Cheng Yu's remarks instantly sparked everyone's interest.
Xiao Jingyan and Chen Ge were both somewhat sobered by Cheng Yu's words and eagerly asked:
"Who is this young lady? How long have you known her? Is she beautiful?"
"Why have you kept this a secret so well? Your mother, the Empress, has never mentioned a word about her to me, her own imperial uncle?"
"Will she be coming back with you this time? Do you have a portrait of her that you could show Mother first?"
Faced with the barrage of questions from everyone, Cheng Yu could only sigh and confess,
"She is a female general who fought alongside me on the battlefield. In terms of age, she is actually two years older than me... I just don't know if Mother... will agree."
Rongyue smiled and said, "Your mother has never been so conservative. If two people are in love, regardless of their backgrounds or age difference, as long as it's someone you've chosen and she approves of, that would be the most beautiful thing in the world. Let me tell you, if your mother hears this news, she will be overjoyed."
Madam Chen also beamed with joy,
She tightly held Cheng Yu's hand, and earnestly advised him,
"Yu, Mother is truly happy for you to find your beloved. But there are some words that Mother must remind you of. You must be sure of your feelings before proposing to the young lady.
You also know that nowadays, the customs in the Qi Dynasty are very different from before. Now, men in Qi no longer have concubines, just like women, they only have one partner for life.
So even though you are of royal descent, with His Majesty's strict governance and clear laws, there is no exception. If you are with that young lady, you must treat her seriously, and you cannot marry another in this lifetime. You must treat the young lady well, don't cause any jokes about separation in the future, and don't ruin the young lady's life."
Faced with Madam Chen's lengthy sermon,
Cheng Yu blushed and joked, "Mother is afraid that I might delay her, but it's actually the other way around."
His words caused laughter throughout the room.
To celebrate this joyous occasion, everyone chatted for a while longer,
Until it was almost time to disperse, a servant came to report:
"Master and Madam, there's someone outside asking for you. They say they come from the palace."
Chen Ge hurriedly instructed the servant to bring the visitor in,
Curious as to why someone from the palace would suddenly visit Danzhou,
They were surprised to see the cheerful visitor was Xiao Fuzi.
Xiao Fuzi bowed to everyone and said with a smile,
"General, Your Highness, the servant has come from the palace on an errand. On the way to Danzhou, I received a letter from His Majesty and was instructed to inform General Cheng Yu personally."
Turning to Cheng Yu, he bowed again,
"His Majesty congratulates General Cheng Yu on his victory in the recent battle and allows him to stay in Danzhou for a few more days to recuperate. It's not too late to return to the palace after the New Year's Eve."
Cheng Yu had barely had time to inform Zhao Hua of his victory and arrival in Danzhou,
Yet Xiao Fuzi had arrived promptly, indicating that everything was within Zhao Hua's expectations.
Everyone naturally understood that Zhao Hua had said this in order to allow Cheng Yu to spend more time with his foster parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Chen immediately rose to thank His Majesty, and Cheng Yu replied:
"Many thanks, Grand Eunuch. Please convey my gratitude to the Empress Mother. Before New Year's Eve, I will return to the palace with His Majesty, and I will also remind the Empress Mother to take care of herself and not overexert for state affairs."
Xiao Fuzi smiled and responded, "General, you're thoughtful. I will definitely convey your message."
Later, everyone insisted that Xiao Fuzi stay and dine and drink with them, but he politely declined, citing pressing matters.
After leaving the Chen residence and boarding the carriage, while sitting inside, Yun Shan asked him:
"Did you inform General Chen about everything?"
Xiao Fuzi nodded and said, "I've informed him. The household is full of joy and merriment."
Yun Shan chuckled, "Miss has always known that General Chen cares deeply for his foster parents. By sending him on this expedition to the Southern Barbarians, His Majesty has also provided him with an opportunity to be alone with them. If Miss knew about the joy at the Chen residence today, she would surely be happy for them."
Xiao Fuzi smiled faintly and nodded in agreement, then said:
"Now that His Majesty has ascended to the throne, you still refer to him as 'Miss.' Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Yun Shan nudged him playfully and said, "What do you know? In my eyes, Miss has always been the same as she was at the beginning, whether she's a concubine, an empress, or an emperor, Miss has never changed."
After a moment of reflection, Yun Shan urged Xiao Fuzi again,
"This time, it was out of consideration for my upcoming birthday that Miss kindly allowed us this half-month of leisure outside the palace. Now that the message has been conveyed, it's time for us to return to the palace. Otherwise, having others attend to Miss's needs, I'm always uneasy."
When the two of them hurried back to the palace, it was already early December.
Upon their arrival at the palace, an attendant handed a letter to Yun Shan,
"Aunt Yun Shan, this is a letter from Mongolia to His Majesty, it has been three days. All correspondence between departments must be reviewed by you and Grand Eunuch Xiao Fuzi before being presented to His Majesty, so that's why I delayed delivering it."
Upon hearing this, Yun Shan responded lightly and gestured for the young eunuch to leave.
She looked at the signature on the letter, those crooked characters that resembled Qimu Ge's handwriting.
Qimu Ge had lived in the palace for ten years and still hadn't learned how to write Chinese characters properly.
But when she left the palace, every year when she wrote to Zhao Hua, she used Chinese characters.
Though these characters were crooked and unattractive,
each character symbolized the sisterly bond between her and Zhao Hua.
Learning that Zhao Hua was currently in the Hall of Political Affairs discussing matters with several courtiers, Yun Shan took the letter and headed towards the hall.
