Prince Qing was scheduled to get married after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
During Qi Yunruo"s second month of stewardship, he worked to prepare for this event. The prince estate did not have a precedent for sending wedding gifts to the imperial family. As such, Qi Yunruo searched for the records depicting what Prince Jing had given during Li Chen"s wedding. He used it as a reference, adding some items, removing some others. He edited the gift list many times, before preparing to let Li Chen take a look.
Because Qi Yunruo never consulted with Granny Song about anything, it drove the old servant furious. Despite this, he acted as though he didn"t hear any of her complaints, solely focusing on his responsibilities. Now that Qi Niqun had lent out Granny Song, the latter could not go to Winter Plum Courtyard often to complain. It made her feel powerless. The act of sending gifts to Prince Qing"s wedding was an important task. She did not believe Qi Yunruo could handle it by himself. Just wait until His Highness lectures him. Then let"s see if he will still refuse to seek help from me. Hmph!
At Lakeside View House, the servant in charge of delivering messages and external affairs was Yuzhi. The one in charge of the interior was Lulan. She prepared Qi Yunruo"s food and drink and serviced him at his meals, among other things. That said, Granny Song wanted to boost Liusu in order to deal with Lulan. However, Lulan wasn"t an ordinary female official. She was a proper sixth-rank female official of the imperial palace. Although Granny Song believed her own seniority to be higher, she did not dare to go against her for no reason. Much less Liusu.
Liusu was currently at Lakeside View House. She was in charge of teaching the lower-ranked servant girls. Originally, Liusu pitied her master. She was also not as competent as Lulan at her duties. As time pa.s.sed, she felt less able to compete with her colleague.
Taking advantage of that, Granny Song said, "Young lady, you"re in the position to easily attend to the master. Back in our old household, each of you eight girls with the name of Liu were capable. To attend to third young master is to have wronged you. Your current responsibilities aren"t those of a first-rank servant girl."
Embarra.s.sment painted Liusu"s cheeks red. "Granny doesn"t know my suffering. Master does not trust me. What can I do about that? If master cares for me just a little, I"ll be able to stand up straight and compete with Lulan. But master is quite fond of her. So there"s nothing I can do."
"If nothing were to occur, master would be unaware of it." Granny Song"s words were but a mere mumble. "But if something does happen, then master would see for himself who his most loyal servants are…"
Liusu"s heart trembled. Then she couldn"t help but to consider those words. Granny Song had a point. These past few days, her master had offended a lot of people. If it caused His Highness annoyance, Lulan would no longer be as attentive to him. However, Liusu would still be there, and she would stay loyal and work diligently for Qi Yunruo.
Today Li Chen was off duty. As such, Qi Yunruo made a trip to the forecourt, bringing the list of wedding gifts to see him.
Su Ge greeted him. "His Highness is discussing matters with his advisers in the outer study. Please wait in His Highness" main chamber."
"Alright, thank you," said Qi Yunruo with a smile.
War had suddenly broke out in Beiqiang. Debate struck the court like a monsoon, so much so that Li Chen had to consult with his advisers on his day off.
During the break to their meeting, Su Ge said to Li Chen, "Young master Little Qi has sent the list of gifts to Prince Qing"s wedding."
Li Chen grunted in acknowledgement. He rose to his feet. "May the gentlemen wait a few moments. This prince will return soon."
"His Highness can leave as he wants."
Li Yue stood up and stretched his back, his eyes darting left and right for a moment. Then he followed after Li Chen. Su Ge smiled, but uttered not a word.
Once Li Chen saw Qi Yunruo, he naturally sat next to him and received the list. After he finished going over it, he said, "Explain this to me."
"I"ve used Prince Jing"s wedding gifts to Your Highness as a reference. Among those gifts, there were one box of fox pelts and one box of mink pelts, each containing nine pieces. For Prince Qing"s wedding, I"ve changed the pelts to Su embroidery, cloud brocade, Lingluo¹, snow satin, Xiaojuan², and wool. There"s also porcelain, medicine, eight pieces of treasure, six sets of male accessories, 450 kg of silver, and 30 kg of gold."
