Just as Chen Jingzong liked the divine horse given to him by Huayang, Emperor Yuanyou in the palace also couldn't let go of the maroon horse. He would go to the stable to check it out every day and gave the horse a majestic name - Fire Kirin.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Huayang and Chen Jingzong came to the palace to celebrate the festival, and Emperor Yuanyou also brought his sister and brother-in-law to see his Fire Kirin.
"I heard that the name of your husband's White Snow Tower was given by your sister?" Emperor Yuanyou asked with some sarcasm.
Huayang raised his eyebrows: "Why, it doesn't sound good?"
Emperor Yuanyou: "It sounds nice, but the horse is completely black, which doesn't match the White Snow Tower very well."
In fact, it doesn't matter whether the hair is black or white. The key is that the White Snow Tower is a peony, and the black horse is a male. My sister was only concerned about sounding nice and didn't consider the feelings of the prince consort at all.
Emperor Yuanyou guessed that if the prince consort was allowed to name himself, he would definitely give it a more impressive name.
He looked at Chen Jingzong with sympathy.
Chen Jingzong agreed, "The color is indeed not very suitable, but the white snow tower matches the white hair on the horse's forehead very well, and it is quite artistic and much more elegant than I thought."
Emperor Yuanyou was moved: "What did you name it?"
Huayang showed disdain on his face and walked away a few steps, as if he didn't even want to listen.
Chen Jingzong looked at the princess' back, smiled with shame, and whispered to the emperor: "I think the name 'Laohei' is good, it sounds friendly."
Emperor Yuanyou: …
Although he had long known that the prince consort did not like reading when he was young and did not have the literary talent of Chen Bozong and Chen Xiaozong, "Lao Hei" was too... plain and unpretentious.
Because Emperor Yuanyou liked the Fire Kirin, the horse trainers in the palace worked very hard to train it. After all, the Fire Kirin was just a horse, and was treated well. Someone brushed its fur and tickled it every day, and occasionally whipped it a few times and gave it sweet dates. By mid-September, the Fire Kirin had obediently submitted to Emperor Yuanyou.
Emperor Yuanyou was also very courageous. He asked the horse trainer to lead the horse for two laps. Seeing that the Fire Kirin was behaving well, he then rode the horse and started running himself.
Although he was happy, Empress Dowager Qi, who learned about this, gave him a severe scolding.
Emperor Yuanyou ignored it and didn't take it too seriously because he was in a good mood.
The next day, when Chen Tingjian came to give him lessons, Emperor Yuanyou discussed with him that he wanted to go hunting in the Western Hills in autumn.
Chen Tingjian was quite surprised. After all, the two previous emperors were quiet and had never taken the initiative to organize any horse racing or autumn hunting.
Emperor Yuanyou was only fourteen years old. If something went wrong during the autumn hunt, who would be able to take responsibility
Emperor Yuanyou knew his concerns, smiled, walked around the desk, came to Chen Tingjian, raised his hand and compared their shoulders: "Look, sir, I am only half a foot shorter than you. Among all the civil servants in the court, you stand out. Most of them are as tall as me, and there are no less than five people shorter than me. How can you always treat me as a child?"
Chen Tingjian bowed and said, "I dare not."
Emperor Yuanyou helped him stand up straight, and said sincerely: "Sir, you want me to be a wise ruler. I think that a wise ruler should be kind to the people and have great military strategy. Sir, you want our dynasty to be rich and strong. I also have this wish. But if I always stay in the palace, powerless, and even have to be timid during the autumn hunt outside the capital, how can I command the soldiers of the world in the future?"
Chen Tingjian lowered his eyelids and said, "Your Majesty's words make sense, but your health is related to the country, so we have to be cautious. And I remember that when your Majesty was six years old, the late emperor rode a horse in the palace, and your Majesty advised the late emperor to take care of his health. Now your Majesty insists on autumn hunting. The mountain roads are steep and arrows are indiscriminate. It is much more dangerous than riding a horse in the palace. As a minister, how can I not advise him?"
Emperor Yuanyou frowned, stared at him for a while, returned to his chair, and said calmly: "Forget it, sir, please give the lesson."
Chen Tingjian nodded and began to lecture.
Although Emperor Yuanyou gave up the idea of autumn hunting, his hands and legs were itching. On September 20th, Emperor Yuanyou, who did not have to study, took a walk in the Imperial Garden and suddenly sent someone to summon Qi Jin and Chen Jingzong to the palace.
