Chapter 21: Immortals Fighting — “They are all handsome. Which one present does Your Majesty fancy…”
Actually, speaking of social occasions, some people here should have declined if they could.
Especially Prince Yong.
How could flower viewing in Shanglin Park beat spending time with the courtesans in Flower Street?
But Prince Yong showed up today, dressed in a purple-gold princely auspicious robe, rarely looking so presentable.
But the presentable Ying Dang couldn’t speak human language.
Ying Dang poured tea to the brim, his brows and eyes frivolous. His gaze unabashedly sized up Ying Xi. Today, he read an indescribable beauty in his Imperial Brother’s brows and eyes again.
Ying Dang held out the cup, gesturing a toast to Ying Xi, and said:
“This brother stayed at Yulouchun (Jade Tower Spring) last night, acting as an unreturning guest all night. Yulouchun’s wine is cloying, and the brothel girls are full of nonsense, lying to this brother that they are the most beautiful women in Chang’an. This brother couldn’t stand it, so I came to you to wash my eyes.”
That libertine appearance, if it were in the past life, would have definitely made Ying Xi furious.
Not to mention if one listened carefully, there was a suspicion of comparing the Emperor to prostitutes.
This was great disrespect, but Prince Yong wasn’t afraid.
Everyone carefully observed Ying Xi’s reaction.
Ying Xi was actually more composed than Prince Yong. “I did not invite female guests today. Dang’er won’t see the most beautiful girls in Chang’an. However, Prime Minister Su has extraordinary demeanor and is recognized as a handsome man in Great Qin. With him here, your trip will not be in vain.”
Ying Dang’s left hand holding the teacup froze. In the past, when he angered Ying Xi in public, Ying Xi would lecture him. It worked every time.
But he didn’t expect his brother not to take his bait at all.
He could vaguely perceive changes in his brother recently. But because of that “Dang’er,” his mind was in turmoil for a moment. Before he could investigate further, forcibly suppressing his thoughts, Ying Dang decided to anger Ying Xi again.
Prince Yong shook his head playfully. “Prime Minister Su is just passable, but he isn’t as young as Your Majesty. And this brother has always liked young and beautiful beauties. Your Majesty’s attire today is just right…”
Prince Yong provoked intentionally.
But he met a smile from Ying Xi, causing Prince Yong to suddenly feel a strange guilt.
He found it incredible, and his mind was dazzled by Ying Xi’s smiling face, so he didn’t realize at all that this was diverting the disaster eastward.
And Su Xueyi, who was evaluated by Prince Yong as “just passable,” narrowed his eyes sharply and dangerously.
A cold cyclone formed around Su Xueyi.
He cupped his hands toward Prince Yong with breezy indifference. “Thanks to Your Highness’s deep love, this humble official is indeed a few years older than Your Highness. Therefore, having lived in Chang’an for a long time, I have heard somewhat about the habits of these merchant women. If they see a patron who is young and inexperienced, they use sweet words to coax and cheat money, putting little effort into the physical aspect. Only if the patron is experienced in romance will they bring out all their means to serve.”
“Your Highness is naturally a veteran in the flowers.”
“But presumably, the merchant women outside… misjudged, right?”
Su Xueyi’s tone was leisurely.
Ying Dang was good at annoying people, not debating. He was only seventeen, at the age of youthful aggression.
What a young man tabooed most was others saying he was still small.
Especially since Ying Dang secretly harbored a longing for his brother Ying Xi, he forbade others from treating him as a child even more.
Ying Dang exploded with anger, slapping the table and standing up:
—”Su Xueyi, what gall! Are you saying this King is too green!”
If the highest achievement for a general was sealing the wolf at Mount Ju, for a civil official, it might be debating the Confucian scholars.
Su Xueyi was naturally a top-tier civil official.
He didn’t fall behind when debating with many people, let alone mocking Prince Yong with insinuations.
Su Xueyi cupped his hands even more calmly. “I dare not. Your Highness is young and dashing, not looking sixteen at all.”
Ying Dang gritted his teeth.
This person did it on purpose! He even shaved a year off my age!
Prince Yong dressed maturely, had a mature physique, had experienced adult matters early, and was ripe in that aspect.
How could Prince Yong tolerate this?
But in the end, he couldn’t vent it.
Zhu Zhao guided the topic, gently correcting, “Your Highness was born in the Renxu year. This year is Jimao. Your Highness is exactly seventeen. Right Prime Minister Su is mistaken.”
Su Xueyi wasn’t stupid enough to really openly contend with Prince Yong.
The Imperial Tutor offered a step down. Su Xueyi took the advantage and acted obediently, following the step down.
He cupped his hands to Prince Yong. “As this humble official grows older, my memory becomes poor. Please forgive the offense, Your Highness.”
Since the other party apologized, Ying Dang couldn’t make trouble unreasonably.
