Chapter 96: The Free and Easy Young Marquis (29)
If Huo Xian were to evaluate the executive power of his officials and the obedience of his people, he would give them a five-star rating without hesitation. The reason the entire nation was able to act as one was simple: the descent of heavenly anomalies and the appearance of the “True Dragon Son of Heaven.”
Don’t ask why; the answer was simply the power of feudal superstition.
As new decrees were announced and implemented nationwide, the Emperor and Empress pair had already begun selecting superior seeds. To be precise, it was Huo Yuan doing the selecting while Qing Zhu assisted him with the records. Meanwhile, Huo Xian led Marquis Huo and Ning Chen in developing firearms. He decided to put off designing complex guns and cannons for now, given that smelting technology was relatively backward; he would wait until metallurgical techniques improved before officially beginning production.
Huo Yuan spent three months screening crops collected from across the country. To their delight, high-yield crops like sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and sugarcane were discovered during the process. Furthermore, cottonâa vital material for winter warmthâwas also identified.
When the first batch of crops was produced from the Imperial Farm, the Duke of Wei took the initiative to volunteer for large-scale planting. Everyone knew that the Dukeâs son, Ning Chen, was currently the Emperorâs favorite. With the Duke of Wei leading the charge, the other court officials followed suit. Once they too saw gratifying harvests, the Minister of Revenue joyfully proposed a nationwide promotion of these crops. Everything was proceeding according to Huo Xianâs plan. Promotion was a necessity, but it was also time to put land reform on the agenda… it was time to return the land to the peasants themselves.
Whenever a new decree is issued, especially one involving vested interests, someone is bound to be furious. In this case, it was the wealthy households, landlords, and gentry who originally possessed countless acres of fertile land.
Huo Xian was prepared for them to cause trouble, planning to “kill the chicken to warn the monkeys” immediately. But what happened?
While there were indeed some discordant voices among the people, they were quickly drowned out by the cheers of the common folk. Compared to the gentry and the wealthy, ordinary peasants and farmers were the largest demographic in society. Since his enthronement, Huo Xian had acted for the benefit of the people at every turn, so his prestige was already high. Now that he was distributing land and superior seeds, his reputation soared to a new peak.
However, Huo Xianâs benevolent acts for the people went far beyond this.
Once the people were fed and clothed, it was time to put the economy and education on the schedule. In short, during the first five years after Huo Xianâs enthronement, he focused entirely on the nationâs foundations. Once the foundation was solid, he could proceed step by step toward larger-scale development.
In those five years, the entirety of Great Chang underwent earth-shattering changes. No one could have imagined that a country could transform to such an inconceivable extent in just five years.
The Imperial Palace was also given a fresh look before the arrival of the sixth year of the Yongping Era.
The overall architecture of the palace remained antique and elegant, a heritage of history and culture that Huo Xian was reluctant to demolish. Instead, he reinforced and renovated the original structures, and the windows were replaced with glass for better light transmission.
Changning Palace.
Huo Yuan lay slumped on the bed, whimpering and grumbling. If one listened closely, they could hear him saying, “No more.”
No more?
That wouldn’t do.
Having finally endured a long period of abstinence, Huo Yuan didn’t want to move a single finger. His eyes were lifeless as he stared at a void in space. He wanted to speak, but he seemed to have lost even the strength to make a sound. Instead, he used his consciousness to protest:
[Huo Xian, are you trying to work me to death so you can replace your Empress?]
“What nonsense are you talking?” Huo Xian pinched his nose.
Huo Yuanâs eyes grew watery. [But my waist is about to snap.]
If there was one thing Huo Yuan regretted most, it wasn’t agreeing to date Huo Xian or becoming his Empress, but rather watching so many “adult films” when he was bored. Out of curiosity about human intimacy, he had dragged Huo Xian along for “in-depth research,” only to end up being “eaten” by Huo Xian until not even his bone shards remained.
While the pleasure was real, it was also truly life-threatening at times. For instance, during this recent trip out for an inspection, they had to walk for hours every day. They hadn’t found the time for certain activities, and as soon as they returned, he suffered the consequences.
The twenty-five-year-old Huo Xian was at the peak of his vigor. Huo Yuan considered his own constitution to be excellent, but he soon discovered that physical fitness and the duration of “stamina” in bed were not proportional.
