Imperial Weight Chapter 18
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 18
Among the soldiers, there was no shortage of those who wore longevity locks, protective jade, or other items praying for safety. According to military regulations, this was not allowed, but Xingyi had always turned a blind eye to such matters.
His current adjutant was not his original one. When he first entered the military camp, the Young Emperor had given him the high position of Governor-General. The person assigned to assist him was an experienced old man who had retired from the position of Commander-in-Chief. This old man had lost his wife and never remarried. He had two sons and one daughter under his knee. His daughter was already married, and both sons had died in battle. Now he was truly alone in the world.
Every New Year, if there were no battles, the soldiers would return home to visit their families, and only the two of them would remain among the officers in the camp. They would light the charcoal brazier, sit around roasting fire and peeling tangerines, not even removing their armor. After chatting, they would go out together to hunt wolves in the mountains.
During their conversations, this old Commander-in-Chief always urged Xingyi to marry soon. "You keep delaying like this—it's not right. People still need to build a family, to have someone to care about. When I was young, I was just like you, thinking that if I died, I died—on the battlefield I fought with complete disregard for my life, nothing was frightening. But look at me now: my wife is gone, my sons are gone, but I still have a daughter. I'm my daughter's family support, so I must live a few more years—I can't let her be bullied by others."
He cheerfully pulled out a jade pendant from his chest to show Xingyi, like displaying a treasure. "Look, my daughter searched for a year and specifically made a trip to the Moyu River in Xinjiang with my son-in-law to find this Hetian red jade. She also had it blessed by a master from Lingyin Temple, and even the cord on it was woven by her own hands. She said it would protect me and keep me safe on the battlefield. I tell you, strangely enough, after dozens of battles these years, hey, I really have been blessed with great fortune."
After speaking, he quickly covered his mouth like an old child. "Bah, bah, bah—speak no evil, all taboos are void."
Later, when the old man reached the advanced age of sixty-five, he applied to the Young Emperor for retirement due to illness. Xingyi had long been capable of handling things independently and no longer needed any adjutant. When this Commander-in-Chief retired to his hometown, Xingyi even went to see him off. The old man still told him with a grin. "Don't worry, I'm in good health. I'm going back to hold my grandchildren."
Xingyi stood in front of the military camp watching. Those who came to escort the old man home were his daughter and son-in-law. The daughter was beautiful and gentle, and the son-in-law was also from a military family with illustrious battle achievements and upright character. They respectfully yet intimately helped the old man onto the carriage. The son-in-law, with his wife, personally expressed his gratitude to Xingyi. "Father has always been an old child who only knows how to fight, but doesn't know that the battlefield also requires understanding court politics, which is intricate and complex. We always worried he would suffer losses, but fortunately you were there to help him. We don't know how to repay your kindness."
Xingyi said, "It's nothing, no need to thank me."
The couple insisted on thanking him and stuffed him with a pile of gifts, which Xingyi refused on the grounds that it would easily give others cause for gossip. After that, Xingyi intentionally or unintentionally promoted the old man's son-in-law a few times. The reason was simple—he just did it when he thought of it, and that young man could shoulder greater responsibilities.
The old Commander-in-Chief had shown him kindness, helping him through the period when everything went poorly after he first entered the military. Correspondingly, even knowing that the Young Emperor harbored misgivings about him, he still spoke up for the old man before the Young Emperor, blocking several memorials that accused him of improper conduct. He owed no one anything.
But he still kept remembering the old man's expression when showing off his jade pendant—that kind of smile he rarely saw, a very pure happiness and joy that came from the heart.
Now he also had someone waiting for him to return home safely, making protective jade for him. Xingyi thought, there was also someone who would show that kind of brilliant smile because of him.
The second day after his wedding, he donned his armor and went to battle, on a long campaign beyond the snow line to the Northern Zhao of Mang Mountain. He had originally been stationed in Jiangling, only playing a supervisory role, so this battle would have been handled from start to finish by the Lord of Jiangling City. But the old City Lord had sacrificed himself on the front lines, and the young City Lord Xie Yuan had just taken office, not yet of age, with a whole heap of trivial family matters to deal with. So Xingyi took over this battle for them.
