Perhaps because A-Jiao had played so hard at noon, she slept for a full hour and a half in the afternoon before finally waking up.
"Sister Jiao-jiao, you're awake!" Liu Bo’s sharp eyes caught A-Jiao moving restlessly under the covers.
*Who’s your sister? By seniority, I’m your cousin-aunt!* A-Jiao huffed inwardly.
Consort Xing walked over and stroked A-Jiao’s hair. "Jiao-jiao is awake. Sit up so we can comb your hair and wash your face."
As she spoke, a palace maid went to fetch water.
A-Jiao pushed back her messy, sleep-tousled hair and sat up. Guo Dun carried her over to sit beside Liu Run and the others, and Suoyue approached with a comb to tend to her hair. A young child’s hair didn't require any elaborate styling, especially for a two or three-year-old; a few small braids tied with silk flowers were enough.
Suoyue had just finished one side when the announcement came that Liu Che had arrived.
Liu Che stood at the entrance, leaning against the doorframe for a moment before stepping inside. Liu Run and Liu Bo were squatting on the floor playing with small wooden carts, while A-Jiao sat nearby having her hair braided.
"Imperial Father!" Liu Run rushed forward excitedly. Liu Bo saw him as well and ran over.
Liu Che pinched the cheeks of both children and helped Consort Xing up as she performed her salutations. "How is it? Is Lady Huikang behaving herself?"
"To answer Your Majesty, she is very well-behaved. She played with Bo’er and Run’er for a while at noon and only just woke up from her nap." Consort Xing had initially worried that A-Jiao might be a willful child, but after spending this time together, she found her to be quite endearing.
Liu Che sat down beside A-Jiao. Just as he did, A-Jiao heard him let out a cold snort.
*How eccentric!* she thought.
"Her Highness the Empress arrives," the attendant announced. Consort Xing hurriedly rose to greet her.
"Ahem!" A-Jiao turned her head and asked Liu Che in a low voice, "Did you two come together?"
"Dropping the act?" Liu Che whispered back.
Liu Run glanced at the two of them, looking somewhat surprised by their interaction.
"Hmph! I’ll do as I please!" A-Jiao turned her head away.
"I came alone from the Xuanzi Hall." Liu Che reached out and pinched A-Jiao’s chubby face. When A-Jiao was born in her previous life, she had a weak stomach, and her aunt had been very careful with her upbringing, but she had remained thin until she was five or six. This time, A-Jiao was quite plump!
"Where is Yang Dieyi? He didn't follow you?"
"He went to the Manor of the Marquis of Changping to deliver an imperial decree." Liu Che picked up a loquat, peeled it, and began to eat.
Wei Zifu and Consort Xing entered together. Liu Run and Liu Bo obediently performed their bows and greetings.
Wei Zifu cast a glance at A-Jiao sitting beside Liu Che before gracefully offering her salutations to the Emperor.
Once everyone was seated, Liu Che asked, "What brings the Empress here?"
"Just now, the Palace Administrator and the Director of the Weaving House came to ask me how to arrange Lady Huikang’s clothing and jewelry. I thought the Prince and Princess would be awake from their nap, so I came to ask her. I didn't expect Your Majesty to be here as well." Ever since Consort Xing began raising Liu Run and Liu Bo, she had returned to the Emperor's favor. Fortunately, Consort Xing had a gentle nature, which put Wei Zifu at ease.
Wei Zifu beckoned, and Jinyu brought forward a large album, opening it before A-Jiao. "Jewelry can wait; Lady Huikang is still young and doesn't need much. But for her clothes, let her choose the fabrics and patterns she likes."
Liu Bo ran over and began flipping through the album. The album was made of thin wooden boards joined together, with a two-inch square of fabric sewn onto each page.
Liu Run also ran over and squeezed into Liu Che’s lap.
A-Jiao looked through the samples as Liu Bo turned the pages. In recent years, the variety of fabrics in the palace had grown significantly, including many patterns from the Western Regions.
