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Psst! We're moving!
When Wu Ruian left, it was already past the hour of You (5-7 PM). He had knelt before the imperial throne for three hours, yet still wouldn’t yield. Emperor Chen Zhao had no choice but to let him return for now, as for what would happen in the future, that would be discussed later.
Emperor Chen Zhao walked out of the imperial study and headed towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony. She hadn’t walked far when she saw a tall, slender figure standing by the wall. His figure was solitary and thin, accompanied only by a servant dressed in old clothes.
The man’s features bore a striking resemblance to the deceased Emperor Xian, so much so that the moment Emperor Chen Zhao saw him, it was as if she saw her dead husband.
Emperor Chen Zhao staggered, and if not for An Suyun’s support, she would have nearly collapsed.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that although the man resembled Emperor Xian, his eyes lacked the late Emperor’s arrogance and pride.
His face was pale, timid and fearful, as if he could be blown away by a gust of wind.
“Is he… Yu’er?” Emperor Chen Zhao asked in a trembling voice.
Shi Yulin nodded and said, “Replying to Your Majesty, the Third Prince has been waiting here for nearly four hours.”
Emperor Chen Zhao, hearing this, immediately descended the steps and hastened to Wu Yu’s side.
Since the capital was moved, mother and son had not seen each other for several years. Wu Yu had grown taller and older, but what remained unchanged were his timid eyes and his withered, emaciated body.
Emperor Chen Zhao thought, the reason she didn’t like Wu Yu that much was precisely because of her inner guilt.
If she hadn’t drunk that bowl of medicine then, if she had been stronger at that time, she wouldn’t have let him become like this.
“Your son greets Imperial Mother, long live, long live, long live Imperial Mother!” Wu Yu knelt on both knees, kowtowing. Perhaps it had been too long since they last met, and in his excitement, he repeatedly bowed three times before Emperor Chen Zhao, each producing a loud, clear thud.
“Dong dong dong.” Each sound was solid, crisp, and clear.
“Quick, quick, get up!” Emperor Chen Zhao reacted, immediately helping Wu Yu to his feet.
Wu Yu trembled as he stood up, his eyes red with an endless longing that enveloped Emperor Chen Zhao, making her breathless.
This was the son she had wronged the most, a debt she could never repay in this life.
At this moment, Shi Yulin, who was standing nearby, knelt down with a “thump” and began slapping his own face with both hands, left and right.
As he slapped himself, he said, “This servant deserves to die, this servant failed to inform Your Majesty in time, causing the Third Prince to wait here for so long. I beg Your Highness for forgiveness, I beg Your Majesty for pardon!”
Wu Yu looked at Shi Yulin, a look of unbearable pity on his face, and said, “I haven’t waited long, you don’t need to blame yourself.”
Emperor Chen Zhao, however, ignored Shi Yulin and looked at Wu Yu, saying, “Yu’er, as a prince, how can you refer to yourself as ‘I’? You should refer to yourself as ‘This Prince’.”
“I…” Wu Yu hadn’t finished speaking when Emperor Chen Zhao glared at him, forcing him to change his address: “Yes… your son respectfully obeys Imperial Mother’s teachings.” Wu Yu cowered, not daring to meet Emperor Chen Zhao’s gaze directly. His trembling demeanor made Emperor Chen Zhao even more pained.
This son, she had truly neglected too much…
Emperor Chen Zhao glanced at Shi Yulin, her expression unchanged, and said in a deep voice, “Drag him out, give him twenty strokes with the rod.”
“This servant thanks Your Majesty for sparing his life.” Shi Yulin prostrated himself, kowtowed, shouted “Long live” three times, and was then led away by the imperial guards to receive twenty strokes with the rod.
From beginning to end, he did it flawlessly, as if it truly was due to his failure to report that Wu Yu had suffered a long wait.
Wu Yu firmly believed this and held no resentment.
After all, from childhood, he had been ignored far too much, so much so that it would be strange for others to look him in the eye.
