《His Majesty And Ministers》 CH 1 Feng Ling followed Ye Mao all the way to the front of Ping An Palace. The two stopped at the gate of the palace, and Ye Mao said with a flick of his horsetail whisk: ¡°His Majesty must have just woken up, Lord Feng, you must take care to speak with caution.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Feng Ling cupped his hands: ¡°Much thanks to gonggong for the advice.¡± (TN: term used to address eunuchs) Ye Mao curved his eyes in a smile and accepted the bow. Feng Ling entered the palace with his head lowered, and followed the palace staff through the gorgeous bead curtains and painted silk screens to the bedroom. He looked at the warm yellow gauze curtains shrouding the bed, and after a brief concentration, he knelt down and bowed. ¡°Feng Ling, imperial secretary of the Hanlin Imperial Academy, pays respects to Your Majesty.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± A stick of incense burnt down, and the bedroom remained silent. ¡°This official, Feng Ling.¡± Feng Ling bowed again, raised his voice and said clearly, ¡°Pays respects to Your Majesty!¡± Finally there was sound. The figure behind the bed curtains moved and sat up slowly, as if it was uncomfortable, and rubbed his head with his hands for a long time. Feng Ling stepped forward: ¡°Your Majesty, this official¡­..¡± ¡°En?¡± The person seemed to have seen something around him that had greatly shocked him upon a closer look. Feng Ling: ¡°¡­..Your Majesty?¡± Ye Gonggong was feeling very twitchy. ¡°You said His Majesty doesn¡¯t recognize you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Feng Ling said slowly, ¡°His Majesty asked me who I was first, and when I replied ¡®Hanlin Imperial Secretary Feng Ling¡¯, His Majesty no longer spoke. After a while, he said ¡°headache¡±, and I had to retreat outside to ask gonggong.¡± Ye Mao flicked the whisk anxiously. Behind him was an imperial physician with a beard and three little medicine boys: ¡°What do I know? First, His Majesty was injured by those remnants of the previous dynasty and their wicked enchantments, and after two days and one night, when His Majesty finally woke up, His Majesty seemed to have fully recovered, and even punished a few disobedient maids, looking very much full of vitality.¡± ¡°Perhaps this lower official misconceived the matter.¡± Feng Ling lowered his head again, and the two fell silent for a while. When they went inside, the emperor was still sitting behind the bed curtains. The other person originally behind the bed curtains with him was now standing beside the bed, tying his clothes. When he saw Feng Ling, he smiled slightly: ¡°Lord Feng.¡± Feng Ling nodded. Ye Mao took the lead up the steps, bowed beside the curtains and said: ¡°Your Majesty, the imperial physician is here.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The person standing outside the bed curtains crooked his finger at Ye Mao with a smile and said: ¡°Don¡¯t ask, he is unhappy, and even kicked me out of the bed just now.¡± This never happened before. Ye Gonggong¡¯s head hurt even more. He gritted his teeth and asked again: ¡°Your Majesty?¡± The inside of the bed curtains was quiet for a long time, before the person inside finally reached out a hand. The imperial physician placed the wrist cushion with trepidation, and Ye Mao raised the emperor¡¯s hand to put it on it. After taking the pulse for a while, the imperial physician got up and bowed: ¡°Your Majesty has indeed recovered. I believe it was caused by the discomfort from being in a coma for a long time, and it will subside soon.¡± ¡°En.¡± The emperor responded in a gentle tone. Ye Mao¡¯s heart, which finally felt somewhat eased, jumped into his throat again. Abnormal, it was extremely abnormal. ¡°You are all dismissed.¡± It was the voice of the young emperor again. The man standing beside the curtains chuckled: ¡°Your Majesty, do you want this subject to retreat too?¡± ¡°You are also dismissed.¡± The man¡¯s eyes flashed, he nodded and smiled: ¡°This subject is leaving, and will come to accompany Your Majesty when Your Majesty is happy again.¡± The emperor spoke no more. The man went down the steps and gave Ye Mao a look. The latter understood and went down the steps as well, pulling Feng Ling¡¯s sleeve: ¡°Lord Feng, let us go back first.¡± ¡°No.¡± Feng Ling lowered his eyes, ¡°This lower official has something important to report.¡± Ye Mao: ¡°This pedantic fool¡­..¡± ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Feng Ling took two steps forward and said loudly, ¡°There is a severe drought in the southwest, I beg Your Majesty to halt the construction of Xiaoyin Pier and allocate funds to help the victims!¡± ¡°Oh my Buddha, Heaven and Bodhisattva.¡± Ye Mao was horrified, ¡°Does this person have a death wish?¡± The man behind him smiled softly, shook his folding fan, and walked out of the palace leisurely. Feng Ling¡¯s forehead was pressed against the icy ground, and his heart was full of equanimity in facing death. Just how many predecessors did not fear imperial power for the sake of the common people, and today for the sake of the world, he would¡ª¡ª ¡°I¡ª¡ªZhen knows, Zhen has a headache, you will go back first.¡± (TN: imperial ¡®we¡¯ used by the emperor) Feng Ling: ¡°¡­..Ah?¡± ¡°Zhen said¡­..¡± The gauze curtains were lifted, revealing the beautifully handsome and gentle face of the young emperor, ¡°Zhen is a little tired, you will go back first, this matter will be discussed later.¡± ¡°Ye Gonggong.¡± On the way out of the palace to return to his manor, the imperial scholar who was still full of equanimity at facing death was suddenly a little worried, ¡°What does His Majesty mean?¡± ¡°How do I know this?¡± Ye Mao flicked the whisk from his left arm to his right calmly, ¡°The heart of the divine one is unpredictable, His Majesty is so tolerant of Lord Feng, then Lord Feng should just accept it, there is no need to worry about it.¡± (TN: divine one, or sheng shang, is the courtier¡¯s or minister¡¯s form of address for the current Emperor) Of course, there was no need to worry too much, His Majesty clearly wanted to admit you to the palace harem. ¡°Really?¡± Feng Ling was stunned for a while, ¡°Presumably His Majesty was¡­..moved by the sincerity of this lower official. I hope His Majesty will condescend to accept this lower official¡¯s words and save the people in the southwest from the drought.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Ye Mao turned his head silently to the other side, it might be better if you just go back and burn incense for yourself. In the Ping An Palace. Jing Ye dismissed all the maids and attendants out of the palace residence and stood on the steps in front of the dragon bed by himself. The underworld judge said that this little emperor¡¯s life had already run its course, but the imperial Jing family could not die out, so he specially granted him a 5,000-year-old gift bag from the underworld, so that he may be reborn and live again in a new shell, and by the way, guarantee the Jing family line could be extended for several hundred more years. ¡°You can do it.¡± He still remembered the underworld judge¡¯s sinister smile. Jing Ye touched the edge of the bed and sat down. This person was also called Jing Ye. He was twenty years old. When the previous emperor was still alive, he was the fifteenth son known as the Prince of Duan. The fourteen older brothers ahead of him in the line of succession all died or became disabled miraculously. In the end, he was supported by the empress, now the deceased empress dowager onto the throne. The Prince of Duan was a tyrant with no special characteristics, but the male attendants in the harem however, did have their own special characteristics. Lin Xiaosheng, the son of Jiangnan silk merchant, Gu Hong, the grandson of the previous emperor¡¯s prime minister, Li Tingqiu, who was the third place in the gold list for the top imperial examination candidates¡­.. Forget it, too many to count. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Ye Mao¡¯s voice came from outside of the palace, ¡°Are you hungry? Will there be a need for breakfast?¡± Breakfast. Jing Ye looked out the window, it was noon now, ¡°Call for the meal.¡± Soon, the palace maids filed in and filled the table with dishes. Jing Ye slowly ate with the chopsticks, and decided to start with small things first. ¡°The expenses in the palace will be reduced in the future.¡± He tried his best to make his tone similar to that of the young man in his memory, ¡°Zhen will usually eat no more than five dishes each meal.¡± Ye Mao was completely stunned, what did this little ancestor say? Jing Ye took two bites and said again, ¡°What did Feng¡­..Ling say about a pier?¡± ¡°Xiaoyin Pier.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of building it?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a garden that His Majesty built to make Lin Gongzi happy?¡± Ye Mao looked at Jing Ye¡¯s face carefully, ¡°In order to build this garden to resemble a fairy¡¯s dwelling, it still costs money to¡­..¡± (TN: polite term to refer to young men of fine standing in ancient times, can be translated as ¡®young master¡¯) ¡°Speak directly,¡± Jing Ye paused his chopsticks, ¡°how much does it cost?¡± ¡°Probably¡­..more than 40,000 taels of silver.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Jing Ye¡¯s eyelids jumped, indeed this was really a prodigal son. He picked up the chopsticks again and looked up at Ye Mao who was serving him with his back bowed. ¡°Relay¡­..Zhen¡¯s words, tomorrow on the fifth watch morning assembly resumes, and there will be no delay.¡± (TN: refer to the fifth of the five night watch periods 03:00-05:00 used in ancient times) CH 2 After lunch, a little palace maid came forward with the medicine. Ye Mao bent over and said, ¡°Your Majesty, please drink some medicine.¡± Jing Ye took a sip, it was sweet. The emperor was very disgusted with bitter medicine. When he was in a bad mood, after drinking each bowl of medicine he would kill a palace servant. So the imperial medical college painstakingly developed a prescription to suppress the taste of bitterness and save lives. You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) After drinking the medicine, he felt sleepy, so Ye Mao served Jing Ye to lie down, and the latter instructed: ¡°Wake Zhen after an hour.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Mao felt strange but he bent down into a bow and stepped back. Jing Ye didn¡¯t sleep well, and he seemed to see a figure swaying around him while in a half asleep half awake state. No, that shouldn¡¯t be right, he lived alone in his apartment¡­.. No, it was not right indeed. Jing Ye suddenly opened his eyes, he was no longer the bachelor Jing Ye. The person reached out and touched his forehead: ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Jing Ye shifted his gaze to the left, and saw that it was the man he saw that morning, the one he had kicked out of bed, so he toughened his skin and asked, ¡°Why¡­..why is qing here?¡± (TN: term used by the emperor for his subjects) ¡°Your Majesty says this in such a reluctant manner.¡± The man showed a look of grievance and bit his folding fan, ¡°This subject is just worried about Your Majesty, so this subject couldn¡¯t help but come and see Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Zhen is fine.¡± Jing Ye moved back a little, ¡°Qing should go back to your palace first, Zhen will have someone call you over if there is anything.¡± The man stared at him without speaking. ¡°Lu Qing?¡± Jing Ye: ¡°Enough, qing shall go back to your palace first¡­..¡± The emperor was at the age where one was on the cusp between adolescence and maturity, with a narrow waist and flexible, slender limbs. It was all wrapped in a layer of snow-white inner robes, of which the loose collar gaped open, revealing the delicate and beautiful undulating lines from the neck to the chest that gradually disappeared into the collar, inciting an urge to tear off that layer of covering in all those who saw it¡­.. The man¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed, and he knew that his heart was moved. This had never happened before. Maybe it was because this person¡¯s expression was too gentle, or maybe it was because he behaved like a stranger when he woke up that morning. ¡°Lu Qing, you¡­..¡± Jing Ye thought for a while, and wanted to persuade again, ¡°You¡­..uh, mph! What are you doing?!¡± The man had already taken off his shoes and climbed up on the dragon bed. While covering the emperor¡¯s mouth with his own lips, he stretched out his hand to stroke the tender waistline that made him suddenly aroused. He was excited like never before: ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s words are too heartless, if this subject does not express my loyalty now¡­..¡± The tongue easily slipped past the soft lips, entangling and rubbing with the other¡¯s tongue. ¡°¡­..Your Majesty will definitely forget about this subject.¡± Jing Ye felt that his CPU was instantly heated and burnt up! Brother, do your family know that you are so bold and unrestrained! But¡­..cough, it did feel good¡­.. Jing Ye blushed and let his thoughts run for a while, and when he came to he found that the other¡¯s slender hands had already slipped through the hem of his clothes, one hand gently caressing his ribs, and the other kneading his waist. Jing Ye pushed his face away with all his might, their lips and tongues finally parting, a thin strand of saliva still connecting them. So the man descended downwards and kissed his chin and neck instead. ¡°Bang!¡± With a loud noise, the man was forced to hug the earth for the second time today. ¡°Go back to your palace right now.¡± Jing Ye hurriedly tugged his clothes. ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± ¡°And you are forbidden to go out!¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± The man sat on the ground unashamedly and smiled, ¡°Your Majesty is really willing to not see me?¡± ¡°Out, out, out.¡± The man stood up and picked up the folding fan: ¡°Then this subject will really be leaving.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The man walked out with a smile, made a turn out the palace gate, and nodded to Ye Mao: ¡°Ye Gonggong.¡± Ye Mao nodded, and the two passed each other by. Jing Ye sat on the bed in a daze for a while. Ye Mao walked in silently and said, ¡°Your Majesty, do you want to get up?¡± ¡°En? ¡­..It¡¯s Ye Mao.¡± Jing Ye raised his head, ¡°Lu Gongzi can actually come and go in and out of Zhen¡¯s bedroom at will?¡± Ye Mao broke into a cold sweat as soon as he heard this: ¡°This¡­..¡± He served the emperor all year round for many years now, so he knew all the signs and immediately knelt down on the ground, ¡°This servant deserves death, seeing Your Majesty feeling unhappy after getting up this morning, this servant let Lu Gongzi in without authorization. Your Majesty, please punish this servant.¡± ¡°You should be punished.¡± Jing Ye twitched the corners of his mouth, ¡°But for the sake of loyal intentions, for now you will remember this for¡­..Zhen. If you commit this wrong again in the future, it will not be tolerated.¡± ¡°Yes, thanking Your Majesty.¡± ¡°In the future, any place where Zhen is will not be allowed to enter by anyone without permission.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Mao responded hurriedly. Jing Ye sat on the bed in a daze for another while, then slowly said, ¡°How long has Zhen slept?¡± ¡°It has not been fully an hour yet.¡± He pondered for a while and made up his mind: ¡°Zhen will go to the imperial study.¡± Ye Mao hurriedly got up and called the palace maids to come in to serve. After finishing dressing, he sat on the imperial sedan and the procession made their way to the imperial study. The arrival of the emperor nearly scared to death the maids and eunuchs who were responsible for cleaning the imperial study. The emperor had only come here once half a year ago because a maid from the imperial study had tried to seduce Li Gongzi, and all the maids in the entire study were buried with her. The study was cleaned as if it was visited by people every day, and the attendants did not dare to slack off, for fear that one day the emperor¡¯s interest was aroused and he would get angry and kill again. The memorials on the desk were piled terrifyingly high, and when Jing Ye reached out to touch it, it fell all over the floor in an instant. A little eunuch hurried forward and knelt down to clean up. Jing Ye withdrew his hand, feeling that the matter at hand was not simply any ordinary problem. He turned around: ¡°Ye Mao.¡± ¡°This servant is here.¡± ¡°Have someone move the memorials of the most recent seven days to the table, and take the rest down for now.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jing Ye thought for a while: ¡°And summon Lord Feng from yesterday.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Mao stepped back, walked outside the door and took a deep breath, believing to have found the true meaning of His Majesty¡¯s actions. Sure enough, the new favorite had become Lord Feng? His Majesty even abandoned the harem because of him. He used to think that only talent and appearance like that of Lin Gongzi could hold His Majesty¡¯s heart. But who knew¡­.. The emperor¡¯s taste changed too suddenly. Yesterday, it was still a taste for peerless beauty, but today it was a taste for quaint prettiness. Ai. Ye Mao personally went to Feng Manor to announce the decree. Madam Feng was so frightened that she fainted on the spot. After she woke up, she hugged Feng Ling and cried bitterly, ¡°My miserable son¡ª¡ª¡± Old Lord Feng¡¯s beard trembled with anger: ¡°This incapable ruler! This incapable ruler!