Chapter 36: The Fate of a Favored Concubine Used as a Shield in a Harem Intrigue Story (End of Arc)

After saying that, little Chaochao nodded her head very affirmatively. Under the shocked gazes of her mother and imperial brother, she emphasized again:

“Jiujiu, round!”

Could Jiujiu endure such a grievance? He ruffled the feathers on his wings, but they wouldn’t smooth out. Still, he put on an aggressive stance, ready to fight her.

After taking two steps, he looked back at his daddy and asked with a hint of doubt in his voice:

“Daddy, I want to fight little auntie!”

“Hmm, you can try, go for it.”

“Daddy, I *really* want to fight little auntie!”

The Empress Dowager was already used to her son communicating with this little bird. Every time her son acted that way, it made her wonder if there was some special way they communicated.

However, since her son’s body had survived and the imperial physicians had diagnosed him to live a long life, and her own body had safely given birth to a healthy Chaochao, it seemed nothing was impossible.

“Go ahead and fight. If you want to fight her, you’d better do it soon. After a while, you won’t be able to beat her.”

Jiujiu felt very embarrassed now. How could his father be so calm after knowing he wanted to fight her?

“Daddy, aren’t you going to stop me?”

“No, I won’t stop you. Go for it.”

Shen Yijing just watched him with a smile. Like his mother, he had absolute trust in Jiujiu. It was the kind of trust where even if Jiujiu’s claws stepped on his sister’s face, they would still believe Jiujiu was swatting mosquitoes for her.

With no one stopping him, and not daring to actually fight this little one, Jiujiu sighed in frustration.

Forget it. He was a dignified divine bird; he wouldn’t bother with a little girl who hadn’t even grown all her teeth.

Shen Chao grew day by day, and anyone with eyes could see that she was being groomed for the position of Crown Princess. Even the attendants around her were all female officials.

Jiujiu had been quite afraid of this little auntie before, and even more so after discovering she could run, shout, and even jump to chase him.

He even cured his gluttony for the sake of this little auntie.

Last time, he ate too much and couldn’t fly. This little auntie grabbed him in one swift move. After being kissed many times, Jiujiu finally fled in disarray, running to his daddy’s study where he was reviewing memorials. He tearfully complained that he had been kissed and was no longer clean.

At that time, he was so sad that he didn’t even notice he had stepped in ink, leaving several claw prints on the memorial his daddy was reviewing.

Shen Yijing had gradually grown accustomed to the squabbles between his little one and his sister. If Jiujiu made a mistake, his sister would shield Jiujiu in her arms, acting as if to say, “If you want to hit him, hit me.”

If it was Chaochao’s turn to make a mistake, whether it was he or his mother who wanted to discipline Chaochao, Jiujiu would always stand in the way.

The human and the bird wanted to be together every day. Their bond was incredibly strong, having a conflict on average every two days, only to reconcile automatically overnight.

Shen Chao’s education was overseen by her maternal grandfather, and two other former regents also taught her.

In the year Shen Chao turned eight, she was conferred the title of Crown Princess and moved into the Eastern Palace.

Shen Yijing had already planted the seed in his sister’s first year of life. Over the years, the ministers had kept this in mind. Furthermore, because of His Majesty’s poor health, there wasn’t even a single concubine in the harem, so the ministers held no hope.

Jiujiu recently liked little auntie’s hair ornaments. To match her status as Crown Princess, her various hair ornaments were very luxurious and exquisite. Jiujiu wanted to claw at the dangling tassels every day.

When he was still an imperial prince, those serving Shen Yijing worried daily that he might die. But after ascending the throne, he recovered at a visible speed.

Even so, Shen Yijing himself didn’t want to remain burdened in the position of Emperor. He chose an auspicious day to abdicate, in the year Shen Chao turned twenty-one.

“Imperial Brother, you…”

Shen Chao had long known that she would inherit the throne as Crown Princess in the future, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Her brother’s health had clearly been good all along.

“Chaochao, you are no longer young, and it is time for me to yield this position to you.”

As Shen Yijing said this, Shen Chao subconsciously looked at Jiujiu, who was lying in a small nest on the table. Jiujiu had been pampered with good food and drink for so many years; his plump body clearly showed how well he lived.

“Imperial Brother, what will you do after you abdicate?”

“I will remain in the Capital City for one year to assist you in stabilizing the throne.”

As for anything more, Shen Yijing did not elaborate, feeling there was no need to.

Shen Chao still wanted to persuade her brother. She didn’t think she would make a good Emperor. She had always done things under her brother’s guidance, and now she suddenly had to do them herself.

It was as if, no matter what great storms arose, her brother would always stand in front of her, but now she had to face everything alone.

However, based on her understanding of her brother over the years, once he made a decision, almost no one could change it, except for Jiujiu.

