Chapter 362: Friendship
“Royal friendship is different from worldly friendship; it does not possess the permanence that arises from mutual care in worldly friendships.” — 1587, A Year of No Significance.
Fortunately.
When it came to being an emperor, Jiang the Second was still a novice.
A latecomer to the profession.
For the first time, The New Emperor took office.
When he saw the birthmark on Saner’s knee, the years flowed by in his mind like water, feeling like a dream, and his life seemed to pause for a moment.
He wanted to cry, to laugh, to curse loudly, to kill; in the end, he thought of Xia Mei, thought of Feng Geer, thought of Sister Yu, thought of Mianmian, and he finally said, “Hmm, it is nothing.”
Saner was used to serving the emperor. When the person opposite him was the emperor, for him, it had subconsciously become an object of strategy, regardless of who was under the imperial robe.
That was why he wanted to leave the palace, wanted to go out to sea.
Although this idea was incredibly difficult, and perhaps he wouldn’t even be able to go out seven times, perhaps he would die outside on the first attempt, it did not matter. He had no regrets left in this life; he just wanted to do something unconventional, something free.
He felt that in that instant, The New Emperor’s emotions had changed significantly, although he quickly composed himself.
But something must have happened just now; he even felt a palpitation for a moment.
Then everything returned to normal.
He looked up; it was The New Emperor, but also Jiang the Second.
Perhaps wearing the dragon robe made a difference.
Mianmian came over at this moment. After flying kites in the afternoon, she had snacks, and since she hadn’t eaten much for dinner, she was hungry again now.
She wanted a midnight snack.
The palace buildings were too large.
She was even stopped along the way.
She suddenly felt very unaccustomed to it. Previously, whenever she wanted to see Father, she would just run over; now, she actually had to have someone announce her. This feeling was too strange.
It seemed as if he had set up a barrier for himself. No wonder emperors eventually became lonely men. If others wanted to find you, they had to overcome obstacles, pass through one barrier after another, and only then could they finally see you. It was too difficult. Originally, one might want to say something to you, but because meeting was too hard, they wouldn’t want to say ordinary things anymore; in the end, meetings were only for discussing important matters.
But in life, where are there so many important things? Life is composed of countless ordinary, trivial matters. Some trivial matters might turn into big events, but in the end, they are all trivial matters. Long and fragmented—that is life.
If there were only big events, then that wouldn’t be life; that would be a clerk.
Mianmian ran to Father, saw Father and Godfather, bowed, and then tugged on Father’s hem, saying, “Father, let’s go roast some meat.”
“Godfather, I know how to roast meat. It’s very fragrant. You should taste my skills.”
Mianmian felt the atmosphere was a bit strange, but it didn’t matter. Anyway, she was the youngest in the family now, and her job was to act spoiled or cause trouble. Except for Mother, she wasn’t afraid of anyone.
And so, the slightly strange atmosphere from just moments ago was quickly diluted.
Mianmian knew Godfather had been slightly injured, so she took his hand.
Jiang Changtian walked in front.
The palace path was long, wide, and high.
“Godfather, Mother said you used to roast meat too, and it was very delicious,” Mianmian said.
Yan Jiexi recalled that back then, they were poor. They would hunt pheasants and roast them secretly. There was no question of whether it was delicious or not; if it was cooked, if it was meat, it was all delicious.
Thinking back, it was naturally a rare delicacy in the world. Later on, the large chunks of meat he ate were not as fragrant as chewing on those chicken bones. It was just because he was hungry—extremely hungry.
But seeing Mianmian’s innocent and lively expression, Yan Jiexi became happy again.
If he couldn’t remain clear and innocent forever, at least he could let the child be.
As such, everything was worth it.
At night, the Jiang Family really started to roast meat.
The New Emperor and the Empress did it themselves; Eunuch Yan helped with the fire, and the Princess handed over the meat.
The Grand Princess was disturbed as well, so she ran over to join in the roasting.
There was smoke and fragrance.
When Cong Geer sat in the main hall and received the roasted meat, he felt a bit between laughter and tears.
So, one could roast meat here.
In a sense, perhaps The New Emperor was another kind of absurdity.
Cong Geer didn’t like sharp things, so he could only eat the roasted meat from the side.
Even the bamboo skewers couldn’t point toward him.
When Yan Jiexi followed the former emperor, he was always the one doing the serving.
Now, Jiang the Second liked to do it himself, and Qin Luoxia would also do it herself.
Mianmian was the one sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor.
The roasted meat in the palace seemed to have a particularly different taste. They had just thrown some kind of wood in, and the meat had a unique fragrance.
Qin Luoxia said, “I don’t know. Before, when there was a fire in the palace, the remaining wood was collected and not thrown away. We brought some over, and when burned, it seems to be particularly fragrant.”
The Grand Princess:…My daughter-in-law is truly thrifty.
Aunt Yin:…Disturbed in the middle of the night, I thought there was another fire, but it turned out the masters were roasting meat to eat. What a good appetite.
Mianmian felt that the meat was roasted using some very expensive agarwood or sandalwood; it smelled incredibly good.
Yan Jiexi also mentioned to Qin Luoxia about his desire to go out to sea.
Although Qin Luoxia was born strong and could work better than a man, when it came to making decisions, she was very respectful of others.
She heard Saner talk about it and thought it was quite good.
“If you want to go, then go. Now is not like the past; we will bring enough food, drink, and money. Going out to see the world is just like scholars going on study tours. It sounds quite good.”
Qin Luoxia agreed wholeheartedly.
Mianmian hadn’t expected Godfather to have such strong initiative. She had only told the story in the afternoon, and he decided to do it that night.
A major life event.
But she could also understand.
The channels for ancient people to receive information were very limited, and the paths to acquire knowledge were also very few.
Modern people see a video and swipe past it because you will swipe to many similar ones next.
But for the information ancient people received, almost every piece was exclusive and worth cherishing and valuing.
Worth deep consideration.
Worth making a determination to do.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If you want to go on a long voyage, the ship must be built well. Saner, you will definitely be busy during this period. You go to the Ministry of Works and familiarize yourself with ships. You are familiar with the people in the palace, so pick capable ones to go with you. You explore the path first. When I have the opportunity in the future, I will go with you,” said Jiang Changtian.
“Alright.”
“Mother, this piece is burnt and cannot be eaten,” Mianmian said, picking up a skewer of meat.
“Why be so particular? It can be eaten.”
“Then can I give it to Father?”
“Forget it, then don’t eat it.”
That night, it was as if they had returned to years ago.
The stars remained unchanged, and the human heart had not changed either.
Worldly friendship is different from royal friendship; worldly friendship is permanent because it arises from mutual care, even if the status of the two people has changed, this friendship still exists.
Thank you for reading + listening 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
