Chapter 141: Elder Li’s secret Supreme Commander Lou helps His Majesty change clothes Original and most updated translations are from volare. If read elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.
Head Commander Shadowgale stood in the doorway staring at the pair in front of the bronze mirror and felt something off about the entire scene. Still, he couldn’t place his finger on the specifics. Supreme Commander’s brushed his nephew’s hair before? Is he really treating His Majesty as his son to raise now?
“It’s finished,” Lou Zigui backed away as he told Ning Xiaoyao, who looked at her reflection in the mirror before splitting into a grin.
“Am I as handsome enough to rend the Heavens now?” she asked.
Lou Zigui turned to Shadowgale, who instantly dropped his head. He didn’t hear a thing!
“Handsome!” Ning Xiaoyao mentally gave her reflection a ‘like’ as she headed for the doors. On the way out, she told Lou Zigui and Shadowgale, “Come on, let’s go to the Grand Preceptor’s estate and watch them cremate the old madame.”
“…….” said Lou Zigui. What did I just hear her say? Cremation? That wasn’t my imagination, right?!
Shadowgale had completely disregarded Ning Xiaoyao’s words, since he didn’t understand half of what she said, anyways. He’d learned to simply follow along His Majesty’s whims instead. By the time Lou Zigui recovered his senses, Ning Xiaoyao had already left the rooms like a gust of wind.
“I’ll be bringing you home soon,” Ning Xiaoyao said as she stood in the courtyard with A’Mo the ant on her collar. “I was originally planning for Black Tubby and the rest to bring you back, but now there’s no need.”
A’Mo used his feelers to poke Ning Xiaoyao’s face. “Xiaoyao, is everything okay now?” He was still feeling lightheaded since he couldn’t clearly see what all the humans were doing.
“It’s fine now,” Ning Xiaoyao patted her sleeves and added, “I brought along an entire bag of sugar beans. When I bring you home, A’Mo, you and your family can all have a taste.”
Hearing that there’d be an entire bag of sugar beans for him thrilled A’Mo. He hastened to say, “Okay, okay. Thank you, Xiaoyao.”
“Haha, you’re welcome,” Ning Xiaoyao laughed.
Big Boss Black jumped onto Ning Xiaoyao’s shoulders and stared at A’Mo, before speaking in an affected voice, “You should’ve reported the news earlier. You only came after things started happening; weren’t you afraid of seeing Xiaoyao’s corpse instead?”
Ning Xiaoyao rapped Big Boss Black’s head. “Do you have to curse me like that?!”
A’Mo said, “I was already going very, very fast!”
Big Boss Black said, “Couldn’t you have found a cat to pa.s.s on the message in your place? This cat knew it! All you wanted was sugar beans from Xiaoyao!”
“That’s not true!” A’Mo wailed, his feelers moving wildly. “It’s not like I know any of you cats!”
“A’Mo’s right,” Ning Xiaoyao stood on A’Mo’s side to look down on Big Boss Black. “Do you think it’s easy to find a cat?”
“That’s right,” A’Mo humphed.
“…….” said Lou Zigui, who’d caught up with the trio. He could see a tiny ant on Ning Xiaoyao’s collar. So much for talking to cats, but now she’s chatting up ants, too?
“Your Majesty?” Shadowgale asked. He’d followed Lou Zigui out of the rooms.
Ning Xiaoyao only said two words: “Let’s go.”
“Shadowthunder and Shadowbolt will stay at the palace,” Lou Zigui told the Dragon Guards. “No more disturbances will be allowed.”
“Oh, then Second Thunder and Fourth Lightning can stay home,” Ning Xiaoyao waved a hand, readily accepting the good advice without thinking twice. Although Shadowthunder and Shadowbolt knew that this wasn’t His Majesty’s original idea, they had no choice but to obey orders.
Ning Xiaoyao was about to depart when another mama came from the empress dowager’s palace with a timid air. “Esteemed Empress Dowager ordered this servant to see Your Majesty.”
Ning Xiaoyao said, “That I know. If the empress dowager hadn’t shouted for you to come, you wouldn’t want to see me, either.”
