There were limestone slabs in front of the Empress's Fengyi Palace, and it was an empty place completely free of any vegetation. The white marble stone steps gave off an imposing air; at this quiet time of day, just after noon, people walking up the steps would feel a deep sense of oppression.
Mu Hanzhang followed the eunuch to the front of the main hall. Maybe it was because of the hot weather that the Empress had placed a phoenix couch on the veranda instead of staying in the hall. Two maids holding peacock fans with long handles slowly fanned the Empress from behind the couch. She was dressed in a magnificent robe with phoenixes outlined in gold. Sitting upright on the phoenix couch, she watched Mu Hanzhang come up the jade steps one by one.
"Weichen greets Mother Empress, and wishes Mother Empress a thousand years of life!" Mu Hanzhang calmly walked below the veranda and knelt down to give his salutations.
The Empress picked up her tea cup, took a sip, then gracefully picked up her handkerchief to dab the corners of her mouth. Then, neither too quickly or slowly, she said, "Get up; quickly come and sit down. You are the treasure of Cheng Wang's heart. If you're injured from kneeling for too long, Bengong won't be able to compensate for it."
Mu Hanzhang's gaze was restrained, as if he couldn't hear the irony in the Empress's words. He thanked her politely and sat on a square stool which the palace maid brought over.
The way the Cheng Wang Fei acted was completely unlike what the Empress had expected. He wasn't anxious or flustered. When told to sit, he sat, his conduct and etiquette impeccable. The reprimand she had been prepared to unleash upon him was forcibly choked down.
* * * * *
When Jing Shao entered the southern imperial study room, the young princes had just woken up from their afternoon nap, but had yet to start their afternoon lessons. Currently, they were quietly reviewing their lessons and waiting for their teacher to arrive. Because the weather was getting hotter, Emperor Hong Zheng had excused the princes from their afternoon martial arts class and replaced it with a literature class.
Standing outside the study, Jing Shao looked at these children, who weren't even ten years old yet, reading the books in their hands with serious expressions. Jing Shao remembered when he had been in the southern study as a child. At that time, his Mother Empress had still been here, and every day at this time, she would send people in with fresh melons and fruits, not only for him and his elder brother, but also his eldest brother and Jing Yu. Jing Yu always thought that the fruit someone else had was better than his. Because he was young, he often wanted to switch with his brothers. If his brothers didn't want to bicker with him, they would do the exchange, but Jing Shao himself hadn't liked it. If Jing Yu went too far, he would beat him up with his fists.
Later, after the new Empress ascended, there were no longer any fruits or melons to eat in the afternoon. After that, no new princes were born in the palace for a long time. When the eldest prince left the palace to build his own residence, it was only the three of them left in the study. Every day, Jing Yu would be sent special pastries and fruits and melons, but there was only one portion.
"Third brother!" Jing Shao's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a milky voice. He lowered his head and saw a little fatty, who only reached his thigh, pulling at his clothes. It was Jing Yi, the seventh prince.
Jing Shao reached down and rubbed his head. He called, "Jing Yi." The little fatty immediately smiled until his eyes couldn't be seen. "Third brother, you can still recognize me!"
"It's not like I haven't seen you for years. How could I not recognize you?" Jing Shao didn't know whether to laugh or cry and picked him up. "Brat, did you get fatter again?" Jing Shao remembered Jing Yi better because the boy was still rather chubby even after growing up a bit. He didn't see his other younger brothers often, so if some other brother had pulled at him, he could only try to calculate their rank based on their age.
