CH 9

“I thought I was early, but I see that my fourth brother has beaten me to it,” the Third Prince Xiao Chengduo said, smiling at the Fourth Prince, who was still clutching the big red packet in his hands. He emphasised the words “I” and “but” in a higher tone, which made him sound rather unfriendly, even though it might have been unintentional.

The Fourth Prince shoved the red packet into his sleeves and bowed formally to the Third Prince. The cheerful smile on his face had faded, and he didn’t say anything.

The Third Prince had always found the Fourth Prince to be rather introverted, so he didn’t take this to heart. He turned to look at the Crown Prince sitting on the main seat. “Greetings to my elder brother the Crown Prince. This must be my new Saosao?” he said, looking appraisingly at Lou Jing, who was standing next to the Crown Prince. His smile froze immediately.

Lou Jing’s usual preference was to wear clothes in neutral colours, but during the period immediately following the wedding, it was more appropriate to wear bright, auspicious colours. As such, he was presently dressed in a gleaming royal blue outer robe fastened with a silver silk belt at his waist, and a silver guan set with sapphires in his hair. He didn’t wear any other accessories apart from the guan. The lack of embellishment actually enhanced Lou Jing’s naturally exquisite looks, drawing attention to his incredibly handsome face.

“I’d heard that the Anguo Gong’s Shizi was a famous beauty in the Capital, and it is indeed true,” the Third Prince said. He couldn’t stop staring at Lou Jing, and only managed to collect himself after a few moments. His strange habit of speaking in a high pitched tone every few words made it sound like he was making fun of Lou Jing.

Xiao Chengjun’s face darkened. Just as he was about to reprimand his brother, his Consort spoke up.

“The Third Prince is too kind. That was just flattery, not to be taken seriously,” Lou Jing said, one side of his mouth twitching upwards. “On the other hand, your infamous good looks were much talked about even in the Northwestern Front when I was stationed there.”

What Lou Jing was saying was that his good looks was just idle gossip among the people of the Capital, but the Third Prince’s looks were known even in the far-flung Northwestern Front.

“Haha, exactly! The last time the Tartar King came to offer tribute, he thought the Third Prince was a princess and wanted to marry him!” the Fourth Prince said, guffawing loudly. He was amused by how Lou Jing had turned the tables on the Third Prince, and was only too glad to support what his saosao said.

Xiao Chengduo took after his mother, Chen Guifei. He had the same large slanting eyes that his mother had, which were charming on a woman’s face, but looked oddly effeminate on a man’s.

The Crown Prince’s lips had originally turned downward before Lou Jing spoke, and on hearing what Lou Jing said, pressed into a straight line before involuntarily curving upwards just a fraction. This Consort of his was really good at making sure he didn’t “suffer any losses”.

“Saosao is too kind,” the Third Prince said, embarrassed. He glared at the Fourth Prince out of the corner of his eye. The latter was still chuckling happily to himself at the side of the room. That nasty mouth of his would never say a good word for him*; Lou Jing’s words had now taken on a completely new complexion thanks to what the Fourth Prince had said.

*T/N: Pwahaha the Chinese idiom for this is that a dog’s mouth can never spit out ivory. I am so amused by this saying.

The Xiao Imperial family did not have many descendants in this generation. The previous ruler, the Ruizong Emperor, did not have many children, and many of them did not survive him. The Ruizong Emperor himself lived a long life, so when he passed away, there were only two candidates for succession – the current Chunde Emperor, and a prince who was in ill health. That sickly prince had since passed away a few years ago. Even so, the Eastern Palace still bustled with guests that afternoon.

All the Imperial relatives came to pay a visit – the eldest princess, various lords with peerages, the Empress Dowager’s relatives… the list just went on. Lou Jing was familiar with most of the nobility in the Capital, so making conversation with them wasn’t really an issue for him; his problem was the wounds on his legs. Without any painkillers, his thighs started twinging painfully after standing for some time. And then, when everyone had finally left, it was time to leave to greet the Empress.

As Xiao Chengjun helped his Consort up the palanquin, he noticed that Lou Jing’s face looked pale and wan again. “Are you tired?” he asked, unable to hide his concern.

