The hall was very quiet, so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.
Emperor Yunqing looked at Rong Xia. Rong Xia stood respectfully where he was, allowing the Emperor to size him up.
"Junpo," Emperor Yunqing was silent for a moment, then finally spoke, "Zhen knew you wouldn't disappoint Zhen."
He had raised Yan Hui, but he found that in recent years, Yan Hui had become less and less obedient to him. He allowed his clansmen to enclose land, and even sold official positions and titles. But he didn't want the Right Prime Minister's family to dominate, so he could only turn a blind eye. But this didn't mean he could tolerate Yan Hui meddling in the affairs of the Imperial Family.
Although the Crown Prince was indecisive, he had a kind nature. In the future, when he inherited the throne, he would treat his brothers and sisters well. But Yan Hui encouraged the Crown Prince to deal with the Second Prince, his own brother. As the Emperor, he couldn't tolerate this, even though he himself wasn't a person who loved his brothers.
"It's a pity you are too young. Otherwise, Zhen would be relieved to have you take the position of Left Prime Minister."
"Your Majesty," Rong Xia said calmly, "working for Your Majesty, working for the people of the world, is what this subject pursues. No position is important."
"You," Emperor Yunqing laughed in a low voice, "don't lust for women, don't admire power. How is your life different from that of an ascetic monk?"
"Your Majesty, this subject wears fine clothes and has a group of servants. It's not like the days of an ascetic monk." Rong Xia thought for a moment, "This subject can't be as otherworldly as an eminent monk."
"People should have desires in life," Emperor Yunqing smiled with relief, "Although you are not Zhen's son, to Zhen, you are half Zhen's son."
Rong Xia bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, this subject doesn't deserve this."
In the corner, Wang De looked down at the tips of his shoes, silent. His Majesty wished that any young man or woman he liked was his own child. How dissatisfied was he with his own child that he always sighed like this?
"There's no need to deserve this," Emperor Yunqing patted his shoulder, "Come, accompany Zhen for a walk and get some fresh air."
Rong Xia followed the Emperor to the Imperial Garden. He had walked the Imperial Garden with the Emperor many times. To him, there was nothing special about this place, and it was not as magical as what was written in the stories outside.
"I'm getting old, and these courtiers are getting more and more troublesome." The Emperor stood by the lotus pond and looked expressionlessly at the rippling surface of the lake. "Right now, I am still here, and they are like this. If I am 100 years later, what will this court be like?"
There was nothing much to see in the lotus pond at the end of autumn. The eunuchs in the palace had long since scooped up all the dead lotus leaves. At this time, there was nothing but water in the lotus pond. It looked very cold and cheerless.
"Your Majesty is in the prime of your life, how can you think like this?" Rong Xia looked at His Majesty in amazement and shock. "This humble subject is terrified."
"There will always be such a day." Emperor Yunqing frowned. "Just because others call me Long Live, I won't really be immortal for ten thousand years."
"Your Majesty," Rong Xia took a step back and made a deep bow to Emperor Yunqing. "Please, Your Majesty, don't say such things. This humble subject's heart hurts to hear it. This humble subject's parents died young. These years, it has been Your Majesty who has taken care of this humble subject. To say something disrespectful, to this humble subject, Your Majesty is this humble subject's sky and tree. In this humble subject's heart, you are both a monarch and a father. This humble subject knows that his status is low and does not dare to have delusions. This humble subject only hopes that Your Majesty will be healthy and free from illness and calamity. "
Hearing this, Emperor Yunqing was moved. He remembered that two years ago, someone had told him that Cheng Anbo had erected a longevity stele for someone in the Temple of Longevity. Later, he had someone examine it and found that the stele had his name on it. Perhaps it was disrespectful for a subject to write down the emperor's name, so Cheng Anbo was very careful and didn't dare let anyone find out.
Today, if it was someone else who said this to him, he would only feel that they were trying to curry favor with him. However, Rong Xia was different. He knew that this child truly treated him as an elder and cared for him. It was to the extent that he, who was always elegant and graceful, did such a sneaky thing two years ago.
Later on, he heard a spy report that because a scholar had said something disrespectful to him, An Bo had fought ten rounds of poetry with the other party, causing the scholar's reputation to hit rock bottom. From then on, he no longer had the face to appear in the capital. As long as he ordered him to do something, he would do it seriously. Even if he was injured, he would never ask for a reward in front of him.
There were many capable subjects in the court, but there were only a handful of subjects like Rong Xia who worked wholeheartedly for him and never tried to curry favor with him.
Emperor Yunqing reached out and patted Rong Xia's shoulder again. His mood gradually improved: "Okay, I won't talk about this."
Rong Xia's expression was slightly relaxed. He maintained his gentlemanly demeanor as he stood behind Emperor Yunqing. Seeing him like this, Emperor Yunqing had the urge to joke: "I heard that two days ago, you spoke ill of Left Prime Minister Yan in front of many scholars?"
"Your Majesty, this subject was only speaking the truth." Rong Xia frowned: "Princess Fule is your niece. How can you let outsiders bully her?"
When these words reached Emperor Yunqing's ears, the meaning became: How can this subject let others bully your people?
When Emperor Yunqing heard this explanation, his whole body immediately relaxed. He smiled: "I didn't think that Yan Hui would do such a foolish thing. What you said was right. My niece is beautiful. That is a gift from the heavens. The Yan Family is too much to cry and make a fuss about Princess Fule getting married."