¡± Ye Mao pretended to be deaf on the side, go ahead and scold, please go ahead, you are an elder statesman of the current dynasty, and it is not completely disallowed for you to do a bit of scolding. Feng Ling was still in a daze: ¡°Why does Mother mourn so much? This son just went to the palace to persuade His Majesty to take care of government affairs¡­..¡± Lord Feng, what the Emperor fell for must be your innocence. Ye Gonggong thought silently. ¡°Fool!¡± Old Lord Feng couldn¡¯t hold it anymore, and rushed over to hug both wife and son as he cried, ¡°How many years has it been since the emperor entered the imperial study? Handle government affairs? So long as he doesn¡¯t kill this old man and all the ministers, that is something to be grateful for! Heaven is blind, I¡¯m afraid the Feng family branch in the capital will die out in the hands of that incapable ruler!¡± The couple hung on Feng Ling and cried bitterly. ¡°If that is truly the case, then it is no matter.¡± Feng Ling was silent for a while, and suddenly his eyes flashed with brilliance, ¡°Even if I really enter the palace harem, I will move the emperor with all my sincerity and save the people of the world!¡± ¡°Pfft¡ª¡ª¡± This was old Lord Feng vomiting blood. Ye Gonggong covered his face and couldn¡¯t bear to look directly. When Feng Ling was led into the study, Jing Ye was looking at the memorials at the desk. If he had always been like this, then he might indeed be a rare sage ruler of the world. He thought to himself privately. ¡°Feng Qing.¡± Jing Ye closed the memorial after he looked up and saw him, ¡°Zhen wants you to help Zhen read these memorials, as you know, ahem, Zhen has not read them for a long time, the process is a little bit unfamiliar¡­..¡± ¡°This official pays respects to Your Majesty.¡± Feng Ling flapped his long sleeves and knelt before the desk, ¡°It is the blessing of this official to be able to share the worries for Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Rise.¡± Jing Ye walked out from the desk and stretched out his hand to help him get up, ¡°In the past few years, the cabinet ministers have been taking care of the memorials. Qing¡¯s father was a cabinet minister, and Qing is also from the Hanlin Academy, so you must be familiar with this. If Zhen wants to take care of the affairs of the state, Zhen naturally has to be familiar with state affairs first.¡± Feng Ling got up and raised his head, seeing the young emperor smiling at him brightly, his expression gentle. Thinking of all the speculations before entering the room, he couldn¡¯t help blushing. ¡°Feng Qing?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± He came back to his senses and hurriedly lowered his head to respond, ¡°Yes, this official shall follow Your Majesty¡¯s orders.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) The two of them inspected state affairs in the study and were busy all afternoon. On the other side, Ye Gonggong led the palace servants to stand far away, and not knowing what was going on, he couldn¡¯t help sighing. It has been such a long time yet they still haven¡¯t come out¡­..His Majesty wouldn¡¯t just use force, right? CH 3 Click, click. The sound of chess pieces shook away sleep. Li Tingqiu played white. After placing down one piece, Gu Hong, who was sitting opposite, laughed: ¡°Wrong.¡± He took a closer look, and sure enough, he made a mistake. He accidentally lost the whole game, so he simply threw down his white chess piece: ¡°Forget it, forget it, I¡¯m originally not as good as you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re distracted.¡± Lin Xiaosheng leaned on the soft couch and smiled, ¡°You¡¯re thoughts are preoccupied, is it because His Majesty hasn¡¯t looked for you for a few days and you miss him?¡± ¡°Do not mention that incapable ruler.¡± Li Tingqiu said coldly, pressing his hands down on the chessboard, ¡°In the morning, the son of the Feng family entered the palace to plead for the people, but he was not punished by him. After noon, he was called into the imperial study again, and he has not come out yet.¡± ¡°Oh, the little son of the Feng family.¡± Lin Xiaosheng stroked his chin, ¡°I heard that he is very good at tou hu. After entering the palace, I can ask him to relieve my boredom.¡± (TN: ancient banquet game of throwing arrows into a pot, the winner determined by the number of arrows thrown in, and the loser required to drink as punishment) ¡°Don¡¯t be sarcastic.¡± Li Tingqiu gritted his teeth, ¡°The Feng family has a clean, honorable name from generation to generation, they do not marry into the imperial family nor are they fawning officials. But now, the palace will have a Feng Gongzi!¡± Lin Xiaosheng asked Gu Hong, ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Cang? Didn¡¯t he go last night?¡± ¡°He was kicked out of bed.¡± Gu Hong raised his eyebrows, ¡°Though he came out with a smug face.¡± ¡°This is strange. Didn¡¯t he always look down on him? If it wasn¡¯t for the emperor arranging for the palace maids to watch over us, I don¡¯t know how many birds and butterflies would be flying around him.¡± ¡°En.¡± Gu Hong slowly packed up the pieces on the chessboard, ¡°Ting Qiu, if you are worried, go and ask Ye Mao.¡± Li Tingqiu¡¯s gaze was heavy, and he got up and walked out: ¡°I know.¡± ¡°It is thanks to Feng Qing today.¡± The night was upon them and Jing Ye stood smiling at the door of the imperial study. Feng Ling bowed his head and cupped his hands: ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s diligence in government is the blessing of the common people. This official is just a scholar who is willing to serve His Majesty and the common people¡­..¡± Ye Mao stood behind Jing Ye and looked at the two of them carefully: their hair was as meticulous as before, their clothes neat and orderly, there was no blush on the face, nor were there any hickeys on the neck. How strange. Jing Ye smiled slightly, his long eyelashes covering his pupils: ¡°Towards Feng Qing¡¯ sincere heart, Zhen understands. Ye Mao.¡± ¡°Ai, ai.¡± Ye Mao hurriedly took two steps forward, ¡°This servant is here.¡± ¡°Get someone to escort Lord Feng back to the manor.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°This minister will retire first.¡± Jing Ye watched Feng Ling salute and turn around, following the attendant and gradually walking away. Only then did he take a step: ¡°Go back to the Ping An Palace.¡± Ye Mao assisted the emperor up the imperial sedan. After much thought, he still asked carefully: ¡°Your Majesty, tonight¡­..who should be called?¡± Jing Ye: ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°That is, uh, the gongzi who shall serve tonight is¡­..¡± Jing Ye was stunned for a moment, then became furious. I already made it so obvious, what are you, blind?! While maintaining the illusion of warmth and gentleness, he scolded Ye Gonggong and the stubborn stereotypes he represented. The young emperor then said softly, ¡°No need.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask again from now on. Zhen won¡¯t call the male concubines of the harem again.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, this¡­..¡± Jing Ye stopped talking and raised his hand to signal the imperial sedan to move forward. Leaving the shocked Ye Gonggong in the night wind alone. ¡­..Oh, please no. At the fifth watch the next day, all the officials waited in Taihe Hall according to their orders, but the emperor did not come. After waiting for a stick of incense, there was a lot of discussion in the hall. ¡°What is His Majesty planning to do now?¡± ¡°How do I know that?¡± ¡°Is it possible that there is something novel?¡± ¡°Who knows, do you still remember that Lord Zhao from three months ago?¡± ¡°Ai¡­..aiya aiya, stop talking, if this goes on, it¡¯s better to resign as soon as possible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also hard to resign¡­..¡± At the same time, Jing Ye was rushing through the imperial garden, followed by a group of palace maids and eunuchs, headed by Ye Mao. Ye Gonggong: ¡°Your Majesty, please get on the imperial sedan, it would not be good to hurt your foot while walking there.¡± Jing Ye glanced back, turned his head in disgust, and continued to walk forward. My good ancestor master. Ye Mao¡¯s heart was full of bitter tears, what new tricks are you going to play that you are so eager and impatient? Jing Ye just hurried single mindedly on the road, but he didn¡¯t notice that a green corner of a robe appeared from behind the branches and leaves of the shrubbery and trees around him. Immediately, there was a dull collision sound on the ground, and an embroidered ball, the size of a palm, rolled to the center of the path. It stopped in front of Jing Ye. He paused, this embroidered ball looked too familiar. The person who embroidered this embroidered ball was the eldest daughter of Lord Zhao of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. Three months ago, Lord Zhao was charged with ¡°corruption and bribery¡±, and the whole family was imprisoned. The innocent eldest daughter could have been exonerated, but the emperor saw the embroidered ball with her own name embroidered on it that she had given to Li Tingqiu and ended up being tortured to death in the prison. Jing Ye took two steps forward and picked up the little embroidered ball. Immediately afterward, the branches and leaves beside him trembled slightly, and a beautiful man walked out of the shade of flowers. Even though he had seen it many times in his memory, Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help but be amazed at this moment. Rumor had it that the young man placed third on the imperial palace examination was talented in obscure arts, learned in martial arts, and was beautiful in appearance. He was called ¡°jade person¡± by the people of the world. In the palace exam, he once wrote a resplendent article, which won the respect of all the old officials. So the little emperor who was dozing on the dragon chair woke up and after a glimpse¡­..snatched him back to the harem. Jing Ye was lost in his thoughts, but then he saw the other standing in front of him, bowing over slightly and saying, ¡°This subject Li Tingqiu, pays respects to Your Majesty.¡± Jing Ye paused briefly, then bypassed Li Tingqiu and continued to Taihe Hall. When he passed in front of the man, he put the embroidered ball back into his hand. Li Tingqiu raised his eyes, but only saw the group of palace servants trailing behind Jing Ye, all walking past him with their heads lowered. Jing Ye sat on the dragon chair with a stern face, and all the officials knelt down together, shouting, ¡°Long live my emperor!¡± Jing Ye waited for the courtiers to stand up again. The Prime Minister of the Right, who was over sixty years old, also stood up precariously, and opened his mouth, carefully thinking of what to say. ¡°Zhen wishes to stop repairing Xiaoyin Pier from today, and allocate 300,000 taels to help the victims in the southwest.¡± All the officials were in an uproar, and the Prime Minister of the Right¡¯s body almost fell to the ground from the shock. The officials were restless for a while, and then the Minister of Works stepped forward: ¡°Your Majesty, most of the Xiaoyin Pier project is half finished, by stopping the construction now, that would be abandoning the former progress.¡± Looking at that fat head and big ears of yours, you must be a sycophantic little villain. Jing Ye thought for a while and said, ¡°Zhen has no interest in it anymore. If you want to construct it, you can continue to do so.¡± ¡°This¡­..¡± The Minister of Works was so frightened when he heard that tone that he fell down: ¡°Your Majesty, please forgive me!¡± Jing Ye ignored him, paused, and then continued, ¡°Tang Hongwen, Yin Yuan.¡± The officials whose names were called looked at each other, and came out tremblingly: ¡°This official is here.¡± ¡°Zhen orders you both to immediately purchase food supplies and send them to the southwest, and you must leave within three days without error.¡± The two of them were so frightened that their legs were weakened, and they hurriedly bowed down and said, ¡°This official will not fail Your Majesty¡¯s mission!¡± ¡°Good.¡± Jing Ye nodded, showing a measured smile at the right time, and read out the decree he had prepared in his mind in advance, ¡°Zhen decrees the reinstatement of old Prime Minister Gu, who has retired to the southwest under the late emperor, in the position of the Prime Minister of the Left. The old prime minister does not have to leave immediately, but may stay in the southwest to manage the disaster. Zhen promises the Prime Minister of the Left the authority to transfer resources, promote officials, appoint citizens to official positions, execute corrupt officials, with the imperial edict as the proof¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..Zhen has finished speaking, do any of you still have memorials to present?¡± All the officials were terrified into a daze. ¡°Nothing? Then dismissed.¡± After evening, night fell. Ye Mao led a group of palace maids and eunuchs to stand guard far away from the imperial study. He saw the light of two palace lanterns coming closer and closer, and when they were fully in sight, he realized that it was Gu Hong. ¡°Gu Gongzi.¡± Ye Mao bowed and saluted. ¡°Ye Gonggong.¡± Gu Hong said with a slight smile, ¡°Why is gonggong standing here?¡± Ye Mao pointed his whisk behind him: ¡°You see, His Majesty is inside.¡± Gu Hong looked at the lights in the study: ¡°How long has it been?¡± ¡°His Majesty entered the imperial study after taking a noon nap.¡± Ye Mao sighed, ¡°and has stayed until now. Dinner was also skipped.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Gu Hong was lost in his thoughts for a while before he turned around and smiled at Ye Mao: ¡°His Majesty has changed so much, isn¡¯t it strange, gonggong?¡± ¡°This, well. His Majesty is His Majesty.¡± Ye Mao squinted, ¡°This servant has served the master for more than ten years, no matter how he changes, this servant must still follow at his side.¡± These words were decisive, and Gu Hong chuckled: ¡°I understand, if that¡¯s the case¡­..Ruo Shui will take my leave now.¡± ¡°Gu Gongzi, please walk slowly.¡± Ye Mao bowed slightly. Jing Ye sat in the study until late into the night before returning to his palace residence, and was too lazy to bother with dinner. ¡°Just now, Gu Gongzi came here.¡± Jing Ye ate two bites of cake before going to bed. Ye Mao came up to serve him in changing clothes, saying carefully while looking at his face. ¡°Gu Gongzi?¡± Jing Ye concentrated, ¡°Is he the youngest son of Prime Minister Gu.¡± Thinking of those beauties gave him a headache. It was enough to have one person to accompany you in life. To find such a group of people, was it not the same as finding trouble for yourself? Jing Ye suddenly remembered the blushing Lord Feng, who looked upright and delicious, now such a person was suitable to be a life partner¡­.. A little eunuch came in and reported: ¡°Your Majesty, Lord Feng is asking for an audience.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± The clothes that had been half taken off had to be put back on again. After tidying himself up, Jing Ye left the bedroom and came to the main hall. And saw that Feng Ling was standing alone in the hall, seeming to be lost in thoughts. Jing Ye smiled, raised his hand to stop the little eunuch who was about to announce loudly, sneaked up to Feng Ling and said with a smile, ¡°What is Feng Qing thinking?¡± This startled Lord Feng, and he stumbled and almost fell to the ground: ¡°When has Your Majesty arrived? This official is guilty of not welcoming you.¡± ¡°It is of no matter.¡± Jing Ye smiled and helped him up, ¡°Zhen told them not to announce.¡± It was such a waste to not tease this cutie a bit. ¡°The night is chilly, why did qing come here?¡± ¡°This official¡­..¡± Lord Feng blushed again, ¡°Today during morning assembly, Your Majesty made a decree to help the people in the southwest, and this official wants to thank Your Majesty for listening to this official¡¯s advice. This official disturbed Your Majesty yesterday morning, and asks Your Majesty to please punish me.¡± If you want to compliment me then compliment me, if you want to apologize then apologize, what are you so shy about? ¡°It¡¯s natural for a ruler to care about his people. As for punishment, it¡¯s just a trivial matter, why is qing so serious?¡± Jing Ye thought with some effort before speaking all these ancient style words, ¡°It¡¯s late at night, Zhen will send someone to escort you back.¡± ¡°This official thanks Your Majesty.¡± Jing Ye watched little Lord Feng salute him solemnly, and then retreat solemnly. Suddenly, he felt that being this emperor was not so tiring anymore. CH 4 Ye Mao once again took on the important responsibility of escorting the future imperial consort home. He really didn¡¯t understand, the night was so deep and his face was so red, yet the emperor actually sent him out. Take him away! Throw him on the bed! Press down! You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Wasn¡¯t spending a harmonious night a pleasant thing? ¡°Ye Gonggong.¡± Feng Ling suddenly said, ¡°His Majesty¡­..what was he like in the past?¡± Ye Mao raised his eyebrows: ¡°Like what the officials said.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Feng Ling sighed lightly, ¡°If His Majesty was like what this official sees now, would so many common people still suffer?¡± Ye Mao turned his face away: ¡°There is no need to talk about the past, Lord Feng, please assist His Majesty with all your heart.