Chapter 153 – Crimson Luo

After Xu Chun entered the palace this time, he didn’t leave for several days in a row.

Even Xu Anlin noticed his son was missing and asked Lady Sheng, “What’s Xu Chun busy with? Why haven’t I seen him for a few days?”

Lady Sheng replied, “He’s been busy, either visiting teachers and friends or attending invitations. The front gate is piled high with invitations. How can he be like you, idling around all day, sleeping and then eating?”

Lady Sheng glanced at Xu Anlin, who had become white and pudgy, somewhat disdainfully. Eating and sleeping, he had now reached middle age and was gaining weight. The handsome man of the past had become rather plump and white, especially since he had recently started eating vegetarian food and reciting Buddhist scriptures, with prayer beads wrapped around his hand, making him look more like a fat monk.

Xu Anlin felt a bit ashamed and coughed a few times, “Well, he’s an official; naturally, he’s busy with social engagements. Once my mourning period is over, perhaps the Emperor will see my diligence and grant me some duties, and then I won’t be so idle.”

Lady Sheng evaded the topic, “Perhaps so.”

Xu Anlin looked at the painting draft in Lady Sheng’s hands and approached her with a fawning face, “What is Madam painting? It’s really good!”

Lady Sheng said, “This is a draft for the painting on porcelain that Lady Helan commissioned. It’s to be sold to the West.”

Xu Anlin asked, “Why paint it so full? The colors are indeed soft and tender, very charming—but why put a woman’s head on it? It looks a bit like the Western beauty on my Western cloisonné snuff bottle.”

Lady Sheng opened it up to show him, “Which of these sets do you think is better?”

Xu Anlin looked at them and pointed, “This one is good. The branches with light pink flowers cover the ground evenly and clearly. There’s a circle left in the middle, where this woman’s head is placed, making her appear graceful and elegant. The patterns outside are also elegant and sparse, not tacky. This yellow ground with blue and white intertwined floral design is also good, with refined and luxurious color matching. I’ve seen one from the imperial kiln, which sold quite expensively.”

Lady Sheng smiled slightly but pointed to another set with a yellow ground and branch-and-bird pattern, “The foreigners prefer this set. It looks splendid and luxurious.”

Xu Anlin didn’t care, “It depends on what it’s for. If it’s for gifts, we should follow our own tastes. But if it’s for business, we should cater to the foreigners’ preferences.”

Lady Sheng pondered for a moment and got up, “I have an appointment with Lady Helan. You go about your business.”

Xu Anlin remained silent.

He watched as Lady Sheng quickly came out. Indeed, Helan Baozhi had already arrived. This time, she brought a little maid named Xiaoyan and no longer needed General Helan to personally escort her.

Lady Sheng could see that she intended to stay in the capital for the long term. Her enthusiasm for the business was extremely high. In just three days, she had drawn three sets of designs. Moreover, she was radiant and glowing, completely different from her previous quietness, which was like a dead tree. She seemed to be a different person altogether, which puzzled Lady Sheng.

She discussed with Helan Baozhi, “Since Mr. Wright likes the yellow ground with intertwined branches, let’s ask Eunuch An to make samples according to this set first. But for these other two sets, we won’t include the queen’s portrait. We’ll burn them and let Mr. Wright take them back to sell. Then, when we see which style sells well, we’ll continue selling it.”

Helan Baozhi suggested, “Why not draw more patterns and compile them into a booklet for him to take back and let people choose?”

Lady Sheng said, “I’m afraid you’ll be too tired.”

Helan Baozhi smiled, “What’s the big deal? I’m idle anyway.”

As they were talking, a servant girl rushed in and said to Lady Sheng, “Madam, Scholar He and Prince Nong have arrived.”

Lady Sheng was startled, “Didn’t I tell you to decline all visits from princes and say that Prince Chun went out?”

The servant girl’s face showed some embarrassment, “Prince Chun…came back. He just returned, and the front gate reported that someone from Scholar He’s side must have been watching at the entrance. As soon as they saw Prince Chun’s carriage return, they immediately blocked him. Now, Prince Chun is entertaining the two guests in the garden’s warm pavilion.”

Lady Sheng was speechless. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Have the kitchen prepare a reception. Prince Chun will probably invite the two guests to lunch. Let Xia Chao oversee the menu.”

The servant girl hurriedly agreed and left.

Helan Baozhi smiled, “Scholar He, is that this year’s scholar He Zhiquiu? He’s on good terms with Prince Chun?”