Emperor Chen Zhao took Wu Yu to dine, and also arranged accommodation for him in the palace. The two chatted until midnight before finally going to sleep.
The next day, after court, Emperor Chen Zhao continued to review memorials in the imperial study as usual. Every fifteen minutes, an inner attendant would come to replace her hot tea. The one who came today was no longer the young eunuch from yesterday, and only then did Emperor Chen Zhao remember that she had him beaten.
Emperor Chen Zhao called for Suyun and asked, “What was the name of that young eunuch the other day?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, his name is Shi Yulin.”
“He is a clever child,” Emperor Chen Zhao nodded gently: “Go call him.”
“Replying to Your Majesty, he…”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“At this moment, I’m afraid he can’t walk.”
Emperor Chen Zhao hummed in acknowledgment, recalling that the twenty heavy strokes from yesterday must have been quite severe. She said calmly, “Send an imperial physician over to take good care of him. When he recovers, promote him to the position of Chief Eunuch, to serve only before the emperor. As for Shi Wenxing… he is old, let him retire.”
“Yes.”
“Is the Third Prince’s manor ready?”
“Replying to Your Majesty, Prince Yu’s manor has been thoroughly renovated and is ready for him to move in at any time.”
Emperor Chen Zhao pondered for a moment, then nodded, “Instruct the Left Prime Minister to handle this matter entirely, and ensure that Yu’er moves in with great splendor, so that no one looks down upon him.”
“Yes.”
The date for Wu Yu’s relocation was set for the tenth day of the month. He remained in the palace for these two days, which made it less convenient for visiting ministers to inquire, but it also afforded him some peace and quiet.
The next day, Emperor Chen Zhao specifically summoned over twenty imperial physicians for a joint consultation for Wu Yu. The results were surprising: although Wu Yu’s body was weak, his childhood symptoms of weak coughing and gasping, and qi deficiency, had greatly improved. He could have his own children, and if properly cared for, living to a hundred years old was also possible.
Emperor Chen Zhao was overjoyed upon hearing the results. This meant that, besides Wu Long and Wu Ruian, she had another healthy prince.
That same day, Emperor Chen Zhao ordered people to transfer the Third Prince to the Daming Palace, to reside in an adjacent room to Emperor Chen Zhao. This was also a way of announcing to the world her affection for the Third Prince, which was no less than that for the Sixth Prince.
On the tenth day, Left Prime Minister Gongsun Miao, accompanied by a group of ministers, arrived at Prince Yu’s Manor to celebrate Wu Yu’s relocation. All court officials were present, and even the Second Prince Wu Long sent lavish gifts. Among the entire court, only the Sixth Prince Wu Ruian was nowhere to be found.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chen Zhao was furious. She sent many people to search for him, but could not find a trace.
She was so angry that she couldn’t eat all day, and her condition worsened again.
In the evening, Emperor Chen Zhao finished reviewing her memorials and came out of the imperial study. Passing through the corridor, she suddenly heard many cries.
“What’s happened?” Emperor Chen Zhao asked, puzzled.
“Replying to Your Majesty, Shi Wenxing has passed away.”
“Oh? Wasn’t he just ill a few days ago?”
“Yes…”
Emperor Chen Zhao sighed and continued forward, but for some reason, as she walked, she suddenly stopped and turned back.
“Where is Your Majesty going?”
“Accompany me to see Shi Yulin. He endured twenty heavy strokes to preserve the affection between me and Yu’er, so I should go see him.” Emperor Chen Zhao’s face was slightly cold, her voice hoarse, clearly, she was uneasy.
It wasn’t that she cared deeply about Shi Yulin, but rather that she was uneasy about her own illness.
Shi Yulin’s master, Shi Wenxing, went from falling ill to passing away in just two months. Shi Yulin had received twenty planks, and it was possible it could cause fatal injuries.
And her own illness… seemed to be getting more and more severe.
