Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: Palace Conversations

It was already the time for lighting the lamps, and the palace was brightly lit. Today was the current emperor's birthday, and during the day, the emperor had held a grand banquet for his ministers and foreign envoys. In the evening, the empress held a family banquet in the Funing Hall, leading the concubines to celebrate the emperor's birthday. Although it was called a family banquet, not everyone could attend. Besides Empress Wang, only the noble concubines were present: Consort Zheng Hongmei, Consort Wang Furong, Consort Liu Lianlian, and Consort Cui Yue'e, along with a few newly appointed concubines who had just given birth to princes, and a few older princes and princesses.

Empress Wang led the concubines in wishing the emperor a long life and presenting him with birthday wine. Emperor Zhaoguo had been entertaining ministers and foreign envoys all day and was already somewhat tired. After the empress was deposed, she had secluded herself, and her health had gradually declined. Even though she had applied a bit of makeup, she could not hide her sickly appearance. After performing the ritual, she sat beside the emperor.

"Happy birthday, Father! May Father's blessings be as vast as the sea and his life as long as the mountains!" The eldest prince, Zhao Huan, led his two older brothers and sisters in kneeling to wish the emperor a long life. He had grown up in the palace and, under his mother Empress Wang's guidance, had already become quite mature for his age, acting like a little old man.

"Ha ha, very good!" Emperor Zhaoguo laughed heartily. Since he had followed the advice of the Taoist Liu Hun'ang and raised the northwest corner of the imperial city, his children had been born one after another. Now he had nine sons and four daughters, more than a dozen children. "What gifts have you brought for Father?"

"Father, I wrote a fu poem today, recording the grand celebration of the officials wishing you a long life!" Zhao Huan said solemnly.

"Father, I wrote a ci poem to wish you a long life!" Zhao Kai, the third prince, said with a smile as soon as Zhao Huan finished. Although he was a few months younger than Zhao Cheng, he had already shown a talent for the arts.

"Father, I can't write poetry, so I copied the Classic of Filial Piety to present to you!" The fourth prince, Zhao Ji, respectfully offered it.

"I embroidered a handkerchief for Father, and I pricked my fingers several times!" The eldest princess, Zhao Yupan, said eagerly. She and Zhao Cheng were from the same mother, but her personality was naturally lively.

"I embroidered a sachet for Father!" The second princess, Zhao Jinnu, said, not wanting to be left behind.

"Very good, very good! Let me see all of your gifts, and I will reward you all!" Emperor Zhaoguo said happily, instructing the eunuchs to distribute rewards.

"Hmm, not bad, this one is also good!" Consort Zheng Hongmei, along with Emperor Zhaoguo, evaluated the children's gifts, smiling on the surface but feeling bitter inside. If Zhao Cheng were still in the palace, he would be standing here, but now no one knew what he was doing.

"Your Majesty, look at the third prince's ci poem. It is very well-written, showing the style of a great master. He will surely be a top scholar in the future!" Yang Jian, the chief eunuch, said with a smile.

"Hmm, indeed. Reward Kai with a golden belt from the imperial treasury!" Emperor Zhaoguo nodded. After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he had made thirty golden belts, each worth hundreds of thousands of strings of cash. One was for his own use, one was given to the founding general Cao Bin, and the rest were stored in the imperial treasury. Emperor Zhaoguo had once given one to Tong Guan, who was supervising the military in the northwest. Now, giving one to Zhao Kai was a great honor.

"Thank you, Father!" Zhao Kai, seeing Yang Jian's hint, immediately bowed in gratitude.

"Hey, where is Er Lang? Why haven't I seen him?" Emperor Zhaoguo smiled, put down what he was holding, and suddenly asked.

"Your Majesty, the second prince is not in the palace, he is avoiding trouble outside!" Yang Jian quickly said.

"Oh! Er Lang has been out of the palace for almost a year. He might have forgotten about me, his father!" Emperor Zhaoguo remembered and laughed, shaking his head.

"Your Majesty, with so many children around, it's easy to forget!" At this moment, Consort Cui Yue'e came forward, peeled an orange, and offered it to Emperor Zhaoguo.

"Your Majesty, Er Lang has not forgotten you. He also submitted a birthday greeting!" Yang Jian said.

"Bring it to me quickly!" Emperor Zhaoguo was delighted. Yang Jian quickly took out the greeting from his sleeve and placed it on the table, giving a secret smile to Consort Zheng Hongmei. Yang Jian, who was always quick-witted, had managed to rise to his current position by being adept at handling affairs and finding ways to enrich the emperor. Even Cai Jing admired his skills. Knowing that Emperor Zhaoguo did not favor the rigid Empress Wang but was very fond of Consort Zheng Hongmei, he did not dare to hide anything.

Zheng Hongmei was also very surprised. She took the greeting from Yang Jian, unfolded it, and was stunned. There were no words inside, only a few drawings: the first showed a child eating, with a thought bubble above his head depicting a man and a woman, who could be identified as the emperor and herself from their attire; the second showed a child sleeping in bed, with the same thought bubble; the third showed a child sitting on the steps, watching a mother dog with two puppies, with a look of envy on his face; the fourth showed a child running in fear, pursued by a fierce-looking man with a knife, with a thought bubble showing a man in a crown holding a sword protecting him; the fifth showed a child kneeling and presenting a large peach to a man in imperial robes. The drawings were done with a brush, the figures exaggerated but vividly capturing the essence of each person.

