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Eastern Palace
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Chen Qiao hesitated for a moment, looking at Ganlu’s slightly red cheeks, also looking at where everyone was standing, and couldn’t help but scratch his head.
But after hesitating again and again, he still hardened his head and went forward, even stopping again outside the door before awkwardly reporting, “Second young master, Qingjiang’s letter has arrived.”
For a moment, not a sound was to be heard.
Mainly it was Chen Qiao’s back growing cold, the bottom of his tongue tasting bitter, his entire body somewhat rigid, even not daring to look at Ganlu and the others. As the closest accompanying guard by Xun Che’s side, he naturally knew how infatuated their heir was towards the young madam, as well as these days, because of the young madam’s pregnancy, exactly how happy it has made Xun Che, and also how……..tortured.
After what can be said to be a very long few breaths, Xun Che’s dry cough finally came from the inside, as well as his seemingly still clear and steady voice, “Is it Sir Huo’s letter?”
As he said this, he opened the door and came out. His casual moon white gown was still very tidy, his handsome face also tranquil without any ripples, just like as if he’d just came out from reading in the study.
Ganlu and the others didn’t dare to lift their heads to look at Xun Che. Chen Qiao deeply bowed, and at the same time, hurriedly lifted his two hands to have the letter offered up, his back increasingly stiff——–the heir’s annoyance, he could still make out.
However, in the next moment, when Xun Che opened the letter and swept through ten lines at a time, his expression that seemingly didn’t have any changes still made Chen Qiao who was by his side, as well as Yu Lingxin who’d followed out with clothes draped over her shoulders, both detect something amiss.
“Why don’t you go rest first, I’ll go to the study to reply to the letter.” Xun Che bent over and kissed Yu Lingxin’s forehead, and afterwards, quickly left with Chen Qiao.
Yu Lingxin watched his footsteps. It was actually much quicker than usual. Although on the surface she smilingly responded, on the inside, her heart nevertheless slightly clenched.
Everything in this life had all changed that much, but there was one thing that won’t change, and that was just the battle for the throne during Xuan Emperor’s rule. As the wind rises and the clouds gather, between the changes in the state of affairs, the following battles will only be even more intense.
In reality, it was also just as she’d worried. That evening, Xun Che didn’t return to their room again until late into the night, and early the next morning, he hurriedly went out again. In the several days after, it was all leaving early and returning late.
Yu Lingxin didn’t ask too much. She roughly knew Xun Che’s calculations. As for the details, since there wasn’t anything she can help with, it was better to just focus on peacefully raising the fetus. In her free time, aside from chatting with her mother-in-law, Ming Huayue, and her younger sister-in-law, Xun Ying, she would also read the imperial bulletin, as well as ask Bai Guo about the rumors currently circulating on the surface outside.
As the weather warmed up again in the third month, the hearing related to the case of Qii Feng committing treason also gradually concluded. It was just as Xun Che had said, Old General Qii sure enough had the intention of ‘breaking an arm to survive’, personally dragging his old and sickly body to the capital to beg for forgiveness, practically wanting to slit his own throat before the imperial hall, just begging Xuan Emperor to leave the Qii family a surviving bloodline, letting his young sons and grandsons that were completely unaware of this matter not have their bloodline be completely severed.
Xuan Emperor ultimately was benevolent, and there were also quite a few people that pleaded for Old General Qii. Regardless of whether it was indeed having some sentiments towards the Qii family because of the old general’s wholehearted loyalty and devotion back then, or just purely not wanting to let the Cheng family get away like this completely unscathed, all in all, various memorandums pleading for mercy were passed up one after another. Finally, in the middle of the third month, after discussing with the important ministers of the Judicial Court, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of War, Xuan Emperor settled on the Qii family’s sentencing.
Qii Feng naturally got executed by beheading without pardon. His father will be removed from his position, and his mother, having deliberately injured Cheng Yanling and also attempted to sway the army, will be sentenced to commit suicide. The rest of his brothers and clansmen those that were close with Qii Feng and colluded with him will all be beheaded. Those that were unrelated and unaware of this matter, after investigating, will just be removed from their post. The entire Qii manor will get seized of all properties, but considering Old General Qii’s contributions in his early years, a thousand taels of white silver will be separately bestowed, letting him return to the countryside for his retirement.
As for the Zhenbei General Cheng Guangling, as the main commander of the Chen province army, there was also the fault of failing to detect the problem. However, through thoroughly investigating this matter, it can also be considered making up for his mistakes. As such, it was just forfeiting his salary and getting reprimanded, a small punishment to prevent bigger mistakes in the future. As for Cheng Yanling’s marriage ties with the Qii family, it will also thoroughly come to an end here.
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
However, having reached this point now, this matter no longer led to any discussions in the capital, because on the fourteenth of the third month, prior to Xuan Emperor giving his verdict on the Qii family case, the cabinet ministers already once again brought up the matter of establishing a crown prince.
