CH 7

The night before the audience with the Emperor, the old eunuch had scurried over, distributed some robes and instructed them to wear it for the next day to meet the Emperor.

The Dragonstone had already confirmed these five children to be of the Imperial bloodline, and the Imperial family intended to recognize them as such. The clothes that were prepared for Chen Ziqi, therefore, were also a full set of an Imperial Prince’s robes.

The Imperial Prince’s standard robes usually consisted of a deep yellow wide-sleeved robe. However, as Chen Ziqi was still small, he might trip over the sleeves, and thus his sleeves were specially cut with a narrower fit. A black brocade belt embroidered with a kirin motif  secured the robes around his waist. This black belt would be replaced by a jade belt bestowed by the Emperor during the audience later.

Chang Er also received a few sets of clothing. There were three colours to choose from – gosling yellow, light pink, and pure white.

“These clothes all look pretty good, which should I pick?” Chang Er asked. Chen Ziqi was playing with the little red chick at the time, and she pulled him over to help her make a decision.

“The one next door who likes to glare at me – she’s definitely going to pick gosling yellow. As to the rest…” Chen Ziqi scratched his head. The only fine clothes he’d seen so far were the ones worn by the girls in Scarlet Robe Court, and he didn’t think that made a good reference point.

“Tweet!” The fluffy little red bird somehow jumped up on the mattress where the clothes were laid out and nestled in the set of pink-coloured robes.

The women of the martial arts world like to wear white, as it symbolizes chastity and purity. If you want to stand out tomorrow, wear the light pink one. The little red bird looked up at Chen Ziqi and gave him a meaningful look, hoping that Chen Ziqi would get his meaning.

Unfortunately, Chen Ziqi didn’t get it. “Your feathers are going to get on the dress!” he said, reaching out and grabbing the little red bird.

“Tweet tweet tweet!” the little fluffball chirped in dissatisfaction.

“Let’s just go with this pink one, it looks auspicious,” Chang Er said, clapping her hands together.

“Nn,” Chen Ziqi agreed.

The little red bird fell backwards in indignation on Chen Ziqi’s palm, with his little claws sticking up in the air, and a disenchanted look on his face.

Chen Ziqi got up at the crack of dawn the next morning. The little fiery little fluffball was conspicuously absent, and Chen Ziqi rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t still dreaming. He flipped his blankets over, searched under the bed, and all over the house, but the little bird was nowhere to be found. He then raised his head and saw that the window, which had originally been shut tight, was slightly ajar, just enough for a little bird to pass through.

Chen Ziqi was dejected. A stud rooster like this was hard to come by, and he’d let this golden opportunity slip right through his fingers.

Chang Er looked young and delicate in her elegant pink dress, and the pale red sash tied at her waist highlighted her slender beauty. She looked like a dewy peach blossom in full bloom, and it was difficult to take one’s eyes off her.

Chen Ziqi had also been dressed, and he was now bored. He decided to slip out to see what was happening in the other residences.

Peeking in next door, he was amused to see that the sharp-eyed woman had indeed chosen the gosling yellow dress as he had predicted. Her son sat to her side with expressionless eyes. Those eyes suddenly turned and looked straight at Chen Ziqi through the window, and Chen Ziqi nearly fell over in surprise.

This brown berry* was pretty scary. Chen Ziqi laughed inwardly, then grinned widely at the the tanned little boy.

*T/N: Actually, Ziqi calls him hei dan (黑蛋), which translates into “black egg”. He’s making a reference to the tanned colour of his skin. It makes no sense in English, so I translated this as brown berry instead, since there’s a simile that goes “as brown as a berry”.

The boy was stunned for a second, then returned a stiff smile.

Chen Ziqi proceeded to inspect the occupants of the other residences. He didn’t think much of the competition. Two of the women were reasonably pleasant looking, but their faces bore traces of the hard life they had lived, which marred their otherwise passable looks. Even the sharp-eyed woman in yellow earlier, who could have been considered good-looking, had two worry lines creasing her brows. Only his little fairy was untouched by the years.

Chen Ziqi sighed insincerely and shook his head, then slipped into Ah Mu’s residence.

“Gege,” Ah Mu greeted Chen Ziqi the moment he caught sight of him. He was standing on the mattress, and the palace maids were putting on his clothes.

Chen Ziqi had taught Ah Mu to call him gege some days back, and this little fatty had obediently done as instructed thereafter. The little fatty hadn’t cried much the last two days, probably because he’d substituted his Jiujiu for his new gege.

