49 Pot-stone (2/2)
Li Jun placed down his empty cup. ”Your Majesty, which woman has your heart in the harem so we can watch over her for you?”
Shen Hong was not slow to turn him down. ”I don't have time for matters of the heart.”
Li Jie held his heart and carressed his head with his other hand like a damsel. ”Elora will only do!” The words came out in a womanly tone, meant to tease the dragon.
Li Jun held his stomach as he fell into fits of laughter. His brother never ceased to surprise him.
”Li Jie!” The emperor warned again though he laughed along. Li Jie was quite bold before the emperor, and weirdly the emperor had a soft spot for the two of them.
Li Jun coughed a little. ”That is hilarious but serious matters first Li Jie.”
The emperor frowned. ”What may the matter be now?”
”Li Jie, we must tell him about that crazy woman.”
”Yeh, yeh.” Li Jie was more eager to spill the matter. ”Your Majesty, what will you do about the scandalous woman who poisoned you?”
”She even had the nerve to come to the Military Grounds Camp to deliver some letter.” Li Jun added.
”A letter?” Shen Hong was stricken by the similarity of this story to the case of Little Fox.
”Some letter from the Senior Court Lady.” Li Jie sounded agitated just by having to talk about her.
Shen Hong quickly lifted from the place he sat. ”What does this mean?”
”But our Liege may not worry much about her for she was recently arrested.”
”Serves her right for almost killing us.” Li Jun sniggered.
”And for holding me up against the tree, very disrespectful.”
Li Jun and Li Jie seemed to hate her. Seemed like Little Fox was not doing so good at making a good record for herself.
The emperor did not answer back but concentrated on the golden cage that housed his treasured bird by the window. It was a parrot with striking red feathers and a little bit of green at it's back. His sword-master gifted him with it when he completed his training course with success; a gift for being the best student.
Qi qi was the parrot's name.
Grand Consort Shu had given him the name as one who loved him the most. Silly mother, she loved him not because she was an animal lover but just because he belonged to her son. Every time she visited and found him present, she cooed with much exhilaration for the bird.
It had been a while since he saw his mother, Shen Hong noted. And moreover, how did it happen that his mother owned such a naughty and despicable palace maid like Litte Fox? Shen Hong remembered the time the twins told him that they saw her in the Grand Consort Shu's palace maids uniform.
He chuckled to himself and opened the cage, placing Qi qi on his arm.
So Little Fox was the one who poisoned him?
”Idiot,” he muttered almost to himself and with much happiness of having caught a word, the parrot went on a screaming rampage.
”Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!” It squealed wildly to Huizhong's amusement.
He turned to look at the twins behind him.
”She is in prison, you say?”
TRANSLATION
[1] Zhen = I, used by the emperor to refer to himself. It is the symbol of an emperor and other people cannot call themselves this. It stands for the status and rights that others can't own. Sometimes it can express that the words the emperor is saying are irrefutable.
S.V