Chapter 762: Man

Chapter 762: The Man

"You deliberately left Baoqin there to entertain me, didn't you?" On the way into the palace, Zhao Changhe asked softly of Tang Wanzhuang.

Tang Wanzhuang sighed. "I shoved *The Western Chamber* right under her nose, and she spends her days propping her chin on her hands, daydreaming. If I didn't give her a chance, the silly girl would end up resenting me."

Baoqin kept her head low, saying nothing.

Tang Wanzhuang continued, "With your nature, you wouldn't take the initiative to ask for someone out of the blue. You'd just ignore it for ages, and sooner or later you'd break her heart. If it came to a temporary bedmate or something, I was more afraid you might refuse and cause trouble—you might not understand that. Better to let you two spend time together first. I knew that once Baoqin started scolding you, you wouldn't be able to handle it, and you'd have to give her an answer. See, it worked out cleanly enough... Treat her well from now on. She's like a sister to me, and I've never really seen her as a maid."

Zhao Changhe lifted Baoqin's hand. "Who said she's a maid? She's my sister too."

Tang Wanzhuang couldn't help but laugh. "You're happier now that I've given you a title, aren't you?"

Zhao Changhe laughed too. "I've piled up plenty of titles with you, but I only used them to pursue you, not to play tricks."

"What tricks would you want to play?" Tang Wanzhuang glanced around furtively and spat softly, "Sometimes I wish you weren't so outstanding in what you do outside. Every time I get news of you, it feels like you're telling me, 'Time to cash in...' But every time I see Huangfu, I get annoyed. It makes me uncomfortable, and she wouldn't agree either. You have no idea how many years we've been at odds."

Zhao Changhe was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "Those things—when the boat reaches the bridge, forcing it won't make it beautiful. Like today, I already told you there's no need to rush me into the palace. How can we think about that every day?"

At this, even Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling both glanced at him. They felt that in recent days he'd been quite eager to arrange combinations, but today his tone seemed off. Could it be that he wasn't up to it? If he wasn't, what were they supposed to do...

Zhao Changhe sighed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but every time you two argue, I feel helpless—I don't know what to do. If you could just stop arguing, I'd be grateful enough. I wouldn't dare to covet one before I've even secured the other. Like when you two first met, how could you think I'd be considering all that? Really."

Everyone laughed, realizing it was true. Every time they argued, he seemed utterly at a loss, quite unlike his usual commanding presence in the outside world.

So today's family banquet would be even more trying for him. With everyone gathered, there would be many people. At least Tang Wanzhuang knew she could hardly be pleasant to Huangfu Qing, and she assumed the silly bird felt the same about her.

When they reached the banquet hall, the first thing they saw was Xia Chichi speaking with Huangfu Qing about something. Huangfu Qing held a cup of tea, sipping lightly, nodding with evident satisfaction.

What they were saying was unclear, but the seats they had taken were a classic case of shamelessly grabbing the best spots.

It was a large round table. The seat facing the screen was clearly the "head seat," currently empty, seemingly reserved for the "head of the household." Though one was a dowager empress and the other an emperor, even the lowliest maid knew who the true head of the household was.

The seats to the left and right of the head seat had been taken by Huangfu Qing and Xia Chichi, respectively, effectively preempting the positions beside Zhao Changhe. Everyone else would have to sit further down.

More interestingly, Xia Chichi wasn't wearing her dragon robe but a casual white robe, while Huangfu Qing was still in red. So the scene was perfectly split into two reds and two whites, as if teams had already been decided, with Baoqin in her green outfit standing out like a little cabbage.

Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling's cheerful chatting expressions vanished instantly.

Even if you two had the best positions, you couldn't be so blatant. Were you already dividing up the hierarchy, forcing us to bow our heads as the lesser ones?

Tang Wanzhuang fixed her gaze on Huangfu Qing. Xia Chichi could be excused—she was, after all, the emperor—but Huangfu Qing wasn't really the emperor's mother. She'd been a fake consort since the previous dynasty. Who did she think she was? Come on, let's continue our sixteen-year war. Did she think being in the Imperial Realm made her invincible?

Yue Hongling fixed her gaze on Xia Chichi. Huangfu Qing could be excused—they had fought side by side—but who was Xia Chichi? Yue Hongling was generally magnanimous and rarely jealous of others, but she still harbored a grudge over the time Zhao Changhe had stepped in front of Luo Qi and nearly turned against her. The more she thought about it after getting together with him, the more it stung. Several times she had held back from asking: if she and Luo Qi fought now, would he still protect her and turn against me?

