Chinese New Year

Chapter 1391 Leisure
Xianju Palace, what a beautiful name, but it was once transformed into vegetable plots and orchards by the retired emperor and his wife.

Later, they even built grape trellises. It was because Shao Xun casually mentioned that Emperor Wen of Wei liked to drink grape wine that his parents took notice and sent someone to plant them.

Later on, he even raised some chickens and ducks. When people in the capital heard about this, they did not ridicule him. They only said that the emperor was filial, and it was even recorded in folk tales and secret histories.

Shao Xun was woken up early in the morning by the crowing of roosters.

He slept alone in a side hall, holding the female official Yan in his arms.

However, it was only for the night. In fact, he had been making a fuss with Gao Zhao's mother, Zhou, during the first half of the night, but he didn't dare to spend the night with her yet, so he slept with his personal female official in his arms.

Zhou, having been deprived of sex for a long time, felt a great sense of satisfaction when he finally admired the result.

Judging by appearance alone, Zhou Shi had nothing to say about her, and she was also old, but considering her status as the Queen Dowager of Goguryeo, that was a different story.

To be honest, I felt more accomplished getting Gao Zhao's wife pregnant than getting his mother pregnant.

After gently getting up, Shao Xun practiced martial arts as usual.

The number of boys training with them grew to a hundred, roughly divided into three age groups. After two more years of training and study, the earliest batch of heroes were ready to be considered for officer positions in the Imperial Guard.

Shao never forgot to build his own base of support, and his emphasis on personal safety was unimaginable to outsiders.

After washing and eating, the Crown Prince and his wife quietly arrived to visit the Emperor's grandfather, and then came to pay their respects to Shao Xun.

“Grandpa, Grandfather…” The Crown Prince’s eyes were a little red.

“Birth, aging, sickness, and death—that’s life. You and I will both face this day someday,” Shao Xun said. “It’s been so long; you should have been prepared long ago. The Court of State Ceremonies, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Court of Imperial Entertainments have been preparing all sorts of things for months.”

The Crown Prince nodded slightly.

That's how my father was; he never shied away from the word "death." Perhaps it was because he had truly fought his way out of a chaotic world and had seen too many powerful, brave, and generous people die. He knew that he would bleed when he was injured and that he would be weak when he was sick, so he was rather carefree.

"Duan Mobo, the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, has passed away. Today, please visit his family on my behalf and bestow some funerary objects upon them." Shao Xun continued, "Back then, he led his people south to surrender, but I seized their household registration. He cannot die without any honors, so please make this trip."

"Yes," the crown prince replied.

"Are Duan Liao and his son still in Hehui City?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Yes, father and son are both in Hehui Town, one is an archer and the other is a swordsman and shield bearer."

"Pardon them and return their residences in the capital. If they have already been given away, have the Imperial Household Department provide them with a new residence." Shao Xun instructed, "You are also responsible for handling this matter."

"Yes." The crown prince replied, while secretly pondering whether there was any other purpose behind this.

It's not clear yet, but it might be related to the fact that Lady Duan gave birth to a son in May. In April, her father ordered the addition of one more lady to the harem, namely one Noble Consort, one Noble Lady, and two Ladies. The newly added lady was given to Lady Wang, who was also the former Dowager Lady of the previous dynasty, and she also gave birth to a son that month.

That must be the reason.

After the Crown Prince and his wife took their leave, Shao Xun went inside to visit his father.

He first opened the window to let the smell inside dissipate.

My father is bedridden. Although he is cared for by palace servants and cleaned daily, he is not exactly clean.

After ventilating the room, he sat down by his father's window.

In his dazed state, Shao Xiu frowned slightly and mumbled something. When he suddenly saw Shao Xun, he said, "The Wu Kingdom is doomed, and its soldiers are fleeing in disarray. Are you here to ruin my plans?"

Shao Xun chuckled. "My dear father, what on earth are you thinking?"
He doesn't even recognize his own son anymore, yet he still remembers the glorious years of his youth.

So he said, “Master, take the goods and leave. If the Governor sees you, you’ll be in for a beating.”

Shao Xiu's eyes widened slightly as he said, "There's a ban on executions in the army, but we also have our share of suffering. The Emperor (Sima Yan) has acquired the concubines of Eastern Wu; what harm is there in us taking some of their wealth?"

After saying that, he looked at Shao Xun carefully again and murmured, "I'm married?"

Having said that, his hand trembled slightly, and he said, "I can't have this young lady..."

As she spoke, her voice lowered, and she drifted off to sleep.

Seeing that his father was asleep, Shao Xun got up and left Xianju Palace.

******
In the afternoon, Pei Lingyan, Liu Xiaohe, Wang Jingfeng, and Wang Huifeng were chatting in Cuiwei Hall. When they heard that Shao Xun had arrived, their expressions were all different.

Shao Xun was also somewhat surprised. Why did Wang Jingfeng like to come here?

"Oh? This is a tiger or leopard skin? Where did you get it?" Shao Xun asked, looking at the furs displayed on the table in the room.

“Nian Liu brought it back from Yinshan.” Pei Lingyan gently stroked the textured tiger skin and smiled, “You are the emperor, it’s not appropriate for you to use tiger skin to make clothes, what a pity.”

Shao Xun wasn't sure if there were tigers in the Hetao Grassland or the Helan Mountains. Perhaps there were still some, but he didn't know what kind they were.

“It’s just right to make a fake clock for Hutou and Nianliu each,” Shao Xun said. “If there are any left over, we can make a few pairs of boots for Nianliu, since he got them after all.”

Pei Lingyan nodded and said, "I'll make the arrangements."

