Chapter 55 – Birthday is next month

Inside the room, the fragrance of the medicine was heavy, Shen Qi, because of the previous strong support to get up, to deal with the Prince who boarded the door to rob people, this moment the back throbbed badly, like an East China Sea dragon whose tendons had been pulled out by Nezha, lying prone on the edge of the bed, and newly torn nails were wrapped in gauze again.

Gao Shuo half-kneeled outside the screen and reported back, “The brother who delivered the secret fold came back and reported that the Imperial Master had already known about this, and immediately dispatched the imperial guards to stop the Crown Prince’s carriage in the streets and alleys near Nanfenfang and welcomed the Crown Prince back to the palace.”

He hesitated for a moment and couldn’t help but ask, “Although the crown prince is young, after all, he is the Crown Prince, if we inform the emperor, if he knows about it in the future, will …… he be able to do so?”

Shen Qi’s voice seemed to be tainted with the bitter medicinal scent, and appeared a bit hoarse: “The Brocade Guards are only loyal to one master, and that’s the current emperor. Since the Emperor is worried about the Prince’s naughty behavior, he asked the Brocade Guards to take care of him, so let’s just tell the truth and ensure the Prince’s safety, so what’s the point of snitching? Even if the Crown Prince wants to settle the score, it will have to wait until after he succeeds the throne.”

“However, by that …… time,” Shen Qi gave a low laugh, “I am afraid that he can not leave us even more than Jin Shang.”

Gosaku nodded in understanding and was about to leave.

Shen Qi asked again, “Has Lord Su returned safely to his residence?”

Gao Shuo said, “Back to the house. I watched him enter, and he had a female maiden with him, saying she was a new concubine.”

“!”

Shen Qi couldn’t speak for a moment.

Gao Shuo listened to the rough and suppressed panting in the inner room, as if he was facing a trapped beast grinding its teeth and sucking blood across the screen, creeping up with chills all over his back, and only lowered his head to wait for the storm to descend.

The storm, however, did not come. After a long time, Shen Qi’s voice sounded quietly: ”Got it, you go back and continue to keep an eye on it. Before you go out, explain to the housekeeper that you should go to Mr. Ying Xu’s medical hut after dawn, and say that the medicine for your injuries is running out, so please ask him to help match some more. Bring the bamboo jar on the desktop at your hand, let him identify the ingredients of the ointment inside, and it’s best to mix it according to the original recipe.”

Gosaku responded and exited the room with the bamboo jar.

The room fell back into silence, Shen Qi pulled out the blood-stained gauze that was biting on his teeth, rewound it back to his fingertips, picked up the bowl of linden flower nectar water on the spring bench next to the bed, and slowly drank it.

–

Wu Ming temporarily lived in the Su House, but this time insisted on refusing to live in the main house, but settled in the second courtyard’s room, compared to the two boys who lived in the third courtyard’s east and west rooms, and farther away from Su Yan, apparently placing himself in the position of a retainer.

Su Xiaobei and Su Xiaojing expressed satisfaction with his understanding, so the attitude also turned a little better, at first also annoyed him before leaving without saying goodbye, but after all, they are only thirteen or fourteen years old teenagers, soon to be relieved. Get along with a few days after feeling that this person give what to eat, never mention any conditions, in addition to practicing all day long do not love to chat, but there is nothing bad.

Days calmly past seven or eight days, Su Yan to the brocade guards of the mess almost cleaned up, during the period of time to decline a few late-night door to door of a huge bribe, politely refused the rouge hutong old acquaintances – flower leader Ruan Hong banana several invitations, to run themselves like a barrel of iron, a little bit of seam does not give flies to bite to.

Wu Ming also sensed that he was in a delicate situation and automatically took over the work of the driver, insisting on transporting him to and from various official offices and residences.

Su Yan was too embarrassed to bother Wu Ming, but after experiencing an accident in which the carriage was nearly pierced by a bamboo pole that fell from the roof, he agreed to his escort with great reluctance for his life.

Luckily, the accident never happened again, and he received a letter from home and a bag of clothes on the day he was about to go to the palace to resume his duties to the emperor.

The letter was sent from Fuzhou, is the original owner’s father, Fuzhou governor Su Keren handwritten, said he received his gold list of success, the whole family is overjoyed, told him to be diligent in the capital as an official, this one or two years first do not rush home to visit their families, so as not to give the superiors to leave the bad impression of the public because of the abolition of the private cloud.

