Chapter 22 The First Kiss of My Life...
"So, what is your wish?"
"Yes, eat and drink well, and always have a smile on your face."
On the last day of her seventeenth year, Lin Yuan looked at the stars she had conjured and said...
I hope my father, mother, and elder brother will eat more.
I hope the people in front of me will smile more.
Xiao Xun smiled.
He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so heartily.
His heart was always heavy, as if weighed down by an iceberg.
As the years passed and he grew older, he became increasingly cold and hard.
He was happy with it. That way, he wouldn't feel pain, and he wouldn't cry anymore.
But gradually, laughter, those things, objects, and people that made people laugh, all became bleak sunlight and powerless spring breeze.
A tiny crack will appear on the iceberg. When the sunlight fades and the wind blows, the crack will be filled with icicles, which will prick and hurt people.
But when he saw Lin Yuan smile, his heart skipped a beat.
The iceberg that never melted suddenly cracked.
It wasn't just a small crack; it opened up a deep valley.
Then, two more, three more, and four more cracks appeared.
It broke.
It's become lighter.
Even if it's just for a fleeting moment.
He had tasted that flavor, and now he craves it.
"Make one more wish," he couldn't help but say.
Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised.
"Make a wish for me that I can grant." He looked at her slowly widening eyes, paused, and then said, "Anything."
"Really, anything is possible?" Lin Yuan asked incredulously, both surprised and delighted.
“I am the emperor. A ruler’s word is law,” Xiao Xun said.
He loved seeing her happy. Just like that day when she received a jade hairpin, she was overjoyed.
Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said earnestly, "Then... Your Majesty, could you... could you please return my little knife to me?"
"A knife?" Xiao Xun was slightly taken aback.
He had expected it to be another hairpin, a hair ornament, a scepter, a tortoiseshell or coral, a pearl from the East China Sea, a grape or brocade, or a piece of jade or blue silk.
Or perhaps, something that falls under the category of "eating and drinking well," like fine wine, delicacies, bear paws and shark, grapes from the Western Regions, and lychees from the Southern Yue—things he had never tasted before, but he could find for her.
"It was that knife from that day...it was left to me by my father."
Lin Yuan cautiously glanced at him, and seeing his hesitant expression, she quickly said, "If His Majesty has already lost it, then forget it. Just pretend I never said it." She then asked cautiously, "May I make another wish?"
Seeing Lin Yuan's nervous look, he couldn't help but tease her: "You gave it back, are you still planning to use it against me?"
Lin Yuan shook her head vigorously, her eyes shining: "No, no, I will use it to protect His Majesty."
Xiao Xun put the small knife into the Xuan Room and placed it next to the Chixiao Sword, which Emperor Taizu used to slay the white snake and conquer the world.
Beneath the five-foot-long sword, the small black iron dagger was so tiny that it was almost invisible.
Yet it can emit the same cold light as the Crimson Sky Sword.
He kept the knife, regarding it as a symbol of courage.
However, that's no longer necessary.
Courage is not something external.
It is myself.
He is a descendant of the founding emperor.
From the useless memorials he had read and even memorized over the years, he gradually found talented individuals who could be of use to him, young as he was, waiting for the day when they could spread their wings and make their mark.
He placed them under the control of the Nine Ministers, who were firmly under Qu Yang's command.
Initially, he was just a minor official with a salary equivalent to a thousand or a hundred shi (a unit of grain measure) for the Imperial Guards, the Horse Steward, and the Physician.
"You'll protect me?" Xiao Xun chuckled.
Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. She heard Xiao Xun say softly in the laughter, "Alright then."
He ordered Wang Fu to send the small black iron knife over by fast horse.
Lin Yuan happily reached out to take it, but Xiao Xun snatched the lacquer box containing the knife first and held it above his head.
His smile turned mischievous.
Lin Yuan was dumbfounded; her wish had really come true.
But did God mishear a little?
She made a wish in her heart, which was clearly to smile more, not to joke more.
"If you can reach it, I'll give it back to you," Xiao Xun said with a smile. "Don't you like looking for things high up?"
"Your Majesty, isn't it true that a ruler's word is law?" Lin Yuan said anxiously.
"Hmm. Didn't I bring the things? I'm not joking. As for whether you can actually get them, that's up to you."
Lin Yuan looked around.
The armrest is about a foot wide, the imperial desk is just the right height, and the books are piled up as high as firewood...
But she didn't dare to step on them.
She bit her lip in thought, watching as Xiao Xun held up the lacquer box, raising it higher and higher, inch by inch.
In a moment of panic, he jumped upwards.