Lady Sheng smiled, “He previously opened a bookstore for fun. Later, when Shun’an County Duke initiated a charity school, he pulled all the classmates from the Imperial College to donate. He took charge of the printing work for the charity school. Now, the bookstore still has expenses every month. Knowing he opened a bookstore, the top three scholars all found him to print their books, and their relationship is pretty good. Later, Fan Tanhua and Zhang Bangyan were assigned to positions outside the capital, leaving only Scholar He in the capital. He comes occasionally.”

Lady Sheng suddenly realized that the Fan family and the Helan family were quite incompatible. She hurriedly apologized to Helan Baozhi, “Most of the interactions were official. He only came a few times. Later, during mourning, everything became less frequent.”

Helan Baozhi smiled faintly, “Brother Chun is pure-hearted and chivalrous. Naturally, he’s popular.”

Lady Sheng laughed, “That’s right. Previously, he had many fox friends and dog companions. In the last two years, after entering the Imperial College and becoming an official, he finally made some proper friends. It worried me sick.”

==

The warm pavilion in the garden was used for admiring snow and plum blossoms in winter. Therefore, a cellar was dug under the pavilion, where charcoal was burned, making the pavilion as warm as spring inside, without a trace of smoke. Large glass windows were installed, allowing one to see the plum blossom forest blooming outside, with varying densities and flowers like paintings.

The pavilion was spacious, with long couches set along the windows. The couches were all covered with blue satin cushions, black fox fur seat cushions, and on the tables were green jade basins filled with snow-white pebbles, planting dozens of water lilies that were in full bloom, with golden stamens and jade petals, emitting a faint fragrance. On the other side of the flower stand was a branch vase containing camellias with deep red petals like brocade and fire. In front of the couch, a crystal plate on the table held pears, persimmons, pomelos, jujubes, and other fruits, as well as exquisite tea snacks.

Nong Siji sat down on the warm kang bed covered with soft fox fur and sighed in comfort. He touched the smooth long fur and couldn’t help saying, “Your place is more extravagant than the imperial palace.”

Xu Chun looked at him speechlessly. He Zhiquiu laughed, “His Majesty is indeed frugal. The palace’s expenditures have been reduced year by year. But don’t flatter Prince Nong. Be careful that Minister Li Meiyuan hears about it and accuses Prince Chun of extravagant living.”

He smiled at Xu Chun, “I heard that the other day in front of Master Shen’s residence, you were caught and scolded by Li Meiyuan again?”

Xu Chun leaned lazily against the soft pillow as if he couldn’t open his eyes. He casually picked up a Buddha’s hand fruit on the table to play with while saying, “Let him be. Master Shen told me not to provoke him.”

The warm pavilion was too warm, so he had taken off his outer fox fur coat upon entering. Inside, he wore a crimson satin round-neck robe, which made the emerald dragon pendant hanging from his waist particularly eye-catching. He rarely wore such colors. Holding the delicate yellow Buddha’s hand fruit in his hand further accentuated his fresh eyebrows and bright eyes, making him radiant and dazzling.

Completely different from his noble and majestic appearance in Tianhai when he mostly wore sky blue and dark blue. He was more like the wealthy young master wrapped in gold and jade when He Zhiquiu first met him.

He Zhiquiu couldn’t help but look at him a few more times, wondering if he was relaxed at home.

Xu Chun didn’t notice. He had stayed in the palace for a few days, and his clothes were prepared by the palace. With the New Year approaching, Eunuch Su sent clothes mostly in bright and festive colors like cinnabar red, crimson, and purple. Xie Yi even praised him, saying he looked good in them. Since it was for celebrating Xie Yi’s birthday, he was happy as long as Xie Yi liked it.

He casually asked Nong Siji, “How was Prince Nong’s audience with His Majesty?” but he was pretending to be stupid, making conversation for the sake of conversation.

Nong Siji looked apologetic, “I’m not eloquent and didn’t perform well. Moreover, I’m afraid I implicated you.” After finishing, he recounted the situation of the audience with the emperor and added, “I thought that if I missed this opportunity, there wouldn’t be another. So I boldly mentioned that I wanted to go to Tianhai with you and could help you with some things. I saw that in Tianhai, you didn’t have military power, and even the warships you ordered had to share profits with others, greatly restricting you. I thought that if I went, I could lend you a helping hand.”

