Her voice was gentle and soft, yet somehow carried an odd sense of pressure. Hua Chun was still standing there when the Noble Consort boldly plopped herself down onto the Emperor’s lap.
Truly not treating her like an outsider at all…
Yuwen Jie didn’t move, but he didn’t push her away either, his hand still resting on the armrest of the chair.
“The Prime Minister’s proposal is for the sake of the realm’s people. If it means sacrificing family ties for the greater good, I won’t stand in the way. Noble Consort Hua, speak with the Prime Minister yourself.”
Hua Chun cupped her hands, about to speak, when Noble Consort Hua let out a coquettish laugh, crisp and sharp as firecrackers going off:
“Older Brother has never spared my feelings either. If he says construction stops, there’s nothing I can do about it. But — if we’re stopping construction, let’s stop it all. The Hua family’s back courtyard needn’t be renovated either. We can save that money for relief efforts too. What does Older Brother think?”
Weren’t these two siblings not exactly on the best terms? Hua Chun stole a couple of glances at Noble Consort Hua — every word carried a thorn. Was renovating a palace hall really comparable to renovating the back courtyard of the Hua family estate? The Hua family’s courtyard wasn’t even funded by the state treasury — this proposal made no sense at all.
Just as she was about to object, Yuwen Jie spoke up: “The Prime Minister is a model for all officials. When it comes to famine relief, he’ll naturally take the lead in donating silver himself — no need for Noble Consort Hua to remind him.”
Hua Chun: “……”
Putting the high hat on first, backing someone into a corner they couldn’t escape — wasn’t that trick a little familiar? She’d literally just used it herself. Not bad, applying what he’d just learned so quickly.
Noble Consort Hua covered her mouth, her seductive eyes narrowing at Hua Chun. “Is that so?”
“Yes. As long as Your Majesty puts the realm’s people first, this subject will naturally set an example for all officials, and will not disappoint Your Majesty.” Being newly arrived and not particularly familiar with the Hua family’s situation, Hua Chun had no choice but to grit her teeth and nod along.
Noble Consort Hua gave a light huff, pressed her lips together, then rose and bowed to the Emperor. “Since Older Brother has said as much, I shan’t be the wicked temptress who ruins the nation either. The matter of renovating Yong’an Hall shall be left to Your Majesty and the Prime Minister to decide.”
That easy to deal with?
Hua Chun brightened, lowering her head to bow. Yuwen Jie nodded as well, watching Hua Liuying leave.
“Since Noble Consort Hua has no objection either, then as Grand Tutor Tang suggested, we’ll postpone the renovation of Yong’an Hall and prioritize famine relief instead.” He said, “Is the Prime Minister satisfied?”
“Satisfied!” Hua Chun answered with a beaming smile, then realized her tone was off and quickly lowered her head respectfully. “Your Majesty is wise.”
Yuwen Jie watched her quietly for a moment, then rubbed his brow wearily. “Does the Prime Minister have anything else to say?”
“This subject has no other pressing matters. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Mm.”
Stepping out of the study, Hua Chun broke into a cold sweat as the wind hit her, and she shivered.
This Emperor didn’t seem to be much of a talker, quite different from those cheerful old men in other period dramas — utterly cold. Though he looked to be only in his twenties, that stern face carried real weight, and it was no wonder all the senior officials were too intimidated to speak up around him. And judging by the details, he was probably of martial background — solidly built and tall, nothing like a delicate pretty-boy.
Her mind felt a little foggy. Hua Chun suddenly couldn’t recall the name of the actor who’d played this Emperor in the drama. Normally, for a main character, the opening credits would introduce them, wouldn’t they?
She thought about it carefully and suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
That drama on her computer — had it… never actually had an opening or ending sequence at all? It had gone straight into the story from the start, and she’d been so absorbed watching that she hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Only now, remembering it, did it seem unsettling.
How could a normal TV drama not have an opening or closing sequence at all?
