CH 7

Before Xiao Chengjun could say yay or nay, a warm, slender body snuggled into his arms. A mild, herbal scent wafted into the Crown Prince’s nostrils from said body, and he was bemused for a moment.

The Crown Prince’s formal robes were made of fine silk that was very soft to the touch. Lou Jing rested his head on the Crown Prince’s shoulder, and conveniently wrapped his arms around his narrow waist. “You and I are married now, and our fates are bound together. I don’t really mind if I suffer some losses with you, so long as you compensate me like this.”

Compensation… this was what Lou Jing considered to be compensation? Xiao Chengjun looked down at the exquisite beauty in his arms. He was perfectly happy to provide this sort of compensation. 

“Sure,” Xiao Chengjun replied softly. His stiff shoulders relaxed slowly, his arms moving to enfold the person on top of him.

Lou Jing smiled, buried his face in the nape of Xiao Chengjun’s neck, then closed his eyes contentedly. He was the only person in the world who could enjoy a Crown Prince couch, and he was going to enjoy every last moment of it.

The only sounds that could be heard in the palanquin were the clopping of the horses’ hooves and the rattling of the carriage wheels. Xiao Chengjun sat back slowly, then gently adjusted Lou Jing into a more comfortable position, taking care to avoid jarring the wounds on his back. This person was now married to him, and was no longer a mere subject. He as the husband had to respect and love him. He had let his irritation show earlier and he regretted it; the truth of the matter was that he and this marriage really were dragging Lou Jing down, and he should not have gotten angry even if Lou Jing had been resentful towards him. Xiao Chengjun swore in his heart that he would definitely be good to his Consort in future. 

After an hour, the palanquin stopped. “Dianxia, we’ve arrived at the Imperial Ancestral Temple,” An Shun announced quietly from behind the privacy curtains.

“Nn,” Xiao Chengjun acknowledged. He didn’t instruct the servants to open the curtains, but gently shook Lou Jing, who was still sleeping peacefully in his arms. “Zhuoyu, wake up.”

Lou Jing was in the middle of a marvellous dream. He dreamt that his mother had steamed a huge rabbit bun for him that was about half as tall as a man. “Jing’er*, you can use this as your pillow,” his mother said. Lou Jing happily cuddled the huge bun. It was so comfortable. The only thing that was not so pleasant was that his bed kept swaying, which interrupted his sleep. He hugged the huge bun even tighter so as to steady himself.

*T/N: Adding “er” behind the last syllable of a given name is a common way of affectionately addressing children.

“You have to get up,” the Crown Prince said helplessly. Lou Jing was hugging him tighter and tighter, and he had no choice but to stretch out a hand to pinch his cheeks. Unexpectedly, Lou Jing nuzzled his neck in response, his hair brushing against him as he did so. It felt soft and ticklish all at the same time.

“Mmph…” Lou Jing nuzzled the big steamed bun, sounding slightly distressed. He opened his eyes, and found that his steamed bun had turned into Xiao Chengjun.

The two stared at each other in a daze.

“Dianxia, the Yulin Troops have assembled,” An Shun said, trying to hurry them along.

Xiao Chengjun and Lou Jing immediately separated and sat next to each other in a proper manner. Xiao Chengjun coughed lightly, signalling to An Shun that he could open the privacy curtains.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple was a sprawling compound located to the east of the Capital. Just behind the main gate was a large courtyard, and the beautifully carved Dragon Pathway* cut right across it in the middle. The Yulin Troops stood at attention on either side of the Dragon Pathway, and a hundred dancers performed a graceful dance behind them, creating an atmosphere that was both holy and solemn.

*T/N: This is usually a series of rectangular stone blocks carved with dragons, and is usually inlaid in the floor or set on top of the ground. It’s a common feature in Imperial compounds.

The Empress walked at the head, with Lou Jing and Xiao Chengjun flanking him on each side. The royal guard of honour marched behind them, followed by the members of the nobility and the hundred officials of the Imperial Court.

This regal procession stopped in front of the main hall. A man in elaborate formal robes stood in front of the jade staircase, and kowtowed when the Emperor arrived. This was the master of ceremony presiding over today’s rites.

It was the eunuch Shen Lian! Lou Jing was shocked to the core. The civil officials and the nobility behind him clicked their tongues softly in disapproval.