“But the Emperor flatly refused and said that you have a sincere heart for the country and don’t seek rewards. He insisted that I go to Minzhou and said that I would get along well with that Governor Fang.”

His face full of worry, he said, “After I returned, I became increasingly concerned, fearing that you would be suspected.”

Xu Chun comforted him, “Don’t worry about this small matter. His Majesty has a broad-mindedness and originally recommended you in my memorial. Even if you didn’t mention it, did you think His Majesty wouldn’t know about the connection between us? Your loyalty and disregard for personal gain are precisely why His Majesty values your integrity. If you had really chosen the first path, how dare His Majesty truly use you? He would certainly just send a decree and let your internal turmoil continue. You chose the second path and were mindful of our friendship. His Majesty knew you were loyal, filial, righteous, and upright, so he felt reassured using you.”

Nong Siji never expected that Xu Chun would come up with ideas he hadn’t considered and was surprised, “Is that true?”

Xu Chun said, “Of course. That first path was clearly a trap.” He remembered that Ninth Brother had given Fan Tanhua two options, and Fan Tanhua had looked pale that day, not knowing what had struck him.

He looked at He Zhiquiu and smiled, “Brother He is smarter than me. He must have seen through it early on.”

He Zhiquiu coughed lightly, inevitably recalling the trap His Majesty had set for him to instigate a great literary persecution. If he hadn’t retained a thread of conscience that day, he might have been somewhere unknown today. With some embarrassment and guilt, he said, “His Majesty is upright and indeed prefers those who walk the straight path.”

Xu Chun nodded smugly, “Right. Prince Nong, feel free to go. Wu Yinghou is a very nice person and will surely join forces with you to pacify the seas.”

Nong Siji said, “I heard that he is extremely cold and proud, hardly interacting with others. He led troops at a young age. I reviewed records of several battles he fought, full of clever strategies, but he’s very independent. His younger brother, Fang Zixing, is the Emperor’s guard, almost never associating with others. Such a child of heaven must look down on others. I’m not skilled at making friends and am genuinely worried, afraid that the generals will not get along in the future.”

Xu Chun said, “Don’t worry.” He had a mischievous smile on his face, “You’ll see when you go. They’re the best people.”

Seeing Xu Chun so certain, Nong Siji was relieved halfway. Xu Chun, however, said, “When will the Ministry of War issue the appointment? You’ve come a long way. If you lack anything, just tell me.”

Nong Siji said, “It should be within these two days. I heard that the envoy from Silla went to the Ministry of Rites early this morning, requesting an audience to seek aid. A battle must have already broken out, but now that I’m in the capital, information isn’t readily available.”

Xu Chun perked up, “A battle broke out?” He secretly regretted in his heart that if he had known the Silla envoy would enter the palace to meet the Emperor today, he should have stayed a little longer… However, after staying in the palace for a few days, even though he was young and strong, he felt somewhat exhausted. Plus, he was preoccupied with matters at home. Early this morning, he took advantage of Ninth Brother going to court and hurriedly returned to the mansion. As a result, he was intercepted by He Zhiquiu and Nong Siji right at the entrance.

He calculated in his heart, maybe he should go back to the palace in the afternoon… Begging Ninth Brother, at the very least, let him go out to sea and practice his hand by capturing a few ships.

==

In the palace, Xie Yi dismissed the Silla envoy and returned to Suiyu Hall. However, he heard Su Hua say, “The prince said he had something to handle at home and may not come in to accompany you tonight.”

Xie Yi knew that he had indeed gone too far last night. The child was probably scared. He smiled slightly and said, “Let Marshal Pei deliver a message to him. Tell him to deliver a message to Prince Nong, submit a memorial requesting to fight, and ask Scholar He to help him draft the memorial to make it look better.”

Su Hua said, “Yes.”

However, Xie Yi continued, “Did you find the silver smoke gauze I asked you to look for yesterday?”

Su Hua replied, “I found it and have had people cut it and start making it. This color is indeed beautiful. His Majesty’s taste is excellent. Today, the prince wore that crimson silk robe, truly like a god! I imagine that with the silver smoke gauze inner shirt, he’ll look even better.”

Xie Yi smiled slightly, “Have them hurry up and bring it. He’ll definitely come back to the palace tonight.”

With the blue-green Ruyi stick, he lifted the shallow crimson mist-like robe, watching the silver-red gauze robe slide down like water. Indeed, it was as magnificent as the morning sun rising and as radiant as peach blossoms blooming, delightfully charming and appetizing.