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Inside Yiyuan Hall. Lin Xiaosheng picked up another account book, flicked it, and opened it to take a closer look. His book attendant Mo Yan brought a bowl of strange ice-blue liquid: ¡°Gongzi, it¡¯s time to drink the medicine.¡± ¡°I drank for so many years, but I don¡¯t see it ever having any use.¡± Lin Xiaosheng put down the account book in his hand, and rubbed the corners of his eyes with his fingertips. ¡°Gongzi, don¡¯t say that.¡± Mo Yan took out a small sachet from the cabinet, opened it, and picked out a small round dried fruit wrapped in gold paper, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for this thing, how could Gongzi end up in the palace?¡± After the dried fruit slid into the blue liquid, it seemed to be suddenly given life, gradually stretched, bloomed, and turned into a beautiful ice-blue flower. Lin Xiaosheng watched quietly, and suddenly said, ¡°I heard that our little majesty is going to summon Elder Gu to return to court?¡± ¡°Very so, I wonder what this incapable ruler is thinking of this time.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Lin Xiaosheng smiled, ¡°Allocating money to the southwest, what a big gesture.¡± Jing Ye sat on the brocade couch and looked through the memorials. After a long time, he felt dizzy. It was really not easy to be the emperor. ¡°Your Majesty, please rest.¡± Ye Mao bent over, ¡°If Your Majesty wakes up and wants something, this servant will be outside.¡± ¡°En.¡± Jing Ye turned around and stepped onto the platform, opened the curtains and went to bed. Seeing this, Ye Mao blew out the lights outside the curtains, and quietly retreated out. A good night¡¯s sleep. The next few days were miserable for Jing Ye. F**k, I finally know why a good emperor would die of exhaustion! Everyday getting up at 5:00 in the morning! Everyday approving memorials until late into the night! Everyday discussing government affairs in court until lunch was missed! Especially when in front of a group of officials who were as timid as quails, one had to use a smile like a spring breeze, witty and interesting language and powerful restraint and patience, like those mommy teachers in kindergarten to encourage them to open mouths that seemed as if they had never once opened since the Big Bang. Some officials who have been scared into peeing in their pants, even if they opened their mouths, they would only say ¡°What Your Majesty said is very true¡± or ¡°What Your Majesty said is very true indeed¡± or ¡°What Your Majesty said is very¡­..very, very true indeed¡±. F**k, do you dare to speak human! If not I¡¯ll have you dragged out in front of a firing squad, believe it or not! Jing Ye couldn¡¯t vent his anger, so he would flip the table in the imperial study every day. Three days later, for once there were few memorials on this day, and after it was completely dark, Jing Ye walked out of the imperial study with billowing dark clouds over his head. ¡°Ye Mao, Zhen will not be staying in the imperial study room today, go back to the palace.¡± ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± A clear male voice sounded. Jing Ye was startled and raised his head. The young man in front of him had long eyebrows on his temples, eyes like black lacquer, and a little cinnabar beauty mark on his forehead that did not add feminine beauty, but instead conveyed the meaning of Buddha. This pure and aloof appearance was really like a god or Buddha who was compassionate to the world. Made one want to pull him off his divine pedestal. Jing Ye tried his best to hide his bobbing throat which was currently swallowing drool: ¡°Gu Qing.¡± Gu Hong raised his eyebrows and smiled: ¡°This subject has doubts in my heart, this subject begs Your Majesty to clear them up.¡± ¡°This¡­..¡± Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help but smile as well, ¡°Then Gu Qing can follow Zhen, and we shall talk while walking.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The weather was fine that day, and in the evening, the sky was full of stars. The two walked side by side on the palace road. ¡°What this subject wants to ask is His Majesty yourself.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Jing Ye was stunned, he didn¡¯t expect him to be so direct. ¡°This subject wants to ask Your Majesty.¡± Gu Hong turned his head, ¡°Why did Your Majesty¡¯s temperament change so much?¡± Jing Ye was speechless. Gu Hong suddenly stopped walking. Jing Ye: ¡°Hai, Gu Qing, I¡¯m afraid Zhen can¡¯t¡­..mmph?!¡± Ye Mao and the palace servants tacitly stepped back five feet. Jing Ye immediately closed his mouth tightly, so Gu Hong stretched out his hand and pinched Jing Ye¡¯s waist. The latter gasped, and Gu Hong took the opportunity to dive in, finding and intertwining their tongues. There were tears in Jing Ye¡¯s eyes: Big brother, you are really ruthless. ¡°Mmph, mmph¡­..¡± Kissing was one of the most intimate gestures in the world. Two people blending each other¡¯s breaths, exchanging saliva, and entrusting the softest place to each other. Jing Ye was dizzy for a long time before he finally woke up from the snare of the beauty. At this time, their lips and tongues had long been separated. Gu Hong was rubbing against his cheek, licking and kissing the saliva trailing down from his lips, and also had his hand on his waist. ¡°Uhh¡­..¡± Jing Ye shed tears for his low integrity, he was actually reluctant to part from the other! Was it because he had been abstinent for too long?! Gu Hong let go of him slightly and asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°Your Majesty?¡± Jing Ye suddenly pinched his chin. Gu Hong: ¡°?¡± ¡°Why do you get to take the lead.¡± Jing Ye panted angrily and stretched out his hand to wrap around the other¡¯s waist. ¡°Again.¡± After returning to the palace, Ye Mao gently summoned the palace servants to serve the meal. After the meal, he gently served the emperor in bathing and changing clothes. Because the icy aura emitting from the emperor had almost enveloped the entire Ping An Palace. What was there to be irritated about. Ye Mao sighed while serving, just because Your Majesty was molested for a little bit, but it was you who snatched people into the palace and reveled every night. Besides, didn¡¯t you also kiss back? Jing Ye gritted his teeth angrily, why was his initial reaction so weak! To be overwhelmed by another man¡¯s aura, as a man, he couldn¡¯t accept that! Both master and servant fell asleep with their own thoughts. The next day, after attending morning assembly, which made his life shorter by ten years and after a noon nap, Jing Ye sat in the imperial study and began to approve the memorials. After an hour, someone suddenly knocked twice outside the door. Jing Ye didn¡¯t raise his head: ¡°Didn¡¯t Zhen tell you to guard outside?¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± The person outside chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s this subject.¡± Jing Ye¡¯s right hand shook, and the brush left a bright red mark on the approved memorial. He froze, but he still held the brush and added at the end of the memorial: ¡°This was made by accident on Zhen¡¯s desk, in case you would be afraid, Zhen specially left a note.¡± Zhen didn¡¯t hear anything! There was silence outside for a while, and then there was a creak, and the door was pushed open. Gu Hong was dressed in moon-white robes, appearing tall and slender like a jade tree, and his eyebrows were slightly curved: ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Why did qing come here?¡± Jing Ye pulled up a smile, ¡°Zhen will talk with you after Zhen has finished approving the memorials.¡± ¡°Your Majesty is troubled by state affairs, so this subject is here to accompany you.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Gu Hong stepped into the study, put down the tea cups in his hand, placed one in front of Jing Ye and the other on the small table on the emperor¡¯s left side, then took out a miscellaneous book from the bookshelf in the room, and sat down to flip through it. Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± After a fierce inner struggle, he finally kept a hold on his integrity, concentrated his mind and then continued approving memorials. The room was quiet, only the sound of pages being flipped from time to time could be heard. Gu Hong turned over another page with his eyes down. Suddenly, he raised his head silently, and looked at the emperor who was writing at his desk. In the past, those eyes, no matter how beautiful they were, were always murky. Unlike now, they could actually reflect your appearance when they look at you. The edges of his eyes were slanted high, once revealed viciousness and violence, unlike now, which were as warm as spring water. A few days ago, he asked Lu Baizang, why was he so sure that the emperor had changed? The man stroked the corners of his mouth and smiled like a rogue in the marketplace. Truly¡­.. In the end he closed the book and put it on the small table, knocked over the teacup on the side of the table, causing it to hit the ground with a ¡°bang¡±, porcelain shards and tea water splashing everywhere. Jing Ye¡¯s wrist shook again, and there was another red mark with a beautiful arc. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°This subject has disturbed Your Majesty, this subject is guilty.¡± Gu Hong stood up and bowed. Jing Ye was speechless, twice¡­..Qing, why are you not staying in your palace and finding a way to escape, and instead running over here to draw attention to your presence in front of this lecherous tyrant with a criminal record! Do you want to be the empress and save the people of this world that badly! If this is the case, I will call Lord Feng over, and you can both play happily together, dammit! @#£¤%! ! ! ! !¡­..&¡Á¡­.. Jing Ye was too preoccupied with remaining expressionless while cursing in his heart, completely forgetting that the person was still standing there looking at him. When Ye Mao outside the study room heard the sounds, he was immediately energized! Are you finally going to make a move, Your Majesty? But why is it still in the imperial study! In the study, Gu Hong saw that he was just staring at the memorial without moving, so he smiled and leaned down to pick up the shards. Jing Ye finally came to his senses: ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t have to¡­..¡± But it was too late. After Gu Hong picked up three or four pieces, he was finally cut by a sharp porcelain shard. The wound seemed to be deep, and blood was flowing out, streaking down jade white fingers and creating a shocking visual impact. Jing Ye was embarrassed by this spray of dog blood drama out of nowhere. He let out a sympathetic kiss of pain, and shouted loudly: ¡°Ye Mao!¡± ¡°Ai, Your Majesty¡­..¡± Ye Gonggong arrived fashionably late, and when he came in, he realized that it was not what he thought at all, ¡°This, Gu Gongzi¡­..¡± ¡°Scissors, clear water, and silk cloth.¡± Jing Ye didn¡¯t bother to scold him: ¡°Where¡¯s the medicine?¡± ¡°Ai, ai, yes.¡± Ye Mao hurriedly entered the room and quickly brought it all as ordered by Jing Ye. You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Gu Hong watched him use scissors to cut two pieces of silk cloth, one of which was soaked in water to clean the wound on his hand, and then lightly tapped the bottle mouth to sprinkle medicinal powder over the wound, and then wrapped the other piece of silk carefully around his finger. Jing Ye looked up at him, thought about it and asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Gu Hong suddenly felt that these opening and closing lips looked quite delicious. CH 5 The medicine was completely applied soon, and a little eunuch came into the room to clean up the mess, and then exited the room after taking care of it. Jing Ye first scolded Ye Mao, but this time he showed no mercy. He severely deducted Ye Gonggong¡¯s salary for one month, and ordered him not to eat meat for a month¡¯s duration as well. The deduction of a month¡¯s worth of salary was nothing, but when he heard that he couldn¡¯t eat meat, Ye Gonggong, who felt as if he was struck by a thunderbolt, immediately knelt on the ground, hugged the emperor¡¯s calf, and with snot and tears running down his face, he managed to haggle one month down to ten days before he finally retreated with an aggrieved expression. Jing Ye watched the door close again, turned his head and smiled at Gu Hong: ¡°Qing has seen a joke.¡± The corners of Gu Hong¡¯s lips curled slightly upwards: ¡°Ye Gonggong¡¯s loyalty to his master moves this subject.¡± Jing Ye didn¡¯t know what this meant, but he still smiled and went back to the desk to continue approving the memorials. The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. When Gu Gongzi came to the imperial study the next day, Jing Ye was no longer alarmed. He waved his hand to let Ye Mao bring refreshments, and went back to handling governmental duties. The two stayed quietly until nearly evening, when Ye Mao knocked on the door twice: ¡°Your Majesty, Lord Feng asks to see you.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Jing Ye, who had been bored all afternoon, had a smile on his face when he heard this, ¡°Invite him in quickly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Mao answered loudly outside, turned around, and looked at Feng Ling with complicated eyes, ¡°Lord Feng, please go in.¡± Feng Ling was frightened by that hesitant and complicated expression of his: ¡°This lower official has only come to hand over the memorial that wasn¡¯t submitted during the morning assembly. There is no problem, is there?¡± Ye Mao¡¯s head shook like a rattle: ¡°No, no, no.¡± I am just afraid that the emperor will have to drink vinegar on such a hot day like today, ¡°Lord, please go in quickly.¡± (TN: vinegar is slang for jealousy, but it is not clear whether this refers to the MC being jealous or the MC being subjected to a jealous fight between his two MLs) Feng Ling immediately pushed open the door and entered the study, where he saw His Majesty raise his head and smile at him: ¡°Feng Qing.¡± Feng Ling knelt down and bowed: ¡°This official pays respects to Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Rise.¡± Jing Ye shook the memorial that he had just finished in his hand and motioned for him to get up, ¡°You came at a coincidental time, Zhen was just thinking of you.¡± Gu Hong¡¯s hand turning the page paused. ¡°This official¡­..is here to hand over the memorial that has not been submitted.¡± Feng Ling blushed, ¡°Don¡¯t know what orders does Your Majesty has for this official?¡± ¡°Come and help me sort out these memorials.¡± Jing Ye knocked on the tabletop in front of the mountain pile of memorials in front of him, ¡°Ye Mao cannot help with these, so Zhen must rely on you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Feng Ling was about to step forward, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gu Hong sitting on the side, and couldn¡¯t help being shocked: ¡°Gu Gongzi!¡± Gu Hong smiled: ¡°Son of the Feng family, hearing about you cannot compare to seeing you in person.¡± ¡°No, no, no¡­..I am humbled.¡± Feng Ling hurriedly cupped his hands, ¡°Gongzi is famous all over the world, and this lower official dare not take this praise.¡± Jing Ye finished approving a memorial in his hand then looked up and smiled when he saw this situation: ¡°Gu Qing, stop teasing him, he is very thin-skinned and can¡¯t stand it.¡± Every word spoke of protection, they have actually become so intimate? Gu Hong thought deeply in his heart, but the smile on his face did not diminish. Feng Ling stood in front of the desk and organized the memorials for Jing Ye. Because of Gu Hong¡¯s presence, he was not as relaxed as when he was alone. He was also hesitant and stammering when Jing Ye joked with him, making His Majesty the Emperor sigh. When it was almost dark outside, everything was finally done. Jing Ye stood at the door of the imperial study and said goodbye to Feng Ling. ¡°Always asking Qing to take care of these sundries for Zhen, you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s diligent administration is the blessing of the officials and the common people¡­..¡± Feng Ling¡¯s words were actually very boring, either the common people this or the common people that, but Jing Ye understood that for a life partner, he had to find such a person. The emperor smiled and ordered Ye Mao to escort him out of the palace. After seeing the person walking away, he turned around and entered the imperial sedan. Suddenly someone grabbed his hand from behind. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Fingers interlaced with his own, the hand was slender and the grip firm, with thin calluses on the fingertips that come from practicing calligraphy all year round, but it was still very comfortable to hold. Jing Ye was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw Gu Hong¡¯s eyes which were full of smiles, and he was very close to him. The cinnabar red beauty mark in between his brows appeared even more captivating the closer one looked. ¡°Your Majesty, why not go to Yonghua Palace for dinner?¡± His Majesty the Emperor was inadvertently bewitched by beauty: ¡°Ah?¡± Gu Hong¡¯s thin lips came close to his ear. Seeing the man¡¯s ear turn red in front of his eyes, he couldn¡¯t help laughing softly: ¡°This subject has something to show Your Majesty.¡± ¡°This¡­..¡± Jing Ye held firm for three seconds, then disarmed and surrendered, ¡°Fine, Zhen will go take a look.¡± Yonghua Palace was not too far away, so the two walked side by side. But Feng Ling, who was thought by Jing Ye to have long since returned to his manor, was standing still at the moment, murmuring, ¡°Gu Gongzi¡­..seems to sincerely like His Majesty originally?