Chapter 44: The beautiful young chicken

He was grounded, by order of the Empress. If he dared to leave the house, his legs would be broken. Two fierce-looking imperial guards really stayed at the Yun family and followed Yun Ye closely. As soon as the emissary left, the bear-like imperial guards immediately showed their true colors. The royal guards, who were like bears, immediately showed their true colors, hunched their backs, and bowed their necks. They had learned Yun Ye’s tricks perfectly, loudly proclaiming that they had to come by order of the Empress Dowager, and that the Marquis should have mercy on them.

Sitting alone on the swing, I thought back to Li Anlan’s every smile and frown, and my heart ached a little. Could it be that I had fallen in love with her? This brainless woman, who only had the face of a future wife but not her kind heart? It was an illusion! I was blinded by appearances. After all, she was a royal princess, a tyrannosaurus rex cub who would eat people. What she thought was playing was, in my opinion, a deadly matter. Without the Dragon-Slaying Hand, don’t play this kind of high-risk game.

I’m not a kid who’s been swept away by love and lost all sense.

What a joke! I, a red-flag man, would fall at the feet of a little girl from a decadent, depraved, class-opposed feudal dynasty?

I have to find some fun for myself, otherwise I’ll get depression. I’ll talk about Li Anlan later. I don’t have time to think about this now. Yun Ye cheered himself up.

Li Er is unreasonable! He said that his father was so depressed by Yun Ye that he could not eat or sleep, and he was getting thinner and thinner every day?

Nonsense. It’s only been three days. How could he have lost so much weight? When Yun Ye was trying to lose weight, he starved himself for three days and still gained a catty. Who would listen to him? He also said that Yun Ye would be forbidden to come within ten zhang of Li Yuan in the future.

This is outrageous! I’m not a leper, so why should I be quarantined? And I have to make sure that his father is happy? If you don’t kill your brothers, he won’t be sad!

It’s said that in feudal society, there are no human rights, and if Li Er’s orders are not carried out, you will not even have the right to be a human being.

After thinking about it carefully, Yun Ye wondered what the elderly people of the future were doing? Tai Chi? Sword dancing? Dancing? None of these seemed suitable for Li Yuan, a deeply depressed person. It seemed that only a big weapon could be used.

Mahjong! Isn’t it said that 900 million people out of 1 billion play mahjong? That’s it. Anyone who gets hooked on this thing can’t get away from it. It’s a magical cure for depression.

When Yun Ye called for the carpenter, the old lady and aunt came running out, knowing that he had made something new. The last time someone tricked him out of the design for the plow, the old lady was heartbroken for a long time, saying over and over that she had not kept a good watch over the family, and that her own treasure had been tricked away by an irrelevant person. This good thing must not be lost again no matter what.

He arranged for the most loyal carpenter in the family to report to him. Yun Ye drew a picture of a chicken on a piece of paper, with white in the four cardinal directions, and most importantly, he made sure to draw the chicken as a peacock, with bright eyes, so that Li Yuan would like it as soon as he saw it.

The sandalwood was all the same, with the patterns deliberately removed, and the family carpenter’s craftsmanship was good, making the chicken look lifelike. Yun Ye turned his hand and shouted, “Two cakes”!

Grandma couldn’t understand it and asked Yun Ye, “Ye’er, what are these little wooden blocks for? This bird is beautifully carved.”

“Grandma, with this thing, you and the aunts, uncles, and sisters in the family won’t be bored. It’s a toy, an adult toy.”

After setting the cards on the small dining table, Yun Ye sat on the east, his grandmother on the south, his eldest aunt on the west, and his aunt on the north. After explaining the rules, they began to play the game. Yun Ye helped the elders to form a group and play the game. After a few rounds, he had mastered the essentials. His aunt’s ability to play the game had surpassed Yun Ye’s. His eldest sister, who was itching to play, told Yun Ye to get off the table and play herself.

He could only hold his little girl and tell her a story. When the moon was at its zenith, Yun Ye heard his aunt shouting in his sleep, “Pong!”

Li Chengqian bit his teeth and felt the tiles, his face twitching into a bun, his fingers clattering the tiles. Probably he didn’t get a good tile, so he threw it into the river and shouted, “Five cakes.”

Changsun Chong smiled and spread out his cards, saying happily, “I win!” He stretched out his hand and said, “Thank you, three of you, 50 cents please!”

Li Chengqian pushed the cards into the river and continued to shuffle them. While shuffling, he said to Yun Ye, “Ye Zi, is this the new thing you got for the Taishang Huang? You don’t want my grandfather to get addicted to gambling, do you? I just played with this thing for a while and I felt like I couldn’t live without it. Can an old and lonely emperor resist the temptation of this thing?”

Yun Ye took the opportunity to make a good hand for himself and said, “Your Majesty only asked me to make the emperor happy. Who cares if he gets addicted to gambling? He has a lot of money, and he can’t lose it all in a hundred years. As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters.”

