Imperial Weight Chapter 21 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 21.1
Xingyi was gone for three months. When he left, it was deep autumn; when he returned, snow blanketed the entire city. Xingyi himself traveled faster than the scouts bearing news. Xie Yuan, the young city lord of Jiangling, and his military advisor didn't even know when he'd returned. Before dawn, he rode alone through the city gates, his horse's hooves clattering across the silent streets, over small bridges and flowing water, finally stopping before his own courtyard.
The mansion gates stood wide open, as if the people inside knew he was coming and had been waiting specially for him.
Xingyi dismounted and entered the garden, startling the gatekeeper who had been dozing nearby.
The gatekeeper was an old gentleman, still quite hale and hearty. Upon seeing him, he was overjoyed, saying repeatedly, "The master has returned! I'll go call someone right away to prepare hot water and fresh clothes for you."
Xingyi raised his hand to stop him, saying softly, "Everyone's sleeping, don't disturb them. Just prepare the guest room for me. I'll go look in on the east side first, then come over. If he's sleeping, I won't wake him."
To the east was only one residence—his and Little Phoenix's main bedroom, backed by garden waters, quiet and elegant. Hearing him say "the east side," the gatekeeper understood immediately, knowing he wanted to first go see his newly-wed Little Phoenix. Smiling and shaking his head. "Master, the young lord isn't at the mansion. A few days ago, the young lord's maternal family—I mean, that Li couple from before—heard they'd had another son in their old age and invited the young lord over as the older brother to take a look. The young lord has been gone for three or four days now."
Xingyi thought for a moment. "Is that so? The day after we married, I left. By custom, he should also have time to return home to visit his parents. But this time is sufficient—I'll go find him and bring him back, and pay a visit to his family while I'm at it."
Mentioning Little Phoenix's family, Xingyi couldn't help but frown.
When he'd brought Little Phoenix through his doors, all the ceremonies had been properly conducted according to the rank of a royal consort—asking the name, presenting betrothal gifts, and completing the grand betrothal rites—every step complete. At the time, he couldn't leave the military camp, so he'd entrusted a close confidant to handle the arrangements. When it came to visiting to ask for the birth eight characters, then proposing marriage and discussing the betrothal gifts, that confidant returned full of anger to complain: "I've never seen such unreasonable people. If they treasured their own child, and some crooked melon came to propose marriage, it would be understandable if they were reluctant. But what kind of person are you? On one hand they were crying, on the other they opened their mouths like lions, taking advantage of your status to demand two hundred thousand taels of gold right off. They sold Fenghuang when he was five or six years old—where do they get the face to trample on your sincerity like this?"
Xingyi moved his gaze from the military intelligence memorial in his hand to look at his confidant. "Is this truly so?"
The confidant said, "Truly. The madam at the brothel treated the young lord more honestly than his own parents. Just take back then—the young lord's father brought the child in with tears and snot running down his face, then turned around and took the child's selling price to drink and carouse with prostitutes. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I could never have believed such parents existed in this world."
Xingyi had actually seen plenty. He and the emperor shared the same father and mother, and was even older than the young emperor. Others said he only lacked the stroke of luck at the time of heir designation, but he felt this was quite good. Those who dwell in the heights of the temple hall have no happiness—his own younger brother lived in gloomy wretchedness, while he still had the chance to be carefree and unrestrained in the army, to gallop across battlefields, to witness all aspects of human nature. When he'd gone to provide disaster relief, he'd seen people in famine exchange their children for food, and also seen parents who would rather die than let their children go hungry for even a mouthful. Thinking carefully, it seemed there was no solution—just a matter of good or bad luck.
He efficiently washed and bathed, changed out of his dust-stained heavy armor, and changed back into regular clothes. He took a lantern, went to the stable to select a white horse with a gentle temperament, informed the gatekeeper, and went out again.
He knew where Little Phoenix's home was—by a small bridge under the eastern city wall. Previously, a string of impoverished common people had lived there, using damaged bricks and tiles to build precarious dwellings. Now one household there had bought fired red bricks, hired craftsmen and workers, and built a brand new residence. Little Phoenix's parents, taking the betrothal money they'd received, had moved cheerfully into their new home and were proclaiming everywhere that they had a prince for a son-in-law. It was like one person achieving the Dao with chickens and dogs ascending to heaven, attracting quite a bit of gossip.
These trivial details had been continuously reported to him. But Xingyi had never told Little Phoenix, nor had he mentioned it in his letters home.
