Chapter 24 This is the true ritual of Zhou Gong!
Xiao Jin's face was reflected in a gleaming three-foot sword.
What are you doing here?
Xiao Jin trembled all over, and upon hearing this, screamed, "Your Majesty... Uncle, Uncle? I..."
He slapped his forehead and realized, "Oh dear, this is my own backyard..."
He went to Tingquan Temple but didn't see a single person, and he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
A servant patrolling the Prince's mansion yawned and said that he had just seen the two tutors heading towards the stream.
He searched for a long time, climbed the artificial hill in the yard and looked around, and immediately recognized Lin Yu's half-new and half-old sheepskin coat.
So, with a leap, he jumped off the rock that was one and a half people high.
"In his own backyard, in the dead of night, all alone, acting suspiciously, not taking the proper path?"
Xiao Jin's face turned deathly pale.
He screamed, babbling incoherently, "Ah, Uncle, aren't you alone too—ah, no, no," his tongue trembled, "that's right, that's right, that's right, that's right, in the backyard, playing with, playing with women, playing, like this, it's fun, fun, exciting..."
"Stimulate?"
The sword on his shoulder pressed closer and closer to his neck.
Lin Yuan finally managed to break free from Xiao Jin's grip on her arm and took the opportunity to run away in a panic.
Looking at the reflection from the sword blade, Xiao Xun's gaze became even colder.
"But why is Your Majesty here?"
"I lost something in the Prince of Huaiyang's residence. Issue an order that, from this moment forward, no one is to leave the residence."
When Xiao Jin heard "No one is allowed to leave the mansion," he felt dizzy and his legs trembled.
His voice trembled even more violently: "Your Majesty, what has Your Majesty lost?"
"A treasure."
Xiao Jin was completely bewildered and didn't understand what Xiao Xun was talking about, but Xiao Xun was in a fit of anger and the sword was still on his shoulder, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions.
"Then, Your Majesty, do you remember roughly where...where was it lost?"
"Your backyard."
Xiao Xun gazed in the direction Lin Yuan had left, absentmindedly sheathing the sword from Xiao Jin's shoulder.
Outside the windows and doors of the Prince's Mansion's East Garden, shooting stars dazzled in the sky.
Xiao Xun's mind was in even greater turmoil.
He kept recalling the way Xiao Jin looked at Lin Yuan. A thousand words, tender affection, were all contained within those eyes.
Xiao Jin leaped towards Lin Yuan, splashing snow three feet high. Xiao Xun wished his blood would also splash three feet high.
Recalling Xiao Jin's playful banter with him at the foot of Cuiwei Mountain—their jokes about "taking him into the mansion" and "wearing simple clothes"—has become a real joke.
His jokes.
Xiao Xun gripped the scabbard tightly, "Li Shun!"
The lamps in Tingquan Courtyard also flickered.
Lin Yu stood guard by Lin Yuan's bedside, absentmindedly wiping the arrows for the pitch-pot game.
The arrowhead was covered with snow and mud from the garden.
He didn't even realize he had accidentally pricked his hand.
He and He Ji returned from their game of pitch-pot, using the lights from the trees in the front yard as a guide, and it was already past midnight.
He saw Lin Yuan slumped on the table, her cheeks flushed.
Beside me, a small cup was half full, and a pot of pepper wine was empty.
"Ah Yuan, why did you drink so much?" He leaned down and touched her forehead.
Lin Yuan looked up and grabbed his wide sleeve, her eyes misty: "Brother, tell me, is A-Yuan alright?"
Lin Yu was taken aback: "Ah Yuan, of course it's good." He smiled gently, "Ah Yuan is the best."
Lin Yuan's eyes were misty and glistening.
She pouted, leaned on the table, rested her head on her hands, and said in a frustrated voice, "Then tell me, why doesn't anyone like me?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Yu gently patted her head and laughed, "I think Aunt Wang really likes you."
