Chapter 32

The day after the regent’s departure.

Chu Zhaoyou diligently attended court, approved memorials, and read essays on governance. While some were striving on the battlefield, how could he lag behind?

His twenty-two years of modern life experiences were evident. He had absorbed knowledge with unparalleled ease, a privilege of ancient times, and now he reciprocated like nurturing spring rain.

There were also puzzling aspects. He usually directly questioned ministers, catching anyone and everyone, only to be surprised that officials who had been unresponsive in the past were now eloquent in their responses.

Chu Zhaoyou smiled as he closed the memorial. Excellent, Regent, you have this.

Before leaving, you’d play with me, thinking you’re all triumphant, right?

Chu Zhaoyou angrily called in Qian Shicheng, the Regent’s right-hand man.

“What’s really happening in Youzhou? Tell me the truth.”

Qian Shicheng quickly replied, “Wei Shi in Youzhou has rebelled.”

Chu Zhaoyou spread out a royal edict, dipped his pen in ink, and paused above the blank space of the edict. “How about I take in several concubines for you, Qian, as a reward for your hard work?”

As he spoke, he wrote and recited, “Seven would be good, Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, and Zheng…”

“Your Majesty, I can’t accept this!” Qian Shicheng exclaimed in shock. “If I have a broken leg, who will defend the palace’s safety?”

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

Deep down, Qian Shicheng lamented. Why hadn’t the Regent sent him to the south and left Xie Chaoyun in the capital?

“I’ll tell you. It’s actually the beggars that Your Majesty encountered at the palace gate last time. The Regent later discovered that they were ruffians who had fled from Prezhou. They were hired to move grain from the government granary there, but due to their dishonesty, they were scolded by their leader and bore a grudge. They stole several bags of grain and fled to seek refuge in the capital.”

Chu Zhaoyou asked, “Is this not an isolated case?”

“Right,” Qian Shicheng replied.

Chu Zhaoyou suddenly stood up. “So, the Regent went to Youzhuo, has troops but no provisions, and hasn’t caught any spies?”

Qian Shicheng was confident, “His Highness definitely has a plan.”

“Did he arrange for provisions from elsewhere?”

“Um… there should be, right?” Qian Shicheng thought to himself, “I don’t know about this.”

Chu Zhaoyou was feeling unsettled during his meal. What was going on with the Regent? How could he let the army endure hunger with him?

The thought of their suffering made it impossible for Chu Zhaoyou to eat.

Not everyone could go without food for a day or two, just like the Regent, and still remain strong!

Quietly counting to twenty in her mind, Di Yan noticed that the bowl of food Chu Zhaoyou was holding hadn’t diminished at all.

“Is the food I made not to your liking?”

“No! I’m just… worried.”

“Worried about what? Worried about court matters? Isn’t everything going smoothly?” It was going so smoothly that Di Yan doubted why she had even come. Was she here to enjoy the good life with her nephew emperor?

With nothing else to do, she decided to change her goal in the capital to fattening up her nephew emperor.

Five meals a day.

Chu Zhaoyou frowned, making himself look like a wrinkled bun, soft and plump, easy to pinch.

“Liangzhou has had a good growing season this year, with a good harvest. Your aunt and uncle’s land is truly a blessed place.”

“Flattery is all you know.”

“I plan to send some grain from Liangzhou to Yue Prefecture to assist the Regent in battle. If Wei Shi’s troops are well-fed and strong, but we can’t defeat them in one go and they counterattack, I’ll be the one in trouble.”

Having just thrown Wei Shi’s stronghold into the dungeon, and declared Wei Shi and the Empress Dowager as rebels, it was a mortal enmity.

Di Yan remarked, “Traitors and scoundrels must be rooted out completely!”

“Then I’ll issue a decree for my uncle to send troops to escort the grain, is that okay?”

“For such a trivial matter, Your Majesty can decide. You can have Zhao Cheng do it.”

