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

Chapitre 89

Zhao Jiuzhi wasn't there. He had grown up with Ji Wuhuan and Su Mufei, experiencing much of the world of martial arts, and was eager to grow up and venture out into the world. As for his yearning for status, Su Mufei's position as the leader of the martial arts alliance seemed to hold a slightly stronger attraction for him; the throne should be left to the right person!

Before the Spring Festival in the second year of the Shengxi reign, Zhao Yi was forcibly summoned back to the palace. Due to years of outdoor activities, Zhao Yi had changed drastically. With his handsome and dashing appearance, tall and strong physique, and tanned skin, he rode a black horse all the way to the palace, captivating countless famous ladies of the capital along the way.

Upon returning to the palace, his first stop was to see Zhao Gou. Upon hearing Zhao Gou mention the matter of establishing a crown prince, he immediately tried to flee, managing to escape with great difficulty. He then hurried to Yuxiu Palace. He had long heard that Zhao Jiu had returned to the palace after descending the mountain, and that his eyesight had improved, but he was somewhat incredulous. He had to see it with his own eyes.

Zhao Jiu adored his younger sister, Zhao Jin, finding her adorable and cuddly, like dough. So, besides practicing his martial arts, his daily pleasure consisted of playing on the floor with her. Qin Zhen had reprimanded them countless times, and the governess had repeatedly emphasized that they weren't allowed to play on the floor, but to no avail. Fortunately, Qin Zhen's palace was covered with thick plush carpets brought back from the Western Regions, so they wouldn't have to worry about rolling around on the floor.

When Zhao Yi arrived at Yuxiu Palace, he saw Zhao Jiu on the ground making a strange face, pretending to be a tiger for his sister.

Qin Zhen was eating snacks at a small table next to her. When she saw Zhao Yi come in, she waved and said, "I just heard that you went to the palace. I thought I would have to come again. I didn't expect you to come so soon. Come over and let your aunt take a look."

"I missed my aunt, so I rushed over." Zhao Yi had called Qin Zhen "aunt" for several years, and it was difficult for him to change his address to "auntie," so he simply stuck with it. Qin Zhen called herself "auntie," while Zhao Yi called her "aunt," which was quite confusing.

The two men lying on the ground stopped when they saw Zhao Yi. Zhao Jiu quickly stood up straight and stared at Zhao Yi.

"My brother hasn't changed much in the years I've seen him!"

Zhao Jiu was a little stunned, because this was the first time he had met Zhao Yi, and she was somewhat different from what he had imagined. Seeing his stunned expression, Zhao Yi said to himself, "Your eyes are really healed! It's a miracle! Aunt's worries must be over now!"

Speaking of eyes, Zhao Jiu finally had something to say. He raised an eyebrow and said, "My eyes are healed, but your Yellow River is still not tamed. You've lost!"

Zhao Yi hadn't even put a piece of plum blossom cake in his mouth when Zhao Jiu's words almost made him choke. His mouth was full of pastries as he mumbled, "You still remember..."

Volume Two: Soaring Eagle Chapter 170 The New Crown Prince's Mission

After listening to the two children recount their promise from years ago, Qin Zhen chuckled and understood. "No wonder you were both working so hard; you were competing with each other."

Zhao Yi scratched his head and said, "Sigh, I regret it now. I was too young and ignorant back then. I dared to claim that I could manage the Yellow River by myself. I lost a lot."

Zhao Jiu thought he had given up when he heard him say that, but Zhao Yi continued, "Although it is difficult, we have made some progress in the past few years. I believe it will be even better in a few more years."

Qin Zhen asked suspiciously, "You don't mean you're planning to stay by the Yellow River any longer?"

Zhao Yi asked, "Why not?"

Qin Zhen said seriously, "You are a prince and you have to be responsible for the country and its people. The Yellow River water conservancy project is indeed a great thing that benefits the people, but everything is going smoothly now. You should let the officials below you do the rest. You have a lot to do. Why are you always running over there? What are you avoiding? Don't you want to be the crown prince?"

Qin Zhen's serious expression made Zhao Yi and Zhao Jiu also become serious, and even Zhao Jin sat on the ground without making a fuss.

"Aunt, I..." Zhao Yi seemed to have something difficult to say. Qin Zhen asked, "Is there anything you can't tell your aunt?"

Zhao Yi glanced at Zhao Jiu, then said in a low voice, "The position of Crown Prince should belong to my younger brother. I don't want to take it from him."

Zhao Jiu was extremely surprised, never expecting Zhao Yi to say such a thing, and just stared at him blankly.

Qin Zhen breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this: "Is that all?" Zhao Yi nodded, and Qin Zhen patted his shoulder and said: "As the saying goes, every coin has two sides. Yi'er has read so many books, surely you know this principle? Jiu'er's heart is not in this, he is not the material to be the crown prince, while you are the most suitable in every way, so don't refuse!"

Zhao Yi looked at Zhao Jiu. Zhao Jiu turned his body to face Zhao Yi and said, "Don't look at me, I'm going to be the leader of the martial arts alliance!"

"You? The leader of the martial arts alliance? You're not even as strong as me!"

