Su Yao's abacus beads stopped in mid-air.
She glanced down at it, then moved the abacus half an inch to the side.
"Your Highness, if this thing is sent to the palace, will Father Emperor be happy?"
Gu Moran put down the charcoal pencil. "Ah, this is my filial piety."
Su Yao looked at him with a steady gaze. "If filial piety is depicted on a woman's leg, will Father Emperor be even more eager for you to set off today?"
That's perfect.
Xie Wanqing was sitting by the window, reading the " Gazetteer of Jiannan's Prefectures and Counties ".
She was drawn up by Su Yao's words, her gaze falling on the blueprints. After reading only half a page, her face flushed.
She coughed lightly at the back of her throat. "If Your Highness intends to use absurdity to deceive, there's no need to paint it in such detail."
Gu Moran looked at her. " Madam Xie noticed something?"
Xie Wanqing's ears burned even hotter, and she pressed the pages of her book even tighter. "I only noticed that you even marked the size on the ties."
Lin Qingdai stood at the door with her arms crossed, her face stiff.
"This thing is indecent."
Murong Xue leaned closer, examined it for a while, and asked earnestly, "Wouldn't it be much easier to ride a horse if you put this on your legs?"
The room fell silent for a moment.
Gu Moran Murong Xue riding a horse, dressed in black and white stockings, and looked at her.
"That scene was absolutely beautiful."
Liu Ruyan sat to the side, her fingertips gently pressing the rim of the teacup.
She neither laughed nor avoided the drawings.
"If Your Highness sends this to the palace, His Majesty will find it absurd."
Gu Moran carefully stacked the three pictures and stuffed them into the small wooden box. "That's exactly what I wanted—his dislike."
Liu Ruyan lowered her eyelashes and spoke after a moment.
"My husband is indeed intelligent."
"The palace is currently overwhelmed with reports on military supplies. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue are both focused on the Northern Territory and Yi Prefecture. If you send him a strategy for governing Shu, His Majesty will not be able to sleep."
Su Yao chimed in, "If you send him a light gauze foot garment, he'll only scold you for being spineless."
"Say your piece before urging me to leave." Gu Moran closed the box lid. "That would be best."
As Uncle Fu entered, he heard the sound of light gauze feet.
He saw the box on the table, and his face tightened.
"Your Highness, do I really have to deliver this as well?"
Gu Moran pushed it forward. "Send it to the palace. Tell Gao Fu that this is my filial piety before parting. Shu brocade has been in the capital for many years, but it's always just for dresses, which is too unoriginal. If the palace Bureau of Weaving can add some new designs, it will be my way of relieving my father's burden."
Uncle Fu looked down at the box, then at Gu Moran.
"Share the burden?"
"My father is troubled by state affairs, so I'll send him something else to calm his temper."
In a side hall of the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, the emperor was reviewing memorials from the Ministry of Revenue.
The military merit register of the Northern Territory is pressed on the left side of the desk, while the Ministry of War's report on transferring horses is pressed on the right side.
Gao Fu stood to the side, holding a cup of hot tea, not daring to utter a sound.
The emperor pressed his forehead, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
" The Ministry of Revenue inquired about the surplus silver from salt and iron production in Yi Prefecture over the past three years yesterday, and they're asking again today. It's only been a few days since the great victory in the Northern Territory, and everyone's already so quick to grab a piece of the pie."
Gao Fu lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Prince Yi's Residence sent a box containing gifts, saying it was a token of filial piety before his departure."
The emperor lifted his eyelids. "What did he send?"
"They said they'd add new designs to the Bureau of Weaving."
The emperor placed the memorial on the table. "Open it."
Gao Fu untied the black cloth and took out the wooden box.
The box lid was lifted, revealing several sheets of thin paper.
He glanced at it, then stopped, completely stunned.
Seeing his reaction, the emperor's face darkened further. "Give it to me."
The first image is shown below.
Ankle, light gauze, subtle pattern, thin straps.
The second one is more detailed.
Even the location of the creases from the instep to the calf was marked with an ink line.
The emperor stared for a moment, his expression shifting from scrutiny to annoyance.
He flipped to the third one, which was even bolder, still a onesie style.
The Shu brocade has a subtle pattern and palace-style lace trim. Small print beside it reads, "Thin for spring, breathable for summer, and foldable for autumn. All colors are beautiful, especially the purple, which has a unique charm."
The emperor slammed the paper back onto the table.
"You bastard!"
Gao Fu immediately knelt down, bowing his head very low.
The emperor picked up the Ministry of Revenue's report, glanced at the diagrams again, and felt a surge of anger rising in his throat, unable to rise or fall.
He had originally been wary of Gu Moran sending secret plans before leaving the capital, or using the Six Families to send something into the palace to probe the situation.
As a result, this kid drew a whole box of imperial concubines' footwear.
And it's drawn in such detail.
"What else is on his mind besides these things?"
Gao Fu dared not answer.
The emperor held the painting of the concubines' feet and clothes in his hands. After a long while, he suddenly realized that Gu Moran's painting was indeed quite beautiful.
"Um... send it to the Bureau of Weaving. After all, it's the third son's way of showing filial piety; don't waste time."
Gao Fu hurriedly replied, "This servant obeys the decree."
"Issue another imperial edict." The Emperor pressed the military supplies report back onto the table. "Order Prince Yi to leave the capital immediately. If he dares to linger in the capital under the pretense of illness, I will personally send someone to escort him on his way."
He thought for a moment, then worried that Gu Moran might have something even more disgusting hidden in her trunk than these foot fetish clothes, and spoke again.