Maybe today was the day to test it!

As the two pairs locked eyes, the other two stopped talking and stared back with faint smiles. Who was afraid of whom? The air seemed to crackle with tension.

Baoqin let go of Zhao Changhe's hand and began grinding her teeth, ready to start a fight for her mistress.

The family banquet hadn't even begun, but the hall was already thick with storm clouds. The maids huddled in the corners, trembling. Zhao Changhe held his forehead, speechless.

He knew it.

He couldn't afford to be helpless this time. Today's Zhao Changhe, who commanded respect abroad, was no longer the same old Zhao. He spoke before either side could start: "What were you two, master and disciple, just chatting about?"

Since he asked, Xia Chichi was gracious enough to answer. "I was discussing various matters with Mother Empress. For instance, the sweet potatoes you mentioned—they've indeed been found overseas, and we're now looking for trial plots to plant them. Also, the special exotic beasts you wrote about—the palace already had one or two species. We've sent envoys with imperial decrees to Dali, so they should arrive soon. We're still searching for others. As for money, Mother Empress says the Guanzhong region has the Silk Road, but our maritime trade is no less prosperous. They're being disrupted by Ying Wu, while we're thriving. If it comes to a protracted war, we'll have an increasing advantage... Hey, what are you doing?"

As she spoke, Zhao Changhe had already walked to the table. He glanced at the seat directly opposite the head seat, facing away from the door, and briefly considered taking that seat to show that the round table had no hierarchy. But he quickly abandoned the idea.

The hierarchy of seats wasn't the issue. For them, who sat to his left and right was what mattered, regardless of the seat's rank. If he took that far seat, it would allow Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling to immediately claim the spots beside him, which would be blatant favoritism. Xia Chichi and Huangfu Qing would lose their minds. That wasn't an option.

So he made up his mind. He walked over to Xia Chichi, picked her up, and sat her on his lap. Before she could finish speaking, she found herself perched on his leg, reporting to everyone like this.

Held like this, Xia Chichi was pleased by his public display of intimacy, but under the burning gazes of the others, she felt a little embarrassed. She squirmed lightly. "What are you doing..."

"Seeing our emperor so confident and focused on state affairs fills my heart with joy." Zhao Changhe kissed her cheek. "You've worked hard."

Xia Chichi shot a quick glance at the stunned onlookers, but she was still happy inside. She said softly, "What I do is nothing. Minister Tang has helped a lot... You're the one who's worked hard, fighting campaigns north and south. All right, put me down. This is improper."

Zhao Changhe complied and set her down in the head seat. "Today's banquet is both a family feast and a state banquet. Your Majesty, take the head seat and preside over things."

Then he called out, "Baoqin, come sit by me."

Baoqin, her face streaked with three lines of confusion, stepped forward blankly and pointed at herself. "I'm a maid. I don't have a seat."

"Who says you don't have a seat? Do we care about that in this household?" Zhao Changhe reached out, took her hand, and pulled her down beside him without further ado.

Baoqin sat down dumbly, her bottom hitting the chair. Was she really sitting at the same table as the emperor?

But when she turned to look at Zhao Changhe's smiling face, she felt a lump in her throat.

Zhao Changhe then beckoned to Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling. "Sit wherever you like. Why are you still standing there?"

Now Xia Chichi sat in the head seat, looking bewildered as the emperor. Zhao Changhe and Huangfu Qing flanked her left and right, while Baoqin sat dazedly on Zhao Changhe's right. The sense of hierarchy and the idea of who sat beside him had all been blurred into nothing.

The earlier tension had vanished without a trace. Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling were both inwardly impressed and had no intention of causing trouble now. Tang Wanzhuang went to sit beside Baoqin, and Yue Hongling sat beside Huangfu Qing. A potential two-sided showdown dissolved into thin air.

Zhao Changhe raised his wine cup and laughed. "I've roamed the jianghu as a wanderer, rarely having the chance to gather with family. It's a rare blessing that we're all together for the New Year, even Hongling is here. My heart is truly glad. I hope we can soon pacify the realm and be reunited every day. Cheers!"

The women's eyes sparkled as they watched him drink first. Each felt an indescribable emotion.

They recalled the moments they had first met, step by step watching a boy transform into a man.