CH 8

"This time, the imperial examinations is for the imperial court to select the wise and virtuous people. The throne of the country is at stake. The crown prince ......"

Inside the upper study room, Emperor Jia Ning flipped through the recent memorials, lowered his head and instructed. He looked at his obviously absent-minded son. His eyes narrowed, then brought a touch of profound and unpredictable meaning.

"Crown Prince."

Han Ye returned to his senses. When he caught Emperor Jia Ning's strange look, he concealed his gloomy look and answered, "Father is right. Er chen[1] will order the five city walls military forces to strengthen the security of the capital to take precautions, so as to avoid  bad people who act sneakily to disturb imperial examinations." 

[1]儿臣 (ér chén) - indicates that one is both a son and a subject; first person pronoun employed by a male sovereign when speaking to an empress mother, queen mother, empress dowager, queen dowager, or the like

Emperor Jia Ning tapped the desk lightly and said casually, "I have always trusted the Crown Prince's deployment. How did the Crown Prince think the sons of the various families performed during the autumn hunts a few days ago?"

"There are many sons who are good at riding and shooting. Dajing is full of talents." Han Ye reported back in a slow voice, respectful and docile.

Looking at the prince's serious face, Emperor Jia Ning raised his eyebrows and finally threw out the words that had been grinding in his mind for several days.

"I heard that the women from the capital's families gathered that day and interesting things were happened. The crown prince can have eyes on the ones that catches his eye, I will keep her for you first for the royal election in six months."

The story of Ren Anle's blatant collision with the crown prince at the autumn hunting has been making the rounds. If a man had done that act that day it would have been a crime of treason, but ...... Ren Anle is a woman, and the rumors are getting around with a little romantic color.

Not only does he have a face like Taizu, but his luck in attracting peach blossoms[2] is no worse.

[2]桃花 (táo huā) - peach blossom; (fig.) love affair; the language and meaning of the flower is: captive of love.

His son has been known as a virtuous and benevolent person since he was a child, and he has never made any mistakes.  Although he has brought back a rotten peach blossom this time, the Emperor Jia Ning is particularly relieved and genuinely wants to watch the excitement.

The emperor's words landed, and Zhao Fu, who was standing on the side, clearly saw the prince's complexion pause. He could not help but look towards the emperor, who was smiling in a wise and calculating manner, with a small drum beating at the bottom of his heart.

"Thank you, Father, for your concern. This son want to focus on the affairs of the court, he have not thought of other matters." Han Ye bowed his head and excused himself not too gently.

"Oh, is that so? Then how come I have heard that the gifts sent from the Eastern Palace to Taishan have never been broken for ten years." Emperor Jia Ning lifted his cup of tea and took a sip, his voice gradually becoming unsafe.

The prince had never concealed these things from him, so he had never pierced this layer of paper.

Han Ye raised his head, his gaze cold and solemn: "Father, she is my future consort. I only wish to treat her with the same importance as my father treated my mother back then."

It was common knowledge that Emperor Jia Ning had great respect for the late Empress Huide of the Middle Palace.

Zhao Fu glanced at the solemnly browed Crown Prince and felt a little emotional. Since Empress Hui De's death twelve years ago, His Highness had rarely mentioned his birth mother in front of His Majesty.

Emperor Jia Ning was taken aback for a moment, his eyes wavering slightly as he put down his porcelain cup and gently reprimanded, "Nonsense, how can she be compared to your Mother Empress."

But in the end, his face softened and he let the matter go.

"Prince, I heard that Ren Anle has caused a lot of trouble at the autumn hunt? The Minister of the Left came to the palace yesterday and had a lot to say about it. She is quite a character, to be able to stir up rumours in the capital."

Seeing that Emperor Jia Ning's face was slightly sunken, Han Ye unprecedentedly explained, "Father, there is no need to listen to the rumours. General Ren is a man of nature, perhaps she acts in an unconventional manner."

Emperor Jia Ning's hand tapped on the desk fiercely and narrowed his eyes.

Since his childhood, the prince had a cold temperament. Apart from Emperor Ziyuan and Wen Shuo, who had been brought to the East Palace eight years ago, he had never interceded for anyone in front of him.

"Is that so? I have issued a decree today for her to be appointed as the young secretary of the Da Lisi Hall. Crown Prince, as you saw a few days ago, what about this person Ren Anle?"

