Ch93 - The Scramble

“The terrain in Jiangnan is flat, and there are basically no dangers to be wary of in the defense of the Huainan region. Performing meritorious service with this campaign would be a piece of cake!” The fourth prince paced in Fengyi Palace. “Imperial mother, I must get the commander position for the campaign against Huainan this time!”

The empress nodded. Now that Jing Yu had come of age, he had to quickly distinguish himself so that he could be conferred a Wang title. “If I had known that the southeast was so easy to fight, I would have had you go.” Listening to Emperor Hong Zheng talk about it, that Southeast King created his own misfortune and was killed by a concubine; Jing Shao hadn’t needed to make the slightest effort to win the southeast.

While the two of them were acting excited on their own in Fengyi Palace, extremely worried that someone else would steal this opportunity for merit, there was also a tense atmosphere in the North Marquis’s residence.

“How’s the situation?” Mu Hanzhang hurried in and asked his father, who was sitting to one side. 

The North Marquis’s brow was furrowed, but his eyes couldn’t hide his hope and expectation. “Maybe soon.”

Mu Hanzhang looked at the maids rushing in and out, and heard the sounds of pain from within the inner room from time to time. He clasped his hands together, not knowing what he could do.

“Don’t be afraid,” said Jing Shao, who had followed him in. Seeing that his Wang Fei was this nervous, he hurriedly went over and hugged him. “I heard that the second pregnancy always goes quite smoothly. When imperial mother gave birth to me, she didn’t need to expend much effort.”

Mu Hanzhang looked at him. “How do you know?”

“That’s what people in the palace said. Apparently, as soon as the midwife and imperial physician went in, they heard me crying less than a quarter of an hour later,” Jing Shao said triumphantly.

“Then Wang Ye must have been very thin as a child.” The third furen, who came to join the bustle, couldn’t help but interject with her thoughts.

Mu Hanzhang glanced at the third furen, whose smile indicated that she was trying to curry favor, and then looked at Jing Shao again.

Jing Shao didn’t seem to hear the third furen’s words at all, and continued to banter with his Wang Fei. “So imperial father said I was a lucky star, and would definitely create a favorable future for Dachen.” 

Named after the final movement of the famous Harmonious Flute Melodies: the Phoenix Appears; perhaps when Jing Shao was young, Emperor Hong Zheng truly did cherish this son. Distracted, Mu Hanzhang pondered; it was hard to imagine Jing Shao thin and small as a child. “What did you look like when you were a child?”

“I was quite chubby when I was a kid.” Jing Shao puffed up his cheeks and tried to demonstrate, as if he was still fat.

“Ha ha…” Mu Hanzhang was finally amused into laughing. He reached out and poked Jing Shao’s face, and the heavy tension he had been feeling that whole hour faded.

The third furen was awkwardly cold-shouldered to one side, and she sat back down in embarrassment. 

After waiting anxiously for a long time, Jing Shao was afraid that his Wang Fei would be tired standing for so long, so he took him into his arms and had him lean on him. For the first time, Mu Hanzhang didn’t refuse to be intimate in front of others. Even if he wasn’t as nervous as earlier, he was still afraid in his heart. Women were always at the gates of death when they went into labor; he didn’t dare imagine what would happen if unexpected misfortune struck his mother. The steady arms around his waist and the warm chest against his back gave him great courage, as if even if the sky collapsed, he didn’t need to worry.

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“Really?” Mu Jin seemed to become several years younger at once. On his usual calm face was a smile that couldn’t be concealed. 

Jing Shao patted the extremely emotional person in his arms and asked, “How is the second wife?”

“Furen is completely safe and sound,” the midwife said busily. “Thanks to the meticulous care this past year, furen is in very good health.”

Mu Hanzhang sighed, relieved, and only now did he smile. Jing Shao took advantage when the others weren’t paying attention to quickly place a kiss on the corner of Mu Hanzhang’s curved lips.

After a while, the midwife went in and brought out the cleaned baby, wrapped in a soft quilt. Mu Jin was very excited to take the bundle. Jing Shao and Mu Hanzhang also curiously went over to have a look. The small face was round and his skin was rosy. His eyes were closed and they couldn’t really tell what he looked like, but the third furen was loudly praising, “He looks so handsome, exactly like Hanzhang when he was small!” 