She clenched her hands and quickened her pace, trying to leave the palace, but the pain in her backside made her walk pigeon-toed, and no amount of hurrying helped.
As Eunuch Qin attended him onto the imperial carriage, preparing to head back to the inner palace, Yuwen Jie casually glanced back toward the square in front of the study.
There, Hua Chun was twisting side to side, muttering to herself: “Bring me into the palace on a sedan chair and then make me walk out on my own — talk about using someone up and tossing them aside once they’ve served their purpose…”
One hand pressed to her waist, the other bracing her leg, Hua Chun had turned what should have been an elegant, jade-tree Prime Minister into a decrepit old man on his last legs, her ridiculous movements becoming quite the sight along the palace path.
A flicker of light passed through Yuwen Jie’s eyes. He paused, then calmly turned back around.
“Your Majesty?” Eunuch Qin glanced at him, a little surprised.
Had his eyes deceived him? For a moment there, it almost seemed like His Majesty had… smiled?
“Let’s move,” Yuwen Jie said, his voice cool and expressionless, then leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes to rest.
“…Yes.” Clearing his throat, Eunuch Qin composed himself and ordered the servants carrying the imperial carriage to proceed.
Having attended the Emperor for so many years, he had rarely ever seen him smile. When pleased, his eyes might carry a bit more energy; when displeased, his eyes would half-close — but the corners of his mouth had never once curved upward.
Yet just now, in that brief instant, it had genuinely looked as if His Majesty’s lips had lifted slightly, as though he’d been amused by something.
An inexplicable pang of sadness struck him.
Ascending the throne so young had granted His Majesty boundless glory, but it had also robbed him of the simple joys an ordinary person was entitled to.
Once outside the palace gates, Hua Chun could finally sit in a sedan chair again. Grand Tutor Tang, Li Zhongtang, and the others were still waiting for her right outside the gate, surrounding her the moment she appeared.
“No need to ask, no need to worry.” Hua Chun raised a hand to hold them off. “The memorial has already been passed to His Majesty, and he’s agreed to postpone the renovation of Yong’an Hall. Right now, I just want to go home and rest properly.”
“Wonderful!” The old men huddled together in celebration, then quickly and clumsily helped her into her sedan chair.
“How did His Majesty agree so easily?” Grand Tutor Tang didn’t even bother getting into his own sedan chair, walking alongside hers instead, asking as he went, “What did the Prime Minister say to him?”
Hua Chun was too exhausted to even lift her hand, and hadn’t planned on responding, but seeing them so eager, she couldn’t help but pull back the small window curtain. “Noble Consort Hua came forward herself and said that as long as I set an example by halting construction on the Hua family’s back courtyard first, she’d agree to halt Yong’an Hall’s renovation as well. His Majesty agreed to this proposal too, so I had no choice but to go along with it.”
Grand Tutor Tang’s smile froze on his face, and Li Zhongtang’s smile faded as well. The two faces outside the window stared blankly for a moment, then exchanged careful glances.
What was with that reaction?
Hua Chun didn’t understand. “What’s wrong?”
Grand Tutor Tang opened his mouth, hesitated, then finally sighed. “For the Prime Minister to sacrifice so much for the nation truly puts this old servant to shame.”
“Please take care of yourself, Prime Minister!” Li Zhongtang said solemnly.
So they all thought Noble Consort Hua’s proposal was a bit unreasonable? Hua Chun sighed along with them, waved a hand at them generously, then let the curtain fall.
The Hua family’s back courtyard construction being delayed a bit shouldn’t be that big of a deal, should it? Still, for Noble Consort Hua to bring it up like that seemed rather thoughtless — after all, they were family. What was the point of infighting within one’s own household?
The sedan chair rocked and swayed, carrying her back to the Prime Minister’s residence. As she stepped out, clutching her backside, Hua Chun spotted her loud-voiced mother right away:
“Oh, my child! You’re finally home!”