"That's because her youngest daughter is the same age as me," Lin Yuan said in a muffled voice, half of her face buried in her sleeve.
"Well, Aunt Li likes you too. She was worried you wouldn't like the food from Huaiyang, so she came to ask me several times."
"Aunt Li likes you. She's only nice to me because she loves you so much."
She was drunk, but her mind was clear. She turned her head and smiled at him, "Thanks for everything you've done for me."
Lin Yu still smiled: "What about A Yao? The moment we met, she called you 'sister' so affectionately. Doesn't that mean she likes you?"
“She liked the jade hairpin I gave her. That hairpin was—” Lin Yuan didn’t finish her sentence. She bit her lip, her eyes sparkling. “Alas, brother, I wasn’t talking about a woman, nor an old woman.”
Lin Yu nodded, leaned against the table, and knelt down beside her, looking into her eyes: "I like you."
"That's not how I like you, brother."
Lin Yuan sighed, both amused and exasperated. "Forget it. You've read so many books, about etiquette and poetry, but none of them mention it. You probably don't understand it either."
She turned her head back, looking deflated, and slumped against the table.
Most of her face was hidden in her sleeves, leaving only her eyelashes flickering in the dim candlelight, revealing a sense of bewilderment.
"You don't understand. Neither do I. What's it like to like someone? And what's it like to be liked?"
Lin Yu heard a faint sigh.
The red candle on the table hissed, its tears flowing freely, and then suddenly went out.
"When you like someone, thinking of her and looking at her feels like eating candy."
"It's very sweet."
"It's very sweet."
He looked at her and pursed his lips.
The sound was very soft, like dust, falling into my ear.
"But if you can't eat it, it will feel bitter, very bitter."
Lin Yuan kept her eyes closed and did not move.
She has already fallen into a deep sleep.
The words "May you drink to my heart's content" are sunk to the bottom of the glass after the wine has been drunk from.
He picked it up and drank the remaining half-glass of wine.
“I understand, A-Yuan.”
The dawn sky, as it appeared, was gloomy and overcast in Xiao Jin's eyes.
"Uncle, what brings you here so early in the morning?" Xiao Jin greeted the morning breeze, squinting his eyes as he bowed.
There were many people in the garden. He remembered his mother's repeated instructions: His Majesty was traveling incognito and his identity must not be revealed.
Xiao Xun raised an eyebrow: "Xiao Jin, don't you like games?"
Before me lay a vast expanse of snow, and the dilapidated bronze pitch-pot from yesterday was conspicuously placed several feet away.
His eyes widened slightly: "Pitch-pot?"
Seeing his tired expression, Xiao Xun chuckled and said, "Oh right, I forgot that my nephew likes excitement. Ordinary pitch-pot is beneath him."
He gave him a look.
Li Shun picked up the bronze pitch-pot and handed it to Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin stared blankly at the bronze pot, still lost in thought.
Yesterday, braving Xiao Xun's wrath, he uttered the word "Your Majesty" with trepidation.
He gazed intently at Lin Yuan, his grip on her hand tightening slightly. Lin Yuan, intelligent and quick-witted, her eyes gleaming, clearly recognized the man as His Majesty. She ran swiftly to inform Lin Yu. Unfortunately, Xiao Xun had lost some treasure and sealed off his residence. They hadn't been able to leave last night, but Lin Yu would at least be cautious and vigilant, as a precaution.
Thinking of this, he quickened his pace.
Then Xiao Xun's playful voice came: "Right here. Sit still and don't move."
This is where the bronze pot was placed just now.
My mind cleared up a bit as the morning mist dissipated before my eyes.
Xiao Jin saw Xiao Xun standing a dozen steps away, already holding a long golden arrow in his hand.
The arrows used in pitch-pot are not ordinary arrows, and the arm naturally has about 50-60% less strength than when drawing a bow.
However, Xiao Xun was skilled at archery, and if he missed, or if he did so intentionally, Xiao Jin would become a human target.
