Chapter 105

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Whitelist us. Ad revenue gives additional support to the translator and keeps the site running.

Interested in being a part of the Nocturne TL team?

We are looking for Editors and Chinese, Korean, and Japanese translators to join our team. Join us on Discord and look for Picky Reader#7543 to guide you through recruitment if you are interested.

==============================================================================================

When Li Deqing returned to Prince Min’s mansion, Xiao Baozhu led her child and stood outside the door to greet him. That year, Xiao Baozhu’s illness was almost healed, and she planned to go to Fujian. Prince Min said that there would be a Longevity Festival in two months, and they could go back together after it. But, unexpectedly, she became pregnant after the Longevity Festival. This time, she couldn’t go.

Fortunately, with a son, Xiao Baozhu didn’t care anymore. But just one child was not enough. She thought that, this time, no matter what, she would go back to Fujian with the prince.

Through the Xiao family’s letters, she had already known that the prince was keeping a pet in his domain, but she didn’t take it to heart. The pet was just a man, and he couldn’t give birth to children, so he couldn’t threaten her. The top priority was for her to have more children and consolidate her status.

Seeing this, Li Deqing strode up. “It’s hard work, Princess.” Then he bent down and touched his son’s head. “Guo’er looks very good.”

However, there was no hug.

Xiao Baozhu didn’t care either. She understood the principle of holding a child and not holding a grandson. Together, the couple held their son’s hand and returned to the mansion.

[A saying in the Book of Rites that describes an ancient sacrificial ritual. It can mean the relationship between junior and elder]

The couple sat together and talked a lot.

Xiao Baozhu talked about the situation in the capital to Li Deqing, one by one, but Li Deqing was absentminded.

In fact, Li Deqing had been sailing with the wind in recent years. Although Fujian was a bit barren, he was its king. In addition, he was accompanied by beauty, enjoying the flowers in spring, the moon in summer, the maple trees in autumn, and the snow in winter. How happy it was! As for the throne, he actually didn’t have that much desire anymore. There was nothing wrong with being an idle prince, just like now.

It was just that his princess consort was a highly ambitious person, so it was better not to let her know about this idea for the time being.

Then there was the fact that his princess consort wanted to go back to the fief with him, which made Li Deqing a little embarrassed. If she returned to the fief, it would be inconvenient for many things.

He still had to think of a way to keep the princess consort in the capital. Li Deqing glanced at his eldest son, who was playing in the yard. For children, it was better to have more children. Flourishing male offspring was the way to prosper!

Soon, the Longevity Festival was coming.

On the day of the Longevity Festival, the princes offered their congratulations, one after another. Emperor Zhengwu looked at them. After all the fussing about, it was still the same, nothing new.

What about Minghua? In previous years, Minghua was either the first or the second, but he hadn’t seen her this year.

“Princess Minghua presents a congratulatory gift.” The servant was stunned for a while, and then he looked down at the list, convinced that he had read it correctly, and he continued, “One birthday cake.”

Birthday cake? This phrase was fresh!

Li Huairou came in holding the birthday cake in person. “Huairou wishes Uncle happy birthday, best wishes for a happy birthday, and many happy returns of the day. Uncle gives me everything, so for this year’s birthday, Huairou personally made a cake for Uncle.”

The emperor walked down and pulled Li Huairou up. “Did you make it yourself?”

“Uncle, try it! Do you like it?” Li Huairou opened the cake box and cut a piece for Emperor Zhengwu. The second piece was given to the empress dowager, the third piece was for the empress and the noble consort, and then she gave none to the others, mainly because the cake was too small and not enough to divide.

Qin Duofu wanted to try that poison. Emperor Zhengwu waved his hand, took a bite, and then widened his eyes in surprise. “Good! It tastes great!”

The same was true for the empress and noble consort. Of all women, there were very few who didn’t like to eat desserts. This cake was very fresh and delicious, and both of them were happy to eat it.