¡± Ye Mao silently covered his face: Playing with people¡¯s hearts or whatever, it was really too cruel. Yonghua Palace. The freshly served tea was at hand, and its fragrance escaped with the steam, bewitching the senses. But Jing Ye didn¡¯t have the heart to taste it at the moment. Gu Hong was sitting on the couch, occasionally raising his eyes to look at the emperor who was reading the document by the desk, his fine features blurred from the steam rising from the tea. After Jing Ye read it once, he carefully rolled it up and put it back on the table. Gu Hong knew what he intended, but smiled slightly: ¡°What does Your Majesty intend?¡± Jing Ye breathed a sigh and tapped the side of his eyes: ¡°Gu Qing should have guessed it.¡± When Gu Hong heard the words, he smiled and said, ¡°This was what he wrote without sleep three days ago. Ting Qiu was born in a drought-prone place and grew up there since he was a child. When he heard about the severe drought in the southwest, he wished he could do more. If Your Majesty could make it happen, then that will be a great virtue.¡± ¡°Zhen knows.¡± Jing Ye smiled helplessly, ¡°In Zhen¡¯s opinion, not only must this article be sent to the southwest, this person.¡± He tapped the piece of paper. ¡°Must also be sent over there.¡± Gu Hong raised his eyebrows and finally became surprised: ¡°Your Majesty is serious?¡± ¡°Very serious.¡± Jing Ye stuffed the scroll into his cuff, turned and walked out the hall. ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s tea.¡± ¡°Not drinking anymore.¡± ¡°Then dinner¡­..¡± ¡°No need.¡± The green jade hanging down the man¡¯s robe swayed, and soon he completely disappeared from sight. ¡°Heh.¡± Gu Hong smiled, ¡°An impatient one.¡± ¡°Teacher.¡± The little eunuch tugged at Ye Mao¡¯s cuff, ¡°The food should still be kept hot?¡± ¡°Still.¡± Ye Mao waved his hand and looked back at His Majesty the Emperor, who was leaning on the armrest in a daze at his desk in the study, ¡°Honestly, just looking at Gu Gongzi can make one full?¡± ¡°Ye Mao.¡± The emperor inside suddenly came back to his senses and shouted. Ye Gonggong leaned forward eagerly: ¡°Ai, Your Majesty, please have dinner.¡± Jing Ye looked out the window: ¡°What dinner, just look at the time. Let me ask you, does Li Gongzi know how to cook?¡± ¡°Li Gongzi?¡± ¡°Li Tingqiu.¡± ¡°This, how could he know this?¡± Ye Mao had a feeling, a feeling that something was going to go wrong, ¡°What does Your Majesty asks this for?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t understand even if it¡¯s explained, hehe.¡± Jing Ye turned his head, a sly and treacherous expression on his face, ¡°Ahahahahaha¡­¡­¡± Ye Gonggong: ¡°¡­..¡± After taking a noon nap the next day, Ye Mao had the palace servants wait outside the imperial study as usual, while he entered to serve the emperor himself. Jing Ye let the other sort out the wrinkles on the corners of his robes for him, and said slowly, ¡°Zhen won¡¯t go to the imperial study today.¡± ¡°En?¡± Ye Mao raised his head in surprise, ¡°Your Majesty is bored? This servant can call someone to place some snacks out in the imperial garden¡­..¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± Jing Ye turned around and walked out, ¡°Zhen is going to Yaoguang Palace.¡± Ye Gonggong: ¡°¡­..Yes. Xiao Lizi, get ready!¡± Your Majesty, could it be that you can no longer bear it? Then what about the innocent Lord Feng! Jing Ye took the carriage to Yaoguang Palace. The staff cleaning outside the palace had likely not seen His Majesty the Emperor in so long, so they were frightened into dropping their brooms, while one servant stumbled in to report, and when he reached the door of the palace, he ended up being tripped by the threshold. Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Soon, the palace servants came out trembling and knelt on the ground: ¡°This servant pays respects to Your Majesty!¡± Only Li Gongzi was not seen. Jing Ye raised his foot and entered the hall. Li Tingqiu sat in front of the desk looking down at a book, ignoring the emperor even as he stood in front of him. Jing Ye stared at him for a while, and finally pulled out the scroll from his sleeve and put it in front of this man. ¡°Is this written by qing?¡± Li Tingqiu glanced over, couldn¡¯t help twitching his brows, and stood up abruptly to collect the scroll. Jing Ye grabbed his wrist. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°This subject does not know my place.¡± Li Gongzi gritted his teeth, ¡°This subject will immediately burn it, Your Majesty does not need to blame others.¡± Jing Ye looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, ¡°You also know that you are guilty?¡± Li Tingqiu lowered his head, with a face as beautiful as jade, and holding a trace of forbearance between his brows and in his eyes. The more he was like this, the more people wanted to see him in despair. ¡°Ting Qiu, Zhen will punish you.¡± Jing Ye stretched out his hand to lift his chin, ¡°Since ancient times, the harem is not allowed to participate in politics, and the concubines should devote all their energy to the emperor¡¯s everyday needs.¡± This person¡¯s slender fingers with distinct knuckles curled up with such force that if he had long nails like that of a woman they would have pierced his palms already. ¡°¡­..Zhen punishes you to use the imperial kitchen in the palace to cook a table of good dishes for Zhen. Yes?¡± ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± As the imperial sedan was carried all the way to the imperial study, Ye Gonggong began to worry about the emperor¡¯s life, ¡°Why make it difficult for Li Gongzi in such a way?¡± Jing Ye yawned: ¡°En? Is this making it difficult for him?¡± Of course, something like eating dinner made by Li Gongzi! Your Majesty, you might as well call all the Gongzis (and little Lord Feng) together to eat it and die together! The kitchen is dangerous, so be careful when teasing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the emperor is not anxious, so what are you anxious for?¡± Jing Ye rubbed his face, ¡°Zhen knows what Zhen is doing, alright?¡± It was nightfall, Jing Ye had approved memorials for seven to eight hours, and psyched himself up to return to Ping An Palace to eat dinner made by Li Tingqiu himself. Only to realize that he was still too naive. In front of the table, Ye Gonggong glanced at His Majesty the Emperor who had no expression on his face, and after a short pause, he still opened his mouth and spoke with trembling hands: ¡°This dish¡­..is called hundreds of splendid flowers greeting the colorful phoenix, which means the flying dragon and phoenix are auspicious, and the world is ptosperous and peaceful.¡± Jing Ye looked down, just wonderful, a pile of of elliptical, rectangular, triangular, and square gelatinous objects all competed for beauty on the dish. He wanted to ask Li Tingqiu if he dared to tell which was the dragon and which was the phoenix! Did he dare! Ye Mao felt that he would not be able to report the names of the dishes anymore: ¡°Your Majesty, are you really eating it?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Jing Ye gripped the tablecloth, took a deep breath and smiled, ¡°If he dares to make it, Zhen also dares to eat it.¡± Ye Gonggong felt that his heart was about to tremble into pieces: ¡°Your Majesty, wait a moment! This servant will go and invite the chef to come!¡± He rushed out, not caring even as he stumbled and tripped. Jing Ye snorted and didn¡¯t stop him. He picked up his chopsticks and chose a piece of pasty looking lump and put it in his mouth. Chew, chew, swallow. That night, the Ping An Palace urgently summoned the imperial physicians of the entire imperial medical college to enter the palace, apparently the emperor was critically ill. CH 6 It was the middle of the night, but Ping An Palace was still bright with the lights lit. The fourth Gongzis, Gu Hong, Li Tingqiu, Lin Xiaosheng, and Lu Baizang all sat quietly in the main hall. Except for the palace servants they brought, there were no servants from Ping An Palace in the hall. Some of the palace servants received the imperial physicians in the sleeping chamber, and some sent prescriptions and ran errands to urge the medicine brewing in the imperial kitchen, and the rest were ordered to go to Junxiang Hall to kneel and pray for the emperor¡¯s health. The situation seemed to be getting worse and worse, and most of the officials in the capital have already received news. Some were happy and some were worried. However, Feng Ling had no time to care about any of this. When he heard the news, he got up and put on his official robes and ran towards the palace, but was stopped by Madam Feng who asked, ¡°What are you doing willingly getting close to that kind of incapable ruler?¡± ¡°Mother!¡± ¡°Let him go.¡± Old Lord Feng stood by the window with his hands behind his back, ¡°If something happens to His Majesty, would we be safe and sound? An incapable dragon is still a dragon. Without a dragon at the head, the world will be thrown into chaos.¡± ¡°The capital will be thrown into chaos.¡± Gu Hong lowered his head and stared at the steam rising from the teacup, ¡°The Jing family line is too sparse. No matter how immoral he was in the past, he is also a proper emperor of the Jing family.¡± The young man frowned slightly, ¡°Do you understand, Ting Qiu?¡± Li Tingqiu was silent. ¡°Lord Tanhua, the emperor treating you like this, aren¡¯t you moved at all?¡± Lu Baizang said with a smile, ¡°If he could eat that slop you made, it definitely proves his devotion to you.¡± (TN: tanhua=third place on the imperial palace examination) Lord Tanhua raised his head and glared at him. ¡°What are you glaring at? The dishes you cooked? Even my Lu Huihui wouldn¡¯t eat it.¡± Lin Xiaosheng laughed aloud: ¡°Lu Huihui dislikes even you, how could it give face to Ting Qiu?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Li Tingqiu: ¡°¡­..¡± The several people naturally went off the topic with ¡°Will Huihui eat a bite if Ting Qiu sacrifices his sex appeal¡± and other similar scenarios, completely ignoring Li Tanhua¡¯s expression that was turning as black as coal. At this time, a small medicine boy suddenly came in from outside and said to Gu Hong, ¡°Gu Gongzi, shifu asks you to go to the side hall to help prepare the prescription.¡± ¡°En.¡± Gu Hong responded and said to the other three: ¡°I¡¯ll leave first, you all can continue to wait. Ting Qiu.¡± He called to a certain someone who had become lost in his thoughts, ¡°The Imperial Army never came to arrest you, I think it was because His Majesty had already relay word before falling into a coma, that you are not to be punished.¡± Li Tanhua froze, and then turned his face to the side in a sulky manner. Gu Hong followed the medicine boy to the side hall, and when he looked up, he saw Feng Ling kneeling silently beside the imperial physicians. Gu Hong was surprised: ¡°Lord Feng.¡± Feng Ling raised his eyes and when he saw it was him, he hurriedly stood up and cupped his hands: ¡°This official is worried about His Majesty, so I came to wait here. I heard that Gu Gongzi¡¯s medical skills are very good, please be attentive.¡± ¡°But of course.¡± Gu Hong smiled, ¡°Lord Feng might as well go back to the manor and wait for the news.¡± ¡°This official¡­..this official will rather wait a little longer.¡± Feng Ling lowered his head, ¡°Gu Gongzi, please go ahead.¡± Gu Hong¡¯s eyes flashed slightly, but he still smiled modestly and went in. Imperial study room. There was no one here. Holding a stack of documents, the black-clothed guard stepped forward and knocked on the door. Soon there were footsteps coming from far to near, and with a creak, the door opened. The black-clothed guard handed over what was in his hand: ¡°According to the Master¡¯s intention, they have all been recorded one by one.¡± The person took it steadily and said, ¡°Good, go back and do not move for now, don¡¯t startle the snake.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After a night of chaos, in the end it was a false alarm. The imperial physicians wiped the sweat from their foreheads, put the heads tied to their belts back on their necks, and went back to their respective homes as tired as a dog. In truth, the most painful thing was the mental torture, alright! For fear that they would be dragged out and executed for not healing the emperor, for fear that the emperor had been cured only for the emperor to say, ¡°How could you useless trash let Zhen be unconscious for so long?¡± or ¡°Zhen¡¯s head hurts to death, was it you, you little bastards?¡± and then had them dragged out and executed. Anyway, the emperor had done all these before. Ye Mao entered the main hall with huge dark circles under his eyes, and said to the four people in the hall, ¡°His Majesty ordered Li Gongzi to see him.¡± Li Tingqiu moved forward silently, and Lu Baizang asked with a smile, ¡°Did His Majesty say anything after waking up?¡± ¡°His Majesty said: That you could extract such a strange poison from everyday cooking ingredients, Li Gongzi is truly a talented person.¡± Li Tingqiu: ¡°¡­..¡± Li Tingqiu followed Ye Mao to the door of the sleeping chamber, and Ye Gonggong bent at the waist: ¡°Gongzi, please wait a moment, this servant will go in and pass the message.¡± The former nodded slightly, and Ye Mao entered the hall and announced, ¡°Your Majesty, Li Gongzi is here.¡± ¡°En?¡± The emperor¡¯s slightly hoarse voice sounded, ¡°Good, let him come in, the sky¡­cough, it¡¯s almost dawn.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too bright, put out two of those lights, cough, cough¡­..¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Ye Mao sighed and had a little eunuch put out the lights. He came out and asked Li Tanhua to enter the hall, ¡°Li Gongzi, please come in.¡± Li Tingqiu followed Ye Mao past several silk screens, and saw the palace servants coming and going, packing up the cushions that the imperial physicians had been sitting on and the tables used to consider the prescriptions. Finally, Ye Mao stopped in front of a beaded curtain, turned and said to him: ¡°His Majesty wants to be alone with Gongzi, so this servant will be waiting outside.¡± He nodded, and when the palace servant lifted the bead curtain, he lowered his head and entered the emperor¡¯s bedroom. He had been here many times. The incapable ruler in the past ignored the government and indulged in song and wine every night, and he would be summoned every few days. Sometimes when he looked at this room, his heart would be full of hatred, hate for the emperor, and hate for himself. The aspirations of serving the country that had never faded for twenty years were buried in this luxurious Ping An Palace. Learn the civil and martial arts, to dedicate to the imperial family. How ironic! Li Tingqiu clenched his fists, raised his head to look at the emperor, but saw that the other was also looking at him. He seemed to be really ill, his cheeks were pale, his eyes were a little dull, his lips were dry and cracked due to dehydration, and he appeared very haggard. The only little palace maid remaining carefully placed behind him a cushion, and then stepped back with her head lowered. ¡°Li Tingqiu.¡± The emperor suddenly called out his name. ¡°This subject is here.¡± He bowed and saluted, his expression ice cold. Jing Ye chuckled: ¡°You really burned that article about¡­..drought management?¡± ¡°Since this subject said that he would burn it, he would definitely burn it.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye looked at him for a while, and couldn¡¯t help shaking his head with a smile, ¡°If Zhen said, Zhen has read your remarks carefully and thought¡­..en, that it is so-so, only somewhat feasible¡­..¡± Li Tingqiu raised his head sharply. ¡°Your Majesty doesn¡¯t need to tease this subject.¡± Lord Tanhua said coldly, ¡°The article has been burned, so there is no need to argue whether it is feasible or not.¡± ¡°Burned? You were actually willing to do so.¡± The emperor smiled and touched under the pillow, taking out a scroll, ¡°Zhen knew you would burn it, so Zhen has kept a copy secretly, how about it?¡± The young man was stunned. ¡°Would an article transcribed by the emperor himself really be lacking?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Li Tingqiu pursed his lips and was speechless. ¡°As soon as you go out later, Ye Mao will read the imperial edict: Imperial Consort Li Tingqiu, disrespects the emperor, prepared a poisonous imperial meal that has caused His Majesty to be in danger, to be taken into custody on the same day, and be demoted to a criminal prisoner.¡± Jing Ye looked at him, and pointed at the article in his hand with his finger, ¡°And shall be exiled to the southwest.¡± There was silence in the room. ¡°Ting Qiu, come closer.¡± Jing Ye suddenly beckoned with his hand. Li Tingqiu hesitated for a while, but walked over, and saw that the other took out another bright yellow object from under the pillow. ¡°Here, Zhen secretly issued another decree to you. You are not allowed to see it now, go out and find a place where there is no one else, and then read it alone.¡± Lord Tanhua with the beautiful jade face hesitantly took the imperial decree and the paper the article was transcribed on, and bowed: ¡°Then this subject will take my leave now.¡± The emperor smiled and said, ¡°Li Tingqiu, Zhen ruined your future in the past, and now Zhen will pay you back.