Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

The Fifth Prince is already thirteen years old this year. He has grown to be as tall as Consort Hui's shoulder. His eyebrows and eyes resemble his mother's, and he has a refined and calm appearance.

Emperor Jingyuan casually asked a few questions about the classics and then posed two policy questions. Chen Jingyuan answered them all fluently, and when he got to the important points, he was able to cite classics and explain them clearly.

Emperor Jingyuan showed no expression, simply nodded, said "acceptable," and dismissed him.

Consort Hui stood aside, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

She had been in the palace for many years, and only through her cautious and meticulous approach had she managed to climb to where she was today. She had originally thought that her son was too young, and with the Second Prince ahead of him, the throne would never fall to Jingyuan.

But now, seeing Emperor Jingyuan's attitude, Consort Hui is uncertain again.

But Consort Hui is a clever person.

Instead of being overjoyed, she took the opportunity while refilling Emperor Jingyuan's tea to say with concern, "Your Majesty has been paying too much attention to Jingyuan lately. He is still young and cannot bear such attention."

That was said with great tact.

On the surface, it was an act of humility on behalf of his son, but in reality, it was a test and a declaration of his stance.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingyuan glanced at her, smiled, and remained silent.

Consort Hui then said no more.

Seeing that Emperor Jingyuan looked tired and there was a hint of weariness between his brows, Consort Hui quietly walked behind him, placed her hands on his shoulders, and began to massage them gently.

Her technique is excellent; she specifically sought out and learned from someone skilled in this art.

In the imperial harem, let alone enjoying lasting favor, even just wanting to see the emperor required racking one's brains and exhausting all one's ingenuity.

Emperor Jingyuan closed his eyes slightly, and his shoulders and back, which had been tense all day, gradually relaxed.

Emperor Jingyuan suddenly spoke up: "Do you know what the court has been discussing these days?"

Consort Hui was taken aback, but her hands continued moving. She said respectfully and gently, "The inner palace must not interfere in politics. I dare not speak rashly."

"I'm telling you to speak."

Consort Hui smiled, her tone still gentle: "I'm just a woman, how would I know about such important matters? But I heard the palace servants mention it, it seems to be related to the north?"

Emperor Jingyuan hummed in agreement, opened his eyes, and slowly said, "The Northern Rong have a new Chanyu, and their ambitions are considerable. Before winter, they attacked three garrisons and abducted more than two thousand border residents."

Consort Hui did not respond, but simply made her movements even gentler.

Emperor Jingyuan paused, then suddenly changed the subject: "Do you know how much grain and silver is currently stored in the treasury of the Great Yong Dynasty?"

Consort Hui shook her head: "This concubine does not know."

"During the reign of the late emperor, the imperial granary held no more than six million shi of grain, and the Ministry of Revenue held no more than four million taels of silver. This year, the imperial granary holds more than twenty million shi of grain, and the Ministry of Revenue holds several times more silver."

Consort Hui's hand finally stopped moving for a moment.

She wasn't stupid. If she still couldn't understand after all this, then she would have lived in the palace for nothing all these years.

During the prosperous reign of Emperor Yongzheng, granaries were full and treasuries were overflowing. There were no large-scale civil wars for decades. Emperor Jingyuan must not have accumulated such a wealth of wealth for his descendants to spend slowly.

He's going to spend it on himself.

"Your Majesty means..." Consort Hui's voice was very soft as she tentatively began, "Is now the right time to make a move?"

Emperor Jingyuan did not answer directly, but closed his eyes again.

Consort Hui understood and continued to massage his temples with just the right amount of pressure.

After a long pause, Emperor Jingyuan spoke again, "The new Chanyu of the Northern Rong is gradually consolidating the royal family's power and suppressing the pro-peace tribes within. If he continues to operate like this, in three to five years, he will unify the entire grassland, and the Northern Rong cavalry will no longer be a disorganized rabble."

"If we wait until then to take action, the price that Dayong will have to pay will be several times that of today."

Consort Hui listened quietly.

