Xingfu dismissed several eunuchs with light movements, standing to the side holding a towel and beaming with smiles as he waited for Emperor Jianzhang to emerge from the horse grounds.
“Why are you the one doing this task today?” Emperor Jianzhang walked past him with his hands behind his back, noticing Xingfu following closely. “Does the Ceremonial Directorate have nothing to do?”
Xingfu felt somewhat apprehensive in his heart. Under his direction, the Vice Minister of War had already pushed all responsibility for the Tongzhou incident onto the Zijing Pass commander Yuan Hong, accusing him of failing to fulfill his duties diligently, allowing Tartar troops to break through, which led to the devastation of the people of Tongzhou. However, the Minister of War Cen Biliang, Zijing Pass commander Yuan Hong, and a pile of censors from the Censorate had all submitted memorials saying there were other hidden circumstances in this matter.
Over the years, he had received considerable sums from the Tartars through his adopted son, and his adopted son had even exchanged correspondence with high-ranking Tartars from time to time. Now, seeing the matter escalating, his heart had already begun to panic.
At present, the Emperor’s attitude seemed increasingly inscrutable. His heart grew even more uneasy, and just as he was carefully choosing his words to speak, he heard Emperor Jianzhang’s voice explode like spring thunder beside his ear: “All memorials concerning the Tongzhou chaos shall be submitted directly to me through the Grand Secretariat. I will personally review and approve them!”
His face turned deathly pale, and suddenly his legs felt so weak he could barely stand. In an instant, he was drenched in cold sweat.
The chief eunuch following Emperor Jianzhang glanced at him imperceptibly and reported softly to Emperor Jianzhang: “Your Majesty, someone from Qingning Palace just came to report that Princess Duanhui has been in the palace for over two hours.”
Mentioning his only blood niece, Emperor Jianzhang’s expression softened somewhat. Xingfu, following behind, suddenly felt his heart lighten, and couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
Princess Duanhui was in the palace, and the Emperor was going to dine at the Empress’s Qingning Palace. Xingfu couldn’t very well continue following, so he had no choice but to reluctantly take his leave.
Xing’an, who had been waiting at the residence, hurriedly threw aside his beautiful concubine and rushed out to meet him, fastening his clothing belt while bowing and scraping as he asked: “How did it go, Uncle? What does His Majesty mean?”
Xingfu had been castrated and entered the palace since childhood, and had always been quite indulgent toward this sole heir of the Xing family. Although displeased with his dissolute behavior, he merely glared at him fiercely and walked faster with his hands behind his back.
“Uncle, please speak!” Xing’an was extremely anxious, following closely behind Xingfu. “This is no small matter. Those bastards at the Censorate seem to have eaten something wrong—every one of them is biting at us relentlessly…”
Unexpectedly, Xingfu suddenly stopped. Unable to brake in time, he crashed directly into Xingfu’s back, couldn’t help crying out “ow,” and clutched his head while beginning to babble again: “I’m serious, Uncle. When those bookworms make trouble, it’s no joke. If they really make a big fuss, won’t our affairs be exposed? Should we send some people to…” He made a throat-slitting gesture, his face, ravaged by excessive indulgence, taking on a sinister quality.
Xingfu glared at him irritably: “At this critical juncture, if something happens to them, won’t it make us look even more suspicious?! Stop being clever! I’ll figure out how to handle this matter—you just behave yourself!”
Xing’an had never been very afraid of his uncle. He wrinkled his nose, hung his head, and made a face.
“Imperial Uncle knew full well I was entering the palace today, yet he deliberately chose this time to go riding—clearly intending to leave me waiting on purpose.” Lady Cui propped her chin in her hand, leaning on a rocking chair as she watched a tank of goldfish kept in the Empress’s palace. “That little red-tailed silver-bodied fellow is still alive? What a long life it has. It’s also thanks to Your Majesty’s patience—if it were me raising them…”
“They’d be long dead!” Emperor Jianzhang’s voice arrived before his person. “With your temperament, you can raise fish? In my view, you’re only fit to raise that precious son of yours.”
Everyone in the hall hurried to bow. Emperor Jianzhang waved his hand to excuse them and smiled at the Empress: “You’ve truly worked hard, staying with this chatterbox. Your ears are probably growing calluses. Has she been complaining about me all morning?”
The Empress smiled faintly and shook her head, then sat in the seat of honor with the Emperor. She personally took the tea handed to her by a female official and presented it to him before smiling: “She’s just annoyed that you went riding and didn’t come to see her.”
Emperor Jianzhang took a sip and set the cup on the table, his brow clearly full of amusement, though his words sounded reproachful: “She’s quite the one to complain first. I haven’t blamed you for not coming to see the Empress and me immediately upon returning to the capital, yet you blame me first.”
Prince Zhuang had died taking an arrow for Emperor Jianzhang from Prince Tai, and was Emperor Jianzhang’s full brother from the same mother. They had been extremely close since childhood. After his death, Emperor Jianzhang doted greatly on this only blood niece. Princess Duanhui’s expenses and treatment were all comparable to Princess Rongcheng’s. She was raised in the Empress’s palace for a full eight years and married directly from the imperial palace.
Princess Duanhui had always been even bolder than Princess Rongcheng. Hearing this, she immediately raised her willow-leaf brows in mock anger: “Imperial Uncle has the nerve to say that, knowing full well how difficult this trip back was for me. If I hadn’t encountered that frightening incident in Tongzhou, I would have returned long ago. How would it have been delayed until now?”
Mentioning the Tongzhou incident, a strange glint flashed through Emperor Jianzhang’s eyes, and then he chided her: “When the Tongzhou matter was resolved, you didn’t enter the palace immediately either—didn’t you first go to Earl Changning’s residence? Now you’ve learned to turn the tables and find fault with your Imperial Uncle. You’ve made progress!”
Princess Duanhui smiled as she took a jade rod to tease the goldfish, muttering as if casually: “That’s easy to say—after all, there are still people of Cui family blood in that residence. I couldn’t very well let them be bullied! If I hadn’t gone to get justice for them… who knows what state things would be in now!”
The Empress’s eyes showed curiosity, and after thinking for a moment she said: “You just mentioned briefly that the second wife at Earl Changning’s residence was restless and nearly harmed Tingting’s children? Earl Changning’s residence has always had strict family discipline, and with the Grand Madam presiding—yet such a thing still occurred…”
Princess Duanhui glanced at Emperor Jianzhang, who kept nodding: “Exactly. If she hadn’t already killed herself by ramming her head against something, I truly would have come to beg Imperial Uncle and Your Majesty to issue an edict to properly deal with this Li Shi with her sweet face and venomous heart.”
“You’d better think about how to deal with yourself first.” Emperor Jianzhang glared at her. “You even went to someone’s home to make a scene. What, you think because I back you up you can be utterly lawless? Let me tell you, stop causing wild trouble. That old fellow Song Chengru can’t withstand your torment many more times. People are needed everywhere right now—if you drive him away, you’ll have to take his place yourself.”
Princess Duanhui blinked at the Empress and muttered something before finally becoming obedient.
The Empress couldn’t help but smile, then turned to look at the Emperor with amusement: “Speaking of which, I haven’t yet met Tingting’s daughter. I hear that though young in years, she’s quite sensible and understands propriety. If there’s an opportunity, I must have a good look at her.”