He stood at the same distance as when drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, much farther than when playing pitch-pot.
He shuddered and became fully awake.
"Uncle, please..." His voice was still hoarse after a sleepless night.
Before he could utter a sound, an arrow came flying toward him.
He didn't have time to dodge, and the arrow landed squarely in the pot.
"Don't you trust your uncle's pitch-pot skills?"
"No, I wouldn't dare."
Xiao Jin gasped for breath, her heart pounding like a drum.
He played like that when he was young.
At that time, Chang Gui was the one who became his human target.
Chang Gui still has a deep scar on his chin.
However, he was stopped by Xiao Xun after only throwing the first arrow.
As Xiao Xun stood on the steps of Chengming Hall, his face grim, rebuking him, the wind blew up one end of his black robe with cloud and dragon patterns. For the first time, Xiao Jin felt that he had truly become an emperor.
If one ignores his face and disregards the youthfulness of his voice, he looks exactly like the late emperor.
Therefore, Xiao Jin not only quickly invited a doctor for Chang Gui and gave him a gold ingot to appease him, allowing him to recuperate for three days, but also gave Xiao Xun a complete set of rare illustrated books of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Was Xiao Xun seeking revenge for Chang Gui's arrow wound? He glanced at Chang Gui, whose head was bowed low.
The lower he was buried, the more Xiao Jin felt that he must be holding back a laugh.
Xiao Jin took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Through his slits, he saw an arrow whizzing towards his face.
Xiao Xun's voice carried a cold tone: "Who were those people you took into your household a few days ago?"
Xiao Jin was startled: "No, there's no one here."
The second arrow slashed across his white fox fur coat, grazed the rim of the pot, and fell into it.
"explain!"
With a brief command, a third arrow was shot toward him.
As the wind from the arrow whistled through his chin, making it feel cold, he shouted:
"Take them in! Take in the disaster victims from the county and state schools!"
The arrow almost grazed his cheek and pierced his ear.
"Who else?!"
"It's gone, really gone!"
"Who are the people in the schoolhouse?" Xiao Xun put down the fourth arrow in his hand.
"The teacher in the school. The cleaning lady."
That's it?
Xiao Jin didn't hear the whistling wind for a long time before letting out a sigh of relief: "There's another person who came to the school to visit relatives. It's the woman from last night."
Before he could exhale completely, an arrow pierced straight towards his eye: "Then why are you pulling at me?!"
"I was wrong!"
He let out a scream, clutching the bronze pitch-pot, and fell backward to the ground.
"You've mistaken me for someone else!"
The arrow rested on the shaft, and half of it went into the pot.
Xiao Xun stopped and looked at him suspiciously.
On a dark and windy night, only the outline of a figure could be seen from the rocks.
But Lin Yuan was wrapped up like a bear, and it was unclear what Xiao Jin's penchant was in making suggestive advances whenever he saw someone with broad shoulders and a muscular build, whose gender was ambiguous.
However, recalling Lin Yuan's hasty escape yesterday adds a bit of credibility to this statement.
He let out a sigh of relief and tossed the remaining arrows to Ling Feng: "You take them."
Ling Feng and Gongsun Zhao passed the buck for half a day, and in the end, neither dared to make a move. Xiao Jincai finally dropped the copper pot and got away.
He was still shaken, breathing heavily, the snow and wind chilling and astringent as it entered his throat.
Chang Gui handed him a cup of hot tea, which he drank in one gulp. He had planned to strike Chang Gui in the chest with his elbow, and if that wasn't enough, he would kick him a couple more times.
But in the end, he simply placed the teacup heavily back into Chang Gui's hands.
Xiao Xun sat down in the stone pavilion, took a sip of tea, and asked leisurely, "There are so many disaster victims this time, why did the Prince of Huaiyang's mansion only take in the people from the prefectural and state schools?"