Worshipping the Imperial ancestors was an incredibly important ceremony where the Imperial family was concerned. Since the dawn of time, the official selected to preside over this rite had always been an honourable and well-respected civil official, and in ancient times, there had even been a dedicated post for this position. No one had ever heard of allowing an eunuch to lead the Imperial ancestral worship rites – that was downright inappropriate.

Lou Jing couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Chengjun. The Crown Prince felt his gaze and turned slightly, giving a look that told him not to be alarmed. He then lowered his gaze, as if he hadn’t seen anything at all.

The Chunde Emperor was completely unconcerned. He had obviously known about this arrangement beforehand. He gestured to Shen Lian to rise.

“Your Majesty!”

Before Shen Lian could say a word, the Imperial Censor Geng Zhuo strode up and knelt before the Emperor. “Your Majesty, the Imperial Ancestral Temple is a holy place of worship for the Imperial family. It is improper for an eunuch to be the master of ceremony!”

The moment these words left the Imperial Censor’s mouth, the drumbeats ceased, and silence fell over the crowd. Shen Lian’s expression remained unchanged. The other Imperial officials didn’t say a word, and the nobles pretended not to have heard anything.

“The eunuchs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are also considered officials in my government – why can’t an eunuch be the master of ceremony?” the Chunde Emperor asked, frowning sternly. He hadn’t thought much of Shen Lian’s request a few days earlier to preside over the rites today. This wasn’t a serious matter; why was the Imperial Censor talking as if he had done something incredibly stupid?

“Your Majesty! The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and this is the holy resting place of the Xiao Imperial family. How can castrated men be allowed to bawl and shout here?” Geng Zhuo pleaded earnestly with the Emperor in a carrying voice, straightening his neck to look at his Imperial countenance.

When Shen Lian heard the words “castrated men”, his expression darkened swiftly. The Chunde Emperor also felt that he was being put in a difficult position; what, did Geng Zhuo expect him to order Shen Lian to strip off his ceremonial robes then and there?

“Your Majesty, the auspicious hour is fast approaching. Today’s ceremony is to inform the Imperial ancestors of the Crown Prince’s marriage, and we should not miss the appropriate time,” the Minister of the Right, Chen Shichang, said in a deep voice as he stepped forward.

The Minister of the Left glanced at him, then looked down silently.

The Minister of the Right’s words carried a lot of weight. The Chunde Emperor nodded his head and made to ascend the jade stairs.

“Your Majesty!” Geng Zhuo refused to budge. “If your Majesty refuses to switch the master of ceremony, I will continue to kneel here until you change your mind!”

“Lord Geng, you could have objected to my appointment as the master of ceremony earlier. Why wait until now? Are you just trying to make things difficult for his Majesty?” Shen Lian asked with a cold smile.

On hearing this, the Chunde Emperor was even more convinced that his decision was correct. “If you want to kneel, then kneel,” he said, sniffing disdainfully. He walked forward, avoiding Zhuo Geng, and stepped onto the jade staircase. The crowd behind him followed suit. It was as if the Imperial Censor were a boulder, and the people ascending the jade stairs were water flowing around him.

Shen Lian smiled as he followed the Emperor up the steps and moved to stand at the master of ceremony’s position, chanting the formulaic phrases of the rites in his high, thin voice.

Who won, and who lost – the result was as clear as day.

Lou Jing glanced at the Imperial Censor as he walked up the jade stairs behind the Empress. The latter looked like he had been struck by lightning. He had been right on all counts, but no one had dared to say a word in his defence.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple was the resting place of all the Emperors of the Yu Dynasty, including the first founding Emperor. Every time a ceremony was held to pay respects to them, all their tablets were brought out and placed in the front hall so that they could be worshipped together.

After the complex ceremony was over, the Emperor and Empress had to bring the newly married Crown Prince and his Consort to kowtow before the portraits of the previous Emperors and Empresses in the inner hall.

Since the Shizong Emperor’s time, the Empresses were all men. As Lou Jing knelt before their portraits one by one, he thought to himself that they more or less looked alike – dignified, with wise, wrinkled faces. He stole a glance at Xiao Chengjun, who was next to him. The Xiao family were all obviously good looking. How did these portrait artists manage to make the Imperial monarchs look so old and unappealing?

Take the last Emperor, the Ruizong Emperor, for example. Lou Jing had met the man as a child, and he was still an imposing, handsome man even in his sixties. He looked nothing like the gaunt old man in the paintings.