Xiao Xun was tall, and even if she jumped, she couldn't reach his arms.
But his arm hung down.
The lacquered box fell from his hand, rolled away several feet, and crashed into the gilded bronze feet of the imperial desk with a loud "thud".
No one picked it up.
No one heard it.
The thud didn't seem to come from the foot of the imperial desk.
It comes from a heart pounding like a drum.
Lin Yuan's eyes widened, filled with Xiao Xun's long, black eyelashes and deep pupils.
She bumped into him.
Her lips had just... touched his face... his lips.
I couldn't help but tremble all over, my body went limp with fear, and I felt completely cold.
He fell backward.
Xiao Xun pulled her out.
He couldn't help but lick his lips; they tasted sweet and cool.
Like pear juice, like ice and snow.
He was also in a daze.
He looked at Lin Yuan in a daze, helped her up in a daze, and looked at the stars outside in a daze.
Oh no, a portable lamp.
The flame in the lantern flickered rapidly, in rhythm with his heartbeat.
He turned around, walked to the table, and picked up the knife.
He was distracted, and before he knew it, a red streak appeared on his fingertip.
My fingers felt numb. My face too.
He didn't turn around or look up—his face was numb and burning hot, probably because it was red.
He put the knife back in the lacquer box, turned his back and said, "Be more careful next time."
He meant that we should be more careful when using knives in the future.
However, Lin Yuan's reply seemed to be: "Your Majesty, this servant will be careful in the future, and this servant will never dare to do it again."
"Also, stop calling me 'servant' all the time," Xiao Xun added.
"Huh?" Lin Yuan was slightly taken aback.
"It sounds awful."
Xiao Xun's voice returned to its usual harshness and indifference.
Lin Yuan found it strange, but obediently replied, "Okay, this servant understands. Oh, no, no, it's me, I understand."
Such clumsy words elicited a soft chuckle from him.
...
The waterside pavilions connected to Yuhua Hall were lit up with thousands of lights.
The golden light replaced the coldness of the starlight, making the white feathers on the ground appear to be tinged with the golden hue of wheat and millet.
The song drifted in gently to the beat of the drums:
They opened the granaries to distribute grains and rice, and spread porridge to relieve hunger.
...
Frost and ice turn into sunshine, and millet turns pale yellow.
"Brother."
Xiao Cheng squinted, admiring the beauty intently, and didn't hear Xiao Xun's voice.
The princess gracefully approached and pinched his arm.
The Prince of Huaiyang snapped out of his daze and saw the Princess's angry gaze.
"Oh, what is it, Madam?" he asked with a forced smile. The drum music gradually faded away.
“Prince of Huaiyang, don’t just focus on your wife.” Gongsun Zhao, sitting below the two, winked at the person in the seat of honor and laughed, “while forgetting our guests from afar.”
Xiao Cheng quickly cupped his hands and said, "How could that be? How could that be? It is a pleasure to have guests coming from afar! It is a pleasure!"
Xiao Xun smiled and said, "Guests should be treated with courtesy. We were so busy drinking fine wine, eating delicious food, and enjoying music that we neglected to do so."
After he finished speaking, he had Li Shun present the gifts he had brought from Chang'an.
The gifts are carefully chosen, representing the four directions: east, south, west, north, and south.
The princess was bestowed with a box of glittering pearls from the East China Sea and a three-and-a-half-foot-tall red coral from the Southern Yue Kingdom. The Prince of Huaiyang was bestowed with a pair of bracelets carved from Hetian white jade from the Western Regions, and the Dingbang Bow.
If the bracelet represents "hands and feet," then what about the bow?
Xiao Cheng stared blankly at the Nine-Flower Pearl inlaid on the carved bow.
Behind Li Shun, another servant carried a black lacquered box more than two feet wide into Yuhua Hall.
"Jin'er," Xiao Xun said teasingly, "this is for you."
Xiao Cheng's eldest son cheered and jumped for joy, unable to contain his excitement. He immediately got up and strode towards the box.
He opened the box, and the smile that had stretched all the way to his earlobes on his face gradually faded away.
Xiao Cheng looked over, feeling inexplicably nervous.
Before the banquet began, he had already heard Xiao Jin recount what had happened at Cuiwei Mountain.
It is said that Xiao Xun asked Xiao Jin about the snow disaster at Cuiwei Mountain, and Xiao Jin responded calmly and fluently.
Xiao Jin sighed, "Thirty pigs won the hearts of the people; those pigs truly died a worthy death. If Father could send forty, that would be even better."
His heart skipped a beat.
The phrase "winning the hearts of the people" might make Xiao Xun's heart skip a beat.
