Had that been a nightmare? Hua Chun tapped her own head, feeling a little disoriented.
Why would she have a dream like that? She’d only met that emperor once today, and yet in her dream she’d been startled awake by those very eyes — that was quite the psychological scarring. And how had she never noticed she had this built-in navigation feature in her dreams before? Touring the whole of Yanjing in a single dream — if she ever wanted to travel in the future, she wouldn’t even need to fight the crowds. Just lie down in a hotel and take a nap.
She turned her head to look outside; faint light was already seeping in through the paper-covered window — morning must be approaching soon. She yawned and instinctively rubbed her own backside.
It still ached, but not nearly as stiff and dull as she’d expected. She moved her legs a little and found no major problems.
That plaster those old men had given her seemed to actually work — faster and more effective than the days spent waiting in line for an IV drip back in modern times.
Just as she was feeling pleased about this, the door to her room was pushed open, followed by that wailing voice she’d already come to know all too well:
“Prime Minister—!”
Hua Chun immediately flopped back onto her pillow, feigning deep sleep.
Grand Tutor Tang was the first to rush in, held back forcefully by Pin Tan, but still shouting from the outer room: “Prime Minister, it’s time for court! The palanquin is already waiting outside!”
Absolutely shameless! Hua Chun kept her head buried, playing dead. Even if she didn’t hurt as much anymore, she was still a patient, wasn’t she? Just one day of rest and they already wanted her back at court — did they have no humanity left?
“Prime Minister?” Li Zhongtang was shouting too. “Still not awake? We’ll be late!”
The voices grated on her ears like some cursed melody. Hua Chun gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay perfectly still, absolutely refusing to make a sound! Court, who was that? She didn’t know him, she was still practically a child — why couldn’t they just leave her alone?
Pin Tan finally couldn’t hold out any longer. She glanced toward the inner room and reluctantly gave in. “Gentlemen, please wait a moment, this servant will go help the Prime Minister get up.”
“Good.” The men agreed in unison, dutifully standing with their hands behind their backs in the outer room. Judging by their posture, it was clear that if Prime Minister Hua didn’t rise on her own, they’d be marching in to help her up personally.
“Master.” Pin Tan leaned close to Hua Chun’s ear and whispered helplessly, “This servant can’t hold them off any longer. You’re on your own now!”
With that, she called over two more servants, and together they hauled Hua Chun straight up off the bed.
Hua Chun nearly cried. She opened her eyes with an aggrieved look. “It hurts!”
“Please bear with it a little, Master,” Pin Tan said. “Once we change the plaster for a fresh one, walking won’t be too difficult.”
Nonsense — clearly it was still very difficult! Hua Chun tried shuffling a few steps, muttering bitterly, “I’ve basically traded my backside for legs like the Little Mermaid! Every step feels like I’m walking on broken glass.”
“What did you say, Master?” Pin Tan blinked.
“Nothing.” Hua Chun pursed her lips, obediently changed into her official robes, then held her waist and shuffled out of the inner room, wincing with every twist of movement.
There was no escaping fate — with such a devoted crowd of old men around her, she’d have to crawl her way into the palace today if that’s what it took.
“Prime Minister!”
Seeing her emerge, everyone outside grew excited, quickly clearing a path and gathering around her to escort her out.
“Knowing the Prime Minister has trouble walking, we’ve prepared a sedan chair and a palanquin — please, take a seat, Prime Minister!” Li Zhongtang said with a smile.
Hua Chun looked up and saw, in the middle of four bearers at the door, a chair upholstered in tiger skin. No exaggeration — real tiger skin.
“……” If she sat in that, wouldn’t she look exactly like some mountain bandit chieftain?
Given how far these people had gone for her, Hua Chun felt it would be too much of a letdown not to play along as their human shield now. Looking at all these smiling old faces, it really wasn’t easy for them either.
With a sigh, she resigned herself and sat down.
“Let’s go, off to court!”
Grand Tutor Tang called out, and the bearers lifted Hua Chun up, while five or six elderly officials surrounded the sedan chair, escorting her all the way out and helping her transfer to a proper palanquin.
This whole procession really wasn’t so different from that of some mountain bandit chieftain.
By the time they reached the palace, Hua Chun was still wondering how she was supposed to walk in, when Grand Tutor Tang and the others naturally placed her back on the sedan chair.
Hua Chun was a little baffled. “Aren’t we only supposed to walk once inside the palace?”
She recalled reading somewhere in an old text — upon entering the palace, one dismounts from carriages and horses; princes and nobles alike proceed on foot. Could this dynasty really be different?
Li Zhongtang laughed. “There’s no need to worry, Prime Minister. Yesterday the Empress Dowager issued a decree that whenever Prime Minister Hua attends court, he is to be carried by sedan chair throughout, granted the same honor as the Empress.”
Huh? Hua Chun choked.
This Prime Minister Hua was, at least outwardly, supposed to be a man, wasn’t it? Being granted “the same honor as the Empress” seemed a little strange, didn’t it?
Before she could voice any opinion, Grand Tutor Tang continued, “There’s no need to worry, Prime Minister. The Empress Dowager has everything under control, and His Majesty won’t hold it against you either. Time’s getting short — let’s hurry to the Xuanzheng Hall.”
At his words, the bearers immediately picked up their pace, carrying her forward swiftly and steadily. The old officials in their court robes trotted alongside as well. Hua Chun found the whole scene strangely familiar — if you swapped the old men for fluttering-skirted fairy maidens scattering flower petals, it would look practically identical to the grand entrance of some sect leader in a fantasy drama.
Wouldn’t a spectacle like this annoy the other court officials?
As it turned out, not at all. When her tiger-skin sedan chair came to a stop outside the main hall, every official who saw her bowed respectfully, calling out, “Prime Minister Hua.”
Hua Chun smiled awkwardly, holding her waist as she shuffled into the great hall. She was still wondering where she was supposed to stand when a nearby official had already brought over a chair, placing it directly across from the throne, to the right. “Please, Prime Minister, have a seat!”
Could she really sit? Hua Chun didn’t dare act rashly, lowering her eyes and waiting for someone else to speak first.
The officials exchanged glances, until Grand Tutor Tang finally spoke up. “There’s no need to worry, Prime Minister. This seat was granted by the Empress Dowager.”
The Empress Dowager again — with this many privileges granted, Prime Minister Hua’s backing must be quite formidable indeed. Hua Chun mused to herself, then cupped her hands toward the chair and slowly sat down.
“His Majesty arrives—!” Eunuch Qin bellowed, startling Hua Chun so badly she nearly toppled off her seat.
The hall fell instantly silent. The officials split into two rows and knelt in unison. “Long live His Majesty, long live, long live!”
Hua Chun looked up to see Yuwen Jie, in his dragon robe, climbing the steps from the side, turning to face the crowd below, sweeping his gaze across everyone present.
Seeing him again, he still carried that same overwhelming aura of dominance, his lowered gaze seeming to survey the world beneath him with disdain — it left her momentarily stunned. Whether it was the angle or not, this time he seemed even more good-looking somehow, his features softer, gentler than before.
Just as she was quietly praising him in her head, in the next instant, the Emperor’s gaze landed directly on her.
Hua Chun startled, glancing left and right. Was she really that eye-catching? Shouldn’t the Emperor be saying “rise, my officials” by now? Why was he just staring straight at her without a word?