La vie des gens de la campagne en ville sous la dynastie Song

Chapitre 52

Qingmei took out several sheets of chiffon-like paper from her sleeve and said, "The situation in the north is getting more and more chaotic, and the people we sent back are sending back more and more messages. I've sorted through them first and copied down the ones I think are useful here."

Zhao Gou took the paper and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Qingmei smiled faintly and remained silent.

As he received the news, Zhao Gou smiled faintly. Qin Zhen's judgment was indeed excellent. Han Shizhong and Yue Fei were both fierce generals. Together with Zong Ze, the Shandong garrison commander, they had already defeated the Jin army that attempted to launch a surprise attack on the Liao and Song armies from the sea, achieving remarkable military exploits.

Liu Qi lived up to his expectations, following Zhong Shidao northward to replace Tong Guan's Northwest Army, helping the Liao army defend Nanjing and Xijing, thus preventing the Jin army from advancing further south.

He put down what he was holding and asked Qingmei, "Is there any further news from the palace?"

"Since Lady Ying sent the message five days ago, there has been no further news from her."

Zhao Gou then said, "Have the blueprints that Brother Tang drew recently been sent to the Wei Factory? You need to keep a close eye on it. These things cannot be taken lightly. If something goes wrong, the Wei Factory will be reduced to ashes, just like the Xiyuan today."

Qingmei said, "The Imperial Guard is the Prince's life's work, so this servant will naturally be extremely careful."

"Sister Qingmei, please don't use the word 'servant' in front of me anymore. You and Qin Zhen are like family to me."

Qingmei smiled and replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 096 Dragon Descends and Phoenix Returns to Its Nest

Just as Qingmei was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and said, "Your Highness, there is something else. I don't know if I'm overthinking it, but I feel I should say it so that Your Highness will have a better understanding."

Zhao Gou nodded and said, "Speak your mind to me directly."

"Miss Wu, she..."

"Wu Shaofen? What happened to her?"

Qingmei said carefully, "In the past two years, Linlang Pavilion's business has grown bigger and bigger, but as the young lady grows up, her mind seems to have changed. Ever since she went to Shandong to deliver goods and came back, she has been absent-minded. Linlang Pavilion is the treasury of Weichang. If something happens to Linlang Pavilion, I am worried that Weichang will also be greatly affected."

Zhao Gou tapped the table lightly as he pondered that Wu Shaofen was indeed not very suitable for business. If it weren't for Fan Tianxiang's support and Qin Zhen's constant stream of creative ideas, Linlang Pavilion would not have become the number one merchant in the Jiangnan region in just two years.

“It’s only natural that she misses Brother Yue, who is separated from her. Here’s what we’ll do: you take over the winery and inn business, and select two capable people from the manor to help out. Let her be in charge of the escort agency’s affairs, so she’ll have more opportunities to go to Shandong.”

Qingmei laughed and said, "Your Highness, you are too kind to your servants. But the manor is always short-staffed, so where would we find people to help out at Linlang Pavilion?"

Zhao Gou's initially cheerful expression suddenly turned cold. He said, "Don't worry about the Prince's residence. We should return to Bianjing by next spring at the latest."

Qingmei recalled the message Li Shishi had sent a few days ago. Emperor Huizong's health was deteriorating, and the imperial physicians had said he wouldn't survive the winter. Zhao Gou should indeed return to Bianjing.

Under the moonlight, the snow had stopped. Qin Zhen walked on the snow, listening to the crunching sound of the snow under her feet, and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "The snow in Jiangnan is really heavy."

A figure suddenly appeared on the previously empty treetops. Upon hearing Qin Zhen's words, the person replied, "It hasn't snowed this heavily in Jiangnan for many years."

Qin Zhen looked up at the treetops, then leaped into the air. He landed steadily in front of the figure, smiled at him, and said, "Great Hero Long, you're rarely seen, why have you come in person today?"

The person in front of her was Long Daxia, the leader of the Zhenhai Gang, who had met Qin Zhen once in Liao Kingdom, and was also a good friend of her third senior brother, Su Mufei.

"I have some news to send to you from Bohai. I happened to be in Lin'an to see the Alliance Leader, so I made the trip myself."

"Oh? How's the fighting going over there?"

Master Long said, "The Song army won. However, the Song soldiers were not very good at naval warfare, and they suffered considerable losses."

Qin Zhen asked worriedly, "How is my elder brother Yue Fei? Is he injured?"

"Don't worry. This naval battle was largely thanks to Yue Fei. I didn't expect him to be so skilled in naval warfare. Otherwise, the Song army would have suffered even greater losses. He deserves a lot of credit this time."

