svetikya Chapter 36 Sleeping on the Dragon Bed
Chapter 36 Sleeping on the Dragon Bed
The morning court session was quite lively today.
Li Yuanke was in good spirits, sitting on his throne and watching his ministers argue.
Censor Niu and Censor Ma were scolded by the Emperor yesterday. They felt that they were loyal ministers and that if they could kill themselves by crashing their heads into the Taiji Hall, they would be remembered in history.
But today, kneeling before the emperor, they tremble like quails.
That ballad, which spread throughout the capital, was practically a deadly melody.
Minister Song pleaded guilty, "I am guilty. I have failed in my duty to educate my son. He is unable to distinguish right from wrong, and he spied on the inner palace, thinking that the Consort Xiu Rong had been wronged. That is why he committed such a treasonous act. I beg Your Majesty to punish him severely!"
He could have pleaded guilty in private, but since the censor impeached the empress and concubines in front of all the officials, he had no choice but to expose himself in front of them.
"Now that Consort Hui is a member of the royal family, why does she confide her grievances to your son instead of to me and the Empress? Is it out of sibling affection or resentment towards the royal family?"
"The Empress Consort was momentarily confused. I beg Your Majesty to forgive her for her many years of service!" said Minister Song. "Your Majesty's favor has earned me the utmost loyalty. I am willing to serve Your Majesty with the utmost loyalty, even unto death!"
This means completely surrendering to the emperor and being willing to become a tool in his hands.
Li Yuanke was satisfied. "My dear minister, please rise! The Minister of Personnel is old and has repeatedly requested to resign. I have no one else to use, so I have kept him in this position until now. I am too heartless. Prime Minister Pei, please prepare a few candidates for the Minister of Personnel. We will hold a court meeting in three days to try to select a new Minister of Personnel so that the old minister can retire to his hometown."
Prime Minister Pei stepped forward to receive the imperial decree. The emperor had a candidate in mind, namely Vice Minister Song, whom he had already prepared.
After the court session, the emperor returned to the Qian Yuan Palace, where the empress was waiting. She quickly rose and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"
The emperor offered a gesture of support and quickly walked past her. "Your Majesty, no need for formalities. What brings you here?"
He was very thirsty, so he picked up his teacup and took a big gulp. He then heard the Empress say, "Your Majesty, I have prepared a list of concubines to accompany Your Majesty. Would you like to review it?"
In previous years, the emperor would have said "no need," but this year, he paused for a moment, then said, "Bring it here!"
Although the Empress goes through this process every year, isn't it also a test?
She was startled, not expecting the emperor to want to see it. Did he no longer trust her, or was there something else?
With her face still calm, the Empress handed over the list and explained, "I thought that the mothers of the princes and princesses should go along, but if they all go, there will be too many people. Some of the elders should go, and the new concubines who haven't served the emperor yet should all go."
The emperor did not see Shen Shixi's name and said, "Add Shen Shi to the list. She loves to play, let her come along."
"Oh dear, I was so forgetful! How could I have forgotten about Consort Shen? Your Majesty, since Consort Shen is going, why not let Consort Lin go with her as well?"
The emperor was about to return it, but then thought for a moment, "Add Consort Hui as well."
The Empress paused, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.
The emperor asked, "What's wrong?"
The Empress had no choice but to say, "Your Majesty, on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the Empress Dowager reprimanded Consort Hui, and I have already obeyed the imperial decree to punish Consort Hui by confining her to her quarters for three months."
The emperor smiled. "Since it is in accordance with the Empress Dowager's decree, why only punish him with three months of confinement?"
The Empress, not understanding, added, "And you must copy the palace rules one hundred times!"
"Too lenient!" the emperor said. "Song has repeatedly failed to correct her ways. She shall be stripped of her title and demoted to the rank of Jieyu as a warning to others."
The Empress was caught off guard. "Your Majesty, isn't this punishment a bit too harsh?"
The emperor glanced at her.
She quickly replied with a smile, "Yes! Since the Emperor is going to punish me, it's not good to punish me for the same crime. The punishment of copying the palace rules and being confined to my quarters will be waived."
The emperor neither agreed nor disagreed, and simply tossed the list to her.
The Empress, wanting to stay a little longer, asked, "Has His Majesty set a date?"
Originally, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau should have been responsible for setting the dates, but the emperor was always unruly and used to doing things his own way. Some important dates were set by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, while others were set by him whenever he felt like it.
As expected, the emperor said, "Tomorrow then!"
The Empress was speechless and hurriedly said, "Then I will go and inform the inner palace."
This gave her a lot of things to do.
The emperor rarely consulted her on important matters, and when things happened suddenly, she found it difficult to deal with them.
Once the date was set, Li Yuanke summoned Cen Yin to arrange the defenses, saying, "You stay in the capital and let Zhang Xu accompany me to Qingyi Garden."