“Uncle, you know I am not talented. The things taught by those great scholars can not be absorbed at all. I have driven away ten teachers. I don’t know which old pedant said, ‘The young master is intelligent, but the key is that he has not been properly educated.’”
Xiao Jin shook his head and imitated the teacher's speech, then said dejectedly, "When my father heard this, he sent me to the school and made me learn poetry, books, etiquette and music from the teachers there with those eight, nine and ten-year-old children."
Xiao Xun raised an eyebrow: "How's your learning going now?"
Xiao Jin slapped his thigh: "Speaking of which, I really regret it. Why did I have to encounter Shu Dan when I started learning? My 'innate intelligence' was turned into a 'wall of dung'."
Xiao Xun laughed and said, "It seems you're doing quite well now. The teachers at the county and state schools are quite capable; they've even managed to enlighten your blockhead."
Xiao Jin scratched his head: "So, the teachers of the county and state academies are my masters. This time, we suffered a disaster and could not return to the academies, so I brought them to the royal palace. A teacher for a day is a father for life, so how can I not show them filial piety? Secondly, it is also good to continue to learn how 'Duke Zheng defeated Duan at Yan' was done."
Xiao Xun looked at Xiao Jin's beaming face and hesitated before asking, "You've finally figured it out, so you've learned the first chapter of the Zuo Zhuan in the Spring and Autumn Annals?"
“Uncle, before the Zuo Zhuan of the Spring and Autumn Period, there was poetry, there was rites, and there were the words of sages.” Xiao Jin’s face turned red.
Xiao Xun couldn't help but laugh: "Huaiyang Kingdom really cares about the prefectural academy. I remember when the Qu family first proposed establishing the prefectural academy, Huaiyang Kingdom spent ten million coins to build the school in less than a month."
When Xiao Jin heard Xiao Xun mention Quyang, he gasped and chuckled, "Huaiyang is His Majesty's territory. Whatever the court commands, Huaiyang will do its utmost."
Xiao Xun chuckled: "Really? The Salt and Iron Decree has been in effect for over two years, yet the Huaiyang Kingdom has been making excuses and delays. Why is that?"
"Ah, this Salt and Iron Regulations involve too much money, taxes, and arithmetic. Father doesn't understand these things, isn't good at them, and has no interest in them. So he was just fooled and misled by his subordinates, the prime minister, the lieutenant, and the county magistrate."
Xiao Xun looked enlightened: "Oh, so it seems that the Prince of Huaiyang is fond of building a national academy in the prefecture, which means he is a person who enjoys poetry and books."
Xiao Jin said guiltily, "Uncle, although my father is just like me, a blockhead who can't learn poetry and books, he still has great respect for those who love poetry and books."
Xiao Xun chuckled: "So, you gave Grand Tutor Su the nickname 'Shudan' (疏淡)?"
Xiao Jin choked: "Uncle has such a good memory."
“It’s not that I have a good memory, it’s that your father was reminiscing about the past yesterday, and when he talked about the current Prime Minister Su, he mentioned him again. I suppose he often talks about the name of Su Dongpo.”
Xiao Jin seized the opportunity to change the subject: "Su Dan is almost the Emperor's father-in-law. You can't call him that anymore. Uncle, I finally figured it out yesterday. The Grand Princess's three-year mourning period hasn't ended yet. Once the mourning period is over, in the autumn month, it will be the wedding day of Uncle and Aunt."
Xiao Xun looked at him with narrowed eyes: "Why do you always think about my affairs when you have nothing to do?"
"This is a joyous occasion that everyone has been eagerly anticipating. Just thinking about it makes me happy."
Xiao Xun glanced at him: "Have you been spreading rumors everywhere?"
Xiao Jin narrowed his eyes: "How dare I speak nonsense about something that hasn't been officially issued? However, anyone with eyes can see through Uncle's intentions."
Xiao Xun asked in surprise, "How did you figure that out?"
