Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C113 pt1

After Wushuang led the child away, Emperor Qianwu glanced at the Emperor Emeritus, who was fishing with his back to him, and instructed someone to bring him a chair as well.

Not only a chair, but also a fishing rod.

The chair was specially made, with short legs and a backrest that one could lean against comfortably, and it was covered with thick, soft cushions.

Emperor Qianwu sat in the Emperor Emeritus's chair, used the Emperor Emeritus's fishing rod, and didn't forget to use some of the Emperor Emeritus's bait before casting the hook into the water.

The Emperor Emeritus half-closed his eyes, leaning back, while Emperor Qianwu sat upright for a while. Finding the posture uncomfortable, he also leaned back into the chair like the Emperor Emeritus.

As his center of gravity shifted backward, his face involuntarily tilted upwards.

Indeed, the sunlight was a bit dazzling. He glanced at Fusheng, and Fusheng hurried to find someone to get a straw hat just like the Emperor Emeritus's.

Fishing is about fishing for fish, but also for people.

It was a competition of temperament, or rather, patience.

When the Emperor Emeritus began to feel impatient, he suddenly recalled a comment he once made about this son: that he was too good at holding his breath.

So the Emperor Emeritus smiled.

"When I was the emperor, I was so busy with state affairs, yet you are so leisurely."

"The world goes on no matter who is gone. It won't hurt to take a day or half a day off. Otherwise, what are so many ministers for? Didn't you, Father Emperor, say this to me once?"

I said such a thing?

The Emperor Emeritus, dressed in a blue cloth shirt and looking like a farmer, questioned himself.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "I can indulge and tolerate you in everything else, but not when it comes to imperial heirs. Filling the harem and producing imperial offspring is an ancestral tradition. You wouldn't want the throne to pass to your brothers' sons one day after your death as the emperor, would you?" 

"Your son is so young; Father Emperor is thinking too far ahead."

Seeming to see the coldness between his brows, the Emperor Emeritus cursed inwardly at the unfilial son, but said aloud, "I also like that child, Zuo'er. But no matter how much I like him, you are the emperor and must make multiple preparations. Infants are prone to premature death. I have lost countless imperial sons and daughters who didn't even get a place in the family records."

The more he spoke, the softer his tone became: "I know you cherish your little Empress. If you didn't cherish her so much, you wouldn't bear to let her bear children for you. Back then, I also couldn't bear to let your mother bear children for me. Childbirth for a woman is undoubtedly like passing through the gates of hell."

"Actually, this doesn't conflict with your selection of consorts. You can choose a few more beautiful women to bear imperial heirs for you. Just favor the Empress yourself. No one is stopping you from doting on your Empress."

Emperor Qianwu frowned slightly. "Did Song You blab to you again?"

The Emperor Emeritus shifted his gaze uncomfortably, then added after a moment, "What do you mean by 'blab'? I gave him to you. If I ask about your affairs, how dare he not speak?"

"I didn't plan to stop her from having more children, it's just that she's young. We can wait a year or two."

After a pause, Emperor Qianwu continued, "There is no such thing as perfection in this world. Even tigers have moments when they doze. The most unpredictable thing in this world is the human heart. Father, didn't you suffer from this back then? Rather than regretting it afterward, it's better to nip it in the bud from the very beginning."

Selecting consorts to produce offspring, the more women there are, the more they will fight. Even if the women don't fight, they will have to fight for their sons. Fighting back and forth, wouldn't that be repeating the Emperor Emeritus's old path?

Hearing this, the Emperor Emeritus's face stiffened.

Yes, even tigers have moments when they doze. Back then, wasn't he also full of confidence? Who knew that Consort Chen would still be lost in the end.

Of course, he also knew that Consort Chen's death wasn't simply due to being poisoned. The poison was just the catalyst. The contradictions and cracks between them had always existed. The poison only amplified these existing issues, ultimately leading to her madness and suicide.

Seeing the Emperor Emeritus remain silent for a long time, Emperor Qianwu actually felt a little regretful.

He shouldn't have brought up these matters, knowing that this was the deepest wound in his father's heart.

Just as he was thinking of saying something to change the subject, a little figure calling out "Father Emperor" ran over.

"Father Emperor!" He called out "Father Emperor" quite smoothly, but then he couldn't say anything else smoothly. Fortunately, the little one knew how to act, so he pointed at the stick in his father's hand and looked at his father with a puzzled little expression.

