Strawberries

No one present had heard any of the verses Qi Yuanzuo recited. The more they savored those three unfinished poems, the more exquisite they seemed!

The Qi Emperor's eyes flashed with wonder.

Poems this fine could not possibly have remained unknown. This had to be their first appearance!

He had thought Zuo'er's photographic memory was the greatest surprise he could offer. Now it seemed the boy was almost uncannily clever!

Throughout history, Heaven had claimed those who were too brilliant. Remembering the arrow wound in Qi Yuanzuo's chest and the imperial physician's verdict that he could never practice martial arts, the Qi Emperor's heart clenched.

Under a sea of burning gazes, Qi Yuanzuo leisurely added, "I read these in a book. I'm dull-witted, so this is all I remember."

"May I ask Your Highness the Crown Prince what that book was called...?"

Qi Yuanzuo's eyes wandered. "Miscellaneous Notes."

"Might this subject borrow it?"

Qi Yuanzuo's eyes wandered again. "A cat carried it off."

The Qi Emperor immediately decided to help cover for him. "I remember that book of miscellaneous notes. To think I only read it once, and Zuo'er remembered it all! Hahahaha, my son is brilliant!"

The officials exchanged glances, each lost in thought.

That might be what the Qi Emperor said, but they did not believe it.

They had seen the Crown Prince's expression clearly. Having eaten salt for half their lives, if they could be fooled by a child who had only eaten rice for a few years, they might as well give up their careers.

The Qi Emperor's gloom vanished, and he said cheerfully, "Mother, you certainly know how to make things difficult. Zuo'er is only three. I usually spoil him too much and haven't taught him many verses."

"Oh dear, this boy only recites half a poem at a time. I truly don't know what to do with him! Hahahaha!"

"My ministers, how well do your sons and grandsons recite poetry? When there's time, I'll gather them all together and have each recite a few poems."

"Hahahaha!"

The Empress Dowager fell silent, her face dark, with mockery and the sinister promise of a coming storm buried deep in her eyes.

Actually, Qi Yuanzuo had not particularly wanted to recite poetry. There was still a Transmigrated Woman out there, and if his reputation spread, it would inevitably put her on her guard.

But if he had not recited a few poems today, there would have been no way to extricate himself.

He would simply have to be more careful in the future.

As far as he knew, the Transmigrated Woman's system focused on farming. As long as the imperial family did not fight among themselves until Heaven raged and the people seethed, she would have no chance to rebel.

The times had always made the hero. In the wrong era, however heroic one might be, the most one could achieve was to become a general or minister.

His thoughts strayed a little further, and he asked another question. "System, if the Transmigrated Woman develops cannons and grenades, will the System Shop unlock them?"

88 answered without hesitation. "Yes!"

Qi Yuanzuo drew a cold breath inwardly. So that meant the Transmigrated Woman really might develop cannons?

With such an enormous cheat at her disposal, no wonder the Crown Prince had surrendered in the book.

-In the winter of Tianyuan's sixty-fourth year, the city fell. The Emperor Qi Ai surrendered and died in an alley.

For some inexplicable reason, Qi Yuanzuo felt that this should not have been the ending.

What followed was a succession of exchanged toasts.

During a lull, Shi Yu even raised his cup to him. It contained tea, and Qi Yuanzuo graciously returned the toast.

When he grew bored, he studied Shi Yu.

He remembered what the Elder Princess had looked like. Shi Yu's appearance seemed to have come equally from both parents.

As the feast went on, Shi Yu's posture grew increasingly uninhibited, and he showed great interest in the delicacies on the table. He did not seem saddened by the Elder Princess's death. Qi Yuanzuo watched him for a while, then noticed his hands.

His palms were callused. Those were hands accustomed to work.

The heir was somewhat dark-skinned, but thinking of where Annam was, that seemed normal enough.

Still, something felt strange.

Qi Yuanzuo could never pinpoint what was strange, so he simply gave up.

He probably would not have much to do with the Heir of Annam anyway.

And so the daytime banquet ended.

After returning home, the officials wrote the Crown Prince's half-poems down on paper. Countless people wanted to compose the missing halves. The craze for half-poems was still gathering strength and had yet to stir any waves.

The contests and clashes of the evening banquet had already begun.

The Eldest Prince would also attend the evening banquet. Qi Yuanzuo still sat beside the Qi Emperor and eagerly anticipated the dances by beautiful women to come!

As the banquet began, Qi Yuanzuo saw many beautiful young ladies from official families.

Their silk skirts were magnificent, their dangling hair ornaments exquisite. With lowered eyes and bowed heads, they occasionally covered their faces with handkerchiefs. He looked at each in turn, admiring them without lingering. He also saw his imperial father's vast harem.

Four consorts, two zhaoyi, and many beauties and bazi.

The Eldest Prince sat beside Consort Xian, glancing at Qi Yuanzuo from time to time.

As expected, the little Crown Prince's eyes were practically glued to the beauties.

He ground his teeth. In this lifetime, he swore he would cure the Crown Prince of his lustful ways!

Flute playing, zither playing, poetry games-after watching performance upon performance, Qi Yuanzuo grew bored.

The Qi Emperor was bored too, and lowered his head to feed his son pastries.

Qi Yuanzuo was so full that he hiccupped, shaking his head to refuse any more.

The Qi Emperor lowered his head and whispered, "When the banquet ends, Father will take you out of the palace."

