Chapter Ninety-Two: Hua Rong Seeks Leave

Upon hearing this, Wei Xiaobao hastily dropped to one knee. “This servant obeys!”

Having said that, he turned and made for the Imperial Guard camp to deliver Zhu Hao’s orders to Xie Gang.

Only after Wei Xiaobao had gone did Zhu Hao cast Lady Li a cold glance, his eyes full of warning. Then he swept a hand toward the eunuchs behind him and barked, “We go!”

To be honest, Zhu Hao did not truly believe Lady Li’s words. But with Noble Consort Zheng already dead, he believed Lady Li herself could no longer stir up any great trouble. As for the rest, he decided, let the ministers handle it. With that thought, he stopped dwelling on what tricks Lady Li might be hiding. These past few days had exhausted him in body and spirit, and he longed for a proper rest.

After leaving the Hall of Heavenly Purity, Zhu Hao headed back to his own quarters. Once inside, he first went to see his mother, Consort Liu, and told her about the recent events. When Zhu Hao spoke of how his father had been plotted against and killed by Dowager Consort Zheng, Consort Liu shed tears of sorrow and wept without cease. When Zhu Hao went on to say that Empress Guo, in order to avenge his father, had paid with her life and made Dowager Consort Zheng suffer the consequences, Consort Liu sighed again and again, saying, “The empress was the one who truly loved your imperial father. I am not fit to compare with her.” After saying this, her face grew very troubled and melancholy.

Seeing this, Zhu Hao quickly consoled her. “Mother, I believe you simply never had the chance. If you had, you would surely have done the same as Empress Guo and spared nothing to avenge Father. Please do not be sad. Though you did not act yourself, your son was involved in all of this too. What I did is no different from what you did.”

Consort Liu’s expression eased somewhat after hearing his words, and she slowly said, “My Yujian has grown up. He is a man now. Mother is proud of you.”

The mother and son chatted idly, and before they knew it, evening had fallen. Zhu Hao dined with Consort Liu, then rose to take his leave. Before departing, he told her, “Mother, the great upheaval in the palace is over. In a few days, Elder Crown Prince Brother will ascend the throne. You may open the doors of your residence now.”

Consort Liu nodded in response, and Zhu Hao withdrew from her chambers.

Back in his own room, he had only just lain down, hoping to sleep soundly and drive away the weariness of the last several days, when a burst of urgent knocking forced him to get up and answer the door. He grumbled inwardly, Who is it? So blind to propriety. Can’t they let me have a decent sleep?

But all his complaints vanished the moment he opened the door and saw who stood outside, for the person there was none other than Hua Rong, one of his own most capable generals.

At the sight of Hua Rong, Zhu Hao stopped complaining, not only because Hua Rong was one of his trusted commanders and thus inspired a certain fondness in him, diminishing the awe owed to a superior, but also because Hua Rong had been appointed deputy commander of the Imperial Guard and had recently been stationed at the palace gates. Seeing him there so late, Zhu Hao instinctively assumed something had happened at the gates, and hurriedly asked, “Commander Hua, it is so late. Has something urgent happened at the palace gate?”

Hua Rong scratched his head a little awkwardly. “Your Highness, the palace restrictions have already been lifted, and nothing is wrong at the gate. This subordinate has come so late not for official business, but for a private matter.”

Zhu Hao had not known Hua Rong for long, but he knew perfectly well that Hua Rong was not the sort to place personal affairs above public duty. In these troubled times, for Hua Rong to come to him over a private matter only deepened Zhu Hao’s curiosity and confusion. Frowning slightly, he asked, “Commander Hua, what private matter requires me to handle it? So long as it does not violate the law of the court and is within my ability, I will certainly see it done. Tell me first what it is.”

Hua Rong looked even more embarrassed. Keeping his head lowered, he said, “Your Highness can naturally manage this matter. It is like this: a family letter has arrived at my home, and I would like to request leave for a period of time. The letter actually came some days ago, but because Your Highness had sealed the palace at the time, I did not dare disobey. Now that the palace restrictions have been lifted, I have come especially to ask for leave.”

Zhu Hao had thought Hua Rong must have some major affair that needed his intervention, and it turned out to be nothing more than asking for time off. Smiling, he began, “I thought it was something serious. So it is leave. Very well, I grant it—”

He was about to agree at once, but swallowed the word before it could leave his mouth, because suddenly he remembered the system’s condition regarding Hua Rong’s loyalty: if, by the end of this month, Hua Rong’s loyalty to him did not reach one hundred, Hua Rong would vanish completely.

At the thought, Zhu Hao hastily asked, “What day is it today?”