Li Chen set the list down. "Not bad. Subtract 50 kg of silver and half the gold. Tell the storeroom to prepare."
After Su Ge received the list, he made for the door.
As he stepped through the doorway, he saw Li Yue, who was sneaking around. He helplessly said, "Young master Yue, your honored self is giving me trouble again."
Li Yue smiled. And then he shouted, "Cousin, I"m coming in."
Qi Yunruo eyed the person entering the room, his gaze full of curiosity. The other party was a youth about eighteen to nineteen years old, a st.u.r.dy body and tall stature. Qi Yunruo had heard the person say "cousin" but didn"t recognize him. For this reason, he kept quiet.
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Li Yue glanced at Qi Yunruo. Joy apparent on his face, he asked, "Who are you?"
Li Chen side-eyed his cousin. "Why are you asking that?"
But Li Yue seemed completely at ease. "From my experience, cousin never leaves while a meeting is in session. Nor does he ever call a concubine over. That"s why I was curious as to what made you step out."
Embarra.s.sment flaring in the pit of his stomach, Qi Yunruo lowered his head. Sneaked a peek at Li Chen.
Li Chen called Li Yue to sit down. His smile cold. "If it really were one of my concubines and you charged right in like that, I"d think that your brain didn"t mature with your age."
"Even if it were one of your concubines, I would naturally treat them like a sister-in-law," said Li Yue. "Who is this young master?" He stared at Qi Yunruo curiously.
"Your Highness, I will return first," said Qi Yunruo.
A smile graced Li Chen"s lips. "Alright. These days the estate is busy. Little Qi needs to watch out for your health. If you feel tired, then rest properly."
"I understand." Qi Yunruo did not look at Li Yue, nodding at Li Chen before leaving.
After he left, Li Yue asked, "Was that a young master of Count Ziyang"s estate? The princess consort"s younger brother?
Hearing his cousin merely hum, Li Yue said, "In the past I saw that Count Ziyang had a burly figure. How could he have such a thin and delicate son?"
"Not all of Count Ziyang"s sons are robust and burly. Little Qi is still young and hasn"t matured yet."
"Has cousin finished preparing the list of gifts for Prince Qing"s wedding?"
Gaze aimed at Li Yue, Li Chen arched a brow. "Perhaps your brother and father have finished their gift list and are already on their way to the capital to deliver the gifts. It"s unknown whether it would be Li Yong or Li Yao that"s coming."
Li Yue smiled. "Jiangnan is a rich place. My brothers are wealthy and plump. Yet only I am skinny from living in your estate. Who knows whether my brothers would be heartbroken after seeing me again."
Li Chen turned his gaze toward the sky, too lazy to say anything.
But Li Yue just laughed. "Such a little beauty actually belongs to elder cousin brother. Hehe. Really, really…" He sighed.
The emperor was an advocator of war. In the past, there had been a civil official who, after finding it difficult to keep the world in peace, felt that disbanding the military and removing the posts of martial officials would prove the best course of action. Yet the emperor had coldly said, "So you want Us to give money, beautiful women, and superior-breed horses as tribute to the wolves in the west?"
That high-ranking official had gritted his teeth before saying, "What this official meant was that our country is powerful. Even if we lose a few things, if we can receive some peace we will have a period of growth. The civilians will live in peace and contentment. The businessmen will roll in business. After a year, we will gain back what we lost."
"Since beloved minister cares about the civilians so much, then We will bestow your daughters a political marriage and send your wealth to the Chanyu³ of the Qiang people. We will send your beloved steeds to our enemy generals, which would later be used to cause trouble at our border."