Prince Yong sat down huffily.
But Zhu Zhao, having just mediated between the two, intended to use this as an opportunity to get Ying Xi’s attention.
After parting with the Emperor at the secret storage back then, and later hearing the Emperor was injured, Ying Xi hadn’t summoned him for a long time.
As long as he didn’t teach the Emperor for a day, Zhu Zhao would have more suspicion that his identity was leaked and the Emperor no longer trusted him.
Zhu Zhao found an opportunity to probe, “This subject has been studying the Huang-Lao school of Daoism recently. The war in the north has just settled; a thousand things wait to be done. The situation is roughly comparable to the early Han Dynasty.”
“How to lighten corvée and reduce taxes to let the people rest. How to govern leniently to nourish the people and cut redundant institutions.”
“These all have precedents in the history books of the Han Dynasty.”
“This subject requests to explain to Your Majesty after the flower viewing banquet. I hope Your Majesty gives this subject time, and I hope what this subject says can be helpful to Your Majesty’s governance of Great Qin.”
“…”
Su Xueyi couldn’t listen to this.
Su Xueyi used to not follow the rules of office attendance, absolutely not because he yearned for freedom, but purely because he found it boring.
He was working diligently now, right when his interest was high.
But according to Zhu Zhao, most of what he was doing was useless.
A Prime Minister who could easily dominate the top spot since childhood viewed everyone with equal contempt, thinking they should listen to his orders.
How could he look up to ‘governing by doing nothing’ (Wu Wei)?
Moreover, Su Xueyi intended to report the progress of his recent official duties to the Emperor after the flower viewing banquet.
Su Xueyi intended to continue getting close to the Emperor. If Zhu Zhao beat him to it, Su Xueyi couldn’t accept it.
Su Xueyi said meanly, “The early Han could rest with the people because the situation within the borders was stable. Now Li Yilong is eyeing us covetously, and small factions in the north still stand in great numbers. Asking Your Majesty to emulate Huang-Lao at this time—isn’t that equivalent to handing over the rivers and mountains to others?”
Ying Dang didn’t mind the excitement getting bigger. Muddling the waters, he could also temporarily put down his anger from just now and throw some punches to help.
“Xie Qianli, asking you?”
“When will the small factions and Li Yilong be swept away?”
The flowers hadn’t started being viewed yet.
In front of Ying Xi, these people had already fought several rounds with lips like guns and tongues like swords.
Feng Ze and Lian Qing didn’t qualify to sit too close; they could only watch Xie Qianli from afar.
Feng Ze’s face was pale, appearing distracted.
Lian Qing was anxious, his face completely red, slapping Feng Ze’s hand hard under the table board.
“Hey! I say! What are they arguing about?”
“Who is Huang Lao? Which old man?”
“These scholars, speaking such bastard words, rougher than us. How did they switch from brothels to Li Yilong… Are they bullying our General?”
“Don’t hold me down!”
Lian Qing was eager to lean forward.
But he happened to meet Xie Qianli’s gaze. His scalp tightened, suppressed invisibly.
Lian Qing sat back in his original place silently, hands placed obediently on his legs.
Xie Qianli’s attire was simple. Leaving behind his signature white clothes, silver armor, and Wandering Dragon Blade, today he wore deep blue arrow sleeves and a navy blue outer robe. The low profile of his clothes fully revealed his figure and appearance usually wrapped under armor, changing from martially striking to extraordinarily handsome.
Xie Qianli always carried an aura of stillness.
Opening his mouth seemed to draw a clear line from the foul atmosphere. Xie Qianli answered calmly, “As soon as the Imperial Decree comes down, the Royal Army will set out. The Longwu Army awaits the court’s dispatch at any time.”
Prince Yong’s mouth twitched.
Who knew the most improper provocation would receive the most proper answer.
Prince Yong was romantic and dissolute; Xie Qianli was cold and rigid. Teasing the latter with words was like a hedgehog hitting a wall.
Prince Yong snorted with a stiff face.
Lian Qing whispered to Feng Ze next to him, “Hey, you are educated. Did our General lose out?”
Feng Ze came back to his senses after a while, saying hoarsely, “Neither humble nor arrogant, and also expressed loyalty. He answered very well.”
Only then was Lian Qing relieved, grabbing a handful of candied fruits from the food tray and chewing loudly. “As long as he didn’t lose out. Since the Old Duke’s generation, there have been many illiterates in the Longwu Army. Fortunately, the Grand Princess kept a tight grip on the General’s homework since childhood… It’s really good to be able to read.”
Feng Ze didn’t reply.
The whole topic started with Prince Yong teasing him.
But because of that “The Longwu Army awaits the court’s dispatch,” it inexplicably went around in circles and stepped onto the track most suitable for this Imperial flower viewing banquet.
Ying Xi’s mind drifted away in a trance. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of water.