Lou Jing shook his head. He had a strong constitution and could chase enemies on the battlefront for 800 li with ease. “My legs hurt a little, that’s all.”

The Crown Prince frowned. Why did the Anguo Gong want Lou Jing to marry into the Eastern Palace at all costs? The Lou family was part of the high Zanying aristocracy, and even if he didn’t marry into the Imperial family, with Lou Jing’s outstanding abilities, they would have easily been able to maintain favour with the Emperor. As he was thinking this, Lou Jing’s head slowly sidled over and rested on his shoulder.

“It’s painful to sit up. Let me rest on you for a bit,” Lou Jing said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He then let his body press on Xiao Chengjun’s as well.

Xiao Chengjun looked around. The palace roads were empty, and the palanquin bearers couldn’t see what was going on in the palanquin, so he didn’t object. Lou Jing’s body was warm, and had a refreshing herbal scent that reminded him of being in a quiet forest. It was actually quite pleasant to have Lou Jing lie on him like this.

Fengyi Palace was cold and quiet as usual. It was staffed by many servants, but they each went about their tasks quietly, so there was no idle chatter to be heard.

“You must both be tired after today’s exertions,” the male Empress Ji Zhuo said, looking at the couple sitting side by side on a cushioned chair.

“Father Empress must be even more tired from overseeing the minutiae of the wedding preparations,” Lou Jing said, smiling politely and looking every bit the obedient son-in-law.

Empress Ji’s usually severe face relaxed into a small, appreciative smile. “You have always been an understanding person, even when you were a child. The Crown Prince isn’t so good with his words, so I hope you can afford him some leeway in that regard.”

“I will do my best to take care of the Crown Prince,” Lou Jing said, still smiling, answering the Empress’ questions like a gentle, virtuous little wife would.

The Crown Prince couldn’t help glancing at him suspiciously out of the corner of his eye.

“I don’t have much to do in this palace, so do come and chat with me when you have time,” Ji Zhuo said. His piercing eagle eyes softened a little. “You trained in martial arts with the old Anguo Gong since you were little, right? Which weapons did you train in?”

Lou Jing was about to reply when Xiao Chengjun elbowed him. He swallowed the words that he was about to say and let Xiao Chengjun speak instead.

“Father Empress, the Crown Prince Consort has not been well recently. When he’s better, he’ll come and have a few friendly duels with you,” Xiao Chengjun said.

Lou Jing raised his brows. The Empress had only asked what he had been trained in, and didn’t mention that he wanted to have a friendly duel today. Xiao Chengjun’s real intention in saying this was to highlight to the Empress that he had been unwell recently.

“Haha!” The Empress couldn’t help laughing as he looked at the anxious Crown Prince. “I was just about to say that he doesn’t need to come and greet me tomorrow morning, but you clearly couldn’t wait for me to get to that on my own.” He looked at Lou Jing’s pale, pinched face. Even though he’d allowed the couple to sit on a cushioned chair, Lou Jing still looked to be in great discomfort.

Greeting the Empress in the morning was an important protocol, and this requirement usually could not be waived without strong reasons. In the first few days after marriage, however, the Empress had the discretion to do so as an act of mercy to the new Consort.

“Thank you, father Empress,” Lou Jing said, hurriedly standing up to thank him. Not having to wake up early the next morning was a real blessing.

“You’re excused from attending the Imperial Court sessions these few days, but don’t slack off,” the Empress said, addressing Xiao Chengjun. His expression became reserved once more, and he spoke in cautionary tones. “Also, the two of you are still young. Don’t overindulge in pleasures of the flesh, it will damage your body.”

“…… Yes, I understand,” Xiao Chengjun said, rising to acknowledge the Empress’ words respectfully.

Lou Jing nearly choked on his own saliva. Clearly, the Empress felt that he could just be straightforward with them since they were all men. He stole a glance at the Crown Prince. His expression was still calm and stoic, but the tips of his ears had turned a faint shade of pink.

On the way back, Lou Jing couldn’t help looking surreptitiously at Xiao Chengjun’s ears. He felt like he had just been let in on a huge secret.