The empress dowager’s reaction was much duller, mainly because Li Huairou had been messing around in the imperial kitchen every day for a while, and the empress dowager had already tasted it.

The emperor was very happy, and his piece of cake was quickly eaten. He glanced at the remaining cake. Qin Duofu understood, and he put the cake away.

“During this year’s Longevity Festival, I am most satisfied with the birthday gift of Third-Rank Princess Minghua. Come here, pass the decree—Third-Rank Princess Minghua is promoted to Princess Minghua,” Emperor Zhengwu announced with a smile.

The princes and the civil and military ministers had a little reaction and gave their congratulations in unison.

The emperor raised his head. “In addition, I have something to announce. Prince Qi, come forward.” Emperor Zhengwu held onto Li Huairou with his left hand and Li Deqian in his right.

“I have decided to make Prince Qi the crown prince, and the inauguration ceremony will be held three days later. After the princes have attended the crown prince’s ceremony, they will return to their fiefs.”

This imperial decree was shocking, except for a few people who knew about it. The rest were all shocked. But, looking at the empress dowager and Emperor Zhengwu sitting at the top, no matter how many thoughts everyone had, they accepted it on the surface.

Li Huairou stood beside Emperor Zhengwu, watched the civil and military ministers of the whole dynasty kneel down, and turned to look at Li Deqian next to her. This time, it should be smooth!

It turns out that Li Huairou was wrong. That night, the third prince, Prince Chu, and the fourth prince, Prince Qin, colluded with the patrol battalion in an attempt to force the palace to overthrow the emperor.

As a result, the coup was suppressed in less than an hour.

The third prince and the fourth prince were imprisoned, and as for the rest of the people involved, all of them were executed. This included Marquis Weiyuan.

The crown prince’s inauguration ceremony was successfully held, and Li Deqian became the crown prince and lived in the East Palace.

The noble consort’s eyes were red with tears. There had been an assassination attempt on the crown prince on the night to overthrow the emperor, and an arrow had been shot in his arm. After the ceremony, the wound opened, and the imperial physician was dressing the wound again.

The crown prince endured the pain while comforting the noble consort. “Don’t worry, mother. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

The noble consort wiped her tears and asked the imperial physician, “Will there be any scars?”

After being assured by the imperial physician that no scar would be left, the noble consort’s sadness lessened a little. Looking up and seeing the unspeakable expression on Emperor Zhengwu’s face, she quickly explained, “I fear that Er Lang’s wife will dislike him.” Princess Qi had not yet been officially given the title of crown princess.

The emperor was speechless about the noble consort’s temperament. He just turned his head and glanced at the empress. Zitong, I will rely on you in the future. The empress avoided his sight. She was not crazy. I took care of your children and now I have to take care of your woman! You find the solution yourself for the woman you want.

In Prince Min’s mansion, Li Deqing looked calm, but Xiao Baozhu’s expression was ugly.

On the night of the attempt to overthrow the emperor, Xiao Baozhu had persuaded Li Deqing to enter the palace to protect the emperor. It would be best if he could profit at the expense of the others. At the very worst, it would be a blessing, and in the future, perhaps their fiefdom could grow in influence.

Li Deqing donned armor and wanted to leave the mansion with his guards, but he’d been stopped at the door.

When that happened, he knew that all of this was under the control of his father emperor.

After a brief disappointment, Li Deqing quickly adjusted his mood. No matter who was the crown prince, he was Prince Min. As long as it was not a major crime of treason, no one could do anything to him.

But for Xiao Baozhu, it was not so easy for her to accept all this. She wasn’t content to just be a princess consort. The seat of crown princess and the empress were her ultimate goals. But now, the overall situation had been decided…

“Princess, after the inauguration ceremony is over, it’ll be time to return to the fief. Is the luggage ready?” Li Deqing originally did not want to bring Xiao Baozhu back to the fief, but, now, he felt that it was too dangerous to leave her alone in the capital.

