Chapter 1709: Untitled

After a winter rain, the weather suddenly turned bitterly cold, and a chill wind swirling around Chongzheng Hall began to howl. Beneath the hall's eaves, a dozen or so palace eunuchs were frantically cleaning up the water stains and footprints left on the ground.

Yan Tuo, the head eunuch, was not attending to the imperial presence but instead stood off to the side, watching with a stern expression, as if this were a matter of great importance.

Half an hour earlier, Chancellor Zhao Pu, while coming to Chongzheng Hall to report on affairs of state, had slipped on the corridor floor and injured himself. Zhao Pu was, after all, past sixty, with old bones and old limbs—he could not get up right away.

When this happened, Zhao Pu was allowed to return home to recover, but Emperor Liu was somewhat furious. A chancellor slipping and falling was hardly a good omen, and he could not help but vent his anger at Yan Tuo, demanding to know why even the floors could not be kept clean.

Accountability would come later. Having learned his lesson, Yan Tuo set aside his duties attending the imperial presence and personally led his men to thoroughly re-clean all the paths and steps before Chongzheng Hall, not even sparing the water stains lingering on the pillars and beams.

With Yan Tuo personally supervising, the standards were naturally higher—not only sweeping but also wiping, wiping dry, wiping until they shone like mirrors. Yan Tuo had reason to be angry. How long had it been since he had been scolded by Emperor Liu? And now, over such a trivial matter, because of his subordinates' negligence, he had incurred His Majesty's rebuke. How could his mood be good?

With a gloomy face, watching the eunuchs work, Yan Tuo secretly resolved to give those fools a proper lesson. If they could not even do a decent job of sweeping the floor, what use were they?

The soft clinking of armor plates came drifting over. Yan Tuo's ears were sharp, and he instinctively turned his head to see a young man in gleaming silver armor walking slowly toward him, followed by a youth in a thick fur robe.

Seeing the two, Yan Tuo's expression changed rapidly—the gloom vanished completely, replaced by a kindly, benevolent look. He stepped forward a few paces and bowed: "Greetings to Your Highnesses!"

"Eunuch Yan, is Father in the hall?" the young man asked directly.

"Reporting to Your Highness, His Majesty is in council with Chancellor Liu, Minister Han, and General Tian!" Yan Tuo replied.

"It must be about suppressing the rebellion in the northwest! I want to hear it too!" Hearing this, the young man's eyes lit up, and he said with slight excitement, urging Yan Tuo: "Eunuch Yan, go announce us at once!"

"Your Highness, please wait a moment—this servant will report to His Majesty right away!" Yan Tuo smiled, turned, and headed into the hall.

Watching Yan Tuo's retreating figure, the young man could not help saying to the youth beside him: "We are Father's sons. To see Father, we still have to announce ourselves first—since when is there such a rule in this world!"

These two—one in youth, one in boyhood—were naturally Emperor Liu's two imperial princes: Liu Ye, the thirteenth prince, and Liu Xin, the fourteenth. The two brothers had grown up together and had always been close; Liu Xin had practically grown up trailing behind Liu Ye.

In the imperial household, blood kinship was often hard to come by, and Emperor Liu's family was no exception. But these two brothers, though perhaps not so close to the other princes, were truly brotherly with each other—Liu Xin admired Liu Ye, and Liu Ye always protected Liu Xin, always thinking of him when he had something good.

Hearing Liu Ye's grumbling, a helpless smile appeared on Liu Xin's youthful, jade-like face: "Thirteenth Brother, besides being Father's sons, we are also his subjects. Rites cannot be abandoned—Father has always valued propriety!"

"Before Father, when have I ever abandoned rites or broken rules?" Liu Ye said. "Isn't this kind of rule precisely what separates the Son of Heaven from his ministers, giving those in between the chance to fish in troubled waters and play both sides? If some treacherous villain were to appear—"

Hearing Liu Ye's words drifting further and further, Liu Xin grew anxious and hurriedly reached out to cover his mouth, warning him with some severity: "Thirteenth Brother, you must not say such things carelessly. If Eunuch Yan were to hear, there would surely be trouble!"

Liu Ye pulled Liu Xin's hand away from his mouth, his sharp gaze sweeping left and right, lingering especially on the eunuchs buried in their work, and revealed a smile: "You're right—your elder brother was too rash!"

Having said this, his gaze turning probing, he said to Liu Xin in a teasing tone: "My fourteenth brother, you're still so young, but the way you speak is sounding more and more like those Hanlin pedants at Wenhua Hall!"

Liu Xin shrugged his shoulders, spread both hands, and sighed softly: "It's not that I want to learn it, it's just that there are too many disputes in this palace. My mother—and Thirteenth Brother, you can act freely and openly, broad-minded and magnanimous—that is something I envy but can never attain!"

