Ch37 - Summons

In the sixth month of the 13th year of Hong Zheng, the imperial court sent Fan Jie, the Imperial Censor, to the southwest fiefdom to read out the imperial edict on the demotion of the vassal kings. The Southwest King refused to accept it, and wrote a petition to justify himself. 

In the seventh month, the Southwest King beheaded Fan Jie, the special envoy from the imperial court, and named himself king, shocking all of society! Emperor Hong Zheng finally decided to send troops to subdue the southwest!

“I heard my father-in-law say that the southwest terrain is arduous: easy to defend but hard to attack. Moreover, the Southwest King is very cunning and skillful. He’s good at using ambush strategies, with his troops appearing suddenly, which is very difficult to deal with,” Duchess Mao whispered to the Empress. 

Empress Wu continued to gaze upon the pomegranate flowers blooming in front of her and frowned slightly, “This time, the Emperor wants to send 100,000 soldiers. If he has Cheng Wang go, I’m afraid it would be inappropriate.”

“It’s not easy to win a battle in that miserable place in the southwest,” said Duchess Mao, recalling her husband’s words carefully. “Once withdrawing the vassal states begins, I’m afraid we’ll have to withdraw all three. When we have to fight the King of Huainan, have the fourth prince go then. The terrain in Jiangnan is flat; as long as there are enough soldiers and horses, then the attack should be successful.”

When the Empress heard these words, she nodded slightly.

Duchess Mao inwardly sighed with relief. The southwest was easy to defend and difficult to attack. They didn’t know how long this war would last. Her daughter was betrothed to the fourth prince; she would have to stay at home if her husband went to war. By the time the fourth prince came back, her daughter would have become an old and yellow pearl. At that time, the fourth prince would likely acquire a few concubines of high birth, and in the future, even if her daughter became Empress, she wouldn’t pass her days easily. 

“There is one more thing; Qie doesn’t know if it’s appropriate to speak of it or not.” Duchess Mao hesitated a little as she clasped her hands together.

“There are no outsiders here; don’t worry about it being proper or not.” The Empress raised her hand to pick a bright red pomegranate flower, a sneer on her lips. At that time, she had also cautiously and solemnly served Empress Yuan, saying things like “Chenqie doesn’t know if it’s proper to say or not”. But it was because she wore a pomegranate flower that she was accused of violating the rules.  

Empress Yuan had punished her by having her kneel in front of Fengyi Palace during the hottest period of summer for two hours!

“Qie heard that Cheng Wang sent a concubine to the fourth prince last month,” said Duchess Mao, looking carefully at the Empress’s expression. Seeing that she wasn’t angry, she continued, “Naturally, Qie shouldn’t be meddling in these matters, but the fourth prince is officially getting married next month. However, there are rumors in the capital that the fourth prince really dotes on that woman.” 

No one knew how this news had gotten out. In any case, the North Marquis had found out. Everyone gossiped about how the fourth prince had yet to be officially married but was already spoiling a lowly concubine, and they jeered that even after the Duchess’s daughter married the fourth prince, she wouldn’t be able to live a good life. The woman who had lost face because her daughter hadn’t been chosen to be Wang Fei once again mingled with the noble wives with a celebratory air, angering Duchess Mao so much that she couldn’t stomach two meals. 

“Is that the case?” The Empress crushed the pomegranate flower in her hand, took the silk handkerchief from the palace maid, and wiped her hand clean. “I’ll call Jing Yu over to ask him about it later. You can rest assured that Bengong will not let the official wife of the prince be wronged.” 

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“The sun is so fierce, don’t practice anymore.” Sitting on a rattan couch and enjoying the cool air, Mu Hanzhang handed him a piece of watermelon. 

Jing Shao gnawed the watermelon in his hand and finally felt cooler. “This watermelon tastes ice-cold, it’s really soothing.”

“Wang Fei had this servant soak it in the well early in the morning,” Miao Xi said with a smile, and replaced the plate on the table with a new plate of freshly cut watermelon.  

Yun Zhu switched to a bigger fan as he fanned the couple from behind.

“When I was practicing with my sword, I suddenly remembered that it was Fan Jie whom Imperial Father sent. That was definitely on purpose.” Jing Shao ate another slice of watermelon. 

“How can you be sure?” Mu Hanzhang leaned on the back of the couch and turned a page in the book he was holding.

“Fan Jie doesn’t beat around the bush and would die for the sake of speaking out. Father Emperor always has the urge to splatter the dragon columns with the man’s blood, and just doesn’t know what to do with him.” Thinking about the Southwest King, that treacherous little person, trembling in anger because of Fan Jie, Jing Shao couldn’t help but muffle his laugh. 

Mu Hanzhang took a look at the Wang Ye, who didn’t mourn that loyal martyr of a minister, and shook his head helplessly. “He died for his country, which will fulfill Fan-daren’s desire to remain famous for thousands of years to come.”

Jing Shao ate three slices of watermelon, wiped his hands, and leaned back against his Wang Fei, gazing at the specks of sunlight shining through the leaves. A cool wind was blowing gently and he began to feel sleepy. 

“What did Imperial Father talk to you about today?” The big head resting on Mu Hanzhang’s abdomen kept puffing air against his lower abdomen. Feeling uncomfortable, Mu Hanzhang moved his body so that Jing Shao rested on his leg, and he waved his hand to signal the maids and Yun Zhu to retreat.

“Hmph, he said he was getting me a second wife! I can’t believe he actually found someone, and wants me to marry the Empress’s niece!” Jing Shao sneered. The Empress seemed to have gotten extremely angry over him giving Concubine Yan to Jing Yu, so she wanted him to marry the daughter of the Count of Yongchang, which sickened him. 

Mu Hanzhang’s hands on the book paused. “Then what did you say?”