“That’s true.” Li Chengqian agreed with Yun Ye’s view. Since Li Yuan abdicated, in order to compensate for his old age, Li Er desperately stuffed money and beautiful women into his father’s hands in the hope of making up for it. This is also the reason why Li Yuan gave birth to nine princes and princesses in two years.

“Xiao Ye, Cheng Qian, why don’t we go to the palace to find the emperor? He must be very lonely. How about we play a few hands with him?” Chang Sun Chong seemed to have an epiphany.

Niu Jianhu pushed the cards aside and said angrily, “A house full of despicable people.”

A new palace was specially built for Li Yuan in the imperial palace. The magnificence of the palace was not enough to describe its characteristics. Yun Ye was slapping his tongue against a thick golden nanmu pillar. This pillar alone was enough for the Yun family to eat and drink for three years. Changsun Chong was staring at the endless stream of beautiful women in the palace. Li Chengqian came back early to report.

“My mother is not here. After paying her respects to Grandpa at noon, she went back to the harem.”

“So what are we waiting for? The emperor must be anxious to see us. We are the only ones missing.” Chang Sun Chong’s eyes turned into gold ingots.

Li Yuan leaned back in his new armchair, drinking in fits and starts, his clothes half open, exposing his black chest hair, but no longer the magnificent man of his youth, his muscles slack, his big belly sticking out like a three-month-old fetus. This may be what Li Er needs to achieve! Yun Ye thought to himself.

The three boys stood in neat rows, respectfully greeting Li Yuan. The envy in the eyes of the emperor-emeritus was barely visible.

“How did you three come to me? And it’s such a coincidence that you all came at the same time?”

“I heard from my mother that Grandpa has been in a bad mood lately, so I asked my cousin and Ye to come and keep him company.” Li Chengqian spoke with great filial piety, and his sincerity made Li Yuan suddenly happy.

“Haha, it’s rare to see you be so filial. The boys will accompany me in drinking.” As soon as he finished speaking, a beautiful woman in full dress poured a bowl of grape wine for the three of them. The dark red wine in the white porcelain bowl was like a pool of amber.

After three rounds of wine, Changsun Chong got up and said to Li Yuan, “Your Majesty, I grew up listening to stories about you. I heard that you were a heroic young man, and I admired you very much. Drinking from big bowls, eating big pieces of meat, and dividing gold with a big scale. Your deeds are especially popular in Jinyang. I don’t believe it. Xiaoye specially made an interesting toy for you. Why don’t you let me accompany Your Majesty and play a few hands together?”

Li Yuan laughed heartily: “I knew you were up to no good when you came to see me. What do you want from me? You’ll have to show me what you’re so confident about, so that I can see what the famous Yun Hou of Chang’an has made that is so amazing.”

He was a former emperor, and he could see through the three men’s petty thoughts.

“Your Majesty, I was rude last time. You are always open-minded, so don’t take it to heart. I specially made a toy for you. It seems simple, but it is in line with the principles of heaven and earth. Your Majesty, be careful. I have ten taels of gold in my arms today, and I have come here to make a profit.” Yun Ye simply opened his mouth.

Li Yuan laughed and pointed at Yun Ye, saying, “Of the three of you, you are the most cunning. You can’t be an ordinary person to be able to lie without blushing or flinching when your trick is exposed. Anlan’s use of imperial power to pressure you is a bad move. Let’s see how she ends it. Come, come, come and let me see your new toy.”

The palace maid quickly set up the table, and Yun Ye spread out the mahjong tiles and introduced them one by one to Li Yuan. Li Yuan picked up the tile with the number one and looked at it for a moment, then said to Yun Ye, “You really put a lot of thought into it. This tile was indeed designed for me. Good! The rules are clear, so let’s start now and let me experience the principles of the world in your mouth.”

Soon, after a circle of familiarization, Li Yuan threw a gold ingot weighing one tael and two mace, and the game officially began. The temptation of mahjong is indeed irresistible. There is no father and son at the gambling table. The four people are so excited that there is no longer any barrier of identity. Li Yuan was beaming with joy when he got a good hand, but when he got a bad hand, he would curse and swear. Li Chengqian was staring at his hand, trying to figure out what he had, and he was so engrossed in it that he almost crushed the tiles.

Before they knew it, the sun was about to set in the west, and none of the four had any intention of giving up. They were still playing mahjong with a loud clatter. The Empress Dowager Changsun stood at the door and watched for a long time, but did not come in. She shook her head and left, watching the eunuch with his shirt off, concentrating on shaking the dice.

When the street cleaning drum sounded, Chang Sun Chong and Yun Ye lay on the ground counting their harvests. They were so happy to divide up the ingots.

Li Yuan lay exhausted on the couch, a smile on his lips, and said in a low voice, “Interesting boy.”

Li Er stood in front of the window, looking at the stars in the sky, and said to the stars in a low voice, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I hope you will rest in peace in heaven.” Changsun snuggled up to her husband’s chest, feeling his heart grow more and more calm, and her chest filled with joy and peace.