¡± The young man paused, turned around, and left. CH 7 Seeing Li Gongzi leaving Ping An Palace with an expression of realization and holding the scroll, Ye Mao immediately turned around and ran into the emperor¡¯s bedroom. Jing Ye was leaning against the bed, still with the expression of ¡°Go, I¡¯ll let you go, no matter how painful my heart is, I¡¯ll let you go as long as you¡¯re happy¡±. Ye Mao: ¡°Your Majesty, Li Gongzi has left!¡± The expression collapsed. Ye Mao hurriedly stepped forward to help the emperor change into a more comfortable position: ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s performance was really good!¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye remained expressionless, ¡°Zhen wants to wash my face.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡± Ye Gonggong turned around and had the maids bring water and towel, wring it dry, leaned over and wiped the emperor¡¯s face carefully, ¡°This servant notices that the eyes of Your Majesty are really a bit dull.¡± Well, duh, was my transcribing without sleep all night for nothing? Ye Mao continued wiping and asked, ¡°Your Majesty, does your throat still hurt?¡± ¡°Cough, cough¡­..¡± Jing Ye swallowed, his voice hoarse, ¡°Slightly.¡± Li Qing, if you come back again, Zhen would definitely give you the title of the ¡°King of Black Food¡±, who had never come before or would ever come in the future, so that everyone in the world would understand that your cooking skills are even more powerful than your face. The next day, the imperial decree to depose Li Gongzi was sent to Yaoguang Hall. There was also an addition to the emperor¡¯s order: Because of Zhen¡¯s serious illness, the government affairs are to be temporarily managed by the Minister of the Right who shall lead the cabinet, the vermillion ink to be replaced with blue. When the emperor made this move, there was an uproar in the court and once again there was gossip to be discussed. The attitude among the common people was still quite the same. They all sighed at how the jade-like gentleman Lord Tanhua refused to be afraid of using his death to oppose power (although it was the emperor who was poisoned), and finally ended up in a tragic situation of being exiled to a barren land, which only made many infatuated young ladies cry out of heartbreak. The thoughts of the people in the court were much more varied. Some felt sorry for Li Tingqiu having the ability to serve the country but with no way to do so. Some scolded the incapable ruler but could do nothing. Some took into account the diligent administration of the emperor the past few days and faintly noticed something. There were also those sitting on pins and needles, afraid that their precious son/brother/nephew would be snatched by the emperor to fill the harem¡­.. At dusk, in the western part of the capital. ¡°You can accompany a friend for a thousand kilometers, but eventually you will have to say farewell.¡± Gu Hong led the horse behind him and smiled, ¡°The two of them wanted to come to see you off, but after all, they shouldn¡¯t be too ostentatious, so they did not come.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Li Tingqiu lowered his eyes, turned around and stepped on the carriage, but then suddenly stopped: ¡°Ruoshui.¡± ¡°En?¡± ¡°He¡­..what is he doing this for?¡± ¡°What do you say he is doing this for? Why bother with this anymore, you have escaped the cage.¡± The young man was silent for a long time, and finally grabbed onto the wall of the carriage and boarded the carriage: ¡°What Ruoshui said is very true.¡± Gu Hong smiled slightly and watched as the carriage curtains were lowered and the wheels reeled, heading down the road to the southwest. In the palace, Jing Ye could also be said to have relied on Li Tanhua¡¯s blessing, and finally spent a few days living the life of an incapable ruler. Life couldn¡¯t be better at all. If one could ignore some certain people. After lunch at noon, Jing Ye ordered someone to put down the gauze curtain by the window and laid on the soft couch to read a memorial. Although there was no need for the emperor¡¯s personal approval in vermillion ink, there were some things in the memorials that could not be ignored. After reading for a while longer, His Majesty the Emperor, who was diligent in government and loves the people, yawned. After a while, he yawned again, then a third, a fourth, and a fifth time¡­.. Then he fell asleep. The burning ambergris in the jade cauldron slowly floated into the air. The afternoon breeze evoking good dreams. Ye Gonggong was serving outside, and seeing this situation, he instructed the little eunuch beside him: ¡°Tell those palace maids to be quiet, His Majesty is asleep.¡± ¡°Ai, Teacher.¡± As soon as the voice fell, a little palace maid hurried in, Ye Mao held the whisk and pointed at her: ¡°Be quieter.¡± ¡°Gonggong, Lu Gongzi is here.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ye Gonggong startled, ¡°Quick, go and tell the Gongzi that His Majesty is still asleep, change the time¡­..¡± ¡°Change what time?¡± Lu Baizang walked in with a smile, carrying a wooden food box, followed by a few little eunuchs who wanted to stop but didn¡¯t dare. ¡°Ye Gonggong.¡± Ye Mao: ¡°¡­..Lu Gongzi, His Majesty is still asleep.¡± ¡°Asleep?¡± Lu Baizang looked in, ¡°His Majesty had just eaten lunch, right? Sleeping after a meal can lead to indigestion, which is not good for the dragon body. I will go and accompany His Majesty for a chat.¡± After he finished speaking, he raised the bead curtain and was about to enter. ¡°Ai, Lu Gongzi! His Majesty ordered¡­..¡± Ye Mao hurried over to stop him, but a certain someone tripped him with his foot, causing him to fall to the ground. Fortunately, a fleece carpet was placed on it, so it didn¡¯t hurt too much. Lu Baizang chuckled lightly, then lifted the curtain and went in. Lu Baizang walked quietly to the front of the couch. He saw the sun shining through the soft smoke-like gauze curtain to envelop the emperor in a hazy halo. His long feathered eyelashes occasionally trembled slightly, his thin lips were pursed, and he appeared more gentle when asleep. Lu Baizang¡¯s lips curved upwards, he bent down and rubbed the emperor¡¯s gentle profile, and placed the food box on the small table beside the couch. Unfortunately, the food box¡¯s weight caused the memorials that were stacked so high to suddenly become unstable, and they all fell to the ground. Jing Ye was awakened suddenly by the noise. His eyes adjusting to the sunlight, he turned his head and saw Lu Baizang. Jing Ye: ¡°F**k!¡± ¡°What did Your Majesty say?¡± The other raised his eyebrows and smiled. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Jing Ye felt his eyes twitch and he sat up, ¡°Why is qing here?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Lu Gongzi blinked and bit the folding fan again: ¡°Your Majesty, twice.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Twice Your Majesty sees this subject, and all you said is¡­..¡± Lu Baizang looked aggrieved, ¡°Why did qing come here? Your Majesty hates seeing this subject that much?¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..No, Zhen does not mean that.¡± Lu Baizang squinted at him for a while, then smiled again: ¡°This subject made some cakes for Your Majesty, could Your Majesty try it?¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± He even knows how to make cakes. ¡°These are all ones that this subject newly came up with. Your Majesty will definitely like them.¡± Lu Baizang leaned over and smiled. Really? Jing Ye became a little interested, and lowered his head silently, only to see that after the exquisite box lid was lifted, on the luxurious and beautiful agate plate, lay a snow-white chubby steamed bun. But steamed buns won¡¯t have a tail that curls, and a belly that shrinks and stretches! Lu Baizang: ¡°!¡± Jing Ye raised his head sincerely: ¡°Qing, for now Zhen doesn¡¯t want to eat raw pork.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Lu Baizang showed exasperation on his face, and stretched out his hand to pick up the ¡°steamed bun¡± that had curled into an ellipsoid shape: ¡°A moment of carelessness let this little beast startle Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Your pet?¡± Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help laughing. The little guy was lying in the young man¡¯s flat, jade-like palm, flicking its pretty ears from time to time, ¡°Lu Qing has quite the leisurely interest.¡± Lu Baizang looked at the emperor¡¯s expression with clear eyes. When the emperor forced him to enter the palace, he had his attendants throw Lu Huihui into the wasteland when he was off guard, and he was even more disgusted with cats and dogs. A palace maid once raised a stray cat in her room and after being caught by him, it was seized and burned alive in front of the palace gate. But the person in front of him had smiling eyes. Seeing Lu Huihui open its eyes and sniffing around, he stretched out his right hand with palm flat and the little suckling pig immediately jumped up onto it with short stubby legs. Jing Ye rubbed its snow-white fluff: it felt so soft, the meat must be good. ¡­..When faced with the question of how to deal with the cute pet Lu Huihui, the former and current emperor undoubtedly maintained an astonishing consistency. It was a pity that the little stupid pig didn¡¯t feel the murderous intent around it at all, still wagging its tail and trying its best to burrow into the embrace that emitted the sweet fragrance of honey pastry and incense. The emperor poked its round head and smiled softly. Because he had just taken a nap, his hair was not as meticulous as usual, the strands were scattered, his robes were not neat, there was also a sleepy look in his eyes, and his movements were slightly slower than usual, looking rather indolent. Lu Baizang¡¯s eyes darkened, and he said, ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°En?¡± The young man smiled slightly, leaned over closer to the emperor¡¯s temples, picked up Lu Huihui with one hand and tossed it behind him. The little piglet landed on the small table accurately, and then with the momentum of ¡°not defeating the Loulan, we shall not return¡±, plunged into the pile of cakes prepared by the palace servants for the emperor. ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± The young man¡¯s scent tightly enveloped him, and Jing Ye¡¯s right hand shook: Why was there such a strong flavor of erotica again¡­.. ¡°Why does Your Majesty only look at it, is it better looking than this subject?¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± You have high aspirations, comparing your beauty with that of a pig. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª In the afternoon, the ice cubes in the copper basin radiated cold air, the mist rising up into the air, mixed with the scent of ambergris, and gradually filled the entire bedroom. Outside of the bead curtain, Ye Mao and the palace servants had already retired wisely. The hall was silent, echoing the ambiguous moist sounds that made people blush and feel warm all over. When he was so aroused that his guard lowered, Lu Baizang unwittingly slowly let go of the clamped wrists in his hand, slipping his left hand between the other¡¯s legs, and alternately caressed with light and heavy pressure. He was just gently biting and kissing the emperor¡¯s flexible waist when he noticed a hand groping over and gently touching his face: ¡°Lu Qing..¡­¡± When the emperor called with a voice that was slightly hoarse, it seemed to be full of affection, which was quite captivating. Lu Baizang reached out and held it without thought: ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± ¡°Lu Qing.¡± Jing Ye called again in a hoarse voice, ¡°Zhen wants to see you¡­..¡± Lu Baizang couldn¡¯t help feeling his heartbeat taking a drum rhythm, and he subconsciously raised his head to meet the tearful eyes of the emperor. Then¡­.. ¡°Thump!¡± The third time. Let¡¯s wipe a tear for Lu Gongzi with Ye Gonggong. ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± Lu Baizang simply propped up his right leg and leaned against the cool fleece carpet, but a certain part of his body was still so hot and swollen so he could only smile bitterly. ¡°Why are you so heartless to this subject?¡± ¡°If qing can keep your body chaste for three months.¡± Jing Ye closed the torn front of his robes, ¡°Zhen will believe that you have feelings for Zhen.¡± (TN: by chaste I don¡¯t think he is implying that Lu Baizang does it with other people, just stipulating that he must wait three months before they can take it any further) ¡°If qing has feelings for Zhen, then Zhen will not disappoint qing.¡± Lu Baizang was surprised at first, then amused, and then the smile turned into a heavy gaze, ¡°Your Majesty is so greedy.¡± Jing Ye sorted out his clothes and sat at the small table: ¡°Who in the world is not greedy? Are you not greedy?¡± CH 8 ¡°Alright, qing can go back for now.¡± The young man raised his eyebrows and glanced at the emperor who was seated with the clear artitude of seeing off guests, and showed a helpless smile on his face: ¡°Your Majesty avoids this subject like one avoids rats and snakes, but why does this subject still have no resentment?¡± Jing Ye glanced at him coldly, what, do you still want payment as well? You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Lu Baizang stood up from the ground, adjusted the sleeves of his robe, and bowed in a salute: ¡°This subject will take my leave.¡± He turned around, picked up the food box with one hand, and grabbed Lu Huihui, who was immersed in the world of dim sum, and threw it in with the other, his movements a bit rough, causing His Majesty the Emperor to sweat a bit for the little stupid pig. Throwing it like this would affect the quality of the meat. As he thought this, the lid of the box was lifted immediately, and Lu Huihui put his two front legs on the edge of the box against the lid, and his small black bean-like eyes flashed, cheerfully indicating that he was intact. Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Lu Baizang laughed and pressed the little white pig¡¯s head: ¡°When this little beast is not immersed in eating snacks, he¡¯s not that stupid.¡± After the two left the palace, and he could no longer hear any movement outside, Jing Ye slapped the table with a dark face: ¡°Ye Mao!¡± Ye Gonggong sidled out tremblingly: ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± ¡°What were you doing just now?¡± ¡°This servant¡­..¡± Ye Gonggong choked for a moment, then his eyes flickered, he toughened his scalp and replied, ¡°This servant accidentally stepped on dog poop and went back to change.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± So Ye Gonggong was now unable to eat meat for half a year. In the early morning of the next day, the emperor had his breakfast, and a palace servant entered the hall and said, ¡°Your Majesty, Lord Feng asks to see you.¡± Jing Ye¡¯s hand holding the tea paused: ¡°Coming so early?¡± He looked up at Ye Mao, ¡°See him in quickly.¡± Ye Mao responded, and soon, Feng Ling walked in, with a slight hurried pace, he stepped forward and bowed: ¡°Paying respects to Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Feng Qing, rise quickly.¡± Jing Ye put down the teacup, and got up to help him, ¡°When seeing Zhen in the future, there is no need for such etiquette.¡± ¡°Etiquette cannot be abandoned.¡± Lord Feng was very stubborn. ¡°Fine.¡± Jing Ye sighed, ¡°Do as you like.¡± There was an intimacy in his tone, and Feng Ling choked when he heard the words, and couldn¡¯t say any more words of propriety. Jing Ye was still looking at him with a slight smile: ¡°Why has qing come?¡± Feng Ling looked at him and then lowered his head: ¡°Your Majesty was seriously ill the day before yesterday, and this official entered the palace today just to see how Your Majesty is recovering¡­..¡± Jing Ye was stunned for a while, and felt his heart move. He reached out to hold the hand of the person in front of him, and led him into the inner room: ¡°Then why don¡¯t qing assist Zhen with the memorials, just like in the imperial study.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± So Feng Ling knelt down on the small table and sorted out the untidy memorials. The emperor was still lying on the couch, randomly looking through a memorial. After reading for the time a small incense stick burnt down, Jing Ye felt bored, it seemed that after returning to his personal quarters, he had no energy to complete official duties at all! At this time, shouldn¡¯t he be doing something that a normal incapable ruler should do! So His Majesty the Emperor resolutely threw away the memorial, and took out a copy of ¡°Legend of Hede¡± from under the pillow (don¡¯t ask him why it was under the pillow). Feng Ling looked up and saw the title of the book and couldn¡¯t sit still: ¡°Your Majesty, forgive this official¡¯s bluntness, this book¡­..¡± ¡°Zhen knows.¡± Jing Ye glanced at it briefly and then threw it away listlessly. Looking at the nervous young man in front of him, his eyes suddenly became empty, ¡°But Zhen has been feeling dizzy for the past two days, and Zhen¡¯s chest feels tight¡­..¡± Ye Gonggong: ¡­..Your Majesty, you actually have such symptoms? Why doesn¡¯t this servant know? ¡°What?¡± Lord Feng was shocked, ¡°This official will go to bring the imperial physician.¡± And as he spoke, he was about to get up. ¡°Ai, ai, the imperial physician has already said.¡± The emperor immediately stretched out his hand to hold him down, ¡°It¡¯s just the aftermath of poisoning, and it will subside slowly.¡± ¡°Really? This¡­..¡± Feng Ling sighed, ¡°What shall be done?