Imperial Weight Chapter 31
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 31
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, an unexpected guest arrived at the prince's residence.
The person was found collapsed in front of the main gate of the prince's residence, looking sickly all over, appearing to be on the verge of death and not long for this world. The gatekeeper saw his sallow and emaciated appearance and thought he was someone who had fled to Jiangling to escape famine—however, this year the weather had been favorable throughout the country, so such wretched people should be uncommon. The servants took care of this sick person who had collapsed at their prince's gate, called for a physician, and also notified the city lord's mansion for relief. But when a maid was changing this patient's clothes, she accidentally discovered the official seal of the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review from the capital in his undergarments.
The others didn't dare be negligent and immediately reported this matter to Xingyi and the young city lord.
Upon learning of this, Xingyi first went to see the patient when he returned home that evening. Having been away from the capital for so long and constantly on military campaigns, he had become completely unfamiliar with officials in the capital. It was the young city lord Xie Yuan who brought his military advisor to the door and confirmed this person's identity—Shen Rui, Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, one of the youngest and most promising pillars of the Court of Judicial Review in the capital. He had single-handedly overturned a wrongful conviction during a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices, but his personality seemed difficult to get along with. He had offended people throughout the Court of Judicial Review, and in the end, it was only through the strong support of an unrelated Minister of Rites that he avoided falling victim to public condemnation.
Xie Yuan said, "I spent three years at my uncle's residence, Prince Pingyang's, while preparing for the spring imperial examination, so I've heard of him. I don't know why this person would appear here, and in such a ragged state. I've already sent scouts by swift horse to the capital to inquire. In the current situation, we can only wait for him to wake up."
Xingyi then ordered people to watch over him, while other matters proceeded as usual.
Little Phoenix heard about this matter and went over to take a look, but couldn't make anything of it.
A few days later, Little Phoenix's parents brought up the old matter again, asking him to return home.
This time, his parents' attitude was uncharacteristically calm, though they very awkwardly asked Little Phoenix if he could help request a physician to treat his little brother's illness. The infant from back then had now reached one year old, but instead of being round and plump like a big apple as he should be, the baby was sick and emaciated to the bone, listless, with barely any breath left in him.
His parents knelt down before him. "We know you resent us. We were wrong before. We ask nothing else, only that you remember the grace of birth and save your brother."
Little Phoenix fell silent. "I'll ask my husband."
After Xingyi heard him speak of this matter, he pondered for a moment. "I originally wanted you to completely sever ties with them. If you can't bear to, then let's send a physician over. It won't matter either way. After the end of this year, I'll take you elsewhere—Jiangnan or the north, or even back to Miao territory in the south would be fine. How about it?"
He reached out and stroked Little Phoenix's head.
Little Phoenix said, "Alright."
After a while, Little Phoenix looked at him quietly again and said softly, "I don't know why, but I feel like there have been too many things happening recently, everything coming all at once."
Xingyi said in a low voice, "There have been quite a few things. Xiao Xie and Xiao Sang have also encountered some problems recently. Things are not peaceful in the capital lately, and Jiangling is His Majesty's most valued military stronghold, so it inevitably affects everything else."
Little Phoenix pouted. "I want it to end quickly, then go to the northern frontier with you to have fun."
Xingyi embraced him, holding his waist and shoulders, and lifted him up while spinning around in circles. "I want that too. Wait a bit longer, it will be soon."
Little Phoenix gazed at him earnestly, tilted his neck up, and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
———
Xingyi transformed into a small black bird and squeezed out through a broken window. He didn't rush to find Little Phoenix, but first flapped his little wings and patrolled a circle above Fuli Palace. The heavens, earth, mountains, rivers, grass, and trees suddenly all became incomparably huge. Xingyi thought to himself: "Well, once you get used to seeing everything this big, you get used to it being this way."
Besides this, he had another question. That was, after transforming into a small bird, it was hard to see people clearly—because he was really too small, not even palm-sized. Though he was round and plump all over and could fly everywhere, when squatting on the ground or rolling on the bed, he could only see parts of people's bodies, not any complete person.
