Chapter 352
Xia Jinghong thought that would be the end of it, but just a few days later, Eunuch Huang came to him again, sweating nervously, and reported that several imperial princes had caught the Shouguang chickens sent from Beimang and roasted them.
The Shouguang chickens sent from Beimang were covered in black feathers that shimmered with a metallic luster, and their tail feathers were very long – truly a sight to behold. Xia Jinghong had ordered them raised for ornamental purposes, and now they had been roasted.
[Shouguang chickens (寿光鸡): a famous black-feathered chicken breed from Shouguang city, Shandong Province. Prized for its tender meat and high nutritional value, recognized as one of China's Four Great Chicken Breeds.]
This time, Xia Jinghong was truly furious. He punished the children by making them copy books.
They copied for two full days. By the end, not only were their hands numb, but their backsides were too.
Xia Jinghong thought this harsh punishment would calm the children down, but then these same children ran off to the Imperial Laundry, saying they wanted to experience what it was like to wash clothes themselves.
As long as they didn't wreck his imperial garden or roast his chickens, then fine – let them wash!
The imperial princes should also experience the lives of the common people. Xia Jinghong had personally watched Guaizai wash clothes; the boy was sensible enough.
The sons of Heaven were no different from ordinary people. If common people could wash clothes, then naturally the princes could too.
The next day, he heard they had gone to the Imperial Kitchen. Xia Jinghong asked Grand Tutor Ji about it, and Grand Tutor Ji said the princes had been studying quite efficiently lately. After washing clothes once, they came back and voluntarily wrote down their reflections. Grand Tutor Ji was very pleased, feeling that the children had become more lively and upright in character.
If washing clothes once had such good results, then let them go! Maybe after a trip to the Imperial Kitchen, they would have a qualitative leap forward. But then—
Eunuch Huang burst in shouting, "Your Majesty! The Imperial Kitchen is on fire!"
Xia Jinghong: "..."
"Your Majesty, several princes were swimming in the lotus pond. They thought the lotus flowers were in the way, so they uprooted all your favorite Dancing Consort Lotus and Ancient Lotus."
Xia Jinghong: "..."
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince was jumping into the water and a lotus stalk pierced his bottom."
Xia Jinghong: "..."
Xia Jinghong stamped his foot repeatedly.
What a disaster!
Why did I have to be so difficult back then?
What was so wrong with having a few quiet, bookish kids?
Now look at me—just one month in, and I've already lost two more clumps of hair.
In the past, he only worried about state affairs. Now he had to worry about both state affairs and the children.
He summoned in the Empress and a few of the consorts and gave them a real scolding. "All you do is embroider, gossip, and paint all day long. Just look at what the children have turned into!"
The Empress and consorts felt wronged.
First, when the children were quiet and inactive, he complained they were like old men and sighed deeply every time he saw them. Now that the children knew how to play and make trouble, he was complaining again.
But and the Empress and the consorts were satisfied with the children's changes. Besides, who could they really blame? Blame Guaizai? They couldn't bear to do that. The Empress was the niece of Old Madam Qin, and she knew the Qin family adored Guaizai. On Guaizai's first day at the Imperial Study, the Empress called him over. On the day he fought with Beimang, she hadn't gotten a good look at him. But after seeing him up close, the little boy was truly adorable. She had only looked at him twice when Guaizai's face turned red, and he lowered his head shyly.
The Empress asked him what was wrong. Guaizai looked very troubled, his little face scrunched up in distress: "Empress, are you falling in love with Guaizai? Although Guaizai is much handsomer than my father—a real sharp young man—Guaizai already has someone in his heart, and you're not Guaizai's type anyway, so don't get obsessed with Guaizai, okay? Guaizai is just a legend."
The Empress was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, unable to control herself.
When Xia Jinghong came to her palace a few times and chatted with her, he had mentioned that the father and son were cut from the same cloth – both extremely narcissistic. Look at them twice, and they'd think you had feelings for them. Turned out those words weren't wrong.
---
Having listened to Xia Jinghong's tirade, the women left together.
The moment they stepped out, they started chatting.
"Sister, that flower-shaped huadian you painted last time was beautiful. Could you teach me?"
[Huadian (花钿, flower inlay): a traditional decorative ornament worn on the forehead, usually made of gold, silver, pearls, gemstones, or painted with colorful pigments.]
"Oh, what's there to teach? Come to my palace, and I'll teach you. Should the rest of you sisters come too?"
Xia Jinghong was not particularly fond of women. He spent most of his time on state affairs, rarely stayed in the harem, and devoted even less time to his consorts.
His harem consisted of only nine women, all taken in from major noble families to balance political interests.
The daily lives of the imperial consorts weren't exactly filled with fear, but they were utterly tedious—just going through the motions. From the moment they stepped through the palace gates, they could hardly ever see their families again. Truly, "the palace gates are as deep as the sea." Leaving the palace was even harder. Outings or summer retreats were privileges only for favored consorts. The palace was boring! Besides vying for favor, they could only huddle together for amusement.
These few were in the same circle.
Listening to their chatter, Xia Jinghong felt his temper rising. He wanted to chop someone's head off, but he wasn't that kind of tyrant.
It was tough being an emperor. Too kind, and his subordinates wouldn't listen. Too harsh, and he'd be cursed for ten thousand years.
Xia Jinghong rested his forehead on his hand, feeling exhausted.
Fang Zichen's words suddenly flashed through his mind again.
What's so good about being emperor? You get up before dawn, wade through memorials after morning court, then have to tend to the harem at night and struggle all the way until midnight—and you can't finish early, or you'd lose your dignity as a man. After all that exhausting work, you still only eat three bowls of rice. And sometimes, when the worries pile up too high, you can't even bring yourself to eat.
Fang Zichen had no idea how mischievous Guaizai could be. But put several children together, and they could cause trouble every single day.
Learning good things was hard; learning bad things was easy. Besides, children were naturally playful. After playing at Fang residence a few times, the princes had gone wild.
Fang Zichen was summoned by Xia Jinghong every few days.
"What? They roasted your chickens? That's absolutely unacceptable. Rest assured, Your Majesty, your humble officer will go back and give him a thorough scolding to avenge your chickens."
After bringing Guaizai home and asking him what happened, it turned out the child hadn't been entirely wrong.
As for the Imperial Kitchen fire – the Second Prince had accidentally poured rapeseed oil into the fire. The child's intentions were good; he wanted to do housework. He was just inexperienced. How could you blame him for that?
As for catching the chickens, that needed a scolding.
Beimang had sent over a dozen. If they were going to catch them, why didn't they sneak them out of the palace to roast at home? Doing it right inside the palace was just asking for trouble.
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