The trip to the snowy mountains lasted three months. Under Xingyi's leadership, the army was unstoppable, and they were expected to return soon.
During a rest interval, his new adjutant specifically asked him for leave, saying he wanted to write a letter home. "I always accidentally write very long letters, and this time I also want to collect some specialties from Northern Zhao to send back together. I don't know if you would approve."
Xingyi approved it.
The adjutant rubbed his hands together with a grin and said, "Daren, you're newlywed—won't you write something to send back as well?"
Xingyi was stunned.
Without waiting for his answer, the adjutant scurried away. Only then did Xingyi remember this matter: the day after the wedding night, he had left Little Phoenix and departed. Never mind that Little Phoenix was still a sixteen or seventeen-year-old child—even an ordinary woman probably couldn't bear it, right?
Thinking this, after dinner he walked into his subordinates' tent, sat down among the officers who were gathered in discussion, and accurately picked out that adjutant. "You, come here."
All the others trembled as they looked at him, not daring to breathe loudly.
Xingyi organized his words for a moment and seriously inquired, "A letter home—how should one write it?"
---
Little Phoenix had been sent back dejected, just lying there in a heap, his mood very low. When Xingyi poked him, at first he would still kick his legs a few times, but later he wouldn't even speak.
He touched his empty belly with his little wing, very worried. Xingyi was very patient, tirelessly poking at him, smoothing his little wings back and forth. "Hungry? Eat something? The bamboo I planted in the back courtyard has flowered. You don't need to conserve—I'll command them to revive soon and bear fruit again."
Xingyi brought over a lianshi fruit and placed it next to Little Phoenix's little head.
Little Phoenix resolutely turned his head to the side.
Xingyi changed direction and placed another lianshi fruit next to Little Phoenix. This time Little Phoenix wasn't as firm. He swallowed and rolled in place, turning around to lie down, continuing to sprawl out his little wings and claws with an "out of sight, out of mind" appearance.
Xingyi pressed his lips together and placed a lianshi fruit at both Little Phoenix's head and tail. Before Little Phoenix could react, Xingyi poured the remaining basket of lianshi fruits all around Little Phoenix, surrounding him from all sides.
Little Phoenix jumped up like facing a great enemy, at a loss, turned a few circles, then squatted down and cried. "I won't eat them, take them away. Where is there anyone who raises birds like this? I'm clearly on a diet."
Xingyi poked him again. "Didn't you say you need to eat your fill to have the energy to diet?"
Xingyi sat down by the table, propping his chin to watch Little Phoenix. After observing for quite a while, he discovered the situation was a bit off—this time Little Phoenix seemed to have really been made to cry by him, completely different from the previous few times when he'd fake-cried to act cute and coquettish in front of him.
Little Phoenix wiped his tears. "Dieting is so hard, I'm so hungry, and you're tempting me with fruit. You just don't want to see me lose weight, hmph, I know, you're lying to me." After sobbing quietly for a while, he lowered his head and caught sight of the pile of lianshi fruits on the table. As if overcome with grief, he suddenly lay down, kicking his legs while wailing. "You're not good to me at all, wuwuwu, you don't like me at all."
Xingyi: "......"
He had never made anyone cry like this before.
In the past, those fairy maidens and goddesses who wanted to pursue him and were treated coldly by him had probably also cried their share, but Little Phoenix was different. He was a bird. This was the first time Xingyi had seen such a small, soft, round little thing cry because of him, and the wailing was genuine.
While Little Phoenix's tears pattered down, he jumped up and used his little wing to sweep the lianshi fruits aside, then lowered his head and frantically picked up his phoenix tears that had already crystallized into red-gold crystals. His short, pointed beak pecked up a few, but before he could finish picking them up, they fell out of his mouth again. Picking up one, dropping one—Little Phoenix turned back to look, accidentally stepped with one claw on a perfectly round, hard lianshi fruit, and with a splat fell flat on his back.
Little Phoenix lay crooked on the table, crying even harder. "You won't even help me pick them up. My tears are very precious—one tear can sell for eight hundred spirit stones. You've never worked, you immortals with your golden rice bowls don't understand that money doesn't come easily. Making money is very hard."
Xingyi: "......"
