Holding the Emperor Hostage : Chapter 78: Daily Life

Yin Shuhuai woke up again, and it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Sunlight bathed the entire great hall in a soft glow. Light gauze curtains danced with the wind, and the air was filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms, hazy and ethereal, like a dream.

Yin Shuhuai was resting against a warm chest. With each breath, he could feel the rise and fall of the chest muscles. Suddenly, the breathing beneath him grew rapid and irregular Shentu Yang had woken up too.

A smile flashed across Yin Shuhuai’s eyes. He looked up at Shengtu Yang, who was clearly awake but still pretending to sleep. Under Yin Shuhuai’s gaze, his thin eyelids trembled incessantly. Only now did Yin Shuhuai notice that Shengtu Yang actually had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, with inner corners hooked and outer corners upturned, and thick eyelashes. When his eyes were closed, he lacked his usual arrogance and pride, and instead looked somewhat pure and obedient.

Yin Shuhuai reached out and tapped Shengtu Yang’s straight nose bridge, then placed his index finger beneath Shengtu Yang’s nose to test his breathing.

At this, Shengtu Yang could no longer hold back. He laughed softly, opened his eyes, reached out to embrace Yin Shuhuai, and complained, “Your Majesty woke up so early.”

Yin Shuhuai glanced at the sun outside the window and teased, “The Duke of Yan certainly has a unique definition of ‘early.'” As he spoke, the eunuchs and palace maids who had been standing guard outside the hall had already heard the commotion inside. They immediately pushed open the door softly and entered to help dress the Emperor and the Duke of Yan.

Shentu Yang reluctantly got up from bed he was somewhat reluctant to leave the bed, but his stomach was already growling with hunger.

Breakfast was Cantonese dim sum that the cooks from the Guanglu Office had practiced making for a long time.

The fresh shrimp dumplings had thin, translucent wrappers with plump fillings. The shrimp meat inside was crystal clear, firm, and springy in texture. Yin Shuhuai could eat three steamers in one go. The pure meat char siu buns had soft, fluffy wrappers and juicy meat fillings, perfectly suited to Shengtu Yang, who loved meat above all else. There was also the labor-intensive but soft and flavorful braised chicken feet in black bean sauce, with bones so tender the meat practically fell off the bone. That was Yin Shuhuai’s favorite breakfast dish—second only to steamed pork ribs with rice flour and tripe with money pouch mushrooms.

Compared to usual, today’s breakfast also included egg tarts. These were a new item that the cooks from the Guanglu Office had baked using an oven newly made by the Shangfang Office. The egg tarts were baked with crispy outer crusts, while the filling inside was tender and soft. One bite released a rich egg and milk fragrance… Even Shengtu Yang, who loved meat above all else, ate more than ten in one sitting.

Finally, a bowl of seafood porridge with very rich ingredients to round it all off…

“No wonder the ancients said that food is the most important thing to the people…” After finishing breakfast, Shengtu Yang stretched out comfortably, looking somewhat lazily satisfied as he sighed, “If the common people could eat such delicious food at every meal, who would risk losing their head by rebelling!”

Yin Shuhuai smiled at these words, looking at the content Shengtu Yang after he had eaten his fill, and said meaningfully, “Is the Duke of Yan full?”

Shentu Yang’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Yin Shuhuai, immediately understanding the deeper meaning in the Emperor’s words.

This breakfast, Yin Shuhuai ate with great satisfaction, and Shengtu Yang truly had a full stomach and wandering thoughts… So by the time the two walked out of the hall again, the sky was already full of stars.

Mountain mist curled upward, hidden fragrance drifted about, and starlight poured down upon the palace complex with its flying eaves and upturned corners. In the distance, the lake reflected the star-filled sky, partridges called out one after another, and everything was peaceful and quiet.

Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang walked along the narrow winding path paved with pebbles, strolling all the way to the lakeside. A boatman had long been waiting by the shore with his boat.

Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang boarded the boat, and only the sound of flowing water could be heard, the sound of the boat’s bow cutting through the water’s surface.

When they reached the middle of the lake, the boatman jumped onto another boat and left. Palace maids brought fine wine and delicacies, lit the palace lanterns hanging on the boat one by one, and then also rowed away in their boats.

The Imperial Guards who had been following behind the Emperor also tactfully dispersed to guard the lakeside.

In an instant, only the boat carrying Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang remained on the entire lake.

The sky was vast and boundless, the water rippled gently, starlight dotted the scene, and the people within it seemed to be situated among the river of stars, even their dreams swaying and rocking.

In the latter half of the night, snow began to fall from the sky. Scattered snowflakes drifted between heaven and earth, turning into fine drizzling rain before they could even reach the lake surface.

Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang rowed the boat back to shore, but did not hurry back to the hall to rest. Instead, they went to the glass greenhouse among the peach blossom forest on the mountainside.

The greenhouse was as warm as spring, with all kinds of rare and exotic plants competing to bloom. In the center were two rattan rocking chairs, one covered with a snow-white fox fur, the other with a colorful tiger skin. Palace maids brought steaming sobering soup and several plates of freshly baked pastries, leaving them for the Emperor and the Duke of Yan to help themselves.

Yin Shuhuai lay on the lounge chair, rocking back and forth. The roof of the greenhouse was made of transparent glass. Lying on the rocking chair and looking up, the sky dome was dark and heavy, the star-filled sky long gone. Tiny fragmented snowflakes fell upon the roof, melting into water droplets in an instant, then dripping down along the eaves with a pitter-patter sound.

Shentu Yang felt somewhat regretful: “This snowfall really came at a bad time.”

