On the fifth day of the lunar month, Xiao Jingheng held a banquet at the Paulownia Pavilion to entertain important ministers of the court.
Ning Bochuan, the father of Consort Ning who was far away in Sichuan and Shaanxi, was also among the guests today.
The Ning father and son had won three consecutive battles last year, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that their achievements were extremely great.
Therefore, this banquet could also be considered as Xiao Jingheng's banquet to commend the Ning family.
Almost all the ministers of the court were surrounding Ning Bochuan, singing his praises and fawning over him.
Yet Ning Bochuan was not blinded by these flatteries.
He followed etiquette, raised his wine cup to toast Xiao Jingheng, and said, "I am able to achieve what I have today entirely thanks to Your Majesty's trust and cultivation. Your benevolence is as boundless as the sea, which I dare not forget. This cup of wine, I toast to Your Majesty."
After he finished speaking without hesitation, he drained the wine in his cup in one go.
Xiao Jingheng laughed and said, "Ning loves dearly, you have made great military exploits for the Qi Dynasty. It comforts Us greatly. Thus, We have decided to raise your beloved son's peerage and promote your wife to 'Zhengyi Pin' Imperial Concubine. You may submit a memorial to report."
Whether it was raising his eldest son’s peerage or promoting his wife to the prestigious position of Zhengyi Pin Imperial Concubine, they were all rarely seen honors in the imperial court, which highlighted Ning Bochuan's transcendent status in the Qi court.
Having received such joyous news, all the ministers in the hall were eager to congratulate Ning Bochuan.
But he did not seem satisfied with these rewards and promotions.
Ning Bochuan filled up a cup of wine and drank it all by himself. Then he heavily put down the wine cup on the table and saluted Xiao Jingheng with clasped fists, "This official is deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s generous favors. In the future, I will follow the example of General Rong from the previous dynasty to expand territories for Great Qi and shed blood for the court and Your Majesty without fear of death!"
His words were passionate and rousing. Superficially, they sounded nice,
But who was General Rong from the previous dynasty?
He was the only Grand General who Pacified the Country since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, and was the previous emperor’s sworn brother in life and death.
He held the highest office in the imperial court, and was personally awarded the Gold Plaque of Immunity from Death and the Treasured Sword of Imperial Agency by the previous emperor. He commanded 200,000 elite soldiers and could enter the court in military attire.
Although General Rong was immensely powerful, he was absolutely loyal to the previous emperor.
He dedicated his entire life to the Qi Dynasty, and finally died a heroic death on the battlefield.
He had no wife or children his whole life. After his death, the previous emperor even held a state funeral for him, which was unprecedented.
By comparing himself with General Rong now, it was evident that Ning Bochuan harbored ambitions on the vital position of Grand General Who Pacifies the Country.
In response to this, Xiao Jingheng's expression remained unchanged. On the contrary, he returned a cup of wine to Ning Bochuan and said, "We also hope that you can become a pillar of support like General Rong. Come, drink!"
After exchanging three toasts, Ning Bochuan changed the subject and said, "This official has been away on military campaigns for a year and misses Consort Ning deeply in the palace. May I ask if she is well recently?"
Xiao Jingheng put down his wine cup expressionlessly, and his tone was obviously heavier,
"Consort Chen is fine."
Revoking a consort's title was a grave matter. How could Ning Bochuan not know about it? By brazenly addressing Consort Ning as Consort Chen, wasn't he openly fighting for favor for his daughter? It seemed that with Xiao Jingheng loosening his stance today, it would not be long before Consort Ning could restore her title.
*
At the same time, behind the artificial hill in the southwest corner of the Imperial Garden.
Shrouded in the night, Song Zhao came to this place alone.
When she arrived, she saw Xiao Jingyan leaning against a cypress tree, lazily gazing up at the moon.
Only when he heard Song Zhao’s footsteps did Xiao Jingyan withdraw his gaze and glanced at her. The corner of his lips curled into his usual roguish smile.
He fished out the Tianji Secret Order from his bosom and threw it to Song Zhao,
“Thanks ya~”
After receiving the Tianji Secret Order, Song Zhao didn’t want to say another word to him. She turned around to leave immediately.
