Chapter 74: Zhao Fang's Ordeal 2 [Many thanks for everyone's support! A second bow]

Taking charge of the Imperial Prince, Xu Xu Zaijing, relying on his body tempered by years of training and memories from his past life, squatted halfway behind the prince.

One hand formed a fist pressing against the spot two finger-widths above the prince's navel, while the other hand cupped that fist.

Then he struck forcefully.

Naturally, Xu Xu Zaijing dared not use his full strength; even one percent of his power was too much.

Thanks to his year-after-year training, his control over the magnitude of his force was extremely precise.

The Imperial Prince was already on the verge of fainting from suffocation, his body struggling involuntarily in weakness, yet unable to overcome Xu Xu Zaijing's immense strength.

The prince's mouth hung open, and uncontrollable saliva had already dripped onto the floor in strings.

Xu Xu Zaijing paid no heed to this, continuing to strike with both hands more than ten times.

The Empress and the Emperor could only watch, trembling.

Suddenly—

"Wah!"

"Plop, plop."

The Imperial Prince spat out the foreign object lodged in his throat: a sandalwood bead that had fallen from who-knows-where.

"Cough, cough, cough, wah!!!"

Able to breathe again, the Imperial Prince began gasping desperately, then burst into tears.

"Wu-wu-wu..."

While crying, he kept looking at Xu Xu Zaijing, his eyes filled with dependence; after all, this somewhat familiar big brother had saved him when he was at death's door.

"Fang'er! Fang'er!"

Suddenly regaining strength, the Emperor disregarded all etiquette, hurried over to Xu Xu Zaijing, took his own royal son from his arms, his eyes filled with tears of lingering fear.

Losing all composure, he buried his head in the Imperial Prince's embrace, inhaling the scent of his child.

"My son." His tone was brimming with lingering fear and tenderness.

It was as if he had regained a lost treasure.

The Empress had been forcing herself to hold on until now, watching Xu Xu Zaijing with eyes full of tears.

Now that a true miracle had occurred and she saw her son able to cry, she held on tightly, refusing to faint.

Within such a short span, the extremes of sorrow and joy had come too fast, leaving the Empress feeling drained and dizzy.

The female officials beside her hurriedly rushed forward to support the Empress.

The Empress reached out her hand toward Xu Xu Zaijing; understanding her intent, he lowered his body, extended his hand, and together with the female officials helped Empress Cao to her feet.

Standing up, amidst the utterly shocked expressions of everyone present,

the Empress directly pulled Xu Xu Zaijing into a tight embrace, murmuring repeatedly:

"Good child! Good child! Your kindness, I keep in my heart, I keep in my heart."

Xu Xu Zaijing sensed the faint, elegant fragrance on the Empress, but his heart harbored no improper thoughts; he felt only the gratitude of a mother who deeply loved her child.

The Empress's arms were still spasming, clearly having been frightened to the point of exhaustion.

When the Empress released her grip, Xu Xu Zaijing said:

"Your Majesty, this was my duty."

The Empress said nothing more, but the look in her eyes as she gazed at Xu Xu Zaijing was full of maternal affection for a junior.

Smiling gently, the Empress said: "Good."

Seeing this scene, all the female and male officials in the entire palace let out a sigh of relief, only to be immediately overwhelmed by boundless fear rising in their hearts.

Had anything truly happened to the Imperial Prince, few of those in this hall would have survived.

Thus, the gazes everyone turned toward Xu Xu Zaijing were also filled with gratitude.

Xu Xu Zaijing walked outward and helped Sun Shi, who was still prostrate on the ground, to her feet.

"Mother, let us go out."

Sun Shi's body was also somewhat weak; she had never experienced such an event before.

"Wait."

The Emperor, having handed Zhao Fang over to the Empress, spoke out.

Xu Xu Zaijing and his mother hurriedly stopped.

"Lady Sun, what I said just now was a slip of the tongue; you must not—"

Supporting her own son, Sun Shi, upon hearing the Emperor's words, felt a sudden inspiration and loudly declared:

"Your Majesty! You are also a father, and I too am a parent; pity the hearts of parents everywhere. You! Need not be like this."