“That’s not necessary.” Chu Zhaoyou quickly finished his meal, handed the decree to Xue, the palace eunuch, and said to Di Yan, “I’ve heard that you and Uncle often exchange letters and have a close relationship. It’s the envy of others.”

“I just raise a few carrier pigeons. Your maternal grandfather used to raise carrier pigeons.”

Chu Zhaoyou scratched his head awkwardly. “The decrees are delivered slowly. Wouldn’t it be better if you could send a message to Uncle first, Aunt?”

“Of course.”

Chu Zhaoyou then promptly finished a bowl of soup right there.

Di Yan laughed so much that her eyes narrowed. Getting him plump was easy; she casually remarked, “Do you need pigeons? I still have a few that I haven’t used much.”

As Chu Zhaoyou walked out of the Funing Palace, burping, he found it challenging to please his aunt. He patted his stomach and confidently wrote on a small piece of paper, “Too busy with state affairs, too many theoretical books. I can’t finish in three months, my eyes hurt, so I won’t read anymore.”

He rolled the paper into a small scroll and placed it in the pigeon’s message capsule. Later, someone would take this pigeon to Yue Prefecture to find the Regent.

This matter was extremely important and had to be known by the Regent. It was a preemptive strike to prevent being scolded in two months for not having read the books.

Chu Zhaoyou sat at the desk, yawned, and opened a book.

Military training and scholarly pursuits. When would the Regent return to share the court affairs with him? Waking up early on such cold mornings was taking a toll on him.

Was it cold in Yue Prefecture? Xiao Heng had left in such a hurry. Had they prepared enough warm clothing?

Chu Zhaoyou leaned on his hand, looking out at the snow beginning to fall in the capital, silently blanketing the earth.

Cui Geng’s hands trembled as he wrote down the most truthful observations: “On the third day after the Regent’s departure, His Majesty woke up three times at night, lost his appetite, and stared out of the window absentmindedly while reviewing memorials. His belt gradually widened, and he looked haggard.”

Cui Geng muttered to himself, “I should cross that out. It should be ‘his belt gradually tightened.'”

“Your Majesty, I don’t mean to disturb your leisure.”

“ Cui, don’t read it out loud. Leave some room for maneuvering,” Chu Zhaoyou suggested, “If you have the time, why not go to the bookstore and work on compiling a book of jokes. I won’t mind if you take on some private work.”

Cui Geng responded, “I am fearful.”

It was clear he wasn’t willing to be distracted.

Chu Zhaoyou glared at Cui Geng, who had been obsessively documenting his private life since Xiao Heng’s departure, even down to whether he ate glutinous or non-glutinous rice, nearly earning a rebuke from Di Yan.

How much of a raise did the Regent give him to be so relentless?

Chu Zhaoyou shot Cui Geng a hostile look, then resumed reading. This historiographer was clearly making things up.

He was eating well, drinking well, and sleeping well.

…

Xiao Heng had been traveling at breakneck speed and almost reached Prezhou when he finally spotted Chu Zhaoyou’s pigeon.

After reading the note, a hint of a smile sparkled in Xiao Heng’s eyes. Was it really worth all the trouble to send such a trivial message?

Fortunately, he had graciously provided him with an opportunity to see him off and offer a few pointers. Otherwise, this little fellow would have been in tears, hiding somewhere without anyone to handle state affairs if he didn’t see him.

Although he had wanted Chu Zhaoyou to see him off, he had been hesitant, using the excuse of welcoming his aunt. He refused to admit it, yet he was in an extremely good mood as he penned his reply.

“Read it carefully; I’ll be spot-checking.”

Watching the carrier pigeon disappear into the horizon, Xiao Heng returned to his tent, opened the map, and pondered. Where could so much grain be hidden?

He marked several points on the map and concluded that if he acted swiftly, the grain and provisions, unable to be transported entirely to Prezhou in time, would be concealed not far from the granary, in the direction of Prezhou.

“We’ll launch a surprise attack on this location tomorrow, according to my plans…”

Two months was too long; Xiao Heng was eager to return for the New Year.

