Chapter 57
Chapter 57
The messenger eunuch hurriedly rose and presented both letters.
Looking at the two thick stacks of pages in his hands, Emperor Jian finally felt much of his gloom disperse. “It seems my Chengze misses me dearly as well. He wrote so much.”
Perhaps he had sent back more than two months’ worth of letters at once? Emperor Jian had received nothing for so long that he had begun to think the child did not miss his father.
He returned to the dragon throne. One envelope was marked “For Father to Open Personally,” the other “For Father’s Eyes Alone.” Emperor Jian eagerly opened the first, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
This ugly handwriting was exactly as it had been in childhood.
Let him see what amusing things his little Chengze had written this time.
Emperor Jian leaned back on the dragon throne and slowly deciphered the words, occasionally chuckling aloud. The officials watched with mounting curiosity, wondering what the Second Prince could possibly have written to make an emperor who had been incandescent with rage laugh like this.
Yet as Emperor Jian continued, his expression grew serious. He frowned faintly, lost in thought, then opened the second letter. The farther he read, the deeper his brow furrowed.
The officials’ hearts rose into their throats once more.
What exactly had the Second Prince written? There were so many pages. What matter could make His Majesty’s expression change so unpredictably?
The officials stole glances at the man on the throne and tried to interpret every shift in his face. Then, as he read on, Emperor Jian began laughing heartily again. At last, he asked the messenger eunuch, “When did these letters leave Yizhou?”
The young eunuch immediately answered, “Your Majesty, two months ago.”
Two months ago. That meant his little Chengze had probably already opened the gunpowder factory in Yizhou.
What an impressive case of acting first and reporting afterward! One journey away from home had made the boy even more independent!
Still, the gunpowder described in the letter appeared tremendously powerful. If it could be used in the frontier war, the insignificant Xiongnu would pose no threat at all!
Little Chengze’s gift had arrived at precisely the right moment!
Emperor Jian carefully tucked the letters into his robe, then waved a lazy hand and mocked, “A pack of useless drunkards. Not one of you can compare to a single hair on my Chengze’s head!”
With that, he dismissed court and left the hall.
The officials were utterly dumbfounded.
Wait – what did he mean, they could not compare to a single hair on the Second Prince’s head? The Second Prince had accomplished nothing. Why should they be inferior to him?
He had merely written a letter full of sweet words to coax the emperor! That made them inferior? If they had not considered flattery beneath them, their praise would have been far more extravagant than the Second Prince’s – !
…
The Jian’an Dynasty had three princesses, two of whom were of marriageable age. The Second Princess, Princess Anhe Xie Ping’an, had been born to Consort Xi. The Third Princess, Princess Zhaohe Xie Shu, had been born to Noble Lady Da.
Neither princess was betrothed. When they heard that the court wanted them to marry the Xiongnu king, the two sisters clung to each other and wailed.
Xie Ping’an wept as though her heart were breaking. “Third Sister, as the elder sister, I should sacrifice myself for the court. But I’m only nineteen! I haven’t even had a passionate, earth-shaking romance with the third-ranked scholar, and now I must marry some old Xiongnu as his concubine. Your sister is suffering – ”
The third-ranked scholar from two years earlier had angered Second Brother and died at the execution ground by Meridian Gate. Xie Ping’an had been waiting for the spring imperial examination next year so she could romance the new third-ranked scholar, traditionally the most handsome of the successful candidates. But the accursed Xiongnu had chosen this precise moment to invade the border, forcing the court to pursue peace through a marriage alliance!
Could they not have waited until next year to attack?!
Xie Shu was wailing just as loudly, tears and snot streaming down her face. “Oh, give it a rest, Second Sister! At your age, you’re practically begging to be married off immediately. Consort Xi will rush to find you a husband so you won’t have to marry the Xiongnu king! Unlike me. I only just turned sixteen, the very flower of youth – ”
“Xie Shu! You called me old again!” Xie Ping’an stopped crying and glared furiously.
“So what if I called you old? I’m about to marry the Xiongnu king and die on the steppe. Can’t I insult you a few more times? Once I’m gone, no one will be here to insult you! Cherish it while you can! Waaaaah – ”
“Waaaaah, Little Sister, then keep insulting me – ”
The sisters remained kneeling, clutching each other and sobbing. Beside them, Emperor Jian sat at a stone table in the pavilion reading a letter and rubbed his forehead speechlessly.
How could he dare send these two little ancestors into a marriage alliance? The Xiongnu king would probably return them in disgust the moment they arrived – or kill them with one stroke for peace and quiet.
“Enough. Why are you crying? Did I say I would send either of you into a marriage alliance?” Emperor Jian asked helplessly.
Xie Ping’an and Xie Shu kept sobbing in each other’s arms. “Father needn’t say any more. Our mothers told us the treasury is empty and we cannot defeat the Xiongnu. If we want to save the soldiers and the people and protect the stability of the Jian’an Dynasty, our only choice is a marriage alliance! Waaaaah – ”
Emperor Jian: …Do not invent rumors, believe rumors, or spread rumors.
“Enough. I will not send you into a marriage alliance. Your Second Brother has already devised a way to deal with the Xiongnu.” Emperor Jian tapped the stone table helplessly.
“Second Brother?” Xie Ping’an and Xie Shu immediately stopped crying. They raised large, watery eyes and asked, “The beautiful Second Brother who always opposes the Crown Prince at court and emptied Mother’s private savings several months ago?”
Emperor Jian: “…” Then he said, “Yes. Him.”
Xie Ping’an wiped her tears and asked distrustfully, “What solution could he devise? Wait, could it be – ”
Her little face filled with shock. Covering her mouth, she trembled all over. “Could Second Brother have decided to enter the marriage alliance in our place?!”
Xie Shu shuddered just as violently. “Second Brother… loves us this deeply?!”
In their memories, Second Brother had rarely spoken with them. They lived in the inner palace and seldom crossed paths with him. Only as children, when they climbed over walls, had they mistaken him for a little girl and played together a few times. Later, their mothers dragged them home and repeatedly warned them never to approach Second Brother again.
They had assumed the relationship had long since faded. Never had they imagined that a few childhood games were enough for Second Brother to cherish his two sisters so deeply that he would make such an enormous sacrifice –
“Waaaaaah – ” The sisters clung to each other and wailed once more. “Second Brother – you have suffered! The court and Father are both useless!”
Emperor Jian: “…”
He began to wonder whether the Jian’an Dynasty’s customs had become too permissive. Both court officials and palace princesses treated the Second Prince entering a marriage alliance as unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable.
He was so tired.
At moments like this, Emperor Jian missed the late Noble Consort Hua more than ever.
If Noble Consort Hua were here, she would certainly say, “Your Majesty, if you cannot bear it, then go mad! Kick every useless official to the floor. Aim for their backsides. There’s plenty of flesh there, so you won’t kill anyone, and you’ll still vent your anger.”
Ah. Another day of missing little Chengze.