In other words, when Little Phoenix used to squat in his palm, even desperately craning his neck he could only see the tip of his chin. Sleeping beside his pillow for ten days or half a month, he could only see half of his face and nose bridge, magnified infinitely. When the little bird transformed into human form, he also didn't seem to pay particular attention to Xingyi's appearance, as if he wasn't very concerned about this. So the question was—did Little Phoenix actually know what he looked like?
Xingyi flew down and went to Little Phoenix's usual food bowl, picked out a lianshi fruit to taste, then ate it with smacking sounds. Afterward, he evaluated to himself. "After transforming into bird form, it seems I do indeed develop a special preference for lianshi fruit, which easily becomes addictive."
Having finished his conclusion, he ate several more with smacking sounds, until he had finished all of Little Phoenix's snacks for the day, and only then reluctantly stopped.
He thought: "In the future, I can't really blame Little Yuanyuan for eating so much. This is unavoidable."
He imitated Little Phoenix's manner and waddled back and forth in the courtyard, treating it as a stroll. The feeling of being a small bird was novel and interesting, and Xingyi decided to remain one for a while longer.
As he walked and walked, he reached the place where the palace servants gathered to chat. Xingyi was pitch black all over, squatting on a black rock, basically invisible. He seriously inspected the work status of Fuli Palace's servants and was very satisfied: everyone was just like him—leisurely and comfortable, those drinking tea drank tea, those chatting chatted. Everyone drew their fixed salary and lived peacefully, very happily.
The immortal maiden he was familiar with was leading the gossip discussion. "Recently, Phoenix Yuanyuan has been transforming into human form for longer and longer periods. Should we prepare in advance for the wedding? The Emperor is the foremost war god of ancient times, and currently in the Heavenly Court in terms of seniority, the Emperor also ranks first. When the time comes, our Fuli Palace's wedding will definitely be the grandest event in heaven and earth."
A small immortal boy interjected. "That little chubby bird is really going to become our Empress?"
The senior immortal maiden said, "What, do you still have doubts about this? I heard Phoenix Yuanyuan boasting that day, saying the Emperor personally acknowledged him as the future Empress, and that they would live and die together."
Xingyi moved slightly, his little claws scratching at the rock, then continued to squat seriously and eavesdrop. He could imagine the scene of Little Phoenix happily boasting to others without even trying—it was truly very deserving of a beating. The kind of bad little bird that gets cocky when given a bit of sweetness was exactly like Little Phoenix.
The immortal boy said, "But I think not necessarily. Our Emperor does like the little bird, that's true, and the Emperor has never gone back on his word. I just think there's something questionable about that little bird."
The senior immortal maiden asked, "What problem?"
The black ball that had almost merged with the rock moved again, stretching its neck to listen.
The little immortal boy said, "It's like this. I heard that little bird is a phoenix, and the phoenix clan are all very clever and smart. You all say, this little bird knew to find the Emperor right from the start. Now every day he has ambrosia to drink and lianshi fruit to eat. Even Phoenix Ming Zun doesn't have this treatment. You should know that lianshi fruit and ambrosia are only available year-round at our Fuli Palace. Such a pampered little bird has already seen the best things and met someone as aloof and excellent as the Emperor. Perhaps—things have gone to the opposite extreme."
The senior immortal maiden said, "Tell me, what do you mean by opposite extreme?"
The immortal boy coughed. "I cultivated from a mortal to immortality, so I understand this principle very well. When I was in private school, I discovered that those students who were excellent in character and academics and came from wealthy families were actually the most easily led astray by bad students, because they had never experienced what it felt like to do bad things. Similarly, Phoenix Yuanyuan is only three hundred years old and already knows to have an early romance with the Emperor. He's still young, his mind can easily become unclear. Now that everything is good, what if one day some rebellious bad boy appears—wouldn't Phoenix Yuanyuan be easily lured away?"
The small black ball on the rock didn't move, becoming more and more focused.
The senior immortal maiden said, "You mean, because our Emperor is too serious and upright, and too good, Phoenix Yuanyuan might very likely think this kind of goodness comes very easily and not take it to heart? That seems to make some sense. I see that Little Yuanyuan seems very spoiled. Sometimes when the Emperor says something, he doesn't really listen. He's a bit rebellious."