He understood Xiao Baozhu’s ambition, and he was very worried that, under the drive of ambition, Xiao Baozhu would make the wrong choice and affect the entire household. So he’d take her back to their domain! As for A-Yuan, the Marquis of Weiyuan had been exterminated, and A-Yuan couldn’t be saved either.

Xiao Baozhu smiled slightly. “It’s all sorted out.” But she’d changed her mind. If she returned to the domain, her news would not be well-informed, and many things would be out of reach. It was better to stay in the capital and wait for an opportunity.

As a result, the day before she left, Guo’er had a high fever at night. Hearing the news, Xiao Baozhu got up from the bed in a disheveled state, ran to Guo’er’s room barefoot, and hugged Guo’er.

Li Deqing listened to the imperial physician’s words, his brows furrowed. The time for the princes to return to their fief was fixed, and there was no reason to change it because of a child.

Xiao Baozhu seemed to see Li Deqing’s embarrassment, and she said understandingly, “Your Highness, you go first. This concubine will stay. After Guo’er is healed, this concubine will bring Guo’er back to the fief.”

Li Deqing sighed, “That’s the only way. Princess, you don’t have to worry. We’ll talk about it when Guo’er is healed.” In fact, Li Deqing suspected that this was a drama that Xiao Baozhu had created in order to stay in the capital, but he thought again that the princess had always wanted to go back before. In addition, Guo’er had been born to her, and the princess couldn’t play around with Guo’er’s life. Maybe it was a coincidence!

So Li Deqing returned to Fujian alone.

Xiao Baozhu sent Li Deqing away and finally heaved a sigh of relief. Before she could smile, she heard a wailing sound behind her. Xiao Baozhu’s eyes widened. She turned around slowly in disbelief, and then she lifted her skirt and ran back.

Too bad—it was too late. Her Guo’er had closed his eyes forever.

Xiao Baozhu hugged her son’s still-warm body and wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t flow.

How is this possible? Wasn’t it just the wind blowing all night? It’s early summer, so it’s gone!

No one in the room could comfort Xiao Baozhu, who knelt on the ground.

It was not until Li Deqing came back in a hurry that he took his son from Xiao Baozhu’s hands and handed the body over to his servants for burial.

“The crown prince learned about Guo’er and asked the emperor for a decree to allow me to return to the fief later. Don’t worry, you have me here.” Li Deqing comforted Xiao Baozhu in his arms.

After Guo’er was buried, Li Deqing once again proposed to bring Xiao Baozhu back to his domain, but Xiao Baozhu fainted without speaking.

After the imperial physician came, he said that Princess Min was pregnant.

As a result, Xiao Baozhu naturally couldn’t make the trip.

Li Deqing had to go alone.

Xiao Baozhu touched her stomach. The gods truly favored her. When Guo’er was gone, they immediately gave her another son.

Her road was the right one!

When Li Huairou heard that Xiao Baozhu had deliberately opened the window in order to stay in the capital and let the wind blow on her young son overnight, but the child had died of a high fever, her eyes widened, and she couldn’t believe it.

The empress dowager sighed, “You don’t believe there could be such a cruel mother, do you?”

“No, why did she stay in the capital? Is it because she dislikes the barren land in Fujian? Probably not!” Li Huairou asked.

“The barren land of Fujian is relative to the land of Qi and Chu. In fact, as Prince Min, how could it be poor? The reason why she insisted on staying in the capital was because her gaze has never stayed in Fujian, but has always been in the capital, staring at the East Palace!” the empress dowager said unceremoniously.

Li Huairou looked at the empress dowager. “Imperial Grandma, why did you tell me this? You didn’t let me know about this before.”

“That’s because you are older, and you should know some things. Your uncle and I, soon…” As soon as the empress dowager said a word, Li Huairou covered her ears. “I won’t listen, I won’t listen!”

The empress dowager was dumbfounded by her. “You, child, really…”

It was just that when the crown princess came to greet the empress dowager, the empress dowager still warned her with a few words.

The crown princess nodded. When she was in her bedroom, Princess Minghua’s name in the capital was reverberating to her ears. Women often know women better than men. She had never underestimated Princess Minghua; not before, and even less now.