Standing outside the hall, she saw Zhao Hua, dressed in a phoenix robe, smiling and discussing something with the courtiers.
Yes,
she was still wearing the phoenix robe, not the dragon robe,
Yun Shan had asked her once, "Now that you have ascended to the throne, why not switch your phoenix robe for a dragon robe?"
Zhao Hua smiled back, "Since I seek absolute gender equality between men and women, why should there be distinctions of superiority or inferiority between dragon and phoenix?"
At this moment, beyond the gates where Yun Shan couldn't hear the political affairs, Zhao Hua was discussing with her courtiers, contemplating releasing all the concubines and consorts from the palace, allowing them to return to their families and live out their remaining years in peace.
Naturally, the courtiers were opposed to this proposal.
"Since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, there has never been such a precedent. It was already benevolent of His Majesty not to let the concubines and consorts be buried alive with the late Emperor. Now, Your Majesty wishes to let them leave the palace? Among these concubines and consorts, many are barely twenty-five or twenty-six years old. If they were to seek other men and remarry, or worse, if they were to conceive offspring, where would that leave the late Emperor's reputation?"
Zhao Hua, now much more composed compared to when she first took the reins of power, calmly faced the courtiers' numerous inquiries. She neither grew angry nor flustered, but simply smiled gently and asked,
"Lord Zhu, you've asked me so many questions, but may I ask you one first? When His Majesty was alive, did he not always prioritize the interests of the people, wholeheartedly considering the welfare of the populace?"
Lord Zhu respectfully replied, "That is true."
Zhao Hua continued, "Perhaps Lord Zhu is unaware of the expenses incurred by the palace's women. After the late Emperor and the founding Emperor ascended to heaven, there were a total of forty-six women left in the palace. Calculating their annual expenditures and monthly allowances, the total expenses for the year amounted to nearly ten thousand taels. I believe that if we let them leave the palace, the money saved could be used to aid the impoverished populace. Lord Zhu, do you think this can be considered a commendable deed?"
After pondering for a moment, Lord Zhu responded, "While this method is beneficial, it may damage the late Emperor's prestige..."
"Oh, I see." Zhao Hua interrupted him with a smile, "So, in your eyes, the late Emperor's prestige outweighs the livelihoods of the people. But during the Jiangnan floods, the late Emperor spared no effort to rescue the people from the waters, even going as far as tightening his own belt to help those in need. I recall that during that time, the late Emperor even reduced his daily meals by half, demonstrating his love for the country and its people.
Lord Zhu, you are reluctant to let these widows leave the palace because you fear it may lead to criticism of the court. But deep down, you actually agree with my decision to distribute the saved money to the needy, don't you?"
Lord Zhu nodded, "Yes."
With a slight pause, Zhao Hua's smile grew even wider, "Very well, then this matter is settled. Since the late Emperor never cared about such matters, if Lord Zhu attaches such importance to it, then from now on, the daily expenses of the concubines and consorts will be entirely your responsibility. Consider it a token of your loyalty to the late Emperor."
"This..."
"Oh... I remember your annual salary is only three thousand eight hundred taels. But no matter, out of consideration for your righteousness, I will increase your salary by one hundred taels each month. Thus, your annual salary will be enough to cover the shortfall of five thousand taels for the concubines and consorts. The remaining five thousand taels will have to come from Lord Zhu himself."
At these words, Lord Zhu's face turned green, and inwardly, he cursed vehemently:
Where could he possibly conjure up so much silver to support those widows in the harem?
Seeing him remain silent for so long, Zhao Hua teased, "Well..."
"Lord Zhu, why are you silent now? Weren't you just arguing with me a moment ago?"
Zhao Hua knew these courtiers too well.
As long as it didn't directly harm their interests, they could eloquently debate about the righteousness of the nation and family for days, with Zhao Hua finding it hard to gain an upper hand.
But once their interests were truly affected, they could see through things clearer than anyone else.
Sure enough, shortly after Zhao Hua finished speaking, Lord Zhu bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty's words are indeed reasonable. I have been lacking in consideration."
Zhao Hua smiled faintly and said, "Since Lord Zhu also agrees with my approach, I'll entrust this matter to you. Before New Year's Eve, I want to see all the female relatives leaving the palace and returning home. If anyone remains in the palace, their monthly expenses will be deducted from your budget. What do you think, Lord Zhu?"
"I... will certainly not fail in my mission!"
After sending away these courtiers, settling a lingering matter, Zhao Hua saw Yun Shan approaching with a smile.
She teased, "I finally managed to persuade Xiao Fuzi to take you out for a stroll. Why did you return so soon?"
"I couldn't help worrying about you, Miss."
"What's there to worry about? I'm not a child who needs you to attend to me every day."
"Whatever Miss says, I will always want to be by your side, never leaving even half a step!"
In this entire palace, only Yun Shan dared to speak so freely to Zhao Hua.
Zhao Hua wasn't annoyed with her. Instead, her gaze fell on the letter Yun Shan held in her hand, and she asked, "What's this?"
"It's a letter from Mongolia, Miss, take a look."
Yun Shan handed the letter to Zhao Hua.
Seeing Zhao Hua silently reading its contents, a faint smile remained on her lips, prompting Yun Shan to ask, "Miss, what amusing thing did you find?"
After sealing the letter, Zhao Hua said slowly, "It's an invitation from Qimu Ge and Ru Naren. They say Mongolia will have a warm winter this year and invite me for a gathering."
She looked at the bright sun outside the window, lazily stretched, and said with a smile, "With the festival approaching, let's wait until next year. It's time to leave the palace and explore the world when spring arrives next year."