"What did Er Lang write?" Emperor Zhaoguo, seeing Zheng Hongmei's silence, urged her.

"Your Majesty, please look for yourself!" Zheng Hongmei handed the greeting to Emperor Zhaoguo.

Emperor Zhaoguo took it, first looking surprised, then bursting into laughter. After a while, he stopped and pointed to the greeting, saying, "Er Lang, this is really interesting. I can't believe he thought of this!" He couldn't help laughing again.

"Your Majesty, since you are so happy, let us see and share in the joy!" At this moment, Cui Yue'e walked over and said to the emperor.

"Pass it around for everyone to see!" Emperor Zhaoguo smiled and handed the greeting to Cui Yue'e.

"Oh, what did Er Lang draw? When the third prince was two, he drew better than this!" Cui Yue'e laughed, as if she had seen the funniest thing in the world, and said to everyone.

The greeting was passed around the hall. Some people laughed loudly, while others, more reserved, could not help but smile. When it reached Zhao Huan, he looked at it but did not laugh. Zhao Kai snatched it and glanced at it, then disdainfully handed it to Zhao Ji, who was standing dumbfounded. Zhao Yupan quickly took it from Zhao Ji and kept it to herself, understanding that everyone was mocking her brother.

Seeing the mocking expressions and hearing the whispers, Zheng Hongmei's face turned red and then white, feeling extremely embarrassed. "Your Majesty, Er Lang is still young and doesn't know any better. Please don't blame him!" she said softly to Emperor Zhaoguo.

"It's fine!" Emperor Zhaoguo waved his hand and then asked the children, "Do you know what Er Lang's drawings mean?"

"Er Ge's drawings are just scribbles. I can't see what they mean!" Zhao Kai said quickly.

"Hehe, the little man in Er Ge's drawing looks a lot like Father in imperial robes!" Zhao Ji said with a silly smile.

"Da Lang, what do you see?" Emperor Zhaoguo, ignoring the two younger ones, turned to Zhao Huan.

"Father, I only understand a little, but I'm not sure if it's correct!"

"Oh, tell me!" Emperor Zhaoguo leaned forward.

"Yes, the child in the drawings should be Er Ge, and the two adults should be Father and Mother. The first two drawings, I think, mean that Er Ge is thinking of Father and Mother while eating and sleeping. The later ones, I am not sure about!" Zhao Huan bowed and said formally.

"Hmm, Huan, your interpretation is good!" Emperor Zhaoguo, a genius in the arts, could easily understand the meaning of Zhao Cheng's drawings. He found the childlike and exaggerated style of the drawings very interesting.

At this moment, Empress Wang took the greeting and looked at it, smiling gently. She pointed to the third drawing and said to Zheng Hongmei, "Sister, Er Lang is truly thoughtful!"

"Cheng'er" Zheng Hongmei, not a fool, had been worried about her child and had been too close to see clearly. After hearing Zhao Huan's words and being reminded by Empress Wang, she understood the meaning of the drawings. The child was envious of the puppies being with their mother, while he was alone. Connecting this with the first two drawings, the meaning was clear. Her nose tingled, and tears streamed down her face.

"The fourth drawing seems to suggest that Er Lang is in danger and wants me to protect him. My son, who dares to touch him, but he drew me like a door god!" Emperor Zhaoguo pointed to the fourth drawing.

"Your Majesty, what Cheng'er drew is true. Last month, a manager from the palace bought off a gardener and a young Taoist to sneak into the inner palace and lure Cheng'er to a secluded place to assassinate him. Fortunately, the eunuchs who accompanied him fought to the death, and two of them died, killing the assassin. Cheng'er almost lost his life!" Zheng Hongmei wiped her tears and said.

"These people have the gall to assassinate a prince. They must be exterminated!" Hearing Zheng Hongmei's words, everyone was shocked. Cui Yue'e suddenly said fiercely.

"Hmph, thank you for your concern, but the manager who recommended the assassin was from the household of Governor Cui. From now on, we will not need your concern!" Zheng Hongmei said coldly, giving Cui Yue'e a glance.

"Er Lang still calls me Mother. How can I not be concerned?" Cui Yue'e, feeling guilty, saw her secret exposed and sat down with a forced smile.

"Yang Jian, how did you handle this? What kind of people did you send to Er Lang's household to cause such a big incident?" Emperor Zhaoguo's face darkened. Someone daring to attack his son was unacceptable.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Yang Jian, in charge of the palace security, quickly knelt and said, "Your Majesty, it's not due to my negligence. The second prince is far away in Xiangyi and has not established his own household. According to tradition, princes are only given palace guards after they have established their own households, and the second prince is still a minor!"

"True," Emperor Zhaoguo was taken aback. Yang Jian was right. Princes lived in the palace during their childhood and only received palace guards after establishing their own households, except for the crown prince. Zhao Cheng had left the palace before he was of age, which was unprecedented.