Chapter 438: Shouldering Too Much

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation , Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

In the Chu State, within the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Guard hurried towards the Imperial study.

The morning court session had just ended, and the ministers walked out of the main hall of court affairs in twos and threes.

“It has already been so long, and His Majesty is still unwilling to announce the news of the Empress’s passing publicly. How long will the Imperial Harem’s palace remain empty?”

“Your Lordship, you must be more mindful of your words. The last time someone mentioned this, His Majesty flew into a rage and ordered the Imperial Guards to drag him out and beat him with the pole immediately. He said the fellow was cursing the Empress. Who still dares to mention this matter now?”

A few heads leaned closer.

“How about Duke Jingguo… he didn’t do anything either?”

“Duke Jingguo probably doesn’t want to get embroiled in this mess. Let’s wait and see.”

The rushing Imperial Guard gradually strode further and further away as the ministers discussed in low voices.

Xiao Jin had just sat down in the Imperial study when Zhang Shuming walked in.

“Your Majesty, there’s an Imperial Guard outside requesting an audience.” Xiao Jin picked up a memorial without looking up. “Send him in.” The Imperial Guard walked into the inner hall and reported loudly, “Your Majesty, an hour ago, your humble servant found a messenger pigeon outside the palace gates. There was a letter tied to the leg of the messenger pigeon When I took out the letter and saw that it was an unusual message, I did not dare to delay and brought it over to Your Majesty immediately.” Xiao Jin raised his eyebrows when he heard that. There was no emotion in his eyes. “What was the message?”

The Imperial Guard answered, “The message says that Her Imperial Highness the Empress is still alive.”

Xiao Jin’s face froze and then he sprang up from the dragon throne. “Bring it over.”

The Imperial Guard immediately handed over the letter.

Xiao Jin took the letter and read it. It was written in unfamiliar handwriting but it clearly stated that Su Ying was still alive and she was in Jin City now. ’ Jin City was Xiao Jin’s former fiefdom. No matter what route she took from Aquarius River, it was impossible for her to end up in Jin City.

Zhang Shuming glanced at the letter from the side. “Your Majesty, the source of this news is unknown. We can’t trust it so easily.”

Xiao Jin wasn’t stupid, so not surprisingly, he wouldn’t believe the contents so easily. “Did you see anyone suspicious?”

“Your Majesty, when I was patrolling, I didn’t find any suspicious characters.

This messenger pigeon was picked up at the foot of the city wall.”

Xiao Jin slowly clenched the note in his hand. “I understand. You may leave. If you find anything unusual again, inform me immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After the Imperial Guard excused himself, Zhang Shuming brought tea and placed it by Xiao Jin’s hand. “Your Majesty, have some tea.”

Xiao Jin waved his hand dismissively and unfolded the letter in his hand again. When Zhang Shuming saw this, he couldn’t help saying, “Your Majesty, this thing is probably a trap.”

“If it’s a trap, they will try again if they fail the first time. I want to see who’s behind this plot.” Xiao Jin firmly believed that Su Ying was still alive, but he would never believe this piece of news so easily.

Zhang Shuming let out a sigh of relief inwardly when he saw that Xiao Jin did not fall for the trap. His Majesty seemed to have changed into a different person during this period when the Empress was not around . He spent most of his time dealing with state affairs and the rest of his time teaching the young First Prince. He sat alone on the bed at night and it was not known if he slept It had only been a short while, but he looked like he had lost a lot of weight. Sigh! Speaking of which, the young First Prince was quite pitiful too. Now, he only had eight hours to sleep and two hours to eat every day. The rest of the time, he was practically studying endlessly. Other than that, he would also have four hours to listen to the Emperor and the ministers discuss state affairs in the Imperial study every day.

The young First Prince did not complain about such a tiring daily schedule, but the smile on his young tender face was increasingly seen less often.

Xiao Jin didn’t tell the two children about Su Ying’s incident, and the two children surprisingly didn’t ask either. The trio of father and children seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding. It was as if she would always be there if someone didn’t mention it.

In the silence, a tiny figure arrived outside the Imperial study.

“Your Majesty, His Highness the First Prince has arrived,” Zhang Shuming reminded him softly.

Xiao Jin clenched the letter in his hand and allowed the older child Ji to enter the hall.

“Greetings, Emperor Father.”

“Come and sit down. Have you read all the memorials that I asked you to read yesterday?”

Ji nodded. “I have read all of them.”

Xiao Jin murmured an acknowledgment.

“Emperor Father, after I finished reading the memorials last night, I wrote a summary of two of them. Emperor Father, please take a look.”

Xiao Jin was somewhat surprised as he took the paper from the child’s hand and read it.

At Ji’s current age, it was impossible for Xiao Jin to test the child’s understanding of the state affairs. He only wanted Ji to be able to recognize all the words in the memorials. After understanding the contents of the memorial Ji had to do a summary of the contents. If he could summarize it well, it meant ’ that he had improved again.

The summary was very immature, but it was already a very rare achievement for someone at Ji’s age.

Ji stood in the hall with a hint of nervousness in his big eyes.

It’s not bad,” Xiao Jin said in affirmation after reading it.

Upon hearing Xiao Jin’s praise, Ji smiled as if he had been relieved of a heavy burden. “I will continue to work hard.”

Xiao Jin told the child to sit down beside him. When he saw that there were faint dark circles under his eyes at such a young age, Xiao Jin could not help but feel sorry for him. “You didn’t sleep well at night?”

Ji replied softly, “I slept a little later than usual because I was writing the summary last night. I will be able to make up for it after an afternoon nap later.”

Xiao Jin held his tiny hand. “Ji, Father knows that you are already working very hard. If you’re really tired, take a break.”

Ji, however, held Xiao Jin’s hand with determination in his eyes. “Emperor Father, it’s more tiring for you. I must learn more and know more so that I can share more of the burden with Emperor Father. That way, Emperor Father won’t be so tired.”

Xiao Jin felt very gratified inwardly as he hugged Ji. “Silly child…”

“Emperor Father, don’t worry. I am not tired. I like to read and listen to Teacher’s lessons. I want to learn many things. In the future, I can protect Emperor Father, protect Ling, and protect… Mother…” Ji’s voice began choking when his words reached this point.

He knew. He knew everything. Those people would always whisper behind his back that his mother had fallen into the very huge flood waters and would never come back again. When he heard it, he would scold them angrily and tell them loudly that his mother would be fine and that she would definitely come back!

It was just like how she and Emperor Father had fallen into the water back then and returned!

Grandma Zhao and the others would always cry secretly behind Ling’s and his backs. He was also very angry about this. Mother clearly had not rushed back, so why were they crying?

Ji was very angry, and he was also angry at himself. If he was already grown up and could share his Emperor Father’s worries, then he would be the one helping his father. That way, his mother would not have left the palace and would not have gotten into danger!

Therefore, Ji worked hard to learn the words and studied diligently. He hoped that he could learn more and grow up to be his Emperor Father’s helper. That way, his mother would be able to come back!

Children’s thoughts were always filled with a level of maturity that was tinged with incomprehensible naivety.

Xiao Jin’s heart ached terribly for this child’s maturity which did not match his age. However, as the eldest son, this was also the path that he had to take.

“Your mother will definitely return.”

Ji lifted his head from Xiao Jin’s embrace. This was the first time Xiao Jin had mentioned this matter to his child since Su Ying disappeared.

“I also think that Mother will definitely return. Mother also told me not to worry about her.. She will be back soon!”