sjar Chapter 322: He is a prince after all...
Chapter 322: He is a prince after all...
Zhou Chufan was kneeling in the ancestral hall with a blueprint of an improved crossbow spread out in front of him.
The young man's slender fingers traced the annotations on the edge of the blueprint. It was Su Yue's handwriting: "This crossbow can be operated with one hand, so even weak women can use it."
"Fan'er."
He turned around suddenly and saw that the retired emperor had stood behind him. The nine phoenixes embroidered with gold thread on his black phoenix robe looked like living creatures in the candlelight.
"Grandson pays his respects to the Emperor." He kowtowed respectfully but did not stand up.
The Emperor gazed at his features, which were identical to Ning An's, and suddenly said, "If your mother were here, she would be proud of you."
Zhou Chufan lowered his eyes, hiding the turbulent emotions in his eyes: "Grandson only hopes to live up to his mother's wishes."
"Stand up." The emperor helped him up personally. "After you come of age, you will be the new Prince of Ning'an."
Her fingertips trembled slightly. "I want to see who dares to say that men cannot inherit the title."
Su Fu
"The military crossbow is just the first step." Su Yue spread out a map of the capital's influence under the lamp. "What Xiaofan needs is tangible achievements."
Shangguan Haomu handed over a scroll of bamboo slips. “This is the Mingxi Law that you asked me to compile. It contains clauses about men holding office…” He smiled bitterly. “It’s almost entirely restrictive.”
Shen Yunyan suddenly said, "But there is one thing - if a man is jointly recommended by officials of the third rank or above, he can serve in the Ministry of Works."
"What about Prince Ning'an, the one the retired emperor feels most guilty about, and the recommendation of the new top scholar?" Su Yue chuckled and pointed at a certain place in the Ministry of Works. "The Military Equipment Bureau."
In the court, all the officials gathered together. The empress looked at the improved crossbow presented by Zhou Chufan with deep eyes.
This crossbow is so light and flexible that even a palace maid could use it easily. If it were equipped to the border troops...
"Your Majesty," Deputy Governor Xu Ningxiang stepped out and said in a loud voice, "Prince Ning'an has made great contributions to improving military equipment. I request that he be appointed to the Military Equipment Supervisory Board in accordance with the Special Honor Order."
Full of uproar.
"Absurd!" the Minister of Rites shouted, "How can a man be allowed to attend court affairs?"
The Emperor suddenly chuckled: "Are you questioning the Special Honor Order issued by the late Emperor?"
The hall fell silent in an instant.
The empress stared at the retired emperor and suddenly realized that she was a step too slow after all - Su Yue, this woman, was no longer a poor scholar who could be easily manipulated by her.
"Approved." She uttered these two words slowly, her eyes sweeping over the half tiger talisman on Zhou Chufan's waist. "But Prince Ning'an must train a hundred skilled craftsmen within three months."
When leaving the court, Xu Ningxiang and Zhou Chufan passed by each other, and the young man whispered, "Thank you."
"Don't be so quick to thank me." Xu Ningxiang looked ahead. "The real tough battle is just beginning."
Xu Ningxiang, the second-rank deputy governor, is also... Prince Ning'an's confidant. Zhou Chufan didn't expect her to be at the center of the storm. Her recommendation of him at this time is tantamount to showing her position.
It must be the Empress Dowager’s arrangement.
With a lot of thoughts in his mind, he saw a carriage with the unique logo of the Su Mansion in the distance. When Zhou Chufan got into the carriage, the hem of his clothes was still stained with sandalwood from the court.
As soon as he sat down, Shangguan Haochen threw him an oil-paper bag, and the hot aroma instantly filled the car.
"The plum blossom pastry from Li Ji on East Street was your favorite when you were a kid." Shangguan Haochen raised an eyebrow. "Should I call you Prince now?"
Zhou Chufan grabbed the biscuit and started to eat it, not caring at all that crumbs fell on the prince's robe. "Brother Chen, if you make fun of me again, I'll tell Brother Mu Feng that you're hiding some private money!"
Su Yue smiled and shook her head, reaching out to wipe away the biscuit crumbs from the corner of his mouth: "Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you." Her fingertips brushed across the boy's cuff - there was a fresh scratch there, probably from testing the crossbow.
The carriage passed through the bustling streets, and the curtains were suddenly blown up by the wind.
