radicalducati Chapter 41 Memorials and Strange Light
Chapter 41 Memorials and Strange Light
Li Chengqian escorted Changsun Wuji to the palace gate, then turned back to the East Palace. As dusk settled, the palace lanterns gradually lit up, and the daytime hustle and bustle subsided.
Inside the study, the palace servants who had been attending to him had been dismissed. He did not immediately light more candles, but his gaze fell on a corner of the desk—where a simply designed "glass lamp" stood quietly. The lamppost was a matte dark gray, and the lampshade was like an inverted jade bowl, perfectly round, made of neither copper nor jade, and was a gift from Qingyi's brother, Qingge.
Li Chengqian stretched out his finger and, following his memory, gently touched a slightly raised spot on the bottom of the lamp holder.
With a soft "click," a gentle and steady white light immediately filled the lampshade, unwavering and free of dust, illuminating this corner of the desk as bright as day, even clearer than the surrounding palace lanterns and candles. The light evenly spread across the open memorials and scrolls, making the characters crystal clear, and not glaring even after prolonged viewing. This light formed a strange contrast with the deepening twilight outside the window, as if a small, eternal, pure daylight had been captured and preserved on this desk deep within the palace.
After reviewing several memorials and reading some commentaries on the *Book of Rites* to be lectured on, Li Chengqian rubbed his slightly throbbing temples. His neck and shoulders, stiff and sore from prolonged sitting and contemplation, felt a familiar ache. He paused, put down his pen, and took out the device known as a "massage machine" from another locked drawer.
Made of a gray material that was neither gold nor leather, it was shaped like a crescent moon and had a delicate feel. He wrapped it around the back of his neck, resting the two ends on the stiffest parts of his neck and shoulder muscles, and found the hidden switch again, pressing it gently.
A very low vibration sounded, as if an intricate mechanism inside the instrument had begun to operate, applying a steady and deep pressure to the acupoints that were sore and swollen. The pressure was even and persistent, far surpassing the techniques of palace maids, and it could precisely target the most uncomfortable areas. At first, there was a slight numbness, but then the soreness and swelling slowly dissipated, the tense muscles gradually relaxed, and even the heavy thoughts seemed to ease a little.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let the strange "massage" dispel his fatigue. The light from the "strange lamp" on the desk quietly enveloped him, and the instrument hummed softly and rhythmically in his ears. At this moment, he seemed to have briefly shed his identity as the "Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty," shed the responsibilities that he needed to constantly weigh and shoulder, and was simply a young man who could take a short rest.
However, relaxation is always fleeting. The heavy report on his desk left a lingering sense of unease on Li Chengqian's brow.
The report came from Henan Province, stating that sudden summer rains had caused a tributary of the Yellow River to breach its banks, flooding several prefectures and counties, inundating houses and fields, and displacing many people. This was not an uncommon disaster, but the crux of the matter lay in the aftermath. The report mentioned that "the granaries are depleted and urgently need relocation," and this word "depleted" struck a nerve with the court. Having been founded only recently and already ravaged by war, the national treasury was not abundant to begin with, and this year's numerous expenditures had further strained its grain reserves. How to resettle the displaced people and how to allocate the limited grain supplies in a way that would alleviate the immediate crisis without triggering greater unrest or depleting the nation's resources was a real problem, a lesson the Emperor had entrusted to him yesterday for careful consideration.
Just as he was deeply immersed in his thoughts, with only the lamplight and a low hum in the room—
"Your Highness, the Emperor has arrived and is outside the palace." Outside the door, the eunuch's voice, though deliberately lowered, could not conceal his urgency as he reported, like a stone thrown into a still lake, suddenly breaking the tranquility and privacy of this corner.
Li Chengqian suddenly opened his eyes, instantly waking from his reverie. Father Emperor? Why would he suddenly come to the Eastern Palace at this hour? Usually, if there were important matters, he would be summoned to the Liangyi Hall or the Lizheng Hall.
My heart skipped a beat, and the first thought that flashed through my mind was: lights! And a neck massager!
He practically sprang to his feet, his movements so fast he knocked over the chair without even noticing. With his left hand, he ripped off the massager from behind his neck and stuffed it into the drawer he had just opened without a second glance. At the same time, his right hand precisely touched the base of the lamp, and with a soft "click," the steady, bright white light instantly went out.
However, it was too late.
The study door wasn't completely closed; it had just been pushed open from the outside by the attending eunuchs. Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, dressed in casual clothes and standing with his hands behind his back, stood outside the widening crack in the door. He had clearly seen something.
Perhaps you saw the unusually bright light before it suddenly went out? Perhaps you saw your son hastily get up and stuff something into a drawer? Perhaps you just sensed that unusual stillness in the study and... a lingering, extremely subtle mechanical hum that didn't belong to the candlelight or sandalwood incense?
Li Shimin's face showed no anger or surprise. He simply stood there calmly, his gaze passing over his bowing son. First, it swept over the "glass lamp" that looked exceptionally lustrous in the twilight and candlelight, and whose design was quite different from the lamps in the palace. Then, his gaze seemed to fall on the gap in the drawer that had not yet been completely closed.