Zhao Jiu raised an eyebrow and gave him a sly look, saying, "How about we give it a try?"

Zhao Yi thought that since he was six years older and a head taller than him, how could he not be better than him? He was just about to accept the challenge when Qin Zhen grabbed him and stopped him.

"Yi'er, don't try anymore. Jiu'er is amazing now. Even your aunt can't compare to him."

Zhao Yi stared in astonishment, his mouth agape. He vividly remembered the year his aunt took him down the mountain, single-handedly defeating dozens of Western Xia soldiers. How could he possibly believe that his ten-year-old brother was stronger than her?

Qin Zhen also said to Zhao Jiu, "Although your elder brother is physically stronger, he has never practiced martial arts. Even if Jiu'er wins, it will not be honorable."

Seeing Zhao Yi's surprised expression, Zhao Jiu was already quite satisfied and replied, "I'm not going to compete anymore. I'd rather go play with my sister."

Zhao Jin, who had been sitting to the side bored, heard her brother say that and immediately smiled, took his hand, and the two ran outside to play together.

After the two children left, Qin Zhen said to Zhao Yi, "You are almost seventeen now, and the ministers in the court are making a big fuss. Let your uncle decide on the matter of establishing a crown prince at the beginning of the year, so that you can choose a crown princess."

Zhao Yi was stunned and asked, "Crown Princess... is it in such a hurry?"

Qin Zhen chuckled and said, "Yi'er has grown into a handsome young man. There must be many women who are attracted to you! Your godfather has been keeping an eye out for you for a while now, but you're just wandering around outside without a care in the world."

"Okay, okay, Auntie, please don't scold me anymore. I'll listen to you."

"Huh? Don't you have a girl you like? If you do, tell us in advance, so we don't break up the couple."

Zhao Yi hurriedly shook his head. He had seen thousands of men in the past few years, and apart from a few middle-aged women and mothers-in-law who often went to the dike, how could he have had the opportunity to meet women?

In the spring of the following year, Zhao Gou issued an edict establishing Zhao Yi, the loyal prince, as the crown prince, and the whole country celebrated.

Amidst the cheers, the only discordant note was that the Tibetans had robbed one of the Linlang Pavilion's caravans, which happened to contain the rubies that Qin Zhen had instructed them to retrieve from the Western Regions, intended for use when Zhao Yi was crowned.

The caravan being robbed by bandits wasn't a matter of national importance, but the Linlang Pavilion wasn't an ordinary caravan. Their intelligence indicated that the bandits were most likely soldiers from various Tibetan tribes in disguise.

This news caught Zhao Gou's attention. After an investigation, he learned that countless caravans were robbed along the Silk Road every year. Some places even had checkpoints to collect "tolls." Zhao Gou was furious. They had anticipated this when the new Silk Road was opened, and therefore had sent envoys to negotiate with the various Tibetan leaders beforehand; agreements had been reached. They were given so much silver every year, yet these leaders were still not satisfied, saying one thing to his face and another behind his back—truly despicable!

Zhao Gou immediately sent letters to the two chieftains of Tibet, questioning them about the matter, but to his surprise, they replied as if they knew nothing.

"These lowly barbarians dare to bully us like this! They are truly overestimating themselves!"

Zhao Gou slammed his fist on the table and rose to his feet. The court officials were outraged, and immediately someone petitioned to send troops to conquer and pacify the various Tibetan tribes. Many others seconded the motion. Zhao Gou then glanced at Zhao Yi's face and saw that his brows were furrowed, as if he had a different opinion. So he asked for his opinion.

Zhao Yi replied, “The various Tibetan tribes are scattered and their movements are unpredictable. If we were to send troops to conquer them, it would not only be a waste of manpower and resources, but it might not even be effective. I believe it would be better to strike them from within. There are bound to be rifts among the leaders of the various Tibetan tribes. If our dynasty could select a pro-Song tribe to support and secretly help it expand and devour other tribes, they would certainly be busy dealing with internal strife and would have no time to attack our merchants. Furthermore, if the tribe we support can unify the various Tibetan tribes, the Tibetan tribes will naturally continue to submit to our dynasty in the future. If they cannot unify, it will only result in them both being weakened, and our dynasty can reap the benefits.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Gou burst into laughter, and then asked the ministers seated below, "What do you think?"

The courtiers all exclaimed, "The Crown Prince's insight is brilliant..."

Zhao Gou, intending to entrust the matter to Zhao Yi, said, "Good, good, this matter will be entirely entrusted to the Crown Prince!"

After the court session, Zhao Gou was eager to tell Qin Zhen about the matter. After he finished speaking about the morning court session, he said, "I really didn't expect Zhao Yi to have such insight. I was worried that he was too kind and could not plan for great things. Now I can rest assured."

Qin Zhen feigned surprise and said, "Really? You've only just seen through him?"

"how?"

Qin Zhen said, "Before, I just thought of him as a clueless child. But when I learned that he knew his identity all along but kept it to himself, I realized he wasn't without cunning. When we first brought him down the mountain, it would be a lie to say he harbored no hatred towards us. Fortunately, we were genuinely good to this child, and gradually melted away the hatred in his heart, which is why he treated us as family. Otherwise, a great tragedy would have occurred by now, and things wouldn't be like this for us. Do you believe me or not?"

