J'ai passé mon bras autour de la taille fine de l'homme fort

Chapitre 101

Zhong Ke touched the spot his mother had patted and smiled sheepishly. Then he reached into the brocade pouch tied to his belt, took out a pair of white jade pigs, and stuffed them into Princess Yongshou's arms, saying, "These are from my father, and I'm giving them to you."

These jade pigs appear to be ancient artifacts from the Han Dynasty. They combine round carving, intaglio carving, and bas-relief carving, and are round and plump. Their tails are curled up on their rumps, and their limbs are bent and stretched out as if they are running. Their expressions are vivid and endearing.

Princess Yongshou smiled and stroked the jade pig repeatedly, seemingly quite pleased with it.

The Lady of Jingzhao County looked Zhongke up and down, and suddenly asked him, "Where is the tiger-head locket on your tassel?"

We looked up at the sound and, sure enough, found that the tassel around Zhongke's neck was empty; the ornament that was supposed to hang there was gone.

“Oh, I took it off and left it with Sister Wan,” Zhong Ke said, then pointed to the jade pig in Princess Yongshou’s hand and said, “Zhu Zhu is a pig, and pigs are afraid of tigers, so I can’t bring the tiger head locket to see her.”

Hearing this, Qiuhe just smiled, while the Lady of Jingzhao County slapped Zhongke's hand away and scolded, "How many times have I told you? You can't call Eleventh Aunt like that!"

Zhong Ke said unhappily, "Eleventh Aunt is called Piggy, and Grandpa allowed me to call her that." After saying that, he called out to Princess Yongshou repeatedly, "Piggy Piggy Piggy Piggy Piggy..."

Princess Yongshou looked at him in confusion, then at the pair of jade pigs. As if suddenly realizing something, she pushed the jade pigs away and pouted angrily.

The scene was so amusing that everyone couldn't help but laugh. Zhong Ke also started to laugh, but then a little girl behind him clearly called out to him, "Mao Mao!"

Zhong Ke turned around and bowed to the three-year-old girl, saying, "Ninth Aunt."

That was Princess Fu'an, the ninth daughter of the Emperor. The "Mao Mao" she called him was Zhong Ke's nickname. I know the story behind it: When Zhong Ke was a little over two years old, he entered the palace to see the Emperor and Empress. At that time, he had a lot of hair, which was divided into several squares, and the hair from each square was tied into a small ball. The Emperor saw this and laughed, saying, "This hairstyle is not good; it looks like a head full of bumps." So he ordered it to be cut off, changing his current hairstyle of a tuft of hair. At that time, Zhong Ke didn't want his hair cut, so the Thirteenth Regiment had his hair shaved off while he was asleep. When Zhong Ke woke up, he touched his head and found it completely bald. Seeing the tufts of hair on the ground, he immediately felt sorrow and picked up a tuft of hair, beginning to cry, "My hair..." because he hadn't yet learned the word "hair." From then on, the people in the palace gave him the nickname "Mao Mao," and occasionally when they saw him, they would tease him, deliberately saying, "My hair..."

Someone must have told Princess Fu'an that at that moment, as she looked at Zhong Ke, she called out again with a grin, "Mao Mao!"

Zhong Ke was embarrassed and awkward, but he couldn't say anything to his Ninth Aunt. He could only stare at the roof beams, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Princess Yongshou quickly realized the impact of this nickname on him and tried calling him "Mao Mao" as well. Zhong Ke looked at her in surprise, then said angrily, "Pig, you can't call me that!"

Princess Yongshou, however, grew even happier and called out enthusiastically, "Mao Mao, Mao Mao, Mao Mao..."

Zhongke was indignant and called Princess Yongshou "piggy" again. Princess Yongshou continued to fight back with "fuzzy". The two children bickered in this simple way, which made her look radiant and completely different from when I first met her today.

"These two daughters are the most precious gifts God has given me." After the Lady of Jingzhao left with Zhongke, Qiuhe, in response to my question of "how you have been lately," held both princesses to her side and said to me, "There was a time when I gave birth to my daughters. With them, I found happiness. Perhaps, the reason I came into this world, and why God arranged it this way, was to give them life. Thinking this way, I finally feel at peace, and I can let go of my previous disappointments and sorrows. After all, God has been kind to me, giving me these two lovely daughters, and I am very happy to be their mother."

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) A pearl cast into the rubble like duckweed

Chapter word count: 3181 Update time: 09-07-05 10:40

7 Duckweed

(2885 words)

Several days later, the Emperor summoned me to an audience. In just one year, he seemed to have aged considerably. When I entered, he was leaning on his elbow at the table, constantly rubbing his forehead. The sparse shadow of his white beard swept across the thick stack of documents in front of him. In the candlelight, the deep wrinkles on his face looked like marks carved by a knife.

Upon hearing my greeting, he glanced at me briefly, then said directly, "On the Double Ninth Festival, the princess will come to the palace. You should meet her in the Empress's Pavilion."

His face was expressionless, and his voice betrayed no emotion, but rather than indifference, it was more a kind of exhaustion that bordered on utter despair.

After bowing deeply, I said to him, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace, but on the Double Ninth Festival, it is enough for me to catch a glimpse of the princess from afar. There is no need for us to meet again in the Empress's Pavilion."

This is the result of my deep thought over the past few days, and it's certainly something His Majesty wouldn't have expected. This surprised him somewhat. After a moment of contemplation, he asked me, "Are you afraid that you'll become too emotional when you meet the princess, or are you afraid that the Empress will feel awkward watching from the sidelines?"

I shook my head and replied, "I fear I will see the princess's tears."