Unknowingly, he happened to block Xie Qianli’s line of sight looking toward the main seat—a glance as ethereal as clouds and smoke.
By the time the teacup was put down, that gaze had long moved elsewhere, and Ying Xi was completely unaware.
Sweet Tub: “They are all handsome. Which one present does Your Majesty fancy?”
Sweet Tub indeed never gave up tempting him to fall in love.
However, Ying Xi shook his head. In this life, his actions concerned the life and death of the national destiny. His heart already had a direction; naturally, he could resist the bewitchment. “None are good.”
—”The Minister of Imperial Entertainments requests an audience, presenting Magnolia Flower Wine to Your Majesty!”
The eunuch elongated his drake-like voice, attracting the attention of everyone at the banquet. Then, Guanglu Xun slowly entered the range of Yichun Palace. Following closely behind Guanglu Xun was a maid holding a tray, on which sat a jade pot.
The jade pot was crystal clear and extremely exquisite, filled with wine. Even from a distance, one could smell the magnolia fragrance emanating from the pot. The magnolia scent was light and strange, capturing almost everyone’s sense of smell.
The language of flowers was high purity, but this pot of wine was full of fawning.
Because the Court of Imperial Entertainments hadn’t contributed much to the banquet, Guanglu Xun felt uneasy. Therefore, he had to bring out his specialty to show the Emperor that they also had a sense of presence.
“Grass and trees vie for spring; the magnolias in Shanglin Park are in full bloom. We picked magnolia petals and used a secret method to concoct fresh flower wine. The aroma of the wine concocted by this method spreads far, just as Your Majesty’s grace extends to the four seas. Presented for Your Majesty’s enjoyment.”
The slow-moving Guanglu Xun weighed his words as he finished this speech.
The wine was placed before the Emperor.
The jade pot holding the wine was olive-shaped, white throughout, with magnolia patterns carved on the belly of the pot, showing the painstaking effort.
When Guanglu Xun presented the wine, he stole a glance at the Emperor, but dared not meet the Emperor’s eyes, capturing Ying Xi’s expression.
Ying Xi: “Well done. Fine wine is rare and should be shared with the officials. I cannot swallow it alone. Put it in the wine vessel, dilute it with wine, and distribute it.”
Guanglu Xun: “…”
Guanglu Xun was greatly shocked, thinking: What flavor will be left then?
But knowing the Emperor’s word was nine tripods (heavy/authoritative), what he said was an Imperial Decree. Although Guanglu Xun felt it was strange and a pity, he had to do as told.
What Guanglu Xun didn’t know was that for Ying Xi, drinking one less pot of wine didn’t matter much. Good wine is easy to get, but opportunities to buy people’s hearts are hard to seek.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t drink this pot of wine alone. After drinking, he would at most praise Guanglu Xun a few words. As for how the wine tasted, only he himself would know.
But if the wine was poured into the wine vessel and distributed to the officials, although this pot of wine would lose its taste, it could maximize its value, perfectly echoing the purpose of the flower viewing banquet to bestow grace on the officials and earn favorability. Ying Xi didn’t feel regretful at all.
Sure enough—
As the wine was distributed to the tables of the ministers, voices of thanks gradually filled Yichun Palace, and even the entire Shanglin Park.
“Many thanks for Your Majesty’s reward. We subjects are willing to dash our brains upon the ground, declining nothing, to repay Your Majesty’s favor.”
Perhaps favorability rose a lot again; Sweet Tub emitted happy humming sounds once more.
Ying Xi’s goal had been achieved. Just a pot of wine in exchange for greater respect from court officials. Thinking further, it meant everyone doing their duty, and the operational efficiency of the court improving.
Ying Xi pursed the corners of his mouth.
His calculating thoughts were not seen by anyone.
After the banquet ceremony, the flower viewing activity officially began.
The court officials got up from their respective seats, leaving the range of Yichun Palace to tour.
The spring colors were pleasant. Beyond Yichun Palace, there was boundless spring vitality waiting for the audience to explore.
Some civil officials were more romantic, having long tucked paintbrushes and poem papers in their sleeves. Writing poems to flowers and painting scenery were all elegant matters.
Only Ying Xi remained sitting in the main seat without moving.
Because this position in the main hall of Yichun Palace could ensure that, as the core of Shanglin Park, the effect of the Spring Blessing Event was spread evenly.
Sitting idly was boring, but Ying Xi didn’t lack patience. This was a rare opportunity to quietly observe everyone; he was thinking about things.
At this time, Yu Jing’s lively little apprentice, Cheng Shun, saw a chance and stepped forward carefully. “Is Your Majesty tired of sitting? This slave prepared some interesting little gadgets. Would you honor me by taking a look?”
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Chapter 21 is missing and chapter 22 has been posted twice, please fix this issue. 😣
Thank you for letting me know. It has been updated.