Hearing that, the mama started crying for His Majesty to spare her life.
“Enough,” Ning Xiaoyao said. “Why would I kill people for no reason? Speak, what’s wrong with Esteemed Empress Dowager now?”
The mama said, “Your Majesty, after hearing of Old Madame Xie’s death, Esteemed Empress Dowager was so grieved that she fainted away. The Imperial Physician Courtyard has already sent…”
“She fainted again, ah,” Ning Xiaoyao cut her off. “All day and night, she’s nothing if not sad and fainting all over the place. Does Esteemed Empress Dowager have that many emotions to spare?”
The mama looked at Ning Xiaoyao, not knowing what to say. Lou Zigui rested a hand against his forehead before he softly told Ning Xiaoyao, “Just ask what business she has.”
“Oh right,” Ning Xiaoyao faced the mama. “Just what does the empress dowager want?”
The mama said, “Esteemed Empress Dowager wants to offer her condolences at the Grand Preceptor’s estate.”
It looked like her plans to sow discord hadn’t worked well at all. Is the empress dowager planning to discuss more devious schemes with Grand Preceptor Xie again so soon? “She doesn’t care about her son anymore?” Ning Xiaoyao asked.
The mama kept her head bowed and didn’t say a word.
“Her body’s unwell to begin with. If she goes to the Grand Preceptor’s estate and gets sad again, wouldn’t her health get worse?” Ning Xiaoyao attempted to look sincere as she spoke. “Go back and tell the empress dowager that I said I’m distressed for her sake, and that I want her to rest plenty at the empress dowager’s palace. As for offering condolences, I can do it in her place.”
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“If the empress dowager asks you anything, just say it’s because I care about her deeply,” Ning Xiaoyao said. Of course, I’ll give Esteemed Empress Dowager no end of cares to grieve about~
“……..” said everyone else. It seemed like Esteemed Empress Dowager was due for another bout of fainting again.
“Why aren’t you withdrawing yet?” Lou Zigui asked with a cold face when he saw the mama standing stubbornly by. “How many times does His Majesty have to repeat himself?”
The timid mama grew even more terrified at Lou Zigui’s words. In the middle of her farewell, she half turned and lost her footing, falling in a heap on the ground. Ning Xiaoyao bent down to help her up, patting her shoulder to check on her status.
Mm, this mama’s health has no major problems, either. “Go back and have a good talk with Esteemed Empress Dowager. An upright person can’t be unreasonable, isn’t that right?”
The mama wanted to cry. n.o.body in this family has any form of reason!
Ning Xiaoyao didn’t bother considering Empress Dowager Xie’s eventual reaction to her words. After leaving the palace and discovering that Elder Li would accompany her to the Grand Preceptor’s estate, her mood somewhat soured. She wanted to tell him that it’d be best if he went home, but her courage wilted in the face of his serious, dignified face. It looked like he’d never smiled in his life.
“Go on, get in the carriage,” Lou Zigui lightly pushed Ning Xiaoyao forward. Ning Xiaoyao settled into the emperor’s exclusive carriage and waited until she heard the wheels rolling before she clenched her fists. “Forget it,” she said to Big Boss Black and A’Mo. “If I die, then I die!”
Big Boss Black asked, “Why would you die when you’re off to see Old Madame Xie’s corpse?”
A’Mo must have been a cultured ant, because he asked her, “Xiaoyao, are you talking about the custom of being buried alive with the dead?”
“What? Why would I be buried alive?” Ning Xiaoyao said as she clutched her head. “I’m talking about that old geezer Li.”
Big Boss Black swished his tail. Why does an emperor need to fear one of her subjects? This ninny, she’s beyond help.
A’Mo moved his feelers in thought and said, “Xiaoyao, I heard my elder cousin say that Elder Li is a henpecked husband.”
“What’s a henpecked husband?” Ning Xiaoyao asked.
“Someone who’s afraid of their wife,” Big Boss Black explained unhappily.
“Mhm,” A’Mo said. “All of my older cousins say that Elder Li’s scared of his wife. If his wife tells him to sleep on the floor, he wouldn’t dare to sleep in bed!”