Among the military officers in the capital, Emperor Yuanyou could not get along with the older ones. Among the younger ones, Emperor Yuanyou was of course closest to his cousin and brother-in-law.
The Princess's Mansion was closer, so Chen Jingzong arrived there first.
Emperor Yuanyou looked at him and smiled: "I heard that whenever the prince consort takes a day off, he will accompany my sister out of the city for a stroll. I thought you were going to rush over from outside the city."
The young man who could only be locked up in the palace was quite envious of the freedom of his sister and brother-in-law. When he was in a bad mood, his envy tasted a bit like jealousy.
He wouldn't be sarcastic with his sister, so he didn't need to be polite to Chen Jingzong.
Chen Jingzong said ashamedly, "I am stupid. I know nothing about the arts that the princess likes. I can only help her go out of town to enjoy the autumn scenery. But the weather is getting colder and the princess doesn't like to go out anymore. Today I can only accompany her to stroll in the garden. When the emperor sent someone to summon me, I was scolded by the princess for saying something wrong. I want to thank the emperor for saving me."
Emperor Yuanyou: "How did you offend my sister?"
Chen Jingzong lowered his head even more and explained, "I and the princess walked to the lotus pond. The lotus leaves in the pond had turned yellow and withered. The princess recited a poem about lotus, which was quite sad about autumn. I wanted to cheer her up, so I said that autumn was good and people could dig lotus roots to eat. Not only did it taste good, it also helped with constipation, relieve diarrhea, and strengthen the spleen and appetite. But I didn't expect that the princess was not happy, but got angry instead."
Emperor Yuanyou: …
While my sister was enjoying herself, the prince consort was only thinking about eating and even talking about laxatives and antidiarrhea. It would be strange if my sister was happy!
Emperor Yuanyou disliked Chen Jingzong's poor tongue, but also found the matter quite funny. He shook his head, and before Qi Jin arrived, he complained to Chen Jingzong about Chen Tingjian.
Emperor Yuanyou wanted to see whether Chen Jingzong would speak up for his father or follow his wishes and blame his father.
Chen Jingzong, who had been standing respectfully opposite Emperor Yuanyou, raised his head and looked over with a complicated look.
Emperor Yuanyou saw some envy.
envious
Chen Jingzong smiled bitterly, lowered his eyes again, and said, "Your Majesty's words just now reminded me of an old story."
Emperor Yuanyou: "What old story?"
Chen Jingzong said, "It happened when I was young. I was only thirteen or fourteen years old at that time, and I was still living with my old lady in my hometown of Lingzhou. My parents were in the capital at that time, and my old lady was too old to control me. My second uncle was also a soft-tempered person and didn't dare to ask about my movements. So, I could do whatever I wanted in my hometown. If anyone made me angry, I would deliberately hide in the mountains to make them anxious, and see if they dared to interfere."
Emperor Yuanyou smiled, a hint of sarcasm flashed across his eyes, guessing that Chen Jingzong was going to lecture him in a roundabout way.
Chen Jingzong continued, "Once, I went into the mountains alone. The mountains where I came from were all low, and there were no dangerous beasts. I was proud of my martial arts, and I was not afraid of anything. I didn't expect that when I climbed a tree to take bird eggs, a black snake suddenly jumped out of the nest as soon as I approached the bird's nest. If I had seen it on the ground, I would definitely not have been afraid, but I was unprepared at the time, and I let go of the snake out of shock, and fell straight to the ground from the tree more than ten feet high."
Emperor Yuanyou asked politely, "Are you injured?"
Chen Jingzong shook his head and said, "There was a thick layer of fallen leaves on the tree. I was lucky enough to save my life, but my right leg was broken and my arm was scratched by branches. I bled a lot."
As he spoke, Chen Jingzong rolled up his sleeves, revealing an old wound on the inside of his right arm that had long since healed, leaving only a thin gray mark.
Emperor Yuanyou originally thought that he had made up the story, but when he saw the scar, he realized that it was really true.
He became really curious: "Your right leg is broken, so you can't walk anymore?"
Chen Jingzong: "Yes, I could barely walk a few steps before the pain became unbearable. I could only lay on the ground in despair, watching the sky gradually darken."
