Chapter 80

 

Yang Zai’en entered the tent and listened to the instructions. He secretly glanced at the princess and Zhao Zhongfang who were still beside the medicine stove, then immediately bowed his head and left the tent, hurriedly went to fetch people.

“Hao’er, you must be tired after all the hard work today. Go and take a rest.”

After the eunuch left, Cui Daosi saw the emperor suddenly turn to the princess and give her this instruction. His face, which had been gloomy just now, turned kind and gentle.

Cui Daosi secretly hoped that the princess could stay. She also sat still and seemed reluctant to leave. However, she could not resist the emperor’s constant urging. He first called in the palace servants waiting outside, and then ordered Zhao Zhongfang to hand over the task of boiling the medicine and escort the princess back to her tent to sleep.

Zhao Zhongfang agreed and was about to ask people to take care of the medicine when he saw that the princess had already stood up lazily.

“Zhao Bandang should stay and serve His Majesty. When the medicine is ready, remember to urge His Majesty to drink it while it’s warm. I will go back by myself.”

Zhao Zhongfang exchanged a glance with her and nodded, “This old servant obey your command. Princess, go ahead and rest assured.

“Give the medicine here to this old servant.” The old palace eunuch said again in a low voice.

Xuyu nodded, stood up and walked to the emperor’s couch, and saw the singled-out piece of poem was placed on the imperial desk. It was very eye-catching.

“Go and rest!”

The emperor immediately pretended to take a closer look, reached out and picked it up, then urged her again.

Her father’s behavior seemed as if he was worried that she would steal the manuscript and then destroy the evidence.

Xuyu smiled and said, “Daughter will leave first.

“After Father done meeting people, remember to go to bed early. I know that Father has always been generous and open-minded. I don’t think you will get angry over such a thing. If you get angry and damage your dragon’s body, it will be not worth it.”

She said again.

Cui Daosi had already retreated to the corner of the tent, not daring to raise his eyes, but lowered his head deeply, respectfully seeing the princess off. Suddenly, he heard the princess’ words of consolation to the emperor. He secretly raised his eyes and saw the emperor looking at the princess and nodding with a smile. She then turned around and walked out of the tent, coming towards him. Cui Daosi hurriedly bowed his head again.

Xuyu walked out of the imperial tent, facing the night wind blowing in her face, and looked around.

The Cangshan hunting ground was extremely large, and because there had not been such a large-scale hunting activity for many years, the vegetation was extremely lush. In some places, the weeds were so high that even horses would be buried if they step in. For safety’s sake, the location of this camp was naturally determined after careful prior survey.

The camp was backed by a high hill, and the tents of the entourage were scattered around the emperor’s tent like stars surrounding the moon. Directly in front of the tent was a large plain suitable for horse to run around. Slowly, the terrain changed into gently undulating ponds, and beyond that, at the end of the sight, there were endless hills and deep forests.

At this moment tonight, although there were still shadows of bonfires in the distance and on the edge of the camp, most of the officials who accompanied them had already returned to their tents to rest, and the camp was very quiet. Especially near the imperial tent, except for the two rows of night duty guards standing opposite each other every few steps outside the tent door, there was no one there.

Xuyu’s tent was not far from the imperial tent, only a few dozen steps away. She was accompanied by the palace eunuchs and maids to her own place. After she had walked a few steps, she saw Yang Za’ien and Pei Xiaoyuan coming from a distance.

Yang Zai’en was afraid that the emperor would wait for too long, so he walked in front with small steps, while Pei Xiaoyuan seemed to be distracted with something, and walked behind with his eyes slightly lowered. Suddenly, Yang Zai’en saw Xuyu and her group coming out, and hurriedly stopped to salute. Pei Xiaoyuan was startled, stopped a little hastily, and raised his eyes.

When Xuyu walked in front of him, she looked over and their eyes met. He slowly threw his gaze, bowed solemnly to her, and then stepped aside like Yang Zai’en, respectfully making way for her.

Xuyu did not stop, but just nodded to Yang Zai’en, her eyes swept across the face of the person standing by the road, who looked extremely solemn at the moment. She then continued to move forward, surrounded by the people behind her, and entered the tent.

Yang Zai’en bowed and watched the princess leave. He waited until the princess disappeared behind the tent door before he stood up and glanced at Pei Xiaoyuan.

On the way here just now, he did not take the initiative to ask like others, and never asked why the emperor summoned him.

Yang Zai’en hesitated for a moment, glanced at the princess’s tent again, and finally reminded softly: “His Majesty should be dissatisfied with the poem that Chief Pei handed in this morning. Chief Pei should be careful later.”

Pei Xiaoyuan cupped his hands in thanks. Yang Zai’en waved his hands, hurriedly led people to the imperial tent to report, and then signaled Pei Xiaoyuan to enter.

