Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 69 : Evaluation of Merit

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Li Jianheng was unconscious for a few days, delirious with nightmares and mumbling incoherent words no one could understand. Mu Ru stayed by his bedside, personally feeding him medicine and wiping down his body. 

The Empress Dowager did not use her royal sedan today. Instead, she took advantage of the good weather to take a leisurely stroll with Third Missy Hua. She said, “Lady Mu is still staying by the Emperor’s side keeping watch over him?”

Supporting the Empress Dowager, Matron Liuxiang said, “She hasn’t left at all.” 

“With everything she has done, the Emperor’s affections for her would increase from a six to a ten.” The Empress Dowager said to Hua Xiangyi, “This relationship would take on more weight now that they have shared weals and woes together.” 

“Lady Mu may seem delicate and petite,” Hua Xiangyi followed after the Empress Dowager and said, with the Empress Dowager’s words in mind, “But she is also a gutsy one.” 

“That’s very accurate.” The Empress Dowager said, “Yesterday, the imperial physician mentioned that His Majesty is fine now and should wake soon. When His Majesty wakes, it’ll be Lady Mu’s time to shine. I saw how badly she was lambasted by the imperial censors before, but today, even Hai Liangyi himself would have to sigh and commend her for the good woman she is. If she’s someone timid, would she dare risk herself like this?” 

Hua Xiangyi smiled as she took over the blue and white porcelain bowl from Liuxiang’s hands and tossed fish baits into the newly converted lake. She said, “How can she be His Majesty’s favorite if she doesn’t have a little gut? She already knew how and when to advance and retreat from her time with Pan Rugui.”

The Empress Dowager looked at the brocade carps in the lake vying for the food and said, “The outbreak of this epidemic is fishy. We could have dealt with Lady Mu and have her sent away for bewitching and leading the Emperor astray with her words. But she’s smart. She knows that getting close to His Majesty is an amnesty from death. With her taking care of him to this extent, the only one to be in for a rough time in the aftermath is Xi Hongxuan. In the previous suppression of Xiao Chiye, the noble clans lost Wei Huaixing. Fu Linye has also been denounced and demoted. In the end, no one benefited from it. And now that the Imperial Army has carried out such an urgent task like the dredging up of public ditches, Xiao Chiye will surely be rewarded.”

“Xi Hongxuan deserves to be punished.” Hua Xiangyi said. “He who gives no thought to difficulties in the future is sure to be beset by worries much closer at hand. Aunt, I think he has gotten too carried away by his own success because of his transfer to the Bureau of Evaluations in the Ministry of Revenue. It’s no coincidence that this misfortune has befallen him. If he had been prudent enough, how could anyone get the chance to plot against him? Now that someone has given him to Xiao the Second as a stepping stone to trample on, it’s only fitting for him to be punished. Moreover, while I was making inquiries about the matters concerning Qidong, I heard that the Hereditary Prince of Libei had given Zhongbo’s Cizhou 40,000 taels as aid relief during heavy snow before the new year. It was also in part due to these 40,000 taels that Xiao the Second was able to persuade the Ministry of Revenue. Because of this, Cizhou and Libei have now become friends in times of adversity. In the future, when the imperial court dispatches the Provincial Administration Commissioner to administer the Six Prefectures of Zhongbo, they would have to show some consideration for Libei too.”

“The one who benefits the most this time is Xiao Chiye. It’s not far-fetched even if one were to claim that he was the one who released the epidemic.” With her fingertips, the Empress Dowager rubbed the baits into crumbs and sprinkled them into the lake. “Lady Mu is in such good health, so why is it there still no news of an imperial heir? If we can’t get rid of her, then we can only have her in our grasp. Once she has a child, I won’t have to worry about the future.”