“No matter,” Yin Shuhuai smiled and comforted him. “If you like it, we can go again tomorrow night.”

Shentu Yang stared fixedly at the Emperor, who was more beautiful than the flowers even while surrounded by them, and suddenly smiled. “This place is also very good.”

Yin Shuhuai’s lower abdomen suddenly tightened. He reached out to hook Shengtu Yang’s belt and pulled it downward, his gaze even hotter than Shengtu Yang’s, fixed unwaveringly upon Shengtu Yang’s bobbing Adam’s apple. “What the Duke of Yan says is very true.”

Whether it was the painted pleasure boat or the greenhouse, they were indeed both excellent places…

Without a calendar in the mountains, Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang’s stay at the hot spring palace had changed from a short sojourn to a long-term residence.

Because the two of them lived at the palace, the regular court session held every five days was also moved to the palace. As it was the depths of winter, Yin Shuhuai worried that the civil and military officials would find the coming and going too arduous. He also thought that hot springs could nourish health and cure illness, so he bestowed the residences surrounding the palace upon his trusted ministers. During this period, if the civil and military officials had important matters, they would all come to the palace to report and petition… After Yin Shuhuai finished handling government affairs, he would tour the area arm-in-arm with Shengtu Yang, and before they knew it, they had spent an entire winter at the hot spring palace.

On the day of the Beginning of Spring, Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang discussed making spring pancakes with their own hands. The two of them, surrounded by a crowd of eunuchs and palace maids, found their way to the kitchen. They dismissed the bothersome cooks and attendants, pulled out white flour and clear water, and with knives sharpened and ready, began to knead the dough.

Kneading dough is a technical skill. Shengtu Yang and Yin Shuhuai had thought they could easily handle it. Unfortunately, the dough in their hands was not as obedient as swords and memorials to the throne. It was not only sticky to the hands but also refused to hold its shape. This caused Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang to add water and then add flour back and forth, and with one moment of carelessness… half a vat of flour had been wasted.

Looking at the increasingly large blob of doughy mush, Shengtu Yang and Yin Shuhuai looked at each other in dismay.

Yin Shuhuai was full of suspicion: “Why hasn’t this dough risen yet?” In his memory, dough should be white and plump, similar to steamed buns.

Shentu Yang could tell that Yin Shuhuai had no experience with this, but he didn’t know how to leaven dough either—when he was a slave among the Xiongnu, he had only learned to ride horses, herd livestock, and at most roast whole sheep and boil meat. He had never learned how to make pancakes.

This was too difficult.

The cooks waiting outside the kitchen were trembling with fear, afraid that the two nobles would, in a fit of displeasure, set the kitchen on fire.

Yin Shuhuai had no choice but to let a few cooks come in to help.

After much difficulty, the dough was finally leavened, but the two of them were then stumped by the technical skill of rolling out the pancake dough.

Yin Shuhuai wanted to make thin spring pancakes, but with his skill, the rolled-out pancake dough was thick and heavy, completely unable to achieve the thinness required for spring pancakes.

Shentu Yang could indeed roll the pancake dough thin, but it ended up too thin and lacked chewiness. After making a few charred and burnt pancakes, the two of them felt that their skills were somewhat wasting good ingredients. With no other choice, they had to retreat to the sidelines and hand this important task over to the cooks who had been waiting nearby for a long time.

The cooks took over the stove and quickly produced the spring pancakes that Yin Shuhuai had requested.

Although Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang had retreated to the sidelines, they were still not resigned. Standing nearby watching the cooks make the pancakes, they discussed the dishes they would use for filling the pancakes.

“There must be stir-fried bean sprouts with dried tofu strips…” Yin Shuhuai punched his palm, speaking with great certainty.

Shentu Yang said: “We also need to braise a pork hock.” Pancakes must be rolled with pork hock, spring pancakes with meat, the more you have the more you prosper.

Yin Shuhuai said: “Toon stir-fried with eggs, plus a stir-fried mixed dish…”

This was another dish that Shengtu Yang had never eaten, and he couldn’t help but curiously ask: “What is stir-fried mixed dish?”

It is a mixed plate stir-fried with chives, bean sprouts, vermicelli, and wood ear mushrooms, all the most seasonal foods of spring.

By the time the two of them watched others finish making the meal, it was already past the hour for lunch. The two of them looked at the sumptuous spread of dishes, their stomachs already growling with hunger. But before they could start eating, a young eunuch came to report that Yao Wenruo requested an audience.

Yin Shuhuai and Shengtu Yang exchanged a glance, and simply invited Yao Wenruo to eat with them.

The travel-worn Yao Wenruo was led by the young eunuch into the glass greenhouse among the peach blossom forest. Looking at the Emperor and his lord enjoying their meal leisurely amidst the flowers, Yao Wenruo, who had been incredibly busy recently, couldn’t help but feel sorrow welling up from within.

Under the Emperor of Yin’s and the Duke of Yan’s earnest hospitality, the indignant Prime Minister of Yan ate two “big pancake rolls with everything” with great ferocity.

After finishing lunch, Yao Wenruo suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit. He stood up and reported: “The Governor of Liangzhou sent an urgent dispatch by eight hundred li relay. One month ago, Wusun suddenly sent envoys to Dunhuang Commandery, stating that the Xiongnu of the northern desert had attacked Wusun’s pastures at the foot of the Qilian Mountains. The King of Wusun sent envoys to request aid from our court, hoping the court could dispatch troops to help Wusun resist the Xiongnu people.”

Hearing this, Yin Shuhuai couldn’t help but look toward Shengtu Yang.