Chapter 173: The Emperor's Affection

Qianqing Palace.

Inside the East Warm Pavilion, the Wanli Emperor rested his feet on the small stool in front of the dragon throne, his chin propped up by both hands on the table, his face full of boredom.

Reading these memorials made his eyes blur, and there was no one to relieve his tedium.

He had once thought being an emperor was wonderful.

Thinking about it now, he realized that being an emperor was the most difficult task under heaven.

As the Wanli Emperor was complaining, Wei Qing walked in from outside, carrying a stack of memorials: "Your Majesty, these are the memorials from the Office of Transmission. Shall this servant read them to you now, or should I wait until the afternoon?"

"Leave them here for now."

"Yes."

Wei Qing set down the memorials, then stood respectfully to the rear right of the Emperor.

After a moment of silence, the Wanli Emperor knit his brows and suddenly asked, "When will Mr. Zhang's illness finally be cured?"

Wei Qing hurriedly stepped forward with cautious steps and replied, "It is hard to say. The imperial physician said that Mr. Zhang is suffering from a deficiency of Qi and blood, which allowed the illness to invade. If he recovers quickly, it will take at least half a year; if it is slow..."

If it were slow, there was no guarantee he wouldn't spend the rest of his life in bed.

"Sigh. I never imagined that the daily affairs of state would be so heavy—from the safety of the Nine Frontiers and the repair of riverways, down to the promotion or demotion of a local official, all require my decision." The Wanli Emperor looked pained and muttered to himself.

Wei Qing, standing to the side, dared not respond.

The appointment and dismissal of officials was, after all, the Emperor's prerogative.

If he dared to meddle in this, the Emperor might not say anything now, but if he reflected on it later, he would certainly be in for a rough time.

Thinking to avoid an awkward silence, Wei Qing steered the topic toward Zhang Yunxiu: "Your Majesty, in three days it will be the wedding of Minister Zhang and the young lady of the Xu Family. Minister Zhang also said he wanted to invite Your Majesty to have a cup of wedding wine."

Upon hearing this, the Wanli Emperor smiled and shook his head, sitting back on the dragon throne, and joked, "That slippery fellow, inviting me to drink wedding wine is a lie; I think he really just wants me to give him a wedding gift."

"Your Majesty is discerning."

"Forget it, forget it. Come with me to the Inner Treasury to pick out some things to send to that fellow. Lest he say nothing to my face but curse me for being stingy behind my back and kick up a fuss in secret."

As the two spoke, they arrived inside the treasury.

Inside the storehouse, rare treasures and precious gems were piled like mountains.

Fine Shu Brocade, agate from Yunnan Dadian, night-luminescent pearls the size of eggs, Suzhou Brocade from Suzhou, Miyun Dragon Tea from Jiangxi—the Wanli Emperor took whatever he saw. Wei Qing followed behind, repeatedly crying out, "Your Majesty, that is enough, that is enough."

"How many is that?"

"Almost fifty chests."

"That is barely anything. I think there should be at least one hundred chests, otherwise, others will think I am stingy." The Wanli Emperor curled his lip and continued to bury himself in the treasury, searching for treasures.

Only when they had gathered one hundred chests did he stop.

That afternoon, Wei Qing led the one hundred chests of jewelry, with much drumming and noise, setting out from the Imperial City and heading straight along Wealth Street and Qipan Street toward Denghua Alley on Dengshikou Street.

Along the way, both sides were crowded with commoners watching the excitement.

It was the first time the Emperor had personally provided a bride price. Even some unfavored princes did not have such a grand wedding.

With this one act, the influence of the Zhang Family father and son was elevated another level in the hearts of the commoners.

That great figure who had held the reins of the world for over a decade, even if he still had a breath left in him—

The world would not fall into chaos! Those officials also clicked their tongues in secret.

Especially those officials who had been harboring ulterior motives; previously they had been fanning the flames, showing the audacity to pull the Senior Grand Secretary from his horse.

Now, they had all become like frost-bitten eggplants—wilted.

As the procession moved along, the residence of Xu Ruoxi also became lively.

At this moment, she was sitting upright at a stone table in a small pavilion, embroidering a pair of mandarin duck pillowcases stitch by stitch, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile from time to time.

Suddenly, Lvluo burst in, full of energy.

"Young Miss."

Xu Ruoxi was startled by this, her finger trembling, and she was pricked by the needle, drops of blood seeping out.

It hurt so much that her brows furrowed tightly.

She put down the pillowcase and glared at Lvluo, scolding, "You reckless girl, can you not have a bit of a young lady's decorum? If you do this again, I will marry you off to the martial guard in the courtyard."

Lvluo knew she had caused trouble, so she hurriedly knelt on the ground to apologize to her mistress, then said with reflected glory, "Miss, today the Emperor sent the groom so many, many treasures, adding up to over a hundred chests."

"Who did you hear this from?"

"The soldiers on guard outside, as well as the servants and maids in the manor, it has spread everywhere. They even say that the Empress Dowager is also going to provide a dowry for you, Miss."

Xu Ruoxi felt a warmth in her heart, but on the surface, she still kept a straight face and scolded, "Lvluo, you have no brains. You believe such things and even dare to spread them around. If someone else hears you, the bailiffs will come and arrest you!"

"It is true, Miss." Lvluo shook her head repeatedly, answering with great certainty.

"Hearing is false, seeing is believing. You have no gate on your mouth; who knows if it is true or false?" Xu Ruoxi remained calm, sucked on her finger, and then went back to picking up the unfinished mandarin duck pillowcase to continue her needlework.

Seeing that her mistress did not believe her, Lvluo was sweating with anxiety.

Just at this moment, a commotion came from outside the residence, and Lvluo's eyes lit up as she ran out, "thump, thump, thump." Upon looking, over fifty wooden chests had filled the originally spacious courtyard to the brim.

She wanted to turn back to call her mistress, but Xu Ruoxi had already walked out through the latticed door.

Just craning her neck to take a look outside, Xu Ruoxi walked back with a smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks.

Lvluo held her head high, wandering around outside like a victorious swan.

The accompanying maids were even more envious, and one good-looking maid sighed, "Lvluo, our new groom is truly amazing; getting married has even alarmed the Empress Dowager."

That is right.

Lvluo smiled smugly. Her mistress was as beautiful as a celestial being and the daughter of a wealthy family; once she married into the Zhang Family, her own status as a personal maid would naturally rise with the tide.

And, and.

She knew she had another mission—to take the place of the mistress when it was inconvenient for her.

Thinking of this, a lovely red flush appeared on Lvluo's fair neck.

"Lvluo, are you lovesick?" an older maid teased.

"Hahaha, I reckon that's eight or nine tenths of it. She hasn't even married over there with the young miss yet, and she's already thinking about the new son-in-law?"

The crowd teased her relentlessly; Lvluo was overcome with shyness, covering her cheeks as she ran into the courtyard.

Xu Ruoxi put away the mandarin duck pillowcase at this moment, and seeing Lvluo enter looking bashful, she couldn't help but tease her, saying, "Back then, you almost treated him like a servant; now let's see how you're going to clean up this mess."

Ah? Lvluo's limbs turned icy cold, and her small face went deathly pale with fright.

If the new son-in-law didn't want her, wouldn't she have to marry one of those servants? Having been by Xu Ruoxi's side for so long, her standards had naturally risen; she absolutely could not accept marrying a servant.

Thinking of this, Lvluo raised her eyelids and gazed longingly at Xu Ruoxi.

"Hmph, know to be afraid now, have you? If you mend your ways in the future, I might just go and put in a good word for you."

"I knew the young miss was the best to me."

(End of this chapter)