The Perilous Palace Dream - Side Story-3
Side Story (Part 3): It Is Hard to Be a Father
The Great Wei Empress Regnant gave birth to a pair of dragon and phoenix twins in a single go, bringing joy to the entire nation. The imperial prince was the elder brother, and the imperial princess was the younger sister; this pair of fair and tender infants was truly irresistible to anyone who laid eyes on them. The little crown prince was a dead ringer for a scaled-down version of the Grand Tutor. Meanwhile, the little princess was fair and delicate, blinking a pair of large, expressive eyes that won everyone’s hearts completely.
The Grand Tutor’s heart had ached terribly seeing the Empress cry in agony during childbirth, so he firmly resolved that they would have only this one birth, and never again in the future.
Although they were a pair of twins from the same pregnancy, they had completely different temperaments.
It was now the dead of winter. The four-year-old Crown Prince, wearing an apricot-yellow padded cotton jacket, led a group of five- and six-year-old study companions with sharp, energetic eyes as they lay in ambush on one side of the Grand Hall of Great Heroism. The eunuchs and palace maids who usually trailed behind the Crown Prince had already been tricked by this little King of Hell and confined to the study’s warm pavilion in the Imperial Garden. Thus, enjoying a rare moment of freedom in the palace, he was preparing to display his full prowess.
A few days ago, he had secretly hidden in his Imperial Mother’s bedchamber and heard her complain.
“I don’t want to hold court! Sitting there stiffly every day leaves my waist and legs so exhausted these past few days—I don’t want to go.”
“I am attending court, so how could there be any reason for Guo’er not to go? If Guo’er is tired of looking at those old men, you can look at your husband. Your husband’s elegant and handsome charm hasn’t faded from the past—looking at me won’t leave you feeling tired.”
“No… I don’t want to go…”
The Empress’s voice gradually faded, as if her mouth had been stuffed with something.
After the Empress and his father left the hall for court, the little Crown Prince crawled out from under the bed with a smudge of dust on his face. Clenching his tiny fists, he suddenly felt a deep, mother-and-son bond in his heart. On these cold winter days, when he was dragged out of his warm blanket every morning for early court, he also felt it was exceedingly tough. Every time, he envied his younger sister, who could sleep until the sun was high in the sky with a relaxed, rosy little face.
Yet every time, his father would sternly say with a straight face.
“As the future ruler of Great Wei, how can you be lazy every day? You must endure more hardships!” If he, as the Crown Prince, suffered such hardships, wouldn’t his Imperial Mother, as the Empress Regnant, suffer a hundred times more?
“Who says the heart of a tiny blade of grass can repay the warmth of the spring sun?”
The little Crown Prince decided then and there to help his Imperial Mother solve the problem of attending court.
So, how should he go about it?
The little Crown Prince was extremely fond of stories from the Three Kingdoms period and had constantly pestered his Imperial Mother to tell them to him. Over the past few days, hearing the story of the burning of the linked camps, his small face lit up with excitement, his round black eyes began to shine brilliantly, and he decided to follow the example of the ancient sages by starting a “fire in the Grand Hall,” thereby rescuing his Imperial Mother from the bitter sea of holding court.
Over the next few days, the little Crown Prince led his companions to play hide-and-seek in the Imperial Kitchen. Every day, he casually stole some oil, and after several days, he had accumulated several large vases of it. The young heirs of noble houses who served as his study companions had always taken the Crown Prince’s lead. Following his orders, they secretly brought fire-starters from their homes. Everything was truly prepared, lacking only that single final spark!
—
On this day, his Imperial Mother and father had gone to early court. The little Crown Prince led his small companions to set out the oil jars, fire-starters, and tinder one by one. Turning around, he waved his hand at his companions and mimicked the ancients, saying, “Everything is ready—our grand achievement begins today!”
The young noble heirs puffed out their round bellies, cupped their hands in respect, and called out in unison like martial actors on a opera stage.
“Understood!”
One chubby boy was a step too slow, shouting “Understood!” only after everyone else had finished. The little Crown Prince knit his brows in dissatisfaction.
“Zhiren, you’re slow again. We practiced so many times yesterday—why are you dampening everyone’s morale right before the battle?”
His companions glared at him furiously. The chubby boy shrank his neck and muttered timidly, “Then let’s do it again—I definitely won’t say it late…”
The little Crown Prince said angrily.
