Chapter 882: Side Story: Xia Hongming and Tang Huaixiao
Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations
Autumn.
The eunuchs and palace maids in the palace were busy. Every day before dawn, they had to clean up the fallen leaves on the ground. However, in autumn, more and more leaves fell.
The eunuch in the lead frowned and shouted in a sharp voice, “Hurry up if you don;t want to lose your head.”
“His Majesty is going to court soon. Look at the ground. There are leaves everywhere. His Majesty doesn’t like fallen leaves. Hurry up and clean this place up. Hurry up.”
The old eunuch looked at the fallen leaves and panicked. Seeing that the sky was brightening bit by bit, the old eunuch was so anxious that he was about to have a heart attack.
The palace maids and eunuchs did not dare to make a sound. They quickly picked up the leaves, their faces covered in sweat.
A young eunuch complained, “The wind last night was too strong. Almost all the leaves on the trees fell off overnight. Even if we have ten hands, we won’t be able to pick them all.”
For some reason, since the year before last year, the emperor hated autumns very much. In autumn, he couldn’t even stand seeing the fallen leaves. This made everyone in the palace busy in autumn.
In the morning, they had to pick up the fallen leaves on the road before the emperor came to court. Just this job alone was enough to make people so tired that they could not straighten their backs.
This year, the wind was especially strong, and the leaves fell more than usual. Last night, it was so strong that many people could not sleep. When the wind stopped, they began to pick up the fallen leaves.
Seeing that it was almost time for the Imperial Court to begin, they panicked.
The old eunuch urged, “If you can’t finish it, you’ll lose your head.”
No matter how tired they were, no one dared to stop when they heard that their heads were going to be chopped off.
The sky gradually brightened, and the palaces became busy.
Xia Hongming changed into the court clothes with the help of the palace servants. He was already in his thirties. Compared to when he was young, he was even calmer and more mature. His thin lips were pursed, and his eyes were unfathomable. No one could guess what was on his mind.
After walking out of the palace, Xia Hongming looked into the distance. The tall trees and leaves were withered, adding to a tinge of desolation to the palace. He reached out and touched his glabella with a dark expression.
The eunuch serving him quickly reached out to hold Xia Hongming and asked in a low voice, “Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell? Why don’t I summon an imperial physician for you?”
Xia Hongming said calmly, “There’s no need. Go straight to the court.”
The world was peaceful, and the court affairs were mostly trivial. However, it was his responsibility to preside over the court.
The eunuch lowered his head and said, “Your Majesty, do you want me to bring the carriage now?”
Xia Hongming thought for a moment and nodded.
Having received the permission, the eunuch immediately instructed someone to prepare.
Xia Hongming felt the autumn wind and let out a long sigh. Seeing the frown on his face, the palace servants were even more terrified. They couldn’t tell if he was happy or angry.
When Xia Hongming got into the carriage and saw the eunuch put down the gauze curtain, he frowned. “It’s not winter now. There’s no need to put down the curtain.”
Xia Hongming closed his eyes and enjoyed this moment of peace.
Along the way, it was quiet, except for the sound of the carriage wheels rolling across the flagstones.
The palace maids and eunuchs by the roadside all knelt down.
With the cold wind blowing that caused more leaves to fall, everyone looked flustered.
Everyone’s hearts were in their throats. This was simply too terrifying.
It was difficult to figure out what the emperor was thinking. Even after two years, they still couldn’t figure out why Xia Hongming suddenly couldn’t bear to see the fallen leaves in autumn.
However, everyone knew in their hearts that their emperor had something on his mind that others did not know.
When the leaves fell, the eunuch driving the carriage could not help but speed up, hoping to pass through this dangerous area quickly.
Just as the carriage was about to leave the leaves-covered area, a gust of wind blew over, sweeping up the leaves.
Several leaves landed on Xia Hongming. He opened his eyes and frowned. He looked at the falling leaves and his expression darkened. “What’s going on? Didn’t I say that I don’t want to see these things?”
The eunuchs knelt down one after another. “Your Majesty, please forgive me. The wind is really too strong this year…”
Xia Hongming felt a headache coming on. He rubbed it with his hands. “Useless.”
After the wind, the road was covered in yellow leaves again, making the palace look desolate.
Looking at the palace servants who were trembling in fear, he said with a dark expression, “What are you waiting for? I’m going to be late for court. Hurry up…”
The eunuch driving the carriage quickly raised the horse whip. Xia Hongming sat in the carriage, rubbing his forehead with one hand and pointing at an eunuch with the other. He seemed to want to curse, but he didn’t.
The eunuch knelt at the side with his head lowered, begging for forgiveness.
Xia Hongming’s head hurt, but he did not flare up in the end. When he arrived at the palace hall, he instructed the eunuch, “Go and get the imperial physician.”
As Xia Hongming spoke, he walked into the palace hall.
When the officials saw Xia Hongming like this, they quickly asked with concern.
Xia Hongming waved his hand. “I’m fine. If there’s anything you want to report, hurry up.”
Hearing the boring report, Xia Hongming became more and more annoyed. His head hurt so much that it was about to explode, so he naturally didn’t have a good tone.
How could the officials not understand that Xia Hongming was not in the mood to listen to their report? Therefore, the hall quickly fell into silence.
After a long silence, Xia Hongming asked in a low voice, “Do you have anything else to say? If not, we will end here.”
The officials shook their heads and said, “No.”
After Xia Hongming left the court, he hurriedly returned to the palace. As soon as he entered, he said anxiously, “Imperial Physician Wang, give me some medicine. As soon as autumn arrives this year, it hurts more and more. My head is about to explode..”
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