Black-Lacquer Brocade Box
In the study, Lu Ronghuai carefully, painstakingly placed the red-sealed golden booklet into a sandalwood gilt-lacquer box. After locking it, he lifted the box in both hands, turned around, and set it onto the bogu shelf A traditional display shelf used to arrange antiques, curios, and treasured objects, often seen in studies or reception rooms. behind him.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar black-lacquer brocade box.
“Your Highness, General Zhao and the others have arrived,” Xian Feng called from outside.
“Come in.” Lu Ronghuai drew out the brocade box and sat back down behind the writing desk.
Zhao Lu and Xian Shuang entered, with Xian Feng close behind. He shut the study door.
Zhao Lu let out a burp. “Your Highness, Vice Minister Su and Cheng Zhi have already left the residence.”
Lu Ronghuai had invited them to serve as witnesses today. Aside from Ning Yuqiang, the others were all kept for the evening meal in the residence, and after eating, Zhao Lu and the others arranged carriages to send them home.
“How did it go?” Lu Ronghuai set the brocade box aside and raised his gaze to them.
Zhao Lu smiled with complete confidence. “With this general taking the field, Your Highness may set your mind at ease. It went very smoothly.”
“The news from Ping Cheng, can it reach Ye Jing by tomorrow?”
Xian Shuang nodded. “This subordinate and General Zhao rushed back overnight. The courier is not as fast as we are. At the earliest, it will not arrive until tomorrow.”
“Good. Did you discover any other irregularities?”
Zhao Lu said, “There truly were. If Your Highness had not sent us to make a trip in secret, this subordinate would not have dared to believe it. The collusion between officials and merchants there is deeply serious. Many of the common people can no longer survive. They pawn their children and sell their wives, and some flee into the mountains to become bandits.”
Xian Shuang stood to the side in silence, his expression heavy.
Lu Ronghuai’s expression remained calm. A thread of cold moved through those ink-dark eyes.
In his previous life, unrest had also broken out in Ping Cheng after the New Year, yet it was swiftly suppressed by the local officials. Ye Jing received not the slightest word. Only three months later, when he was demoted to the Northern Frontier, did the turmoil in Ping Cheng finally become impossible to contain, and the matter reached Emperor Hongjia’s ears.
By that time, the people of Ping Cheng were already dead or wounded in great numbers, and those officials who had preyed upon them had long since fled without a trace.
“How many brothers did you leave over there?” Lu Ronghuai asked.
Zhao Lu replied, “In accordance with Your Highness’s instructions, this subordinate left three thousand men there, awaiting Your Highness’s orders at any time.”
“Tell the brothers this: they are not to harm the local commoners. Hold position and do not act yet.”
“This subordinate understands.”
“This time, the blaze in Ping Cheng will burn all the way to Ye Jing. This Prince would like to see how they will continue to cover it up.”
A pigeon call sounded suddenly outside the window. Xian Feng strode to the window, pushed it open, and a gray messenger pigeon flew in, landing on his shoulder.
Xian Feng removed the slender bamboo tube from the pigeon’s leg and drew out the small note within.
“Your Highness, word has returned from the western side. Zhenxi General Bai Yi has already submitted a memorial to the court, requesting permission to bring his family back to Ye Jing.”
Xian Feng handed the unfolded note to Lu Ronghuai.
Zhao Lu looked at it in puzzlement. “The Zhenxi General? He has been stationed at the western border for years. Why would he return at such a time?”
Lu Ronghuai’s gaze turned inscrutable. “This Prince wrote him a letter, telling him Father Emperor has set his sights on his daughter and intends to marry her off to a distant land as a heqin bride at the Wanchao Hui. Would he dare not return?”
“Ah? If this subordinate remembers correctly, his daughter is already twenty-two this year, is she not? She still has not married.”
As Zhao Lu spoke, another matter occurred to him. “Wait, how does Your Highness know His Majesty intends to have the Zhenxi General’s daughter married off for heqin?”
Lu Ronghuai said, “Rong Shen sent word. He lives in the palace and heard some rumors.”
“What is His Majesty thinking? General Bai has only that one daughter. How could he possibly agree to heqin?” Zhao Lu shook his head until it ached.
Lu Ronghuai’s voice was level. “Bai Yi’s prestige in the western borderlands has grown considerably these past years. How could Father Emperor ever set his mind at ease?”
