Chapter 53: Emperor Yuanyou Zhao Xu

Zhao Xu!

The person standing inside the room was actually Emperor Shenzong's sixth son, the reigning Emperor Yuanyou, Zhao Xu.

Zhao Ti's gaze was deep and dark as he stared into the house.

His own sixth brother was actually here! What did he want to do? What was he doing?

The Great Song Emperor was not forbidden to leave the palace; Taizu and Taizong need not be mentioned, Emperor Zhenzong and Emperor Renzong often went to taverns outside the palace to eat, and Emperor Renzong was a regular at Ghost Fanlou.

As for Emperor Yingzong, he was born outside the palace in the first place, later entered the palace and then left again, took pleasure in the markets and streets, and after ascending the throne made many incognito visits among the common folk.

But anyone out at this late hour should be only this Emperor Yuanyou.

Zhao Ti thought to himself: judging by the situation before his eyes, the imperial clan's Shadow Guards must be in the other's hands.

What the person who had just entered said must have been following Zhao Xu's orders, sent to the border, but he had only described a thrilling process without saying why he went or what he did.

By now those people had all gone far away. Zhao Ti stood motionless, looking into the house; candlelight swayed gently, mingling its glow with the stars and moon.

Zhao Xu slowly straightened his body inside the room, facing the door. Eyes that had long borne great ambition, an expression of wisdom tinged with sorrow and compassion, a temperament that seemed to keep people a thousand miles away yet was somewhat kindly and approachable, a figure that seemed full of strength yet desolate—several utterly contradictory emotions and attitudes toward life were all embodied in a single person.

Very contradictory, very puzzling. Zhao Ti murmured thoughtfully.

From childhood to adulthood, very few people knew what Zhao Xu thought or wanted to do; his mind was profound, unmoved by favor or disgrace.

Zhao Xu now slightly raised his head inside the room, as if gazing at the starry sky, then softly uttered a "Heh." Then Xu Xu turned his body around; a young boy with hanging hair stepped forward and slowly closed the chamber door.

Zhao Ti stood still and silent. He had not seen Zhao Xu for over half a year—the last time was the Grand Court Assembly at the beginning of spring. Thoughts turned over and over in his mind, and only after a long while did he retreat out of the mansion.

He left the residence; moonlight bathed the road, dark clouds dispersed, and he made his way back.

After arriving home he practiced energy until dawn, then gently exhaled and began to rest.

He rose at the Chen watch, arranged various matters; in two days it would be the fifteenth of the eighth month, and Wang Fu also had to celebrate the festival.

Mid-Autumn had always been valued by both court and common folk. Official and wealthy families would even invite opera troupes to perform romantic and miscellaneous plays at home, set out banquets, and celebrate reunion.

Even small common households, though their surplus was not great, would buy fruits and meat, purchase little moon cakes to set the scene, and might even splurge on half a pot of new wine; the whole family would sit together in happy harmony.

As for the wanderers at the ends of the earth, the sorrowful guests of the world, most would find a secluded, shabby little tavern, sip and sing softly, recall endless heartbreaks of the past, the childhood sweethearts they could not forget, the willows green and flowers red, old travels like a dream, and years like a blade's edge.

Even those with nowhere to rest on the streets would find a way to get some food and drink, lean against a tree or wall, gaze up at the Toad Palace in the sky, and hope that this life was no more than a Southern Branch dream, so that upon waking they might begin anew.

Wang Fu did not have many members, but the festival had to be spent in lively fashion. Several kitchen women set about baking little moon cakes, and the eunuchs and maids had each received their customary bonus in advance.

A few heads of the Gold Wind Fine Rain Tower came to report on the tower's affairs, as well as the accounts of his own shops.

After Zhao Ti dealt with all these miscellaneous matters, he quietly awaited the arrival of the fifteenth.

Since Gao Taotao had said to come over for Mid-Autumn, she would certainly speak of the matter of the thirty-three postures of Taizu Long Fist.

As for the imperial clan's Shadow Guards, he had no intention of asking—matters of this scale touched on power struggles and could not be broached.

