tallest building

Chapter 219 King of Divide

In the Si Xian Hall, the Emperor played chess with Master Zhuge.

The tea smoke curled upwards, and only half of the game of chess had been played.

"Your Majesty has been looking troubled lately. Is there something troubling you?" Master Zhuge slowly placed a piece on the chessboard, which ended up outside the halfway point of the game.

The emperor then placed a piece and said, "Master, you are right. I am indeed worried about something and would like to ask you for guidance."

"The court is relatively peaceful now, so Your Majesty must be worried about matters outside the court?" Master Zhuge placed another piece opposite the place where he had just placed his piece.

"Master, you are a divine man, your prediction is correct." The Emperor sighed. "The King of Fenye and Princess Duanmin will be returning to the capital soon. Fenye was originally a vassal state, and has been paying tribute to our dynasty since the time of Emperor Gaozu."

However, after the Bingzi Incident, they ceased paying tribute. In recent years, their rivalry has grown increasingly powerful; if there are any disagreements during this trip to the capital, it may leave behind lasting problems.

"Your Majesty's worries are indeed understandable. The original territory of that region belonged to a branch of the Wusun people. A hundred years ago, the Wusun migrated north, and this branch remained. When the Central Plains was strong, it made peace; when the Central Plains was weak, it fought. This alternation of war and peace has lasted for a hundred years."

The current border is ambiguous with the Qiang tribes in the southwest, and the northern Wusun are stirring, with whom there may be secret dealings. Your Majesty is worried that this thorn in your side will turn into a major threat.

"Master's words are to the point, I need not say more." The Emperor nodded repeatedly, for Master Zhuge had a clear understanding of the current situation.

"It seems that this time, King Fenye's trip to the capital, though ostensibly for an audience, is also a cover for spying and harbors rebellious intentions." Master Zhuge stroked his long beard. "We must not let him gain any advantage."

"That is precisely why I earnestly request that you, Master, stay. With you here, we can be assured of our safety," the Emperor solemnly invited.

The Master smiled slightly: "Since we've come at such a convenient time, I need not refuse. However, there are many capable people in the court, so I suppose I won't be of any use to them. But it would be quite interesting to just be a spectator."

At this moment, Gong Chang'an was in Wen Mingqian's room when someone from the Imperial Wardrobe came to take his measurements and make clothes for him, on the Empress's orders.

The Empress was very fond of Gong Chang'an and ordered that no one in the palace should neglect him.

Today, Aunt Cui and two palace maids came to take measurements. After carefully measuring, they wrote down the dimensions on paper.

Afterwards, Aunt Cui let the two palace maids leave first, while she stayed behind to thank Wen Mingqian.

“A few days ago, my lady spoke on our behalf to the Empress, which saved us from punishment. I should have thanked you long ago, but I kept putting it off until today,” Aunt Cui said with a smile.

"Auntie, you're being too kind. Putting aside everything else, I should help you out of respect for Her Highness the Princess."

"I heard from Bingwen that you've come several times, but I happened to be away each time, so I missed you. Besides, Aunt, you're always so busy, so I feel a little bad that you still have to come all this way." Wen Mingqian said as he poured tea for Aunt Cui.

"No wonder Her Majesty the Empress values ​​you so highly. Everyone in the palace speaks highly of you. You are truly tolerant of others," said Aunt Cui. "Speaking of which, we've been quite busy lately. Princess Duanmin has been away from the border for six or seven years, and this is her first time returning to the capital. There's so much to prepare! Just the Imperial Wardrobe alone has countless things to prepare." "Yes, I've heard people talking about it these past few days. They say that Prince Fenye and Princess Duanmin are returning to the capital. The princess is the late Emperor's only daughter, so it should be a grand occasion," Wen Mingqian echoed Aunt Cui.

"Yes, yes, I never imagined I would see the princess again in my lifetime," Aunt Cui exclaimed. "She is truly the gentlest mistress I have ever met."

“The princess is a hero of our Great Zhou for marrying into the country for the greater good,” Wen Mingqian said. “She must be missing the capital very much while she is in the borderlands.”

"The northern wind blows and the southern branches are nested by birds; how can one not miss home? However..." Aunt Cui couldn't help but sigh, but then she stopped talking, stood up and laughed, "Look at me, I'm getting old and senile. There are still a lot of things to do over there."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Wen Mingqian said, "I wouldn't dare to keep you any longer, Aunt, I know you're a very busy person. But if you have some free time, please come over and sit for a while. I would really like to talk to you."

“Oh, oh, I’d love to be with you too. We people in the palace have no children and can’t bear to see our parents and brothers. It’s really rare to find someone in the palace with whom we can get along.”

Wen Mingqian saw Aunt Cui out, and a moment later someone from the Empress's side came to call her: "Madam Wen, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence."

Wen Mingqian quickly followed the palace maid to the Empress's palace.

The Empress was sitting there chatting and drinking tea with Princess Zhao and Princess Chu.

Wen Mingqian stepped forward and paid his respects in turn. The Empress said, "I want to tell you that Princess Duanmin will be returning to the capital in a few days. She has been married off to a distant place for so many years, and this is her first time back, so naturally we should give her a grand welcome. Apart from the formalities, I thought it would be good to get her something novel, unique, and useful."

"What does Your Highness mean by asking me to do for the princess?" Wen Mingqian asked hurriedly.

"It's nothing more than cosmetics and such. The borderlands are not like the capital. Although we send a lot every year, it's still limited," the Empress said. "As for the princess's preferences, there are some old servants in the palace who used to serve her. I'll have them tell you about it later."

Wen Mingqian received the Empress's decree, but after a day no one came to see her, she asked Yu Lu, "Chief Eunuch Yu, I have only been in the palace for a short time. Her Majesty instructed me to make some things for the Princess and to find the old servants who served the Princess before to speak to me. I don't know where to find them?"

"Why didn't Zhou Fu go look for someone?" Yu Lu found it strange and immediately called his apprentice Zhou Fu over.

Zhou Fu quickly explained, "Master, I've already looked for her. Many of the people who served the princess back then remained, but over the years, some left the palace, and others died of illness. Now, only one remains who used to serve her closely, but unfortunately, she's ill and can't get up for a while. And I'm afraid she'll pass on her illness to someone else, so..."

“This is a rushed matter, but it won’t do!” Yu Lu said. “Madam Wen takes time to make things. Let’s see if there are any other people who can do it? Even if they only know a little bit, it will be good so that there won’t be any mistakes in the end.”

“I just remembered someone. She should be in Consort Yun’s palace right now. I’ll go find her right away,” Zhou Fu said.

“Eunuch Zhou, I’ll go with you!” Wen Mingqian said, “so you won’t have to run around.”

She followed Zhou Fu to the outside of Consort Yun's palace. Zhou Fu stopped a young eunuch and said, "Go and call Chunmei over here. Tell her I need to see her. These days she's only attending to Lady Wen; everything else is secondary."

Zhou Fu was the head eunuch in the Empress's palace. The young eunuchs naturally both respected and feared him, and hurriedly agreed to run to fetch someone.