Chapter 541: The Playground That She Yearned For
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation , Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
By the time Su Ying returned to the palace, the sky had already darkened.
Aunt Zhao was now in charge of many matters in the Imperial harem’s quarters. She did not even have time to take care of the two little ones. There were not many masters in the Imperial harem’s quarters, but there were many people in various departments. It was a big undertaking to manage them.
When Su Ying returned to the Conjugal Phoenix Palace, Aunt Zhao was already waiting in the side hall.
“Your Imperial Highness has returned.”
“Aunt Zhao, do rise. Did you come here specially to wait for me?” Su Ying asked as she glanced at the booklet in Aunt Zhao’s hands.
“Yes, your old servant has something to report to you, Your Imperial
Highness.”
Su Ying sat down on a chair and gestured for her to speak.
“This is last month’s expenditure of the Imperial Palace. I have brought it here
for your perusal, Your Imperial Highness.
Su Ying took the booklet. She had taught Aunt Zhao a method of accounting before, so the accounts she recorded were always easily understood at one glance.
“Have you verified the figures against all the departments in the palace?’
“Yes, I’ve verified them all.”
Su Ying flipped through the account book and realized that the expenses from last month were much lower than before. This accounting report would be compared to the same month last year. Aunt Zhao was a meticulous person, so she always made notes when comparing accounting reports.
-Xiao Jin is truly a thrifty and good Emperor.” This round’s expenditure was actually dozens of times less than last year’s.
“Yes, His Majesty is diligent in his government and cares for the people. Your Imperial Highness also thinks of the people’s interests. It is indeed a blessing for our Chu State.”
If it weren’t for the special status of the Imperial Palace, Su Ying would have rented out those empty palaces. It was too wasteful to have so many empty palaces without anyone living in them.
“I remember that there is an empty plot of land on the west side of the palace.
Is that right?”
Aunt Zhao thought for a moment and said, “Yes, there is such a piece of land. I remember that the land was originally intended to be used to build a waterside pavilion. However, I don’t know why the plan was abandoned later. That land has been left empty since then.”
Su Ying nodded slightly. “Mm-hmm. Then we’ll use it to build a playground.”
“A playground?”
Aunt Zhao had never heard of such a thing.
Su Ying had heard of a playground before, but she had never played in one before. Once upon a time, it was also a place she yearned to own.
She could tell that the two children were under a lot of pressure from their studies. She knew that they had to learn those things, but she hoped that they would not miss out on their childhood in the process of learning.
“Mm-hmm. It is a place for children to play. I’ll draw up the blueprint in a while. Later, you can look for a craftsman to see if it can be built.” In this era, there was no steel, so she could only use wood to build the playground. At most, it would incur additional labor, but it would not take much effort.
After Su Ying explained to Aunt Zhao what a playground was, Aunt Zhao agreed with her proposal completely as she loved the two children from the bottom of her heart.
Su Ying sat down in front of the desk and began to draw on a piece of paper with a charcoal pencil she made herself. In reality, she didn’t really understand the structure of those playground equipment so she could only sketch their rough outlines. When the time came, she would show the sketches to the carpenter to see if he could construct these things.
She was so engrossed in drawing that she did not even realize that the two children and Xiao Jin had entered the hall.
“Mother, what are you doing?”
Ji looked inquisitively at the sketches on Su Ying’s drawing paper. He felt that the sketches were so strange that he couldn’t make out what they were.
Su Ying raised her head and said with a smile, “Some fun stuff. There’s an empty plot of land in the palace that’s very close to the Imperial harem’s quarters. I plan to use it to make something for the two children to play with.” She directed her reply at Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin’s curiosity was piqued. “What fun stuff?
“AU of you will know when it’s done.” This was because she also didn’t know if the final result would be what she wanted.
The two little ones were looking forward to the playground Su Ying mentioned so much that they wished that Su Ying could conjure it up for them the next
day.
At night, Su Ying lay on the bed after washing up. Her mind was still thinking about her playground. It was only when Xiao Jin told her to relax her breathing and close her eyes that she fell asleep in a sleepy stupor.
After sleeping for an unknown length of time, Su Ying heard the sound of soft talking coming from outside the door. She subconsciously reached out to the side of the bed and realized that Xiao Jin was no longer on the bed. She looked at the still-dark sky outside and instantly became wide awake.
After a while, the hall door was pushed open. Xiao Jin had returned.
He returned to the bed and was about to go back to sleep when he met Su Ying’s slightly misty eyes. “Did I wake you up?”
Su Ying murmured an affirmative reply and shifted her body inwards.
Xiao Jin lay down beside her and hugged her. He then patted her shoulder and said, “Sleep a little longer. Dawn is still some hours away.
Su Ying closed her eyes and mumbled, “What’s wrong?
“Prince Yu was assassinated before he arrived at the Jing Prefecture. His whereabouts are currently unknown.”
Su Ying gave a faint murmur and fell asleep again.
However, Xiao Jin could no longer fall asleep. He kept his eyes open until Zhang Shuming came to arouse him.
After washing up, he went to attend the court session.
When Su Ying said that she wanted to build a playground, Aunt Zhao immediately procured several craftsmen who were proficient in woodworking for her.
Su Ying felt that it was time to test their professional skills, so she took out the blueprint she had drawn.
“Take a look, all of you. Can you construct the things on this paper? This one can be used as a slide. Here is the staircase. After the child climbs up, he will slide down from this place. This ramp has to be made relatively smooth, or else the child won’t be able to slide. Do all of you understand?
The carpenters looked at the strange objects Su Ying had drawn and listened to her explanation. They felt that these things shouldn’t be difficult to construct. “Your Imperial Highness, after listening to you, your lowly servants have a rough idea. Let us go back and discuss it in detail. Then we will draw up the detailed blueprint before showing it to you again, Your Imperial Highness.” “Good. I believe that all of you won’t disappoint me.
Since the Empress had expressed her confidence in them, not surprisingly, these craftsmen were determined to put everything they had into this project. After the craftsmen left, Zhou Qing brought some snacks into the hall. “Your Imperial Highness, have some snacks. They are freshly made.
Su Ying looked at the fried chopped rice cake on the plate and straightaway picked up one piece and popped it into her mouth. She loved glutinous nee, so she couldn’t be more satisfied when she got a bite of soft, sticky goodness. “Your Imperial Highness, your servant has found out a lot of news about the Great Immortal White Lotus.”
Su Ying murmured a reply as she shoved more snacks into her mouth. “Go on.” -This White Lotus Cult has actually existed for a long time. It has been around for more than ten years. It’s an organization that idolizes the Great Immortal White Lotus. Your Imperial Highness, it is roughly equivalent to believing in Buddhism and Taoism, except that these people chose to believe in the Great Immortal White Lotus.”
After Su Ying finished up the fried chopped rice cake, she reached out for a slice of red date cake. “What kind of deity is this Great Immortal White Lotus?” Zhou Qing really didn’t know about this. She asked many people who believed in the Great Immortal White Lotus, but none of them could give her an explanation. They only said that she was an immortal who broke away from Taoism.
“Their followers would go to the praying hall every day to pray to the Great Immortal White Lotus. This has been done for many years. However, when the true form of the Great Immortal White Lotus manifested recently, the followers went crazy and followed the Great Immortal White Lotus all day long. They were hoping that she could help them alleviate their suffering.
“So where did this Great Immortal White Lotus come from?”