“……” said Ning Xiaoyao. It seems like I’ve heard something I wasn’t supposed to know again.
“Xiaoyao, you don’t have to be scared of Elder Li,” A’Mo encouraged her. “He’s afraid of females. Aren’t you one of them?”
Ning Xiaoyao sucked on her lips. Fearing one’s wife and fearing women were two completely different things. But she figured it’d be hard to make A’Mo understand the differences. That’d be like trying to turn a little ant into a human himself. Still, Ning Xiaoyao thought as she rubbed her chin, Now I have one more goal in this world. I have to get on the good side of Elder Li’s wife. I have to hug her thigh and become her close friend!
Ning Xiaoyao sat in her carriage and began to sketch out plans to get on Elder Li’s wife’s good side. She wanted to accomplish her goal in the shortest time possible so that the wife would make sure Elder Li never appeared in front of her again. (Author: Wake up, you. No matter how much Lady Li dotes on you, she’ll never let her husband lose his job!)
The emperor’s carriage pa.s.sed through the streets, which were still a mess from the recent disorder. However, all of the frightened, panicked people still when they saw His Majesty’s carriage. If His Majesty’s still alright, then the sky hasn’t fallen on Yongning yet! The ma.s.ses kneeled on the ground and wished Ning Xiaoyao 10,000 years of blessings from their positions on the ground. Lou Zigui glanced back from his horse to look at Elder Li, who was also riding on his own steed. This is the real reason you called Ning Xiaoyao out of the palace, isn’t it?
Elder Li silently nodded his head. It looks like the people’s hearts are still with His Majesty.
When the carriage and horses had just about reached their destination, Lou Zigui went to the carriage window and asked Ning Xiaoyao, “Your Majesty, we’re almost at the Xie Clan’s archway. Will the various officials need to dismount and pay their respects?”
“Don’t dismount,” Ning Xiaoyao said immediately. “Why bother getting off the horses? Sooner or later, I’ll take that archway back!”
“Alright,” Lou Zigui said. “This subject obeys the decree.”
The archway in front of the Grand Preceptor’s estate had witnessed the entire reign of Emperor Yuanzong’s rule in glory. Now, for the first time ever, it finally saw people pa.s.s beneath its archway on horseback instead of on foot.
When Grand Preceptor Xie caught news of His Majesty coming to pay his condolences, he was left stunned for the amount of time it took to brew a cup of tea. Ning Yu’s coming to offer condolences? This girl’s simply here to cause trouble and difficulties instead, isn’t she?!
“His Majesty’s nearly at the gates,” the Dragon Guard sent to report the news said respectfully. “It’s better for Grand Preceptor to welcome His Majesty quickly.”
Grand Preceptor Xie nodded. The Dragon Guard turned to leave with an easy conscience, He hadn’t accepted the bag of cash that the Xie estate steward had tried to stuff in his hands. Why would he be afraid of going poor when he was following His Majesty’s This particular Dragon Guard was full of aspirations of his own!
—
“Father?” in the hall for receiving guests, Xie Ans.h.i.+ called out to Grand Preceptor Xie.
“Call your second brother,” Grand Preceptor Xie said. “All the adult males of the estate have to come with me to welcome the emperor.”
While the Grand Preceptor’s estate was hastily preparing its welcome, an imperial guard caught up to Lou Zigui and reported quietly, “Supreme Commander, Xie Anyi’s already been brought out of the imperial prisons.”
Lou Zigui asked, “How did you explain the situation to him?”
The imperial guard hastened to reply, “Exactly as Supreme Commander instructed. This one told him that he was to be escorted home to send off the old madame on her final journey.”
“Good,” Lou Zigui nodded. “I know now. You’ve all done extremely well.”
The imperial guard cupped his fist astride his horse in polite thanks, before turning to gallop off.
“What is it?” Ning Xiaoyao stuck her head out the carriage window.
“When we reach the Grand Preceptor’s estate later,” Lou Zigui said in a low voice, “Don’t forget to remit young née w.a.n.g’s punishment and make her Xie Anyi’s official consort.”