“Shh.” Chen Ziqi stepped into the house and placed a finger on his lips. “When we’re outside today, don’t call me gege in front of others.”

“Why?” Ah Mu blinked in confusion. As Chen Ziqi approached, he couldn’t resist grabbing hold of a corner of his robes.

“We can’t let others know that we’re on the same side.” Chen Ziqi said earnestly. Keeping your cards close to your chest was a basic rule of survival.

Ah Mu nodded blankly.

Chen Ziqi made a show of giving his xiaodi* commendatory pats on his head, then went back to accompany his mother. He thought back to the brown berry he met earlier. That boy looked to be quite simple-minded, but he would probably be useful in a fight. It wasn’t a bad idea to get him as an ally.

*T/N: Xiaodi means little brother. It can be used to address young boys who are not biologically related to you.

Chang Er applied her makeup herself. This would ordinarily have been done by Biyv and Biyun, but she refused to let them do it; she knew best how to bring out her feminine charms. Like Chen Ziqi, she had a pair of peach blossom eyes, and she emphasized them by applying red powder at the outer corners of her eyes. When she was done, she looked absolutely charming.

“Mum, you’re as beautiful as a fairy descended from heaven – I can’t take my eyes off you!” Chen Ziqi looked at his mother’s reflection in the mirror and praised her beauty loudly.

“Stop talking nonsense, you little brat. Who do you think I’m doing this for?” Chang Er was in no mood to be teased. She was freaking out, actually – if she didn’t manage to get a sufficiently high rank, she would no longer be able to keep Chen Ziqi by her side. Chang Er usually couldn’t be bothered with dressing up, but this thought frightened her into putting more effort into her appearance than ever before.

As the women walked out the Qingping Palace, they looked each other up and down. Chang Er was the centre of attention after this silent mutual assessment.

“Hmpf, look at that thick makeup. She doesn’t look like the daughter of a good family at all,” the woman in gosling yellow said, sneering coldly.

Biyv had gathered information about this lady in the last two days. She was originally one of Suxin Sect’s satellite disciples, but after she was given to service the Emperor, the mistress of Suxin Sect took her in as a direct disciple of the main sect. She didn’t have much of a name in the martial arts world, but as a direct disciple of the well-respected Suxin Sect, people still had to accord her a certain degree of respect.

Chang Er was annoyed by this comment. “Please, all of us here had premarital sex, and gave birth to children out of wedlock. Don’t pretend that you’re the chaste daughter of a good family,” she said derisively, a hand on her hip.

“You……” The lady in yellow was rendered speechless, and could only glare fiercely at Chang Er. She’d never been spoken to so crassly in her life, and simply did not know how to respond.

“Whatever.” Chang Er rolled her eyes, flicked her handkerchief disdainfully, and proceeded to board the palanquin with Chen Ziqi in her arms.

The current Emperor, the Zhenlong Emperor, was thirty-two years old this year. He was a tall, well-built man with proportionate facial features. He wore a black inner robe, and bright yellow robes with a five-taloned dragon embroidered on it in gold thread. He was seated on the dais in Zichen Palace, his expression calm as he spoke quietly with the Empress, who was seated next to him.

The Empress was clad in a wine red phoenix robe with gold embroidery. In her hair, she wore a hairpin with beads falling like a waterfall, and the little beads swayed elegantly with every movement of her head. She looked exquisite.

“The children can remain in the palace, of course. But what of the women? What does your Majesty intend to do with them?” The Empress looked at the namelist before her, reading the women’s family background. “This Cheng Suyao is one of the Suxin Sect’s disciples. You will have to give her a reasonably high rank.”

“Just make her a Jieyu, then. Then the rest can be fourth-ranked Baolin.” The speaker was a woman in fancy plum-coloured robes embroidered with white butterflies. She was seated below dais, and smiled slightly as she spoke. This woman was the only Guifei in the Imperial palace.

“These women have rendered a great service in giving birth to princes. They can’t just be fourth-ranked Baolin,” the Empress said, giving her a look. She did not, however, reprimand her for her lack of manners in speaking out of turn.

At this time, the people from Qingping Palace arrived.

Four women and five children sank to their knees, kneeling in greeting.

“You may rise,” the Emperor said languidly. He’d forgotten these women long ago. They were just flowers by the roadside to be picked as he travelled around the country, to be thrown away after briefly admiring their beauty. It had also been many years since he’d seen them, and their appearance had probably changed over the years. He scanned the women casually, not expecting much. His attention was suddenly caught by the lady in pink.

