Chapter 122 - 121: The Substitute Eldest Young Lady 37

Chapter 122: Chapter 121: The Substitute Eldest Young Lady 37

For the next few days, the Grand Emperor held court alongside Chu Qingyun.

Ji Xiaosong scheduled the Spring Festival banquet for the twenty-third day of the last month of the year, which, according to local custom, was also the Little New Year.

’Working folk don’t want to be stuck at work just days before the New Year, unable to go home and celebrate.’ Ji Xiaosong understood that resentment all too well.

As the New Year approached, she prepared silver coins and gifts for all the court officials and their families.

From the members of the Cabinet to the officials in remote, faraway mountain regions, anyone who served the court and its people would receive a New Year’s gift from her.

To prevent any corruption, Ji Xiaosong specifically had her own people handle the deliveries.

By the day of the banquet, even those who could not attend had already received their New Year’s gifts.

The officials and their families who did attend received their gifts on the day of the event.

Previous dynasties had set similar precedents, but the gifts were usually smaller and not distributed so widely.

Ever since Ji Xiaosong became Empress, everyone’s income had increased significantly.

This year’s gifts were no different. Not only did they cover the necessities of life, but officials with children or elderly family members received additional presents.

On the day of the banquet, the grand hall of the Imperial Palace was festooned with lights and decorations. Auspicious red lanterns and silk ribbons hung from the carved beams and painted rafters, a red carpet covered the floor, and blooming flowers flanked the walkway. The air was filled with a joyous, celebratory atmosphere.

The banquet tables were laden with delicacies, featuring both regional specialties from across the land and exquisite imperial pastries.

The song and dance performances were magnificent. Graceful Dancing Girls twirled elegantly as the melodious sound of pipes and strings filled the air, earning cheers from the crowd.

Just as Chu Qingyun was about to rise and propose a toast, the Grand Emperor beat him to it. "On this festive occasion, I thank all of my beloved ministers for your service to the court and the people this past year. I hope that in the new year, you will all join hands with the Royal Family to build a peaceful and prosperous era."

The crowd raised their cups in response, and the atmosphere grew animated.

The faces of the officials and their families were beaming with happiness. They savored the delicacies, enjoyed the performances, and shared stories of the past year’s successes and joys.

’Getting silver coins and gifts, and even getting to eat hot food at the annual banquet... who wouldn’t want to come?’

Most people saw nothing wrong with the Grand Emperor giving the toast. After all, he was the Grand Emperor; he certainly had the status and authority to do so.

Chu Qingyun, however, was bewildered. The Grand Emperor had attended the Spring Festival banquet many times before, but he had never been the one to propose the toast. That was always Chu Qingyun’s role.

Chu Qingyun’s fingertips gently traced the surface of his Nine Dragon Pattern Golden Cup, sending tiny ripples across the amber liquid within.

He gazed at the Grand Emperor’s ruddy profile and suddenly recalled something from the day before. While reviewing memorials, the Minister of Rites had hesitantly mentioned that the Grand Emperor had been frequently summoning officials from the Three Ministries.

"Your Majesty."

A gentle tug on his sleeve. Ji Xiaosong leaned in, holding a Twisted Lotus Flower Cup. Golden thread tassels dangled at her temples, accentuating her picturesque features.

Under the pretext of pouring him more wine, she murmured in a voice only he could hear, "That red coral in the southeast corner... is it a new tribute from the Ministry of Industry?"

Chu Qingyun followed her gaze. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was approaching the Grand Emperor’s table to offer a toast, and as he did, the corner of a pale blue note peeked out from his sleeve.

It was the type of encrypted paper used only by the Military Affairs Office, yet here it was, on the person of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue—a man who was supposed to be home on sick leave.

"Be careful, it’s hot."

Ji Xiaosong suddenly raised her voice, her pale, slender fingers gently closing around the hand in which he held his chopsticks.

Only then did Chu Qingyun realize he was gripping his silver chopsticks so tightly they had begun to tremble. The jade-inlaid ends were pressing deep red marks into his palm.

The music suddenly quickened. From behind a twelve-panel gilded screen, thirty-six Dancing Girls in red spun into view.

As the lead dancer touched her toes to the floor, the chime of the golden bells at her waist unexpectedly resonated in perfect sync with the sound of the Grand Emperor setting down his cup.

Chu Qingyun’s pupils shrank. ’That’s the rhythm the Hidden Guards used to transmit secret messages during the late Emperor’s reign.’

"Your Majesty, try this."

A delicate hand placed a translucent shrimp into his bowl. Ji Xiaosong’s slender fingers tapped three times on the rim of the agate bowl.

This was a secret code they had agreed upon as newlyweds. Three taps meant ’Wait and see.’