“Shall I give you a massage?” Huo Xian felt a bit guilty. After all, a man who had “tasted meat” hadn’t touched his partner for over a month; it was a heavy burden to bear.
[Fine!] Huo Yuan wasn’t polite at all, rolling over to lie flat.
Huo Xian: […]
His little ancestor was still so completely unguarded around him. Was he really not afraid of being pinned down for another round of “friction”?
Fortunately, reason suppressed impulse, and he dutifully acted as a massage therapist.
Huo Yuan hummed comfortably, the sounds making Huo Xian almost want to…
Endure it. Endure. Endure. He had to endure…
[By the way, Huo Xian, when we start building schools nationwide after the New Year, are we really going to implement co-education directly?] Huo Yuan suddenly remembered something and asked.
Huo Xian was also a bit tired, so he switched to communicating through consciousness. [From the moment I encouraged women to spin thread, weave cloth, and do business after the cotton harvest, many people should have realized my intentionâgender equality.]
[Gender equality… Those two words are easy to say, but truly difficult to achieve,] Huo Yuan said.
[A path is walked one step at a time. I don’t expect to become a fat man in one bite.] Huo Xian smoothed his hair and said softly, [It’s late. Go to sleep quickly, or the little Crown Prince will come to bother you tomorrow morning.]
The moment he heard the words “little Crown Prince,” Huo Yuanâs face filled with resistance. [I don’t want him here. Block him!]
The little Crown Prince was Xiao Chengxi, who was six years old this year. Five years ago, after the previous Crown Prince passed away in a fit of rage, the boy lost his father. After Huo Xian ascended the throne, the boy became the adopted son of Huo Xian and Huo Yuan.
Huo Xian was quite good with children, but not to the point of truly treating him like a biological son. He viewed the little prince as an elder would. The little prince was young and didn’t have the complicated thoughts of adults; he simply liked whoever was nice to him.
Well, this meant that the person the little prince liked most was the Empress.
Huo Yuan had seen human children in the previous two worlds but had never had close contact with one. At the beginning, the Retired Emperor intended for the Empress to bond with the future sovereign, so Huo Yuan served as a “nanny” for a while. As a result, he couldn’t get rid of the little brat. For the first time, he realized that human cubs were terrifying existences that could cost one’s life. He wouldn’t elaborate on the details, but suffice to say, Huo Yuan now hid whenever possible.
Unfortunately, one can hide on the first day of the month, but not on the fifteenth.
The next morning, while Huo Xian was at court, the attendants didn’t dare stop the crying little prince and let him into the Empressâs bedchamber. Before long, Changning Palace was in a state of chaos.
Just as Huo Xian finished court, he heard two voicesâone large, one smallâapproaching from a distance. The young man’s voice shouted first: “Huo Xian, hurry up and take this little brat away!!!”
Behind him, a tender, childish voice chased after him with a hint of a sob: “Papa, Papa, wait for Xi-er…”
The veins on Huo Xianâs forehead throbbed. Like the guards on either side who kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts, the same three words popped into his mind: Here we go again.
Yes, again.
As long as Huo Yuan and the little prince were both in the palace, this scene had played out almost every day for the past two years. The Empress would run, and the Prince would chase. Initially, the little princeâs sobbing had caused a lot of people to be dissatisfied with the Empress, but later everyone realized that the little prince was intentionally acting pitiful.
Huo Xian was also puzzled. Why exactly did the little prince like Huo Yuan so much? Clearly, Huo Yuan had only changed his diaper a few times and held him to play a few times when he was nearly two, yet the boy had latched onto him.
While wondering, Huo Xian caught Huo Yuan in his arms. The little prince, who was about to catch up, was blocked by his Imperial Father. His little face looked aggrieved, but he bowed respectfully. “Imperial Father.”
Although the little prince was young, his etiquette was impeccable. Watching the little fellow bow so solemnly was quite amusing.
Huo Xian nodded to him and asked gently, “Have you paid your respects to your Imperial Father-Consort?”
The little princeâs eyes drifted toward Huo Yuan, who was hiding behind Huo Xianâs back. He knelt and cupped his fists in a salute. “This son pays respects to Imperial Father-Consort.”
Huo Yuan acted as if he hadn’t heard, shrinking behind Huo Xian like a quail.
The little princeâs mouth pouted, and tears welled up in his eyes. He stubbornly refused to let them fall, looking so pitiful that one couldn’t help but feel for him.