Finding them interesting, A-Jiao selected a few Western Region patterns and randomly chose several other colors.
"Use this red one to make a few pouches for me," A-Jiao said, pointing to a red fabric with cloud patterns. Her younger brother had been born only a few days before she was whisked away to the Wei Manor and then brought into the palace. She didn't know if she would be able to leave by the time of his one-month celebration. If she couldn't, she would have someone send these pouches back.
"Sister Jiao-jiao, what do you want pouches for?" Liu Run asked in a milky voice.
"They’re for my little brother!" A-Jiao mimicked Liu Run’s tone.
Liu Che snorted again and signaled for the album to be taken away.
"Then Run’er wants some too! I want to give them to Bo’er."
"I want to give some to Run’er too!" Liu Bo chimed in from the side.
Seeing this, Wei Zifu smiled and said, "Then why don't we take this opportunity to make one for every child in the palace? They can use them to hold things while playing or give them as gifts."
Consort Xing smiled and agreed.
***
Wei Qing had left Chen Yang and Old Madam Chen at the Wei Manor, saying he would go into the palace in the afternoon to gauge the situation. Wei Yuan and Wei Kang took them to rest.
As Wei Qing and his two younger sons escorted Old Madam Wei back to her quarters, the old woman remained relentless. "That little thief raised in a gutter—you treat her like a treasure! It serves them right that their daughter died young..."
*Bang!*
Everyone was startled by Wei Qing’s sudden movement. They stared in shock at the table he had just overturned.
Old Madam Wei’s voice trembled. "You... you... what are you trying to do?" Suddenly, she began to wail. "You’ve become a member of another family now! You stopped me from speaking just now, and now that they’re gone, you still won't let me speak..."
"Heh, if my father weren't part of this family, I fear you’d be crying yourself to death, Grandmother." Wei Yuan had circled back to pick up a dropped handkerchief and, hearing the old woman’s insults, finally let out the frustration she had suppressed for days. "Grandmother clearly knows I married into my uncle’s family, yet you still curse at my eldest brother and his mother-in-law like this. Aren't you afraid your granddaughter will have a hard time in her husband’s house? I see my aunts come to visit, and you certainly know how to flatter my uncles-in-law!" As she spoke, she too began to cry.
Old Madam Wei moved to pinch Wei Yuan, but Wei Qing blocked her. These past few days, the old woman had been cold and harsh toward Yuan’er. Fortunately, Yuan’er’s temper had mellowed since her marriage, and because she had always feared her grandmother, she had been enduring it until now.
"Marquis, Master Yang from the palace has arrived!" the steward’s voice called from outside. Wei Qing stepped out and saw that it was indeed Yang Dieyi.
Wei Deng and Wei Buyi quickly pulled Wei Yuan and Old Madam Wei to their feet.
"Greetings to the Marquis," Yang Dieyi said, cupping his hands.
"I am honored by your visit, Master Yang. Does Your Majesty have a decree?"
"Indeed, and it concerns that young lady in your manor." Yang Dieyi smiled. A girl who looked like the late Empress Chen, was prophesied to have the destiny of an Empress, and had been titled Lady Huikang by the Emperor—this little girl was truly blessed. Her future was likely limitless.
"Master Yang, what happened to Jiao-jiao?" Wei Yuan wiped her tears and ran over to ask.
Seeing Wei Yuan’s red eyes, Yang Dieyi assumed she had been crying out of worry for A-Jiao. He comforted her, "It’s alright. Haven't I come to deliver the Emperor’s decree?" He glanced around and said to Wei Qing, "Marquis, please gather the household to receive the decree."
Wei Qing sent word for the Chen family and Wei Kang to come out.
Seeing the Chen family present, especially A-Jiao’s biological father, Yang Dieyi smiled, thinking this was even better. The Emperor had ordered the decree to be drafted before his nap and had urgently sent him to the Wei Manor upon waking. Although logically the decree should have been delivered to wherever A-Jiao was—the Emperor himself had gone to the Huicao Hall!