But Xiao Jingyan followed behind her, yelling,
“Hey hey hey! At the very least, I’ve helped you resolve the predicament of house arrest. Yet you didn’t even say a word of thanks?”
Song Zhao stopped and looked back. Indifferently, she said, “Prince and I are only helping each other for our own interests. I thought what His Highness and I talked about was strictly business. Or does His Highness not think so?”
Xiao Jingyan scratched his head in frustration. “Alright alright, whatever you say is correct. Since you said it’s business, I’m generous as always. I’ll give you one more piece of news as a bonus.”
In a swift movement, he came up close to Song Zhao and said jokingly, “One of my polo buddies just returned from Yu Province. He said your father is making great waves in Yu, and has almost caught all the skylarks there. I estimate that this news will soon reach Imperial Brother’s ears. With the skylarks gone, the harvests in Yu Province will greatly increase this year, and Imperial Brother will definitely reward your Song Family generously.”
He paused briefly, then raised his handsome eyebrows at Song Zhao, “How about it? This news must be really good for you, right?”
Feigning ignorance, Song Zhao coldly said, “It is good if Father can make achievements, but whether His Majesty rewards us or not is none of my business, nor Prince’s. You have taken the Tianji Secret Order and must have finished your business with it. I hope that Prince can keep his promise. From now on, we will walk separately on our own roads, as if strangers when we meet again.”
This time, Song Zhao left very decisively, and Xiao Jingyan didn't try to pester her anymore.
The next day, Song Zhao first took the opportunity of accompanying the Empress Dowager to worship Buddha to secretly return the Tianji Secret Order to its original place.
After midday, she was summoned to provide writing supplies for His Majesty.
As usual, Xiao Jingheng reviewed memorials while she quietly prepared ink beside.
But today, Xiao Jingheng was suddenly outraged upon seeing a memorial. He fiercely slammed it onto the floor and shouted,
"Ridiculous!"
"Your Majesty, please quell your anger." Song Zhao went over to pick up the memorial and placed it back on the imperial desk.
Seeing Xiao Jingheng's solemn expression, she tentatively asked, "What matter has angered His Majesty so?"
Xiao Jingheng did not hide it from her. "Do you still remember that your father personally volunteered to go to Yu Province some time ago to oversee increasing grain yields?"
Song Zhao nodded. Xiao Jingheng continued, "In order to increase yields by 30%, he mimicked the method previously used in the capital to tackle bird pestilence. He encouraged Yu Province commoners by rewarding them one penny per skylark to mass hunt skylarks."
Song Zhao was taken aback. "Skylarks feed on rice grains. With reduced numbers, crop yields will naturally increase. Consort has slightly heard about the bird pestilence in the capital years ago. Was it not due to this method that the capital’s harvest increased instead of declining that year?"
Xiao Jingheng said, "The method itself was good, but your father failed to adapt to local conditions. Yu Province commoners are not as wealthy as those from the capital and chiefly rely on farming for their livelihood. Come winter, they basically have no income. Yet your father's rewards in cash enticed the commoners of Yu Province, both men and women, young and old, to risk hunting skylarks in the harsh winter." He pounded the memorial furiously, even more exasperated, "Today Yu Province's administrator has submitted a memorial stating that nearly all skylarks in Yu Province have been hunted by the commoners!"
Song Zhao turned pale with shock upon hearing this. Anxiety roosted in her heart as she worriedly said, "Then...with skylarks gone, a plague of locusts is extremely likely come summer. Locust plague is far more terrible than bird pestilence! How can Father be so confused?”
“Even you understand this logic, yet your father is foolish and dense in this matter!” fumed Xiao Jingheng. He beat the memorial and continued venting,
“The previous emperor appointed your father hereditary Duke of Protecting the Country because your great grandfather had made meritorious contributions to the court. I have always known that your father is an incapable statesman, so I seldom entrusted him with significant responsibilities.
This time, he stoutly assured Me that he could increase Yu Province's yield. Seeing his composure, I thought even if he couldn't handle this assignment well, things still wouldn't go too bad. Thus, I granted his request. I didn't expect him to arrogantly act without authorization and court such a huge disaster!”