Lou Jing and Xiao Chengjun had to kowtow three times before every portrait. If Lou Jing hadn’t taken the numbing medicine earlier, he would probably have fainted. After kowtowing before the Ruizhong Emperor, Lou Jing stood up, and immediately felt rather faint. If the Xiao family continued to rule for many more generations, they’d probably have to carry the Imperial family out on a stretcher after every ancestral worship ceremony.

Geng Zhuo was still kneeling in place when they were done. The blazing noonday sun beat down upon him, throwing sharp, angular shadows across his face, which still bore a righteous expression.

“Your Majesty, the ceremony is done. Perhaps you should invite the Imperial Censor to rise?” the Empress said in a low voice.

The founding Emperor had placed a high value on free speech, and had decreed that officials who spoke their minds should not be punished, even if they held dissenting views. Geng Zhuo’s continued kneeling was, in truth, an embarrassment to the Chunde Emperor. He nodded immediately upon hearing the Empress’ suggestion, and gestured to his personal eunuch Huai Zhong, to help the Imperial Censor up.

Huai Zhong smiled as he moved to pull Geng Zhuo to his feet. Unexpectedly, Geng Zhuo refused to cooperate, and pushed Huai Zhong’s hand aside. He did not get up, and walked with his knees over to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, the Imperial Ancestral worship ceremony is hardly a laughing matter. If an eunuch is allowed to perform something as important as the ancestral rites, I daren’t think what other chaos will be caused in the Imperial Court in future!”

“So what do you want?” the Chunde Emperor was genuinely angry now. The ceremony was over! Water under the bridge! Why couldn’t this fellow just give it up?

“I invite your Majesty to punish Shen Lian for entering the Imperial Ancestral Temple when he was not worthy of doing so!” Geng Zhuo knocked his head on the floor, stubborn as a mule.

“You…” the Chunde Emperor trembled in fury.

Shen Lian walked down from the upper court towards them. “Lord Geng, is there some kind of mistake? The Emperor is the ruler of this country. What do you mean by forcing your hand against him this way?”

“Hmpf! Guards, take Geng Zhuo away!” the Chunde Emperor said, flicking his sleeves scornfully. The Yulin guards immediately came forward and dragged the Imperial Censor away.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Geng Zhuo shouted, struggling.

The Chunde Emperor turned a deaf ear on his pleas and walked straight ahead. Since ancient times, it had been decreed that outspoken officials could not be put to death for speaking out, and as such there wasn’t much he could do openly to Geng Zhuo; dragging the man out of his way was about the limit.

The Imperial Court officials watched silently as Geng Zhuo was dragged away. The Empress lowered his eyes, said nothing more, and got on a palanquin with the Emperor.

On the way back, Lou Jing and Xiao Chengjun were both rather subdued. The Chunde Emperor was acting more and more out of line. He also took criticism badly, and often only wished to listen to the words of people who agreed with him. A country ruled by an Emperor like this would find itself in trouble sooner or later.

By the time they returned to the Eastern Palace, it was already afternoon. Xiao Chengjun instructed the servants to serve lunch at Bafeng Hall and sat down to eat with Lou Jing.

“The Imperial relatives will be coming to pay a visit later this afternoon. You can rest a bit after having lunch,” Xiao Chengjun said in a warm tone to the lifeless-looking Lou Jing.

Lou Jing nodded. Right now, he was famished. He had only eaten three crystal dumplings and a small bowl of porridge before going to kowtow the morning away at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He was so hungry that he didn’t even have energy to speak.

Once the food was placed on the table, Le Xian and An Shun stood behind their masters to serve them. Lou Jing picked up his chopsticks and tried to use them to grab hold of a piece of fish, but he failed, and it dropped back into his bowl with a small “plop” sound.

Le Xian got a shock, and immediately took a towel to wipe Lou Jing’s face.

Lou Jing himself was stunned. He then realised that he couldn’t handle chopsticks because his hands were still numb.

Xiao Chengjun frowned, then waved his hands at the palace servants to ask them to leave. Once they had left, he put a spoon in Lou Jing’s bowl. “Use this,” he said.

Lou Jing looked at the white porcelain spoon in his bowl, and the corners of his mouth twitched. He hadn’t used a spoon to eat since he was three!

Beansprout: Ermagad pls stahp with the ceremonies! This translator can’t take it any more (╥﹏╥)