Chapter 32 - 1#
Edict; Mad Dog Attacking, Zhi-zhi Beware!#
—The Emperor has appointed an Empress! The inner palace has a master!
—This is hereby proclaimed to all under heaven!
The officials spurred their horses through the long street.
Yanzhi instinctively stood up, staring at them blankly.
Beside him, Chu Yu and the other stallholders bowed to welcome the messengers and listen quietly to the imperial decree.
Chu Yu looked up and saw Yanzhi still standing stiffly on the spot. He hurriedly tugged at his sleeve and whispered a reminder: “Yanzhi, quick!”
Yanzhi snapped out of it and, just a moment before the messenger looked his way, lowered his head and knelt on the ground.
With a “thud,” Yanzhi knelt so quickly his knees hit the ground hard.
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump—
It was the sound of Yanzhi’s uncontrollable heartbeat from over-excitement.
The Emperor had appointed an Empress!
It had been more than a month since he fled the Daliang Palace.
During this month, Yanzhi had nightmares almost every night, dreaming that the Emperor was coming with men to capture him.
Dreaming that the Emperor kicked open the wooden door of the courtyard, walked into his room, and picked him up from the couch like a little chick, finally biting through his neck in one go.
Yanzhi was truly terrified.
But now…
The Emperor had finally appointed an Empress.
Did that mean the Emperor had let him go?
Had the Emperor’s gaze moved away from him and onto the Empress?
Were the Emperor’s subordinates no longer busy hunting him down, but instead busy proclaiming the appointment of the Empress to the world?
So, he was safe now, right?
But why…
Yanzhi lowered his head further and clutched his chest.
Why did he feel a tightness in his heart upon hearing the news of “The Emperor appointing an Empress”?
Of course, it wasn’t because he still liked the Emperor, but because…
In Yanzhi’s view, those noble sons and ladies who had participated in the selection were all top-notch people.
Such good people should have entered the court as officials, but instead, they became the Emperor’s Empress—it wasn’t a good match at all.
Also, under his ceaseless prayers, the Emperor actually hadn’t fallen ill and still had the energy to appoint an Empress and fill the inner palace.
How outrageous! How hateful!
As Yanzhi thought this, he nodded in deep agreement.
The officials rode away, and Chu Yu turned back, surprised: “Yanzhi, why are you crying?”
“Eh?” Yanzhi looked up and touched his cheek, finding it indeed wet. “I…”
He didn’t know why he was crying.
“Were you scared by them?”
“No…” Yanzhi shook his head and wiped away the tears with his sleeve. “The horses’ hooves kicked up dust, and it got in my eyes.”
Chu Yu clearly didn’t believe him. He stood up and reached out to Yanzhi, pulling him up: “Those two are the Emperor’s messengers; they don’t come often. You don’t need to be afraid.”
Yanzhi nodded obediently: “Mhm, I know.”
Messengers were originally meant to run across battlefields, delivering the commander’s orders.
But since the world had just been pacified, various prefectures and counties of Liang still retained some wartime traditions.
These messengers could deliver the Emperor’s will to various places at the fastest speed, allowing the Emperor to command the regions as easily as his own limbs, in perfect unison.
However, this method disturbed the people too much and couldn’t be used frequently.
Yanzhi had been by the Emperor’s side for ten years, personally watching him establish the Messenger Bureau to link all the prefectures and counties, yet he had never seen the Emperor send messengers to a remote little town like Shiyan.
It seemed the Emperor truly valued this Empress, wishing for the whole world to know the inner palace had a master.
“Yanzhi, what are you dazing off for again?”
Chu Yu reached out and waved his hand in front of him.
“Did those ruffians hit your head? Were you beaten into stupidity? Why are you always dazing off? I bet they haven’t gone far yet. Wait here, I’ll go after them and make them pay you more money!”
As Chu Yu spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, about to head out.
“No! No!” Yanzhi hurriedly grabbed his arm. “They didn’t hit my head, and I haven’t turned stupid! I just… I just…”
Yanzhi’s gaze shifted to the small bamboo basket on the ground, and he said embarrassedly: “I’m just a bit hungry.”
“Really?” Chu Yu looked at him suspiciously.
“Mhm, mhm.” Yanzhi nodded vigorously. “Anyway, the messengers are gone, and I’m fine now. Let’s eat.”
“Alright.”
Chu Yu picked up the small bamboo basket, took out a bowl filled to the brim with food, and handed it to Yanzhi.
The two of them sat side-by-side on their small stools and ate together.
Although they sold brown sugar cakes, and Yanzhi had previously vowed never to get tired of them, after eating them for several days in a row, even he couldn’t take it anymore.
Later, it turned into Chu Yu staying home to prepare the meals and bringing them over to him around the right time.
Other stallholders also took out the dry rations they brought from home or the brown sugar cakes they bought from Yanzhi in the morning and ate them with water.
While eating, they chatted idly: “Hey, did you hear what those two messengers said just now?”
“I was too busy kowtowing and didn’t hear clearly. It couldn’t be that we’re going to war again, could it?”
“No.” Chu Yu shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth. “I heard it; they said the Emperor has appointed an Empress!”
“Is that so?” Everyone was in disbelief. “Appointing an Empress?”
“Yeah, I heard it clearly.”
“How strange, the Emperor actually appointed an Empress.”