Shao Xun secretly thought that among the concubines in the harem, Yu Wenjun and Pei Lingyan were the least troublesome. The former was due to her personality, and the latter was because of him. Shao Xun had once reflected on why he was still somewhat infatuated with Consort Pei even at the age of fifty-seven; it was probably because of these insignificant little things.

"Shouldn't we bring Nianliu back?" Pei Lingyan asked, sitting down next to Shao Xun.

"Yes, he'll be back in ten days. The four armies are gathering at Yinshan now, which is a rare opportunity for him to train. We'll talk about it after this period," Shao Xun said.

Since the campaign against the unruly Tuoba Xianbei tribes began in late April, except for the Di-Qiang and Bai-Bai Xianbei who set out from Xinqin and Shangjun, the various armies have achieved many victories. They have annihilated the Yilou and Chekun tribes in Kujiesha, beheading more than 9,000 people, capturing one million sheep, 150,000 camels, 60,000 cattle and horses, and taking more than 50,000 prisoners.

The chieftains of both tribes were all sent to Bianliang in cages to be executed in accordance with the law. Some of the livestock and people were given to the tribes that were sending troops, and the rest were also sent to Bianliang to repair the post roads.

The war lasted only a little over two months before it ended, indirectly demonstrating that the Hu tribes on the border were truly insignificant. More accurately, they were too divided, with too many "traitors" helping the Liang court fight against their own people. In addition, the Liang army was indeed not corrupt; even the hereditary soldiers under Zhuge Hui's command in Chang'an were very brave, or rather, quite fierce. The Yi Louzhan and Che Kun tribes really couldn't cause any major trouble.

After the two tribes were pacified, the other tribes that were still observing gave up their ambitions.

Zhuge Hui, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, appeased them one by one, and through this combination of kindness and severity, the overall situation was stabilized.

Several princes also got a feel for the atmosphere. However, Nian Liu was the one who actually led the troops and even fought a battle with the bandits—in fact, the enemy had approached him first. Fortunately, the soldiers of Chang'an were brave, and the Fifth Battalion of the Yellow Head Army was also capable of fighting. In the end, they used powerful bows and crossbows to drive away the enemy cavalry, and the commander of the Youzhou cavalry charged forward, securing the victory.

This battle certainly doesn't demonstrate Nianliu's strong battlefield command ability, since it was a typical "stalemate," but Shao Xun was still quite satisfied. At least Sanlang didn't run away, and even personally beat the drum to cheer him on—yes, that's all a father can hope for.

After the war, there was a lot of follow-up work to be done, which was also the part that Shao Xun wanted his children to focus on learning.

Without proper follow-up, the victory will be less effective by half. I hope the third brother can learn something from this.

While Shao and Pei were talking, the Wang sisters and Liu were discussing what would be the best way to make fox fur.

Liu looked rather sickly, clearly not in good health.

Since returning to her hometown, she seems to have gradually lost her energy and spirit. Yesterday, she even requested to summon Sima Li to the palace for a meeting, and Shao Xun agreed.

We've all reached that age; that's life.

Shao Xun even regretted getting involved with these older ladies, because in the end he was the one who had to see them off one by one, which caused him considerable mental anguish.

After chatting casually for a while, Shao Xun prepared to rush to the next event, but Wang Jingfeng chased after him.

"Jingfeng, what's wrong with you..." Shao Xun asked, somewhat puzzled.

“You promised to build the capital for Tiger Head Camp,” Wang Jingfeng said softly, looking at him.

For a moment, Shao Xun was at a loss for words.

This tigress-like aura was completely unlike Wang Jingfeng's usual personality.

She stared directly into Shao Xun's eyes, without any fear.

"Next year," Shao Xun said, "The location has already been chosen, southeast of Wen County and southwest of Xi'an Ping (now Xiuyan), connecting the east and west. It's too late this year; money, grain, materials, and manpower all need to be prepared. Construction will begin next summer."

Wang Jingfeng's imposing manner gradually dissipated.

Shao Xun reached out to stroke Wang Jingfeng's face, but the latter turned his head away, preventing him from succeeding.

Shao Xun felt somewhat helpless.

The emperor is supreme, why should I have to put up with a woman's temper? But this thought quickly dissipated. He was not that kind of person after all. He could do that to an inflatable doll, but he couldn't do it to the Wang sisters.

"Have you been in charge of Jiahe lately?" Shao Xun asked, trying to make conversation.

"Jiahe" is Hutou's eldest son, who is three years old this year. Recently, Wang Jingfeng has taken him to the palace and has been taking care of him day and night, treating him like a precious treasure.

Upon hearing Shao Xun's question, Wang Jingfeng hummed in response.

“Ah Yu, I really want to see Jiahe too. Bring him here so I can see him. It’s been so long since I’ve held him,” Shao Xun said.

Wang Jingfeng seemed to have some memories stirred by the name "Ayu," and finally nodded.

"That's more like it," Shao Xun said with a smile. "I'll go to Yingqiu Courtyard tonight."

After saying that, she gently stroked Wang Jingfeng's face and quietly left.

Wang Jingfeng returned to the hall and listened silently to everyone talking about the "sand rice" (also known as Dengxiangcao, Dengsu, or Shapengmi) sent from Henan. He said he wanted to cook some porridge to eat and taste it.

As the palace women aged and their beauty faded, these were the kinds of things they did all day.

Wang Jingfeng didn't get involved much; she had discussed these kinds of things too many times before and didn't want to talk about them anymore.

As the sun sets, dappled sunlight falls on the courtyard, flickering and swaying.

The Wang sisters took their leave, while Pei Lingyan and Liu Xiaohe strolled hand in hand in the courtyard.

As the sun dipped westward, it was another long night for them.

(End of this chapter)