The emperor remained silent, then finally waved his hand and said, "You may leave."

I bowed in thanks and slowly withdrew. As I stepped out the door, I clearly heard a sigh behind me.

As I was about to leave Funing Palace, I remembered to ask him, "Has His Majesty given me clear instructions on what I should do in the future?"

“No,” Deng Duzhi said. “He has no time to think about that right now…”

Seeing that no one was around, he lowered his voice and told me, "In the past two days, Sima Guang has made three consecutive pronouncements. First, on the day of the Thirteenth Princess's funeral, he kept the city and palace gates open until late at night, saying that the palace security was lax and had broken the rules. He wrote several hundred words, recounting the entire procession of guards and ceremonies that should have been performed when the palace gates were opened at night. He also said that since the beginning of the year, there have been frequent natural disasters and many people are malnourished. This is precisely the time for the emperor to restrain himself. Recently, there have been too many banquets and drinking in the palace, which is exhausting for the people and wasting money. Moreover, alcohol is a harmful substance that corrupts one's character and morality. The emperor should stop all banquets and drinking, calm his mind and nourish his energy, and avoid drinking too much alcohol and eating rich and poisonous foods. In addition, he also advised the emperor that 'the concubines in the harem should only come to see the emperor occasionally,' and that it is not advisable to have them come too often, as this would disrupt the harmony of the palace..."

I thought of Qiuhe, and then asked Chief Administrator Deng, "Has His Majesty been frequently summoning Lady Shi lately?"

Deng Duzhi sighed, "In the past two or three years, the only ones who have been summoned frequently are Lady Dong and Lady Zhou... Everyone knows about the Emperor's heartache, but he has given birth to five princesses in three years. The ministers are all advising him to choose a member of the imperial clan as his heir. This is the third matter that Sima Guang discussed."

Indeed, compared to the matter of the crown prince, my placement is a negligible problem, and the Emperor has no time to think about it. Although, in the past year, the princess's grief must have been an important factor in accelerating his aging.

After that, the Emperor and Empress still didn't assign me a new position. I guessed they meant I didn't need to do anything; I just needed to remain hidden in the palace and avoid being discovered by the censors. On the Double Ninth Festival, no one told me how to see the princess; it seemed everyone had completely forgotten about it. I didn't know if the princess had entered the palace or where she might be. With nothing to do, I saw the officials in charge of the palace directing eunuchs to row small boats into Yaojin Pond to clear away excess duckweed. I volunteered to help them with this task.

I was given a small boat, and I rowed into the center of the pond, then used a net to gently wipe away the slightly overflowing green patches on the surface. I was quite focused for most of the time, until my boat drifted to a spot shaded by weeping willows, when I suddenly remembered that this was the place where I first met the princess and Cao Ping boating.

If Cao Ping had been the one betrothed to the princess back then, everything would be different now. They would be living a peaceful and harmonious life, perhaps even enjoying the happiness of family life like the Thirteenth Regiment Commander and Miss Gao...

As if confirming my thoughts, I gradually heard the laughter of a young girl behind me. I turned my head and saw an exquisite painted boat drifting from the misty waves and stopping not far in front of me. There were many women and children on the boat. Upon closer inspection, I recognized the Empress, the Lady of Jingzhao County, and several children of the Thirteen Militia. Feng Wan'er was also among them, and the woman sitting next to her was the Princess of Yan, whom I had not seen for a year.

A pink peach blossom chrysanthemum adorned the princess's temple, but against this vibrant backdrop, she herself appeared as withered and thin as an autumn leaf. At this moment, she sat with Feng Wan'er, following the capital's Double Ninth Festival custom, cutting colorful silk into patterns of dogwood, chrysanthemums, and hibiscus to give as gifts to relatives and friends.

She did this slowly and deliberately, not noticing my presence for the time being. The Empress, however, while chatting with the Lady of Jingzhao, would occasionally glance at me, intentionally or unintentionally.

Perhaps this was the way she arranged for us to meet, based on my suggestion. I bowed to her, then gently steered my boat deeper into the shade of the willows.

Although we weren't far apart, I could still observe the movements on the painted boat. At that moment, Zhongke tied a transparent glass bottle with a long, thin red ribbon, suspended it from a thin wooden stick, and then lowered it into the water, pretending to fish. Zhongming saw this and asked him, "Is that the glass bottle you're using the one Sister Wan uses to hold rosewater?"

Zhong Ke turned around and made a face, but didn't answer. Seeing this, Feng Wan'er put down her scissors and stood up to look. Zhong Zhen immediately followed, taking two steps to Zhong Ke's side, and with a swift pull, lifted the bottle up. Feng Wan'er looked closely and exclaimed, "Oh dear, it really is my rosewater bottle!"

Zhongzhen's face turned cold, and he sternly shouted at his younger brother, "Zhongke!"

Zhong Ke chuckled, showing no fear, and turned to Feng Wan'er, saying, "Sister Wan, I only got this bottle to play with because I saw you had run out of rose water."

Feng Wan'er laughed and said, "Nonsense, there's clearly still half left."

Upon hearing this, Zhongming stepped forward and said to Feng Wan'er, "Fourth Brother is still a child and doesn't know any better. Sister Wan, please don't be angry. I'll go home and get a bottle for you later."

Before Feng Wan'er could answer, Zhong Zhen shook his head at Zhong Ming: "Don't indulge him too much, otherwise he'll take other people's things and mess around with them again next time." Then he glared at Zhong Ke, tore off the glass bottle, and raised the wooden stick in his hand as if to hit Zhong Ke.

Zhong Ke laughed and ran to the princess's side, hiding behind her as he went, pleading, "Auntie, save me!"