Han Ye looked up and suddenly remembered the way the woman in black clothes ran towards him from her horse that day, and with a burning sensation in her eyes. He said solemnly to Emperor Jia Ning, "Father, in my opinion, if Ren An Le becomes the general of our Da Jing, it will be a blessing for the court."

Emperor Jia Ning raised his eyes abruptly and looked at the crown prince for half a second before waving his hand and saying, "I see, you can go down."

Han Ye looked slightly stunned. He bowed and saluted then withdraw.

The sound of the prince's distant footsteps became inaudible. Emperor Jia Ning rubbed his thumb and raised his finger, his eyes dark and deep.

"How can you speak so highly of her? It seems that I really missed out on a lot of things by not going to the autumn hunting feast this year."

The words of the Left Minister were still ringing in his ears, but today the Crown Prince actually said the opposite: 'It would be a blessing for Dajing if Ren Anle were to become a general'. Such diametrically opposed words.

What could Ren Anle have that would make the two of them think so highly of her? For the first time, Emperor Jia Ning became curious about this female bandit from the frontier.

Zhao Fu listened to Emperor Jia Ning's self-talk and lowered his eyes without saying a word.

It was not just this year.  The Emperor had stopped attending the imperial family's autumn hunting feasts since the demise of the Di family ten years ago.

Or rather, since ten years ago, Emperor Jia Ning had never taken a single step out of the imperial capital.

"Zhao Fu, have you seen the Crown Prince plea for leniency in the past few years?"

Zhao Fu, who was distracted, heard Emperor Jia Ning's sudden question and his heart trembled as he hurriedly stepped forward to reply, "Never."

"Maybe it is really useful to keep this Ren Anle."

Emperor Jia Ning was thoughtful, and a deep meaning appeared between his brows.

"Your Majesty, Princess Shaohua requests an audience outside." Zhao Fu heard the movement outside and reported back in a low voice.

"No. Tell her to return to the Chaoyun Palace Hall to ponder over her mistakes. She is not allowed to go out of the palace for a month. Pass on my orders to Consort Qi, telling her to discipline the princess properly. If Shaohua is so arrogant and domineering again in the future, Zhen[3] will not forgive her lightly."

[3]朕 zhèn - I; we (imperial use)

Emperor Jia Ning brushed his sleeve, his face slightly sunken.

No matter how out of line Ren Anle's actions were, she was ultimately right about one thing.

It is an imperial taboo for a princess to interfere with politics.

On the second day after receiving the imperial decree, An Le reported to the Da Lisi in her new official robes.

In the past half month, the story of Ren Anle's questioning of Princess Shaohua at the autumn hunt has been widely known.  Many court officials are convinced that although she is a woman, despite her boldness, she has the courage to speak up for the court officials of Dajing. In addition to that, the right hand side has praised her, they are extra polite to the new female bandit.

But they were merely being polite. They're no better than the young children who are not deeply involved in the world. Ren Anle's identity is sensitive, and it's no secret that the left side is mean to her. The courtiers are not really in a position to be caught between the two ministers for the sake of a junior minister of the Da Lisi.

After a day of being a clay bodhisattva at the Da Lisi, An Le returned to Ren's house in the evening, humming a little tune and riding in a carriage back to Ren's residence.

Yuan Shu stood on guard at the gate. When she saw the carriage appear, she doggedly ran up and lifted the curtain for Ren Anle, showing a row of teeth and smiling, "Miss, you're back."

Ren Anle squinted at her with sidelong glances. She followed Yuan Shu's hand and stepped down from the carriage to enter the house: "How is the residence today?"

"A group of noblemen came to hand out invitations, but I sent them all away." Yuan Shu was proud to take credit.

Ren Anle's slender and long  eyes narrowed into slits as she laughed, "That's natural. At that time, these nerds didn't bother to pay attention to this master, but now they want to see me. Naturally, it can't be easy."

Yuan Shu took a strange look at her own young lady: "Miss, the invitations sent today are all for a banquet for Yuan Qin. There was also a sour-rotten scholars who came to the door to demand for a painting, which I didn't like, so I asked Chang Qing to beat them out."

Ren Anle's slow walking steps gave a pause and then stopped and looked around Yuan Shu for a while before she managed to spit out a few gnashing words: "Elm bumps.[4]"

[4]榆木瘩瘩 (yú mù gē da) is a Chinese idiom meaning hard elm root; a metaphor for mind is stubborn. 

Yuan Shu was in a cold sweat from Ren An Le's glare. She looked at Ren An Le's figure flashing away like a hot wheel, with a sigh of resignation. She slowly moved towards the study like a docile little daughter-in-law.

