On the first day of the ninth lunar month, the Son of Heaven set out on a southern tour.
The dragon boat was like a giant flood dragon returning to the sea, churning up layers of white waves.
Empress Pei supported the Empress Dowager. With a kind smile on her face, she kept waving to the officials and commoners seeing them off along the banks.
Li Ying stood meekly behind Empress Pei. Watching this grand spectacle of people shouting long live, she couldn't help but secretly gasp in surprise.
When the Son of Heaven made an inspection tour, his every word was obeyed. Sure enough, it was truly spectacular.
Princess Yongning stood beside her. Seeing the look of amazement in her eyes, she lowered her voice and said with a soft laugh, "Miss Li, what do you think of this grand spectacle of one being above ten thousand?"
Li Ying didn't know what she really meant. Immediately, she became extremely vigilant and also whispered, "The grandeur of the royal family is not something that a commoner like me dares to comment on casually. Your Highness, please be careful with your words."
However, Princess Yongning just gave a faint smile, seemingly not caring much about what she said.
Li Ying didn't dare to stay by her side for long. Fearing that this wayward princess might say something heretical again, she quickly excused herself, saying that she still had some miscellaneous affairs to attend to, and then left.
The boat sailed very fast. When it first left the port, there were still several grayish finless porpoises chasing around the bow and stern of the boat, leaping out of the water to play.
These finless porpoises lived in the shallow waters at the estuary. They were lively by nature. In later generations, due to the disturbance of fishing and water - conservancy projects, they had become endangered.
Now, seeing these little sea elves with her own eyes, lively and freely swimming around, occasionally spitting out water splashes to play around, and even grinning to show their adorable "finless porpoise smiles", the faint haze in Li Ying's heart instantly vanished. She felt refreshed.
She secretly made up her mind that since she had this chance, she must spare no effort to protect these darlings of nature well. She would never allow them to suffer from the invasion of their habitats and the shortage of food as they did in later generations.
Just as Li Ying was thinking, she heard a noisy and bustling sound on the deck.
"Your Majesty, the auspicious beasts in the sea are coming to greet you. Obviously, this is an auspicious omen. Your southern tour this time will be a celebration for the whole world! Your Majesty is truly wise!"
She frowned slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure in bright yellow on the prow of the dragon boat. Obviously, it was the Son of Heaven, looking high - spirited and being surrounded by several officials as he gazed into the distance.
The sea breeze was fresh and the cool wind blew, making the emperor feel refreshed. Hearing the words of the officials, he said contentedly, "Good! Reward them handsomely!"
Li Ying didn't want to listen to these pedantic court officials' verbose talk. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she saw a smiling official in the crowd stepping forward, bowing respectfully, and holding a red - cloth - covered tray with both hands.
"Your Majesty, I'm so lucky. Just now, by chance, I saw a divine turtle coming to pay homage on the mudflat by the seaport. I'm here to present it to Your Majesty."
Li Ying raised her eyebrows and curiously looked in the direction of the sound. She saw a huge hawksbill sea turtle lying in the tray. Although it was out of the water, it was still feebly paddling its four feet, looking rather embarrassed.
Li Ying felt pity and couldn't help but stop and take a few more glances.
She heard the official continue to report happily, "Your Majesty, this is a gift from heaven, protecting you and the Empress Dowager in good health. In my opinion, we must not let down the good will of heaven."
The emperor became a bit interested. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"
The official's proud look became even more prominent. With full confidence, he said, "Your Majesty, I remember that there is a record in an ancient book. In the previous dynasty, there was a prince who was ordered to guard the southern border."
"The common people were grateful for his achievements and specially sent a live hawksbill turtle. This hawksbill turtle, also known as the tortoise shell turtle, has the function of detoxification. It is the object that poisons envy, so it gets its name."
"The prince removed a piece from the back shell of the hawksbill turtle and tied it to his left arm. If he encountered poisoned food or drink, the back shell would shake by itself to give a warning."
He kowtowed and said, "In my opinion, since heaven has bestowed this divine turtle, it must be that heaven has pity on Your Majesty. You might as well follow the strategy in the ancient book and remove the back shell for self - protection. During this southern tour, among the common people along the way, there may be some bad people mixed in. With the hawksbill turtle shell to protect you, those villains will have no chance. We officials can also feel more at ease."
Hearing this, the Son of Heaven's expression changed slightly. Obviously, he was already secretly calculating in his heart.
Li Ying frowned imperceptibly.
The official who had made the suggestion, seeing that the Son of Heaven was interested, reported again, "Your Majesty, I've heard that only when the hawksbill turtle shell is taken from a live turtle can it have the effect of avoiding poison. If it is taken after the turtle is dead, it will never work. The divine turtle has been out of the water. We don't know how many hours it can last. Please make a decision quickly, Your Majesty."
The emperor asked after hearing this, "If I follow your suggestion, how should I remove the back shell without harming the life of the divine turtle?"
The official looked as if he was bathed in the spring breeze. He stepped forward proudly, examined the hawksbill turtle, and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, this is not difficult."
"We just need to hang the hawksbill turtle upside down and pour boiling vinegar on it. Then the shells will fall off one by one easily."
A eunuch who was good at observing the emperor's expression immediately gave an order to the imperial chefs to carry up the boiling vinegar and was about to operate as he said.
Li Ying couldn't hold back any longer.
A hawksbill turtle whose back shell had been removed like this could still linger on for a while and not die immediately, but it was so cruel. Even if it was released back into the sea, how could it still survive?
She really couldn't bear to watch this hawksbill turtle die a tragic death. Clearing her throat, regardless of her own status, she stepped forward and bowed slightly to the emperor and the officials.
Lu Xunguang immediately understood her intention. He pretended to stop her gently, but he himself said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I'm so bold as to ask you not to harm the life of this hawksbill divine turtle."
The Son of Heaven was in high spirits. This suggestion was really a dampener. How could he watch A Ying put herself in danger?
His cold eyes glanced at the official who had made the previous suggestion and he questioned, "All things have spirits. This divine turtle is an auspicious gift from heaven to Your Majesty. But if it is brutally killed to get its shell, will the gods not punish Your Majesty? Your flowery words are clearly disregarding Your Majesty, the national fortune, and the common people!"
As soon as these words were said, the expressions of all the officials became solemn, and the Son of Heaven also felt a bit unhappy.
But what he said was really reasonable. For a moment, everyone looked at each other in dismay and was speechless.
Although the emperor restrained his unhappy expression, his tone was still unavoidably gloomy. Looking at Lu Xunguang, he asked, "If I follow your suggestion, what should I do?"
Before Lu Xunguang could speak, Princess Yongning, who had been watching coldly, stepped forward charmingly at this moment and affectionately took the emperor's arm.
"Father, the divine turtle bestowed by heaven is originally a good omen. Now it's just that there are some different ideas about how to deal with this divine creature. Why do you need to be angry?"
She was smiling brightly. Her gentle voice was like the chirping of birds in the forest in the early morning, making people feel as if they were listening to celestial music. Finally, the Son of Heaven put away his slight anger.
Princess Yongning gave a sweet smile. Ignoring Lu Xunguang, she turned her bright and kind eyes to Li Ying.
"I've long heard that Miss Li showed her great skills in the fishing village in the southern border. I think you must know more about this hawksbill divine turtle than we do. I wonder if Miss Li has any good ideas?"
As soon as she said this, all eyes immediately fell on Li Ying.