Never mind that from the sixteenth of the first month, when Cheng Yanling returned to the capital, Qii Feng’s case was already for the most part set in stone, even if the case still had controversies, its importance level was still unable to compare with the discussion on the establishment of the crown prince, the successor to Great Sheng’s mountains and rivers.
Moreover, this time, Xuan Emperor although still didn’t show any clear preferences on the candidate for the heir apparent, the intentions in words nevertheless were even more vague and unclear. The meaning in his response to the cabinet ministers upon the court practically was just letting the court officials freely say what they want, putting forward their views towards the future crown prince candidate as much as possible in the memorandums.
Actually, regarding the establishment of the crown prince, in Tianxu year 9, that is when the fourth prince, Zhao Wang, was six years old, a court official had once vaguely mention before. The meaning on the surface although was saying to establish the di when there is a di, thus recommending Zhao Wang, but in reality, Zhao Wang’s body has been weak since childhood, and moreover, Zhaoyang Hall’s imperial favor was far inferior to Changchun Palace’s. This was something known to everyone. As such, that time, rather than say it was suggesting to establish the heir apparent, it was better to say that it was merely trying to sound out, testing Xuan Emperor’s attitude towards the imperial consorts and his sons below.
Xuan Emperor at the time directly avoided this question, the excuse being that his sons were all still young, leaving until later to discuss again. However, afterwards, in Tianxu year 10, North Rong invaded the Chen province, so the discussion regarding the candidate for the heir apparent very naturally got pushed back. In the several years after, every year, there were always people that would either openly or discreetly mention it again, but Xuan Emperor’s answer was always the same, discuss later, discuss later, discuss later.
Towards this, Xun Che even secretly commented before with Yu Lingxin in private, “His Majesty is kind-hearted and easy-going by nature. Great Sheng’s rulers for generations have always been unmatched, with no one able to sway them.”
At the time, Yu Lingxin just rolled her eyes at him——-You probably want to say that the emperor old man is too indecisive!
However, these words ultimately can’t be said directly. The couple tacitly understood inside, so this topic also just ended here.
Returning to the matter before them, Xuan Emperor although appeared to have still said ‘discuss later’ this time, it wasn’t really just obstinately delaying, instead really letting the court officials discuss and submit memorandums. Probably, starting from the incident of Renshun Crown Prince’s vermillion umbrella back then, he finally realized that this matter can no longer be dragged out.
However, the court officials although discussed, starting from the fourteenth of the third month, all the way until the end of the third month, when Wei Wang’s wedding was finally held, the imperial court was all still just a lively taiji[1] practicing ground. Everyone seemingly all had opinions and views towards establishing the heir apparent, but there was also no high-ranking and powerful minister that directly suggested a candidate. To put it bluntly, the court officials were practically all just discussing while also watching from the sidelines, not willing to rashly express which side they stood on.
Even if because of marriages ties, or have always had a clear stance over the years, under this kind of situation, they were also unwilling to open their mouth first, similarly following the waves after waves of court discussions, continuing to sound out Xuan Emperor as well as their colleagues’ attitude.
This kind of situation continued until the second of the fourth month. That is the third day after Wei Wang finally carried out his wedding, marrying Wen Ruoqiong, as well as the other four liangyuans. A news suddenly came from the palace. The fourth prince Zhao Wang suddenly fell severely ill, his entire body filling with rashes, the situation very dangerous.
For this reason, Xuan Emperor was very anxious. Although Empress Wen didn’t receive much love or respect from Xuan Emperor, and the fourth prince who has always been weak and sickly for a long time also wasn’t as favored in front of their father as the second prince and third prince, these two older brothers from a different mother, but no matter what, Zhao Wang was still Xuan Emperor’s biological son. The affection between father and son was ultimately still there.
Thus, in the court meetings in the following few days, the discussions regarding the heir apparent also reduced by a lot. After all, the saying of ‘establishing the di’ was originally just one of the main arguments. But, with Zhao Wang suddenly falling ill like this, also having had a weak body since childhood, to put it unpleasantly, it was just not knowing whether or not he can live to adulthood. To insist on establishing the di son actually didn’t have any guarantees towards Great Sheng’s future. But, these words can’t be said directly, otherwise it’s just cursing an imperial prince. This kind of crime, no one can afford to shoulder.
Fortunately, this year’s spring exam was set in the last quarter of the fourth month. Some of the civil officials who like to follow the wind, seeing Xuan Emperor’s complexion, immediately put forward a memorandum regarding the imperial exam, selecting scholars, the students of the academies, and such. It can somewhat be considered a buffer. As Xuan Emperor randomly agreed, the people below followed the example of their superior. As such, the court officials, half tacitly understanding and half avoiding the taboo, discussed for two days about the spring exam.
And this, for the great majority of the mid-ranking official households in the capital, was actually something they cared about more than the establishment of the heir apparent. For instance, the Yu family was just an example.