The empress dowager was still very satisfied with the crown princess. Although the noble consort was a bit stupid, it couldn’t match her lucky life—her family was good, her husband treated her well, and her son and daughter-in-law were also filial and intelligent.

But, in the eyes of the empress dowager, the best life should be given to her own family’s Minghua.

The capital gradually became hot, and Li Huairou couldn’t wait any longer. The empress dowager immediately took Li Huairou to prepare to go south to Suzhou and Hangzhou to live for a while.

For a moment, the emperor wanted to directly give the crown prince the throne, so he could unload the burden of the throne and go out to play in the mountains and rivers. Even Prince Fu had a better life than him. In his entire life, Prince Fu was most afraid of heat. When the weather was a little hot, he didn’t know which summer house to visit in order to hide from the summer heat.

Speaking of Prince Fu, Emperor Zhengwu suddenly thought of someone; his younger brother seemed to have a son! He’d been thrown into the Northwest Army. How many years had it been? What was his name?

Emperor Zhengwu suddenly turned his head and asked, “What’s the name of your cousin?”

The crown prince thought about it for a long time. “Zhongting.”

“Oh yes, Li Zhongting. Lao Qin, send someone to the northwest to see how the transformation is going. If it’s almost done, bring him back! Is he married? Does he have any children??” Emperor Zhengwu asked again.

How could the crown prince know this?

Qin Duofu quickly replied, “He doesn’t have a wife, and he has no children.”

“That’s right, have him come back quickly and find someone from a suitable family to marry him. The younger sister must always attend the elder brother’s big wedding!” Emperor Zhengwu said.

The crown prince cleared his throat. “Father Emperor, Imperial Uncle Fu has yet to make Cousin Zhongting an official prince.”

“Look at his performance first. If he is doing well, I will ask your Imperial Uncle Fu to give him the title,” Emperor Zhengwu said.

Half a month later, Li Zhongting finally came back and was taken directly to Emperor Zhengwu.

The emperor almost didn’t recognize the dark man in front of him as his nephew. Prince Fu even went directly to him and looked at him for a long time, and finally recognized that this was his son.

“This is too ugly!” Prince Fu was full of disgust. “Can it become white again?”

Li Zhongting didn’t think this was a big matter. “Imperial Uncle, Father, what’s wrong, with your calling me back in such a hurry?”

“You are not so young anymore, and it’s time to start a family.” Emperor Zhengwu cleared his throat.

“Get married? Imperial Uncle, I have someone I want to marry. Can I marry General Qi’s daughter?” Li Zhongting immediately raised his hand.

“Who? General Qi’s daughter, I remember that General Qi only had one daughter. Isn’t she already married?” Emperor Zhengwu asked in surprise.

Prince Fu immediately took off his shoes and slapped Li Zhongting’s head and face. His agile movements were very inconsistent with his cumbersome body. “I thought you had reformed over the years in the northwest, but I didn’t expect such nonsense! I will beat you to death!”

“No, it’s not like that, Father, listen to my explanation!” Li Zhongting hugged his head and hid behind the crown prince. Even the crown prince suffered several slaps from Prince Fu’s shoes.

Seeing this, Qin Duofu hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, the daughter of General Qi did get married, but on the night of the marriage, the barbarians attacked, and General Qi’s son-in-law also went to the battlefield, died in battle, and never came back. ”

The expressions of Emperor and Prince Fu softened a lot.

Li Zhongting hid behind the crown prince. “Shuyuan is a good girl. Imperial Uncle, this nephew likes her. If this nephew really wants to get married, then I would rather marry her.”

Qin Duofu whispered a few words in Emperor Zhengwu’s ear. “When the young master arrived in the northwest, he was arrogant and got overwhelmed by Miss Qi.”

“General Qi is an important minister of the country, and his daughter’s marriage is not something you can decide with just a few words. Lao Qin, go and ask General Qi and Miss Qi for their opinions. If they don’t object, I will give you the marriage,” Emperor Zhengwu said.