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky Chapter 171 The Whole Family Travels Far Away

Zhao Jiu's twelfth birthday was just around the corner. Qin Zhen gave him a peerless sword named "Qingtian" from Iron Hammer Zhang. He was so happy that he escaped from the palace five times in three days, looking for someone to test his skills. But now, who could defeat him?

As Qin Zhen spent more time with Zhao Jiu, she gradually came to understand that the boy was extremely arrogant, liked to compete with others, and was very protective of his own. He was not as simple as he appeared. She was afraid that he might fall into the trap of treacherous villains when he entered the martial arts world, so she thought about tempering him up early.

One day, she came up with an idea and said to Zhao Gou, "Next year will be my father's fiftieth birthday. I want to go back to Lin'an to visit him and my mother. I haven't seen them for many years, and I don't know how they are doing."

"Time flies so fast, it's been twelve years already. When Lord Qin returned to his hometown, it was only a short while ago. In the blink of an eye, the children have grown up so much."

During this time, although they sent people to fetch the two elders to the capital to see their grandson, Qin Hui declined each time, citing his wife's frail health as the reason why she was not fit to travel far. Although Lady Wang's health was indeed poor, Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou knew that Qin Hui's reluctance to go to the capital was probably because he still resented them.

"Yes, so I'm planning to take both kids back with me to visit."

Zhao Gou asked in surprise, "Didn't you intend to take me with you?"

Qin Zhen, equally surprised, asked in return, "Why did I bring you along?"

"No, our family should go everywhere together. How can you leave me alone in the capital?"

Qin Zhen said, "As the emperor, you cannot leave the capital."

"I am the Emperor, and I declare that I wish to make a southern tour. Who dares to stop me?"

So, the next morning at court, Zhao Gou told his ministers that he was going on a southern tour. The heavy burden of the court was placed on Zhao Yi's shoulders, and the Crown Prince was put in charge of the state affairs. The people in the palace began to prepare for the trip south.

As Zhao Yi watched with a bitter expression as the family of four prepared for their "long journey," he felt an overwhelming sense of envy. He almost grabbed Qin Zhen's sleeve to stop him from leaving.

"Yi'er, be good. Your aunt will be back after celebrating Father's fiftieth birthday. You take good care of the family."

The long procession headed towards Lin'an. Only two days after leaving the city, the Emperor, Empress, princes, and princesses vanished without a trace, leaving only a letter for the accompanying officials. The letter instructed them to confidently proceed to the south of the Yangtze River and set a date for their meeting at the Lin'an villa. This letter left everyone bewildered. If anything were to happen to any of the four, they, the accompanying officials, would be doomed!

At the critical moment, it was Han Shizhong, who had followed Zhao Gou for many years, who managed to keep the situation in order and reassure the officials before the group continued south.

On another road, the four of them hired a carriage and a driver and headed north, chatting and laughing all the way!

"Mother, where are we going?"

"Go see your eldest uncle. Also see the Liao Kingdom's imperial uncle and your sixth senior uncle."

Zhao Jiu and Zhao Jin were both surprised to learn that they had so many relatives and immediately began asking them about them.

They traveled aimlessly and unknowingly arrived at Tangyin County in Xiangzhou. Recalling the time when Qin Zhen fell into the Yellow River and disappeared, Zhao Gou was filled with emotion.

"If I hadn't found you back then, I don't know what my life would have been like."

Qin Zhen said with a somber expression, "I have to thank my older brother for pulling me out of the water. I don't know if he has forgiven me now."

Zhao Gou comforted Qin Zhen, saying, "So many years have passed, and we have passed the throne to Zhao Yi in accordance with the agreement we made at that time. His knot in his heart must have been untied."

"I hope so..."

When they arrived at Yue Fei's old home in Xiaocun full of hope, they were disappointed to find that the house had changed hands! Qin Zhen hurriedly found the new owner to inquire, only to learn that Yue Fei had moved out of the village with his family more than ten years ago and gone to live in seclusion by a lake in the mountains behind the village.

They inquired with the villagers along the way and, after many twists and turns, finally found the lake in the back mountains. In the quiet forest, between the two mountains, there was a crescent-shaped lake, and in the lake stood a garden surrounded by a fence, with four connected wooden houses, and wisps of smoke could be seen rising from the houses.

Qin Zhen was thrilled. Could this be the place where his elder brother was living in seclusion?

The family of four arrived at the garden. Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou peeked inside and saw a boy, about ten years old, carrying a bowl of millet. The boy, seeing family members, was curious and quickly ran to the fence to ask, "Who are you looking for? Or are you lost in the mountains?"

Qin Zhen remembered that when Yue Fei left the capital, Wu Shaofen was about to give birth. The child looked about the same age as Zhao Jiu, so it must be their son. Therefore, she said, "We are old friends of your parents, and we've come to visit them. Are they home?"

The little boy opened the fence and invited them in, saying, "My parents have gone up the mountain. Please come in and sit for a while. Grandma is home; I'll go get her now."