The small black ball opened its mouth, wanting to interrupt their conversation, but after thinking about it closed its mouth again and continued to listen with full concentration.
The little immortal boy said, "The home flower is not as fragrant as the wild flower—that's the principle. Right now the Emperor can be considered Phoenix Yuanyuan's home flower, but Little Yuanyuan is still young and doesn't understand things after all. Maybe in the future he'll be lured away by a wild flower. We all know that Little Yuanyuan's bird form is very cute, and his human form is also so beautiful that people can't take their eyes off him. Recently the small animals in the forest have all been discussing this point, and quite a few spirits have already started to stir."
The senior immortal maiden said, "How could they snatch someone from the Emperor's hands? They're overestimating themselves. In my opinion, our Emperor—there's no one better than the Emperor in heaven or earth."
The little immortal boy said with a laugh. "That's not necessarily true. They don't lose anything anyway—they should try and see. Originally they had nothing, but if they could marry a white phoenix home, that would also be very prestigious. Moreover, the little spirits in our Fuli Mountain only moved here after the Emperor left the mountain. Most of them are not over five hundred years old, and their ages match well with Little Yuanyuan. Young people and young people always have more to talk about."
The senior immortal maiden immediately felt a sense of crisis. She hesitated. "Then, should we remind the Emperor?"
The immortal boy sighed deeply. "Go remind him, quickly. The Emperor usually lacks for nothing and has very likely never thought about his emotional situation with Little Yuanyuan! I think the situation is already very critical now."
The senior immortal maiden deeply agreed, and with a "whoosh" got up from the stone bench, turning around to go find Xingyi.
Just as she turned around, she seemed to glimpse a round black shadow quickly darting past the black rock in front of her, graceful and cold.
"What was that, a coal ball?" The immortal maiden scratched her head and continued through the garden and flowing water toward Xingyi's study.
There was no way Xingyi wouldn't be in his study at this time.
After hearing the palace servants' conversation, he suddenly remembered that the original purpose of transforming into a bird was to follow Little Phoenix, and immediately turned around and headed toward the forest outside.
Xingyi's face was expressionless, his gaze becoming even more murderous.
He carefully thought about the little immortal boy's words. At first he thought it was nonsense, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
That little round ball was so small, before transforming into human form he probably couldn't even see clearly what he looked like. So why did he specifically seek him out and want to become his Empress?
He had always been half-believing and half-doubting about things like past and present lives. He had never liked anyone before, and didn't know whether this little bird's affection counted as ordinary liking or special liking.
With ordinary liking, it seemed he would also cling and not let go, and shed tears when wronged, right?
The Golden-Winged Bird had also said that this little bird was picked up by him after being cheated out of a million spirit stones. Before that, he had always been a working bird, very poor.
Xingyi had heard many tales from the mortal world, such as fox spirits defrauding people of money and sex. He had never thought before about whether there might be a somewhat bad little phoenix who was also doing this sort of thing—defrauding money and sex.
Little Phoenix being thoroughly bad didn't seem impossible either. Xingyi recalled the way Little Phoenix could happily dive headfirst into the bowl when eating lianshi fruit, then compared it with the way Little Phoenix pressed against him for kisses and nuzzles every day. He felt a bit hesitant.
He himself... seemed to be inferior to a fruit.
The big black ball seriously considered Little Phoenix's affection for him and finally made a decision: he had to catch this little bird and ask him clearly. If he went out to play wildly this time and got caught having improper thoughts about someone else, then this home flower would also transform into a carnivorous flower and turn Little Phoenix into roasted phoenix.
With such thoughts, this black ball felt his mood was a bit heavy.
Xingyi heavily landed safely on the ground, then continued to imitate Little Phoenix's waddling steps and walked deeper into the forest.
This sight was remarkable. As soon as Xingyi rolled in, he saw an impressive rehearsal scene in the forest—
His Little Phoenix sat in a commanding position, squatting on the highest persimmon tree giving directions. "Listen well everyone, tomorrow morning, wait for my chirp as the signal! Everyone work together with one heart—we must wake the Emperor! This concerns the Heavenly Court and its foundations. I also have no choice but to sacrifice my small self to achieve the greater good. I will be the first to step forward and wake the Emperor, even if I'm locked in the hellish, death-is-preferable prison of the wicker ball cage, I will not shirk!"
