Cry of the Midnight Jackdaw

Chapter Forty-nine,
Tong Province

As expected, He Heng had Sun De Lu prepare the carriage to go to Jin Yang Palace, he did not even finish drinking his favourite soup and hurriedly left already. Empress Liu’s face turned into a series of bluish whites, probably feeling that she lost her face in front of He Xuan. Once He Heng left, she also excused herself saying her body was feeling unwell, and went back to the Han Yuan Palace with He Yang.

“Yang’er, is there something you’re hiding from Mother?” Once Empress Liu entered the palace, she had the palace maids close all the windows. She knitted her eyebrows and stood in front of He Yang, with the heavy pearl crown on her head flashing with a cold light, making her features especially solemn.

“Mother……” He Yang paused, he took one step back with an avoidant gaze, but his mouth said, “N…… no.”

Empress Liu indifferently glanced at him, that gaze instead was as heavy as a thousand tons, making He Yang unable to breathe, “Yang’er, you, too, are not speaking the truth with Mother now.”

“Mother, this son……” He yang sighed, he closed his eyes in despair, and both knees struck onto the icy cold tiles, with his voice mixed with a sliver of sobbing, “Mother…… there…… there is a great drought in Tong Province, not a single grain harvested, now, bodies dead from starvation spreads wide, the starved people need to sell their sons off to eat……” He Yang paused, and blankly asked with reddened eyes, “Mother, if the matter of Tong Province is known by Father, what…… what should this son do?”

Empress Liu calmly looked at the dejected He Yang kneeling on the ground, she crouched down, and reached out and held up He Yang’s shoulder, “Here Ibg was thinking what great matter it would be, that it would make you so scared. It is merely a drought, there would be a drought every few years, there is nothing to be worried over.”

“But, but……” He Yang still knelt and was not willing to get up, he hesitantly hung his head down, hummed and hawed and did not speak clearly. Empress Liu looked at this good-for-nothing look of his, got annoyed inside, and her tone turned more harsh, “But, but what? He Yang, I have already started looking for a princess consort for you, if you are this incapable, how can you let me be at ease to let you face things yourself?”

“Mother! It’s all this son’s fault!” He Yang’s throat was all hoarse like a drowning person struggling to grab onto a blade of grass, with both hands tightly clutching at the wide sleeves hanging from Empress Liu, he took two steps on his knees, and suddenly seemed to think of something, and lifted his head up to angrily complain.

“It’s the White Ears! At that time, we encouraged the territory to grow White Ears, the local commoners, for the benefits, uprooted the grains and millets grown in the ground, and grew White Ears. As a result, there was a big drought this year, as White Ears needed much water, it further made the drought more severe, making the entire Tong Province pretty much have nothing to harvest.”

Empress Liu’s face went stern, and then looked at this matter more seriously- she originally thought it was merely a normal drought- natural disasters were hard to obstruct, so He Heng would not criticize [him] too much. But now, it looked to be more like a man-made disaster, this kind of thing could be severe or minute, He Heng typically was big on celebrations, and viewed the ancestral rite with much importance- if there were some mistake at this time, there probably wouldn’t be anything good out of it. As for the plan right now, they should first hide this, and once the matter of the ancestral rite is finished, the risk of this matter would pass, and then report it up.

In a flash of light, Empress Liu combed over the stakes and order of priority of this matter, and spoke lowly, “It is no matter, don’t be anxious. Ibg will send a messenger to the executive at Tong Province, and first have him settle down the refugees. There is still half a month before the ancestral rite, first plan the ancestral rite properly, the other matters can be discussed later.”

In front of her, a line of tear stains hung from He Yang’s eyes, he pitifully raised his sleeves and randomly wiped it from his face. Empress Liu unbearably took off her nail protector, then reached out and rubbed his face for him, after all, he was her only child, Empress Liu slightly unbearably lifted him up, and quietly asked him, “Do your knees hurt?”

He Yang shook his head, Empress Liu tenderly fixed the loose hairs on his forehead, now when He Yang stood, he was taller than her by half a head, with wide shoulders and firm arms, already a look of an adult. Empress Liu sighed, with a bit of sob to her tone, “[I] remember you liked to move a lot when you were small, and always liked to run everywhere, many of the wet nurses followed yet could not even manage you, always falling down. With the blink of an eye, ten or so years have passed, and you’ve grown this tall already.”