Although, in the past life, the Yu family’s downfall was related to the battle of the throne, but for Yu Bocheng who has always stayed within his bounds, from the bottom of his heart, he has actually never thought of wanting to build connections with the future heir apparent, and from there, achieve great success.
Even if, in this life, his daughter married into the Wen’an Marquis Manor, very obviously becoming a supporter of Qin Wang, Yu Bocheng still didn’t pay too much attention to the battle for the throne. Instead, he mostly paid attention Yu Zhengshan’s and Yu Zhenghua’s classwork.
Yu Zhenghua currently was still less than ten, precisely the time to concentrate on his studies and build a good foundation, so not really affected by the political state of affairs. But, for Yu Zhengshan, it wasn’t exactly the same. He currently just turned fifteen, and during the autumn exam, he has already received scholarly honors as a young juren. For the current spring exam, he was precisely between can participate and not participate. For the sake of his nephew’s future prospects, Yu Bocheng was very indecisive.
Yu Lingxin naturally was also concerned. In addition to the beginning of the fourth month being the overlap between spring and summer, having moderate wind and beautiful sunlight, and Little Imperial Physician Chi also said that although her pregnancy was now more obvious, she can still adequately move around, stretching her muscles and bones, Yu Lingxin thus decided to let Bai Guo and the others carefully escort her back to her maiden home to visit her grandmother and father, as well as Yu Zhengshan who she heard has been somewhat stressed lately.
Seeing the pregnant Yu Lingxin come back, Yu old madam naturally was very happy. Just, when mentioning Yu Zhengshan in their conversation, the old madam still slightly furrowed her brows, “He has been not too steady recently, but it shouldn’t be anything major. Right now, you’re six months into your pregnancy, so it’s more important to take care of yourself. The matters at home, you also don’t need to worry too much.”
Yu Lingxin glanced at the servant girls by her side. Bai Guo and Shuangzhi immediately understood and went out. Afterwards, she finally lowered her voice a little, “Is it because of the marriage talk with the Yan family?”
Yu old madam was somewhat helpless, but thinking that Yu Lingxin was this sensible and steady, she let out a sigh, “During the new year, your madam went to have tea with the Yan family’s madam to ask their attitude. The Yan family’s side although didn’t say it too bluntly, there is the intention of declining. On one hand, it’s saying that Shan’er is a few months younger than their daughter, and on the other hand, there’s also some rumors and gossip outside. Overall, it’s just your husband’s older tang brother might still have some thoughts towards the Yan family young lady. The Yan family although don’t want to bring up the old marriage arrangement again, they are still concerned about our relationship with the Wen’an Marquis Manor.”
Yu Lingxin softly muttered, “Then, what did Miss Yan say herself?”
Yu old madam sighed again, “That girl is a good girl. Shan’er, afterwards, went to look for her on his own. She told him to properly focus on the exam. If he were to stubbornly make a fuss, it would just make others look down on him. As such, these days, Shan’er has actually steadily studied for a period of time. Just, recently, sigh……”
“Why don’t I go check on him.” Yu Lingxin thought for a moment, and then let Bai Guo come in to support her as they headed over to Yu Zhengshan’s study.
When the siblings met upon entering the door, Yu Lingxin actually blanked a little. Having not seen for several days, Yu Zhengshan had grown a bit taller again, but at the same time, also a lot more haggard, “Shan’er, this……..”
Yu Zhengshan’s gaze dimmed, “Eldest sister, please sit. You’re further along in your pregnancy, so need to be careful.”
“I’m fine.” Yu Lingxin sat down with Bai Guo’s help, and then glanced at the dark circles under his eyes. His hair was also somewhat untidy, “Rather, you, did you not sleep well last night?”
“En.” Yu Zhengshan didn’t deny either, “Last night, brother-in-law let Guard Chen bring me a letter, letting me not take the spring exam this year. He said that I at most can only achieve a third class ranking[2], so it’s better to not take it.”
Last night, Xun Che returned too late, so Yu Lingxin actually didn’t know about this matter. However, her trust towards Xun Che probably already exceeded herself. As such, she just followed along, “Then, it’s better to listen to your brother-in-law.”
Yu Zhengshan lowered his head and bitterly smiled, “En, listen to brother-in-law, not taking the exam it is. In any case, senior brother Yuzhang is also sick. Everyone not taking it together, quite nice.”
[1] Basically like the martial arts. In this context, it means not using aggressive means, but a more roundabout and indirect way of arguing.
[2] First class rank only includes the top three scorers, second class is fourth place to any place set by the court, usually around 100-200 places. Third class is all the remaining passing candidates.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS JEN
Thank you for another year of great translation. I swear, the novels you pick and the translation are so good that I’m unable to read anything else.
Anyways, hope you have a lovely Christmas and have lots of rest!
Thank you, and Merry Christmas! 🎉🎉