He rubbed his temples and coaxed gently, "Alright, alright, I'll help you pick them up, but will you eat some of the lianshi fruits, okay?"
Little Phoenix ignored him, crying while searching one by one through the cracks in the pile of lianshi fruits for his phoenix tears that were supposedly worth eight hundred spirit stones each. Xingyi sighed softly, reached out and caught this little fat bird, using a bit of force to restrain him and prevent him from running.
Little Phoenix struggled, then stopped moving, saying dejectedly, "You big liar, you bad person. On the surface you seem good to me, but secretly you won't even let me diet."
Xingyi extended his thumb, smoothed it over Little Phoenix's little head, then stopped by his little bean-like eyes, wiping away a small tear that had just seeped out. That phoenix tear crystallized at his fingertip, becoming a translucent dark red crystal, like a gemstone.
Why was he crying so hard?
He remembered having half-jokingly said something to this little fat bird before: "My Empress must be beautiful—if you're fat, you won't be beautiful." Perhaps the little bird had taken it to heart, just as when he wanted to see a little round ball dance, this little round ball had also taken it to heart.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Xingyi lowered his eyes and looked, then said in a low voice. "......You're so sad about not being able to become my Empress?"
Little Phoenix was stunned.
Little Phoenix covered his eyes with his wing, choking back sobs. "No. I just want to lose weight. I don't want to be your Empress anymore at all."
But Xingyi didn't pay attention to these petulant words. His voice sounded as indifferent as usual. "Little Phoenix, I will not have an Empress. I govern the Star Disc and will not be moved by external things. Being my Empress would be very difficult. I...... I am the kind of person who often makes people sad. Do you understand?"
Little Phoenix moved in his hand but didn't speak, though he stopped crying.
He quietly listened to Xingyi's words.
Xingyi said in a low voice, "If you had thought things through before coming to find me, if you had made inquiries, you would have heard everyone say that I only have a heart for killing, and that's also the truth. Back then...... when I chose the divine path rather than the demonic path, it was also just a moment's decision. I'm not a good person. Before you, I had never raised a phoenix either—I don't know how little birds should be raised."
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a pain in his finger.
Little Phoenix had pecked his finger hard.
Little Phoenix said softly, "It's not like that. You're very good to me, and very gentle too."
Xingyi looked at him quietly.
Little Phoenix lowered his head and said with little confidence, "I approached you with ulterior motives, but you didn't chase me away either. I'm not good-looking and I'm fat, yet you're still willing to give me lianshi fruits and give me pocket money. But what we're talking about today isn't this—you shouldn't change the subject. You should support my weight loss endeavor. I want to become beautiful too. You can't lead me astray like this."
Xingyi remained silent.
Little Phoenix nuzzled his hand with his little head, pitifully nudging him. "Don't be sad. I didn't mean you're not good at raising birds."
Xingyi said, "Mm."
Little Phoenix said again, "You think now that you don't need an Empress, but who knows, maybe you'll need one later. What's wrong with me preparing in advance for you? Since you've said this, I'll eat properly from now on. Weight loss through exercise alone is slower than dieting, but it's also effective."
Xingyi expressionlessly extended his hand. "You promise. Pinky swear."
Little Phoenix raised his little claw and placed it at his fingertip. One person and one bird seriously made a pinky promise.
As soon as Little Phoenix lowered his claw, he was caught again by Xingyi, who held him in his hand, kneading and rubbing him left and right. Finally he reached a conclusion. "You've gotten thin from hunger—the feel isn't as good as usual."
Little Phoenix indignantly jumped down from his palm and began eating the lianshi fruits with his head down. After eating, Little Phoenix jumped back into Xingyi's hand, raising his head and puffing out his chest. "Touch me, touch me—the feel is good now, right?"
Xingyi praised him. "It's good now."
Only then was reconciliation formally achieved.
Only then did Little Phoenix seem to remember something, looking up at Xingyi pitifully. "Then, then can I still covet your position as Empress?"
He lowered his little head again, somewhat dejected. "Calling me 'wife' once wouldn't cost you anything."
Xingyi laughed and lightly tapped Little Phoenix on the forehead. "Pushing your luck."