After Shen Yijing made that decision, he announced his intention to abdicate at the morning court the next day. He was not old by any means, quite young among emperors throughout history. And besides having no one in the harem, the ministers felt His Majesty’s health was still robust.

Preparations for a new enthronement ceremony had already begun in the palace. Embroiderers started rushing to make new dragon robes. The Empress Dowager was not surprised when she heard the news.

The relationship between her two children was excellent. Although Chaochao was her daughter, when she was born, Yijing was already very sensible.

Furthermore, Chaochao liked to cling to Jiujiu, and Yijing was reluctant to be separated from Jiujiu. When Chaochao was young, she often rested in her imperial brother’s bedchamber.

“Yijing, are you truly planning to abdicate so early?”

“Mother, your son and Chaochao have some differences in their views on state affairs. Moreover, Chaochao is no longer young, and Jiujiu is starting to find the palace boring. Your son wishes to take him out to see the world.”

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager instantly forgot the purpose of her visit.

“Have you told Chaochao about your plan to take Jiujiu with you?”

Just as she had speculated, Chaochao truly loved Jiujiu, the kind of love where she would feel distressed if she didn’t see him for a day.

“Your son doesn’t know how to tell Chaochao. She’ll know when the time comes, I suppose.”

An auspicious day was chosen. Shen Chao ascended the throne, not changing their dynastic title, but continuing to use the one from her brother’s reign.

When she put on the heavy and exquisite dragon robe and sat in the seat her imperial brother usually occupied, she did not see that familiar little fat bird in its familiar spot.

Jiujiu had moved his sleeping place to his daddy’s palace. The reason he had stayed in the study before was because his daddy spent most of his time on state affairs, managing the country, which had been full of problems under the previous emperor, in an orderly manner.

But now that his daddy was no longer emperor, he naturally moved to a place where he could spend the most time with his daddy.

Moreover, Shen Yijing was different from Shen Chao. Shen Chao had a difficult start in the womb, and Jiujiu had been with her almost since her birth, given her young age.

But Shen Yijing’s health was now good, though he still occasionally had cold hands and feet at night, making it hard to sleep. Jiujiu felt he had to cling to his daddy for life.

Sitting in the study, Shen Chao looked at her dragon robe and couldn’t see much difference from the one her imperial brother used to wear. Why wouldn’t Jiujiu come over?

One year after Shen Chao’s enthronement, Shen Yijing, certain she could handle things independently, took some silver and his attendants, and left the Capital City in a low-key carriage.

One country only needed one Emperor. He disliked seeing ministers come to him when they encountered certain matters without his sister’s permission.

Since he had already handed the throne to his sister, those matters were naturally now handled by Shen Chao, even if some of the rules had been established during his own reign.

When Shen Chao was enthroned, she only felt the pressure, but otherwise, there wasn’t much feeling. It was the same later when ministers forced her to choose consorts.

But upon hearing the news that her imperial brother had left the Capital City and taken Jiujiu with him, Shen Chao, now the ruler of a nation, ran to her mother’s palace and cried bitterly on her mother’s lap.

“Wuwu Jiujiu, Mother, why did Imperial Brother take Jiujiu too?”

The Empress Dowager didn’t know how to comfort her daughter. Jiujiu existed because of Yijing. Now that Yijing was leaving the Capital City to travel, it was only natural for him to take Jiujiu.

It was her daughter’s deep affection for Jiujiu that made her reluctant to part, which was understandable.

After leaving the Capital City, Shen Yijing felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. After seeing many wonders, he realized that he actually didn’t like being an emperor.

Rebelling was to protect his mother and sister, governing the country was for the common people. When he thought about it, it seemed there was nothing he had done that was solely for himself.

Shen Yijing later fell in love with painting. Besides natural landscapes, he painted Jiujiu the most.

Jiujiu sleeping in, Jiujiu being gluttonous, Jiujiu extending his claws, cracking walnuts, eating melon seeds, gnawing peanuts—all sorts of scenes were captured by Shen Yijing’s brush.

Once, Jiujiu saw his daddy painting him while he was angry. His angry expression wasn’t very pretty, which made him even angrier at his daddy, and he deliberately messed up his daddy’s blank canvas.

Upon seeing this, Shen Yijing deduced who had done the deed from the small claw prints on the blank canvas and painted another picture on the already stained paper.

This painting, when it was passed down to later generations, sold for tens of thousands at an auction.

Shen Yijing also became known as an emperor famous for his calligraphy and painting, besides his political achievements. The most famous thing was his love for birds, and that he only doted on one bird.

Many in later generations studied the sole subject in Shen Yijing’s paintings, but no one could reasonably determine what species of bird it was, only speculating that it had become extinct due to the passage of time.

(End of Arc)