The North Marchioness’s face had darkened when she heard that it was a son, but her expression turned even uglier at the third furen’s words.

Jing Shao stared at his newly born brother-in-law for a long time, but he wasn’t able to see what part looked like his Wang Fei. All wrinkled, he looked like Duo Fu’s steamed bun face, but he didn’t dare say it.

Mu Hanzhang took a look at the North Marchioness, who still hadn’t opened her mouth to reward the servants, and said with a smile, “Father hasn’t named my brother yet.”

“We will call him Long Lin! Ha ha ha… ” Mu Jin lifted up his little son for a look. He looked extremely satisfied. 

The last of the nine treasured weapons was “the blade of the swift path, named Long Lin”.

Mu Hanzhang nodded his head. When his brother grew up, his courtesy name could be “Lingmo“. It was elegant and pleasant-sounding, but Long Lin was a little harsh; in the future, he could just be called Lin’er.

The servants heard this and reacted, all coming forward to give their congratulations one after another. The North Marquis said happily, “Reward! Five taels of silver each!”

“Thank you for your reward, marquis!” The servants were immediately all very happy. Usually, when there was a birth in the household, if it was a young miss, they would be rewarded one or two taels, while if it was a young master, they would be rewarded two taels. Sure enough, a young master was most favored. 

The North Marchioness heard this and nearly tore a hole in the handkerchief she was holding. She had deliberately delayed the rewards for a while, so that people could clearly see who was the official mistress of the household, but who would have expected the North Marquis to open his mouth first. These men in the Mu family completely didn’t understand what kind of precedent they were setting with this kind of reward!

Mu Hanzhang looked at the North Marchioness quietly. Thinking about how he would be going to Jiangnan soon, he still had to keep Ge Ruoyi here to take care of Lin’er.

The whole way back, Mu Hanzhang had a smile on his face.

“If you don’t want Lin’er to inherit the North Marquis title, you can let him inherit your title.” Jing Shao saw him so happy, and also started to smile. 

“How can we do that? Marquis Wenyuan is not a hereditary title.” Mu Hanzhang shook his head. His younger brother has just been born. It was too early to say now what road he would take in the future; it was good as long as he could grow up safely.

It is obvious that the happiness of the North Marquis’s household couldn’t be spread in court. The next day, when Mu Hanzhang entered the court, he immediately put away his smile before he walked in calmly.

“Father, Er Chen is willing to go!” When the matter of attacking Jiangnan was brought up, the fourth prince impatiently stepped forth.

“Although Huainan is not as vast as the southwest, it is better because of its fertile lands,” said the Minister of War with a frown. “The Huainan King has accumulated generations of wealth and is well-equipped. Chen is afraid it will be hard to deal with.” 

“Then, according to Minister Sun, who should be sent?” Emperor Hong Zheng’s expression was profound; one couldn’t see what he was thinking.

“Chen feels that the Huainan fiefdom is extremely important, and for the sake of certainty, Cheng Wang should be sent,” the Minister of War said frankly.

“Chen feels that although the fourth prince is young, he is calm and resolute, and worthy of a great responsibility. It would not be improper to send the fourth prince,” the Minister of Justice stepped forth to say.

Calm and collected, Mu Hanzhang glanced at Jing Chen, and then continued to look down silently. 

“The fourth prince is coming of age, so he should have a chance to gain some experience. In Chen’s opinion, the rebellion in Huainan is a good opportunity!” The talkative Count Yongchang had been thrown to Yunnan-Tibet, so Duke Mao had to speak personally. Given his status, saying these words didn’t seem too abrupt or beyond his capacity.

For a while, the court quarreled endlessly. Emperor Hong Zheng was silent and didn’t speak. When the hour was almost over, he got up and said, “Let’s call it a day. We’ll discuss this matter tomorrow.” He then flung out his sleeves and left.