Emperor Yuanyou imagined himself in such a situation, surrounded by pitch-black mountains and wilderness, with snakes, rats and wild beasts roaming around. The hairs on his body stood up.
Chen Jingzong: "I did bring some dry food with me. I lay in the mountains for a day and a night, and then people from the town came and carried me down the mountain. After I recovered from my injuries, I still liked to go to the mountains, and no one could control me. But does Your Majesty know what I thought about the most when I lay in the mountains overnight with the pain of a broken bone?"
Perhaps because they were talking about their childhood past and Emperor Yuanyou was very close to him, Chen Jingzong unconsciously forgot the distinction between superiors and subordinates and no longer called himself a subject.
Emperor Yuanyou didn't care about this kind of detail at all and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Chen Jingzong smiled and said, "I spent almost the whole night cursing my old man. If he hadn't scolded me all the time, I wouldn't have run back to my hometown in anger. If I hadn't gone back to my hometown, I wouldn't have gone into the mountains. If I hadn't gone into the mountains, I wouldn't have fallen from the tree. If I had stayed in the capital, even if I got sick, my mother would still be by my side to take care of me. I even thought that even if I died in the mountains, the old man probably wouldn't shed a tear, because he has so many sons, and they're all more promising than me."
Although he was smiling, Emperor Yuanyou seemed to see the young boy Chen Jingzong lying alone in the mountains. He saw him enduring the pain and taking his anger out on his own father, feeling sad that his father treated his brothers better, and then shedding pitiful tears.
Immediately afterwards, Emperor Yuanyou suddenly understood why Chen Jingzong envied him for being advised by Chen Tingjian.
At least when he wanted to take risks and do something, Chen Tingjian would stop him, and when Chen Jingzong took risks in his hometown, his parents were not around.
As children, we are tired of being restricted and disciplined by our elders all the time, but when something really happens, the first person we think of is our elders. We hope that they can come to help in time and stay by their side with gentle voices.
Emperor Yuanyou even remembered that when he was sick as a child, Chen Tingjian personally fed him medicine. After all, he was the crown prince. Chen Tingjian had a strict but also a gentle and respectful side. But all Chen Jingzong felt from his biological father was harshness and criticism, right
With mixed feelings in his heart, Emperor Yuanyou glared at Chen Jingzong angrily: "Don't think I don't know that you are trying to speak well of your father in a roundabout way."
Chen Jingzong: "Your Majesty has misunderstood. I don't care about him. I am afraid that Your Majesty will insist on the autumn hunt. If she gets hurt, the eldest princess will definitely cry and I will be distressed and worried."
Emperor Yuanyou: "You have been in the mountains so many times and have only been injured once. Why do you think something bad will happen if I go there once?"
Chen Jingzong: "It has nothing to do with whether I will get hurt or not. There are too many people who care about the emperor. Can the emperor bear to let them all worry? If I had a mother like the queen mother who devoted herself to me, and a sister like the princess who cared for me gently, I would never bear to let them worry. Unfortunately, I have a miserable life. I don't have a sister, but only two brothers who always suppress me in everything."
Emperor Yuanyou: …
Compared to this, he indeed lives a much more comfortable life than Chen Jingzong!
Chen Jingzong: "Your Majesty wants to go hunting in autumn. Actually, the Imperial Garden is so big that you can still show your skills. Take those sparrows for example. They may be small, but they fly very fast. Only when you shoot them can you really show your archery skills."
Emperor Yuanyou looked towards the treetops and found a fat sparrow squatting on a branch.
I've only heard of the impressiveness of shooting wolves and foxes, but I've never heard of any hero becoming famous for shooting sparrows.
Chen Jingzong: "You try it first."
Emperor Yuanyou ordered the young eunuch to bring the bow and arrow and find another sparrow. With a "whoosh", the arrow flew out and the sparrow also flew away.
Chen Jingzong shot an arrow right after that, and the arrow head pierced the sparrow's neck steadily and accurately, and it fell headfirst.
Emperor Yuanyou: …
Chen Jingzong patted his shoulder and said, "Your Majesty, don't be discouraged. I have been working hard in the mountains for seven or eight years to master this skill of shooting an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away."
Emperor Yuanyou: …
You are really not humble at all!
When Qi Jin finally entered the palace, what he saw was Chen Jingzong taking Emperor Yuanyou to shoot sparrows!
(End of this chapter)