****
The next day, Little Phoenix returned to eating twenty lianshi fruits per meal, with a trend toward eating even more.
A fairy maiden came in happily to report this matter, which just reminded Xingyi to solve the problem of the purple bamboo forest flowering in the back. After bamboo forests flower, they wither and die in batches. The panda clan and phoenix clan, whose main diet consists of bamboo shoots and lianshi fruits, face this predicament every ten years or so, and thus must periodically migrate to find food.
Xingyi stood in the bamboo forest, looked up at the ten-thousand-year-old bamboo that blocked out the sky, and quietly recited an ancient incantation. This incantation was now lost to history—it was a command powerful enough to order mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, to bring all things back from death to life. The reason for its loss was also simple: this incantation required extremely high cultivation and consumed enormous amounts of energy. After ancient times, no one could command the sky and mountains anymore.
Yet Xingyi casually recited this important incantation, as if saying something as trivial as "court is dismissed today." When that long, strange incantation ended, an earth-shaking commotion arose in the forest—it was the sound of the bamboo forest rapidly growing, sprouting, and shedding old husks, like a flock of crows flying overhead, making sounds that blocked out the sky. Heaven and earth darkened, and one could only hear clearly the sounds of life and death.
Xingyi casually pointed at one bamboo stalk. As if by miraculous craftsmanship, that bamboo actually reversed its growth direction, growing along the ground as if bent, eventually stopping in front of Xingyi and bearing a fruit.
Xingyi picked this lianshi fruit and played with it in his hand, then peeled it and tasted a bite.
There was no other particular flavor—sweet, gathering all the fragrance of bamboo leaves and shoots. He had thought the phoenix clan would love intense, vivid flavors, but unexpectedly the taste of lianshi fruit was so light and pure.
Xingyi said to the trembling fairy maiden behind him. "It's not particularly delicious. Next time, in my name, go to the Lao Jun and ask for a stack of his elixirs made from immortal peaches, sweet spring water, lianshi fruits, marrow-cleansing pills, and three thousand other delicacies. Have him grind them into granules—I need them to feed my bird."
The fairy maiden quickly noted it down. "Alright."
She looked at the lianshi fruits growing anew throughout the forest and breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart. "That's wonderful—Phoenix Yuanyuan has something to eat again. But speaking of which, a few days ago really scared me. Yuanyuan refused to eat more no matter what. I was terrified of starving him. I don't know what method Your Majesty used to coax Yuanyuan into eating obediently?"
Xingyi said, "That little thing was upset and was venting on me. This little bird is a bit foolish. He pretends to be pitiful quite well, so I just needed to pretend to be even more pitiful than him. I said a few things about the coldness of human relationships, and the little fellow fell for it. Am I the kind of person who becomes fragile because of loneliness? Obviously not. When I said I couldn't raise birds well, the implication was to make him leave, but since I've decided to keep this little fat bird, how could I let him go?"
Xingyi kept his accomplishments and fame deeply hidden. "Using one's own tactics against them—that's how it is."
He admired the flourishing bamboo forest scenery for a while, then turned around.
With this turn, he saw the Little Phoenix behind him.
This fluffy little round ball was currently in a petrified state, squatting there motionless, his little bean eyes staring round. By the looks of it, he had heard that entire speech.
Instead, Xingyi walked over openly and squatted down in front of him.
He reached out and poked him.
Little Phoenix trembled and tried hard to accuse. "You you you——"
Xingyi's expression turned serious, and his voice became very soft. "What did you hear, Little Phoenix?"
Without waiting for Little Phoenix to respond, Xingyi stuffed the lianshi fruit he had bitten into his mouth, blocking Little Phoenix's beak. Then he patted Little Phoenix's fluffy little head soothingly. "Good boy, no matter what you heard, I do like you. Eat more, and don't wander around aimlessly all day, and don't sulk with me either."
The tenderness in his eyes seemed like it could melt into water, looking as if he couldn't wait to put Little Phoenix in his arms and cuddle him, yet clearly also hiding some childish amusement. While stroking Little Phoenix's head, he adjusted his tone and vividly mimicked a certain round ball's milky, soft, and innocently pitiful voice:
"I'm very pitiful, you know."
