HMAM CH 37 A Particular Day
As a toddler, Jing Xiao Yun maintained a sweet and cute appearance most of the time, so long as what he wanted was at hand.
So he often looked down on Zhao Yue Yue, who was constantly crying in the bed over.
Just after midnight that night, there was a cry of a baby in the palace, and the drowsy palace maids who were guarding outside the room woke up and looked up at each other.
"The young gongzi must be fussing again." The maid in charge stood up, waved to the other maids, and pushed open the door covered with soft gauze, "Go and get some warm water quickly."
Opening the door, she saw Zhao Yue lying on one of the two small beds, his little fists curled and his mouth wide from crying. Jing Xiao Yun was leaning on the railing of his crib and looking out.
"Gongzi." The palace maid in charge hurried over, wrapped Zhao Yue in a quilt and picked him up, while calling the palace maid behind her: "Hurry up and dress His Highness in warm clothes."
"Ai." The palace maid stepped forward and put on a small coat for Jing Xiao Yun. The latter stretched out his hand and said: "Grass."
Palace maid: "?”
The head maid smiled and said, “His Highness thinks the young gongzi is noisy." (TN: ‘grass’ is a homonym of ‘noisy’)
The palace maid was stunned and couldn't help but smile.
Jing Xiao Yun sat on the bed arrogantly, refusing to let the palace maid hold him.
Zhao Yue Yue was still crying and refused to drink water.
The palace maid said: "Go and report to His Majesty?"
While coaxing the baby in her arms, the head maid shook her head and said, “His Majesty doesn't sleep much, so getting up late at night will only be harmful. The young masters will not be happy either."
The palace maid looked at Zhao Yue who was crying non-stop and wondered: "But the young gongzi..."
Ping'an Palace, bedroom.
Gu Hong opened his eyes and frowned when he heard faint crying outside.
Jing Ye was sleeping nose to nose with him. At this time, he also opened his eyes and looked at him, and said helplessly, "I'm afraid it's Zhao Yue," Then he raised his head and said, "Ye Mao?"
Ye Mao outside bowed and said: "Your Majesty."
Jing Ye said: "Inside the side hall is…”
Ye Mao replied: "It's the young gongzi."
Gu Hong held Jing Ye's hand and said softly: "The palace attendants are there. Your Majesty, please take a rest. You have morning court tomorrow at five o'clock. What time is it now?"
Jing Ye paused, lay back on the pillow, closed his eyes for a while. Lu Baizang beside him turned over and hugged his waist.
After a while, the crying outside the hall still sounded.
Jing Ye let out a breath, opened his eyes and started to get up. Gu Hong pressed him down with a strong hand and said, "Your Majesty."
Jing Ye looked at him, Gu Hong's cool and soft hair hung down and brushed his cheek.
"Zhen won't be able to sleep with the constant crying anyway." Jing Ye patted his hand, and when he felt the pressure on his hand had loosened, he stood up and crossed over Lu Baizang, casually throwing on a coat beside the bed, and stepped forward to push the bead curtains to go out.
Outside the curtain, Ye Mao came up with a young eunuch and said: "Your Majesty..."
Jing Ye moved forward, and the palace attendants guarding the door hurriedly opened the door. Jing Ye went straight out to the side hall.
It was late autumn, and when he came out of his room where the warm fragrance overflowed, he was faced with the howling cold wind. Jing Ye huddled in his clothes and stepped into the hall with his head lowered.
Zhao Yue Yue showed no acceptance of the palace maids’ comfort at all and was still wailing. Jing Xiao Yun sat on the small bed and played with the wooden carriage that Lu Baizang had made for him.
The palace attendant behind Jing Ye closed the door. The head maid turned around with Zhao The in her arms, and curtsied with the palace maids in the room, "Your Majesty."
Jing Xiao Yun raised his head and said with bright eyes: "Susu."
Jing Ye rubbed his head and said, "Be good."
Jing Xiao Yun stretched his neck upwards, and Jing Ye smiled, lowered his head, and kissed him on the forehead.
Zhao Yue, who was in the palace maid's arms, suddenly stopped crying, tilted his head slightly, and looked at Jing Ye with his mouth open.
Jing Ye went over, thought about it, and reached out to hold him.
Zhao Yue shrank back and buried his head in the palace maid's arms.
Jing Ye had no choice but to retract his hand and said to the head maid: “Since he no longer cries, just give him some water and put him to sleep.”
The head maid curtsied and said, "Yes."
Jing Ye glanced at the infant Zhao Yue again. Jing Xiao Yun felt an inexplicable sense of crisis. He threw away the wooden car, grabbed the railing and shouted, "Susu."
Jing Ye tweaked his nose and said, "Go to sleep, and I'll ask Uncle Lu to make milk for you tomorrow." Then he turned and left the side hall.
After passing through the blue gauze panels and exiting the door, a snow-white fox fur cloak was shaken off and laid over his shoulders, accompanied by the man's complaint: "They don't even stop in the middle of the night, these little debt collectors."
Lu Baizang was a martial arts practitioner, and his body temperature penetrated through his thin clothes, making Jing Ye unable to help but move towards him.
Lu Baizang lowered his head, and Jing Ye tilted his head to kiss his lips. The two held hands and walked quickly through the late autumn courtyard.
After taking a nap the next day, Jing Ye went to Lin Xiaosheng's Yiyuan Hall to discuss finances.
Jing Ye was sitting at the desk, watching Lin Xiaosheng take down one account book after another from the overcrowded bookshelf and put them on the table, dividing them into several piles.