¡± Jing Ye thought of the Feng family son¡¯s qin music, which was praised by the people of the dynasty in his memory, and smiled, ¡°Isn¡¯t qing quite proficient in music, why don¡¯t you play a song for Zhen?¡± Feng Ling was startled: ¡°But this official entered the palace empty-handed, without bringing a qin or a flute¡­..¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Jing Ye waved his hand with a smile, and took out a jade flute from under him, ¡°Here is one.¡± Feng Ling took it and looked at it carefully: ¡°Isn¡¯t this the green jade flute left by the late emperor? Rumor has it that the music played on it is so beautiful it could overthrow a country¡­..Why did Your Majesty put it on the couch?¡± It¡¯s so valuable, so Zhen couldn¡¯t help but sleep hugging it. ¡°Cough¡­..With it here, could you play a song?¡± ¡°Shengshang has ordered and this official shall follow the divine decree.¡± Feng Ling nodded lightly, pressing his slender fingers on the sound holes. ¡°What do you want to hear, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Feng qing can choose.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Feng Ling lowered his eyes and pondered for a while, then took a light breath and pressed his thin lips to the flute. Immediately, the flute melody sounded. It is ¡®A Phoenix Comes with Grace to Rest¡¯. Jing Ye¡¯s eyes flickered suddenly, feeling that it was as if this person changed completely when he played the first note. It was still the same not very stunning features, but now like pines and cypresses after the spring rain where every green leaf flowed with scorching brilliance, and also like a snow-white gardenia hidden within the leaves, only to finally raise its head to bloom in open air, emitting traces of fragrance that slowly dissipated in the scorching summer night. People in the world say that ¡°faithful and loyal to the monarch, guarding to death the righteous way¡± refers to a true gentleman. The continuing sound of the flute seemed to take on a quality of a dancing phoenix, circling the empty Ping An Palace and flying straight to the sky. After a long time, the song was finished. Feng Ling¡¯s long eyelashes trembled lightly, and he gently put down the flute, as if he was still immersed in the music just now. ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Outside the bead curtain, Ye Gonggong, who was enjoying the filial piety of his apprentice¡¯s tea, looked inside, and the sip of tea he took was sprayed on the face of the little eunuch beside him. Your Majesty! Why did you fall asleep again! ¡°Teacher.¡± The little eunuch wiped the tea on his face aggrievedly. Ye Mao stretched out his hand and patted his head: ¡°Teacher couldn¡¯t control it.¡± ¡°¡­..Yes.¡± Ye Gonggong turned his head and silently concealed the wildly galloping grass mud horse he was sure could be seen on his face, and was about to scream at the moon: This is not going right, Your Majesty! Shouldn¡¯t listening to the melodious music played by a beauty lead to, you know, kissing and touching¡­..or hugging and then blowing this ¡®flute¡¯ and that ¡®flute¡¯¡­..why did you fall! Asleep! Again! Falling asleep in everything you do, could it be that you have been up to secret things at night when this servant wasn¡¯t paying attention¡­.. Feng Ling was stunned for a while, then slowly put the jade flute back under the emperor¡¯s pillow. The back of his hand gently brushed against the emperor¡¯s soft cheek at that moment, and his heart trembled. The first time he entered the palace, it was for the common people of the southwest, the second time was for the emperor¡¯s diligent administration, the third time, and the fourth time, for¡­.. Now, how much thought did he put into entering the palace secretly, all the while avoiding his parents? What for? There were thousands of thoughts in his heart that he couldn¡¯t voice clearly, or understand fully. It was just that he couldn¡¯t help but keep looking at him, his hands froze for a long time, struggling, but still he couldn¡¯t help but to¡­..touch. Feng Ling stared blankly. The morning light that gradually brightened, shining in through the regular window panes, fell on the face of the person in front of him. The little eunuch sneaked in and said to Ye Mao, ¡°Teacher, Gu Gongzi is here.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ye Gonggong got up and looked inside the curtain, ¡°Ai, can¡¯t these masters come one by one?¡± ¡°Teacher, shall I see him in?¡± ¡°This¡­..¡± Ye Mao was in a dilemma for a moment, then flicked his whisk, ¡°See him in!¡± Gu Hong was led by the little eunuch, and he calmly stepped in. Ye Mao immediately greeted him, his voice lowered: ¡°Gu Gongzi, you see, it just so happens that His Majesty is asleep.¡± ¡°The sun is high up in the sky.¡± Gu Hong chuckled, ¡°If His Majesty continues to sleep, aren¡¯t you afraid of him hungering?¡± Ye Mao: ¡°¡­..¡± You and Lu Gongzi asked the same thing. Gu Hong smiled lightly, holding a book in his left hand, took two steps forward, raised his hand, and gently lifted the slightly swaying bead curtain. On this side Feng Ling was still in a daze, his fingertips almost touching the corners of the emperor¡¯s pink lips, but was suddenly interrupted by a cold and clear voice from behind. ¡°Lord Feng.¡± His hand trembled, and he hurriedly turned around and stood up: ¡°Gu¡­..Gu Gongzi.¡± Gu Hong¡¯s brows were curved into a smile, but the smile did not reach his eyes: ¡°Lord Feng, why did you enter the palace so early in the morning?¡± Feng Ling bowed his head and cupped his hands: ¡°This official was worried about His Majesty¡¯s illness, so this official entered the palace to ask after his health.¡± Jing Ye was awakened by the voices of the two of them. He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes: ¡°Hmm? Why isn¡¯t Feng Qing playing the flute any longer?¡± Feng Ling smiled and said, ¡°This official has finished the performance.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± His Majesty the Emperor stared blankly for a long time, then remembered that he had fallen asleep shamefully halfway through, and hurriedly sat up straight to remedy: ¡°Ah! Ah, qing has played wonderfully, it was ¡®A Phoenix Comes with Grace to Rest¡¯? Very good indeed, your melody should only exist in the heavens¡­..only, ahem, Zhen has never been one for music¡­..¡± Feng Ling looked at him, his eyes softened unconsciously: ¡°This official knows, if it could give Your Majesty a good dream, this melody was worth playing.¡± ¡°¡­..Ha ha.¡± ¡°When did Gu Qing come?¡± ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Gu Hong smiled slightly and raised his hand to salute, ¡°This subject has something important to discuss with Your Majesty.¡± Jing Ye had seen the book in his hand, and his expression became serious, ¡°En, Zhen understands, Qing can come closer. Feng Qing¡­..¡± ¡°It¡¯s time for this official to leave the palace and return to the manor.¡± Feng Ling understood what he meant, so he bowed and saluted, ¡°Your Majesty please forgive this official for taking leave now.¡± ¡°Fine¡­..¡± Jing Ye looked at his lowered face and eyes, and inexplicably felt apologetic, ¡°Qing can go back. Ye Mao!¡± ¡°Ai, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Carefully send Lord Feng back to his manor for Zhen.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Feng Ling stepped back a few steps with his hands still cupped, then turned around, and the palace servant stepped forward to lift the curtain allowing him to walk out. It was just that his footsteps suddenly stopped before the bead curtain, and he turned around, wanting to take another look at the emperor, only to be immediately startled. He clearly saw Gu Hong holding the emperor¡¯s hand. He had leaned over to sit on the soft couch the emperor was lying on, stretched out his right hand, and hooked a loose strand of hair behind the emperor¡¯s ear. The emperor looked at him in a daze, and so he smiled and whispered into his ear. There seemed to be a flash of light in those always gentle and respectful eyes, and they turned slightly towards this side. ¡°Aiqing.¡± Jing Ye¡¯s eyes twitched, ¡°Why do you have to speak next to my ear?¡± (TN: aiqing and qing are used interchangeably, the former more affectionate, translating to ¡®dear subject¡¯) Gu Hong smiled and said, ¡°This subject was just afraid Your Majesty couldn¡¯t hear clearly.¡± Jing Ye didn¡¯t want to bother with these people anymore, so he reached out to take the book in Gu Hong¡¯s hand: ¡°Everyone is listed?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Hong lowered his head and watched him open the book, ¡°The night Your Majesty was seriously ill, many officials in the capital were dispatching doormen to exchange news, and the one that moved the most in secret was the Zhao family. There.¡± He tapped the long first column of the book. ¡°En¡­..¡± Jing Ye looked at it carefully, ¡°Gu Qing has worked hard.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Gu Hong looked up at him and smiled softly: ¡°Your Majesty supports my Gu family, naturally, this subject will return the generosity manyfolds.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye read on silently, but his brows became more and more furrowed. If it was really like what was recorded in the book, then in such a big court he couldn¡¯t even find anyone who could be used? Reality was always much more miserable. CH 9 The two discussed matters in the hall until noon. Ye Gonggong came in and said, ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s time for lunch.¡± Gu Hong then got up with a smile: ¡°Then this subject won¡¯t disturb Your Majesty¡¯s lunch.¡± Though he said so, he just got up and didn¡¯t turn around. His soft eyes looked at the emperor quietly, smiling without speaking. Ye Gonggong raised his eyes and glanced at the two of them, and knowing the other¡¯s intentions, he clenched his fists and coughed desperately. Your Majesty! The fox tail is willing to show for you to pull! If now isn¡¯t the most perfect time to make a move then when is! (TN: fox demon spirit in Chinese folklore is a seductress archetype) ¡°En, qing can go back to your palace for now.¡± Jing Ye lowered his head and frowned, saying casually while reading the book, ¡°Ye Mao, did you catch a cold at night? Your lungs are almost being coughed out.¡± Ye Gonggong: ¡°¡­..¡± Gu Hong smiled helplessly, leaned over and stroked this person¡¯s brow: ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± Jing Ye jumped at the touch and raised his head: ¡°Does qing have anything else to discuss?¡± ¡°This subject¡­..although having lived in the palace for a long time, this subject has studied government affairs with my father as a child. In this matter, this subject is quite skilled.¡± Gu Hong smiled like a white orchid after the spring rain. ¡°Therefore, Your Majesty¡¯s future memorials, this subject can take care of them one by one, and there is no need to specially summon little Lord Feng to enter the palace.¡± The young man had elegant eyebrows, and when examined at a closer distance, his flawless forehead and bright red cinnabar beauty mark complemented each other quite well, while his eyes were as soft as autumn water. Jing Ye was instantly captivated by the sight: ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t¡­..summon then don¡¯t summon.¡± Jing Ye turned his face away, took a deep breath subtly, and yelled in his heart, stop, where is your prestige! ¡°Zhen won¡¯t summon him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that Your Majesty should not summon him.¡± Gu Hong simply sat down again, put his arms around the suspiciously red-faced emperor, moved his thin lips closer, and chuckled in his ear. ¡°It¡¯s that no one should be summoned except this subject.¡± And then Gu Gongzi was kicked out. Ye Gonggong beat his chest and stomped his feet: He actually drove the person away with a reason like ¡®it¡¯s lunch time, Aiqing will be hungry, so go back quickly¡¯! Your Majesty, your state of denial is incurable! Jing Ye ate a whole plate of eggplants during his meal before he calmed down. He didn¡¯t understand what these people meant. If it was to sound him out, the result should have come out long ago, so why continue to bother? If this was out of true love, hehe. He didn¡¯t believe anyone. Originally men with bright futures, only to be snatched into the palace, forced to like a man, and threatened with his family¡¯s life. The perpetrator¡¯s temperament just changed, and now they fall in love with him? Such people who were born to be favored by the heavens, possessing such pride, could never tolerate such a thing. So what was the reason? His Majesty the Emperor sadly took another bite from his chopsticks. It was not like he was that so and so, who wouldn¡¯t be moved by beauties parading in front of him all day long? Ai. The time limit for governmental affair approval with the blue ink was only seven days. Soon, His Majesty the Emperor had to sit on the dragon throne and discuss (talk) state affairs (nonsense) with a group of quail-like officials early in the morning. This was the case every morning during the morning assembly. The emperor asked a question, and the officials answered. The emperor looked at the expressions of the officials with cold eyes, and the officials carefully looked at His Majesty¡¯s mood. There were those who couldn¡¯t hold back and wanted to rush out to speak, but their colleagues grabbed the sleeves of their robes and tugged them still fiercely, so nothing ended up being said. The scene looked very harmonious. After the noon nap, Jing Ye entered the imperial study as usual, sat behind the desk and corrected the memorials newly handed in by the officials. As he went through the memorials, he suddenly thought of something. He lowered his head and pulled open a drawer on his right, and as expected there was an anonymous letter. Jing Ye picked it up gently, his fingers stroked the snow-white sealed paper, and turned it to the back. There was a vermilion ink wax seal. Southwest. Jing Ye frowned, and immediately opened the envelope to take a closer look. The letter was very short and could be read in a few glances. However, there was another account paper attached, which made the emperor¡¯s heart sink suddenly. Gu Hong stood outside the door and was about to knock when he heard a clatter, followed by a loud ¡°bang¡±, which should be the inkstone on the desk hitting the ground. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Ye Mao who was standing under the steps. The latter also seemed to be startled, and shook his head to indicate he didn¡¯t know, with a nervous expression on his face. So he pushed open the door and entered. The emperor was sitting behind the desk, his face did not show much anger, he just lightly threw the letter paper in his hand back to the desk: ¡°Qing has come.¡± Gu Hong bowed and saluted: ¡°Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Rise. Zhen¡­..¡± Jing Ye pursed his lips and pointed to the desk, ¡°Zhen had them send 300,000 taels to the southwest, but the old Prime Minister Gu wrote in a letter saying that the supplies sent by the capital officials totaled less than 30,000.¡± Gu Hong said: ¡°The father of this subject would not deceive the emperor.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jing Ye smiled at him, ¡°People say that doing one evil must be repaid with ten good deeds. Zhen is afraid that with this situation, Zhen will never be able to repay it in this life.¡± Gu Hong was silent for a while, and then said softly, ¡°Your Majesty, knowing one¡¯s mistakes means one can correct them.¡± Jing Ye looked at him for a while, then nodded and smiled, ¡°Thank you.¡± Unhappy in the workplace and hopeless in love, Jing Ye could only use wine to drown his sorrows. It was night, and the rain pattered loudly outside the window. It was top quality wine poured from a small bottle made of white porcelain. The bottle was slender and elegant. A few green bamboo leaves were drawn by a master on the front, and then lightly dipped in ochre that faded towards the top, becoming a treasured masterpiece and heirloom in the palace. Jing Ye held the wine cup and dozed while drinking. Outside the hall, two little eunuchs stood guard at the gate of the Ping An Palace, looking at the pouring rain in front of them and talking. ¡°Look at this rain, so heavy like this, why don¡¯t we go report back to gonggong first and close the palace gate.¡± ¡°Gonggong can¡¯t get away.¡± The little eunuch motioned inside, ¡°His Majesty is still drunk. Although His Majesty¡¯s temperament is much better now, if you leave your post without permission, see if Teacher won¡¯t give you a good lesson.¡± The little eunuch who asked the question sighed, turned his head, and suddenly saw the two figures with sharp eyes: ¡°Aiyo, someone has really come.¡± The two hurriedly stood at attention. The two figures slowly approached with umbrellas, and when the two little eunuchs took a closer look: ¡°It¡¯s Lin Gongzi! Quick, go in and tell Teacher.¡± One of them immediately turned around and ran in. Lin Xiaosheng walked to the gate of the palace, Mo Yan closed the umbrella and said to the little eunuch: ¡°Go and report to His Majesty the Emperor, our Gongzi requests an audience.¡± ¡°Ai, ai.¡± The little eunuch bent over, ¡°Someone has already entered to report.¡± On this side, Ye Mao was dragging the emperor to the dragon bed with all the strength of his slight frame. At this time, the little eunuch came to report, and he couldn¡¯t help but pause: ¡°Lin Gongzi?¡± In this moment, the strength in his hands loosened. Jing Ye immediately slid down and sat on the ground, just sitting there with his head down. ¡°¡­..Maomao.