Empress Liu stared at the features on He Yang that was about seven to eight-tenths similar to her own, Empress Liu was very good-looking, with curved willow-leaf brows, watery almond eyes, and bright-red cherry blossom lips. Back then, she, too, was considered to make everyone pale in comparison in this back palace where these pretty women compared their beauties with this proud beautiful appearance. Now when she looked at herself in the mirror, that innocent young girl who was once ignorant of the worldly matters, after being contaminated for half a lifetime in this ruthless back palace, had those beautiful dreams of young long boiled into a porridge of mixed flavours, swallowed all alone in these many nights where she would count the hourglasses and listen to the autumn rain.

No longer like [herself] from that time anymore.

“Mother……” He Yang looked at the corners of Empress Liu’s eyes that still climbed with some faint lines no matter how she took good care of it, and said with some choking, “Mother, this son will definitely be obedient from now on, and will not bring trouble for Mother.”

“Good child.” Empress Liu delightfully smiled, she reached out and intimately poked He Yang’s forehead, “Head back first, Ibg am a bit tired.”

Once He Yang left, the strength that tightened Empress Liu’s entire body instantly loosened up, the discord in the back palace and struggles from the previous dynasty long already engraved with distinct marks on her no longer young body, she wearily leaned on the back of the chair, raised her hands and pinched the ridge of her brows, and said, “Lan Yi.”

Lan Yi was constantly waiting outside, and once she heard Empress Liu call her, she then answered and pushed open the door, “My Lady.”

Empress Liu narrowed her eyes, with her voice weary, “Go, send a letter to Big Brother, have him come to the palace tomorrow.”

Empress Liu had a very meaningful name, Fang Rui[1], where grown flowers come fragrant, and planted lines of green grow thick and green[2], the person who gave this name to her should hope that she would be a beauty among flowers, fragrant and sweet.

The Liu family was big with lots of wealth, twisted and coiled in Ping Province and Qing Province for many years, and is still the local aristocratic family. Ping Province was located in the north’s borders, and often was in battle with the Tu Jue[3] people in the north, and also cultivated a local folk custom of being brave and good at fighting. The Liu family had always been an aristocratic family with martial prowess, the last family head, Liu Ying Zhe, lead the army three times to fight off Tu Jue, and was the former emperor’s personally-appointed main general of the Drifting Calvary, and was very popular with the common people. Now that it was mentioned, if he had not been hit with a random arrow in the fight with Tu Jue and died then, the one leading the Iron Hooves to step onto the borders of Nan Liang would have been him.

That year, Liu Fang Rui, a branch family member, and the main family’s third lady entered the palace at the same time, but that third lady of Liu had little fortune and passed away early, making a branch family such as her live in comfort, and receive the phoenix seal. The big brother that Liu Fang Rui mentioned, was the blood-related big brother who was born in the womb of the same mother, Liu Guang Yi[4], currently the assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of the entire country’s reserves. And the Liu Guang Yuan who was now in the south acting like a tyrant, was still of the main descent of the Liu family, self-recognized as the original, fairly haughty, and was normally quite on bad terms with Liu Fang Rui, this new-found noble.

Just as Liu Guang Yi came down from the courts, and was by the lake in his own residence feeding fishes, he saw Lan Yi personally come find him. His expression turned grave, and immediately randomly tossed the fish food to a servant waiting on the side, then hurriedly entered the palace with Lan Yi.

Liu Fang Rui was lying down on the consort chair resting with her eyes closed, thinking over the matters of Tong Province inside, when she heard a series of hurried footsteps. She slightly opened her eyes, Liu Guang Yi did not even change out of the morning court robes, with a hard-to-conceal concern in his eyes, and was about to bend down to bow.

“Brother, how many times have I said, between you and I, there is no need for courtesy.” Liu Fang Rui hurriedly got up from her seat, and reached out to stop Liu Guang Yi, Liu Guang Yi still stubbornly finished that bow, then said, “The mannerisms between a ruler and subject cannot be undone. For my Lady to seek this subject, is there something urgent?”

[1] 芳蕤- fang, for virtuous or fragrant/sweet-smelling. Rui, for flowers/tassels/drooping. Together, a blossomed, drooping flower.

[2] 播芳蕤之馥馥，从青条之森森- lines of green being trees.

[3] Or Turkic, not to be confused with the Turkish. A minority group in ancient China.

[4] 柳光毅- Yi, for perseverance/or firm and resolute.