The servant boy who served him stood by the gauze curtain, staring warily at the “lusty and incapable” emperor.
The aroma of tea lingered in the room, and Lin Xiaosheng ordered the palace servants to bring a chair which he placed next to Jing Ye. He said: "Your Majesty, you can look through it at will."
Jing Ye said: "Is this all of it?"
Lin Xiaosheng said: "This is from the past three days."
Jing Ye: "...”
He picked up a book casually, opened it, and frowned.
Lin Xiaosheng said: "Over the years, the Ministry of Revenue has suffered a deficit of millions of taels, but the miscellaneous donations and illegal taxes in various states have been huge."
Jing Ye held the thin pages of the account book and said nothing.
A majestic empire, it looked powerful from the outside, but in actuality was empty inside.
Jing Ye thought for a long time and said, "Govern."
"There are policies from above, and countermeasures from below." Lin Xiaosheng tilted his head, and the phoenix eyes behind the crystal mirror were as clear as a cold lake.
Jing Ye raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Then think of a countermeasure policy."
Feng Ling returned home after going to court and found that the manor was much busier than usual.
The maids came and went. When they saw him passing by, they all smiled and said, "Young Master."
Feng Ling stopped and said, "Today is..."
The head servant girl said: “The mistress has invited the mistresses of the Yang family and the Feng family to come over for tea, and they are currently chatting in the pavilion by the carp pond."
Feng Ling was startled, and remembering Madam Feng's words a while ago, he said hurriedly: "If mother calls me, just say that I am busy and it is inconvenient to see guests."
As soon as he finished speaking, Madam Feng's personal maid came over and said, "Young master, the mistress asked you to come over."
Feng Ling had no choice but to go with the maid.
When he arrived at the pavilion, he saw Madam Feng (凤) talking to Madam Yang, Madam Feng (冯). Next to her were Yu Ying, the youngest daughter of the Yang family, and the two daughters of the Feng family.
The maid alerted: "Mistress, the young master is here."
When Madam Feng saw Feng Ling, she waved and said, "Come here Qing Sheng, come greet your aunts and little sisters."
Feng Ling stepped forward and bowed in salute. He was dressed in a crimson official uniform, which made his face as handsome as jade and his figure tall and upright.
The two young ladies from the Feng family were already blushing.
The mistresses of the Yang and Feng families also nodded with satisfaction. Madam Feng smiled and said: "I know you young people don't like to listen to us old people talking, so how about you take your three little sisters to go for a walk in the garden?" The last sentence was directed at the three young ladies.
Feng Ling was about to refuse, but he remembered what Madam Feng said to him privately: "You don't want to get married? There are so many people in the world, but there is no one you like?" Jing Ye's smile appeared in front of his eyes, and his hand that always reached over to him.
Madam Feng waved her hand and said, “This child, why are you just standing there?"
Feng Ling came back to his senses, looked at the dignified and elegant young ladies in front of him, his eyes dim, and said slowly:
“Yes."
The sky had darkened.
Jing Ye was sitting in Yiyuan Hall, holding an account book in his hand and looking through it, asking Lin Xiaosheng from time to time.
Lin Xiaosheng sat on the side and watched Jing Ye reach for the pen, but touched the ink in the inkstone instead and got his hand dirty.
Just as Jing Ye was about to speak, Lin Xiaosheng had already ordered the servant boy: "Bring hot water and hand towel."
The servant boy looked at Jing Ye fearfully, turned and left.
When the hot water was brought, Jing Ye slowly washed his hands. The palace was so quiet that it was awkward.
Lin Xiaosheng suddenly said: "It's already late, Your Majesty is returning to the palace..."
Jing Ye then said: "Then tomorrow zhen will..."
"Or stay for dinner?" Lin Xiaosheng picked up a hand towel and wiped Jing Ye's hands. He still had an indifferent expression, but his behavior was very natural, as if the two of them were already so intimate.
Jing Ye paused, then stood up and said, "Thank you for qing's kindness. Zhen is tired, so it is better to go back early." After saying that, he turned around.
But after he saw the scene in front of him clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned.
"It's snowing."
Lin Xiaosheng sat quietly on the bamboo chair, dabbing the water that the ink had been diluted by, and spoke in a cold tone.
Jing Ye wore a cloak and walked on the thin layer of snow step by step.
Ye Mao followed behind and said, "Your Majesty, the road is slippery with the snow."
Jing Ye smiled and said: "No matter, you are behind me, so just be careful to catch zhen."
Ye Mao said stupidly: "Ah?"
Jing Ye couldn't help but laugh and walked forward.
A person came towards them from a distance without a cloak. Snow fell on his hair and shoulders, melting into water and soaking his clothes.
He knelt on one knee on the ground and said, "Paying respects to Your Majesty."
Jing Ye raised his hand to gesture to him to rise and asked, “Has your wound healed?"
"It is fully recovered." Li Tingqiu raised his head and looked at him, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the medicine."
"Good." Jing Ye reflexively wanted to brush the snow off his body, but luckily he caught himself.
"The snow is going to be heavy." Jing Ye smiled and said, "Go back as soon as possible."
"Yes." Li Tingqiu responded stiffly. After standing stiff for a while, he said softly: "Even though the state affairs are troublesome, Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."
"En?" Jing Ye didn't react for a moment, "What did you say?"
“This subject will be retreating now." Li Tingqiu took a few steps back, turned around and strode away through the snow.
Jing Ye: "..."
Today was really a particular day.