Xiao Jin said smugly, "Isn't that simple? You can tell from Uncle's paintings. We've both had a little over a month of work, but I can only draw a chicken with its feathers ruffled into a chicken with its feathers neatly arranged. But Uncle can turn a black egg into a celestial being. Tsk tsk tsk, wow—"
"oops."
With a soft sigh from Lin Yuan, a silk painting drifted down from a book of poems and landed on the floor of a side hall of the Jiaofang Palace.
She and Xiao Xun both bent down to pick it up.
That must be a very important painting.
Because Xiao Xun's hand was tightly gripping that small silk painting.
So much so that when Lin Yuan rushed to pick up the painting, she touched His Majesty's palm and instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but couldn't for a long time.
Her fingertips slowly became damp between her warm palm and the piece of silk.
Sweat seeped through the edges of the silk.
The black hair at the temples of the person in the painting is a little messy.
The person in the painting has their hair tied up high and has a face as beautiful as jade.
She also wore a jade crown on her head.
He had a pair of phoenix eyes, with slightly upturned corners, exuding youthful vigor and heroic spirit.
Lin Yuan looked up and saw that Xiao Xun's black hair was also messy, and his face was slightly red.
"Don't look." Xiao Xun's breathing was erratic as he spoke.
After saying that, for some reason, he added, "It was a sketch I made when I was a beginner."
He paused, then added, "Many years ago."
Lin Yuan nodded and turned her face away: "Yeah, I didn't actually see anything."
Her own face turned red.
She was too embarrassed to look at the painting a second time.
But when I turned my head, I saw the poem tucked inside the painting, which was by Sima Xiangru: "White as snow on the mountain, bright as the moon in the clouds."
"Eunuch Wang, what kind of person does His Majesty prefer...?"
Initially, Wang Fu said that His Majesty "does not get close to women," but Lin Yuan, fearing she might misunderstand, asked another question.
Looking at her face, Wang Fu thought of Su Chan.
He pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "His Majesty likes a handsome man who is lively, decisive, straightforward, and simple-minded, with a touch of heroism in his eyes."
At that time, Lin Yuan had not yet seen that silk painting.
However, after some time, she met Wang Lu, Wang Fuxin's new apprentice.
Wang Lu had only been in the palace for a short time, and was sixteen years old. He was fair-skinned, with bright eyes and white teeth, and eyebrows like distant mountains. As soon as he entered the palace, he gained the favor of the inner palace attendants and was able to serve in the Xuan Room.
This perfectly explains the question that Lin Yuan had been curious about for a long time.
Why were palace women so numerous and eunuchs so many inside and outside the Xuan Shi Hall?
When she arrived at the Zichen Pavilion in the Jiaofang Palace, a huge side hall, she was the only palace maid there.
His Majesty never allowed her to serve him personally; Wang Fu or other eunuchs handled his changing, bathing, and bedchambering.
She initially thought it was Xiao Xun tormenting her.
Looking back now, it's because... well, it's not really appropriate.
The favored maids in Xuan Shi Palace, such as Wang Lu, were unlike Lin Yuan or other maids in the palace. They had never been exposed to the scorching sun in July, frozen in the snow in December, knelt on jagged stones, or been scolded and spat on by the Changyu and Changshi. Therefore, they were innocent, lively, and simple-minded.
For example, Lin Yuan said he had the appearance of a blessed person, and he agreed wholeheartedly. He straightened his back a bit and raised his eyes a bit, but he did not take advantage of the favor. Instead, he said to Lin Yuan in a sweet voice, "Sister Lin has the appearance of a noble person."
To add credibility to his statement, he thoughtfully added, "That's what my godfather said: He has good judgment and is good at judging people."
Lin Yuan smiled awkwardly.
She must have been wearing brand-new silk clothes and a jade hairpin with a pearl hanging from it. This outfit must be what is meant by "expensive".
In fact, she didn't know the value of the hairpin.