If an emperor is suspicious, even if he wins the hearts of the people, it could very well be a sin. An emperor needs the hearts of the people, and so does the court. But he was a feudal lord.
How much of Xiao Xun's trust and how much suspicion did he harbor in his feigned ignorance?
He then asked Xiao Jin if His Majesty had mentioned the civil unrest two days ago. Xiao Jin replied that since Xiao Xun knew about the civil unrest, he had told Xiao Xun in detail about the doubts that Lin Yu had mentioned to him on the way here.
Of course, he didn't mention Lin Yu at all. He said, "After fighting with the rioters for three moves, exchanging blows, he discovered that this person was suspicious."
"Did His Majesty believe it?" Xiao Cheng asked doubtfully.
"Of course I believed it."
When Xiao Jin spoke those words to Xiao Xun, a faint trace of grime could still be seen on his handsome face.
Therefore, Xiao Xun nodded slightly at that time, without questioning the phrase "fist and foot fighting." Of course, he also understood what it meant to be "fist and foot fighting" with those rioters.
Xiao Jin then said to Xiao Cheng: "They were just a small-time rebel, and because of my courage and decisiveness, the rebellion ended before it even began. Your Majesty has weathered many storms; why would you take it to heart?"
How does His Majesty look?
"Of course I'm overjoyed."
After all, he was his own son. Seeing his arrogant words and shifty eyes, Xiao Cheng gave him a flick on the forehead.
"Ah—Father! Did I do something wrong?" Xiao Jin covered his head.
Xiao Cheng took a deep breath, stamped his foot in exasperation, and scolded:
"Your crown is crooked, go look in the mirror!"
At this moment, the bronze artifacts inside the box reflected Xiao Jin's horrified face.
His crown was askew, his body was askew. His jade-like face was crooked and distorted.
Xiao Cheng's expression was exactly the same.
Xiao Xun's smile faded: "I came to Huaiyang Kingdom because I have important matters to ask my elder brother." He stood up as he spoke, "The dance music is too loud, let's find another place to talk."
Xiao Cheng led Xiao Xun to a side hall of Yuhua Hall.
Xiao Xun's face was gloomy, and he remained silent the whole way.
"The gift Your Majesty sent is far too precious," Xiao Cheng said with a smile.
He was still wondering what kind of gift Xiao Jin had received.
He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye; it looked like a worn-out bronze pitch-pot, a child's toy.
Xiao Xun traveled a long way to deliver it; surely it wasn't just to reminisce about childhood memories with Xiao Jin?
They had a past relationship, but not much.
In his hands, the Dingbang bow was like a hot potato.
Xiao Xun replied calmly, "The Prince of Huaiyang and his heir have done a great service in disaster relief. Compared to the Prince of Huaiyang's treasury being opened, what I brought is nothing. It's just a token of my appreciation."
"That bow—"
"Your elder brother wouldn't not recognize Father's bow, would he?"
"So it's Father's bow!" Xiao Cheng feigned ignorance and exclaimed in surprise.
Xiao Xun glanced at him: "The Prince of Huaiyang is deeply loved by the people. This bow, named Dingbang, is the perfect gift for you, brother. Don't you like it, brother?"
"I like it, I like it, of course I like it." Xiao Cheng carefully observed Xiao Xun's expression, that face that was somewhat similar to his when he was young, but it was deep and calm, showing no emotion. "However, as Your Majesty knows, I neglected riding and archery when I was young. Now that I am old, my body is also cumbersome. The last time I drew a bow and shot an arrow, when I think about it, alas, it was seven years ago."
"Seven years ago?" Xiao Xun smiled slightly. "Brother, you remember it very clearly."
"Oh, I've been mistaken. After today, it will be eight years ago. That was quite a show!"
Xiao Xun chuckled lightly: "Brother, you're dancing with a sword today. Eight years ago, were you dancing with a bow?"
Xiao Cheng felt a chill run down his spine and deeply regretted his actions. He realized that winning the hearts of the people came before saving the world.
He watched the dance during the day and felt that something was amiss, but he was so captivated by the beauty of the maiden that he forgot to think about anything else.
The frost and snow that Qingnu had sent down had now accumulated on his heart.
He smiled wryly and said, "Back then, Grand Tutor Su, oh, now I should call him Prime Minister Su, came to my residence for some unknown reason. Before he even entered the palace, I drew my bow against him. I can't forget how he was terrified and fled in panic. I was so flustered, so flustered, that was the first time I lost my composure."
He chuckled dryly twice.
Xiao Xun was slightly taken aback: "Why are you drawing your bow at Grand Tutor Su?"