Upon hearing the good news, Qin Zhen smiled happily. Master Long said, "Alright, I've delivered the message; I should be going now."

"Please thank my third senior brother for me. It's all thanks to him," Qin Zhen said.

Master Long nodded, and his figure disappeared into the treetops. Qin Zhen lightly jumped down, shook the snow off his clothes, and strolled forward.

Su Mufei had a large number of martial arts heroes under his command, and they were widely distributed. Since Qin Zhen left Bianjing, they had been entrusted by Su Mufei to take care of her. No matter what difficulties she encountered, there was always someone helping her behind the scenes. Even if she did not deliberately inquire about some information, someone would always tell her, which benefited her greatly.

She was just thinking of telling Zhao Gou the good news that Yue Fei had won the battle when she saw Zhao Gou walking over from the opposite path.

Zhao Gou took off his cloak and draped it over Qin Zhen, asking, "Second Brother Tang, are you settling in well at the Ya Yuan residence?"

"What's there to be unaccustomed to? He still locks himself in his room and studies those things. I found something interesting from him again today, I'll show you in a bit."

Zhao Gou smiled. Tang Yufeng's place was practically Qin Zhen's toy library. Whenever a new hidden weapon came out, Qin Zhen would always be the first to play with it, which was considered as helping him test it out.

"I have good news to tell you today," Zhao Gou said.

Qin Zhen said in surprise, "I also have good news to tell you. You go first."

"Okay, I'll go first. Yue Fei made great contributions in Shandong. Isn't that good news?"

Qin Zhen's eyes showed surprise and a little disappointment: "So you knew all along? I was planning to surprise you."

News spreads incredibly fast among martial arts practitioners, and Qin Zhen was astonished to discover that Zhao Gou's subordinates possessed such advanced communication capabilities.

"There's something else. I just thought about it by myself. Let's set off back to Beijing in a few days. I want you to come home for the New Year this year, okay?"

As soon as Zhao Gou finished speaking, Qin Zhen cheered. She hadn't seen her parents for two years, much longer than when they went to Liao. How could she not be happy? After her cheers subsided, she asked, "When I asked you this afternoon, you said you didn't want to go back to Bianjing. How come you changed your mind so quickly?"

"The matters concerning Wei Factory and Linlang Pavilion have been stabilized, so I no longer need to oversee them here. I can let the people in Juxian Pavilion handle them. When I have some free time, I might as well go back to Bianjing for a visit. Besides, I heard that the Crown Princess is pregnant, so I should go back to congratulate her."

"Oh, Sister Zhu is pregnant? The Crown Prince must be overjoyed. It's been more than two years, and finally there's some news."

Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou walked forward while talking. Although they were talking about the same thing, their thoughts were quite different.

In the late winter of the second year of Xuanhe, Prince Kang, Zhao Gou, returned to the capital after nearly three years away from Bianjing. He did not inform anyone beforehand, only sending someone to inform the emperor and the crown prince when he was about to enter the city, which surprised everyone.

When Zhao Huan received the news, he was both surprised and alarmed. He hadn't expected that his spies would not have received any information at all. This was simply too outrageous!

On the morning of the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhao Gou walked into the main hall under the rare winter morning light. His already slightly tall and strong figure was well-proportioned, and standing under the Golden Palace, he had the aura of looking down on all things.

Zhao Huan gazed at him, and in the dazzling light of his eyes, all the gold and jade in the hall seemed to lose their luster. At that moment, Zhao Huan stood there dumbfounded, suddenly feeling that the handsome young man before him was a complete stranger.

Emperor Huizong opened his cloudy eyes wearily, his gaze devoid of any light. Only with the assistance of the chief eunuch Li Yan was he able to sit securely on the throne. Seeing his father in such a state, Zhao Gou knew that Li Shishi had indeed not lied to him; his father's time was drawing near.

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 097 Playing Dumb and Deceptive

"Brother, I'm back."

After the morning court session, Zhao Gou walked steadily toward Zhao Huan, who was standing there dumbfounded, and smiled.

Zhao Huan smiled stiffly and reached out to Zhao Gou, who was now as tall as him on the tower, saying, "Ninth Brother has grown up so fast these past two years, he's practically an adult now."

“Your Majesty always treats me like a child. You’re about to become a father, so I’ve naturally grown up.”

When the topic of fatherhood came up, Zhao Huan's smile became more natural. He walked side by side with Zhao Gou out of the palace and said, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back this time, Ninth Brother? No one had time to pick you up."

Zhao Gou said with a smile, "I'm just coming back from a trip, why would I need anyone to pick me up? Just don't call me a pleasure-seeking prince."