In this letter than the official letter is still politically correct home behind, also attached to the mother Lin’s a small paragraph of his own handwriting, warm and caring, than his cheap father as a government official has a much more humane. Also said that the seventh day of June is Su Yan’s birthday, she is far away in the border area of the mother, can not personally cook a bowl of longevity noodles to his son, can only hand-sewn a few sets of summer clothes, trust the messenger to send, I hope that the length of the appropriate.

Su Yan looked at the parcel of finely crafted summer shirts, could not help but sigh “mother in the hands of the line, the wandering son on the clothes”, and asked the side of the waiting Su Xiaobei: “Today is the first day of June, right?”

Su Xiaobei replied, “This year’s Leap May, your honor forgot, so today is the first day of May again.”

Su Yan said, “Oh, then my birthdate should be next month. In fact, I even forgot my birthdate, and only remembered it after my mother reminded me of it in her letter.”

When his soul crossed over, the original owner had already come to the capital to prepare for the exam. He had lived alone in the inn for half a year and had not seen the original owner’s parents. Although he had all of the original owner’s memories, it was only like watching a long movie, the sorrows and joys were all other people’s, and he had no personal feelings for himself. It was not until now that I saw Lin’s handwriting that I felt a trace of long-lost affection from the warm words and loving handwriting, and resolved to take over the original owner’s responsibility in this world, and to serve the two old people as my own parents.

However, at the end of the handwritten letter, an unspecified sentence, “When you become an official, you are an adult, the court is different from the school, the rules are very strict, do not revert to your old ideas, so as not to be criticized for conduct, remember”, very much so that Su Yan mulled it over for a moment, and still didn’t understand what Lin meant by “revert to your old ideas”. What did Lin mean by “old thoughts returning”? The impression of the original master character quiet, reading and diligent, nothing wrong ah?

If you can not think of it, do not think about it, anyway, even if there is a problem is also the original owner, has nothing to do with him. Su Yan will be the family book into the study drawer, organize the clothes and grooming, with a thick book of folders and supporting materials, take the carriage to the noon gate, into the palace to see the driver.

Emperor Jinglong down the morning court, listen to blue Xi reported that the Da Lisi right Secretary Su Yan has been waiting for the driver for a long time, then passed him to the Royal Study Room to see the driver. Words fell, the emperor slightly pondered, but also changed to Yangxin Hall, and ordered the chamberlain to prepare tea and snacks in advance.

Su Yan, led by the chamberlain, came to the Palace of Nourishing Heart, see the surrounding arrangement, know that it is the emperor’s permanent residence, here to receive an audience with the courtiers, is a kind of show of favor.

He bowed in front of the imperial rules, couldn’t help but peek at the emperor – more than a month no see, the emperor seems to be slightly reduced, but the spirit is still bright, calm and serene face like a pool of deep springs, the hot summer see, people all over the body clear.

The emperor is also examining him, slightly frowned: “How to thin some children, your family cook still really want to be punished? Thoroughly investigate the matter of the Feng Party, I also know the intricacies, and do not rush you, can be slow to come.”

Su Yan misses the emperor’s thoughtfulness, laughed and said, “It’s not about the cook, official business is also busy, it’s just a bitter summer, the appetite is slightly lacking, in the fall will be good.”

Want to hold up to weigh, see exactly how light a few pounds …… this idea in the emperor’s mind flashed. In front of the palace waiting inside and outside the palace, he as if nothing had happened to Su Yan gave a seat, commanded: “folded to me to see …… Oh, so thick.”

Su Yan presented the folders and waited with his hands hanging down.

The emperor page by page carefully read through the end, some surprise, raised his eyes: “You not only uncovered Feng to the evil party, is the Jin Yiwei up and down the sieve all over the ah! Hundred households above more than a hundred people, divided into the upper middle and lower three classes made a review, than the assessment of the performance of the officials of the Beijing inspection is also careful. How, want to give me a new set of classes for the Brocade Guards?”

Su Yan know this kind of practice, in fact, the emperor’s mind, the emperor’s heart may be satisfied with how he heard the song and know the meaning of elegance, just the surface work to do enough, then the voice of the report: “is the subject of a lot of things. But Feng went to the evil operation of the Brocade Guards for many years, deep-rooted, if not so thoroughly sorted out, the stubborn tumor is difficult to remove. I thought, pick one is to pick, pick a string is also to pick, might as well take this opportunity to take all the worm-eaten bad melon clean.