She had initially thought that the Northern Rong's incursion was merely a routine border skirmish, and that the imperial court's military intervention was simply a reactive measure. But now, hearing Emperor Jingyuan's words, how could it be a reactive measure at all?

This was clearly premeditated.

Emperor Jingyuan had probably been waiting for this day for many years.

What the northern barbarians invading the border, what the Chanyu breaking the treaty—in his eyes, it was probably just a case of good luck coming his way.

"Your Majesty's wisdom and foresight are admirable," Consort Hui said softly, her voice carrying a hint of a woman's admiration for a man.

Emperor Jingyuan seemed satisfied with her reaction and did not continue the topic. Instead, he changed the subject, saying, "That girl, Sese, came to see you in the palace again last month?"

Consort Hui paused slightly for a moment, then continued massaging as if nothing had happened.

"Yes, why doesn't Your Majesty come to see her?"

She had served Emperor Jingyuan for so many years, she knew him too well.

When he mentioned Sese, his tone would unconsciously soften a bit. This tone was completely different from his decisive and ruthless manner when discussing politics, and also entirely different from his casual way of speaking in everyday life.

It's like a deep and subtle tenderness hidden beneath the calm surface of water.

Who is this for?

Consort Hui knew exactly what was going on.

Emperor Jingyuan snorted and said, "What's so good about her? She's married, but she's still like a child."

Following his words, Consort Hui chuckled and said, "The fact that she can act like a child shows that Xie Junheng treats her very well. Your Majesty can rest assured."

That's not wrong. Emperor Jingyuan hummed in agreement and said nothing more.

The ambergris incense burned gently, and the only sound in the East Warm Pavilion was the dripping of the water clock.

Emperor Jingyuan suddenly remembered something from a very long time ago.

That winter was exceptionally cold.

In my memory, the snow fell thick and densely, covering the entire hunting grounds and hills in a vast expanse of white.

That was the tenth year of Jingyuan.

Since its founding, the Dayong Dynasty had a rule that the emperor must hunt a white fox during the winter hunt to offer as a sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, to inform Heaven, and to protect the nation's fortune.

This is a rule set by the founding emperor.

No emperor in history was an exception, and he was no exception either.

However, Emperor Jingyuan was never good at riding or archery.

But he couldn't say this to anyone; an emperor couldn't show weakness, especially at that time.

In the early years of the Jingyuan era, Emperor Jingyuan had finally seized the throne by carrying out a bloodbath. Before he could consolidate his power, the ministers pressured him to go on a winter hunt.

On the day of departure, Emperor Jingyuan mounted his horse and was about to give the order to set off when he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that something was wrong with a young eunuch among the servants behind him.

The man was too short and had a very thin waist. He kept his head down and hid behind Wang Huaijin, thinking he was hiding well. But to others, his furtive appearance was no different from that of someone carrying a flag.

Emperor Jingyuan frowned, spurred his horse over, and, looking down at the man, used his whip to lift his face.

She revealed a face of unparalleled beauty.

He's liked her since he was a child.

He had never seen a girl more beautiful than her.

But she didn't like him.

He tentatively asked her what she wanted to do in the future. She thought about it seriously and said she wanted to get married.

He then cautiously asked her who she wanted to marry.

She said with a grin, "Anyway, I'm not marrying you. My mother said you'll have a lot of women in the future, and I definitely won't survive."

Leng Danxia tilted her head back, showing no fear despite being caught red-handed. Instead, she gave him a confident smile.

They were certain that the emperor wouldn't act now.

Emperor Jingyuan's face immediately darkened.

Winter hunting is not a spring outing. In the hunting grounds, swords have no eyes and wild beasts roam. Moreover, all the civil and military officials of the court are present. How could a woman from the inner palace disguise herself as a eunuch and mingle in the procession?

Although he couldn't make a scene on the spot, he could send someone to take her back.

But before she could finish speaking, Leng Danxia had already slightly raised her chin and said, "I'm not going back."

He glared at her.

She glared back.

He lowered his voice and said, "Don't be silly."

She said no.

He said, "Do you know how dangerous this is?"

She said she knew, which is why she was even more determined to go; she was worried about him going alone.

