother and sister. The content will be slightly subversive. Those who dislike first-person narratives should not purchase this.
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