Zhao Lu said, “This… General Bai is guarding the frontiers of the Kingdom of Lu. What is there for His Majesty to be uneasy about?”
Lu Ronghuai looked at him the way one looks at a man who has missed the obvious. “One who sits long upon the dragon throne, how could he endure a subject’s prestige surpassing his own? All the more so when the troops Bai Yi has trained are no worse than this Prince’s.”
Zhao Lu finally understood. “Your Highness means that this heqin is merely a pretext, and His Majesty’s true aim is to reclaim the military authority in General Bai’s hands?”
“Mm.”
Zhao Lu sighed, his face clouded with worry. “What is His Majesty thinking? If he takes all the military authority back, the barbarians at the Northern Frontier and the western borderlands are watching like tigers. Sooner or later they will cross the boundary, and the commoners at the border will suffer.”
“This Prince’s good Father Emperor will not care about such things.” A cold, sharp mockery surfaced at Lu Ronghuai’s lips. “He cares about the supreme imperial power in his hands, and a lifespan as long as Heaven itself.”
The three of them fell silent.
“So for his daughter, General Bai can only surrender the military authority.” Zhao Lu let out a heavy breath, the stifling in his chest nearly unbearable.
“Xian Feng, dispatch four or five men to protect Su Ruhe in secret. Do not let anyone notice,” Lu Ronghuai ordered.
Xian Feng nodded.
Lu Ronghuai rose, picked up the brocade box, and looked toward Xian Shuang. “Send a message to the Eastern Palace. Tell the Crown Prince about Ping Cheng.”
Zhao Lu asked, “Why does Your Highness wish to tell the Crown Prince?”
Lu Ronghuai stepped toward the door. He let out a light laugh, his voice steeped in contempt. “Of course this Prince must tell the Crown Prince, so he can be pleased for a while. At tomorrow’s morning court, perhaps he will even lend this Prince a hand.”
“All of you may withdraw. This Prince is returning to accompany his wife.”
The three: “…”
Lu Ronghuai carried the brocade box back to Fuju Courtyard at an unhurried pace.
He had already made his intentions clear to Chu Yuan in daylight and had even written a vow. He could sense it clearly: the way Chu Yuan looked at him was no longer icy and distant. That was exceedingly good news.
He had to seize the chance and ensure that from this day forward, his Ah-Yuan would no longer be afraid, and would trust him with his whole heart.
Lu Ronghuai strode inside. The room was softly lit. Chu Yuan had already washed up and was sitting on the beauty couch reading.
“Ah-Yuan, I have returned.” He walked toward Chu Yuan, a smile rising naturally on his face.
Chu Yuan’s hand paused on the page. He raised his eyes, nodded calmly, and said, “Hot water has been prepared in the bathing room. Your Highness should go at once.”
Lu Ronghuai took the book from his hands and set it aside. He placed the brocade box on Chu Yuan’s knees, then bent down and lifted him, striding toward the bed.
“Even if the night-luminous pearls are bright, Ah-Yuan cannot read for too long. It is not good for the eyes.”
He set Chu Yuan on the bed, placed the brocade box atop the multi-tier cabinet by the bedside, and casually pulled a book from the drawer and stuffed it into Chu Yuan’s hands.
“Ah-Yuan may read a little longer. I will be back quickly.”
He went into the bathing room at once. Chu Yuan blinked, lowered his gaze, and found it was that storybook again, familiar to the point of being painfully glaring.
He puffed his cheeks, unwilling to look even one more time, and raised his hand to toss it beyond the gauze curtain.
After that, his gaze drifted to the multi-tier cabinet. The black lacquer brocade box caught his eye and held it.
When Lu Ronghuai came out after bathing, he saw his little wife turn his head, staring straight at him with both eyes.
“?”
Lu Ronghuai laughed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“This subject threw the storybook away.” Chu Yuan extended a slender, fair forefinger and pointed at the book on the floor.
Lu Ronghuai raised a brow, walked over, and kicked the storybook aside. “Throw it away, then.”
Chu Yuan watched his expression, pressed his lips together, and pointed again at the brocade box. “This subject opened this box without permission.”
This time, Lu Ronghuai truly laughed aloud. He braced a hand on the bedframe, unable to hold back his amusement as he looked at him. “Ah-Yuan may do whatever you wish. You do not need to tell me.”