“How can such a monumental affair be treated as child’s play? How could there be any reason to do it over again?”
Being put on the spot, the chubby boy felt a bit indignant and mumbled softly, “We practiced so many times yesterday that everyone got bored. You were playing marbles so happily over there too—why wasn’t it child’s play then?”
The little Crown Prince was too lazy to bicker with such a coward, so he pretended not to hear. Raising a fair, tender little hand above his head, he said with heroic fervor, “Set off!”
Unfortunately, his babyish voice lacked a bit of imposing momentum.
Just as the Crown Prince and his companions picked up their items to leave, a fair and tender little girl wearing white pearl-embroidered long-eared rabbit shoes and a pink gauze dress, her hair done up in two little braids, waddled over, wiggling her little rear, and said in a milky voice.
“Royal Brother, you’re not allowed to go! Imperial Mother and Father will be angry.”
Seeing that it was his younger sister, Princess Jiabao, the little Crown Prince leaned in and planted a loud, smacking kiss on her rosy, chubby cheek, saying, “Sister, if you don’t tell on us, Royal Brother will catch a big white rabbit for you during the autumn hunt.”
“Really?” Hearing there was a rabbit, a joyful expression instantly broke across the little girl’s face, her eyes twinkling bright.
“Of course! When has Brother ever lied to you? I’ll pinky-swear with you—I’ll definitely bring you a big white rabbit.”
“Okay, Brother, you can’t lie to me, or I’ll definitely tell Imperial Mother and Father.”
Saying this, the girl stretched out a chubby little hand to pinky-swear with her brother.
—
The Crown Prince brought his companions outside the Grand Hall of Great Heroism and stealthily rounded to the side. Although the eunuchs and the golden-armored warriors outside the hall saw the Crown Prince and his group acting suspiciously, they didn’t dare stop them and could only pretend not to see.
The Crown Prince leaned in to listen; inside, the ministers were reporting on something. Taking an oil jar from a companion, he poured it onto the hall with a gurgling sound. After pouring, he realized his companions were standing around in a circle watching him, yet no one was moving to pour their oil.
“What are you looking at me for? Pour it together!” the Crown Prince said in a lowered voice.
The companions looked at one another, all hesitation written on their faces. Stretching out their hands, they handed the remaining jars of oil to the Crown Prince.
“Cowards,” the Crown Prince muttered under his breath.
He poured the oil onto the hall’s wall one by one, struck a fire-starter, lit the tinder, and tossed it against the wall.
With a whoosh, flames surged over a foot high.
The little Crown Prince pumped his fist, shouted excitedly, “Fire!”, and fled the scene with his companions.
Nie Qinglin was listening to the Minister of Revenue report on the recent food relief distribution when she suddenly heard that loud shout outside the hall. Smelling a waft of smoke, she froze in surprise and looked around.
Wei Lenghou had already leaped forward in a single bound, pulling Nie Qinglin into his arms, and bellowed.
“Where are the Golden-Armored Guards? Escort the Empress Regnant out of the hall first! Find out immediately what the situation is outside!”
Saying this, he quickly led Guo’er away from the hall as heavy smoke came rolling in.
Although the main hall was unharmed, a corner of the building had caught fire completely.
The weather had been dry these past few days, and before long, the flames surged high and spread rapidly to other areas.
The ministers panicked as well; seeing the Grand Tutor holding the Empress as they rushed out under the escort of armored guards, they also scrambled outside. Several old and frail ministers were choked by the dense smoke; in their panic, they tripped over the high door threshold, falling so hard that three of their souls and seven of their spirits were nearly knocked out on the spot, losing several of their lingering teeth in the process. The cowardly ones even fainted outright, though fortunately, the guards in the hall tucked them under their arms and carried them out.
—
A major case of arson in the palace like this was very easy to investigate. Fearing that his parents would be trapped in the fire, the little Crown Prince had hollered right before fleeing.
That babyish voice had been heard crystal-clear by his wise and mighty father long ago. Once he settled his beloved wife, the father put on a grim face, found an arm-thick wooden club, and prepared to search every palace building to find that audacious, unfilial little rebel.
Seeing the Grand Tutor’s expression, how could Nie Qinglin not know he was genuinely enraged? She held onto his sleeve without letting go.