Pei Xiaoyuan entered the tent and saw only three people inside. In addition to Zhao Zhongfang who was guarding the medicine in the corner of the tent, there was also his uncle Cui Daosi in front of the emperor. Although he did not dare to speak when he saw him come in, his eyes were full of undisguised worry, panic, and a bit of warning.

“This minister, Pei Xiaoyuan, greet Your Majesty.” He stepped forward and saluted as usual.

The emperor’s face looked grim, and he didn’t even ask him to stand up.

“Pei Er, do you know what crime have you committed?”

Pei Xiaoyuan kowtowed again: “This minister was on duty in the camp with his subordinates, and was hurriedly summoned by the eunuch. Forgive this minister’s stupidity, this minister can’t remember what crime that have been committed.”

The emperor angrily waved his arm and threw the manuscript at him: “Open your eyes and read it carefully! See what is written on it!”

The manuscript was just a light piece of paper, but the emperor threw it across the table and directly onto Pei Xiaoyuan’s head. It hit his face and then fell to the ground slowly.

Pei Xiaoyuan lowered his head and picked it up, and saw that it was indeed the poem he had written.

To be honest, he had a chaotic dream last night, and the servant’s incessant chatter in the morning further annoyed him. Just then, the palace eunuch came urging him for the poem, so he hastily scribbled something down on impulse. Afterwards, he soon felt a little regretful, knowing that there was no need to write such poem. But since he had already written it, he could only leave it.

At this moment, he took his poem in his hand and read it several times according to the emperor’s order. He raised his head and met the emperor’s eyes that were looking at him coldly.

“Your Majesty, this is a poem this minister wrote at your order to congratulate Princess Shouchang on her return to the court. This minister is a mere soldier with little knowledge and poor literary talent. If it’s not met Your Majesty’s expectation, hope Your Majesty will forgive this minister.”

“What a mere soldier with so little knowledge! Zhen thinks you are very capable! You quote from classics and praise before you criticize! You are taking advantage of the great opportunity of the princess’s return to show off your cleverness and vent your dissatisfaction with the court and Zhen!”

“In days of old, there was the ‘Yi Lan Melody’, The Five Classics are like the deep ocean.”

The emperor repeated the couplet and then sneered, “Good poem, good poem. Pei’s son, you wrote such a good poem, what exactly do you mean? If it weren’t for your uncle’s intervention, afraid you would still be keeping Zhen in the dark!”

Cui Daosi was frightened by the emperor’s words, and he regretted his earlier remarks to the point where he wished he had bitten off his own tongue, sparing himself from causing such trouble with his own words. Hurriedly, he rushed to his nephew’s side and knelt beside him.

“Your Majesty! This minister has already confessed his fault—this was truly a misunderstanding on this minister’s part! This poem, from beginning to end, is all about praising the princess, and implicitly expressing the sincere admiration for her despite having wanted her but not being able to obtain her. It evokes the sentiment ‘I sought her but found her not; waking or sleeping, I yearn for her. Tossing and turning, my heart cannot rest.

“As for the two sentences mentioned by Your Majesty, they are a manifestation of Nephew’s admiration for the noble character of the ancient sages and his determination to emulate them and serve the court. Moreover, this poem is also modeled after ancient poetry, with no restrictions on form and more emphasis on expressing his feelings. This is his expression of admiration for the princess and his loyalty to the court. How can there be any dissatisfaction with the court or Your Majesty? Beg Your Majesty to understand!”

Cui Daosi’s speech was passionate and well-reasoned. After a long while, no other sound could be heard in the big tent. Only in the corner, Zhao Zhongfang had already finished boiling the medicine. He poured the medicine into a bowl, brought it to the front, and placed it on the table.

“Your Majesty, you can take the medicine once it cools down a little,” the old palace eunuch reminded.

The emperor seemed to have heard nothing, and just stared at Pei Xiaoyuan who was kneeling in front of him, and said coldly: “He has his own mouth, why does Minister Cui need to speak? Let him speak for himself, what did he write?”

After the emperor spoke like this, even if Cui Daosi had more mouths, he dared not say another word. He had to keep silent and kept looking at his nephew. Seeing that he still had his head slightly lowered and his eyes fixed on the ground, didn’t know what he was thinking, Cui Daosi couldn’t help but feel anxious and worried.

“Master Pei, His Majesty asked you to tell him yourself, what exactly does your poem mean?” The old palace eunuch waited for a moment and urged him.

“There are no outsiders here, and His Majesty is the most considerate of his subjects. You don’t have to worry.” The old palace eunuch said softly again.

Pei Xiaoyuan raised his head and said, “Since Your Majesty asked, this minister dares not hide anything. As for this poem, this minister has already explained—it was written to celebrate the princess’s return to the court. The princess’s nobility and beauty are rarely seen in this world. Even if this minister had never had the fortune of encountering the princess before, merely witnessing her exceptional grace on this occasion would be enough to move this minister, just as many young men in the court have undoubtedly been deeply impressed by her. Thus, this poem was composed with heartfelt emotion. Every word and line stems from my respect and admiration for the Princess.”

