In the twelfth year of the Yuanzhen era, during the seventh month, Zhao Mingming sat astride her horse, protected on her left and right by Zeng Yue and Fan Ying, as they departed Bohai Commandery to return to the capital.
Shi Le stood at the city gate with the officials and generals of Youzhou Province, seeing them off. He only withdrew his gaze after the procession had traveled far into the distance and the ceremonial canopy representing the Crown Princess could no longer be seen.
Once the officials had dispersed, Shi Le couldn’t help but sigh to Zhang Bin, “She truly is the descendant of dragons and phoenixes. She resembles the Emperor far too much.” The wolf cub had grown up, and quite ferociously at that.
Zhang Bin smiled and said, “The Crown Princess is intelligent, and the foundation of the state is solid. This is a tremendous blessing.”
Shi Le’s feelings were complicated. He murmured, “She lacks some of her mother’s forbearance and magnanimity. It would be better if she resembled her father even more.”
Zhang Bin replied with amusement, “My lord, the Crown Princess is only ten years old this year. Children of this age are spirited and high-minded. Wait another ten years before making judgments. In this humble official’s opinion, she is actually more tender-hearted and will prove more benevolent than Her Majesty.”
“Benevolent?” Shi Le scoffed. “What use is benevolence? Even if one is benevolent, it must be applied appropriately. Misplaced soft-heartedness only harms good people and benefits the wicked. In this campaign against the Eastern Xianbei, was the Emperor benevolent? In my view, we should have let the army charge through completely. Those Eastern tribes, dozens of them both famous and obscure, scattered in stockades every hundred li, speaking different tongues and knowing no propriety—whether they have wealth or not, whenever they’re idle they raid southward. I know these people all too well. Only by beating them thoroughly and exterminating their tribes will they remember the lesson.”
So he had wanted to unleash wholesale slaughter, but the Crown Princess came to supervise the army, saw those people, and became soft-hearted, choosing only to take prisoners rather than kill.
Zhang Bin smiled at him, knowing that although he was somewhat displeased, he didn’t truly mind.
That the Crown Princess had spared those prisoners was actually a good thing. If she had truly watched the army massacre all those people, never mind him—even Shi Le himself would have had misgivings.
She was only ten years old, after all.
Who could be hard-hearted enough to watch the massacre of so many people without changing expression?
Better that the next sovereign be merciful rather than cruel. Moreover, this Crown Princess, despite her tender years, could lead troops at the front lines without being frightened by the battlefield’s bloodshed, nor was she blindly merciful. This was already excellent.
As for supervising the army, that was just for appearances. Zhao Hanzhang had sent her out to gain experience, to know that this world was not as peaceful and prosperous as what she had seen in Luoyang.
The ten-year-old Zhao Mingming was very intelligent and matured faster than her peers, which also made her somewhat prideful and overconfident.
Even though Zhao Hanzhang took her to the grassroots level every year to let her experience the hardships of the common people, she still remained “somewhat elevated”—this “elevation” was somewhat similar to how Zhao Shen had been in his youth.
Whether Zhao Shen had truly reformed now, or whether Zhao Hanzhang merely believed he had reformed, she didn’t know. But she absolutely could not allow her own daughter, the future Emperor of the Hua Kingdom, to maintain such a lofty attitude.
Though putting on an appearance of courteously receiving the worthy, though also being lenient and loving toward people, there was a kind of arrogance that seemed less human and more divine.
Not yet having learned to be human, yet already wanting to become a deity—how could such a person be a good emperor?
Even the Jade Emperor, before becoming the Heavenly Emperor, had to be human for a long time first. One must first possess humanity before achieving divinity.
So after careful consideration, Zhao Hanzhang simply had Zeng Yue and Fan Ying take her to Liaodong to let her see the true nature of this world.
This world was not all like Luoyang. It was not only what our eyes could see, nor only the words and numbers on intelligence reports.
In just three months, when Zhao Mingming returned to the capital, her face had shed much of its childishness. Although her face still carried some lingering baby fat, her entire bearing had become much more grounded, and her gaze had become more resolute than before.
She rode her little horse clopping into the Imperial City. Officials and guards passing along the main avenue all inclined their bodies slightly in salute when they saw her. After she passed, they straightened up, their gazes meeting: “The Crown Princess has returned—”
Zhao Hanzhang received advance notice of her return but did not send anyone to meet her. Instead, she had her enter the palace and report like any ordinary official returning from a business trip.
Her horse could enter the Imperial City but not the Palace City.
The group dismounted at the palace gates. Zeng Yue and Fan Ying accompanied her to have an audience with the sovereign.
Many officials leaving morning court saw the returning Crown Princess and couldn’t help but stop and turn to look.
Quite a few people raised their heads to watch her walk into the great hall, whispering amongst themselves: “The Crown Princess has changed considerably.”
“The battlefield truly hastens one’s growth. To think Her Majesty was willing to let her go. That was Liaodong—not only are blades and arrows unforgiving, but there could also be epidemics.”
“Young eagles must eventually grow up. If we don’t take this opportunity to cultivate strong foundations, how can their wings become full enough to withstand violent storms in the future?”
“Exactly. Those who accomplish great things must experience setbacks and trials that temper their will.” Better to make the Crown Princess suffer than the common people of the realm—they chose to make the Crown Princess suffer.
Zhao Shen walked past them, heard these words, and glanced at them with internal scorn. How skillful at imperial flattery! Three months ago, who was it wailing and crying in the great hall, opposing the Emperor’s decision to send the Crown Princess to Liaodong?
Acting as if sending the Crown Princess away would shake the foundation of the state and implied suspicions of changing the heir.
During the three months the Crown Princess was away from the capital, memorials discussing the Second Prince’s education piled up on the Emperor’s desk.
Now that Liaodong had achieved great victory and the Crown Princess’s performance was praiseworthy, they immediately changed their tune. Hmph, fence-sitters!
Zhao Shen sneered inwardly but maintained a serious and upright expression on his face. Noticing their glances, he immediately looked straight ahead and walked past them as if he had heard nothing.
He had been transferred back to Luoyang from Guangzhou at the beginning of the year. Although he took pride in his tremendous achievements in Guangzhou, he had stayed there for ten years—truly had enough!
He wanted to enjoy himself in Luoyang for three years. If he couldn’t achieve this goal, he decided he would fall ill for a year or two and then reassess whether to return to officialdom.
Ten years—Zhao Shen had figured out many things.
He had ambitions, but it seemed he could have more than one ambition. Why must he confine himself to a single goal?
There were so many unknowns in this world. He had infinite questions and enthusiasm for them. Why couldn’t he set everything aside and follow his heart’s choice to seek answers to his questions?
The Emperor always said he lacked something as both a person and an official, and therefore didn’t dare entrust him with important court responsibilities. For ten years, he had tried to understand her meaning and achieve what she expected.
But after ten years, he hadn’t found the path she wanted him to walk. Instead, he had understood another path: Wasn’t he a good official?
As a provincial governor, hadn’t he governed Guangzhou well?
Hadn’t he enlightened the people and promoted good virtues?
Hadn’t he been honest and upright, reformed the administration, and implemented court policies?
He had done all of this, so why should he be considered inadequate?
There were a thousand faces among a thousand people. If he couldn’t change, so be it. Regardless of what he thought inwardly, if his actions measured up, wasn’t that enough?
Zhao Shen felt he had achieved enlightenment and stopped tormenting himself. At this moment, he maintained a solemn expression while internally wildly criticizing everyone he saw. This had been going on for over six months, starting from the day he returned to the capital without stopping. And though he didn’t speak it aloud, it made him quite happy.