He was speechless for a long time after hearing her words.

What do you mean I'm worried about you going alone? He's the emperor, leading thousands of imperial guards on a hunt, but in her words it's as if he's going into danger all by himself.

But when she said that, there was no hint of a joke in her eyes, and he couldn't do anything about it. From the very first day he met her, he couldn't do anything about her.

Finally, Emperor Jingyuan sighed, said sternly, "Stay by my side at all times, and don't run around," and then turned away from her.

The next day was the actual day for hunting the white fox.

It snowed all night, and the hunting grounds were a vast expanse of white, stretching to the horizon, making it impossible to distinguish where the snowfield ended and the sky began.

Surrounded by the Imperial Guards, he rode into the woods, his palms sweaty, yet his face still bearing that unfathomable imperial demeanor.

The group searched for half a day, but they didn't see a single fox, let alone a white fox.

The accompanying senior officials didn't say anything, but their eyes already showed a subtle flicker.

It was at this moment that Wang Huaijin suddenly stepped forward and told Emperor Jingyuan that Leng Danxia had disappeared.

Emperor Jingyuan's heart skipped a beat. He looked around and, sure enough, the small figure was nowhere to be seen.

In that instant, a chill shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head, colder than the heavy snow falling from the sky.

The hunting grounds were riddled with traps and hidden pits, and the snow made it impossible to see the path, not to mention that black bears and wolves had roamed this forest before. If something happened to her running off alone—

He didn't dare to think any further.

While Emperor Jingyuan secretly sent people to search for him, he went mad and, disregarding the danger, rode his horse alone into the depths of the forest.

Emperor Jingyuan disregarded all imperial dignity and decorum, shouting Leng Danxia's name loudly all the way. His voice was torn apart by the wind and snow, and even he could hear the panic in his voice.

He even considered what would happen if something were to happen to her...

He has already lost her once, he absolutely cannot lose her a second time!

Just as Emperor Jingyuan was almost frantic with worry, a head suddenly popped out of a snowdrift not far away.

"Shh, be quiet, look what this is!"

Leng Danxia's head was covered in snowflakes, her face was red from the cold, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.

Leng Danxia held a pure white fox in her arms, with only a faint gray stain on the tips of its ears. There was a wound on the fox's hind leg, and the blood had frozen into ice shards.

Emperor Jingyuan, his eyes red, rushed forward and embraced her tightly, wishing he could meld her into his very bones. Her hands were icy cold, and her clothes were half-soaked with snow, yet she still giggled, offering him the white fox in her arms, saying, "See? Aren't I amazing? I found it for you!"

He didn't remember much about what happened after that.

All I remember is that outside the hunting grounds, the entire court was waiting anxiously, and a few people were already whispering among themselves.

Then they saw him in the distance—their emperor, carrying a white fox in his hand, slowly riding towards them.

At that moment, thousands of people knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

The sound waves shook the snow off the treetops, causing it to fall in a soft rustling sound.

No one knows how he hunted that white fox.

All they knew was that the first winter hunt after the new emperor's ascension to the throne had been successful.

After returning to the palace, he overruled all objections and bestowed upon her the title of Consort Chen.

Chen refers to the North Star, the most revered star beside the emperor.

……

"His Majesty?"

Consort Hui's soft, gentle voice rang in his ears, pulling Emperor Jingyuan's thoughts back from the swirling snow.

Emperor Jingyuan slowly opened his eyes, and the fragrance of ambergris still wafted through the East Warm Pavilion.

Emperor Jingyuan remained silent for a moment before realizing that his eyes had become somewhat sore.

Emperor Jingyuan raised his hand to press his temples, his tone calm as ever: "I am a little tired, you may leave now."

Consort Hui silently withdrew her hand, gave a curtsy, and left the East Warm Pavilion.

During the time the emperor was silent, she clearly saw something that flashed in his eyes that she never dared to look directly at.

Consort Hui stood under the corridor, gazing at the gray-blue sky above the palace walls, and silently exhaled.

It must be that woman.

If she were alive, she could fight for it, but who can fight against a dead person?