On the twenty-third day, three days before the Emperor’s fiftieth birthday celebration, Jia Fu and her son Ci’er quietly arrived in the capital without alerting any outsiders.
It was already deep into the night when the carriage carrying the mother and son entered the Imperial Palace directly through the Left Chang’an Gate. Upon reaching Chengtan Gate, they dismounted from the carriage and transferred to a fully enclosed sedan chair. Palace servants carried them northward through Duan Gate, passing through the corridor between the Altar of Land and Grain on the left and the Imperial Ancestral Temple on the right, through Wu Gate, and then westward. In the depths of night, layer upon layer of tightly shut palace gates opened in succession. This procession finally passed through Xihua Gate and arrived at the Western Garden. After the third watch of the night, they were delivered to a palace garden called Banana Garden.
Banana Garden was lush with flowers and trees, featuring white bridges over clear waters. The Taiye Pool and the garden ponds are connected in graceful curves. The ponds housed hundreds of foot-long colorful koi. On clear days, standing on the bridge and scattering fish food across the water’s surface, one could watch the koi swimming and jumping competitively—a delightful sight. The palace chambers provided for the mother and son had been prepared with meticulous care: cloud-patterned carpets covered the floor, splendid brocade curtains hung, jade screens reflected brocade glow, and incense burned in bo-mountain censers.
The journey from the palace gate to hereby sedan chair wasn’t particularly short. Ci’er, cradled in Jia Fu’s arms in the chair, had fallen into a deep sleep in his mother’s embrace. After settling her son, Jia Fu spent the night sleeping fully clothed on her son’s outer side. Despite the fatigue from traveling, she couldn’t sleep at all and remained awake until dawn.
The next morning, when Ci’er awoke after a good sleep, Cui Yinshui was already waiting outside the hall to attend to them. Jia Fu refused his service and sent him away. Cui Yinshui knelt on the ground, but Jia Fu wouldn’t allow other palace servants to enter and serve either. She helped her son dress and wash his face herself and also combed his hair. After getting ready and having breakfast, Ci’er curiously examined his surroundings. Learning that this was the “Imperial Palace,” the great house, he remembered the never-met “Imperial Grandfather” mentioned by the tall eunuch and asked, “Mother, when can I meet Imperial Grandfather?”
Just as he finished speaking, Jia Fu heard Li Yuangui’s voice from outside: “Madam, His Majesty has arrived.”
Jia Fu turned her head and, accompanied by footsteps, saw a figure crossing the threshold, appearing at the entrance of the hall. The man slowly walked several steps inside, then stopped.
Xiao Lie had arrived, wearing a black gauze folded-top hat and a round-collared, narrow-sleeved robe with golden dragons embroidered on each shoulder, standing still in place.
Jia Fu was slightly surprised.
She had left the capital for Suye City in the autumn of the second year of Zhaoping, and now it was spring of the sixth year of Zhaoping. The intervening three to four years wasn’t particularly short, nor was it very long, but the Emperor appeared to have aged considerably. Perhaps due to excessive worries about state affairs in recent years, his temples now showed strands of gray hair.
In Jia Fu’s original impression, the Emperor should still have been a middle-aged man, but at this moment, upon first seeing him, she felt that the Emperor had truly aged and no longer possessed the vigor of his prime years.
Jia Fu only looked once before immediately lowering her head. She guided Ci’er beside her to kneel with her, leading him to kowtow to the man before them, addressing him as “Your Majesty.”
Xiao Lie’s gaze fell upon the small figure kneeling beside Jia Fu and bowing to him, staring fixedly, his body motionless. A moment later, seeing the child secretly raising his head to peek at him with bright eyes showing curiosity and confusion, he smiled at the child and beckoned to him.
Ci’er then got up from the ground and walked toward the person wearing yellow robes with a jade belt around his waist, stopping several steps away. He tilted his head slightly, exchanged glances with Xiao Lie for a moment, hesitated, then asked softly, “Are you my Imperial Grandfather?” His voice was childish, still with a hint of baby-talk, but his manner was extremely solemn.
Xiao Lie’s voice trembled slightly: “Are you Ci’er?”
Ci’er nodded: “Ci’er is my childhood name. My formal name is Pei Yi Yuan. The ‘Yi Yuan’ from ‘The kite flies reaching the sky, the fish leaps into the deep.'”
Xiao Lie gazed at the child before him, forcibly suppressing the boundless excitement welling up in his heart, walked toward him, and finally stopped in front of him.
“Pei Yi Yuan, I am your Imperial Grandfather!”
Xiao Lie bent down, picked up the child, and lifted him high above his head.
Jia Fu looked up to see her son’s small body being lifted high above the Emperor’s head. Her son let out joyful laughter, the sound ringing like bells, echoing in the four corners of the hall, and her heart grew increasingly alarmed.
She couldn’t help but recall the scene of her last meeting with the Emperor. At that time, she had rushed to the capital to seek an audience with the Emperor. The Emperor, his anger not yet subsided, had questioned her about exactly what she knew when she was granted an audience.