When Chu Zhaoyou received the returning carrier pigeon, he eagerly unfurled the message, only to find a single sentence.

He read and reread it, ensuring there was no mention of any military matters.

After all the effort the pigeon had gone through, did Xiao Heng really only write one sentence? Was he supposed to engage in playful banter with the Regent? All he wanted was to get the frontline news as soon as possible!

Chu Zhaoyou, infuriated, wedged the message paper inside “Strategies of Governance.”

As the Regent had been away from the capital for a month, Chu Zhaoyou had encountered several sons of high-ranking officials who had surreptitiously pledged their allegiance to him.

These young men were full of ardor, seeing the revival of the Chu lineage as their mission, completely disregarding the fact that their fathers were the right-hand men of the Regent.

Among them, Liu Changju, the eldest son of the Imperial Censor, was the most radical. He had already laid out a blueprint for seizing power, as if by following his plan, they could soon trample over Xiao Heng.

Chu Zhaoyou, reluctant to dampen their loyalty, waved them off, asking them to reconsider the situation.

He was puzzled. Why did Liu Changju seem to regard the Regent as a fool? Could such a plan really work?

Just by looking at it, he felt it wouldn’t work.

Was the Regent Prince really a fool?

Chu Zhaoyou didn’t want to discourage the young men’s enthusiasm, so he subtly asked if they had any additional information.

Liu Changju stubbornly responded, “There’s no other reason! This plan will definitely work!”

Chu Zhaoyou said, “You may leave.”

Eager for quick success, this person was indeed foolish.

…

Upon his arrival in Prezhoi, Xiao Heng immediately launched a raid on a certain stronghold and seized enough government provisions to last for ten days. He then stationed his troops at the border, displaying boldness and arrogance.

Wei Shi had assumed that Xiao Heng would recall all the provisions before launching an attack, but he hadn’t expected him to be so audacious.

An inexperienced upstart like him could easily be outwitted.

Ten days later, the Regent beheaded Wei Shi.

With Wei Shi’s head on the ground, without warning, massive fires erupted in both Prezhou and Youzhou. Several locations set ablaze were storage areas for provisions, which were supposed to serve as the new supply depots for the Regent’s army.

From a distance, the crimson flames seared the eye, as the falling snow adorned the swords and bows. Suddenly, news spread throughout the army: the Regent, arrogant and self-assured, was forced into a battle with his back against the water. Although they had won a victory, they were about to face a predicament with insufficient provisions, and it seemed they might not be able to escape from Youzhou.

Xiao Heng severely punished several soldiers who had incited others to plunder food from the common people for winter supplies, using this as a warning to others.

Inside the general’s tent, the candlelight reflected off the snow.

Xiao Heng coldly regarded the cowering figure of Zhou Qi. He had been unable to locate additional provisions, but today he had finally discovered them, unfortunately, they were all ablaze.

“Compared to Qian Shicheng and Xie Chaoyun, Zhou Qi, you are the one I’ve known since childhood, and yet you’ve been the most disappointing.”

Zhou Qi spat out a mouthful of blood. “We’ve known each other since childhood, why should you be the Regent, and not me? In the capital, there are fewer people who know me than those who have heard of Xie Chaoyun, who has been distant in the west for five years!”

Tired of being the leader of the shadow guards, Zhou Qi only wanted to prove that, even when walking in the sunlight, he could also be a commanding figure in Prezhou and Youzhou.

Everyone was afraid when they heard his name, just as they were afraid of the Regent.

Xiao Heng looked down at him. “If you had asked directly, perhaps we could have exchanged identities.”

“Everything you do is always so self-righteous! Hypocritical! You pretend to disdain the throne, yet you dangle it in front of the young emperor; at a mere gesture from him, you strike! You’re indifferent to everything, yet everything is yours to give or take… I despise that.”

At the mention of Chu Zhaoyou, Xiao Heng’s eyes deepened. At this moment, there should already be a group of fools surrounding him.

