Chinese New Year

Chapter 1511 The Immortals Play Music
The changing of the four seasons is a natural phenomenon. One moment it's springtime, the next it's the bountiful harvest of August, followed by howling north winds and frost-covered landscapes.

In Shao Xun's eyes, everything seemed to be accelerating.

He ate less and slept less. When he got up in the middle of the night, he looked up at the starry sky and saw a bright and mysterious constellation.

Some say that the end of science is metaphysics. Although this is said in jest, it is true that humanity may really have a hard time figuring out the mysteries of the universe.

He put on a thick fur coat, waved to Ying Shi who had risen to look at him, and went alone into the courtyard to quietly savor the tranquility of the night under the starlight.

He found himself becoming more and more able to endure loneliness and more and more fond of quiet.

In the quiet of the night, he can savor everything from the past.

His life can be roughly divided into several phases. He was spirited and ambitious in his youth, domineering and arrogant in his middle age, dignified and composed in his prime, and in his old age, everything returned to calm, with only a hint of danger occasionally flashing in his eyes when he looked at people.

Now he rarely gets angry or yells at others, because it's all unnecessary and unimportant. He can just follow the rules and deal with things accordingly; there's no need to dwell on it.

When the guards on night duty saw him come out, they all saluted.

Shao Xun nodded slightly and paced quietly in the courtyard.

Before he got up, he had a dream.

Sima Yi, the Prince of Changsha, stood before him, his face ashen, and angrily denounced him for treason. He said that he had intended to recommend him to the Emperor as the Cavalry Commander, but he lacked patience and instead captured the Prince of Zong in the Taiji Hall, ruining the affairs of the state.

Shao Xun chuckled. "How are the affairs of state handled in your hands?" After the chuckle came a cold laugh. His hand gripped the bow, and Sima Yi's expression changed drastically. He retreated in a panic.

Later, I dreamed of Emperor Hui of Jin. Emperor Hui was holding a cake in his hand, sighing repeatedly, his eyes filled with sorrow.

In the dream, Shao Xun was speechless, but he met Sima Zhong's gaze without flinching.

Sima Zhong stared at him for a while, then waved goodbye, only faintly hearing the words, "Although the common people of the world have no meat porridge, they have bean porridge, which is very good," before turning into light and disappearing.

Shao Xun bowed to the drifting starlight.

He felt guilty towards Emperor Hui of Jin, but he did not shy away from the truth. He believed that in the face of chaos and turmoil, he had acted on behalf of Heaven and was therefore without fault.

Sima Yue was probably the last to appear.

He was both exasperated and helpless. His sinister gaze swept over Shao Xun, and he seemed about to pounce on him several times, but trembled when he saw the golden armor and longsword.

After much deliberation, just as they mustered their courage, they suddenly found themselves on the outskirts of Luoyang. Amidst the swirling frost and snow, the thunderous drums resounded, and a murderous aura filled the air. A large contingent of soldiers, their hair and beards white, wielding silver spears and armor, stood atop a side carriage, chatting and laughing with boundless pride, seemingly oblivious to the rapid hoofbeats in the distance.

They chased for two hundred li, killed for two hundred li, so what if they went another two hundred li? Kill! Kill! Kill. Kill until the bandits were terrified, so terrified they couldn't even be ghosts anymore.

The gates of Luoyang burst open with a roar, and Sima Yue's spirit seemed to be drained in an instant. He slumped to the ground, turning back every last step before leaving, muttering to himself, "I can't do anything with the Xiongnu," and "You did well."

The dream ended there, and Shao Xun woke up. When he saw the dark palace and Ying Shi sleeping soundly beside him, he smiled to himself, then smiled smugly.

You cannot judge me!

Light footsteps came from behind, and Ying also put on her clothes and went out.

Shao Xun turned around and looked at the woman who had been breaking his low-power standby mode from time to time recently, and said, "Let's go back, it's cold outside."

Ying nodded blankly, without moving a step.

Shao Xun ignored her and asked, "How is your family's estate in Luling doing?"

"Thanks to His Majesty, the sugar cane has been sold to Henan, and the profits are quite substantial," Ying said. "We have also received the new sugar-making method, and my brother is having the craftsmen learn it. They want me to... to serve His Majesty well."

As she said this, her face turned a little red.

Shao Xun chuckled and said, "I'm an old man now."

Ying's round, large buttocks were indeed a bit too much for him to handle, and he finished quickly. Fortunately, he was the emperor and didn't need to consider whether the woman was comfortable or not; his own pleasure was all that mattered.

“Sugar…” Shao Xun smiled again and said, “Whether you know me or condemn me, only history will tell. The common people who have eaten sugar can judge me, but the princes of the Sima clan do not have that right.”

"Your Majesty, were you having a nightmare?" Ying asked, blinking her eyes.

“Even in my nightmares, no one can do anything to me.” Shao Xun laughed, got up and went back to the palace, where he embraced Ying Shi and continued to sleep.

The soldiers on night duty outside the palace stood tall and proud, as if they hadn't heard anything.

But they were all soldiers of the local government, not honest farmers, not starving refugees, not ignorant beggars, so they could naturally think.

The emperor brought them benefits, so naturally he was the best person ever. What more could be said about him? As for the princes of the Sima clan, they hadn't experienced it and didn't have any particular feelings about it, but from the few words revealed by their fathers and grandfathers, they definitely didn't have any good impression of him.

Do they even deserve to comment on the emperor?

