Chapter 100

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Who knew how Xiao Baozhu and Li Deqing negotiated it, but that night, Li Huairou heard Emperor Zhengwu talk about Li Deqing’s marriage.

Except for Li Huairou, the grandchildren that the empress dowager valued was only the first prince, who had died at a young age—the rest were just ordinary. Therefore, after hearing about the eighth prince’s incident, she only instructed people to reward them as usual.

After learning about this, Li Huairou ordered Bing’er to send something from her. Regardless of the eighth prince, this was the case when the rest of the princes got married.

The empress dowager listened to this and felt sorry for her granddaughter. “Keep your things for yourself; just take it from aijia’s vault.”

The emperor smiled. “There is no need for mother to spend money. Just use mine.”

Li Huairou smiled. “Then I will not be polite! Uncle, can I choose it myself?”

“You’re missing something? Tomorrow, let Lao Qin take you to the inner vault, and you can get whatever you want,” Emperor Zhengwu laughed.

“Thank you, Uncle!” Li Huairou said with a smile.

The empress dowager had already talked about going to Cuiwei Palace to escape the summer. Li Huairou was immediately attracted to this, and the grandmother and granddaughter discussed together how to spend the days in Cuiwei Palace.

Beside them, the emperor listened with admiration. It was better when she was a child. When she was a child, his Minghua liked to pester him, and he even coaxed her to sleep. But after getting older, alas!

When Li Deqing received the imperial edict of marriage, his hanging heart finally let go.

There were several other princes who were bestowed marriages along with him. Among the princes, seriously speaking, only the eighth prince had the worst marriage relationship. Although Xiao Baozhu had the reputation of being one of the twin beauties of the capital, there was only one more generation for the title of Earl Zhongyong. Moreover, Xiao Baozhu’s father was only the second son of Earl Zhongyong. Xiao Baozhu’s identity, to put it nicely, was the eldest granddaughter of Earl Zhongyong’s mansion—but, in fact, she was just the daughter of a fifth-rank official.

[The title of “Earl Zhongyong” bestowed to the Xiao family can only be inherited from father to son for three generations. The current “Earl Zhongyong” at the moment was already at the second generation, which means the title can only be passed down one more time]

But Li Deqing did not regret it. What he valued was the person, Baozhu, not the family behind her. Of course, it would be better to have the support of Earl Zhongyong’s family. Moreover, Earl Zhongyong had been awarded titles based on military merits. Although the titles only lasted for three generations, they still had connections in the army.

Li Deqing silently sent the second prince and others away. They either showed off or tried to win him over. They thought they were well-hidden, but for people who grew up in the deep palace, how could he not even see this?

Because the eighth prince had explained his thoughts in front of Emperor Zhengwu for the first time, Emperor Zhengwu remembered that he still had such a son. And, by the way, he also remembered Concubine Ning, the eighth prince’s biological mother. People were nostalgic, and Emperor Zhengwu was no exception. Although Emperor Zhengwu recalled it now, he couldn’t remember Concubine Ning’s appearance, but he still remembered that she was a woman who was as gentle as water.

The emperor recalled Concubine Ning, and, the next day, he called Li Deqing to him. “You’re already an adult, so you must do some serious errands.”

Li Deqing was overjoyed when he heard this. In the next second, Emperor Zhengwu’s words made Li Deqing’s joy disappear.

“Your imperial grandmother and Minghua plan to leave for Cuiwei Palace to escape the summer heat. You are responsible for escorting them. Remember to be careful and make sure your imperial grandmother and Minghua live comfortably,” Emperor Zhengwu said.

“Yes, this son accepts the order.” Is this the serious thing you were talking about? Li Deqing asked in his heart, but he didn’t dare to refute his father; it was better than studying in the palace all the time.

Xiao Baozhu said the same after hearing about it. “This is a good thing. I shall govern the world with filial piety.” This simple sentence made Li Deqing feel at ease. Talking to wise people would give one peace of mind.