“Imperial Uncle, as long as you agree to one condition, I don’t think they will object!” Li Zhongting said in a crooked voice.

“A condition?” Emperor Zhengwu narrowed his eyes.

Prince Fu took off the shoes he had just put back on and started fighting again. “How dare you talk about conditions? You’re looking for death!”

Li Zhongting stretched out half of his head from behind the crown prince and said, “It’s not like that. Shuyuan is willing. She is willing to remarry as long as she can stay in the frontier after marriage. Otherwise, she would rather be a widow for the rest of her life. The general loves his daughter, but he does not want to wrong her.”

“Continue to stay in the northwest? What about you?” Emperor Zhengwu frowned.

“Of course, I’ll be with her! Imperial Uncle, I think the northwest is pretty good,” Li Zhongting said.

The emperor looked at Prince Fu. “Little Brother, what do you think?”

“Me? I don’t care. I don’t count on him anyway. Let him be wherever he wants,” Prince Fu said nonchalantly.

“Imperial Uncle, I really like Shuyuan, so please fulfill my request!” Li Zhongting slipped in front of Emperor Zhengwu, knelt on the ground, grabbed Emperor Zhengwu’s sleeve, and looked at him eagerly.

He remembered that, as long as Minghua looked at Imperial Uncle like this, he would never refuse.

The emperor got goosebumps. He glanced at Li Zhongting with disgust, only to feel his eyes hurt. “It’s alright, I will fulfill it. It’s just that the wedding has to be held in the capital, you know!”

“Very good, Imperial Uncle, hurry up. Give the marriage decree—I will go back with the imperial decree and tell the generals in person,” Li Zhongting said happily. “Let Concubine Mother handle the marriage. You can set the time. Shuyuan and I will just come back a few days in advance. It doesn’t need to be grand; just keep it simple.”

Prince Fu nodded. “I think it’s pretty good.”

“Father, you think it’s good too, don’t you?” Li Zhongting immediately said happily.

“If you settle down in the northwest in the future, then everything in the capital will be left to Minghua. There is also jewelry, calligraphy, painting, antiques, etc., and all will be given to Minghua. As for silver, you will share equally. No, give more to Minghua. Minghua is a girl, and it’s enough to have more money by your side,” Prince Fu said earnestly.

“Alright, Father, please look at the arrangements. However, please give me the famous swords and knives you have collected. My father-in-law and Shuyuan both like them,” Li Zhongting said.

The emperor saw that the father and son had already talked about the division of the property of Prince Fu’s mansion. He sighed helplessly, rubbed his forehead, and said to the crown prince, “For the marriage of Prince Fu, ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Rites to keep an eye on it!”

The crown prince nodded. “This son understands.”

As the son of Prince Fu, even if Li Zhongting said that the marriage should be simple, it couldn’t really be simple. The empress dowager and Li Huairou also rushed back.

At the wedding, the bride covered her head, and they couldn’t see her face, but she was thin and didn’t look like a member of the army.

However, after entering the bridal chamber, Li Zhongting took off her veil, and Li Huairou could see the bride’s face. The bride was very beautiful. Even if she’d been blown by the northwest wind and sand for so many years, it did not damage her beauty.

“Hello, sister-in-law, I’m Huairou.” Li Huairou greeted her with a smile.

“I have seen the princess.” Qi Shuyuan nodded lightly. Li Zhongting, next to her, looked at Qi Shuyuan with a smirk.

Qi Shuyuan glanced at him, and Li Zhongting immediately stood at attention. “I’m going out to toast the others. Sister, you accompany Shuyuan to talk.”

Li Huairou couldn’t help laughing, “My sister-in-law is good at taming her husband, and my brother is very lucky.”

Qi Shuyuan was a little embarrassed.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. My father is too happy for you to help him discipline my brother. Others won’t say anything. Besides, after you get married, you will be able to leave for the northwest, and the number of times you will come back will be limited. Don’t worry,” Li Huairou said vigorously.