After he went out, the wind and snow grew heavier, making his wind lantern sway and flicker. Fortunately, the horse was docile and obedient. Following his directions, it soon arrived at the eastern city. Dawn had not yet come, all of Jiangling was in slumber, the deep blue-green canopy of sky almost within reach, carrying icy wind that pressed down on people's heads.
Only when Xingyi dismounted did he realize he'd made a mistake: it was still too early. Ordinary households rose at cockcrow to start their work, but right now it wasn't even the hour of Mao yet. He hesitated, just thinking about whether to turn his horse around or wait a bit longer, when suddenly he saw a household ahead light up with lamplight. A figure holding a lamp stumbled out of the courtyard, bending down to do something in front of the yard.
It was someone he knew well.
Little Phoenix hadn't noticed him. Perhaps out of laziness, he'd only wrapped himself in a cloak to come out, yawning and rubbing his eyes. After blinking a few times, he tossed out the dry wheat husks in his hand, then quickly shrank back inside.
From inside the door came a middle-aged woman's scolding voice. "Back so fast—did you just dump the basin? Chicken feed used to be so expensive, we couldn't afford it, but one chicken could sell for a tael of silver! Now we can finally afford to feed them wheat, and you go and waste it like this. The feed was all snatched up by that side, leaving those few chicks that can't compete—you want to starve them to death, don't you?"
Then came Little Phoenix's voice. "I didn't—I scattered it very evenly."
"You expect me to believe you? Tsk, you're a wealthy young lord now, a young master—we couldn't hope to match you. How rich you are now—what did you buy for your little brother when he was born?"
Little Phoenix: "The wet nurse I found, and the things I bought with my own saved money are all there. He's a prince—officials can't be greedy for private gain, and his salary doesn't come for nothing. There's no reason for me to just take out his silver."
The female voice became even more shrill. "Don't I know about you princes and nobles? You say you're fighting wars, but who knows how much military pay you've embezzled! Look at Wang Ermazi next door—served as a soldier for three years, came back missing an arm. What did he bring back? Yes, you've made it big now, you look down on your parents, but you should think about your newborn brother—"
Little Phoenix's voice also grew louder. "Then what more do you want? I've already given you the money I saved over sixteen years."
Then the woman's voice lowered, taking on a wheedling tone. "You really are a blockhead. Your man has money—what's wrong with pillow talk? Your brother is still small, and your father and I are half in the grave already. After we're gone a hundred years, it'll just be you two brothers supporting each other. Look, you're living in a prince's mansion now, such a huge place—you must have quite a bit of land in your name... Allocate a piece to build a mansion for your brother, that should be about right. What do you think?"
Little Phoenix sounded like he was laughing from anger. "Allocate a piece? His prince's mansion was granted by His Majesty. The land he can mobilize is all for building military camps—there are proper matters to attend to."
The woman inside smashed a cup. "What do you mean—are you saying your brother's matters aren't proper? I was wrong about you—you ungrateful wretch, heartless thing! Don't think that clinging to a prince means you've risen in the world. You're just a whore who sells his ass—the prince will get tired of you sooner or later!"
Little Phoenix said nothing more—he must have been too angry to speak.
Xingyi's eyes darkened. Leading his horse, he came to the courtyard gate and knocked forcefully three times on the door.
From inside came more shouting. "Who is it, so early? Go open the door, quickly."
The door opened, and Little Phoenix walked out dejectedly from inside. Lifting his head and catching sight of him, he froze completely.
In that instant, it was like the ice layer of deep winter melting. The vegetation that had temporarily hibernated due to cold, unwillingly concealed, glimpsed sunlight during the silence of all living things and quietly poked out its head, quietly releasing its hidden wild hopes and persistence. The smile on Little Phoenix's face was just like that—from initially subtle sadness, to astonishment, then to a completely blooming, joyful appearance. Like a little cat that had been beaten, one moment still hiding in a corner licking its wounds, the next moment seeing the person who often came to keep it company and feed it, and so happily pouncing over.
Xingyi opened his arms, letting him pounce over, letting this little fellow completely burrow into his embrace, then hugged him tightly.
"I'm back."
Little Phoenix was smiling, then looked like he was about to cry, but he tried hard to hold it in. "You—why did you come here?"
Xingyi took his hand and led him inside. "I came back and found Madam missing, so I came to find you. I've come to bring Madam home."