“Just now, I’m afraid we won’t be able to meet for some days.” Li Deqing’s gaze lingered.

Xiao Baozhu lowered her head. “You can do your business with peace of mind, and Baozhu will stay at home with peace of mind.” The eighth prince was good, but he was too affectionate.

On the day the empress dowager departed, Emperor Zhengwu took the empress and concubines to see them off. Emperor Zhengwu personally helped the empress dowager onto the carriage. Li Huairou was always brought along with the empress dowager when she went out. The carriage’s belonging to her according to her rank was just a pretense.

The emperor got on the carriage and looked at it carefully. The inside was comfortable. There were ice basins in the four corners of the carriage, which was cool and comfortable. Nodding, he said, “Deqing, this child, is quite careful.”

The empress dowager smiled. “Alright, let’s go. It’s time for us to set off.”

“Empress Mother doesn’t care about her son at all,” Emperor Zhengwu said helplessly.

“As long as there is Minghua with aijia, what do I need to think about you! There are people who care about you!” the empress dowager joked, and then she waved to Li Huairou. “Minghua, come here.”

Li Huairou obediently leaned over.

The emperor smiled and warned, “Minghua is obedient. Don’t be greedy for the cold and don’t have too many iced drinks.”

“I know, Uncle. Goodbye, Uncle.”

Outside the carriage, everyone looked calm. Over the years, they’d already gotten used to it—over there was a family! They were just outsiders.

As for the princes and princesses, they’d already given up on being jealous over the years. The princes consoled themselves. After all, she was just a third-rank princess. Just love her. Anyway, she couldn’t cause any trouble. Instead, they cared more about how to win over Princess Minghua for their own use.

After the emperor got off the carriage, Li Deqing clasped his hands in a salute to Emperor Zhengwu, got on his horse, and guarded the carriage.

After seeing off the empress dowager and Li Huairou, Emperor Zhengwu was constantly depressed. During lunch, he saw a dish of roasted mutton on the table. He remembered that Li Huairou liked to eat it, and he ordered people to quickly send it over. Then he thought about the hot weather, and he was afraid that eating roasted mutton would cause excess heat in the body, so he sent a warm winter melon and lotus leaf soup.

Li Deqing felt a little helpless. How long had it been since they set off? Why did the emperor have to be so concerned about it! But he still worked hard to deliver these two dishes.

“Eighth brother, has the messenger who delivered the food left? If they haven’t, have them bring back this pot of iced sour plum soup and say it’s my gift in return,” Li Huairou said with a smile.

Li Deqing glanced at the empress dowager. Seeing that she had no objections, he nodded, and then he took the sour plum soup.

When the emperor received the sour plum soup, he was very moved. Even though the sour plum soup was no longer iced, Emperor Zhengwu still had someone pour a bowl, and he sighed while drinking, “This child, Minghua, is truly thoughtful; she thinks of me when she eats. This sour plum soup also has sweet-scented osmanthus, which is extra sweet.”

Qin Duofu, as an old man serving beside Emperor Zhengwu, naturally knew how to make His Majesty happy, and he immediately praised, “Isn’t that the sweet-scented osmanthus that the princess and Your Majesty collected last autumn? She really is ingenious, smart, and filial. Oh, how can there be such a good person as Princess Minghua!”

After hearing this, the emperor was even more happy. “You think so too? Haha, my thoughts exactly. Lao Qin, Zhen remembers that the country of Annan sent some pearls as tribute. Ask the manufacturer to make bead curtains and hang them in her bedroom. Don’t make any noise—give her a surprise.”

The Annan pearls were each the size of a thumb. The noble consort had once wanted some to make pearl hairpins from them, but the emperor did not agree at that time. They were originally reserved for Princess Minghua.

But this was normal. In the world, there were only the things that Princess Minghua did not want, not things that the emperor didn’t want to give her.

