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Princess and the General - Chapter 300

Published at 7th of March 2022 08:35:05 PM


Chapter 300

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Your Reaction Was too Slow (Part Two)
When the report from the border reached Eastern Ling’s court, the officials were shocked.

Kun WuShang’s methods were too vile. Looking through the history books, only the notorious “butcher” general, Bai Qi, could be comparable.

One slaughtered 400 thousand soldiers, and one reduced a perfectly good patch of land into a barren wasteland.

Emperor Ning was furious. After his anger subsided, he felt regret. Back then, he should have locked Kun WuShang inside Eastern Ling or just had him executed!

If not for his excessive soft-heartedness, he would not have lost tens of thousands of troops!

Tens of thousands of the Gu family’s soldiers represented generations of hard work, and they were all loyal souls. For all of them to die to Kun WuShang’s poison without any chance of fighting back…

No matter how he thought about it, he would just sigh.

Imperial Censor Ji DaoGong was waiting for him below. Standing next to him was Imperial Censor Chen, who had already been added to the cabinet. Recently, he had been referring to him as senior cabinet minister Chen.

The two old officials stood below and exchanged a glance. They could clearly see the regret in Emperor Ning’s eyes.

Senior cabinet minister Chen stepped forward, “Your Majesty, this is not the time for regret. Marquis Gu’s letter requested assistance from the Ministry of Revenue in acquiring supplies for antidotes. With Princess ZhenJiang at the border, the antidote might be able to counter the poison in the ground and water.”

Emperor Ning slowly nodded, “Have the Ministry of Revenue handle this matter as soon as possible. The Ministry of War will coordinate with them. Regardless of how much medicine they need, we must do everything possible to alleviate the poison affecting the land and water. Once the poison spreads to the surrounding cities, it won’t just be the soldiers of the Gu family’s army that will suffer!”

Senior cabinet minister Chen nodded, “This old subject will immediately go and take care of this matter. There is another matter. Many in the Gu family’s army have died or been injured, but Western Kun’s army has shown no intention of retreating. Does Your Majesty plan to send reinforcements?”

Emperor Ning thought about it for a moment then waved his hand, “There’s no need for that. Marquis Gu is steady in his handling of things. If he needed reinforcements, he would definitely have told Us. If he didn’t say it, there’s no need for us to think about it. We should have the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue think about military supplies, the Ministry of Internal Affairs too”

Having the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue worry about military supplies made sense to senior cabinet minister Chen, but why include the Ministry of Internal Affairs?

Just as he was about to ask, Ji DaoGong, who had been quietly standing to the side, gave him a look. Senior cabinet minister Chen cupped his hands and gave up on the question. After a moment of thought, he said: “Yes, even if the poison afflicting the soldiers has been treated, they will still be weakened. Lord Marquis Gu and the other generals have much hardship to endure. This subject will inform the Ministry of War and Ministry of Revenue to send some good food, and this subject will inform the Board of Internal Affairs to prepare some things that Princess ZhenJiang might need.”

Emperor Ning nodded, feeling very satisfied with his understanding of the situation. There was not much else for him to add.

The two old officials left the imperial study and walked along the winding corridor to leave the palace, chatting along the way.

The two were colleagues who had worked together in the Imperial Censorate for many years, thus there was a tacit understanding between the two. Senior cabinet minister Chen said: “Thank you, old Ji, for the reminder earlier. If not for your reminder, this lowly official would have almost forgotten about Princess ZhenJiang. Speaking of the crisis at the border being resolved, it was entirely thanks to the princess’ hard work that we could reverse the situation.”

Ji DaoGong did not claim any credit for this, “What are you saying? The cabinet has not yet been filled out, and the ranking has not yet been decided. Senior cabinet minister Chen has had many things to worry about with the cabinet, so it’s inevitable that you would forget about some things. On the other hand, while the cabinet’s assistants, senior cabinet minister Chen is now a first rank official. There’s no need to refer to yourself as a lowly official.”

Ji DaoGong held senior cabinet minister Chen in high regard. Having worked in two different courts and lived past the age of seventy, Ji DaoGong had a keen awareness of the situation in court.

The recent series of changes in court filled him with a feeling of dread, but the more that he felt this, the more he hoped that people who had not chosen to align themselves with any faction would be added to the cabinet.

Senior cabinet minister Chen’s brow twitched upon hearing assistants being mentioned, as he seemed to realize something. He cupped his hands toward Ji DaoGong, “This lowly official has worked in the Imperial Censorate for many years and has always held Lord Ji in high esteem. To have been praised by Lord Ji, this lowly official will work cautiously and tirelessly to help His Majesty.”

Ji DaoGong faintly smiled, a look of wisdom and clarity that came from age shone through his gentle gaze.

The two continued forward.