¡± Ye Mao trembled at the call, ¡°Ai, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Zhen doesn¡¯t want to sleep alone.¡± The young man still had his head lowered, his black hair falling around him in curtains, and he spoke in a very childish manner, ¡°Zhen doesn¡¯t want to be a great magician wu wu wu¡­..¡± (TN: slang for virgin) Ye Mao: ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Then Your Majesty.¡± Ye Mao raised his hand and signaled the little eunuch to lead the person in, then leaned down and said softly, ¡°This servant will invite someone to accompany you?¡± Jing Ye heard the words and raised his head: ¡°Is he hot?¡± This should be a word to praise the handsomeness of a man, Ye Gonggong thought for a while: ¡°Hot.¡± Jing Ye nodded wildly. ¡°¡­..¡± Ye Mao covered his face, Your Majesty, you are revealing your nature thoroughly enough. Lin Xiaosheng stood quietly under the palace gate, and soon, the little eunuch came to invite him into the palace. When entering the bed chamber, Ye Gonggong personally greeted him: ¡°Lin Gongzi.¡± ¡°Ye Gonggong.¡± Lin Xiaosheng smiled, ¡°Lin came to ask His Majesty for medicine.¡± ¡°Then this servant will be blunt.¡± Ye Mao raised his hand and escorted him into the hall, ¡°Gongzi¡¯s medicine is in the treasury, and only His Majesty can give permission.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Xiaosheng¡¯s smile did not change, but there was a gloom in his eyes. ¡°In this case, this subject must obey the divine orders.¡± The door was quietly closed by the palace servants instructed by Ye Mao. Mo Yan stood outside the door holding an umbrella, his brows furrowed. Ye Gonggong glanced at him and threw the whisk from left to right leisurely. What¡¯s up with being so nervous, it was not like this was the first time. Inside the hall. Lin Xiaosheng slowly stepped forward, while shaking his sleeves, he wiped the rain off his body. Then raised the bead curtain. The emperor had his head buried in the crook of an arm, lying on the low wine table carved out of green jade, with a pot of fine wine in his hand, and several wine cups carefully placed by Ye Gonggong. Lin Xiaosheng walked in front of this person and stood silently for a while. Seeing that the emperor still had his head buried, he leaned down and put his hand on his shoulder: ¡°Your Majesty?¡± No response. The corners of Lin Xiaosheng¡¯s lips drew a slightly sardonic angle. Was this a new trick? He simply knelt down and took hold of the emperor¡¯s shoulders, and slowly helped him sit up. ¡°If Your Majesty doesn¡¯t move, this official will leave.¡± Jing Ye began to feel his head spinning, so he sat and laid his head down. Who knew that as soon as he closed his eyes and then opened them again in what seemed a second later, the person next to him would change from Ye Maomao to an annoying person he had never seen before. ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± Jing Ye angrily opened his eyes, stared at the person in front of him for ten seconds straight, his throat bobbing hard. He felt dizzy once again, but this time he seemed to be floating on a cloud. At this time, the corners of his eyes were slightly slanted, blushed a little crimson, but they were not overtly garish, but rather made him look quite endearingly naive. With long eyelashes drooping and thin lips pursed lightly. Although he was angry he looked like he was smiling, and when he looked at him with anger it came across as affectionate. Lin Xiaosheng was struck into a daze. The two just stared at each other in a daze for a while. The wheels in Jing Ye¡¯s turned for a long time, and finally he remembered¡ª¡ª Wasn¡¯t this the hot guy Ye Mao sent to sleep with him! After confirming the target, things were much easier to understand. His Majesty the Emperor proudly tore open the layers of robes, revealing delicate and beautiful collarbones and chest, and then with the standard position of an Australian koala hugging a tree trunk, he hugged the beautiful beauty in front of him tightly with both hands, long legs soon also following. ¡°Aiqing, Zhen has been waiting for you for a long time.¡± Lin Xiaosheng: ¡°¡­..¡± He tried to move a bit, raised his hand to put it on the emperor¡¯s back, and immediately touched an expanse of cool, silky long hair. Jing Ye rubbed his face into that shoulder with his eyes closed, his lips pressed against the other¡¯s neck, inhaling and exhaling as his chest rose and fell with his breaths. CH 10 The lights in the hall flickered, and the two were quietly embracing by the desk. At first glance, they really looked like a couple who loved each other deeply. Lin Xiaosheng lowered his eyes, thinking of thoughts unknown, the sound of breathing in his ears was long and calm, and after glancing lightly to the side, he could see the young man¡¯s fine long eyelashes and the soft corners of his eyes. The emperor¡¯s eyebrows suddenly moved. He rubbed against his shoulder, and murmured, ¡°Zhen¡­..really likes¡­..¡± ¡°En?¡± Lin Xiaosheng tilted his ear unconsciously closer. ¡°¡­..Ham and fresh bamboo shoots soup¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Lin Xiaosheng couldn¡¯t help but let out a light chuckle. He simply supported the man¡¯s back with his right hand, and slid his left hand under his knees, lifting and hugging him in his arms horizontally. However, as soon as he got up, he stumbled and nearly fell. Although His Majesty the Emperor had been working hard these days, the food and drink that should be eaten at each meal were not missed at all. And every day he woke up at five and went to sleep at nine, so his life habits were quite regular, as a shameful result¡­..he had put on some weight. Lin Xiaosheng steadied himself and carried the person back to the dragon bed. The emperor¡¯s hands laid on the side of his neck, still sleeping soundly. It was just after the heavy rain, so the hall was a little hot. Lin Xiaosheng was in a daze for a moment, but still gently pressed the hand of the person in his arms back on the quilt, and went to the windows to open a few. The cold night wind blew in, which refreshed and woke up the mind. He looked up at the dark night sky outside and couldn¡¯t help laughing at his actions. Although he did not dislike the emperor as much as others expected, his feelings were not as peaceful as that of an ordinary stranger. Towards him, he had always been contemptuous and indifferent. Such an emperor who lived his days without doing anything useful, even an ordinary person would be despised by others, let alone the emperor. But he still lived in the palace willingly. He lived in a place where he could control money and power at any time. So long as he ignored some things that made him uncomfortable, for him, he was the most at peace here. Don¡¯t get involved in useless things, don¡¯t commit useless actions, this was his motto. But today seemed to be a little out of the norm. Lin Xiaosheng looked at his palm and smiled. Maybe it was because that person had changed too much. Lin Xiaosheng was the son of a Jiangning weaving merchant and a courtesan. The courtesan was the most famous prostitute in the south of the Yangtze River. Not only did her beauty and song moved the world, she also recited poems with a soft, southern accent and enchanted with her graceful sleeve dance, making countless literatis and nobles bow down. Later, this peerless beauty selected the master of Jiangning Weaving, and was carried through the door of his manor in a red soft sedan. Two years later, she swallowed gold and died in her embroidery room, leaving behind Lin Xiaosheng, who was only one year old. The woman went to the underworld without any worries, leaving a son still suffering in the world. Lin Xiaosheng still remembered that when he was six years old, the eldest son in the mansion forced him to swallow a pill. That night he felt cold all over his body, and when the chill seeped out bit by bit from his bone marrow, he almost thought he was a corpse. He remained freezing until midnight, when suddenly something jumped up and burrowed into his thin quilt. The little thing was warm, and he was already delirious. As soon as his fingertips touched it, he desperately hugged it to him tightly. It panicked suddenly, waving its claws and struggling. Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t move, don¡¯t go. After struggling for a long time, it gradually quieted down. Was it tired? Or¡­..dead? After a long, long time, the warm little thing moved again, but this time it burrowed into his arms, and after settling somewhere on his chest, it gently rubbed against him. En? It rubbed against him again. Then it started to rub against him continuously, until his chest became hot¡­.. Lin Xiaosheng suddenly opened his eyes. What he saw in front of him was a head of long jet-black hair, his chin resting on the top of that head, which was shaking slightly. He lowered his head slightly and stroked the disheveled hair with his hand, feeling a cool and silky texture. The tip of his finger swept across the person¡¯s cheek, and actually felt feverishly hot. The emperor was still rubbing against the front of his robe, the snow-white inner robe had been rubbed into a bunch of folds and wrinkles, and his hands were tightly hugging his waist. Lin Xiaosheng frowned, feeling as if something was wrong, and moved to hold the emperor¡¯s hands, which were cold. After a while of silence, he got up and lifted the curtain and shouted, ¡°Ye Gonggong.¡± Ye Mao, who was guarding outside the curtain, startled awake: ¡°What¡¯s the matter, gongzi?¡± ¡°His Majesty¡­..¡± Lin Xiaosheng stretched out his hand and touched the forehead of the person in front of him, ¡°Seems to be ill.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ye Mao was startled, and quickly lifted the curtain and ran in. The emperor was still lying in Lin Gongzi¡¯s arms, and Ye Mao moved a floor lamp to look at him closer. Seeing that his face was red, but his lips were white, he quickly put down the lamp to touch his forehead, and it was indeed really hot. ¡°This is clearly a cold.¡± Ye Gonggong hurriedly lifted the thin quilt and tucked it around the emperor¡¯s neck, and glanced at the open windows beside the bed, ¡°Ai, why are these windows wide open?¡± Lin Xiaosheng frowned slightly: ¡°I opened them.¡± ¡°Gongzi is too careless.¡± Ye Mao felt anxious, and couldn¡¯t help but blame, ¡°His Majesty can¡¯t help but get hot after drinking. Yet you keep the window open and the night wind is freezing, how could these layers of gauze stop the chill? As the saying goes, when the body is hot, the cold wind cannot be allowed to blow, it will cause illness.¡± It was not like he ever became so ill despite staying up all night indulging in wine and song. Lin Xiaosheng lowered his eyes and looked at the emperor, seeing that he seemed to dislike the quilt being too hot and attempted to raise his hand to knock the quilt off his body, he couldn¡¯t help holding that wrist to stop him. Ye Mao had already rushed outside and called the little eunuchs to pass on the news to the imperial physician. Lin Xiaosheng was still for a while, but soon got up and got out of bed, closing the few windows beside the bed. The imperial physician was dazed when he was slapped awake in the middle of the night. After hearing the message, he put on his official uniform and carried the medicine box into the palace tremblingly, fearing that the little emperor was in a playful mood again and wanted to try something novel. But when he took the pulse in front of the bed, the emperor was indeed ill, and he couldn¡¯t help but let out the breath he was holding. Ye Gonggong hurriedly flicked his whisk: ¡°Lord, why are you so relieved! His Majesty is ill!¡± The unlucky imperial physician was so frightened that he did not dare to even breathe: ¡°His Majesty, His Majesty¡¯s illness is a result of both outside and inside factors, and he also drank alcohol before, so this illness is actually a small cold¡­..¡± Ye Mao took a step forward: ¡°Then I ask my lord to quickly draw up the prescription, and this servant will order someone to concoct the medicine.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, this official will go now.¡± The imperial physician was led by the little palace maid to the main hall, and Ye Gonggong stomped his feet in front of the bed and turned around. The eyelashes of the person lying on the bed trembled and slowly opened: ¡°¡­..Ye Mao?¡± Lin Xiaosheng lowered his head. ¡°Ai.¡± Ye Gonggong rushed to the bed, ¡°Your Majesty, you are awake.¡± Jing Ye supported himself with his hands to sit up, but Ye Mao hurriedly stepped forward and put the pillow forward and helped him up. ¡°I just had a night¡¯s sleep, but you woke me up.¡± Jing Ye had actually woken up already, he just kept his eyes closed and carefully recalled his drunk behavior for a while. Oh my virgin mary, he had lost such face, how shameful. The emperor coughed lightly, looked up at Lin Gongzi who was standing beside him: ¡°Lin Qing¡­..¡± When he was drunk, he couldn¡¯t see clearly, but now that he was sober, when he looked at this person again, he noticed that his eyebrows and eyes were long and narrow and slightly hooked at the corners. His nose was high and straight, his lips were thin, his long hair was loose, and the color of his lips against his skin actually made Jing Ye think of a classic line of description. Skin white like snow, lips red like blood, hair black like ebony. Jing Ye shook his head and temporarily threw out the strange thoughts that had occupied his head, and said in a hoarse voice: ¡°¡­..Qing must be tired from taking care of Zhen last night, it likely won¡¯t be able to settle down for a while here. Qing can rest in the side hall instead.¡± He raised his hand as he spoke, and the little eunuch on the side stepped forward and bowed. Lin Xiaosheng looked down at him: ¡°This subject thanks Your Majesty.¡± On the second day, the emperor did not go to court due to illness, and the officials could not help but talk about it. ¡°Why so suddenly becoming ill again?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know yet? His Majesty summoned Lin Gongzi last night¡­..¡± ¡°Oh, I see, it¡¯s no wonder¡­..¡± The several officials winked at each other, thinking they knew the reason, and laughed ambiguously. Feng Ling passed by them, paused, but still flicked his sleeves and walked away. CH 11 The Zhao family, a few generations ago, was barely considered a middle-low level noble family. Their ancestor was originally the servant of the founding emperor who accompanied him to many battlefields. After the dynasty was established, his slave status was waived and he became a wealthy man. But that was all there was to it. In the 17th year of Emperor Wen, the Zhao family¡¯s daughter received the decree by the emperor to enter the palace to participate in the concubine selection, and from then she began her long harem and political career that lasted for fifty to sixty years. This eldest daughter of a concubine from the Zhao family, who was by no means of high noble birth, relied on her almost innate talent for political strategy and not only forged a bloody path in the harem to become the empress, but also in the last eight years of her life, she also became the first Her Majesty the Emperor of the dynasty. This woman who had been all-powerful for half her life was also Jing Ye¡¯s biological grandmother. The Zhao family had since become one of the big families standing at the top of steps just below the emperor¡¯s feet. The Jing family had practically almost declined, but the imperial jade seal in the female emperor¡¯s hand was eventually handed over to her fifth son, Emperor Ren, Jing Ye¡¯s father. The character of Emperor Ren was like the title ¡°benevolent¡± given to him by later generations (TN: ren=benevolent). He was diligent in government and loved the people, magnanimous and benevolent, so the country became more and more prosperous, the common people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the world was prosperous and peaceful. It was because of a father who worked hard and a grandmother who could basically be called a workaholic, that the original owner of this body had been on the throne for five years, committing hundreds of misfortunes, yet the dynasty still managed to remain relatively stable enough. Jing Ye sat quietly on the soft couch, looking through the booklet sent by Gu Hong. Gu Hong sat on the side and said with a smile: ¡°Does Your Majesty really believe that the more than 200,000 official silver sent to the southwest was robbed by bandits?¡± ¡°Is Zhen a fool?¡± Jing Ye pressed the paper, frowning, ¡°Or the bandits are fools. There are so many rich people in the world yet they do not rob them, and instead they decide to offend the emperor.¡± Gu Hong still smiled: ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°There¡¯s someone behind this.¡± Jing Ye stared at the booklet, ¡°Say, who could it be?¡± In the evening, the emperor¡¯s decree came from the palace¡ª¡ªthe emperor wanted to celebrate the birthday of Gu Hong, the consort of the first rank, and hold a banquet in Zhaoyang Hall on the evening of July 15th. Officials of the fourth rank and above must bring their families to the banquet. ¡°Does Your Majesty intend to test the Zhao family¡¯s attitude?¡± Gu Hong asked with a smile. ¡°En.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Gu Hong smiled and nodded: ¡°Although Your Majesty has an ulterior motive, this subject also respectfully thanks Your Majesty¡¯s decree.¡± ¡°Well, this matter¡­..¡± Jing Ye suddenly felt a little embarrassed, ¡°Qing doesn¡¯t need to say thanks.¡± ¡°But this subject has something else I want to tell Your Majesty.