Hua Rong looked puzzled by the question. He did not understand why the Fifth Prince, when he had come to request leave, would suddenly ask the date. Still, being a man of measure and restraint, he answered, “Replying to Your Highness, today is the twenty-eighth day of the ninth month.”

The twenty-eighth?

Zhu Hao was alarmed. There were only two days left in the month. If he could not raise Hua Rong’s loyalty to the maximum, he would truly lose him forever. This was no request for leave; it was a farewell.

Though Zhu Hao had ten thousand ways to force Hua Rong to stay, he knew that that damned system would surely have even more ways to take him away.

Thinking this over, he quietly brought up the system and checked Hua Rong’s status:

Name: Hua Rong
Star Rating: Three-star
Type: Military General
Loyalty: 80
Special Skill: Unerring Marksmanship at a Hundred Paces
Current Location: Palace

Looking at the panel, Zhu Hao could only sigh inwardly. Twenty points short. How was he supposed to make up those twenty points of loyalty?

Then, all at once, he remembered how Wei Xiaobao’s loyalty had risen before, and hurriedly said, “Commander Hua, if you are requesting leave, I should naturally grant it. But you know the situation: the realm is in turmoil, and I cannot spare you so easily at the moment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Hua Rong quickly bowed. “This subordinate is deeply grateful for Your Highness’s trust. But Your Highness has heroes in abundance at your side; one Hua Rong is hardly indispensable. I, too, am reluctant to leave Your Highness, but family affairs are pressing, and I truly have no other choice.”

Seeing that Hua Rong had gently declined him, and hearing no chime from the system to indicate a rise in loyalty, Zhu Hao refused to give up and continued, “My elder brother will ascend the throne in a few days. I intend to recommend Commander Xie for a post at the Office of the Five Military Commands. As for the Imperial Guard, I want His Majesty to place it under your charge. What do you think of that, Commander Hua?”

Again Hua Rong bowed. “This subordinate is grateful for Your Highness’s trust, but the matter at home is urgent, and I truly have no choice.”

Once more Hua Rong turned him down, and once again the system gave no sign that loyalty had increased. Zhu Hao clenched his fist, still unwilling to surrender. “You and Shi Qian are sworn brothers, and both serve as instructors in the Central Intelligence Bureau. The bureau has only just begun to take shape, and the two of you have contributed greatly. I was thinking of holding a banquet at the start of next month to celebrate your achievements. What do you say?”

Hua Rong bowed yet again. “This subordinate is grateful for Your Highness’s great kindness, but the matter at home is urgent, and I truly have no choice.”

For more than an hour afterward, Zhu Hao poured out every idea he could think of: promotion to higher office, gold and jewels, fine wives and beautiful concubines, mansions and fertile fields, and in the end even the granting of lands and fiefs. Yet Hua Rong gave only the same answer each time: “This subordinate is grateful to Your Highness, but the matter at home is urgent, and I truly have no choice.”

Meanwhile, the system remained utterly silent. Not only did it give no prompt at all, it did not make even the slightest sound. Zhu Hao began to suspect the thing had completely broken. With no prompt from the system, Hua Rong’s loyalty naturally had not risen in the slightest.

And no matter what Zhu Hao said, Hua Rong kept repeating that unchanging answer, forcing the eloquent Zhu Hao into utter silence. In the end, Zhu Hao could only say, “Let us speak again after this month is over,” and first sent Hua Rong away.

After Hua Rong left, Zhu Hao found that sleep had vanished entirely. He opened the window in his room and looked out into the night sky. The successive rainy days had left even this dry night without a trace of light. It was dark as if the end of the world had come. It seemed to mirror his mood perfectly.

Staring at the black heavens, Zhu Hao thought of many things. He thought of the system spirit, Xiao Ling. If Xiao Ling were still here, she would surely be able to tell him what he should do now. But because of his own selfishness, Xiao Ling had already fallen into a deep sleep. Only after he completed the task of protecting his mother would Xiao Ling awaken again. Yet this was a long-term mission; even if it succeeded, it would take three years. At present, far waters could not quench a near thirst.

He also thought of his first meeting with Hua Rong. He remembered Hua Rong warning him to be wary of the threat his elder brother posed. He remembered Hua Rong’s imposing grace at the royal hunting grounds, arrows striking a hundred paces away with unerring precision. He remembered Hua Rong shooting Cui Shi, calm and composed, one shot, one kill. He remembered Hua Rong standing guard over the palace gates in the hour of danger, making not the slightest mistake, steady as a mountain. He remembered everything Hua Rong had done for him.

As he thought on and on, he realized how exhausted he was in both body and spirit, and drowsiness came over him at last. He did not return to his warm and comfortable bed, but simply lay down on the cold floor beneath the window. Thinking of Hua Rong, he drifted into a deep sleep.