Inside the study, Yuan Qin had changed Ren Anle into her usual black clothes and saw her carefully brushing her face with a cloth towel, saying helplessly: "Miss, your hands have not been wet for a few days."

Ren Anle showed a natural look and waved her hands in a matter-of-fact manner, "That's natural. The Eastern Palace is heavily guarded, so the next time you get such an opportunity will be rare."

Ren Anle muttered as she recalled the touch of that day, rubbing her chin to ponder "The royal family were indeed very spoiled. Those hands are as fair and delicate as a little girl's."

Yuan Qin raised her eyebrows, feeling embarrassed. Under Ren Anle's meaningful glance, she washed her hands and changed the subject: "Miss, how do you feel about entering the Da Lisi for the first time today?"

Ren Anle stretched her back and took a big step and lay down on the soft couch, throwing a nut in her mouth and chewing it twice before saying, "The Da Lisi  is in charge of the capital's criminal prisons. Most of the officials are poor sons who have been admitted to the imperial examinations, so there is nothing to worry about. As for Dali Temple's qing Pei Zhan... he is slick and sly, not a master to be fooled. Today he let this lady organize the files in the back room for a whole day, and it seems that he has a deep friendship with the left minister."

Yuan Qin made a cup of tea for Ren Anle and asked with a smile, "It doesn't look like the look of the young lady has been wronged, but is there a way to deal with it?"

Ren Anle yawned. The pupils is a little darker, but couldn't see the emotions when one looked inside "Just afraid of him that their friendship is not deep. Most of the officials are noble and are from the right minister's faction, but he favours the left minister, who is a foreign relative. Nothing ss wrong, but if it touches the bottom line of the two factions, Pei Zhan's way of being an official is the source of his downfall."

Yuan Qin pondered, but when she looked up and saw Ren Anle looking sleepy, she remembered Yuan Shu's pitiful plea and had to say, "Miss, today is the 15th day."

"How is the fifteenth day?"

Ren Anle's soft voice rang out. Yuan Shu suddenly popped out of the nook and cranny and the tiger's body answered with a shock[5], "Miss, I've asked around. There's a lantern festival on the street today. It's very lively."

[5]虎躯一震 - the tiger's body was shocked an internet buzzword, originally meant to be startled, but they have another meaning in online novels. "The tiger's body is shocked, and the whole body exudes a domineering spirit." It often means that the protagonist uses the protagonist's unique protagonist skills to enhance his momentum, exert mental coercion on others, or make others subdued.

"What's the point of going out and consuming carriages and horses? If you're really bored, just play a few moves with Changqing in the courtyard." Ren Anle closed her eyes and followed through with the stingy ways she had developed as a bandit.

Yuan Shu rolled her eyes. With a twinkle in her eye, she said loudly, "I heard from the people of the capital that every month on the 15th day of the month, the Fifth Prince will hold a poetry competition at Chang Liu Street.  Perhaps His Highness the Crown Prince will also be there."

This sentence was so tempting that the female bandit, who had tasted the sweetness only a few days ago, rolled over and stood up from the soft couch, pretending to look at the sky with the afterglow.

"I also think it's a nice day. Changqing, prepare the carriage and  let's go out for a walk." She waved her hand at Yuan Shu and walked out of the room with great impatience.

The two women behind her looked at each other and sighed as they followed behind Ren Anle.

The monthly lantern festival on the 15th day of the month has become a custom in the imperial capital. As the full moon gradually rose, the streets and alleys were crowded with people. Because of the monthly poetry competition held by the Fifth Prince, the restaurants on Changliu Street were filled early in the morning with scholars who had entered the capital for their examinations.

If they can make a splash at the poetry competition, even if they don't make it to the top three in the imperial examinations, they will still have a place in the imperial capital. Not to mention the fact that all the people invited by the Prince were rich and powerful, so if they could climb up to a few of them, the day will come when they can rise to the top.

Ren Anle's carriage slowly sped through the bustling crowd, still a long way from Changliu Street.

Yuan Shu, bored, lifted the curtain and looked not far away and let out a soft voice: "Miss, look at ......"

Ren Anle raised her head to look out of the window. She followed the direction Yuan Shu pointed and looked over, raising her eyebrows slightly.　

There was a young man dressed in plain green cloth standing on the street, carrying a cloth bag on his back and pushing his way deeper into the alleyway against the flow of people.

The young man's face was like a crown of jade. He was actually Wen Shuo, who was standing next to Han Ye in the paddock.