This reply could indeed be described as neither humble nor arrogant and it was beyond reproach.

However, when the old palace eunuch heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He secretly glanced at the emperor. As expected, the emperor was obviously dissatisfied with the answer he gave. His expression looked even worse than before. Then he asked again, “That’s fine! Then what about the two sentences mentioned just now?”

He stared at Pei Xiaoyuan in front of him and said, “Pei’s son, dare you swear to heaven that you really did not use this poem to express your dissatisfaction with Zhen and the court?”

As the emperor finished speaking, the tent fell into silence again.

At this point, Cui Daosi finally realized that the emperor seemed to be using this poem to deliberately make things difficult for his nephew tonight.

He didn’t know how his nephew had offended the emperor to such an extent. This was a matter of life and death if he didn’t handle it well. He knew his nephew’s temper to some extent, and was afraid that his nephew would not handle it properly. He was about to speak again when he heard his nephew’s reply.

“This minister remember when receiving the official letter in Ganliang at the beginning of the year. The night before entering the capital, (paternal) Uncle had a conversation with this minister and we talked about Your Majesty at that time.”

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this.

“Uncle told this minister that in his eyes, Your Majesty is a rare ruler who can restore the country.”

Pei Xiaoyuan stopped.

The emperor’s expression suddenly froze, and a strange look flashed across his eyes, as if he was stunned, surprised, and somewhat incredulous.

Soon, the emperor regained his composure and asked in a slightly stiff tone, “Why do you say this in front of Zhen?”

“In this minister’s eyes, Uncle has rarely made mistakes. If even he has made such a determination, then Your Majesty’s brilliance and wisdom naturally surpass those of all ministers and the countless common people under heaven—this is beyond question. This minister is not talented and have little knowledge. This minister wrote this poem on a whim. Whether it is disrespectful as Your Majesty said, it is useless for this minister to defend himself. With Your Majesty’s wisdom and vision, the truth must already be clear at a glance. Therefore, this minister begs Your Majesty to decide as you see fit. No matter your judgment—be it death or punishment—this minister is ready to accept it willingly.”

After Pei Xiaoyuan finished speaking, he raised his manuscript of poem with both hands above his head as if asking the emperor to read it, and then lowered his head.

The atmosphere in the tent became strange. Cui Daosi was secretly shocked by his nephew’s audacity, but was also surprised to find that his response seemed to have hit the emperor’s vital point.

The emperor was as stiff as a stone statue, the desire to unleash his anger blocked in his chest, unable to erupt. Cui Daosi didn’t dare to take a single breath. Zhao Zhongfang’s face darkened as he scolded: “You’re so bold, Pei Xiaoyuan! His Majesty called you here merely to inquire about the meaning behind your poem—when did he ever mention punishing or executing you? And yet here you are, dragging Lord Pei’s words into this! His Majesty is the ruler of a restored golden age, a wise and illustrious monarch—does this even need to be stated? Who in the world doesn’t already know this? And now you’re asking His Majesty to scrutinize your poem further just to determine your guilt? I see it clearly—you’ve grown arrogant from favor and completely lost your sense of propriety!”

After he finished scolding, he held up the medicine bowl with both hands, brought it to the emperor, and whispered: “Your Majesty, it’s time to take the medicine. Don’t argue with a child. The princess just said that you must not get angry and hurt yourself. Your Majesty, please take the medicine first.”

The emperor’s eyes bulged as he stared at Pei Xiaoyuan, who was kneeling in front of him with his manuscript in hand. Slowly, he took the medicine bowl, drank it in a few gulps, threw the bowl away. He then closed his eyes, opened them again and turned to Cui Daosi, his tone now calm: “Minister Cui, in your opinion, which of these poems are outstanding, and whose is the best?”

Cui Daosi sensed that the emperor was attempting to shift the topic to gracefully extricate himself from the tense situation. He was more than eager to comply. Rising quickly, he picked up the stack of poems selected earlier and flipped through them once again, this time making sure to set aside personal biases. Without delay, he declared the poem by the Bohai Prince, Lantai, as the best of the collection.

The emperor took Lantai’s poem and glanced over, nodding repeatedly. Finally, a smile appeared on his face: “It’s just as Zhen thought. Our dynasty has such an outstanding young man. Although he is a foreigner, his loyalty to the princess, to Zhen, and to the court is far better than some of the children who claim to be from noble families. It’s truly gratifying.”

When the emperor uttered this seemingly unintentional sigh, he did not even glance at Pei Xiaoyuan. He paused for a moment and then issued an order: “Tomorrow, Zhen will ask Lantai to serve as Zhen’s imperial hunting officer and accompany Zhen. This will be considered a reward for his good poem!”

Previous     TOC     Next