He turned around and looked at Rong Xia. His smile became more obvious: "It is a pity that you have no interest in Princess Fule. Otherwise, with your steady temperament, it would be good to marry Huahua."
Rong Xia was silent for a moment. He raised his head and looked at Emperor Yunqing: "Princess Fule is as beautiful as a fairy. She is of noble birth and is quick-witted. This subject is not worthy of her."
He said each word very slowly. It didn't seem like he was trying to shirk responsibility, but rather like he was stating facts. However, Emperor Yunqing didn't take this matter to heart. After a few words of laughter, he let it go.
On the other hand, Wang De, who was standing behind Emperor Yunqing, moved slightly as if he had heard something incredible.
"The autumn night is long. Sister, it is fine if you don't want to sleep. Why did you drag me here?" Ban Heng wrapped himself in a thick cloak. He wished he could hide his head in the cloak as well.
"To admire the moon," Ban Han looked at the bright moon in the sky and sat down on a cushioned stone bench, "I am alone and bored. I can only ask you to accompany me."
"It is such a cold day. Why admire the moon?" Ban Heng reached out and touched Ban Han's forehead, "Is there something wrong with your brain?"
"Even if there is something wrong with your brain, there is nothing wrong with mine," Ban Han slapped his hand away, "I slept for a long time in the afternoon. I can't sleep now."
Ban Heng thought that Ban Han had been staying in the mansion these days and didn't even go out of the gate. He sympathized with her, "Well, I will sit with you for a while."
Neither of them were elegant people. After staring at the moon for a while, Ban Han pointed to the moon and said, "Brother Heng, what do you think Chang 'e wears? What do you think her hairstyle is?"
"It is just a skirt," Ban Heng was not interested in what women wore. He was more concerned about the relationship between Wu Gang, Hou Yi, and Chang 'e, "If the Guanghan Palace is very cold, how do you drink tea and cook? Thinking about it, I feel that life is not very good."
"Do immortals need to eat?" Ban Han glanced at Ban Heng, "If there is no one else in the Guanghan Palace, who can she show off her beautiful clothes to?"
"Sister, can we not always talk about skirts?" Ban Heng was speechless, "I don't know how you women come up with so many tricks. Don't you feel tired?"
Ban Han snorted and ignored him.
Seeing that his sister seemed to be angry, Ban Heng had to coax her with a smile, "Sister, those scholars outside are praising you. They say that you are filial, beautiful, brave, and so on. Don't you wonder what is going on?"
"What is going on?" Ban Han was a little surprised, "I thought those people outside would say that I am a femme fatale."
"At first, they did say that." Ban Heng saw Ban Han staring at him. He touched his nose embarrassedly, "But after Duke Rong praised you, the words outside changed."
"Duke Rong?" Ban Han was surprised, "He spoke for me?"
"He not only spoke for you, but also criticized Left Prime Minister Yan. Ban Heng sighed," Duke Rong is really kind and loyal. He is a rare pure stream among scholars. "
"En, to be able to praise us in front of scholars, he is really pure. Normal people would not be able to do that." Ban Han nodded. Usually, she had not heard any scholars praise her. Only Rong Xia had such a great influence on scholars, making them "abandon their prejudices" against the Ban Family and speak for the Ban Family.
"He is not afraid of offending the Left Prime Minister?" Ban Han thought of an important point, "He has a real position in the Imperial Court. Will the Left Prime Minister make things difficult for him?"
"Duke Rong is so handsome. He won't make things difficult for him, right?" Ban Heng was not sure, "How about … I ask someone to ask around?"
"Alright, you send someone to inquire about it tomorrow," Ban Yu took a sip of the hot tea that a servant girl had brought over, "It seems that it was a wise move to cater to his tastes and give him a gift. Even Duke Rong, such an upright gentleman, spoke up for me because of the gift."
"Ah?" Ban Heng looked at Ban Han in confusion, "Sister, what else did you do?"
"Last time, when father gave Cheng Anbo a gift, I put a few books in it. Because 'Zhongcheng Lun' couldn't be found for a while, I delayed giving it to him until a few days ago." Ban Han sighed, "Anyway, our family will be robbed sooner or later. Rather than letting others steal our things, it is better to give it to a beauty that I like."
"Is it the East, South, West, West, and Central?" Ban Heng couldn't remember the names of the five books. The only thing she remembered was that the five books were put together, which happened to be East, South, West, West, and Central. From this point of view, Ban Heng felt that the scholars of the previous dynasty were more capable than the scholars of this dynasty. At least the names they gave the books were easy to remember. Even a foppish person like him had an impression.
"But … Duke Rong isn't the kind of hypocrite who speaks for others after receiving a gift, right?" Ban Heng had a lot of faith in Rong Xia's character, "You are measuring the heart of a gentleman with a woman's heart."
"Hmm?" Ban Han touched her cheek, "Could it be that he likes my beauty?"
Ban Heng was silent for a moment, "Probably … it really is because you gave him a gift?"
She reached out and twisted Ban Heng's ear. Ban Han laughed angrily, "Brat, do you know that if a man doesn't know how to speak, he will be beaten?"
Ban Han didn't use much strength, but Ban Heng still made a painful expression, "Sister, sister, I was wrong, I was wrong. What I wanted to say was that Duke Rong isn't the kind of person who is lustful. I didn't mean that you aren't beautiful enough."
Ban Han let go of her hand and slapped the table, "It doesn't matter. I just admire his beauty."
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