Having spoken, Sun Shi lowered her head and performed a bow.

The Emperor looked at the mother and son, then nodded.

Then he kicked the imperial physician, who hurriedly rushed to the Empress's side and placed his fingers on the Imperial Prince's wrist.

Subsequently, the Emperor's personal eunuch hurriedly waved his horsetail whisk, dismissing the many attendants from the area.

Inside the Zhengdian, Xu Xu Zaijing's excellent hearing faintly caught the Empress's muffled sobs and the Emperor's exhale of relief.

After a while, the imperial physician walked out with unsteady steps.

Seeing Lady Sun and the mother-son pair of Xu Xu Zaijing standing to one side, he bowed deeply.

"I thank this virtuous mother and son for your great kindness!"

"Great Physician, you overpraise us."

The imperial physician walked out of the hall door, inquired about Lady Sun's identity from a junior eunuch at the entrance, and upon hearing it was the Hou Fu of Marquis Marquis Yongyi, his eyes widened in surprise; seemingly reminded of something, he walked away with a melancholy air.

The Chief Eunuch serving the Emperor came out first and ordered seats to be bestowed upon Lady Sun and her son.

The look he turned toward the mother and son was also filled with gratitude.

With an Emperor and Empress such as these, they should not have to endure the pain of losing a child again.

No one cared what fate befell the female official who had been attending to him; she was simply never seen again after that.

In the room, Imperial Prince Zhao Fang, having endured such a terrifying experience, was already utterly exhausted; held in the Empress's arms, his small hand still clutched her clothing.

The Empress, meanwhile, leaned weakly against the Emperor.

Stroking his son's small hand, the Emperor spoke, his heart filled with lingering fear:

"It was sheer luck that the Xu family's Han Wulang came to the palace; if you had not allowed the female official to carry Fang'er over to him, we certainly would not have discovered it."

"That may not be so; after Your Majesty finished the soup, would you not have come to see Fang'er?"

"Naturally I would have come to see him, but truly I do not know how much time I might have been delayed; I did say I would not disturb his sleep. Who knows what state Fang'er might have been in by then? By the way, why did someone from the Xu family come to your quarters?"

The Empress took a deep breath, raised her bright, crystal-clear eyes to gaze at the patterns on the palace hall, and spoke with a voice full of emotion:

"A few days ago, the eldest lady of the Wu family from Yongchang Hou Fu sent word that the Xu family's Anjie'er had been chosen by the Hu Yan family's Eleventh Lang; yesterday, Eleventh Lang's mother, the eldest lady of the Pan family, was going to the Xu family to inspect the match."

Having said this, the Empress paused briefly.

A hint of confusion appeared in the Emperor's eyes as he quietly awaited what followed.

"Therefore, yesterday I dispatched a palace servant to deliver several baskets of black jade watermelons from the west to the Xu family, to bolster their standing; after all, the Pan family is a renowned wealthy household in the east. Today, mother and son came to express their gratitude for this favor. Hu~~~"

The Emperor was stunned; this meant that if the Empress had not kindly acted to support the Xu family, the Xu mother and son would not have come to the palace to give thanks, and then what would have become of his Fang'er?

Seeing the Emperor remain silent, the Empress's thoughts turned gently as she said:

"However, the reason I formed this intention was because of those words Princess Pingning spoke when Jingge'er was young; before, one could believe them or not, treating them merely as a good omen, but now it seems..."

The Emperor also recalled that earlier time, when the Xu family had sent cotton fluff from Bai Die flowers, the Empress had kept watch and rooted out several individuals.

The Emperor fell into thoughtful silence for a while, his thoughts unreadable, before saying, "The Xu family members are still in Zhengdian; we must go out to meet them."

"Very well."

As the Empress moved, Zhao Fang in her arms gave a slight tremble.

The Emperor hesitated, wanting to persuade the Empress to let the Imperial Prince rest.

"Fang'er, shall we go meet the big brother who just saved you?"