After that, no one in the court ever mentioned political marriages again. The last time the Qiang people came to sow discord was six years ago. At that time, something happened that had insulted the entire n.o.bility. The emperor kneeled in the Imperial Ancestral Hall for three days. Back then, Li Chen had only been fourteen years old, and he vowed that he would definitely eliminate the Qiang people one day.
In order to officially bring back his most beloved elder sister. Princess Changping, Li Yao.
In September, the emperor let the old general, Situ Xu, lead 200,000 of the best troops to battle. Their destination was the border. They were to support the general guarding Yushu Gate, Si De. The emperor brought all the imperial princes to the city gates to send them off. The emperor clasped hands with Situ Xu, and said, "Beloved minister, whether We can have a good year will be up to you."
Situ Xu once again bowed. Tears in his eyes, he said, "This minister will definitely not disappoint Your Majesty."
Meanwhile, Prince Qing looked run-down. The second time he had asked to lead troops to battle, he received his Imperial Father"s heavy scolding. That his reasons were selfish and not for the good of the people.
Li Chen sighed in his heart. In the end, he never spoke up about wanting to command an army and fight. He watched as Situ Xu"s figure shrank into the distance, worry striking his heart all of a sudden.
To his side stood Prince Jing. "What is Second Imperial Brother worried about?"
To which Li Chen forced a smile on his face. "Elder brother."
Prince Jing said, "If Situ Xu crushes Beiqiang in one go, we will no longer be apprehensive."
"Let"s hope this will be the case."
After that, Li Chen returned to his estate. Made a trip to Beautiful Forest. He sat down quietly, wanting to speak with Ji Huan. However, instead of seeing his companion, he was told that Ji Huan went to Lakeside View House. The reason: to admire the lotuses.
Li Chen was shocked. "There"s actually lotuses in this season?"
Yueya Er stood there surprised for a second. Then she said, "Yes. This slave remembers now that young master Ji went to eat lotus porridge with young master Little Qi."
The season for viewing lotus flowers at their most magnificent had pa.s.sed. Peering over the bridge, one would find the bottom of the pond to be filled with gray. Gray leaves, gray petals, gray dirt.
Qi Yunruo and Ji Huan were trying out a new product of the year: lotus porridge. It was warm to the tongue with rock sugar stirred in. The days had yet to grow cold. The two chatted by the pond"s edge.
Because Qi Yunruo lacked leisure time, he ate his porridge while preparing for the estate"s autumn allotment. Fortunately, Ji Huan had things to consider and didn"t feel too troubled by his companion"s lack of attention. He stirred his lotus porridge without a word.
The masters of the estate would receive their new sets of autumn garments first. In Winter Plum Courtyard, Qi Niqun had her own textile workshop. The other concubines would have their measurements taken at the communal textile workshop. There they would tell the older female servants what color and material they preferred. If the master requested, the servants must also craft jewelry that matched their master"s clothes. Or they would purchase them from the market. Every year, the imperial palace and other large estates would send Qi Niqun jewelry appropriate for a princess consort. Rarely did she need people to buy jewelry from the outside. The autumn allotment for the servants was even simpler. Just abiding by precedent was enough.
Once Qi Yunruo finished reading every courtyard"s allotment list, he read them again. And then he stamped them for approval.
When Li Chen arrived at the pond, the other two had yet to notice him. He stood behind Qi Yunruo, reading each line. Then he asked, "What about you?"
Qi Yunruo nearly jumped from fright. Ji Huan almost knocked over his bowl of porridge.
Li Chen took the booklet from Qi Yunruo"s hand and smiled. "I wouldn"t have thought that you would put so much consideration into this."
Qi Yunruo smiled embarra.s.singly. Staring at his bowl of lotus porridge, he asked, "Does your honored self want a bowl?"
"Hm? Alright."
Lulan went to fetch another serving. "This slave sees that Your Highness" expression is pale. How about this slave add some brown sugar?"
Li Chen nodded. "Let"s go with that." Then he sat on the chair that Yuzhi had just brought over.