As for the results of the investigation, I am confident that I can still be fair and unbiased, and all comments are well documented, so Your Majesty can take a look at the corroborating evidence that I have brought with me. In addition in the Da Lisi, there are still a dozen boxes of information, welcome any one of the adults who have objections to come to the file to check the bottom.”

The emperor raised the zhang folding: “Just look at this zhang folding, we know that you are spent a great deal of thought, put a great deal of effort. You bring things to stay, I will order the Secretary to comb through one by one, listing entries to me, the promotion of promotion, the depreciation of the depreciation, the beheading of the beheading. Jin Yiwei turbid for many years, it is time to clean up a bit.”

Su Yan heard the emperor not mention a word about the court and the cabinet, so he knew that he wanted to personally finalize the new list of officials of the Brocade Guards, so that he could hold this sharp sword in his hand.

I don’t know what new arrangement will the emperor make for Shen Qi in this shuffling campaign? He should not underestimate his merits, right? Su Yan pondered how he should invite the reward for his brother without showing his face.

Ever since he saw Shen Qi’s back injury, that horrible picture has been passing in front of his eyes from time to time. With that kind of serious trauma, the skin and flesh were completely removed, even if the treatment was proper, the secret medicine sent by King Yu was effective, and the injury recovered well, it would still leave extremely serious scars, which might even damage his skill and physique for the rest of his life. Every time he thought of this, Su Yan’s heart was flooded with guilt and touched, always wanting to make up for him in other ways.

However, Su Yan also knew that Emperor Jinglong had the common point of those profound emperors, and the other side of his meticulous mind was that he was heavy-handed and suspicious. Therefore, he couldn’t ask for this reward openly, so as not to let the emperor think that between him and Shen Qi, apart from moral justice, there were any personal feelings or interests involved, which would affect Shen Qi’s future instead.

Thoughts in a few moments after a hundred thousand turns, Su Yan sighed: ”The imperial prison punishment is too heavy, when the trial is easy to be beaten into confessions. Especially the ‘skinning, spine-breaking, frying, and combing’ stream, it is unspeakably cruel and against the heavenly law. I dare to ask Your Majesty to use your discretion to lighten it.”

The emperor was slightly stunned, seemed to penetrate his compassionate state of mind, felt that what he said is very reasonable, nodded and said: “You are right. Look at Zhuo Qi that all the injuries, we know the intensity of the prison sentence. In the future, the imperial prison eighteen punishment, only left the fingers, clip stick, canes and other light punishment, the rest when the abolition. Speaking of ‘freshening up’, that Shen Qi’s Jinyiwei Qianhu, how is it now?”

Su Yan was about to reply, “He has been bedridden for a month, his life is not in danger, his injuries are improving, I think he will be able to get up in a month or two”, but in the middle of his throat, he suddenly woke up —

Shen Qi was out of his head in the East Garden, and defected to be the emperor’s spy, so he must have been secretly in contact with the two. Shen Qi’s injury situation, the emperor can directly ask him, and why come to ask me?

Immediately turned the conversation, replied: “I take care of the master after the matter, had gone to visit Shen Qiandu, thank him for saving his life. At that time, his injuries were still serious, and now more than a month has passed, I do not know how well he will recuperate.”

The Emperor said, “He has been meritorious in this case and has suffered, I have a clear idea in my heart, and I should make a clear distinction between reward and punishment – how do you think it would be to give the Brocade Guards to him to take care of?”

Su Yan put on a look of shock: “This, isn’t it too steep? Ah, I’m not questioning His Majesty’s decision, it’s just that …… ahem, although I feel that there seems to be something wrong with it, but the Brocade Guards are the upper rate of the pro-guns, naturally it’s His Majesty’s call.”

The emperor nodded his head lightly, “Although Shen Qi is loyal and capable, but after all, he is not senior enough to be promoted too quickly, but not conducive to the overall situation. Let’s do it this way, advance to the fourth grade Commander Commander Commander, and take charge of the affairs of the Northern Zhenfu Division.”

Su Yan’s heart secretly happy, face also only unusual, said: “The imperial grace is great, I think he can understand the emperor’s painstaking, in the future to do their duty, serve the king and country.”

The emperor put the zhang folds on the case, got up and said, “After talking for half a day, you are also tired.”

Su Yan curtly said, “How long will it take to talk to the Imperial Master without getting tired.”

The emperor smiled lightly, “You are not tired, I am tired. Come, accompany me to use some refreshments, and then talk in detail about what you have done in the past month, and then have a meal at noon in the Yangxin Hall.”