She was beautiful as a pink lotus in a pond, her natural beauty outshining the others.

Given that she was here as one of the mothers of the princes, she had obviously given birth before, but she looked as fresh and delicate as a young girl. She wore a charming smile on her face, and her eyes were captivating; the peach blossom makeup she applied brought out her naturally bright and lively eyes, and made her skin look even fairer. Her face was like a peach blossom in full bloom, and the Emperor was unable to take his eyes off her.

To the surprise of both the Empress and the Guifei, he descended from the dais and stood in front of Chang Er. “What is your name?”

“This commoner is named Chang Er,” Chang Er said respectfully, raising her eyes to look at the Zhenlong Emperor. She recognized him – he was indeed the man she saw that year, albeit older-looking now.

“Chang Er, ah, that’s a good name…” The Zhenlong Emperor said, distracted by Chang Er’s captivating beauty.

Beansprout: This Emperor is such a colour wolf (色狼)!

Chen Ziqi saw the Emperor’s lustful smile. He ground his teeth and willed himself to resist the strong urge to kick the Emperor’s balls.

Beansprout: You go Ziqi! Protect your momma!

“The lady dressed in gosling yellow – she must be a disciple of the Suxin Sect, right?” the Guifei said suddenly. “A direct disciple of a Qi Confederate should be given a good rank, wouldn’t you say so, Empress niangniang?”

The Empress lowered her eyes and paused for a while. “The Suxin Sect is considered to be one of the superior martial arts sects. For the Emperor’s safety, if you want to stay in the palace as an Imperial consort, you must give up your martial arts ability.”

The lady in yellow’s eyes widened in shock.

The Emperor finally managed to pull his eyes away from Chang Er, and sat back down on the throne with a flourish of his sleeves. He indicated that he agreed with what the Empress had said. A woman who slept by his side could not have strong martial arts abilities; she could kill or threaten him at any time otherwise. If Cheng Suyao refused to give up her abilities, she was free to return to the martial arts world and leave her son in the palace.

Cheng Suyao clenched her teeth, thought hard for a moment, then made her decision to stay in the palace. The moment she said this, an eunuch went forward, and made her drink medicine that would disperse her martial arts ability.

After drinking the medicine, Chen Suyao’s body started trembling, and she fell on the ground, screaming in pain. “Ahhhh—”

Chen Ziqi jumped in shock. Chang Er pulled him to her side and rubbed his back soothingly. The other children were also shocked into silence. Ah Mu was the only one who started crying.

The Emperor paid no heed to any of this, and started announcing the women’s ranks.

The little girl was considered a princess, and was given a random title. The boys were all bestowed the title of prince, and their titles ran numerically in order of their age. The princes who were raised in the palace were also taken into account in this numbering.

Chen Ziqi was six years old this year, and was the seventh oldest prince, so he was given the title of the “Seventh Prince”. Ah Mu was the youngest, and so was made the “Eleventh Prince”.

The Emperor then turned to the women. Chen Suyao, who had a good family background, was granted the title of third-ranked Jieyu. The rest of the women were given the rank of Meiren, and it was finally Chang Er’s turn.

“As to the Seventh Prince’s mother…” the Zhenlong Emperor hesitated.

Chang Er’s heart was in her mouth. Whether she could continue to raise Chen Ziqi as her own son rested entirely on what the Emperor was about to say next. She surreptitiously pinched her thigh hard. Tears welled up immediately, and she raised her sparkling eyes to gaze at the emperor. Her lips parted slightly in an alluring manner, as if she were about to say something.

The Zhenlong Emperor’s heart skipped a beat. “She shall be bestowed the title of Jieyu, and will live in the Qingyun Palace,” he said, without further thought.

“Chang Er thanks your Majesty for this kindness,” Chang Er said, overjoyed. She knelt in thanks as was required.

The Empress’ and Guifei’s expressions immediately turned sour.

The Author has something to say: Mini-scene

Qiqi: My chicken is missing QAQ

Ah Mu: It’s gone? (looks at crotch)

Qiqi: Not that chicken!

Ah Mu: Then which one is it? (looks at butt)

Qiqi: Nobody’s chicken grows on their backsides! (╰_╯)#

Birdie Gong: Mine does… mine grows on your backside (⊙v⊙)

Qiqi: … …

Beansprout: I really like Chang Er in this chapter. She’s feisty, spunky, and streetsmart! You go girl. Loved it when she served some cold hard truth to Gosling Yellow Woman at the start of this chapter!  <(￣︶￣)>