Huo Xian wanted to rub his temples. He didn’t know who this little prince had learned from; he was a total little “drama king.” Everyone in the palace, including the Retired Emperor, fell for his actâexcept for Huo Yuan… Perhaps it was precisely because Huo Yuan didn’t fall for it?
“Yuanyuan, the prince is still young,” Huo Xian said helplessly to the person behind him.
Huo Yuan tugged at Huo Xianâs dragon robes and whispered, “It’s precisely because he’s young that he’s scary. I don’t know where he gets so many words to say all day long. Whenever he sees me, he pesters me to tell him stories. Iâm very busy, too.”
Alright, let’s correct that: the little prince liked to stick to Huo Yuan not because Huo Yuan didn’t fall for his act, but because Huo Yuan could tell stories.
The world of children is monotonous and boring. Because of his status, the attendants didn’t dare treat the little prince as an ordinary child, let alone speak carelessly in front of him. This included storytelling. Therefore, Huo Yuan, who had opened the door to the world of stories for the little prince, became the boyâs favorite. Whenever he saw Huo Yuan, he wanted to cling to him and listen to storiesâspecifically, horror stories. Huo Yuan was afraid that telling too many horror stories would scare the boy, so he stopped. After that, it turned into the little prince constantly chasing him.
Under Huo Xianâs mediation, the family of three sat down at the table for breakfast.
With Huo Xianâs tacit permission, the little prince sat beside Huo Yuan. Huo Yuan wanted to run, but Huo Xian held him down and said through their consciousness: [If you really make the child cry and he complains to his grandfather, we’ll both be nagged to death.]
The Retired Emperorâs life now consisted of reviewing memorials, drinking tea, admiring flowers, and playing with his grandson. He lived a comfortable life and treasured his grandson dearly. Every time the boy felt wronged by the Emperor and Empress and went to complain, the couple would be nagged by the Retired Emperorâthe kind of nagging that felt like a mother-in-law’s lecture.
Huo Yuan also felt wronged. [Children are really so much trouble. Can I apply to go to the mansion outside the palace to do research?]
Huo Xianâs face instantly became expressionless. [No.]
Huo Yuan felt stifled and lowered his head to stuff rice into his mouth.
“Father-Consort, please eat slowly. Be careful not to choke,” the little prince said politely. His chubby little hand picked up the serving chopsticks and struggled to pick up a small shumai that was a bit far from him, placing it on Huo Yuanâs plate. “It’s your favorite shumai.”
Huo Yuanâs hand paused. Looking at the little princeâs bright, obsidian-like eyes and the face full of adoration, he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of guilt and shame. When the little prince bothered him, he really wanted to dig a hole and bury him, but when the boy was being thoughtful, it was indeed easy to be moved.
Human emotions really made him feel so uneasy.
“Father-Consort, eat while it’s hot,” the little prince reminded him softly when he didn’t move.
Huo Yuan hesitated for a moment before picking up a little “chick bun” that the prince liked and placing it in his bowl. He maintained his posture and said, “You eat too. Eat more.” Hurry up and grow tall and big, so you can become Emperor and return Huo Xian’s freedom.
Completely unaware of his “Father-Consortâs” sinister intentions, the little prince was moved to tears by the chick bun. He cherished it deeply, taking tiny bites of the bunâno, every bite wasn’t bun, it was happiness.
Huo Xian couldn’t help but tease Huo Yuan: [The little prince is still quite cute, isn’t he?] There was a kind of fragrance called “True Fragrance”; he felt it suited his Empress perfectly.
Huo Yuan looked at him and said seriously: [Children are ‘third parties’ between parents. They interfere with parents’ emotional bonding. Huo Xian, in the next world, let’s have a romance without any ‘third parties.’]
Huo Xian: […] This is very Huo Yuan. Also… aren’t you afraid of being too sore to get out of bed?
Translator’s Note:
True Fragrance (çéŚ – ZhÄn xiÄng) is a popular Chinese internet meme used when someone insists they won’t do something but then ends up doing it and enjoying it. Also, the “Mother of the World” (ćŻäťŞĺ¤Šä¸ – MÇyĂ tiÄnxiĂ ) is a traditional honorific for an Empress. Xiao Chengxi is such a cutie, even if he’s a handful!
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