And just as she predicted, as a Dancing Girl spun before the throne and flung out her long sleeves, the Grand Emperor suddenly clapped his hands and roared with laughter. "I hear that among the New Year’s gifts the Empress prepared for the ministers, there is newly made fire tinder from the Northern Territory? How very considerate of our soldiers."

The hall erupted in an uproar.

Fire tinder was a critical military resource. Distributing it without authorization was tantamount to treason.

Chu Qingyun distinctly remembered the gift list specifying Jiangnan brocade. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the golden hairpin in Ji Xiaosong’s hair remained perfectly still. She, however, picked up her wine cup and rose gracefully. "Father Emperor, you must be referring to the winter clothes I provided for the Xuan Armor Army a few days ago? Fire tinder has to be mixed with cotton padding to provide warmth, a fact that Minister Wang of the Ministry of War knows best. Lord Wang, isn’t that so?"

The Minister of War, having been called out, scrambled to step forward. As he did, half of a Tiger Talisman fell from his sleeve with a CLATTER.

Ji Xiaosong chuckled softly. Her jade bracelet knocked against the wine pot, and amid the crisp sound, the uniform clang of armor suddenly echoed from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, forgive me!"

The head of the Imperial Guards strode in. As he knelt on one knee, snowflakes still clung to the token at his waist. "I have just intercepted twenty cartloads of fire tinder at the Vermilion Bird Gate. The ones escorting it claim... they claim to be acting on an imperial decree from the Empress."

Chu Qingyun rose slowly to his feet. In the candlelight, the golden thread embroidery on his black Dragon Robe shimmered with a cold light.

He felt Ji Xiaosong’s fingers discreetly hook the hidden pocket inside his sleeve, where the Jade that could mobilize the Feathered Forest Army was kept.

Meanwhile, the Grand Emperor crushed a walnut in his hand. The shattered pieces of the shell fell with a soft RUSTLE onto the hem of his robes, which were embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon.

"It seems we’ll have to enjoy this New Year’s feast in a different manner," Ji Xiaosong said with a smiling clap of her hands. At her signal, palace maids who had been waiting in the corners of the hall filed in, carrying gilded food boxes.

When the lids were lifted, everyone gasped. Inside each New Year’s gift lay a copper token engraved with the character "Chu." It was the missing half that perfectly matched the Tiger Talisman dropped by Minister Wang.

The East Pearl on her hairpin reflected the dancing candlelight. Her voice was as crisp as shattering jade. "I was thinking, since this is a reunion banquet, it’s only right that separated things should be brought together again."

Tears of wax congealed like blood beads on the gilded candlesticks. Ji Xiaosong’s fingertips gently traced the edge of the copper token.

In the utter silence of the hall, the Grand Emperor suddenly burst out laughing. His murky eyes reflected the scattered walnut shells on the floor. "Good. Very good. What a fine daughter-in-law I have."

The Jade in Chu Qingyun’s sleeve had grown hot to the touch.

He looked at the new strands of white at the Grand Emperor’s temples and was suddenly reminded of being twelve years old. His father, the Emperor, had held his hand and taught him how to review memorials, his thumb adorned with a jade ring.

The memory of the candied plums tucked inside those memorials still left a bittersweet taste on his tongue.

"All of you, withdraw."

The Emperor raised his hand, dismissing the Forbidden Army. The gust of wind from his wide, black sleeves overturned a wine cup on the desk.

As the skirt of the last Dancing Girl vanished behind the screen, Ji Xiaosong bent down and picked up the half of the Tiger Talisman.

The hem of her golden silk peony skirt brushed against the Grand Emperor’s Coiled Dragon Boots. She gently fit the copper token and the Tiger Talisman together. "Father Emperor, did you know that the Ice Silk mixed into the fire tinder from the Northern Territory is highly reactive to the scent of walnuts?"

The Grand Emperor’s pupils constricted. The walnut in his hand rolled from his grasp.

Only then did Chu Qingyun notice that the back of the Grand Emperor’s gaunt hand was covered in purple blotches—a symptom of overexposure to the poison of Ice Silk.

"The Imperial Hospital reported a theft of Ice Silk half a month ago."

Ji Xiaosong placed the assembled Tiger Talisman on the Imperial Desk. The sharp sound startled a Golden Canary perched in the rafters. "You always said that I love giving New Year’s gifts, but you never knew that the lining of every gift box was soaked in an antidote: Snow Lotus Juice."

"Heh. As expected of an Immortal’s disciple. It seems I couldn’t hide it from you after all."

The Grand Emperor had never truly intended to usurp the throne; he only wanted to test them before entering negotiations.

"Father Emperor, please retire to Purple Sky Hall."

Chu Qingyun heard his own voice, as cold and sharp as melted snow.

Ji Xiaosong quietly pressed a hand warmer into his palm. The raised twisted lotus pattern on its surface pressed into his skin, feeling vaguely like the calluses his father’s hand had worn when teaching him to write as a child.