Zhou Chufan glanced at the roadside notice board and saw that it was crowded with people. The ink on the newly posted imperial edict had not yet dried - "Ning'an Prince Zhou Chufan is appointed as the Director of Military Equipment" - the large characters made his eyes hot.
"Sister..." He suddenly grabbed Su Yue's sleeve, "If I can't do it well..."
"What are you afraid of?" Shangguan Haochen slapped him on the back. "Back then, your mother led 300 of her personal soldiers to raid the Beidi camp. What's your little show compared to?"
Su Yue took out a brocade box from the secret compartment: "Take a look."
Inside the box is an exquisite sleeve arrow with the mother's name engraved on the tail.
Zhou Chufan's eyes became even redder - this was clearly made from the scraps of Prince Ning'an's old crossbow.
"I have arranged for the people your mother left for you to be sent to the Military Equipment Bureau." Su Yue said in a low voice, "From now on, that is your Ning'an Palace."
The carriage suddenly jolted, and the hidden arrows in the box made clear sounds.
Zhou Chufan seemed to hear the clanging sound of his mother's armor many years ago.
During dinner, Zhou Chufan stared at the plate of sweet and sour fish in a daze.
The fish was decorated with diamond-shaped patterns carved by crisscrossing knife techniques, drizzled with amber sauce, and dotted with a few bright red wolfberries on the edge - exactly the same as the plating at the Ning'an Prince's Palace New Year's Eve banquet in my memory.
"Don't just look at it." Shangguan Haochen put an emerald dumpling in his bowl. "Mu Feng made this with a bulging belly. Do you dare to leave one and try?"
The dumpling skin is so thin that it is translucent, and you can vaguely see the shrimp filling inside.
Zhou Chufan took a bite, and the sweet juice immediately filled his mouth.
He suddenly remembered that when he was in Yangzhou, he was lying at the kitchen door and peeking at Mu Feng making snacks. He was so scalded that he jumped up and down. It was Shangguan Haochen who grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him to the well to wash his hands.
"It's too salty." Shen Yunyan suddenly frowned and pushed a plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots in front of him. "Would you like to try it?"
Zhou Chufan obediently picked up a piece of food with chopsticks, but before he could swallow it, he heard the sound of suppressed laughter from everyone at the table.
"I'm kidding." Shen Yunyan's eyes flashed with cunning. "This is a new dish that Amu has researched. I'm waiting for you to taste it."
Everyone at the dinner table suddenly burst into laughter.
Su Yue took the opportunity to pile food into his bowl like a mountain: "You're growing, eat more."
Zhou Chufan's hands were shaking a little as he was eating.
When they served him food, no one used the honorific "May Your Highness be safe and sound", no one waited nervously for him to pick up his chopsticks first, and no one knelt down to apologize because he accidentally dropped a grain of rice.
Shangguan Haomu even hit the back of his hand with chopsticks as usual because he secretly ate the fried meatballs - just like the first time he sneaked into the Su Mansion kitchen two years ago.
"Go wash the dishes!" After eating and drinking, Su Yue piled the empty bowls in his hands, "Remember to use hot water. You broke two last time."
Zhou Chufan ran to the kitchen with the dishes in his arms, not caring at all that the hem of his python robe was stained with oil.
The well water was icy cold. As he was humming a tune while washing his chopsticks, he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him.
"Here you go." Shangguan Haomu handed over a hand warmer, "Mu Feng just filled it with hot water." He lowered his voice again, "There are candied fruits in the third compartment of the cabinet. Don't let Achen see it."
The moonlight shines through the window lattice, casting Zhou Chufan's shadow on the ground.
The shadow was very thin, but he was no longer the orphan who curled up in the corner of the ancestral hall.
He touched his cuffs - there was hidden the first decree he received in the court today, and also the candy that Su Yue secretly stuffed into his sleeves.
Outside the kitchen, Su Yue and Shangguan Haomu stood side by side.
“Are you really going to let him wash it?” Shangguan Haomu looked at the boy’s clumsy back, “He’s a prince after all…”
"That's why he needs to be washed." Su Yue chuckled, "We need to make him remember that here he will always be just Xiaofan."
Amid the sound of splashing water, Zhou Chufan suddenly sneezed.
The next second, Mu Feng's scolding came from the side room: "Shangguan Haochen! Did you secretly open the window again?!"
The night wind, wrapped in the fragrance of osmanthus, passed through the courtyard, carrying the laughter far away.