“If Father Empress asks you to have a friendly duel with him, don’t push yourself too hard,” he said earnestly. He didn’t realise that his Consort was stealing furtive looks at him, and continued to conscientiously highlight things that Lou Jing should be careful about in the palace.

“Nn,” Lou Jing acknowledged. He had originally wanted to ask the Empress why he had insisted that he be the Crown Prince’s Consort, but decided against it at the last moment. Asking a question like this out of the blue seemed rather inappropriate, and he thought that perhaps he would ask this when making small talk during a friendly duel.

“I also wanted to ask, why aren’t there any palace maids in the Fengyi Palace?” Lou Jing said. There were usually more palace maids than eunuchs in the hougong, but he’d only seen a grand total of two palace maids in the Fengyi Palace.

“Father Empress is a man, so he has to avoid suspicion. He has to avoid being seen associating with women as far as possible,” Xiao Chengjun said. This brought to mind his unfinished conversation with Lou Jing earlier that afternoon. “Were the two palace maids who came with you also your personal attendants when you were little?”

Xunxia and Yingqiu? Lou Jing turned to look at the Crown Prince’s face. Was he indirectly warning him that he had to avoid suspicion as well? “No, they were originally my mother’s servants, and only started waiting on me after my mother passed away.”

Ah, so they were his mother’s maids. Xiao Chengjun felt relieved for some reason. Lou Jing’s mother’s maids could not be given to him as concubines, so the two certainly did not have any romantic entanglements with Lou Jing. “There are many unfriendly eyes in the palace. As far as possible, try to use the eunuchs when you need something done,” Xiao Chengjun said.

“It was my oversight,” Lou Jing said, smiling despite himself. It was patently clear to him now why Xiao Chengjun had been annoyed earlier that afternoon – he must have been displeased that he had let Xunxia check on his wounds.

Xiao Chengjun looked at Lou Jing out of the corner of his eye and caught him smiling to himself. At that, his expression immediately darkened a little.

“Dianxia, don’t be angry,” Lou Jing said. Seeing Xiao Chengjun’s fast darkening expression, he quickly sat up straight. “I was eleven when I went to the Northwestern Front with my Grandfather, and there were no women there. I only returned when my Grandfather passed away, and I could not possibly have disrespected his memory by fooling around during his mourning period. I swear to the heavens above, qieshen* is still chaste!”

*T/N: Qieshen is how concubines / consorts refer to themselves. It means “I”. This is the first time Lou Jing has referred to himself as qieshen, so it’s significant and funny all at the same time. It indicates that he is taking his role as Consort seriously. Lou Jing previously always referred to himself as chen, indicating his status as an official in the Imperial Court.

After the Crown Prince Consort made this declaration, the palanquin beneath them wobbled a little.

“You…” Xiao Chengjun was first dumbstruck, then couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Xiao Chengjun was good looking to begin with, and when he laughed, it seemed like the sun had come out from behind the clouds. Lou Jing was transfixed by the sight, and forgot what he was about to say next. He told himself that he had to make the Crown Prince laugh more in future.

Back at the Eastern Palace, Xiao Chengjun followed Lou Jing back to Bafeng Hall as usual. The Crown Prince had his own sleeping quarters – Chongren Hall, but for the first half-month after their marriage, he was expected to sleep in his Consort’s bedchambers.

“Dianxia, Lord Cai requests to speak with you urgently,” An Shun said, hurrying up the moment the palanquin was set down.

Xiao Chengjun frowned, then turned to Lou Jing. “You can head inside to rest first,” he said.

Lou Jing nodded, rising to move toward his sleeping quarters. The palanquin bearing Xiao Chengjun was lifted up again, and the bearers started moving in the direction of Chongwen Chambers.

“Dianxia!” Cai Yi rushed up immediately upon seeing Xiao Chengjun. “The Imperial Censor Geng Zhuo has been imprisoned!”

“What?” Xiao Chengjun was shocked. The Imperial Censor, who had been used by the other ministers to test the waters, had been thrown in prison? What of the age-old rule that outspoken ministers were not to be punished?