Moreover, over these many years, the Emperor has gritted his teeth and withstood nurous crises, treating all his ritorious officials with great respect and never killing the donkey after the grinding is done. Thus, even those with personal motives have been striving to steer the national fate back onto the right path.
In recent days, the weather has been clear and fine, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. In previous years, the Emperor and Empress would ascend the city gate to celebrate the festival with the people. This year, it is not possible, yet the Emperor still plans to have the Ministry of Rites ascend the city gate to declare an imperial edict and convey grace.
In the afternoon, the Emperor took a short nap, and upon waking, he saw the Empress sitting beside him with a pile of morials on the table next to her. She had already reviewed a portion of them for him.
The Emperor, clad in his robe, sat up and casually took a few books to examine, then set them down, saying, "In the past two years, the harvest of mulberry and hemp in Jiangnan has been good, yet it has occupied much fertile land. At present, we must focus on leveraging the advantages of farming by planting more rice."
Without lifting her head, the Empress replied, "I have already sent word to the Ministry of Revenue. The Minister of Revenue will visit Qianqing Palace to see you later. Whatever you wish to discuss, you can tell them then."
Hearing this, the Emperor turned to scrutinize her, "You’ve not been coming here much lately; what have you been busy with?"
"There are many trivial matters in the harem to deal with, and besides, it is not quite appropriate for to overly ddle in state affairs."
The Emperor said, "When I ascended the throne, I declared to the world that, as the Founding Empress, you have the right to participate in governance. For over twenty years it has been this way; what makes it suddenly inappropriate?"
The Empress’s gaze fell onto the morials, "People change; perhaps it is different now, who can say for certain?"
The Emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, "What’s wrong with you? Why so depressed?"
The Empress slowly marked on the morials, her voice also slow, "It’s just that I’m thinking, having spent half our lives pacifying the realm, yet now we end up alone and desolate. Is it because our hands have beco too stained with blood along the way, and Heaven is punishing us?"
The Emperor, hearing this, grew solemn, "Our Yang Family’s uprising to settle the realm was justified, and even if our hands are stained with blood, it was for the sake of all under the heavens. Zhitong, why would you say such things?"
The Empress set down the morials and raised her eyes, "It’s just a mont of reflection, there’s no need for you to take it seriously."
The Emperor’s gaze lingered on her face for a mont, then shifted to her graying temples, and afterward back to her eyes, "You’ve grown weary again recently. How have you been sleeping at night? How is your diet? Is there any discomfort that you haven’t had the Imperial Physician examine?"
The Empress shook her head, "There’s nothing serious, just the seasonal change making my sleep lighter, but I can manage."
"You mustn’t be careless," the Emperor retracted his gaze and looked at the ground, speaking softly, "You have worried about for a lifeti. If it proves impossible, select a day to make the third son the Crown Prince, and hasten his marriage."
The Empress looked up, "He is not of the Yang family bloodline; are you truly at ease letting him ascend the throne?"
"Aside from this, is there any other solution?" the Emperor gazed deeply at her, "Although we might still find distant relatives from the Yang family, they are ten thousand leagues away. What difference is there from a collateral line?"
"At least the third son cos from a clear and upright lineage, and we have raised him as our own for so many years. For the stability of the court, we must follow the trend."
"But we still have an eldest son," the Empress said, "Back then, he was so intelligent and perceptive. If he were still by our side, no one would be more suitable to inherit the realm of Great Zhou!"
This sudden statent turned the Emperor into a silent stone statue on the spot.
After a long ti, he turned his face away, words escaping through his tightly clenched fists, barely controlling his breath, "Twenty-four years have passed. You think he still might be alive? It’s impossible."
"Do you think it impossible for him to be alive, or do you not wish for him to be alive?"
"How could I not wish—" the Emperor blurted out, but when he realized the question, he abruptly held his breath, startled into silence. After a long while, he regained his composure, "What do you an by that?"
The Empress pressed her lips tightly, casting her eyes downward to suppress the fire in them, shook her head, "I just miss him dearly. He was a child I personally raised until he was ten — on the morning he left, with his childish voice, he vowed to protect . Recently, I don’t know why, but his image constantly appears before my eyes, and even his voice echoes clearly in my ears."
The murkiness in the Emperor’s eyes also revealed a painful expression, "Why tornt yourself so?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)