Recalling the reason why Zhao Gou was forced to leave the capital, Zhao Huan said with a guilty heart, "I have investigated the message from back then. It was done by my third brother. At that time, I... shouldn't have suspected you..."

“Brother, let’s not bring up what happened back then. Aren’t we still good brothers? If we’re estranged, then the villains will succeed.”

Hearing Zhao Gou say this, Zhao Huan was somewhat relieved. For the past two years, he had been worried that Zhao Gou would turn against him. He knew best that his ninth brother was exceptionally intelligent, and if the two of them turned against each other, he would have an even more powerful enemy. For this reason, he had always regretted his hasty decision. However, it now seemed that he had worried too much.

Zhao Gou then said, "I came back specifically for my sister-in-law's happy occasion. However, I will visit my mother today and then visit my sister-in-law at the Eastern Palace tomorrow. My brother, please prepare some wine so that we can have a good drink together!"

"Good, good," Zhao Huan said happily, "I will prepare wine and food at the East Palace tomorrow and wait for you to come, Ninth Brother!"

After bidding farewell to Zhao Huan, Zhao Gou went to the palace of Consort Wei to pay his respects. Consort Wei had not seen her son for many years. Upon seeing him, she embraced him and wept bitterly, berating Zhao Gou for being unfilial, having been gone for more than two years without returning to visit her.

When Zhao Gou saw the few strands of white hair at Consort Wei's temples, his heart ached, and he repeatedly begged for forgiveness. Consort Wei, however, didn't truly blame Zhao Gou; she had only spoken harshly out of concern for her son to vent her anger. She then pulled Zhao Gou to look around.

He's grown taller and bigger, truly a young man now. Consort Wei looked at her handsome son with pride, but as she took his hand, she was utterly astonished. Looking down, she saw that Zhao Gou's hands were covered in calluses!

"My son, tell your mother honestly. Have you suffered a lot these past two years?"

Zhao Gou smiled at Consort Wei's tearful eyes and comforted her, saying, "Enjoying the scenery is so carefree, how could you possibly suffer?"

Consort Wei held up his hand and asked, "Don't lie to your mother, how come your hands have such thick calluses?"

"Mother, you're overthinking it. These are calluses from practicing swordsmanship. What's wrong with a few calluses on my hands, a grown man? Do you expect me to be raised like a little girl?"

Hearing this, Consort Wei wiped away her tears and said, "There should be moderation in martial arts training. None of your brothers have suffered as much as you have. Why bother?"

"Alright, Mother, I'm doing very well, please stop talking about me. How about you? How are you doing in the palace?"

"It's still the same old story. The Emperor's health is deteriorating day by day. The position of Crown Prince has been decided. What new tricks can the harem come up with? Everything is quite peaceful."

Seeing that Consort Wei's palace was fully equipped and the standards were set according to the rank of the four consorts, Zhao Gou knew that his mother had not suffered, and he felt much more at ease.

The mother and son were chatting about everyday things when a palace maid suddenly announced, "Princess Qishan of the Liao Kingdom requests an audience."

While Zhao Gou was surprised, he recalled that a year ago, news had indeed been sent that the Liao Kingdom had sent a princess to the Song Dynasty for a marriage alliance. He thought it had nothing to do with him and did not take it to heart. But he did not know why this princess would come to see his mother.

Consort Wei was not surprised. She simply told her maid, "Tell Yige that my son has returned to the capital to see me today, and it is inconvenient for me to receive him. Tell her to come and talk to me tomorrow."

It turns out that this Princess Qishan was named Yige. Zhao Gou asked Consort Wei, "Is Mother Consort very familiar with Princess Qishan?"

Consort Wei said with some regret, "Yige is also a pitiful child. During the war in Liao, she was married off to our country in order to obtain our support. But the Emperor's illness... everyone knows about it. How can we ruin this child's life? The Empress originally wanted to arrange for her to marry the Crown Prince, which would not affect the marriage alliance. However, Huan'er was unwilling to marry her, so the matter has been delayed. Seeing that she is lonely and pitiful, I often invite her to come and sit with me."

Just then, the palace maid returned to the hall and said, "Your Majesty, Princess Qishan insisted on seeing Prince Kang after hearing that he had returned to the palace. What should we do?"

"Eh?" Consort Wei asked Zhao Gou in surprise, "Did you know Yi Ge when you were in Liao?"

"I don't know her," Zhao Gou replied honestly, though he was also unsure. He had never heard of this Princess Qishan in the Liao Kingdom, so how could he know her?

"Fine, since she wants to see me, let her in," Consort Wei instructed.