"Your Majesty does not know, but back then, I sincerely asked a matchmaker to propose marriage for Jin'er. Not only was he unwilling to betroth his daughter to Jin'er, but he also said in front of the matchmaker that Jin'er was uneducated and indulged in sensual pleasures, calling him a wall of dung that could not be plastered! My wife and I were furious. Alas, I am not afraid that Your Majesty will laugh at me, but I slept on the cold bed in the study for a whole month! When I saw Su Dan again, I felt extremely hateful and pained. I wanted to draw my bow and shoot him through with an arrow!"
Xiao Cheng puffed out his beard, glared, and cursed louder and louder:
"Even nowadays, there are still mischievous people who privately call Guan Jin'er 'dung.' Your Majesty, think about it, if he is 'dung,' then what am I? A dung bucket, or a 'soul gate'?"
Xiao Xun couldn't help but laugh.
He asked leisurely, "However, I am curious, when Qu Qingchuan raised an army in the name of supporting the late Crown Prince's orphan, did you, brother, never think of drawing your bow and shooting an arrow?"
Xiao Cheng's already flushed face turned even more liver-colored.
"I was far away in Huaiyang when I heard the news of Qu Qingchuan's rebellion. Soon after, I heard that the Hu soldiers of Changshui Xuanqu intercepted Qu Qingchuan in Shangjun." He chuckled twice. "Isn't this like Your Majesty's arrow already at Qu Qingchuan's neck before I've even drawn my bow?"
Xiao Xun chuckled lightly: "How could my brother know whether that arrow was mine or Qu Yang's?"
He stood under the eaves, his face half-lit and half-shadowed. "How can we know if it's an arrow or a shield?"
Each word, spoken slowly and deliberately, made Xiao Cheng's brow twitch.
Xiao Cheng stared at Xiao Xun for a long time before finally saying, "Brother, you only know that this is an arrow from Chang'an." He half-jokingly added, "When you were young, you led troops with Qu Yang to fight against the Xiongnu. You also know that Qu Yang was good at using spears and close combat, but not good at bows and arrows or long-range attacks."
The implication is that if Qu Yang truly wanted to aid his son Qu Qingchuan, wouldn't it have been wiser to remain in Chang'an, coordinate an attack from within and without, and lead an army in a palace coup? Why go to such lengths, sending the Hu troops from Changshui and Xuanqu out of Chang'an as reinforcements?
Xiao Xun suddenly smiled.
“It seems that your bow is indeed not fast enough. I made the right choice in sending you the Dingbang Bow.” He raised an eyebrow. “However, although this bow is good, it is heavy. If you want it to be fast, you will have to find the right direction and draw the bow earlier.”
"Thank you for trusting this old minister, Your Majesty," Xiao Cheng stopped, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, his palms damp with cold sweat, and presented this bow to you.
"Of all the sons of our father, only the two of us remain. As brothers, why stand on ceremony?"
Xiao Xun smiled faintly, without turning around, and stepped into the side hall.
Xiao Cheng dismissed the servants who were serving tea and rolling up the curtain, wiped the sweat from his brow, and led Xiao Xun to the seat of honor.
Xiao Xun did not sit down, but instead slowly paced around in the side hall.
"What does Your Majesty wish to ask?"
Xiao Xun stopped and looked at him. The side hall was silent except for the soft murmur of the water clock.
The sound of jade pendants gently clinking together, mingled with the words, reached the ears of the anxious Xiao Cheng:
"What I would like to ask is... if my brother has angered the princess, how would he try to appease her?"
*
Su Chan wrapped the repaired "Seeking Phoenix" again in soft silk and put it into the camphor wood box.
"Huilan, where is the bronze pitch-pot that was originally in this box?"
A maid named Huilan approached and said in surprise, "It's probably...it's probably been put in another box by mistake. The Prime Minister sent a carriage to pick it up, and he was in a hurry. We were packing our things in a rush and probably put it in the wrong box. That box has already been put on the carriage, and it's probably already been delivered to the Prime Minister's residence."
Yes, she is now in the palace, not in Yangyi of Shangjun.
Moreover, even if the Moon Chamber were robbed, no one would steal an old item that had been rusted and faded for over ten years and was worthless, would they?
Su Chan mocked herself.
If there really is one, it can only be him.
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The author's note: ①鞉: tiao, a rattle drum from the Qin and Han dynasties.
Chapter Twenty: "He saw, in the hazy light, his and Lin Yuan's lips met... and he fell backward into his arms," hahaha, what a vivid imagination!
Reunion in the next chapter!
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