In front of Little Phoenix squatted a hundred or so white sparrows, little sparrows, baby cranes, and several little snow wolves. Everyone responded excitedly, shouting tragically and magnificently. "Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!"
Xingyi: "......"
Little Phoenix said, "Very good." He marched forward with head held high and jumped down, waddling to a little sparrow and teaching earnestly, "You must call 'chirp chirp,' not 'tweet tweet.' Go back and practice a few more times."
The little sparrow nodded, indicating he had listened carefully.
Little Phoenix waddled over to those little silver wolves again and demonstrated. "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp."
The little silver wolf used its paws to pat up this snow-white little round ball, rolled it around, and made a friendly sound. "Awoo! Awoo-oo!"
Little Phoenix struggled hard. "Not this, you need to say: 'Chirp chirp.'"
The silver wolf tried hard to correct its mistake, but unfortunately no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't successfully produce the crisp chirping sound of a little bird. In the end, their sounds became neither fish nor fowl.
Little Phoenix sighed, his tone very pained. "Sigh, forget it, just leave it like this. Don't learn to call people awake if it makes your own calls sound effeminate. Do your best."
Next, he scanned the area, then lifted his claws and waddled several dozen steps.
Everyone followed his gaze and saw this little round ball accurately capture... a small black ball hidden in the forest shadows.
Xingyi: "......"
Little Phoenix squatted in front of him, first feeling a bit delighted, looking at his round body and appearance almost identical to his own—Little Phoenix was somewhat moved.
He had no family. When he broke out of his shell, he was this chubby. Other birds were also fat when young, but none were as round as him.
Today this one... although black, and Little Phoenix searched for a long time before finding his little bean eyes, in all other respects he looked almost exactly like him!
Should he acknowledge this kinship? Little Phoenix thought, perhaps this was one of his family members.
However, he still remembered his mission. Facing this black round ball he was meeting for the first time, Little Phoenix decided to first show off his abilities and status to intimidate this silent and cool-looking round ball. "Hey, I'm talking to you, yes you. Are you new here? Don't you know you should chirp with us?"
This pitch-black little round ball tilted its head, its little bean eyes full of indifference.
Little Phoenix reached out his little wing and poked him.
The small black ball cautiously retreated a bit, his gaze still very cold.
Little Phoenix saw that he was losing face, so he patted Xingyi's head with his wing tip. "Can't speak, looks like he's mute. No matter, we won't discriminate against little mutes. Come here, stand with me, rehearse with us."
.......
And so Xingyi squatted together with Little Phoenix at the very top of the persimmon tree, looking down imperiously at the army of over a hundred round little birds below.
Little Phoenix discovered that this black round ball beside him was not only very cold, but also seemed quite dull, barely moving at all.
After the rehearsal dispersed, Little Phoenix once again delivered an impassioned speech, describing how the great and difficult cause of "waking the Emperor" was. The small black ball finally moved.
Little Phoenix quickly stopped him. "Hey, wait, I have something to say to you."
Xingyi coldly glanced at Little Phoenix, but still stopped.
Little Phoenix asked cautiously, "Hello, are you also a phoenix? May I ask your name?"
Xingyi recalled the phrase "the home flower is not as fragrant as the wild flower." After a long while, unable to hold back, he deliberately made his voice sound different, saying coldly. "Why are you asking my name? Do I look very wild?"
Little Phoenix was startled, probably not quite understanding what he meant by "wild." He thought about it, then said with full affirmation and praise. "Perhaps! Your plumage is really beautiful. I've never seen feathers with such wild beauty."
Xingyi's gaze immediately became even colder.
Little Phoenix felt a bit shy. He waddled closer a few steps, wanting to strike up a conversation but not quite daring to. In the end, he just shyly nuzzled over, rubbing Xingyi with his round belly, then spread his little wings and very affectionately embraced Xingyi. "I just wanted to talk to you. Don't be so cold. I think you're very beautiful."
