Seeing Shen Nian's expression fall, Qi Junmu took his hand and gave it a reassuring pat. "Thinking of General Shen?" Compared with Marquis Shen, he still preferred calling Shen Yi "General."
Shen Yi had spent so many years at the border—more than "Marquis," the title "General" suited him better.
Shen Nian was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
Qi Junmu raised his brows in surprise. To him, Emperor Jing was a sovereign, a source of pressure. When he thought of Emperor Jing, there was little paternal affection—only reverence. So as the anniversary approached, he felt little sorrow, only awe.
Shen Nian was clearly different—at least Shen Yi had been gentle and kind to him.
Seeing the rare expression on the Emperor's face, Shen Nian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, would you think this humble subject is heartless for saying that?"
Qi Junmu shook his head. "You have your reasons."
Shen Nian said softly, "It is not that there is no father-son bond. But my father's heart was always bitter in this life; he rarely knew happiness. This way—this is what he would have wanted. If he is finally at peace, then I am glad for him."
Qi Junmu did not know why he said that, nor did he have any experience of such feelings. So he said, "From now on, you have me. General Shen can rest easy."
Shen Nian smiled. "Yes."
In the end, guesses were just guesses. The past was gone and could not be reclaimed. The present and the future were in his and Qi Junmu's hands.
Compared with their fathers' generation, they were truly fortunate.
Thinking this, Shen Nian smiled at Qi Junmu, his brows soft and his bearing refined and scholarly.
Qi Junmu tightened his grip. Their fingers laced together, holding fast.
---
On the day of Emperor Jing's death anniversary, the weather was bitterly cold.
No matter the weather, the Astronomical Bureau could always find fitting words. On a bright sunny day, they would say it showed Emperor Jing's approval of the current Emperor. On a cold overcast day, they would say Heaven mourned for Emperor Jing.
Either way, it was all worthy of praise.
On that day, the Empress Dowager, the consort dowagers, the Empress, the princes, and the princesses from within the palace, along with all the civil and military officials from the capital—including the Western Di envoy—all gathered at the imperial mausoleum.
The rituals were extremely tedious. From dawn until dusk, there was endless weeping and eulogizing.
By the time the rites ended, over two shichen (4 hours) had passed.
The wind howled coldly through the mausoleum, but Qi Junmu did not feel the chill.
Emperor Jing's life—his achievements and failings—could only be left for future generations to judge. Apart from offering his respects and silently vowing to protect Da Qi's realm, Qi Junmu could do little else.
As for Qi Junyan and Qi Junzhuo, this was their first appearance in public since returning to the capital. Qi Junyan looked listless and distracted, his gaze toward the Emperor full of complicated emotions.
As for Qi Junzhuo, one could see with the naked eye that he had lost considerable weight. He kept his head lowered, making his expression unreadable.
Due to the solemn occasion, the Emperor did not speak with them privately.
After the anniversary, rumors began circulating in the palace that the king of Western Di wished to marry Princess Fuhua.
It was said that Princess Fuhua had cried several times upon hearing the news. The Empress Dowager angrily rebuked the palace staff for spreading nonsense and summoned Princess Fuhua to her side to console her. The mother-daughter relationship, strained before, had eased somewhat after this Western Di affair.
Yue shi and Lin En also entered the palace to comfort the Empress Dowager.
The Emperor was displeased by the rumors and directly summoned Lin Xiao. He first asked about preparations for the imperial examination.
Lin Xiao said, "The examination can be held as scheduled in early spring next year."
The Emperor nodded. "See that it is done well. I await your good news, Uncle."
Lin Xiao said, "This subject will not fail Your Majesty's trust."
The Emperor gave a soft "Mm," and then said, "The Western Di envoys have been in the capital for some time now. They submit memorials daily asking to see me. We have kept them waiting long enough. I am thinking of holding a banquet to receive them and let them witness the might of our Da Qi."
"That would be fitting," Lin Xiao said after a moment's thought. "In ten days it will be Your Majesty's birthday. Shall we hold it then?"
"Choose another day," Qi Junmu said without hesitation. "The Ministry of Rites has been petitioning to celebrate my birthday, but I rejected it as too taxing on the people. Besides, my birthday falls too close to Father's death anniversary. It would not look good to hold a grand celebration. Let us skip it this year."
Lin Xiao said, "Then what does Your Majesty propose?"
"Pick any ordinary day," Qi Junmu said casually. "They’re just envoys from a small kingdom. Granting them an audience is already a great favor. There’s no need to bother choosing an auspicious date."
Perceiving the Emperor's attitude toward Western Di, Lin Xiao quickly said, "This subject will consult with the Ministry of Rites as soon as possible to set a date."
Qi Junmu nodded. Then he looked at Lin Xiao and said, "Uncle, there has been much gossip in the palace lately. Regarding Fuhua, does Imperial Mother have any plans?"
"This subject would not dare speak much on matters concerning the princess's reputation," Lin Xiao said hurriedly.
Qi Junmu looked at him, sighed, and said, "Never mind. I will ask Imperial Mother myself."
Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, looking gratified. If this could help ease the tension between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, nothing could be better. He then changed the subject and chatted briefly with the Emperor about other matters before taking his leave.
Once there was no one else in the hall, Qi Junmu narrowed his eyes and summoned Xia Guo.
Qi Junmu had always believed that as long as people did something, they would eventually leave traces. Even if it went unnoticed at first, with enough care and patience, one could always detect the unusual.
He had his doubts, and the matter he had Xia Guo keep an eye on was something he had long suspected. Though he had yet to reach a definite conclusion, there were still some clues to follow.
Most importantly, the timing, the place, and the circumstances were all too favorable. Qi Junmu no longer wanted to wait, nor did he have the time to wait. Because of certain events, so many people had been implicated—who was innocent and who was not—and none of the court officials could say for sure.
Qi Junmu wanted to get to the bottom of everything as quickly as possible, clear the names of the innocent, punish the guilty, and then he could rest easy and be the Emperor with full peace of mind.
With the Emperor's tacit approval, the date for the banquet in honor of the Western Di envoys was soon set—for the day before the Emperor's birthday.
The Ministry of Rites and Lin Xiao had deliberated over this date again and again, discussing it over and over.
The main issue was that the Emperor did not wish to celebrate his birthday, yet the banquet for the Western Di envoys was also a matter of great importance.
Caught at this critical juncture, the banquet could neither be more lavish than the Emperor's birthday celebration nor fail to impress the Western Di envoys with Da Qi's power and the Emperor's majesty. If it were not for the Emperor's wish to keep things low-key, some officials in the Ministry of Rites would have wanted to hang colored silk on every tree, just to show the Western Di more directly and objectively how wealthy Da Qi was.
Fortunately, that suggestion was shot down by everyone—otherwise, the Ministry of Rites would have been one official short.
This banquet was also the first court event held since Emperor Jing's passing. To ensure both host and guests enjoyed themselves, the Ministry of Rites had put in great effort, arranging various performances and fireworks.
As the date of the banquet for the Western Di envoys drew nearer, Shen Nian grew increasingly anxious.
He had seen life and death so often that few things could rattle him, but this time was different. The calmer Qi Junmu appeared on the surface, the more Shen Nian felt that this banquet was fraught with danger.
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