“When the cabinet was first conceived, His Majesty had already completely pushed Prime Minister Yin Shuo to the side. He had neither the intention of adding him to the cabinet, nor did he have any plans for dissolving the position of prime minister. But since ancient times, there was no precedent of having both a cabinet and a prime minister at the same time.”

Ji DaoGong’s words had a profound meaning, and senior cabinet minister Chen thought for a long time before saying: “That is indeed true. His Majesty clearly knows that the cabinet has just been created and does not have standard procedures for many things, yet he would still rather leave matters to the cabinet than allow Prime Minister Yin to interfere. This is especially true when it concerns matters related to the Gu family’s army. It seems that His Majesty is really trying to avoid Prime Minister Yin.”

Ji DaoGong said: “Yin Shuo’s authority as the prime minister has also been reduced, but his position as a husband of the imperial family is very real. I heard that Princess DanYang was initially very displeased with her husband, but they now seem to be joined at the hip. Senior cabinet minister Chen must be careful and not allow that person an opportunity to get into the cabinet at a time like this.”

Senior cabinet minister Chen stopped in his tracks and wondered if he had misunderstood Ji DaoGong’s words.

He was warning him that Yin Shuo would take advantage of this time when the cabinet had not yet established itself in court to do something to the cabinet ministers?

The Yin family had worked for the country for generations, and they were now married to the imperial family. With additional help from the second prince… such a thing would not be impossible.

Senior cabinet minister Chen immediately thought of the domineering eldest son from his own family. If any of his enemies in court wanted to do anything to him, the first person they would seek out would be Chen ChuXiu.

Just as he was about to thank Ji DaoGong, he raised his head and found that the old man had already walked far away.

Looking at him like this, he had some of the Deity of Medicine, Xun Chi’s, aloofness.

“Has the young sir come back?”

Upon returning to his manor, senior cabinet minister Chen immediately looked for Chen ChuXiu.

A servant stepped forward to reply, “The young sir went horse riding with the younger sons of other prominent families. He said that he will be back before the sun sets. Master, please do not worry.”

“Hmph, he’s always going out with the younger children of Marquis Gong’s family. They don’t need to succeed their families and will be taken care of by their father and elder brothers. Can he do the same? Though he is young, he is my only son! After I have passed away, he will need to shoulder the burden of supporting the family, so how can he waste all of his time betting on cockfights and horse races with them?”

Senior cabinet minister Chen usually put up with his antics, but after hearing the usually silent Lord Ji personally give him some advice, he felt extremely uneasy. He became worried that Chen ChuXiu would do something improper outside.

The servant consoled him, saying: “Master, don’t get angry. The young sir does play around a little, but is it not just because he is still young? After he gets a few years older, he will naturally calm down. Moreover, while the young sir has gone out to play, he hasn’t caused any major problems, right?”

“It would be too late if he did cause a big problem! Others haven’t done anything to him to give me face. My status cannot be considered particularly noble, but who in the capital doesn’t know that I dote on my son? Now that my status has become something that others might covet, I fear that the people who previously did not dare do anything to him will now seek him out!”

The servant was stunned, “Master has recently become the senior cabinet minister, a first rank official. Who would dare to think of doing anything to the young master?”

Senior cabinet minister Chen let out a sigh, “I am not the only first rank official in court, nor am I the only one with a position equivalent to a first rank official. Quickly, quickly, quickly, send some more people to go and find the young sir and bring him back.”

The servant immediately bowed, “Yes, this servant will immediately send people out!”

There were many racecourses in the city’s outskirts. There were those visited by the commoners and those visited by nobles. If a group of young sirs went out together, and some of the group was part of the imperial family, it was also possible that they would be at an imperial racecourse.

The Chen manor’s servants split up to look for Chen ChuXiu at the various racecourses. Wave after wave of servants returned to report that they could not find Chen ChuXiu.

Senior cabinet minister Chen was anxious. At first, he wanted to give Chen ChuXiu a beating after he came back to have him not dare to casually go out during this time. Now, he was just hoping that he was still in one piece.

He only had this one son, so he absolutely could not allow him to fall into the hands of some villain!

Just as the sky was starting to darken, the sound of whistling came from the front gate. Chen ChuXiu swaggered into the manor with his jacket draped over his arm.

Upon entering the gate, he saw a wooden armchair placed in the middle of the yard, and senior cabinet minister Chen was sitting upright on it.

This was bad. This was the bearing of someone who was about to beat his son!

Chen ChuXiu noticed that the situation was dire and started to slink off when he suddenly heard a loud shout come from behind, “Come back!”

He could escape the monk but not the temple. Regardless, he would need to endure a scolding, thus he may as well allow the old man to vent right now to avoid some sort of problem arising from holding it in.

Senior cabinet minister Chen walked over to him with his hands behind his back, “Where did you go?”

“I went to Ning Xuan’s manor to visit that princess from Western Kun.”