But at least it was given to me casually by the emperor.
In the market, the words "item from the palace" can multiply the price of an item several times over.
In the jade shop, people say that the jade hairpin was used by a princess to style her hair, this jade hairpin was used by the empress dowager to style her hair, and that the jade ring and the jade thumb ring on the emperor's hand came from the same piece of jade. As for which princess or empress dowager it belonged to, that remains unknown. Furthermore, why the princess's and empress dowager's belongings ended up in this small jade shop is even more shrouded in mystery and cannot be verified.
Lin Yuan also said that once she had saved enough money, she would buy that jade ring and give it to her brother so that he could also experience what it was like to be an emperor.
Before he could finish speaking, he received a sharp rap on the head from his older brother.
When I got home and told my father, I got another slap on the forehead from him.
Lin Yuan touched her forehead.
The thought of accidentally bumping into Xiao Xun's face on New Year's Eve gave her a headache.
After that day, Xiao Xun did not step into the Jiaofang Palace for a full half month.
Even the wife of the Grand Marshal, Qu Yan, visited Jiaofang Palace twice.
On one occasion, he sent the Empress to the Xuan Shi Palace to deliver a highly nourishing ginseng and chicken soup; on another occasion, he sent the Empress to deliver an even more nourishing turtle soup.
After the Empress saw her mother off, she always looked unhappy.
Lin Yuan was filled with unease, harboring a secret, and her guilt grew even stronger.
His Majesty is pleased with the people depicted on the silk.
During the past two weeks, Xiao Xun sat at his desk in the Xuan Shi Hall, writing countless times on blank silk scrolls.
Ink dripped from the tip of the brush, and the outline of a woman gradually appeared on the silk.
Should the eyebrows be curved a bit more?
Should the outer corners of the eyes be longer?
Do you want your lips to be fuller?
...
He drew it countless times, revising and redrawing, but he was never satisfied.
That face, in his mind, was as bright as the moon, yet separated by clouds, distant mountains, and stars.
He put down his pen.
—This painting is now in his wide sleeve.
Last night, Xiao Cheng's final "strategy to defeat the enemy" kept echoing in his ears.
He casually looked through the several volumes of "The Book of Rites" he had brought from Chang'an, and also came across this painting.
As I looked at it, the people in the painting, and those outside the painting, had lips stained with vermilion and faces flushed red.
...
"What is the other plan?" In the Jade Flower Hall, Xiao Xun asked Xiao Cheng one last question.
Xiao Cheng said mysteriously, "The strategy to defeat the enemy. If the previous polite treatment was a gradual approach, then this is a one-move victory."
"Oh?" Xiao Xun's eyebrows relaxed and his eyes brightened.
"As the saying goes, 'Teach them with virtue and regulate them with propriety.' Propriety states that men should lead women and women should follow men."
The more he spoke, the louder his voice became, and he clapped his hands excitedly, "How can a bride disobey her husband? To do so is tantamount to insubordination. How can you be so arrogant and indulgent?"
Seeing his indignation, Xiao Xun couldn't help but ask, "Really? Would my brother really lay a hand on my wife?"
Xiao Cheng gave a light snort:
"If the lady disobeys, then shut her up."
"If the lady makes a move, then seize her hands."
Xiao Xun was alarmed: "What my brother just said was to govern them with propriety?"
Xiao Cheng smiled slyly, lowered his voice, and whispered in Xiao Xun's ear:
"Sixth brother, oh sixth brother, this is the true rites of the Duke of Zhou!"
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Author's Note: We've already reached the point of intimacy, so just a heads-up, the next chapter will feature a very delicious meal! [rice][rice][rice]
A collector's edition portrait of a young boy + a poem praising his beauty like the moon amidst the clouds + Wang Fu's statement that he "does not associate with women" + "his brows exude a heroic spirit" + a handsome young eunuch + the empress's lack of favor each day + no children
Lin Yuan: You said you don't like Longyang?
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