Part 2
On the way back, they rode side by side.
Hearing the sound of hoofbeats from outside, Gu Zhen looked out through the half-open window. When his eyes locked with hers, he suddenly froze.
Simultaneously, his gaze darkened abruptly. The hand holding the teacup tightened violently, veins nearly popping out on the back of his hand.
He suddenly found it an eyesore.
An extreme eyesore.
Even though it was he who had ordered Gu Qi to take Yiyi riding, seeing it now still made him feel uncomfortable.
It wasn’t just the image that was an eyesore; Gu Qi was also an eyesore.
A feeling of suffocation filled his chest. Gu Zhen felt so terrible he thought he might explode, but suddenly he heard the person opposite him ask, “Bixia said just now that transporting grain to Chang’an is not easy, and boats easily capsize in turbulent waters. Has Bixia considered splitting the journey into segments?”
Gu Zhen withdrew his gaze and focused on Lu Xianshan again, asking calmly, “What are your thoughts?”
“Boatmen travel the waters year-round; they know exactly where the water is fast and where it is slow.” Lu Xianshan’s voice was clear and moist, like a pine on a mountain peak. “Since that is the case, would it not be appropriate to take the land route where the current is turbulent and the water route where the current is gentle?”
Gu Zhen’s hand holding the cup paused. His sharp gaze swept Lu Xianshan up and down. He suddenly recalled that the policy essay had also mentioned this method, but only in a few words, not in such detail.
He closed his eyes briefly and said in a deep voice, “Minister Lu’s method is quite useful. Zhen did not expect Minister Lu to have such unique insight into this matter.”
Lu Xianshan smiled. “This subject has lived in Chang’an since childhood and is accustomed to the fluctuating rice prices in Chang’an. Having pondered this matter for many years, these are merely some humble opinions.”
The sound of hoofbeats slowly came to a halt. Gu Zhen suddenly put down his cup, stood up, and strode outside.
He paused slightly in front of Zhao Yiyi. “Zhen still has some matters to attend to and will return to the palace first. If you feel bored, have Wu Mao accompany you to the West Market in a while.”
Zhao Yiyi lowered her eyes and agreed, but did not look at him.
Gu Zhen then ordered the Prince of Yan to follow him, and only then did he depart.
Zhao Yiyi fanned herself, looked up at the sky, and thought to herself that summer had indeed arrived. The weather nowadays was truly terribly hot.
“Niangniang.” Having been left behind by the Emperor, Wu Mao knew why, so he took the initiative to step forward and ask with a smile, “The weather is fine today. Would Niangniang like to go to the West Market? This slave heard Minister He say yesterday that he bought quite a few trinkets in the West Market to take back to his daughter.”
Zhao Yiyi smiled and said gently, “Miss He is fortunate. Minister He attends to ten thousand matters a day, yet still has such leisure.”
Wu Mao laughed along. “Isn’t that the truth?”
However, Zhao Yiyi did not go to the West Market, nor did she continue strolling in the apricot grove. After exchanging a few words with Lu Xianshan, she mounted her horse and headed in the direction of Shangyang Palace.
She was a bit tired today and wanted to sleep.
Other matters could wait until tomorrow.
In a flash, it was June.
It was the hottest time in Chang’an.
The proposal to change the grain transport to a combined water and land route received the support of the majority of important officials as soon as it was raised.
Gu Zhen was not surprised by this. In truth, it wasn’t that no one had thought of it, but rather that transporting grain to Chang’an by water had been the custom for so long that perhaps no one thought to mention land routes anymore.
After all, taking land routes consumed much more time.
But it was also much safer.
“The deficiency of this method is that some roads along the river are too precipitous and need to be rebuilt.” Gu Zhen sat upright at the head, his gaze dark as he looked at the people on both sides, a faint smile on his face.
The officials all agreed in unison. Before long, they withdrew.
Even after leaving the towering Qianqiu Hall, they were still discussing the matter.
Gu Zhen leaned on the armrest, his eyes holding a hint of a smile. At this moment, Wu Mao entered and presented him with a court report.
Reading ten lines at a glance, Gu Zhen finished it, then turned his head to look at Wu Mao, asking thoughtfully, “Can birthmarks and moles on the body disappear on their own?”
Wu Mao said he didn’t know, but after thinking, he added, “If Bixia wishes to know, this slave will go invite an Imperial Physician immediately. Bixia can ask the physician and will know.”
Gu Zhen agreed.
An Imperial Physician was quickly brought up. Gu Zhen repeated the question. The physician replied, “If it is a birthmark, it is possible for it to fade on its own. A mole, however, cannot. Unless removed by external force, the color will only deepen.”
This meant that a mole had no way of disappearing by itself.
Gu Zhen tightly grasped the court report, a thoughtful look in his eyes. After tapping his fingertips on the desk for a moment, he glanced at it once more and handed the paper to Wu Mao. “Put it away for now.”
Wu Mao responded affirmatively. As he took the paper, his gaze inadvertently swept over the contents. His expression suddenly froze, his eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
This news was truly not a small matter.
No wonder Bixia was so cautious.
After reviewing official documents for a while, he seemed to remember something. He suddenly stopped his brush, frowned, and asked, “How are the preparations for the Empress’s birthday banquet tomorrow?”
Given Bixia‘s current attitude toward Niangniang, Wu Mao had long been prepared. Hearing this, he immediately smiled and said, “Bixia rest assured, everything is properly prepared.”
On the day of her birthday, Zhao Yiyi rose early.
The Imperial Kitchen was not used today; the little palace maids in Xiangsi Hall volunteered to prepare breakfast and lunch. A large table filled to the brim stimulated the appetite just by looking at it.
Zhao Yiyi took a few bites; the taste was indeed good.
She smiled and praised, “You lot, have you learned so many things behind my back?”
Yunzhu covered her lips and laughed. “Niangniang usually spoils them lawlessly. Shouldn’t they learn more things to make Niangniang happy?”
Everyone in the hall laughed heartily.
After lunch, Zhao Yiyi took her afternoon nap as usual. She always had trouble waking up from naps, requiring the palace servants to call her three or four times. However, this nap, originally scheduled for just over an hour, lasted until the sky outside had darkened by the time she woke up.
When she got up, the palace servants brought in a brand-new dress, smiling as they said, “Niangniang, quickly change into this!”
She asked groggily, “What’s wrong?”
“Bixia has arranged a birthday banquet for Niangniang. Niangniang just needs to change clothes and go over.” A little palace maid, wearing a smile, chirped away and revealed the whole matter.
Zhao Yiyi, however, fell silent. She hadn’t known there would be a banquet.
After sitting by the couch for a long time, under the anxious moods of the palace attendants, she finally broke into a slow smile and sat down in front of the vanity. “Mn, since that’s the case, make me up quickly.”
Without needing to spend any effort, getting a birthday banquet for free—thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t a loss.
Thinking of this, the smile on her face became increasingly sincere. In a rather good mood, she toyed with a pearl hairpin at her hand, twirling it up and down, the amusement in her eyes growing richer.
The palace servants all breathed a sigh of relief and swarmed up to dress her.
Combing the bun, inserting gold hairpins, painting the floral forehead decoration, drawing the xiehong scars at the temples.
All in all, there were countless people.
Before long, she was freshly adorned.
Already a peerless beauty removed from the dust of the world, after being dressed up like this, she appeared even more to have an air of otherworldly independence.
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