She had managed to handle it then. The Emperor might have truly believed her, or perhaps he didn’t believe her but tacitly accepted it.
Several years had passed, and that day when Li Yuangui came to fetch her and Ci’er, addressing Ci’er as “Imperial Grandson” had already surprised her. Now, the Emperor directly acknowledged Ci’er in front of her, without the slightest attempt at concealment.
What did he intend to do?
As if sensing her astonishment, Xiao Lie slowly put Ci’er down, looked at Jia Fu, and said: “I received your birthday gift. Ci’er is my grandson, my grandson. You have raised him well. You may rise. Now that you’ve come, you should stay with peace of mind.” After speaking, he looked at the child, his face breaking into a smile: “Ci’er, would you like Imperial Grandfather to take you to his place to play?”
Ci’er was about to nod but hesitated, turned his head to look at Jia Fu, and ran back to her: “Mother, Imperial Grandfather wants to take me to his place to play. May I go?”
Jia Fu met the Emperor’s sharp gaze directed at her, looked at her son whose eyes were filled with anticipation, and slowly nodded.
Ci’er turned back happily and said to Xiao Lie: “Imperial Grandfather, my mother has allowed it!”
He turned again to look at Jia Fu: “Mother, after I finish playing with Imperial Grandfather, I’ll come back to accompany you.”
After saying this, as if remembering something, he quickly ran inside and came out holding his chess box in his hands.
Jia Fu watched as Xiao Lie took her son’s hand, leading the skipping child out through the hall doors, their figures gradually disappeared from her sight, and she couldn’t help falling into a daze.
…
Xiao Lie dismissed the morning court and took Ci’er to the Imperial Study, sending away the palace attendants. Li Yuangui, with a face full of smiles, personally served twelve plates of dried fruits—including longan, lychee, apricot kernels, eight-treasure candy, pickled plums, dates, and chestnuts—and six plates of fresh fruits—including apples, pears, and grapes. He then withdrew, leaving only grandfather and grandson facing each other.
Xiao Lie beckoned, signaling Ci’er to come over. Seeing him hugging the chess box, eyes fixed unblinkingly on his face, he smiled and asked: “Why is Ci’er looking at Imperial Grandfather like that?”
Ci’er said: “My mother told me earlier that you, Imperial Grandfather, are different from ordinary people. How are you different?”
Xiao Lie was taken aback, touched his face, then burst into hearty laughter. He carried Ci’er onto his usual resting couch, which was surrounded on three sides by purple sandalwood borders with mother-of-pearl cloud-and-dragon inlay screens, and said with a smile: “Your mother was wrong! Imperial Grandfather is no different from ordinary people. When I can’t see Ci’er, I miss you too.”
“That beardless man also said that you, Imperial Grandfather, were sick, and that’s why you brought me and my mother to see you. Has your illness improved, Imperial Grandfather?”
Xiao Lie laughed heartily again and nodded: “When Imperial Grandfather sees Ci’er, all his illnesses are cured.”
Ci’er showed a delighted expression. Xiao Lie looked at the box he was holding and asked with a smile: “What is Ci’er carrying?”
Ci’er quickly placed the box on a small table on the couch, carefully opened the lid, took out the chess pieces one by one, and said: “This is the birthday gift my father gave me, made by his own hands. Would you like to play chess, Imperial Grandfather? If you don’t know how Ci’er can teach you.”
“Good, good!”
Xiao Lie nodded hastily, climbed onto the couch, and sat cross-legged opposite Ci’er.
Ci’er unfolded the chess board, arranged the pieces for both sides one by one, all while teaching Xiao Lie how to move them, his expression serious and focused.
Xiao Lie gazed at the busy little figure across from him, and beyond gratification, his eyes gradually revealed a determined look as if he had made his final decision.
“Pei Yi Yuan, in three more days, Imperial Grandfather will turn fifty years old. At that time, in front of the Wu Gate of the Imperial Palace, there will be a ceremony of presenting captives. Those captives are all Japanese pirates who have harmed our Great Wei’s coastal people. For decades, they have committed all manner of evil deeds—killing and burning. Now those pirates have all been wiped out, and the Japanese envoys, trembling with fear, have submitted letters of guilt. Imperial Grandfather will then order the beheading of all those people in front of Wu Gate, to display our national might and honor our heroic spirits. Pei Yi Yuan, are you afraid?”
Ci’er’s face gradually reddened, his eyes widening: “Pei Yi Yuan is not afraid! My father, in Suye City, has killed countless villains! Pei Yi Yuan also wants to grow up soon and kill bad people with my father!”
“Good! Let me ask you again, at that time, would you be willing to accompany Imperial Grandfather to ascend Wu Gate and watch this grand ceremony?”
“Pei Yi Yuan is willing!”
Ci’er, tightly gripping the chess piece in his hand, nodded and said.
Xiao Lie laughed heartily once more, his laughter shaking the hall tiles: “Good! Then Imperial Grandfather will hold you to it. At that time, Imperial Grandfather will take you to ascend Wu Gate Tower, and you will help Imperial Grandfather give the order to kill all those presumptuous rascals who dare to offend our Great Wei!”