“What does a four-year-old child understand? He only did it because he thought it was fun. Speak to him nicely! Why take such a thick club? My son isn’t thick-skinned like the Grand Tutor was in his youth to withstand a beating. If you hurt him even a little, I won’t stand for it!”
Speaking of the scale of trouble caused, it truly was a case of a formidable father having no weak son. Back when the Grand Tutor was young, he had “burned the Red Cliffs,” burning a large cargo ship down to its skeleton. Today, her son had merely scorched a single wall of the Grand Hall—was he really going to string him up and beat him?
(T/N: “Burned the Red Cliffs” refers to the famous fire attack during the Battle of Red Cliffs in ancient China (208 AD). The fire attack destroyed Cao Cao’s chained warfleet and splitting ancient China into the Three Kingdoms.)
Regrettably, the Grand Tutor coldly flicked his sleeve and said, “If we condone him after causing such a disaster today, Elder Chen’s front teeth are still lying on the throne room floor! If we don’t set ground rules today, I see this boy daring to set fire to the very heavens of Great Wei!”
Saying this, he brought a few eunuchs and palace maids to search for that little rebel. However, the little boy had likely received word and hid without a trace; they failed to find him even after searching three rounds.
The Grand Tutor’s phoenix eyes narrowed higher and higher. Sitting in the Crown Prince’s inner hall, he rapped the wooden club onto the tabletop with loud thud-thud sounds.
Just at this moment, the little Princess was nibbling on sweet osmanthus candy, leaning against the hall’s doorway, her chubby cheeks puffed out as she said mysteriously, “Daddy, guess where Brother is?”
Seeing this girl as delicate as carved jade, the Grand Tutor’s handsome face slowly softened. Relaxing his grip on the club, he stretched out a large palm and said, “Good Jiabao, come to Daddy.”
He had always doted on this daughter who resembled the Empress so much; even her form of address for him followed the customs of common households. After planting a sweet kiss on her soft cheek, he asked, “Good Jiabao, tell Daddy…where is your Royal Brother hiding?”
Sucking on her osmanthus candy stick with her small mouth, the little Princess said with a smug face.
“Brother told me not to tell! I won’t tell Daddy…Daddy has to guess!”
The smile on the Grand Tutor’s face grew deeper, completely unleashing a charm capable of captivating all six imperial palaces onto this little infant.
“Just tell Daddy in secret. If you tell Daddy, I’ll fetch a fluffy, snow-white little puppy for you.”
Jiabao’s candy-nibbling mouth froze. Inside her little braided head, the big white rabbit and the little white puppy were locked in a fierce duel, evenly matched. In the end, the bond between siblings from the same womb won out, and she firmly resolved to guard the secret to the end.
“Jiabao won’t tell no matter what Daddy gives! I’ll never tell Daddy that Brother is hiding in the old maple-poplar tree in the Imperial Garden!”
Unexpectedly, just after she refused her daddy, the smile on his face didn’t fade at all; instead, he kissed her little face once more.
“Jiabao is so good!”
Saying this, he set his daughter down, weighed the wooden club in his hand, and walked toward the Imperial Garden with a dark, villainous grin.
Before the little Princess could figure out what had happened, she turned to her Imperial Mother, who had just entered the hall, and asked, “Why did Daddy stop guessing?”
Nie Qinglin rubbed her temples.
She felt that back when the twins were in her womb, their wits and quirkiness hadn’t been distributed evenly. Her son was such a clever little spirit, whereas her younger daughter was a quintessential foodie—truly innocent and unversed in the ways of the world. Gently taking away the osmanthus candy in her hand, she said, “You should eat less of this and eat more walnuts to boost your brainpower!”
Just at that moment, the wailing cries of her son being beaten came from the garden not far away. Nie Qinglin picked up her daughter, feeling she shouldn’t disturb the delightful bonding time between father and son. This bright afternoon was best spent holding her daughter for a lovely nap.
On her way back to the bedchamber, she caught a glimpse of the man swinging the wooden club in the distance. Though he swung it with fierce momentum, it was raised high and brought down lightly. Still, her son’s buttocks had lacked practice these past few days—who knew if they had been beaten red…
The afternoon sunlight was brilliant at this moment. She had never felt before that the sunlight filtering through the deep palace’s flying eaves could actually be so warm…