An Le thoughtfully glanced at the corner of the carriage, where a pair of bows and arrows were thrown. The arrows were engraved with the character 'Wen', which she had taken from the paddock on the day of the autumn hunt.

"Yuan Shu, follow along."

How could the lady not go to Chang Liu Street first? Yuanshu scratched her head and lifted the cloth curtain and gave a command to Changqing who was driving.

The carriage followed the young man, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, to a spot on the western side of the city.

It was only when Changqing steadily brought the carriage to a halt that Ren Anle glanced out at the faint light.

It was a dirty street, with stained and corroded stone slabs. A rotten and dreary air. Women and children on their knees begging, and young boys walking along with their cloth bags in their arms.

The carriage could no longer move forward. Yuan Shu threw a 'what to do' look at Ren Anle, who bounced on her knees and leapt out of the carriage in a single bound.

She was indeed curious to know why the famous Wen Shuo gong zi of the capital was in a beggar's den.

The young man moved forward in silence, his gait steady. Ren Anle followed behind him, her black-coloured robes glowing with a cold, hard sheen.

Wen Shuo stopped in front of a small courtyard. With the dim light, Ren Anle saw him raise a smile, push open the door and stride in.

The smile was so warm that it actually caused the female bandit to be a little lost in thought for a moment.

Until the sound of joyous and lively voices came from the small courtyard ......

"Brother Wen Shuo, you're here!"

The little girl's voice was crisp and moist. Ren Anle lifted her feet and looked at the scene inside through the half-open wooden door.

Wen Shuo was half-crouched on the ground. A group of young children surrounded him, their glowing eyes staring at the cloth bag in Wen Shuo's hand.

Wen Shuo untied the cloth bag, took out the food inside and laid it out in front of the children. From the inner room came an older woman, dressed in ordinary clothes, but very neat and tidy.

"Xiao Shuo." The woman called out with a loving expression.

"Aunt Zhong." Wen Shuo grinned and touched the little bun on the head of the little girl beside him, "How are these children doing?"

"With your usual assistance, they are much better than before." Auntie Zhong sighed, and then she looked up, "I heard that the examinations are coming up in a few days, so why aren't you studying your homework and coming back here?"

"I came to see you." Wen Shuo got up, moved a bench for the woman, and chatted with her.

"Xiao Shuo, His Highness the Crown Prince thinks so highly of you. You'd better not come here in the future." Aunt Zhong touched Wen Shuo's forehead and sighed, "You have reached the age of marriage. If others know you still have contact with Beggar Street, there might be some unpleasant rumours."

Ren Anle raised her eyebrows, it seemed that this was the place where Wen Shuo stayed before entering the Eastern Palace. Although this woman was humble, she was very sensible.

"Aunt Zhong, I come here secretly every time, His Highness won't know." Wen Shuo shook his head, "I'm always uneasy if I don't come to see you."

Seeing that the woman wanted to say something, Wen Shuo smiled, "It is not appropriate to force myself to come out when I used to be attached to His Highness. In a few days' time, I will definitely win the third grade in the examinations, and when I join the court, I will be a good official. I will never let the people become beggars again, nor will I let these children leave their homes and families."

No matter how peaceful a dynasty is, there will always be darkness hidden under the flourishing age. Such as these orphaned young children, the poor people on the streets, and the dimly lit officials at the imperial court.

If Wen Shuo had not saved Han Ye, his life would have ended here.

How could the corrupt officials of the imperial court and the bullying of the people be easily eliminated? Ren Anle chuckled lightly, feeling a little emotional, but was slightly stunned when he caught a glimpse of the tenacity in the young man's eyes.

He is unrelenting, clean and thorough. Partial and extremely clever.

If this young man grows up, he will definitely become a great success in the imperial capital and the power will be in the hands of the people.

As soon as this thought came to her mind, Ren Anle narrowed her eyes, her pupils darkening slightly, as she seemed to care too much about Wen Shuo.

The moon was full and bright in the night sky. As she looked up, Ren Anle suddenly remembered something and turned to stride out of the street.

Damn, she actually forgot about the festival completely. Her beautiful person ah ...... don't let a group of unruly ladies in the imperial capital spoil him.

T/N:   

"zhen" and  "er chen" will be used more frequently in the future. When the emperor refers to himself, I will use "zhen," and when the crown prince talks to the emperor, I will use "Er chen."

Poor Yuan Shu

That part is hilarious.

And their hands actually touched at that time

Good boy Wen Shuo