Liu Xin was only sixteen now, and soon it would be his birthday, but though he was not old, he carried himself with an old-fashioned air, which could not help but stir a pang of sympathy in Liu Ye.

Liu Xin's mother, Consort Yelu, was not favored—this was well known throughout the palace. As for her complete fall from favor, that had happened around the time of the Kaibao northern expedition. If Pure Consort Zhou was one whose beauty was ill-fated, then Consort Yelu, though alive, lived a life worse than death, spending her days alone in a cold palace, as if imprisoned.

In the past, when Liu Xin was small, she could keep him by her side and be with him always. But when Liu Xin grew a bit older, they were separated, and he was arranged to live and study independently—that made her even more heartbroken and lonely.

Now, Consort Yelu no longer hoped for Emperor Liu's affection. Every month, she only looked forward to Liu Xin's visits. Liu Ye naturally understood the situation of this mother and son, and he even had some guesses about the reason Consort Yelu had fallen from favor.

Seeing Liu Xin's old-before-his-years appearance, he could not help but sigh inwardly. He raised his hand and patted Liu Xin's shoulder, no longer teasing him about the matter.

In comparison, Liu Ye's mother, Consort Xiang, was much more favored, and her days were much better. The treatment of consorts and princes depended entirely on the Emperor's likes and dislikes.

From childhood to now, Liu Ye had always been good at showing himself off, especially before Emperor Liu, deeply embodying the principle that "the crying child gets the milk." Therefore, Emperor Liu was rather fond of this thirteenth son.

As for Liu Xin, whatever the factors, his temperament carried a kind of placidity—call it lenient or call it weak. When he was young and ignorant, he could still be carefree, but as he grew older, learning to read and understand propriety, he became ever more low-key and reserved, presenting a completely uncontentious appearance.

This time, had Liu Ye not called for him, Liu Xin would not even have dared to come see Emperor Liu. In Liu Xin's mind, some fragments of childhood memory still lingered—in those days, Emperor Liu had been tall and imposing, though stern, still very gentle with him.

Back then, Emperor Liu's embrace had been strong and warm, and he had dared to cling to Emperor Liu's legs. Though Emperor Liu's beard had been prickly, it had always given people a feeling of closeness.

Of course, as he grew older, Liu Xin's childhood memories gradually faded, and he even felt that the images remaining in his mind were illusions—mere imaginings born of a child's longing, an unrealistic hope.

Of course, toward the princes, Emperor Liu did maintain a basic level of impartiality. Thus, though Liu Xin and his mother endured much suspicion and disdain, no ridiculous stories of wicked servants bullying their masters ever occurred.

If such a thing had happened, it would surely have been a path to death. The dignity of the imperial household could not be offended. With Emperor Liu's increasingly fierce protective instinct, only he himself could punish and discipline consorts and princes; anyone else who dared to overstep would certainly meet a miserable end. Of course, to this day, no one had dared to overstep. The rulers at Wenhua and Wuying Halls were the exception, but those too were backed by Emperor Liu's imperial decree.

"Fourteenth Brother, for the northwest pacification campaign, would you be willing to come with me? Life in the palace is too dull—consider it a chance to get out and see the great wide world!" Seeing Liu Xin's suppressed demeanor, Liu Ye was deeply moved and could not help offering on his own initiative.

Able to feel his elder brother's protective intent, Liu Xin shook his head: "Thirteenth Brother, war is no game—I won't go and add to the trouble. Besides, I can't affect you. What if Father doesn't agree and won't let you go?"

Liu Ye had come precisely for the northwest pacification campaign. The armor he wore had been selected from the armory's finest by Emperor Liu's order and bestowed upon Liu Ye for taking first place in the autumn hunt last year.

Hearing Liu Xin say this, Liu Ye immediately said: "If you don't ask for yourself, how can Father know your intentions and send you? As for me, as long as I request to fight, he will surely agree!"

"And if he doesn't agree, I'll just go secretly," Liu Ye could not help adding at the end.

While the two brothers chatted, Yan Tuo had already emerged from the hall, a signature smile on his face, bowing: "Your Highnesses, His Majesty summons you!"

Liu Ye's spirits immediately lifted, and his thoughts snapped back. He instinctively straightened his attire, removed the saber at his waist, handed it to the guard on duty outside the hall, and entered the hall together with the somewhat nervous Liu Xin.

Clearly, Liu Ye had criticisms of various rites and rules in his words, but when it came to his own conduct, he was extremely practiced, never overstepping or violating taboos. This was the basic quality of a promising prince.

After all, not everyone was like the ninth prince, who delighted in causing trouble.