Hearing these words, Zhao Fang's eyes, previously dim with fear and shrinking back, brightened slightly, and he nodded.

Looking at Zhao Fang, the Emperor's mood greatly improved, and he smiled at his son, saying, "Fang'er, then, shall we promote this big brother's father to a higher office?"

Zhao Fang spoke with a slightly hoarse throat, "Yes, Fang'er wants to thank the big brother."

"Summon someone."

"Your Majesty."

"How are the merits of Marquis Marquis Yongyi, Xu Minghua, within the Western Army?"

"Replying to Your Majesty: fierce and resolute; within the Western Army, his reported achievements rank second among Army Commanders."

"Who is first?"

"Marquis Marquis Tuoxi Cao family's Yuan Erlang."

The Emperor glanced at the Empress, who nodded and said, "Your Majesty need only issue the decree; I will handle matters with the Cao family."

"Promote Marquis Marquis Yongyi, Xu Minghua, to Loyal Martial General (Senior Grade 4) and Commander of the Left and Right Wings of the Tianwu Army, one of the Four Upper Armies of Bianjing."

"Yes."

"Promote Xu Minghua's wife, Lady Xu Sun Shi, to the title of Lady of Grade 3."

"Yes."

The attending eunuch understood that the Xu family was now firmly registered in the Emperor's heart.

As for the future official career of this Xu family's Han Wulang, hiss... Bianjing now had another highly sought-after figure.

Having spoken, the Emperor and Empress, carrying Zhao Fang, proceeded to Zhengdian.

After the Emperor and Empress were seated, Zhao Fang in their arms looked at Xu Xu Zaijing, who had risen to perform obeisance, his eyes full of friendly expression.

"Lady Xu Sun Shi, Hou Fu is excellent, having raised such a fine child as Jingge'er."

"We thank Your Majesty for the praise."

The Empress said, "I often hear Imperial Uncle Cao say that he is also on good terms with your natal family; we must maintain frequent contact in the future."

"Yes, Your Ladyship."

"Jingge'er, come here."

The Empress beckoned with her hand, and Xu Xu Zaijing approached the couch.

The Empress extended her hand toward the female official beside her, who promptly handed over a small wooden box.

"This is a token for entering and exiting the imperial palace; henceforth, to enter the palace you need not announce yourself—simply display this token, and you may enter."

"We thank Your Ladyship for this gracious reward."

The Empress put on a stern expression and said, "Henceforth, do not speak such polite formalities again."

"Yes."

Zhao Fang straightened his back in the Empress's arms, then reached behind to tug Xu Xu Zaijing's clothing, saying, "Thank you, Brother Xu."

Xu Xu Zaijing was about to say more when the Empress cast a glance his way.

Xu Xu Zaijing said nothing; holding the box in one hand, he shook hands with Zhao Fang using the other.

Feeling the radiant warmth of Xu Xu Zaijing's palm, Zhao Fang forced his eyelids up and offered a faint smile.

The Emperor looked at his son and said, "Go and rest with the Imperial Prince."

"Your Majesty, Your Ladyship, then we shall not delay His Highness's rest; this humble woman and my son will take our leave."

"Go."

Xu Xu Zaijing followed Sun Shi in performing obeisance, and under the gaze of the Emperor and Empress, they exited the main hall.

Upon reaching the side gate of the imperial palace, Sun Shi finally exhaled a breath.

Looking at her son, she felt both joy and lingering fear, yet today's outcome was good.

After the mother and son returned to the Xu residence with the household servants, as evening fell and lanterns were lit throughout Bianjing City, a contingent of Imperial Guard Golden Armored Soldiers emerged from the palace, escorting dozens of palanquins laden with rewards through the bustling Imperial Street toward Quyuan Street.

The author's bowl lacks oil; reader support resolves a thousand sorrows.

Seeking monthly votes, tips, and investments—Ni Ni Qiuqiu begs for everything.

Thanks to the esteemed readers for your support; if there are typos or awkward passages, please do not hesitate to point them out.

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(End of Chapter)