Little Phoenix's parents were also completely unprepared for Xingyi's sudden visit. The couple appeared quite elderly—the trials of life hadn't smoothed them out, but rather had given them a kind of decayed shrewdness, revealing a short-sighted, calculating appearance. Xingyi was extremely accurate at reading people. In this brief moment of observation, he'd already basically figured out the current situation.
The woman smiled awkwardly. "Prince, Prince, why have you come... You didn't give advance notice. This child said you'd gone to war, and we didn't know when you'd return. You see, our child doesn't understand propriety—we hope he hasn't caused you trouble at the mansion."
Little Phoenix's father was taciturn. He brought tea and a fruit plate, quietly directing Little Phoenix to help with hospitality. Xingyi's expression was blank. He pulled Little Phoenix to sit beside him with one motion, not letting him move, then said, "Not at all, he's very good."
Little Phoenix secretly lifted his eyes to look at him.
Xingyi had no intention of staying long here, nor any interest in pleasantries. Before the woman could speak, he first cut off any possible topics. "I came to bring him home, so I won't disturb you further."
The woman asked urgently, "Ah, won't you stay a bit? He just got back a few days ago, and in the blink of an eye he has to leave again. Prince, you see Fenghuang's little brother has reached his full month—he looks so much like when Fenghuang was little. Could you bestow a name on him?"
This family was surnamed Li. Hearing this, Xingyi didn't rush to refuse. After Little Phoenix's father brought red paper and brush and ink, he picked up the brush and suddenly asked, "What was Fenghuang's original name?"
It couldn't possibly have been Li Fenghuang. The name Fenghuang was given to Little Phoenix by the brothel, from the Feng generation, similar to others like Fengge and Fengming. Little Phoenix's original stage name was Fenghuang, without the bamboo radical, but because the meaning was inauspicious, sharing the name with the Murong clan that had overthrown previous rulers in history, they'd changed the character for him, taking the artistic conception of "sitting alone amid secluded bamboo, playing the qin and whistling long."
(TL: 鳳篁 → Fenghuang (with radical change) ; 牌名 → stage name / pseudonym (used in brothel)
The couple stumbled. "Called... called..."
Born of the same mother, they couldn't remember their eldest son's childhood name or original name at all, yet were eagerly rushing him to name their second son to add blessings.
Xingyi said, "Never mind, I needn't know. There's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but never had the chance to handle it. Since I've now met you both, let me speak plainly—Fenghuang is an innocent child. Though he was raised in a brothel, he never picked up those bad habits. He's no worse than any child from a good family, and he's absolutely not a so-called—rotten whore."
Xingyi enunciated each word clearly. "He is now my royal consort, someone I petitioned His Majesty about, whom I married openly and honorably with proper ceremony and brought into my mansion. Slandering the royal consort is the same as slapping this prince's face—that's the first thing. His indenture was already transferred to Yunyu Tower when he was small, and now it's in my hands—he is completely and utterly my person. That's the second thing. Naturally, his name should also follow mine. My royal consort doesn't need a pair of parents of humble origin, nor does he need a good-for-nothing brother in the future. I will choose a different identity for him, and I ask that you two no longer presume to call yourselves his parents in the future."
"Otherwise, I'm just a military brute who hasn't learned those gentle methods—aside from killing, I have no other solutions. You two should think carefully."
Having said this, he tossed the brush onto the table and pulled Little Phoenix up to leave. "Farewell."
Winter daybreak came especially late. When they went out, the wind and snow were still heavy. Little Phoenix didn't know how to ride, and was still wearing the single robe he'd had on when getting up. Xingyi removed his own cloak and outer robe to wrap him up, lifted him horizontally onto the horse, then held him tightly from behind.
Little Phoenix nestled in his arms, looked up at his face for a while, reached out to touch his cheek, and said softly, "Don't be angry anymore."
Xingyi lowered his eyes.
Little Phoenix fished out a piece of paper from his breast to show him. "Look, this is a document severing relations. I was planning to leave anyway—otherwise you'll be dragged down by me sooner or later. Don't be angry. I didn't grow up here—I knew early on what kind of people my father and mother are."
"Did you resent it?" Xingyi gazed forward, asking softly.
Little Phoenix hesitated, first nodding, then shaking his head.
"Other people have fathers and mothers, and I didn't—at first it was very sad. But later I also found a madam who cherished me, found friends who treated me sincerely, and found you." Having finished the last words, Little Phoenix blushed a bit. "The books say there are gains and losses—it's probably like that. My luck has already been very good, I don't have anything to complain about."
