Chapter 16: Shou Ta Yi Bing "A Tale of Love and Loyalty"
FlamingoBees
Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)
Shou Ta Yi Bing "A Tale of Love and Loyalty"
Chapter 16:
Harm
In the morning, the aroma of breakfast wafted from Qingning Palace.
Chu Li stood to the side, observing Xiao Yuan’s dark expression, and cautiously asked, "Your Highness, is the breakfast not to your taste today?"
Xiao Yuan cast him a sidelong glance and asked, "Where is she?"
"The Empress has been up early. She first went to see the young prince, and then to Yangju Palace to attend to the medicine," Chu Li replied. As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yuan’s expression grew even darker.
Chu Li quietly took a couple of steps back. From the looks of it, it seemed like he hadn't had a good meal. Reflecting on the Empress' cries from last night, Chu Li privately concluded that the prince had likely resorted to more forceful measures, not only staying here against her will but possibly also threatening her with the young prince.
Tsk tsk, the prince used to say more than once while down in the Southern River that women should be cherished and that using force was a sign of a weak man. But now, seeing this unparalleled beauty, all principles and ethics seem forgotten. Compassion and affection are cast aside, and with the city on fire, he's still here fighting with the emperor over a woman.
“You’re just standing there—why don’t you come over and report on the military situation?” Without even looking up, Xiao Yuan knew what Chu Li was thinking. “What’s the situation outside the city?”
Getting down to business, Chu Li straightened up and reported, “Prince, troops from various factions are gathering outside the city. Our scouts have reported that Duke Lu’s camp in the suburbs has amassed twenty thousand soldiers. Duke Lu has been indifferent until recently, but now he has been frequently meeting with Cao Ruiji, who controls the Lu’an army.”
“Cao the Fat is a supporter of Prince Yu. He didn’t dare to join the Prince in pressing the palace. Now that the Prince is dead, he’s come out. He’s probably sizing up the situation, thinking that with the Prince gone, the throne could be his if he supports the Prince Yu’s son.”
Chu Li said, “So he wants to pull Duke Lu in to support Prince Yu’s son? That’s not good. Even though the Lu’an army is far away, if they join forces with Duke Lu’s troops, we’ll be facing a total of fifty thousand soldiers—almost half more than our Southern River army.”
Xiao Yuan smiled, “Are you scared?”
Chu Li shook his head without thinking, “Not at all. We’ve fought through tougher battles before. Duke Lu is in his fifties now—how many more battles can he fight? The real problem is... besides Duke Lu and Cao Ruiji, there are those old officials in charge of the grain stores, military supplies, and fire prevention. If they all side with our enemies, and the palace runs out of supplies, they might not even need to fight us. They could just outlast us.”
Xiao Yuan stood up, “How many men are left in the Imperial Guard?”
“Commander Meng said there are still eight thousand fit for battle. Do you want to call Commander Meng over for a meeting?” Chu Li followed Xiao Yuan to the main hall of Han Ning Palace, stopping under a tree weighed down by snow.
Xiao Yuan looked at the thick snow on the tree, which occasionally fell with a gentle rustle and sparkled beautifully when scattered by the wind. It made Han Ning Palace appear even more peaceful and cozy.
“No need for a meeting. Just have Meng Chuang set up defenses.”
Chu Li was taken aback, “Are you planning to...”
Xiao Yuan replied casually, “Tell him that the Imperial Guard won’t be needed for the battle outside. Even if the sky falls, don’t open the doors. But if eight thousand men can’t hold the palace, don’t blame me for slaughtering his entire family.”
Chu Li understood his intent, stood in silence for a moment, and eventually nodded in agreement. Their master, their prince, was the most decisive and fearless person under heaven.
In the Yaoju Palace, Pei Qing finished serving the medicine and looked at Xiao Jing, who seemed hesitant to speak.
Although Xiao Jing's face was pale, he tried to conceal any sign of weakness and continued to smile warmly, “Do you have something to say?”
Pei Qing asked, “Brother-in-law, is there insufficient charcoal in the palace? Why have you been wearing two layers of inner clothing these past few days?” The outer garment had a slightly higher collar, which she had never seen him wear before.
Currently, the guards outside were soldiers from the Southern River army and likely unfamiliar with palace etiquette. The old eunuch who served the Emperor for many years was not called unless it was a major issue. Pei Qing was aware of this.
Xiao Jing simply adjusted his inner garment and said, “It’s nothing,” which made Pei Qing even more concerned. Noticing that she was intently watching and wouldn’t leave, Xiao Jing smiled helplessly, “It’s just a bit red and itchy on my neck; I’ve applied medicine, so you don’t need to worry.”
“How did it suddenly become red and itchy?” Pei Qing, anxious, looked at the empty medicine bowl on the small table, “Could it be that the medicine was problematic? No, I personally oversaw its preparation. I’ll check it again.”
As she tried to get up, Xiao Jing immediately stopped her, “Pei Qing, there’s no need.”
“Why—” She was about to argue when she noticed a red mark peeking out from an open section of his collar. She froze, “Is this... a wound from a knife?”
Xiao Jing did not speak. He knew very well that no matter how much it itched or hurt, it wouldn’t cause such a wound. He calmly adjusted his collar, “Rebels are audacious and capable of anything.”
Pei Qing looked down, “Prince Yu, Prince Yun, and the general who joined in the palace coup were all restrained and taken to the Emperor’s bedroom. How could they have injured the Emperor?”
She realized who was behind it. Ultimately, it was her who had invited them, but she hadn’t expected that Prince Nan Chuan would be as reckless as rumored. She didn’t understand why Xiao Yuan would want to hurt Xiao Jing when he could have killed him, and why he would inflict such harm.
Pei Qing personally changed Xiao Jing’s medicine, apologizing repeatedly, which made Xiao Jing smile with resignation and gently pat her head.
Coming out of the Yangju Palace, it was already nearing noon. As soon as she returned to the Han Ning Palace, she heard the sound of Zhi Lan’s pleading: “Please, Your Highness, show mercy! Please, Your Highness, spare him!”
Pei Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she hurried inside.
In the snowy courtyard, Xiao Ji’an, with his small frame, was sitting on the ground. A tall man in front of him held a sharply pointed dagger.
© translations belonging to flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.
•••
https://ko-fi.com/flamingobeestranslations
https://twitter.com/FlamingoBee2009
Thank You For Reading <3
Comments
Post a Comment
What did you think of this chapter?