"Father Emperor and Imperial Grandfather are fishing."

"Fishing?" The little one didn't understand what fishing was yet, but then he saw the small jar and the bucket next to Imperial Grandfather, so he ran over to take a look.

Looking at the bucket, there was water inside, and something was wagging its tail and swimming inside.

"Fish?"

His little grandson was truly too clever and bright. The Emperor Emeritus no longer cared about lamenting his sorrow. He handed the fishing rod in his hand to Fengxi and beckoned the little one to come closer.

"Zuo'er."

"Imperial Grandfather."

'"Do you like fish? If you do, I’ll have your Imperial Father bring some back for you later and have the imperial chefs prepare it for you to eat."'

Clearly, the little one didn't yet understand what relationship the black fish swimming in the bucket had with the fish he usually ate. At the mention of fish, the little one subconsciously thought of the koi in the palace, but the koi were red, and these were black.

'"Fish ugly, black spots, no eat."'

This amused the Emperor Emeritus greatly, and he burst into hearty laughter.

Chamberlain Fengxi also smiled and spoke soothingly from the side, "Your Highness, the fish the Emperor Emeritus caught are edible fish. The red fish are for admiring and watching, not for eating."

The little one still didn't understand, but agreed to bring these ugly fish back to the palace. As for how to eat them, that was a matter for Father and Mother.

It was evident that the Emperor Emeritus was very fond of his son, but Emperor Qianwu had no intention of leaving his son here.

To prevent the Emperor Emeritus from mentioning leaving Zuo'er in the West Garden again, he proactively said, "The families of Prince Zhao and Prince Han have several young ones, and the Eighth Imperial Brother's will be running around before long. If Imperial Father likes, he can bring them over to stay in the West Garden for a while."

He bore him himself; how could he not understand what he was thinking?

Seeing the Empress approaching, the Emperor Emeritus said impatiently, "You should return to the palace quickly and have your Empress bear you a few more little ones."

It was a subtle expression of his stance, but Zuo'er was still left in the West Garden.

Since neither the Emperor Emeritus nor the Empress Dowager were interfering, the ministers truly had no way to deal with Emperor Qianwu for the time being.

Having spent more than a year with this new Emperor, they had some understanding of his disposition.

He seemed taciturn and rarely showed anger, but in reality, he was quite autocratic and acted independently.

In the past, when the Emperor Emeritus was in power, he was willing to listen to the ministers. This one also listened; he listened to what you said, but after listening, he still did what he wanted.

The ministers had also tried indirect methods, using accusations of the Empress's jealousy to try to make Emperor Qianwu compromise, but after the accusations were made, he ignored them, and there was no reaction from the Empress's side either.

Indeed, what reaction could there be? Now, the vast imperial harem consisted of only the Empress. After the new Emperor ascended the throne and the Emperor Emeritus moved to another palace, the palace had been purged several times over. Even if there were any movements, they wouldn't reach the ears of the ministers.

At this moment, the Empress was pregnant.

The news was announced by Emperor Qianwu himself during the court assembly.

At that time, a censor was enumerating the Empress's crimes of being unvirtuous. His Majesty's meaning was very clear: the Empress is pregnant, so you all should be quiet. If you affect the imperial heir, you will not be able to atone for it even with ten thousand deaths.

The principle was indeed such, and so the ministers finally quieted down for the time being.

The day after Wushuang discovered she was pregnant, a person arrived outside the Song family's residence; it was none other than Female Physician Chu.

Song You was in his room drawing talismans when suddenly someone walked in from outside the door. This person smiled and called out "Senior Brother," nearly causing him to drop the brush in his hand.

"How did you know I was here?" His voice trembled, as if he had encountered a Rakshasa.

"Senior Brother, back then, my mother betrothed me to you. You ran off and haven't been seen for over a decade. Could it be that you loathe me so much?"

***

"Although Female Physician Chu isn't a celestial beauty, she can still be considered a fair woman, with a temperament unlike ordinary women. That Song You is unkempt and slovenly. Why doesn't he fancy Female Physician Chu?"

To be honest, Wushuang was also quite curious.

Then Prince Wei, rarely gossiping, told her a story of a woman pursuing a man.

Roughly, it was about how both came from families that had practiced medicine for generations, but the Chu family was different from other families. Each head of the family was a female doctor, serving the imperial court for generations.