The lights inside the hall went out, the sky grew even colder, and the soldiers, dressed in sweaters, leather gloves, and deerskin boots, stood even straighter.

******
As winter turned to spring, wild geese from the south flew to Bianliang. In March of the seventh year of the Longhua era (348), Shao Xun officially issued an edict, designating Zangke County as the fiefdom of the King of Chu, and formally took up his post.

The leaders of various ethnic groups in the capital paid homage to the Second Prince Shao Gui at Lichun Terrace, thus establishing their relationship as ruler and subject.

In April, a large amount of supplies left Luoyang and Bianliang and converged southward to Jiangling.

At the same time, military supplies, grain, and even money stored in Jing and Jiang prefectures began to be loaded onto ships and shipped to Shu.

Because the preliminary preparations were thorough and the capital and the residences of the royal officials were almost completed, everything went smoothly.

The King of Chu was still appointed as the ambassador for the repair of roads and bridges in the seven prefectures. A new batch of laborers was conscripted from the various prefectures to begin constructing roads, passes, armories, granaries, and even some small fortresses within the territory of Zangke.

Furthermore, a considerable number of people and supplies from Shu were provided to assist the Zangke Kingdom in completing these projects.

The entire southwest was in an uproar, with a subtle undercurrent of unrest. The government was on high alert, ordering the three prefectures of Ning, Yi, and Jing to be on high alert. The battle-hardened soldiers of Jingzhou received rations and rewards and trained diligently, ready to be dispatched at any time to quell the rebellion.

The crown prince was somewhat disappointed by this. However, he could not disregard brotherly affection, so he abandoned his plan to request military action against the Tuyuhun and Xianbei while his father was still alive, and instead shifted the country's overall direction towards the southwest.

Of course, it's not a bad deal. After all, his second brother was helping him guard Zangke and deter the southwestern barbarians, so there's no reason not to help. As long as they are brothers in harmony, this direction will be safe in the future, saving them a lot of energy.

As for the Tuyuhun and Xianbei, that will have to wait until later.

Although he was young, he was ambitious. Although his father told him that he would see him after seeing the mountains and seas, he believed that the small Tuyuhun Xianbei would be no problem and would not require much manpower or resources.

Furthermore, once he ascends the throne, he will also tour the four directions to demonstrate the emperor's power—in fact, demonstrating power is only part of it, and there is also the reason to let the people of the world know who the current emperor is—then he can deal with the matter at that time.

My father loves to make all sorts of inspections; we should follow his example.

Shao Xun didn't care too much about the Crown Prince's thoughts; he had already moved to the Nine Dragons Palace, where his parents had once lived.

On April 15th, after a midday rest, he took out his long-unused sword and began to clean it.

This sword was a gift from Emperor Hui of Jin, and it was part of a set with the golden armor. He never gave it away, but kept it in the palace and maintained it regularly.

The afternoon sun was very warm. After wiping for a while, he put it aside, lay down in the rocking chair, and experienced the happiness that Grandpa Cao had back then.

As his thoughts wandered, he thought of Xiao Hong.

Years ago, Grandpa Cao invited him to "take care of" Xiao Hong, but Shao Xun declined. Last year, when he heard that Xiao Hong had passed away, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotions—of course, it was just emotions.

In a daze, a few fresh green leaves drifted down, circled once, and landed on his sleeve.

He seemed oblivious, with only the sounds of the wind, the forest, and the flowing water in his ears, intertwined in a chaotic yet harmonious way, forming a heavenly melody that was indescribable yet incredibly clear and reached the depths of his heart.

The celestial music was neither a song nor a melody, nor did it have a clear tune, yet it made it very clear to people that "the great task has been accomplished, and heaven and earth celebrate together."

This feeling is mysterious; it's unspoken, yet it compels you to believe.

Half-asleep, Shao Xun frowned and clearly refused; he didn't want to leave.

Voices and footsteps could be heard outside the courtyard, and a moment later, Yu Wenjun entered the courtyard.

A gentle breeze swept a few leaves off Shao Xun's sleeve.

Yu Wenjun still had a smile on her face, but after a lifetime of happiness and confusion, her expression suddenly turned sour. The words "the matter is over" and "turn away in a huff" flooded her mind.

She hurried to the recliner.

Shao Xun opened his eyes and smiled, "You've come."

Tears streamed down Yu Wenjun's face. Ignoring the others present, she threw herself into Shao Xun's arms and said, "I thought you were gone."

Shao Xun was startled, but regained his composure and asked, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm leaving? Where to?"

Yu Wenjun paused, opened her mouth, and said in a slightly aggrieved tone, "On the day you ascended the throne, my brother said he saw a strange phenomenon, with celestial musicians playing music."

Shao Xun gently wiped away Yu Wenjun's tears and said, "Yuan Gui was debating the classics with others, and metaphysics got into his head. He's gone mad."

Yu Wenjun burst into laughter through her tears and said, "Aren't all people who believe in metaphysics like this? At least half of them say they've seen mountain gods, river gods, and ghosts. Who knows what's true and what's false? Besides, didn't we hear about your prophecy before? People are still talking about it now."

Shao Xun was speechless. The era of magical Jin Shu...

Seeing that Shao Xun remained silent for a long time, Yu Wenjun raised her eyes and asked cautiously, "What did you dream about just now?"

"I don't remember." Shao Xun thought for a moment, then joked, "It seems like it was a celestial ensemble playing music."

Yu Wenjun's expression was not very good.

Shao Xun gently stroked that familiar face and said, "Don't overthink it, I'm still here, always have been."

(End of this chapter)