Cen Yin grew anxious. "Your Majesty, Zhang Xu... his sister has entered the Prince of Yidu's residence as a concubine. I am guilty; I should not have made such malicious speculations, but I am truly worried about Your Majesty!"
Li Yuanke came over and helped him up, "and ordered Xu Chun to lead the Xuanjia Army to garrison on Qiulan Mountain."
Upon hearing this arrangement, Cen Yin understood the situation. "Your Majesty, the Donghu and Xiqiang will be coming this year, and the imperial relatives will also be attending the state banquet. I am worried that it will be on that day."
"I will give him a chance!"
Is this a chance to court disaster or a chance to make amends?
Shen Shixi arrived before noon, just in time for Li Yuanke to have lunch, so she joined him for a meal.
Every time Li Yuanke ate with Shen Shixi, he would eat at least half a bowl more than usual. He would feel uncomfortable if he ate too much, so he would ask her to stay with him for a while and then go back later.
Before and after the Qian Yuan Palace, the Ministry of Works specially arranged for people to plant seedlings. Since there were too many seedlings to plant, Li Yuanke ordered people to find places outside to plant them and instructed the Ministry of Works to plant them well and pay special attention to them.
After looking around for a while, the two returned to the hall. Shen Shixi then asked, "Are we going to Qingyi Garden tomorrow? Where will I stay?"
Where would you like to stay?
"Living in Leshantang in Taohuawu".
"You live so far away, don't you want me to come see you?" Li Yuanke laughed, not surprised that she chose Peach Blossom Village.
The Hall of Benevolence in Peach Blossom Valley was where Li Yuanke lived when he was a prince. It's definitely sealed off now, and no one lives there. It makes sense that Shen Shixi wants to live there; she used to live there when she came to the garden as a child.
"I used to live there, so I'm familiar with the area. Besides, is there any place in this garden that hasn't been inhabited?"
"I've chosen a place for you. You'll stay at Shende Hall. It's close to me."
Shen Shixi rolled her eyes. "I don't want to live here. I'd be sick of watching you summon your concubines every day!"
Li Yuanke laughed heartily, pulled her over to sit in his lap, and asked, "Jealous?"
"You're overthinking it. Your Majesty possesses the entire realm, let alone a few women. Your priority is ensuring the continuation of your lineage. You only have two princes now, and one of them is deposed. I only hope that Your Majesty's offspring will be plentiful and the empire stable!"
[You want to see me jealous? Dream on! Hmph, the day you anger me, I'll burn your entire harem to the ground!]
This is the third time I've mentally listed his harem!
Li Yuanke laughed heartily, stroking her back gently with his palm, like stroking a feather, "Give me many children in the future!"
Shen Shixi pretended to be deaf, wrapped her arms around his neck, and bit his lips. "It's a deal, I'll live in Peach Blossom Village. I like that peach grove. It should be bearing fruit now, so we can pick and eat them."
"Those peaches aren't tasty, they're only pretty when they bloom." Li Yuanke winced in pain, hissed, and rubbed his lips. "Don't be angry if I don't come to see you later."
Shen Shixi leaned into his arms, slumping against him, "If you hadn't come to see me, I would have cried myself to death."
Li Yuanke laughed loudly, his chest shaking. "Is that all the ambition you have? In this sweltering heat, wouldn't it be better to let you live closer to me? If you want peace and quiet, then live in Huanbi Hall?"
"No way! Everyone who goes to your place will pass by my door. I want to live in Peach Blossom Village. How far is it? Oh, I know, you're afraid that when you go there, you'll pass by Moonlit River and Wenyuan and get stopped by your women. You don't want to hurt their feelings, do you?"
She got angry at herself, snorted coldly, and got up to leave. "If you don't want to go, just say so. Why use distance as an excuse!"
"What did I say that made you angry again?" Li Yuanke held her waist. "If you want to stay, then stay. It's no big deal! It's still early. Stay with me for a while before going back to the palace."
The two of them had a pretty big argument last night, and they were both exhausted by now. Shen Shixi was going back to sleep.
Li Yuanke pulled her into the bedchamber, but Shen Shixi resisted, "I don't want to sleep in your bed. Who knows how many people have rolled around in it with? It'll disgust me to death!"
Li Yuanke was furious. "I've been the only one to have slept in my imperial bed!"
Li Fude hurriedly explained from the side, "The concubines who are to serve the emperor are all settled in Yanxi Hall. No one has been to the emperor's bedchamber yet."
Shen Shixi took off her coat and reluctantly lay down on the bed, rolled around a couple of times, and then touched everything around, saying, "What's the difference between this and my bed?!"
Li Yuanke ignored her, spread his arms to let her take off her clothes, got into bed and lay down with his back to Shen Shixi.
Shen Shixi was also tired. She turned her back to him, kept her eyes closed for a while, and then fell into a deep sleep.