After saying this, Little Phoenix quickly remembered something and raised an index finger to his lips. "If we don't speak of it, it won't break—may there be no taboos."
He was probably still a somewhat foolish child who didn't know greed, thinking that being sold by his parents, catering to pleasure seekers, being drawn into a marriage like a scam—that such a half-life was a good thing. Xingyi thought about it, not knowing what to feel, only sensing Little Phoenix's cheek pressed against his chest, warm soft breaths coming through the thin clothing, making his heart itch, as if there was also some faint ache.
Xingyi noticed this phrase in his words. He pulled Little Phoenix closer in his arms and asked with a hint of challenge: "You received the letters—why didn't you write back?"
"Ah?" Little Phoenix was bewildered, lowering his head to touch his fingers together. "I saw you wrote so little, only three lines, so you must have been very busy. I was afraid writing back would disturb you, so I didn't send them."
Xingyi looked at him for a long while, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "You..."
Little Phoenix looked at him laughing and hurried to assure him. "But I did write them! They're under the inkstone in the study—you can see them when you go back. I wrote many letters, but didn't dare send them."
Xingyi asked, "Why didn't you dare? How could you be so afraid? You could have just asked someone else—why go in such circles?"
Little Phoenix looked at him. "But I was afraid that if you were writing letters to me, you'd get distracted, and if something went wrong with you, I'd become a legendary femme fatale who brings ruin to the nation. That wouldn't be good."
Xingyi couldn't help but laugh aloud. "Who told you that? So certain I'd get distracted—doubting your husband's ability to lead troops, hmm?"
Little Phoenix shifted in his arms, his gaze clear and transparent. "Because I like you, and you like me too. We became married before we had time to fall in love, so if we did, it would definitely affect you. I won't hide it from you—after you left, I missed you too and often got distracted doing things."
A straightforward statement that instantly pierced through to Xingyi's spirit, making him tremble slightly. "What did you say?"
Little Phoenix raised his voice. "After you left—I missed you very much—and often got distracted doing things!"
Xingyi paused, then smiled and freed a hand to pat Little Phoenix's head.
So natural and matter-of-fact. He'd never said any suggestive words to him. Though he'd also thought about making it up to him with care, in the end they'd spent too little time together and been separated too long. He didn't know when this little thing had figured it out on his own in secret.
He liked him, and he liked him too.
Perhaps this also explained why even in the most critical moment on the battlefield he could get distracted thinking of him, why he was so anxious waiting for a reply, why he found it so unbearable—hearing Little Phoenix's parents, who should have cherished him, speak such vicious words—why Little Phoenix himself didn't care, yet he took it to heart.
So he actually liked him.
Xingyi lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on Little Phoenix's forehead.
Little Phoenix was first stunned for a moment, then happily hugged his neck and leaned in to nibble his lips. Xingyi indulged him, holding him with one hand while his hand gripping the reins also relaxed, no longer urging the horse to forge ahead through the wind and snow, but letting it freely slow down and wander about at will. The two on horseback passed through wind and snow, through the last stretch of darkness before dawn, embracing tightly.
In the dark blue-black, there were children from the school rising for early reading, and they passed through those repetitive clear childish voices. When Xingyi later recalled that cold morning, strangely, the first thing he remembered wasn't Little Phoenix's bright smile like the wind, but rather those unclear recitation voices, lingering by his ear as if immortal and indestructible: "Candle in the wind, frost on grass—though they shine bright, they won't last long."
—--
"Husband, husband, I had a dream—I turned into a human!" In the morning, the snow-white little round ball woke up and chirped in Xingyi's ear, rolling back and forth. With one claw, it went smack onto Xingyi's face, trying to get him up for breakfast.
This was the first time in these past months that Little Phoenix discovered Xingyi had woken earlier than him. At the same time, Xingyi had dark circles under his eyes—clearly he hadn't slept well.
Little Phoenix touched him with his wing tip, asking with concern, "Weijian, what's wrong? Did I talk in my sleep last night? I dreamed I turned into a human and was sleeping while hugging you! Right in this room."
Xingyi said, "Oh."
The little bird hadn't talked in his sleep, that was true—but he'd directly transformed into a bare-naked human in his arms. Xingyi's first reaction at the time was: birds have such thick down, don't they get any clothes when they transform into human form?
Last night, he'd examined the Little Phoenix who'd suddenly transformed in his arms, carried him around in a circle, and discovered that the bird's nest wasn't suitable for such a big person. He couldn't very well stuff the person in his arms back into the bird's nest.
So he could only put him on the bed.