“Why can’t the Emperor appoint an Empress?”
“Well, the Emperor is already—” The old man counted on his fingers, “twenty-three this year. Sons of ordinary families are already married and have families by twenty-three. The Emperor dragged it out until twenty-three to appoint an Empress; I thought he was…”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Everyone hurriedly interrupted him. “Old Liu, Old Liu, you can’t just say anything! Shut up quickly!”
The old man shut his mouth, and the group continued discussing.
“The Emperor was busy with wars these past few years and had no time to appoint an Empress; that’s normal.”
“It’s lucky the Emperor unified the world at twenty-three. If he hadn’t finished the wars by forty, would he have gone until forty without an Empress?”
“That would be too pathetic.”
Yanzhi sat nearby, taking small bites of his food.
Although the Emperor hadn’t appointed an Empress, he never mistreated himself in bed, biting and pinching whenever he wanted.
It wasn’t really that pathetic, was it?
Chu Yu also said: “Honestly, with the Emperor’s temper, if it weren’t for the rules that an Emperor must have an Empress, he might not have appointed one even after the wars.”
“Is that so? I don’t believe it. Now that he’s the Emperor, would he mistreat himself?”
Yanzhi nodded slightly; he didn’t believe it either.
The Emperor had even thought about appointing five Empresses.
“I wonder who the Empress is; there hasn’t been a whisper of news.”
“There was talk of a beauty selection before, but that died down, and now suddenly there’s news of an appointment.”
“Since those two messengers came to deliver the order, won’t the edict be copied and posted at the town entrance?”
“That’s right!”
The group reached a consensus and stuffed the last bits of food into their mouths.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go have a look! Let’s see what the Empress’s name is!”
“Give it a rest, can you even read? What are you looking at?”
“Chu Yu, come on, accompany us to see the edict.”
“Sure.” Chu Yu finished the last two bites of rice in his bowl and looked at Yanzhi.
Yanzhi was startled and said quickly: “I… I won’t go. I’ll stay here to tidy up. These sugar cakes can’t be sold anymore; I’ll hurry back to clean up and steam a few more batches for the afternoon.”
“Don’t be like that.” Chu Yu tugged at his sleeve. “Come with us, just to relax. Don’t sell cakes this afternoon; just take a half-day break. I’ll go back and research new pastries for you to eat.”
“But…”
“Let’s go!”
Yanzhi couldn’t argue with Chu Yu and their acquaintances, so he had to pack up and follow them to the town entrance to join the excitement.
Along the way, everyone was in high spirits, discussing who the Empress might be.
Only Yanzhi sat on the donkey cart, holding the whip and idly driving the cart.
The Emperor appointing an Empress is one thing, but he just had to proclaim it to the world.
Is the Emperor deliberately showing off?
How boring.
Yanzhi aimlessly cracked the whip and looked up at the sky.
The weather wasn’t very good today; it was gloomy, windy, and chilly.
Before long, the group arrived at the town entrance.
There was a wooden board at the entrance put up by the government. Usually, matters concerning taxes or labor service were posted on it.
The last thing posted there was a document about requisitioning military grain when the Emperor personally led the campaign against the Kingdom of Qing.
When they arrived, a lot of people were already gathered around the board.
Taking advantage of his small frame, Chu Yu squeezed in with the old man.
Yanzhi, however, sat on the donkey cart, not planning to get down.
Anyway, he didn’t care about this matter. He didn’t care who the Emperor appointed as Empress, nor how many Empresses were appointed.
Anyway…
Just then, Chu Yu suddenly turned his head, his gaze piercing through the crowd and shooting directly at him.
Yanzhi was startled by his look and shrank back.
The next moment, Chu Yu pushed through the crowd and ran toward him.
“A-Yu, what… what’s wrong?”
Chu Yu, having found strength from somewhere, grabbed Yanzhi’s collar, yanked him off the donkey cart, and dragged him to the wooden board.
Posted on the board was a copy of the imperial edict made by a minor official.
On a piece of silk were neat, small characters—
By the Grace of Heaven and in Accordance with Time, receiving this Bright Mandate.
Now there is Yanzhi, outstanding in appearance, outstanding in character…
Yanzhi… Yanzhi!
Yanzhi’s eyes widened in disbelief. With a wrinkled face, he moved closer to read the edict a few more times.
What on earth was going on?
*
—“His Majesty arrives!”
The territory of Liang was vast. From north to south, the first prefecture located in the south was the former Kingdom of An, now called An Prefecture.
Outside the city gate, local officials were lined up neatly, standing with their hands by their sides.
Hearing the announcement, the ministers bowed one after another and shouted in unison.
“Greetings to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!”
The sounds of horse hooves were chaotic, like thunder, rumbling and getting closer.
Dust filled the official road. The next moment, a tall figure was the first to charge out from within.
The young Emperor was clad in armor, riding a tall horse, leading the way.
Following closely behind were several close ministers and a group of personal guards, all riding out together.
A moment later, Xiao Cuan arrived before the local officials.
The officials didn’t dare dodge, only bowing their heads lower: “Greetings to Your Majesty!”
Xiao Cuan yanked the reins, bringing the horse to a halt. The horse neighed, its front hooves rising before slamming heavily to the ground.
Half an inch further, and the hooves would have hit them.