Chu Yuan leaned back against the headboard and studied him with quiet, attentive eyes.
Lu Ronghuai bent down and knelt at the edge of the bed. He leaned in close, his gaze fixed tightly on Chu Yuan’s eyes.
“Are you testing me? There is a lock on the box. Ah-Yuan cannot open it.”
Chu Yuan observed his eyes at close range. They were like a deep, cold spring, but at this moment, gentle ripples moved across them. Within Lu Ronghuai’s gaze, he saw indulgence and forbearance, trust and protection.
His heartstrings trembled, as though someone were plucking a zither upon his heart, drawing him in with soft, lingering notes until he could not focus his thoughts.
“This subject wished to see whether Your Highness would be angry.”
“No. I will never be angry with you.” Lu Ronghuai raised a hand and touched his cheek lightly, then turned and settled himself on the bed.
He added with a smile, “With me, Ah-Yuan may do anything.”
Lu Ronghuai called for servants to come in and tidy the bathing room. Le Shu followed in lightly. He kept his head lowered, not daring to look toward the gauze curtain, and worked swiftly, covering all the night-luminous pearls with thin gauze shades.
The room dimmed considerably. Lu Ronghuai took up the brocade box. With a hard squeeze, the iron lock snapped apart.
He opened the box, took out an envelope, and set it into Chu Yuan’s palm.
“These are the letters from when I investigated you. Everything is here. Ah-Yuan, take a look.”
Chu Yuan held the thin envelope. His lashes lowered as he slowly drew out the paper within.
His life’s experience was summarized in only a few lines. At the end, the matter of his secret meeting with the ruler of the Kingdom of Chu was emphasized and circled in cinnabar.
“Only this?”
Lu Ronghuai nodded. “Only this. There is no concealment.”
Chu Yuan raised his eyes unhurriedly. Suspicion gathered in them. “Then how did Your Highness learn that this subject likes ginkgo trees?”
Lu Ronghuai’s eyelid twitched.
“This subject’s liking for ginkgo trees began after this subject was ten. Aside from Le Shu, no one else knows.”
Lu Ronghuai met that clear, chilly gaze. His back straightened without him noticing. “Some time ago, I sent men to the temple where Ah-Yuan lived. The monks there said you liked to sit beneath the ginkgo trees, drinking tea and reading. I guessed you liked ginkgo.”
Chu Yuan nodded.
The ginkgo trees planted in Fuju Courtyard were indeed in the same positions as those in the temple. If he truly investigated with intent, it was not impossible.
Lu Ronghuai took the letter, tore it into pieces, and tossed them onto the floor. After that, he pulled Chu Yuan down beneath the quilt.
“The letters have been destroyed. I swear that I will never investigate Ah-Yuan again. If I violate it, may Heaven strike me down.” His expression was solemn and grave as he faced Chu Yuan.
After listening, Chu Yuan lowered his eyes, seeming to ponder something. After a time, he raised his gaze and looked straight at Lu Ronghuai.
“This subject has one final doubt. If Your Highness can explain it clearly, this subject also guarantees that from this day forward, this subject will trust Your Highness with full sincerity.”
Light flared in Lu Ronghuai’s eyes, bright with delight.
“What does Ah-Yuan wish to ask?”
“This subject does not like chestnut sugar cakes. That day, why did Your Highness say this subject liked them?”
Lu Ronghuai froze. “You do not like chestnut sugar cakes?”
“This subject does not like them.” Chu Yuan shook his head obediently.
“How can that be? You clearly told me that you liked chestnut cakes best.” Lu Ronghuai’s expression turned blank with shock.
Chu Yuan did not understand why he was so certain. He explained softly, “What this subject loved since childhood was the osmanthus sugar cakes Mother Empress made. Chestnut cakes are easy to cause indigestion. This subject’s stomach becomes uncomfortable after eating them, so this subject rarely eats them.”
Lu Ronghuai’s expression emptied for an instant.
So in his previous life, why had Chu Yuan said he liked chestnut cakes?
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu Dog: Back then, I was simple and easy to fool.
Yuan-Yuan: Now it is not much different.
Lu Dog: Woof!
---
IsitRo: Starting next week, it will be 3 chaps every T, TH & SAT :)
0 Comments