The Song family, however, had declined for many years, only because the family passed down the Zhuyou technique. As time passed, more and more people felt that the Zhuyou discipline was fraudulent. Moreover, whether one could learn the Zhuyou technique depended on natural talent, and it was difficult for ordinary people to learn. One also had to be proficient in unorthodox methods to assist it. The Song family itself also had few descendants. By the time it reached Song You's generation, only he remained.

When Old Man Song died, Song You was only fifteen years old, and he entrusted Song You to the Chu family, who were family friends.

According to Song You, the head of the Chu family in this generation was actually his old man's former lover, only because the Chu family's rules required a son-in-law to be taken into the family, and the Song family had been single heirs for several generations. How could they possibly become an adopted son-in-law?

In short, the final result was that the two married separately. Later, after many years, they met again, one having lost her husband, and the other having lost his wife. If one were to assume that they would finally become a couple, they would be wrong.

The two were awkward with each other their whole lives and still didn't become a couple. In the end, he even became a disciple of the Chu family's head.

That was Female Physician Chu's mother.

"Is Song You avoiding Female Physician Chu also because of the matter of being an adopted son-in-law?" Wushuang asked again.

How would Emperor Qianwu know? He only knew that Song You was very awkward, avoiding her on one hand, while secretly inquiring about her news on the other. Who knew what he was thinking?

"According to Your Majesty, Song You's personality is so awkward, it seems that it will be somewhat difficult for Female Physician Chu to marry him."

It wasn't difficult, because Female Physician Chu finally took drastic measures. She pretended to be disheartened by the rejection and decided to marry someone else. On the day before the wedding, she forced Song You to confess his feelings.

Of course, that is another story.

***

In the fourth month of the second year of the Qianwu reign, Empress Mei gave birth to a son.

This was the second son of Emperor Qianwu.

In the tenth month of the fourth year of the Qianwu reign, Empress Mei gave birth to a daughter.

This was the first princess of the Qianwu Dynasty.

In truth, in these past few years, the court officials had not ceased to suggest widely selecting beautiful women to fill the imperial harem, but despite their words, Empress Mei remained the sole recipient of the Emperor's favor.

The deep affection between the Emperor and Empress, allowing only one, was widely circulated among the common people. Now, some wives among the common folk, when faced with their husbands taking concubines, would stand firm and voice their opposition. Consequently, remonstrating officials had even impeached the Empress for her jealousy, leading to a surge of jealous women among the populace.

By and large, relinquishing state affairs was indeed beneficial to the Emperor Emeritus's health. When the Emperor Emeritus passed the throne to Emperor Qianwu, the imperial physicians had spoken of his condition with grave concern. Now, the Emperor Emeritus's health was steadily improving.

In Wushuang's memory, the Grand Empress Dowager, who should have passed away in these two years, was still safe and sound.

This made her wonder if it was Commandery Princess Minghui's entry into Prince Wei's mansion, and then into the imperial palace, with all the intricate and fierce struggles within, that had led to the Grand Empress Dowager's demise in her previous life?

Of course, these were merely some of her idle speculations.

As people age, they will eventually face death. This applied to the Grand Empress Dowager, and also to the Emperor Emeritus. Heaven's way is fair to all things in the world, and does not favor one over another because of their noble or humble status.

Therefore, constructing a mausoleum for the Emperor was a significant matter.

Generally, a few years after an emperor ascended the throne, he would begin constructing his own mausoleum, slowly building it until his death.

Wushuang initially did not know about this matter. It was only when she saw a map of the imperial mausoleum on Emperor Qianwu's desk that she realized Emperor Qianwu had begun planning his own mausoleum.

After asking him, she learned that the Ministry of Works had already proposed this matter long ago. Now that the Emperor Emeritus's mausoleum was completed, it was time to begin constructing his own.

It is worth mentioning that the so-called imperial mausoleum was not just the tomb of the emperor alone, but also that of his consorts. Of course, only the Empress could be buried with the Emperor, while those buried alongside were generally consorts of high rank or those deeply favored by the Emperor.

For example, Empress Wenxian was buried with Emperor Xuanzong.

As for Consort Chen, the Emperor Emeritus had not posthumously honored her after her death. It was only after Emperor Qianwu ascended the throne that he posthumously honored his mother. Now, she was waiting in the imperial mausoleum for the Emperor Emeritus to return to heaven after a hundred years, to be buried together.