That Lulan seemed familiar with Li Chen made Liusu feel even worse inside.
It was apparent to Ji Huan that Li Chen was extremely exhausted. After thinking for a while, he understood that the origin of Li Chen"s exhaustion and worry came from the unrest in Beiqiang.
Meanwhile, Qi Yunruo"s gaze fell upon the two of them and he said, "It looks like there"s one more month before Your Highness" twenty-first birthday. Are we to follow last year as an example of how to celebrate?"
Li Chen was shocked. "Cut it by half." The princess consort and Consort Wei both were with child. There was also the situation at Beiqiang. As such, he did not want such a grand birthday celebration.
"This I already know," said Qi Yunruo. "Who should be invited?"
"Just this prince"s brothers."
"Understood."
Having already packed his luggage, Ji Huan couldn"t help but feel the telltale tremors of worry in his heart. Even if the prince did not end up favoring Little Qi, if Little Qi could stand on his own two feet it would be enough. After a few years, the prince should let him leave the estate. Little Qi wasn"t someone who could take the imperial exams and enter officialdom. For this reason, the best case scenario was for him live freely and with wealth.
Later, Qi Yunruo gradually sent over the autumn season"s allotment to the other courtyards. Yet, trouble still brewed. Consort Ji saw that the items she received were worse than those of the previous year. She sneered, throwing everything to the ground.
"His own sister is pregnant so he no longer places us secondary consorts in his eyes? What does he think he is?!"
Consort Ji"s maidservant, Pei Er, kneeled on the side. Without a word, she picked up the items from the floor.
"Last time he had the guts to hit the people from Frost Autumn Courtyard. And this time, he tries to deceive me with these inferior goods! Did he think I was too arrogant before?! Pei Er, throw these things at his face!"
Pei Er hesitated before saying, "Master… there"s still the princess consort."
"So what about it? Who"s like her and has a personal servant girl to make her clothes, 182 crates of dowry, and enough Lingluo to last a whole lifetime?!"
"…This slave has checked Consort Wei"s side, and their allotment is similar to ours."
"Consort Wei is a cowardly person. Apart from daring to argue with me, she won"t speak poorly in the princess consort"s presence. If I were like her, I would have been eaten long ago."
A low-ranked servant girl rushed into the room. She whispered a few words into Consort Ji"s ears.
The moment the servant girl had finished speaking, Consort Ji"s expression became even more unsightly. Furious, she said, "The things I received were even worse than those of Consort Wei. Consort Wei"s inner garments are made of the highest-grade snow satin. Her outer garments are made of either Su embroidery or cloud brocade!"
Pei Er was at a loss for words. She muttered, "It"s because Consort Wei is pregnant."
"Hmph! When I was with child, I was still managing the estate. When did you see me using anything good?! This situation… won"t be settled so easily."
Don"t be confused! Li Yao (李耀), which is Li Yue"s father or brother (it isn"t clarified yet), is different from Princess Li Yao (李瑶). The first “Yao” (耀) means boast, shine, illuminate, and laud. The second “Yao” (瑶) means mother-of-pearl or jade.
A storm is brewing in the west and in Li Chen"s inner courtyard. Granny Song is trying to add terrible ideas to Liusu"s head, and Consort Ji is just seeking death at this point if she doesn"t reign in her emotions…
And that civil official that wanted to disband the military… There"s a difference between wanting peace and being so delusional that you would hand your enemy your gun.
The next regular release will be on September 20, 2019 at 12 pm EST.
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Lingluo: (绫罗) A type of expensive silk. Look up damask.Xiaojuan: (绡绢) Another type of silk, which is thick but loosely woven.Chanyu: (单于) From Wikipedia– Chanyu was the t.i.tle used by the nomadic supreme rulers of Inner Asia for eight centuries and was superseded by the t.i.tle “Khagan” in 402 CE. The t.i.tle was used by the ruling Luandi clan of the Xiongnu during the Qin dynasty and Han dynasty.