Qi Yuanzuo's eyes lit up, and he looked at him excitedly. The Qi Emperor had promised a few days ago to take him outside, but had not mentioned it again for so long that he had thought the matter was dropped.

The Qi Emperor smiled and gave his nose a little tap.

Zuo'er so rarely asked him for anything. Now that he finally had, how could he bear to set it aside and do nothing?

Qi Yuanzuo eagerly poured wine and served food to the Qi Emperor, the very picture of a little bootlicker.

The Qi Emperor narrowed his eyes, thoroughly enjoying the attention.

All everyone else saw was the emperor above them concentrating on feeding the Crown Prince, while the little Crown Prince went from initial excitement to waning interest.

The emperor lowered his head and said something. The little Crown Prince immediately perked up, and the emperor smiled along with him.

Such affection between father and son was rare even among ordinary families.

Once again, the emperor's favoritism toward the Crown Prince was confirmed.

Who knew how many people dreamed of winning the emperor's favor? In the end, it could only remain a dream.

The matrons and young ladies were filled with conflicting feelings, and the imperial consorts all looked dispirited. Then they noticed the little Crown Prince staring fixedly ahead.

Everyone followed his gaze.

Several dancing girls drew aside curtain after curtain of gauze. A veiled beauty in rouge-red twisted her waist and spun, spread her arms, darted forward, and leaped back, weaving and springing among the gauze curtains.

Sometimes she draped herself in the gauze; sometimes she lifted a leg to step across it. Beauty danced hand in hand with hazy mystery.

Beautiful!

Qi Yuanzuo kept pestering the system in his mind.

"Gorgeous! So fucking gorgeous!"

88: "..." It already knew he was uncultured. There was no need to say more.

The Qi Emperor's interest stirred as well. The color of her clothes reminded him of their chance encounter in the Nine Bends corridor the previous night.

He had to admit, her dancing was beautiful.

When the dance ended, the Qi Emperor led the applause.

"I remember you, Lady Xiao."

Lady Xiao knelt gracefully. "This humble concubine pays her respects to Your Majesty."

The Qi Emperor said, "You danced well. Both the Crown Prince and I enjoyed it. Bazi is too low a rank. You shall be promoted to zhaoyi."

Skipping straight over liangren and beauty to become a zhaoyi?!

That promotion drove the harem mad.

His Majesty was stingy with ranks. Lady Zhou had given birth to the Third Prince and was still only a beauty!

Yet with a single dance, Lady Xiao had climbed straight over Lady Zhou's head!

Lady Zhou's face turned green as she stared at Lady Xiao... no, Zhaoyi Xiao. The resentment and fury in Lady Zhou's eyes threatened to drown Zhaoyi Xiao.

Zhaoyi Xiao was beside herself with joy. "This concubine thanks Your Majesty!"

Tonight's banquet was an occasion for everyone to please the emperor behind closed doors. Thus, the women of the harem used every trick their rank and etiquette permitted.

Some of those with higher ranks could not, given their status, be as brazen as Zhaoyi Xiao. Gauze and seductive dancing were the methods of low-ranking concubines. A consort's performance was restrained; Consort Xian, for instance, had played just one piece on the zither.

Lady Yin danced.

But Lady Yin's dance was dignified and warm. When one Persimmon Lantern after another lit up, the sight still struck everyone as celestial.

Even the Qi Emperor could not hide his amazement.

The beauty among the Persimmon Lanterns looked lovely from every angle.

Qi Yuanzuo could not have agreed more. This was the importance of atmosphere!

"My beloved consort, how did you think of using Persimmon Lanterns?"

Consort Yin smiled shyly. "Does Your Majesty not think the Crown Prince is as adorable as these Persimmon Lanterns?"

The Qi Emperor voiced his approval again and again.

"Indeed he is! Save one for me. Tonight, the Persimmon Lanterns shall take the grand prize. My beloved consort, what gift would you like?"

Envy filled the room.

Consort Yin merely smiled gently. "This consort asks only that Your Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince remain in good health. Whenever I see His Highness, my heart fills with joy."

The Qi Emperor was very satisfied with her answer.

Qi Yuanzuo, on the other hand, had no particular thoughts about it.

Lady Yin was very gentle, and she was also the little Crown Prince's maternal aunt. By rights, he should have been close to her, but Qi Yuanzuo could not feel close to her in his heart.

Perhaps the affinity simply was not there?

Lady Yin had been watching the little Crown Prince's reactions all along. He had watched Zhaoyi Xiao's dance excitedly, but his response to her own dance was lukewarm.

What had gone wrong?

She quietly touched her belly. She truly wanted a child of her own. If the child were as beautiful, well-behaved, and clever as the little Crown Prince, and won His Majesty's affection, that would be even better...

The banquet had not ended, but the sovereign had already left.

Once the emperor was gone, it became a matchmaking occasion for the matrons.

The imperial consorts also dispersed in twos and threes.

Dressed in ordinary clothes, the Qi Emperor and the Crown Prince slipped out of the palace under the protection of several attendants.

The moment Qi Yuanzuo reached the bustling streets, he heard a cry.

"Strawberries! Strawberries for sale! Delicious strawberries! The only ones under Heaven!"

Qi Yuanzuo was utterly shocked.

Could he truly have destiny on his side?! He had barely stepped outside and already encountered the Transmigrated Woman!