Chapter 388: Practice Makes Perfect (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
A gentle breeze blew across the lake. A woman in a fiery red dress slowly walked across the lotus leaves and jumping stones. From afar, it looked as though she stepped on the blue waves on the water.
In the waterside pavilion in the center of the lake, Ye Jingtang was sitting cross-legged with his back straight. He was seriously practicing the Jade Bone Dragon Form Picture. When the figure walked in, he stopped practicing, opened his eyes calmly, and turned around. “Miss Yulin?”
“Hello.” The empress of Great Wei stepped onto the steps of the waterside pavilion. There was a hint of leisure on her peerlessly charming face. She sat down by the lake and patted her side.
Pa, pa-
Ye Jingtang stood up and walked over. He first looked at the Hall of the Supreme Principle in the distance before sitting down beside her. He was slightly puzzled. “The Hall of the Supreme Principle is in court. Shouldn’t you be… accompanying Her Majesty?”
The empress should stay in the Hall of the Supreme Principle, but her body had been very weak recently. It was a little difficult for her to sit for the entire morning. Halfway through, she had asked the ministers to continue discussing trivial matters while she went back to rest for a while. Seeing that Ye Jingtang was here, she had changed her clothes and ran over.
The empress appreciated the autumn scenery of the lake and casually replied, “What does the ministers attending court have to do with me? Speaking of which, you performed well this time. The Prince of Jing praised you a lot and even took out the letter written by the officials of Wu Province for you to take credit. The ministers are discussing how to reward you.”
“Is that so?” Ye Jingtang smiled. “Everyone helped out, so it can’t be said that I’ve contributed much. If the Imperial Court really wants to reward me, the Jade Bone Picture I mentioned last time…”
The empress placed her hands on the stone platform and leaned backward slightly, causing her fiery red chest to stand tall. She tilted her head and looked at Ye Jingtang. “I told you last time that if you helped me find the formula for the Snow Lake Powder, I would satisfy you with anything. You did such a good job. Is that all you want?”
Ye Jingtang had gradually gotten used to Yuhu’s boldness. He said helplessly, “Since I’ve brought this up, I naturally want this. Miss Yuhu, you won’t go back on your word, right?”
Seeing that Ye Jingtang was too embarrassed to make other requests, the empress took the initiative to say, “When the Roaring Dragon Chart is in the hands of someone with extraordinary comprehension, it can achieve twice the results with half the effort. Even if ordinary people look at it, their achievements won’t be too high, so letting you borrow the Jade Bone Picture is a very slight effort and can’t be considered a reward. The Prince of Jing is thinking of ways to get a noble title for you and wants to make you a hereditary county marquis. But ‘no marquis without military metis’ has been a tradition from the past dynasties. All the ministers have a lot of objections…”
Ye Jingtang had heard about this from Dumdum and had a slight understanding of Great Wei’s titles of nobility. A county marquis was already the highest title that people could achieve with personal strength. After all, Feng Guancheng, a figure who was already invincible in his twenties, had only been specially conferred the title of a county marquis in the previous dynasty. Even if the Imperial Court dared to confer a higher title, no martial artist would have the nerve to accept it.
When Ye Jingtang heard Dumdum had asked for so much, he shook his head and smiled. “The conferment of a marquis title is a little too much. The rebellion of the Prince of Wu didn’t even cause a military disaster. I only investigated a few cases. If I’m really conferred a marquis title, the people of Jianghu might accept it, but the Imperial Court will probably explode. They will feel that the Prince of Jing and Her Majesty are using cronyism and giving excessive rewards.
“Moreover, I’m just a person of Jianghu. I don’t have much use for these things. I might as well follow the rules of Jianghu. Miss Yuhu, please remember my favor. If I encounter anything in the future, just give me a hand.”
The empress felt that Ye Jingtang’s Jianghu aura was a little too heavy and he was asking for too much. After all, the favor from her was much more important than a minor noble title. “I can remember your favor, but this is private. As the saying goes, clear rewards and punishments. Those who deserve to be killed will not be tolerated, and those who deserve to be rewarded can’t be denied. With your merits, you have to be promoted to a higher position for the courtiers to see. If you aren’t rewarded for your merits, how many people will be loyal to Great Wei?”
Ye Jingtang understood this logic. He thought for a moment and said, “The Prince of Jing mentioned the ‘Marquis of Yunzhong’ before. I don’t think any court officials will object to this title. If I’m rewarded with a treasured horse and a sword as well, it will be enough.”
The empress deliberated for a moment and nodded slightly. “Alright. I owe you a favor for your great achievement this time. I’ll slowly reward you in the future.
“The Marquis of Yunzhong is a false title. It’s mostly named after places in Yun Province and can be specially bestowed by Her Majesty. What do you want? How about the Marquis of Martial Peace?”
When Ye Jingtang heard this, he hurriedly shook his head. “The Marquis of Martial Peace has the meaning of ‘martial peace in the world’. This was Feng Guancheng’s title back then. If I take over now, I’m afraid I’ll be laughed at by the people of Jianghu.”
“Feng Guancheng was conferred the title by Great Yan. It was also when he defeated a Martial Chief for the first time. His situation was similar to yours. As long as you work hard in the future… Ahem…”
The empress was speaking calmly when her face suddenly turned red. Then she covered her mouth and coughed twice. Her arms went limp, and she fell forward into the lake.
Ye Jingtang’s expression changed drastically. He hurriedly held her arms. “What’s wrong with you?”
Ever since the empress embarked on the path of no return and fought with Eunuch Cao, her body would be extremely weak every autumn for no reason. She had come back to rest in the middle of the morning and planned to take care of her health. It was only because she had seen Ye Jingtang here that she had come over to sit.
The empress’s body was weak, and her eyes were full of helplessness. “My old injury has relapsed. What else can I do? If I tell you to ask for a reward, you can just ask for it. Why did you have to talk about it for so long?”
Ye Jingtang checked her pulse and found that it was chaotic. He quickly got up and carried her horizontally. “Should 1 find the imperial physicians or…”
“Let’s go to the bedchamber. The effect of Snow Lake Powder is really good. I’ll be fine after soaking in it for fifteen minutes.”
Hearing this, Ye Jingtang didn’t delay. He jumped across the lake, landed on the balcony behind the bedchamber, and quickly entered the room.
This wasn’t the first time for the empress, so she couldn’t be bothered to move and let him hold her..