Shi Yulin’s room was next to Shi Wenxing’s. Shi Wenxing had passed away last night, and his coffin had already been moved to the Northwest Palace. Only Shi Yulin remained in the small courtyard, which appeared somewhat desolate.
When Emperor Chen Zhao arrived, An Suyun did not announce her presence but directly pushed open the door and walked in.
Shi Yulin’s room had no furnishings, only a single piece of calligraphy hanging on the wall, which was Jiang Kui’s “Partridge Sky, A Dream on Lantern Festival Night.”
The Fat Water flows endlessly eastward, From the beginning, it was ill-suited to sow seeds of yearning. In dreams, it was not as clear as in painting, In the darkness, suddenly startled by the cry of mountain birds.
Spring is not yet green, but temples are already threaded with white, Long separation in the human world cannot become sorrow. Who taught each year on the night of red lotus lanterns, Both ponder deeply, each knowing their own thoughts.
As soon as Emperor Chen Zhao entered the room, she saw this calligraphy.
She was initially surprised that a eunuch would hang such words of longing in his room. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the inscription at the bottom was actually his own name.
This piece of calligraphy, with its stable and weighty brushwork that did not lack grandeur, actually came from the hand of a young eunuch, truly making one look at him with new eyes.
Emperor Chen Zhao valued talent, and her appreciation for him couldn’t help but increase.
Emperor Chen Zhao strode in and saw Shi Yulin lying on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. His eyebrows and eyes were furrowed together, clearly still in pain even in his dream.
“Shi…” An Suyun was about to wake him when Emperor Chen Zhao stopped her.
Emperor Chen Zhao didn’t intend to disturb his rest, so she sat down beside him. At this moment, several pieces of calligraphy on the table caught her attention.
Among them was a funerary couplet, a lament.
Recalling joyous days under your knee, Every word of teaching etched deep in my heart. Do not hurry to depart.
Three parts of autumn hues, two parts of sorrow, And one more part of wind and rain.
Mourning today, weeping before your spirit, With long, lingering sighs. Unsure next year, when peonies bloom, Where we shall meet again in dreams.
This poem lamented his master, Shi Wenxing.
Although Emperor Chen Zhao’s movements were very light, Shi Yulin still seemed to sense something in his dream, slowly opening his eyes.
When he saw Emperor Chen Zhao before him, he was at first a little hazy, smiled softly, and then closed his eyes again. The next moment, when he opened his eyes again and saw Emperor Chen Zhao and An Suyun still before him, he immediately sat up in surprise.
He scrambled off the bed, stumbling to his knees, saying, “This servant gre-greets Your Majesty.”
Shi Yulin’s movements were too large, aggravating his wound. Beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead, but he tried his best to maintain his posture, not allowing himself to be rude in front of Emperor Chen Zhao.
Emperor Chen Zhao raised the elegy in her hand, her eyes filled with admiration, and asked, “Did you write this?”
Shi Yulin knelt on the ground, gritted his teeth, and nodded.
“Excellent literary talent. Compared to all the eunuchs and female officials in this palace, perhaps only Suyun can compete with you.”
Emperor Chen Zhao smiled kindly, which startled Shi Yulin, causing him to tremble again and repeatedly kowtow, saying, “Yulin is of shallow talent and dare not compete with Auntie Suyun.”
Emperor Chen Zhao shook her head, helped him up, and smiled, “If I say you are good, then you are good. Why be so modest?”
Shi Yulin lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to argue.
Emperor Chen Zhao was silent for a moment, then said, “Your name’s pronunciation overlaps with Yu’er’s. Today, I grant you the new name Wenchang. What do you think?”
“Wenchang thanks Your Majesty for the bestowed name.”
Shi Wenchang knelt again, not daring to look up. This humble demeanor filled Emperor Chen Zhao with joy, and even An Suyun was surprised to see it.
At such a young age, he understood propriety, knew the rules, and was neither arrogant nor impetuous. These were the most commendable qualities for someone serving before the emperor in the palace…
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