The contingency left by the late emperor was beyond comprehension.

Xiao Heng closed his eyes. Zhou Qi’s words had stirred something within him.

I won’t strike him!

Chu Zhaoyou had gone too far. Had I ever struck him?

I had followed his plan, but now I am reluctant to continue.

Initially, I had wanted to show Chu Zhaoyou how foolish they were, but I wouldn’t want that group of fools to make Chu Zhaoyou foolish as well.

Since he knew that Chu Zhaoyou had sent him messages and provisions, he had been eager to end this battle.

At that moment, Zhou Qi’s eyes sharpened as he grabbed a sword from the ground and lunged at Xiao Heng.

Indeed, only the young emperor could distract the Regent.

Unable to dodge, Xiao Heng grabbed a nearby wooden case, using it to deflect the attack with a resounding thud. Zhou Qi and the heavy wooden case crashed to the ground, creating a chilling sound.

Simultaneously, the blade pierced flesh, causing blood to trickle from Xiao Heng’s shoulder, forming blossoms of blood on the ground along the blade.

“Your Highness! The provisions from Liangzhou have arrived!”

A guard burst into the camp, stunned by the scene before him.

Zhou Qi stirred weakly, but before he succumbed, he heard about the arrival of the provisions. His eyes widened in disbelief as he breathed his last.

Clutching his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers, Xiao Heng spat out a mouthful of blood and declared firmly, “Return to the capital immediately.”

“But Your Highness, your wound! Perhaps you should stay here…”

Xiao Heng repeated, “Return to the capital at once, no matter what.”

…

The shocking news of the Regent’s severe injury spread throughout the capital, causing a stir in the court.

The Regent had actually been injured?

Chu Zhaoyou found it unbelievable. Wasn’t Xiao Heng made of iron and steel?

Injured?

What’s the point of returning to the capital without nursing his wound?

Last time, Xiao Heng had responded with a single sentence and refused to use carrier pigeons for communication again. It was better to send someone to inquire, which might yield more firsthand information from him.

During the conflict, Chu Zhaoyou had been eating very little at each meal, feeling guilty for indulging as an emperor who seemed to contribute so little.

But he couldn’t resist the six meals a day that his aunt insisted on feeding him.

As Xiao Heng traveled back to the capital, he continued to receive inquiries from the city. Each time, he asked, “Are you concerned, Your Majesty?” Upon receiving an affirmative response, he would generously reward the inquirers.

Gradually, Chu Zhaoyou’s official tone, such as “I am deeply concerned about the Regent’s condition,” was transformed by the messengers into “His Majesty is so worried that he can’t eat and has become noticeably thinner.”

According to his brothers, such statements were rewarded.

Moreover, they weren’t just making things up. Whenever the king issued their instructions, it was either with a troubled frown or the same concluding statement each time.

Xiao Heng returned to the capital, consumed by the escalating indoctrination he had received, and rode through the night to arrive at the city gates, which marked the fifteenth day of the new year.

As he held the reins while riding, the wound on his shoulder, which had been repeatedly dressed and was still seeping blood, had been wrapped in bandages for half a month.

When he looked up, he saw Chu Zhaoyou arranging a feast at the city gates. The small figure was wrapped in warm clothes, sitting at a round table, dozing off.

How long had he been waiting in such cold weather?

Xiao Heng felt a surge of complex and unspoken emotions, as if soft cotton had enveloped the cold blade.

Sitting in front of Chu Zhaoyou, in the next moment, his expression suddenly changed.

Who had deceived him into worrying too much, unable to eat or drink?

Not only had Chu Zhaoyou not lost weight, but he seemed to be eating and drinking well, and had actually gained weight!

Xiao Heng pulled Chu Zhaoyou’s waist, straightening him and resting him against himself. Just because he had quietly gained weight around his belly didn’t mean Xiao Heng hadn’t noticed!

The numb Regent put on a serious face, feeling the pain in his shoulder wound intensify.