Yang Dieyi began to read the document: "On this day, the Emperor dispatches his official to proclaim: ...We hereby title the daughter of the Chen clan, Jiao, as Lady Huikang. It is hoped she will bring honor to her house, strictly observe Our words, and never be negligent or disrespectful... May she receive this glorious favor and carry eternal auspiciousness!"
Everyone prostrated themselves.
The Wei family was stunned.
The Chen family was stunned.
Everyone was stunned!
What was happening? How had Jiao-jiao been titled Lady Huikang?
Old Madam Wei couldn't help but blurt out, "How can this..." but Wei Kang quickly cut her off.
Seeing Chen Yang frozen in shock, Wei Qing nudged him. Chen Yang finally stepped forward to accept the decree on his daughter’s behalf.
Yang Dieyi smiled and said, "His Majesty saw that Lady Huikang is bright and clever, so he has kept her in the palace to stay for a time. Furthermore, he wishes for Lady Huikang to be a companion to Princess Run."
Wei Qing exchanged a few pleasantries and invited Yang Dieyi to sit for tea, while quietly signaling Wei Kang to fetch some gifts from the storehouse.
"The Marquis need not worry. I can see that His Majesty truly favors Lady Huikang. Why, he even had me prepare Qingliang Hall for her residence!"
"Qingliang Hall?!" Wei Qing was greatly shocked. Qingliang Hall was the Emperor’s summer residence; when had anyone else ever stayed there?
"Indeed. His Majesty even assigned my young apprentice, Guo Dun, to serve her."
"This? Why does His Majesty favor my Jiao-jiao so much?" Chen Yang was dazed, still unable to process the news.
Old Madam Chen, however, had regained her wits. "The Emperor naturally has his reasons. This time, it is Jiao-jiao’s blessing." The Chen family was currently a small, humble household, but with Jiao-jiao titled a Lady, everything would change. At the very least, the future marriages of the Chen girls and the prospects of the Chen boys would be protected by this favor.
"The Old Madam is right." Yang Dieyi smiled, not minding giving Wei Qing a bit of inside information. "The Marquis may not know, but when His Majesty brought Lady Huikang into the palace today, the masters of the Xunxian Pavilion read her fortune. They said she has a countenance of great nobility, one that..." he paused, "matches our Western Palace. His Majesty was delighted and issued the decree immediately."
Great nobility. The Western Palace.
The Western Palace... the Jiaofang Palace?!!!
Yang Dieyi looked at Wei Qing’s questioning gaze and gave a slight nod.
Watching their interaction, Old Madam Chen could only let out several silent, heavy breaths. She closed her eyes for a long time, not daring to open them. When she finally turned her head and saw her eldest grandson looking pensive rather than happy, she quickly tapped him.
Chen Yang looked as if he wanted to say something but held back, forcing a smile instead.
Wei Qing closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his expression was calm once more. He exchanged a few more polite words with Yang Dieyi before the eunuch took his leave to return to the palace.
Wei Kang presented a gift—a small, square box.
Yang Dieyi moved to decline.
Wei Qing smiled. "This is a joyous occasion, and you have worked hard to bring us the good news. Please accept it. Consider it a small token of appreciation from the Chen and Wei families."
After declining a few more times, Yang Dieyi finally accepted it.
Once he was back in his carriage outside the manor, he opened the box. Inside was a coral bead, deep red throughout with a dazzling luster. He remembered that for Grand Princess Guantao’s birthday, the Emperor had gifted a set of such beads—one large and seven small. The large one was slightly bigger than this, but the small ones were about the same size as this one.
He hadn't expected the Great General to possess one as well!
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The Han Dynasty Empress is a Ghost | Chapter 43 | The Imperial Decree | Novela.app | Novela.app