“How many times have I told you that you are not to mention his name directly! He is a member of the imperial family of the same generation as His Majesty. Even the princes and princesses must respectfully call him imperial uncle, so how can you be so casual and speak to him without any consideration for the difference in generations?”

Senior cabinet minister Chen continued his rant, “You two get along well, so it’s fine if you call him that in private. Why is it that you told the manor’s servants that you were going out with the younger sons of prominent families to the race tracks? Did you know that father sent people to all of the race tracks around the city to look for you, and I very nearly ordered them to start digging!”

Chen ChuXiu said: “We initially planned to go to the race track, but who knew that the fifth son from uncle WeiYuan’s family, the one we nicknamed Slug, would be so bad at horse riding. On our way over, he ran into two oil barrels belonging to an oil seller. Knocking over two barrels of oil isn’t a big problem, but that damn Slug wasn’t willing to pay them, and he even blamed them for blocking the road. Son does not wish to associate with such a petty person, so I turned around and went to Ning Xuan’s manor.”

It turned out that such a thing happened.”

Senior cabinet minister Chen saw that he safely returned, and half of the anger quickly dissipated. Seeing that his son had a clear sense of right and wrong, most of his remaining anger was also quelled.

He asked: “You left just like that?”

Chen ChuXiu said: “No, before I left, I gave the oil seller a silver ingot as recompense for the oil. I also asked him to clean up the spilled oil to keep others from slipping on the oil patch and getting hurt. While I was at it…”

“While you were at it?”

Chen ChuXiu dryly chuckled. While he was at it, he cussed out the fifth young sir of uncle WeiYuan’s family, but it would be best for him to not tell his dad, or the anger that he had worked so hard to quell would immediately surge back up again.

“It’s nothing. I just bought some of the pastries that the madam liked the most from Yu Shan Building. After that, I went to visit the couple!”

Hearing that he did not cause any trouble, senior cabinet minister Chen’s expression relaxed, “You still have some sensibility. Father does not want you to associate with those unrestrained young sirs for fear of you learning their bad habits. Father can feel at ease knowing that you have a proper sense of right and wrong.”

He brought his hands out from behind his back, and Chen ChuXiu’s eye twitched, as he subconsciously dodged back. After a quick look, he noticed that his hands were empty, holding neither a paddle nor a whip.

“Dad, you scared me to death. I thought that you were going to give me a beating!”

“You’re still afraid of being given a beating?!”

Senior cabinet minister Chen raised his voice, but after a bit of thought, he lowered his voice again, “You must be hungry after spending the day out, right? Let’s eat first. After you’ve finished eating, father has something to tell you.”

Chen ChuXiu affectionately grabbed his arm, “Yes, son will help you inside to eat!”

As a troublemaker and hooligan, his ability to cause trouble outside was first-rate, but his ability to act coquettish when he got home was even better.

While senior cabinet minister Chen did not say it, he felt very joyous. While they walked, he asked him about uncle Ning’s manor, and Chen ChuXiu answered every question.

Senior cabinet minister Chen said: “When making friends, treat it like looking for a mentor. In the past, father was afraid that you would cause trouble and advised you to not get too close to him. First, he is a member of the imperial family, and his father is His Majesty’s imperial uncle. If you caused trouble, not even father would be able to protect you. Second, he has married the princess from Western Kun, which makes his situation even more sensitive, and father is afraid that you might cause trouble.”

“But in recent days, that princess from Western Kun has a proper sense of morals. After Ning Xuan got married, he has started working in court and has settled down. It’s almost as if his previous wanton attitude was fake, and he simply didn’t want to get serious. It’s fine for you to hang out with this sort of friend more often.”

Chen ChuXiu did not even bother raising his head, “Yes, yes, yes, son has been learning from him this entire time! Dad, be careful for the step…”

Over the course of the meal, senior cabinet minister Chen thought for a long time about whether or not he should tell Chen ChuXiu about the situation in court.

If he told him, he might not understand because he was still young, and it would not be good if word got out. If he did not tell him, based on his unrestrained personality, he might not be so obedient.

After much consideration, senior cabinet minister Chen decided to reveal part of the situation while concealing the rest, “Xiu’er, father’s position in court has seen some change in recent days. This sort of change might look like a favor to others, but it will also attract the hatred and envy of others. Dad knows that you don’t understand, but that’s fine. Father just wants to tell you that it would be best if you didn’t go out for a while and obediently stayed in the manor…”

“Dad is saying that someone doesn’t want the cabinet to be formed and will try to get at you by going after son. Is that it?”

Senior cabinet minister Chen was stunned, never expecting his unrestrained son to actually understand the situation so clearly.

He spent his days gambling and playing around. How could he know about these court matters?

Chen ChuXiu put down his chopsticks and looked at him with a smile, “Dad, your reaction is too slow. The person you were worried about already made his move against son long ago.”





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