Qi Shuyuan smiled. “Thank you, princess. I heard that the princess often travels around with the empress dowager. If there is a chance in the future, Princess, please visit the northwest.” These were just polite words from Qi Shuyuan. She had long heard that the empress dowager and the emperor doted on Princess Minghua. Why would they be willing to let the princess go to the northwest!

“Okay, it’s a deal.” Li Huairou was thinking seriously about when to go to the northwest to have fun.

The room was full of ladies from the royal family who were chatting and laughing.

Only Princess Min stood alone in the corner, letting the shadows shroud her. Three months after she became pregnant, she had a fall in the yard and lost her child. She’d also been diagnosed by the imperial physician that she could no longer have children.

She’d killed the imperial physician, and everyone who knew kept the matter secret. A barren princess—even if the prince’s love for her was as deep as a sea, it would not help. What was more, she herself understood that between her and the prince, there was sympathy and cooperation, not that deep feeling.

On an occasion like today, she shouldn’t have come. But she couldn’t not come. As Princess Min, she must attend on behalf of Prince Min to show her friendship with Prince Fu and General Qi!

Nothing seemed to have changed, and everything was the same as before. No matter how many people were present, Li Huairou was the focus of the crowd, where everyone’s eyes were.

But it seemed to have changed again. She was still on edge, but her heart was not as calm as before.

Li Huairou was still so beautiful; her eyes were clear, as pure as a newly born deer. In the past, Xiao Baozhu was very dismissive of such innocence, but now she realized that such innocence was actually what she was looking for.

Did she regret it? No, she’d never regretted it. From the beginning, their paths were different.

She didn’t admit defeat either. She still had a chance.

Many years later, Emperor Zhengwu felt unwell, and the seat was passed to the crown prince. He passed away the second year after the crown prince took the throne. Before his death, he told the new emperor many things, and the most important thing was for him to be filial to the empress dowager and treat Eldest Princess Minghua kindly.

The new emperor followed his words.

A few years later, the empress dowager also passed away. Princess Minghua was heartbroken. She was reluctant to stay in the capital and wanted to go out to relax. The emperor also agreed to this.

Along with Eldest Princess Minghua, there were also the empress dowagers of the two palaces. The first mother, Empress Dowager Xiao’an, said, “I will take your mother somewhere else so that you and the empress can relax.” This made the emperor unable to refute her.

Princess Min was still Princess Min, but because Princess Min had no children, Prince Min took in several side concubines, and the side concubines gave birth to children, one after another. It had become like this—Princess Min had been sticking to the capital, refusing to go to the fief, stubbornly waiting for the opportunity in her heart to come.

It was just that, up until the moment she died, the opportunity she was waiting for never arrived.

When Li Huairou received the news of Princess Min’s death, she was roasting mutton in the northwest region. Empress Dowager Xiaoyi was crying because she received less of the leg of lamb than Empress Dowager Xiao’an had received, clamoring to go back to the capital and have the emperor decide. Empress Dowager Xiao’an was overwhelmed and gave her the leg of lamb. Empress Dowager Xiaoyi held back her tears and felt that she had won, eating happily.

“Aunt, this is the leg of lamb that A-Niang roasted for you.” It was Li Zhongting and Qi Shuyuan’s youngest son who spoke.

[A-Niang (阿娘) is another way to call one’s mother]

Li Huairou turned around and said with a smile, “Understood. Thank you, Chenchen, Chenchen is so good! It’s so big, Aunt can’t finish it alone. Let’s eat together!”

“Okay! Chenchen will help Aunt share her worries.”

Beside the fire, one big figure and one small figure happily shared the mutton. Beside, Empress Dowager Xiaoyi began to hum because she had a smaller portion of vegetables in front of her than Empress Dowager Xiao’an. Finally, Empress Dowager Xiao’an, who couldn’t bear it, directly knocked her on the head, and she was finally quiet.

==============================================================================================

This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

Related