For a time, people weren’t able to guess what Emperor Hong Zheng meant by this. After the news of Jiangnan came back, they didn’t see the emperor release Cheng Wang from house arrest. Hence, they wondered if he didn’t plan to deploy Cheng Wang this time round. Today, however, it seemed that he also didn’t plan to send the fourth prince.

“Is the emperor waiting for Cheng Wang to admit his mistake?” one official whispered to another outside the hall. 

“What mistake did Cheng Wang commit?” The other frowned.

“I heard that he was stubborn and contradicted the emperor’s words.” The speaker looked around. “In my opinion, the emperor is still partial toward Cheng Wang. Today, the fourth prince said all that, but he didn’t get a single word of affirmation.”

The fourth prince, who passed by on a raised platform, couldn’t help clenching his fists, and he walked toward Fengyi Palace.

Mu Hanzhang and Jing Chen looked at each other and, with tacit mutual understanding, turned to leave. 

“Hanzhang, do you want to go back with father to see your younger brother?” The North Marquis was still immersed in the joy of getting a miracle baby at his old age.

“Father.” Mu Hanzhang greeted him and gave him a meaningful glance.

The North Marquis realized that he had forgotten where he was, and he quickly restrained his smile. “What are Wang Ye’s intentions regarding this attack campaign on Huainan?”

Mu Hanzhang sighed. “Wang Ye has been worrying about this for a long time in his palace. He hopes this will be an opportunity to lift his house arrest.” 

After hearing this, several officials who passed by looked at each other. When the North Marquis raised his head to look at them, they quickly bowed their heads and left.

That night, Emperor Hong Zheng stayed in Fengyi Palace.

“Emperor, Yu’er is about to become an adult, but he has not been able to obtain any achievements. Both his elder brothers have already been conferred Wang titles, so it’s time to give him a chance to learn through experience.” The empress carefully helped Emperor Hong Zheng take off his outer clothes. Thinking about today, she couldn’t help frowning at the thought of her son’s utterly discomfited expression. Jing Yu was taking this matter too seriously. Perhaps the emperor saw that he was too impatient, and thus, didn’t relent.

“Conferred a title?” Emperor Hong Zheng looked at the empress. “Isn’t Jing Rong untitled as well? What’s the rush.” 

Could that be considered the same? The empress secretly clenched her teeth, but she still had a gentle smile on her face. “In any case, Jing Yu is a legitimate son. Although there is the matter of age, there is a difference between those born to an official wife and those born to a concubine.”

Emperor Hong Zheng’s face, upon hearing this, immediately cooled. “There is a difference between the son of an official wife and that of a concubine?”

The empress was frightened. Did she say something wrong? Suddenly, it flashed through her mind, and she was immediately scared into a cold sweat. “Such things are not of importance in the imperial family. It was a slip of Chenqie’s tongue.”

Emperor Hong Zheng himself hadn’t been born to the empress. He hated those who liked to insist on a difference between the two. He directed a cold look at the empress, who lowered her head. When Empress Yuan was still around, she had treated everyone equally. 

“Chenqie just feels that after Cheng Wang defeated the two vassals in succession, he became quite complacent upon his return. Now, he dares to contradict the emperor. If he is released from house arrest just because he is needed to fight, I’m afraid…” The empress took a careful look at Emperor Hong Zheng’s expression. She didn’t finish her sentence, but anyone could hear the implication in her words.

This time, Emperor Hong Zheng didn’t say anything. He just looked steadily at the empress for a bit, then turned and walked to the side of the bed. “If Jing Yu wants to go on the campaign, have him come and tell Zhen in person tomorrow morning.”

The empress’s eyes brightened. She agreed and quickly called for someone to tell the fourth prince to come to Fengyi Palace at dawn, and also told the chief eunuch to open the gates for him.

“It’s said that the emperor last night told the fourth prince to go to Fengyi Palace before dawn,” Mu Hanzhang said to Jing Shao as he tied the belt of his tunic. He turned to look at him, and immediately blushed. “You, you, at least wear something.” 

The weather had gotten hot. Jing Shao got out of bed to help his Wang Fei dress. There was no one nearby, so he walked over confidently, completely naked with his penis out. Seeing Jun Qing’s handsome face redden, he couldn’t help saying, “Why are you shy? It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.”