And at this moment another doubt rose in his heart: his own grandmother had said she had no illness, and she did not look like she was sick to him either; it seemed more like damage to her meridians. But how could an ordinary person injure their meridians so severely?

Internal injuries to meridians mostly came from practicing kung fu, external meridian injuries mostly from fighting; to be injured so severely was not something an ordinary person could encounter—could it be that this grandmother also practiced martial arts?

In the blink of an eye the second day arrived—the main day of Mid-Autumn.

Early in the morning the household began sweeping Wang Fu, draping the trees in red and green, picking flowers to set in vases, washing the paths with clean water, slaughtering sheep and geese in the eastern kitchen, and only then taking breakfast.

At this time most people ate two meals a day; outside, the proper taverns—apart from a few like Ghost Fanlou, Pan Tower, and Gaoyang Proper Tavern—mostly closed at noon and reopened toward late afternoon.

Official and noble households had just begun the practice of three meals a day, but Yan Wang Fu had not set such a rule. Zhao Ti would enter the palace in the afternoon, so this breakfast was especially lavish.

After eating, he had the kitchen women bake a fresh batch of little moon cakes, and prepared several seasonal fruits. After the sun passed its peak, he had Zheng Fu ready the carriage, then went out through Wang Fu's main gate and headed straight for the imperial city.

He entered through the Left Side Gate and proceeded forward. Outside the Cining Palace, Zheng Fu handed the fruit gift box to the eunuch on duty, and Zhao Ti stepped into the hall.

At this moment, a female official came to greet him, bowed, and said: "Your Highness Yan Wang, the Grand Empress Dowager invites Your Highness to wait in the Yixin Hall and has sent a subordinate to lead the way."

Yixin Hall was a place deep within the Cining Palace, not normally used to receive guests; even Zhao Ti had never entered it over these years.

He nodded, followed the female official forward, and after a short while entered Yixin Hall. The female official went out to report back, a young eunuch placed the gifts on the desk, and Zhao Ti looked around.

He saw the hall was elegantly arranged, its name meaning to seek stillness and reflect on oneself. One wall had calligraphy and paintings hung on it; he walked over to look, and could not help but laugh out loud—it was Su the Great Beard's "Water Melody: When Did the Moon First Appear?"

Gao Taotao appreciated the literary talent of the Su brothers, and was especially fond of Su Shi's poetry. This "Water Melody" was written by Su Shi at Mizhou during Mid-Autumn of the ninth year of Xining under Emperor Shenzong.

Now this person was in the north, at Dingzhou Circuit, serving as Pacification Commissioner of Dingzhou Circuit and concurrently Prefect of Dingzhou Military Prefecture. Although Dingzhou Circuit had been split off from Hebei West Circuit and was not very large, it was after all a key frontier region with very heavy authority; he could also be called a regional Commander-in-Chief.

After waiting a while longer, footsteps sounded outside the hall, and he saw the female official supporting Gao Taotao as she entered.

Seeing this, Zhao Ti hurried forward to take her arm. He felt only that Gao Taotao's sleeve was cold, and could not help being inwardly astonished. After helping her to sit inside behind the desk, he moved to the front of the desk and bowed: "Grandmother..."

Gao Taotao glanced at him and showed a slight smile: "Eighth Brother, today is Mid-Autumn. Being in the palace, do you find it dull inside?"

Zhao Ti said: "On a fine Mid-Autumn festival, one should naturally spend it with grandmother, as a matter of filial piety."

Gao Taotao nodded, then sent the female official out, looked at the box on the table, and said: "You are thoughtful."

Zhao Ti glanced at her face, which still showed a pale bluish color, and said: "Grandmother said a few days ago that you had no illness, but your complexion is poor. Just now when your grandson supported you I felt your blood and Qi were cold—have you suffered some injury?"

Gao Taotao shook her head: "Whether injured or not, it has been many years now; there is no longer any serious problem."

Zhao Ti frowned: "How can that be? If grandmother has suffered an injury of yin cold, then your grandson has recently obtained a cultivation technique, said to be extremely yang and firm; it might be able to cure it."

"Oh?" Gao Taotao looked at him, thoughtful: "What yang-firm cultivation technique? Tell this old body and let me hear it."