“I said…” Only then did Jing Shao realize that his position had changed, so he turned over discontentedly to press his face to Jun Qing’s lower abdomen, deliberately rubbing it with the tip of his nose, “I only like men now; I can’t muster up any interest in women.” 

“En…” The feeling was unexpectedly accentuated by the cloth between them. Mu Hanzhang sighed lightly and shifted back to escape Jing Shao’s movements. “How can you say that? Imperial Father would definitely be angry.”

“It’s better than letting them force women on me.” Piqued, Jing Shao chased after him and used the side of his face to press down lightly on little Jun Qing. 

Mu Hanzhang frowned, took that big head in his hands, and moved it to the jade pillow beside him. To put it simply: it was too hot!

Jing Shao grimaced with discontent. He jumped up, picked up the weapon on the side, and began to practice again. 

Mu Hanzhang watched Jing Shao working hard and gradually smiled. Imperial Father had summoned Jing Shao alone a few days ago. The expedition to the southwest was almost beyond Jing Shao’s control, and his departure was imminent. In the last few days, he hadn’t appeared the least bit sad about having to leave. Perhaps leaving home to battle was a common thing for Jing Shao, but seeing him so focused on the upcoming war, Mu Hanzhang couldn’t help but feel a little sad in his heart.

“Wang Ye, Wang Fei, people from the palace have come.” Duo Fu hurried into the garden. 

“Who?” Jing Shao put away the silver spear in his hands.

“It’s Duo Lu from the Empress.” Duo Fu’s round face wrinkled up resentfully. He and Duo Lu entered the palace at the same time. When he served Empress Yuan, Duo Lu had just been a little eunuch under Concubine Shu in the imperial palace. Now that Concubine Shu had succeeded the late empress, that brat dared to put on airs whenever he saw him. 

“Invite him in.” Mu Hanzhang handed Jing Shao his outer clothes. Soon, a skinny eunuch came in. Though he saluted them, there was some unconcealed arrogance in his expression.

Jing Shao frowned. “Gonggong, you’re here; is there something the matter with Mother Empress?” 

“The Empress has put forth an imperial decree for Cheng Wang Fei to go to Feng Yi palace immediately.” Duo Lu’s slightly shrill voice was rather painful to listen to.

“At this hour?” Jing Shao frowned. It was just after noon. Was the Empress not taking an afternoon nap? Calling for Jun Qing in such a hurry definitely wasn’t for something good. 

Mu Hanzhang pursed his lips. The Empress had never called him to the palace after he got married, likely due to his male status. Jing Shao had just rejected the Count of Yongchang’s daughter as a second wife today, and the Empress had rushed to call Mu Hanzhang to the palace; presumably, she wanted to start a fight or just take out her anger on him. “Chen will change my clothes and come back. Please wait a moment, Gonggong.”

“Wait a minute!” Jing Shao held Mu Hanzhang back and stared at the empty handed Duo Lu. “Did Mother Empress say what the matter was about?” 

“This servant did not dare inquire,” replied Duo Lu. Knowing that Cheng Wang was a tough one, he softened his tone. “The Empress only requested the presence of the Wang Fei. She may just want to chat with the Wang Fei about family life. Wang Ye doesn’t have to worry.”

Jing Shao didn’t believe that demanding a visit from Jun Qing was just for a chat. However, even if the Empress made an imperial decree and didn’t say clearly what it was for, it couldn’t be openly disobeyed. Jing Shao followed his Wang Fei into the room, took out his court uniform, and also began to change. “I’ll go with you.” 

“How would you get into the palace at this time?” Mu Hanzhang stopped  Jing Shao’s actions. Visiting his Empress Mother in the morning and evening  was fine, but if Jing Shao went to Feng Yi palace without being summoned, Mu Hanzhang feared it would cause trouble. “Don’t worry, I can deal with anything.” That Duo Lu had specially emphasized that only the Cheng Wang Fei was to go, which meant that Jing Shao was not to come.

Jing Shao watched coldly as his Wang Fei followed Duo Lu into the palace carriage. He pulled Miao Xi over and instructed, “Go with the Wang Fei. If anything happens, immediately go to the southern study room to find me!” Miao Xi had been born a palace maid. She was clever and familiar with the routes around the palace. 

Miao Xi listened, nodded heavily, and quickly followed Mu Hanzhang.

The southern study room was where the young princes who had not yet come of age studied, and the only place that Jing Shao could hang around at this hour. Emperor Hong Zheng attached great importance to filial piety and encouraged the adult princes to teach their younger brothers when they had the time. However, the Emperor’s heart was truly difficult to fathom; if they went too frequently, they would also be suspected of trying to pull these brothers into their factions. Thus, the four brothers seldom went to the southern study room after leaving the palace to build their own residences. 

After the carriage left, Jing Shao followed at a distance on Xiao Hei. When the carriage entered the palace gates, he turned his horse around and entered through another side gate.

“Wang Ye, why did you come to the palace at this time?” Xiao Qian, the patrolling head guard, spotted Jing Shao and hurriedly greeted him. Xiao Qian, a distant relative of the Marquis of Dingnan’s family, was on friendly terms with Jing Shao. 

“Xiao Qian!” Jing Shao put his arm around the commander’s neck, pulled him aside, and stuffed a large egg-sized pixiu into his hands. “If a maid runs out of Feng Yi palace headed for the southern study room later, please let her through. If there’s any trouble, I’ll take care of it.”

Xiao Qian was originally still a little hesitant. When he heard the last sentence, he felt reassured and put the pixiu into his clothes. “Don’t worry, Wang Ye. That’s a small matter.” It was common for palace maids to walk around the palace. Unless it was under orders from the palace nobles, there was no reason they would be denied egress.