“Yes, this old slave will go to inform the manufacturing office,” Qin Duofu said with a smile, and then he turned around and went down.

He happened to bump into the noble consort and the second prince, who’d come to greet Emperor Zhengwu. Seeing the noble consort’s complexion, Qin Duofu knew that the noble consort had heard the emperor’s words.

After Qin Duofu saluted the noble consort and the second prince, he said, “This servant has something to do, so I will retire first.”

The noble consort just snorted. The second prince hurriedly helped Qin Duofu up. “No need to be polite, Qin-gonggong.”

Sending Qing Duofu off, the noble consort flung her sleeves and left, and the second prince quickly chased after her. “Mother, didn’t you come to deliver lotus seed soup to the father emperor? You peeled the lotus seeds yourself!”

“What lotus seed soup am I sending! There is sour plum soup, so why would he glance at my lotus seed soup!” the imperial concubine said angrily.

“Mother! No matter how favored Huairou is, she’s just a third-rank princess. Why are you mad at her?” the second prince, Li Deqian, advised.

Although the noble consort knew this truth, after so many years, she still couldn’t keep her heart calm. “You don’t understand! The emperor treats her…”

“Mother!” Li Deqian turned his head and glanced around, and the palace servants all stepped back a few steps.

“Mother, I have also heard about what happened back then. But, Concubine Mother, Father Emperor is not that kind of person. Furthermore, even if the rumors are true, if Huairou-meimei was really born to Father Emperor and Princess Fu, so what! She’s just a daughter. She can’t threaten us or anything,” Li Deqian said in a low voice. He shouldn’t have spoken such gossip in the palace. But his concubine mother’s character was just that way; if he didn’t explain it, he was afraid that she would still have wild thoughts. If, one day, other people heard these thoughts, it would be a big deal.

His concubine mother was the direct daughter of Duke Ning’s family, and she had been pampered since childhood. Her father had not planned to let her enter the palace, and he’d even chosen a good person for her to marry. But she’d fallen in love with the emperor at first sight. Her father was helpless, so he had to fulfill his daughter’s wish.

Fortunately, Li Deqian’s Father Emperor was good to Concubine Mother, and when she entered the palace, she was given the title of consort, and she was later promoted to the noble consort. For so many years, with an honored position, the strength of his mother’s family, and his own presence, it had been smooth sailing for his concubine mother. It was just that her temperament was just like that of a child.

It was so easy to coax the noble consort to change her mind and have her go back to deliver the lotus seed soup. Li Deqian dryly wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling that he was in a difficult situation.

It wasn’t until they arrived at Cuiwei Palace that Li Deqing knew what the favor of the dragon was. Compared to this, the daily routine of sending things on the road was nothing.

In order to let Li Huairou happily play in the water, a corner of Cuiwei Lake was encircled to form a large pond. The bottom of the pond was covered with flat dolomite rocks. The water in the pond was specially-drawn mountain spring water. Cloud shadow fabric was used to surround the place as shading, and it was good for circulation. The ceiling was made of black Shu brocade to block the scorching sun.

Listening to the director of Cuiwei Palace, it seemed to be the same every year.

How had Li Deqing gotten through the past summers? Looking at this again, he felt a little unbalanced deep down.

No wonder the empress dowager came to Cuiwei Palace every year to escape the summer, only bringing Huairou with her. Thinking about it, the empress dowager and Father Emperor also knew that if the other princes and princesses saw this, they would inevitably be jealous.

In truth, Li Deqing was overthinking it. The empress dowager didn’t care whether others were jealous. She was just too lazy to bring other people.

“Deqing, you have worked hard all this way. You can leave and take a rest,” the empress dowager said. Then she looked at Li Huairou and smiled. “Don’t soak in the water for too long. Remember to remind Princess Minghua.”

“Thank you, Imperial Grandmother.” Li Deqing saluted and went with the palace maids to change his clothes.

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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

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