"Stop searching his messy belongings, get him out of Beijing immediately..."
Gao Fu touched his forehead to the ground. "This servant will go immediately."
The emperor watched as the box was closed, and the doubt in his eyes lessened somewhat.
"If Gu Moran is also preoccupied with these things while in Yi Prefecture, then Si Renyou and Zhen Daijin will have it easier."
Gao Fu carried the box away, his back covered in sweat.
As soon as they stepped out of the palace gate, Eunuch Zhang approached and glanced at the box.
"A gift from Prince Yi?"
Gao Fu glanced around and lowered his voice. "A few pictures of footwear."
Eunuch Zhang paused in the whisk in his hand.
"Footwear?"
Gao Fu said with a bitter face, "I also wrote designs for spring, summer, and autumn."
After a moment of silence, Eunuch Zhang said, "His Highness Prince Yi's filial piety is rarely seen in the palace in recent years."
Gao Fu hugged the box tightly. "So be it, His Majesty has already issued an edict urging him to leave quickly."
Eunuch Zhang suppressed a smile and said nothing more.
Not long after the imperial edict reached Prince Yi's Residence, the back alley was already packed with carriages.
Su Yao's account books were stored in the innermost layer, with several bolts of old cloth pressed on top of them.
Shen Ling'er covered her medicine chest with an old cloth, deliberately leaving a strong smell of medicine.
Xie Wanqing divided her book box into three parts: one was placed in the open, one was hidden under the car, and the third was mixed into an old clothes box.
Lin Qingdai kept the guard roster to a minimum, and personally checked the hands and feet of each person.
Murong Xue stood guard in front of the stable, and anyone who touched the saddle had to be met with her glare first.
Liu Ruyan's people are not registered in the official register; they only change lines a few streets away.
Tuoba Mang stood hunched over in the stable team, his face long and drawn.
"Princess, do I look like an old man?"
Murong Xue didn't even look at him. "You'd look more like it if you just shut up."
As soon as the inspectors from the Ministry of War reached the stable, Tuoba Mang immediately lowered his head, clutching the fodder in his hand with great effort.
The inspector glanced at him, remembered the emperor's order, and finally nodded.
Before getting into the carriage, Gu Moran glanced back at the plaque of the Prince Yi's Residence's Mansion.
The gold paint on the plaque shone in the morning light, so familiar it was almost blinding.
He got into the car, his face showing only sickly weakness and listlessness.
Leaning against the cushion, he coughed twice.
Let's go.
The wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs.
The gates of Prince Yi's Residence closed behind him.
Uncle Fu rode his horse closer to the carriage window and whispered, "Your Highness, after the imperial edict, the number of people keeping watch has decreased."
Gu Moran had his eyes closed, a look of fatigue on his lips.
"After seeing the illustrations of the footwear, Father felt relieved."
Uncle Fu couldn't help but ask, "Are you just going to pretend to be absurd all this time?"
"Absurdity is good." Gu Moran lifted a crack in the curtain and saw someone turning around hastily in the distance. "Absurd people live long."
Just as the convoy crossed the long street, Tuoba Mang's voice suddenly came from ahead.
"Princess, is this enough ration to get to the post station?"
Murong Xue's riding whip struck the carriage shaft.
"If you shout again, you won't get any dinner tonight."
Gu Moran lowered the carriage curtain and chuckled softly.
The wheels passed through the city gate, leaving the hustle and bustle of the capital behind.
Gu Moran leaned against the carriage wall, listening to the sounds of horses' hooves, carriage axles, and maids' whispers mixed together outside.
Shen Ling'er sat opposite her, opened the small medicine box, and dispensed the medicine one section at a time.
"You've taken your morning medicine. You'll have two more pills this afternoon. If it's windy around 3 PM, add a bowl of ginger medicine."
Gu Moran raised his eyelids slightly. "I was feigning illness so I could go to my fiefdom sooner. You really think I'm sick?"
Shen Ling'er poured the pills into a porcelain bottle. "If you dare to miss a single dose, I'll have Uncle Fu brew the medicine at the very front of the caravan. The smell will waft all the way, letting our spies know that Prince Yi is seriously ill."
Su Yao, flipping through the accounts beside her, said, "This method is indeed good."
Gu Moran turned to look at her. " Madam Su, you've changed."
Su Yao quickly calculated. "If Your Highness causes less trouble, I will naturally be gentler."
Before dusk, the sky darkened. The clouds hung low, and the wind carried a dampness.
A messenger from the forward post station reported that the station was full.
The minor official stood by the roadside, not daring to raise his head. "Your Highness, since the military merit registers from the Northern Territory were sent to the capital, there have been many officials coming and going, and the post stations are all full. If Your Highness is willing to wait, I will try to squeeze out two rooms."
Uncle Fu looked at Gu Moran.
Gu Moran didn't speak immediately. He looked at Su Yao first.
Su Yao reviewed the records. "If we crowd the post station, the book cart and medicine cart can only park in the outer courtyard. There are too many people and it will attract too much attention."
Lin Qingdai said, "The back wall of the post station is low, and the woodshed on the west side is connected to the stable. It's unstable."
Liu Ruyan said softly, "I remember there's a hot spring villa nearby."
Murong Xue's eyes lit up. "A hot spring?"
[Thank you Nianwan for the flowers and two likes, Shi Yi for the flowers, Gabengcui for the flowers, Chen Qing for the like, and Xinli for the five likes. Thank you again to all the lovely ladies for your support!]