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°My birthday is on June 15th.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°!¡± Zhao Manor. Once Zhao Mingde returned to the manor, he went to Xu shi¡¯s rooms for dinner. After the meal, he dismissed the maids and servants in the house, leaving only their youngest son, who was still a baby, and asked Xu shi in a deep voice, ¡°Is it you who promised Miao Ling to let her go to the birthday banquet in the palace?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Xu shi pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair and leaned over to tease the baby in the cradle, ¡°She was clamoring to go, so I promised her.¡± Zhao Mingde said angrily: ¡°Why are you so ignorant! As an unmarried lady going to see her former¡­..lover, what if she can¡¯t hold back and does something improper, do you even care about her reputation?¡± ¡°What former lover!¡± Xu shi slapped the gold hairpin on the table, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the emperor, Miao Ling would have been the third young madam of the Gu family, and wouldn¡¯t that make the daughters of the world envious? Now that the Gu family has retreated to the southwest, and Gu Hong has entered the palace, Miao Ling insists that she has no eyes for others. How can the daughter of our Zhao family, can¡¯t even marry the husband she wants, in the future, just wait until we overthrow the¡­..¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Zhao Mingde immediately lowered his voice and scolded, ¡°Just based on your words, I can¡¯t let her enter the palace! You tell her for me that she should obediently study calligraphy and music at home, don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Then he flicked his sleeves and walked away. The baby was frightened by the quarrel between the two, and burst into tears with a ¡°wah¡±. Xu shi hurriedly sat down and coaxed him with a rattle, while gritting her teeth and looking in the direction where Zhao Mingde had left. Zhao Mingde couldn¡¯t calm down in his heart. He wanted to stay in his study for the night, but he turned around and went to his concubine, Meng Qiucui¡¯s place. Meng Qiucui was originally the daughter of a seventh-rank small official in Zhengzhou. When Zhao Mingde passed through Zhengzhou once, an official surnamed Meng asked a matchmaker to offer his daughter as a concubine. This happened often, and he was not moved. But the girl was indeed very beautiful, not an ordinary beauty at all. After it was mentioned twice more, his heart ended up being moved. Meng Qiucui also gave birth to a daughter for him, who was two years younger than Zhao Miaoling, and was at the age where young girls became engaged. In the evening, after the couple¡¯s business ended, Meng Qiucui nestled in his arms and brought up the matter of letting their daughter enter the palace with him to attend the birthday banquet. Zhao Mingde frowned: ¡°You also have this intention?¡± Meng Qiucui curled her lips: ¡°Miao Rong is also the daughter of laoye, now that she is old enough, we should also think about her marriage, go out to see the world, and let the madams of the families have a look¡­..¡± Zhao Mingde was silent for a while but eventually nodded. Meng Qiucui¡¯s eyebrows and eyes curved, and the corners of her bright red lips hooked up. Ping An Palace. Jing Ye paused while holding the tea: ¡°Fianc¨¦e?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Gonggong nodded, ¡°At that time, both the Gu and Zhao families had this intention, but before they could bring it out in the open, Gu Gongzi entered the palace, and the Gu family also retreated to the southwest.¡± Jing Ye stared at the fog for a while and said, ¡°The eldest daughter of the Zhao family¡­..seems to be very famous in the capital.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Gonggong nodded again and opened his mouth, but suddenly hesitated, ¡°The former¡­..Lord Zhao of the Court of Imperial Entertainments¡¯s eldest daughter¡­..¡± Jing Ye¡¯s eyebrows twitched. Ye Mao looked at his face, but there was no anger, so then he continued: ¡°¡­..and this young lady Zhao family are equally famous as young ladies with both talent and beauty. The two families are also from the same clan, so they are called the ¡®Zhao family¡¯s twin pearls¡¯ by the people.¡± The eldest daughter of the former Lord Zhao of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, was the dear, dear childhood sweetheart of comrade Li Tingqiu who left for the southwest. So ruthless. Jing Ye sighed at this stifling of any ulterior intentions aimed at the male pets. As for the young lady of the Zhao family who was almost married to Gu Hong, he remembered that she still hadn¡¯t been married yet. I won¡¯t marry anyone but you, I will marry nobody except you. How tragic. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Ye Gonggong sneaked up to him, ¡°If Gu Gongzi asks, you must not let him know that it was this servant who said it.¡± Jing Ye¡¯s eyes twitched: ¡°What?¡± Ye Mao: ¡°Your Majesty! What if¡­..¡± Gu Hong lifted the bead curtain and walked in: ¡°What if?¡± Ye Gonggong: ¡°!!!!!!¡± Jing Ye froze: ¡°Qing¡­..when did you come? There was no word from outside.¡± ¡°This subject arrived just now.¡± Gu Hong smiled softly, his eyes glanced at Ye Mao who was trying to step back and pretend to be a quail, ¡°From that phrase ¡®fiancee¡¯.¡± Wasn¡¯t that all of it¡­.. Ye Gonggong¡¯s face was as green as a vegetable. The little eunuch who followed behind and brought Gu Hong in raised his head, looked at Ye Mao, who was smiling in embarrassment, and covered his face silently. Teacher, I really didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Gu Hong did not pursue the matter, but sat beside the emperor with the medicine in his hand: ¡°Your Majesty, please drink the medicine.¡± Jing Ye scooted back: ¡°Why must Zhen drink it again?¡± Gu Hong chuckled: ¡°Your Majesty is too impatient. There was a saying in the past: ¡®Illness comes like a mountain, and it goes away like a thread.¡¯ It¡¯s not an elixir of the immortals, so how can it be so effective. If Your Majesty wants to get better soon, come, open your mouth.¡± Are you speaking to a child. His Majesty the Emperor took the medicine bowl and looked at it for a long time before he frowned and took two sips. It was so bitter that he wanted to stick his tongue out, but because of the noble and solemn image he wanted to maintain, he managed to resist and swallow it all. Gu Hong smiled and said, ¡°Your Majesty, is it bitter?¡± Jing Ye glanced at him and said solemnly, ¡°En, it¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Gu Hong frowned, ¡°Then this subject will order the imperial kitchen to leave out the licorice on the prescription. Lest using it to boil with the medicine suppresses the medicinal properties.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Wait, what do you mean! Sure enough, he still holds a grudge! CH 12 The fifteenth of the seventh month was a full moon night, and the evening breeze was slightly cool. Zhao Manor, in Zhao Miaorong¡¯s Xiuwan Residence. The servant girl Shui Tao took a pair of small silver scissors and cut a newly blooming rose from the window, held it up to Zhao Miaorong¡¯s temples for comparison, and smiled: ¡°The young lady is really beautiful.¡± Zhao Miaorong was picking up the rose-colored rouge with a hairpin, and dabbing it on her lips in front of the mirror. Hearing the words, she smiled and said, ¡°You are very good at talking.¡± But she couldn¡¯t help revealing her joy on her face. Seeing that she liked to listen to this, Shui Tao then complimented her: ¡°Really, they all say that the eldest young lady is famous all over the capital. In fact, our young lady is not worse than her at all, not to mention in terms of this appearance, this figure, the young lady is even better than her.¡± Zhao Miaorong couldn¡¯t help but curve up her lips. She raised her hand to take the rose in Shui Tao¡¯s hand, and gently tucked it into her hair. Shui Tao clapped her hands and praised her even more, and she felt even more proud in her heart. Meng Qiucui walked around the partition and said with a smile: ¡°The main room has already finished preparing, you must hurry up.¡± ¡°Coming.¡± Zhao Miaorong smiled and got up, smoothed her hair and stepped forward. When she passed by Meng Qiucui, she reached out and pulled the rose off her temples. Zhao Miaorong¡¯s smile froze. Meng Qiucui looked at her and said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t be too ostentatious.¡± Zhao Miaorong looked at her in fright, lowered her head and walked out. Shui Tao followed her: ¡°Young lady¡­..¡± She gave her an icy look, and Shui Tao felt a chill in her heart. But the next moment, she showed a soft smile: ¡°It¡¯s fine, mother is right to scold me.¡± ¡°¡­..Ai.¡± Shui Tao responded timidly. The carriages and sedans of the officials were parked outside the palace. After getting off the carriage, they had to walk into the palace. Zhao Mingde got off the carriage, looked back at the female family members behind him, and saw that after Xu shi stepped on the low stool and got off the carriage, she was followed by their eldest daughter, Zhao Miaoling! Zhao Mingde suppressed his temper, and did not bother to respond, only flicking his sleeves before walking towards the palace gate. Seeing this, Xu shi couldn¡¯t help but grit her teeth, but she turned back to Zhao Miaoling and said, ¡°Be good after entering the palace, your father is already angry.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± At this time, Zhao Miaoling¡¯s mind was full of the person she had been dreaming about for two years, so she didn¡¯t care to refute, ¡°This daughter understands.¡± ¡°En, good.¡± Xu shi looked at her beautifully dressed daughter, and smiled very proudly, but in a blink of an eye her face turned cold after she saw Zhao Miaorong getting out of the carriage: ¡°Follow well.¡± Zhao Miaorong curtsied slightly: ¡°Yes.¡± Several of the surrounding officials¡¯ wives came over together to chat and laugh, and Xu shi put on a warm smile again, pulled Zhao Miaoling, and entered the palace with them. Zhaoyang Hall. Jing Ye watched as the officials entered the hall, and one by one, brought their family members forward to bow in salute, secretly covering his lips and yawning. Lin Xiaosheng, Lu Baizang, and Gu Hong¡¯s small tables were placed beside him. Don¡¯t know what the two former were still doing, but they still did not enter the hall at this time. Only Gu Hong was with him. Seeing his appearance, he smiled and said, ¡°Your Majesty is tired?¡± Jing Ye glanced at him and nodded. Gu Hong chuckled, and the hand under the table reached out to hold Jing Ye¡¯s: ¡°Your Majesty, bear with it, this subject will take Your Majesty out secretly at that time.¡± Jing Ye pulled his hand, but was unable to break free. Soon, Zhao Mingde brought his family into the hall, stepped forward and saluted: ¡°Paying respects to Your Majesty.¡± After saying that, he knelt down and bowed, followed by Xu shi and Zhao Miaorong. The eldest daughter Zhao Miaoling¡¯s heart moved and she couldn¡¯t help but look up. Gu Hong was sitting in front of the table and smiling and chatting with the emperor. He was wearing a jade crown and elaborate robes, but none of that could hide his divine appearance, like that of a god untouched by the dust of the secular world. He still resembled the beautiful white robed gongzi from the prime minister¡¯s manor many years ago. She was so intoxicated that she even forgot the etiquette. The people in the hall were still chatting amongst themselves at first, but then the people who discovered this scene pointed to her and everyone gradually became quiet. On this side, Jing Ye swallowed the ¡°rise¡± he had prepared to say, and glanced at the person next to him. Meeting the emperor but not saluting, if given a heavier punishment one could even be sentenced to death. This lady is risking her life just to get a glimpse of you. Gu Hong didn¡¯t look at the eldest young lady of the Zhao family who was in a trance at the bottom of the steps, but clenched Jing Ye¡¯s hand tightly and smiled: ¡°Your Majesty, those who meets shengshang yet does not kneel and salute have committed the crime of belittling the monarch and should be punished to death.¡± The officials burst into whispers. Zhao Miaoling, who was standing under the steps, regained her senses, and when she heard this, her face turned pale immediately. Xu shi also knelt at the foot of the steps, and when she heard this, she felt both shock, fright and hatred, and hurriedly leaned over and kowtowed: ¡°This official¡¯s wife has not taught well, causing my daughter to lose her morality. Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of blood relationship, please forgive my daughter!¡± Jing Ye¡¯s eyes moved. Zhao Mingde was Jing Ye¡¯s grandmother, Emperor Xian Ming¡¯s grand-nephew. In terms of familial ties, Jing Ye had to call him ¡°elder cousin¡±. Xu shi was beside him pleading continuously for forgiveness, Zhao Mingde hated his daughter for not knowing her place, but he still chose to remain silent. In his opinion, the big mistake had already been made, whether the crime was punished or not, the blemished reputation of the Zhao family would spread, and the reputation of his daughter was ruined. In this situation, not only did Miao Ling cause trouble for herself, she also ruined the reputation and future of the other daughters of the Zhao family. As of now, there was only one thing that could turn this situation around¡ª¡ªwhether it regarded things done in the past or what they were faced with now¡ª¡ªit could turn everything around. So long as he took that seat up high. ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Zhao Mingde raised his head and said slowly: ¡°As my wife said, please forgive my daughter for the sake of old affection, and even if there is no affection, please also forgive her for the face of¡­..this official.¡± As soon as these words came out, even Gu Hong frowned, not to mention the officials in the hall, all of them closed their mouths tight and thoughts arose in their hearts. Your face? What face do you have to make the emperor bow down? You are¡­.. Jing Ye¡¯s expression remained unchanged, and he said with a slight smile: ¡°Zhen naturally wants to give Zhao Qing face, the whole family can rise, it must not be easy to speak while kneeling.¡± When Zhao Mingde heard these words, he got up and helped Xu shi up aa well. The couple looked at each other, and Xu shi¡¯s poise which had been disrupted just now was regained. She wiped away tears and smiled and said, ¡°Thanking Your Majesty. Miaoling, what are you doing standing there in a daze? Why are you still not thanking His Majesty?¡± Zhao Miaoling hurriedly stepped forward and curtsied: ¡°This official¡¯s daughter, thanks Your Majesty for your forgiveness.¡± This family was really¡­..Jing Ye didn¡¯t expect that he just wanted to test this family on a whim, but Zhao Mingde actually ripped away any shame d o decisively. As expected, he was unable to hold back any longer? ¡°Enough, this matter is over, let¡¯s continue to be lively.¡± The music that had stopped just now, began to strike up again with the emperor¡¯s words, and the officials continued entering the hall to celebrate at the birthday banquet which was full of lively sounds of revelry and laughter. Those who couldn¡¯t understand the situation continued to chat and have fun, and those who understood, also kept their mouths shut and continued to socialize. Jing Ye sighed softly and glanced around. Seeing this, Gu Hong smiled and asked, ¡°Who is Your Majesty looking for?¡± ¡°En, Zhen is looking for¡­..¡± He searched to no avail, so he gave up, ¡°¡­..Why doesn¡¯t Zhen see Lord Feng?¡± Gu Hong¡¯s eyes darkened: ¡°Lord Feng had taken leave due to illness.¡± ¡°Due to illness?¡± Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help sitting up straight, ¡°Why did he become sick too?¡± ¡°Oh, this¡­..¡± Gu Hong smiled and poured wine for him, ¡°This subject doesn¡¯t know either. Is Your Majesty bored?¡± As he spoke, he lifted the wine cup up to his lips. ¡°A little.¡± Jing Ye hurriedly took the wine cup over and drank it. Gu Hong said with a smile: ¡°In that case, Your Majesty might as well accompany this subject out to relax.¡± Jing Ye thought about it for a while, and decided that he could just go back to his quarters to sleep if he didn¡¯t want to go with the other, so he let him hold his hand and got up. ¡°Zhen has tired, and will now go back to the palace to rest, everyone can enjoy yourselves, no need for restraint.¡± The officials in the hall all stood up and bowed: ¡°Thanking Your Majesty! Respectfully sending Your majesty!¡± Zhao Miaorong also saluted by her father¡¯s side, and when she raised her eyes, she saw the emperor walking out of the hall being led by the hand by that person, the gesture and demeanor very intimate, and she couldn¡¯t help clenching her fists. Gu Hong. After leaving Zhaoyang Hall, Gu Hong didn¡¯t let the palace people follow, and carried the five-cornered glazed lantern himself while leading Jing Ye to the imperial garden. When Jing Ye asked him where he was going, he just smiled and said, ¡°Taking Your Majesty to get some air.¡± Don¡¯t know how long it took, but they finally came to a lotus flower pond. The night wind was chilly, perhaps because it was close to the water, Jing Ye felt the coolness even more than anywhere else: ¡°Here?¡± Gu Hong shook his head slightly, raised his hand and curved his fingers. Soon something moved in the mottled tree shadows, and it turned out to be a small awning boat. Jing Ye¡¯s brows twitched. Gu Hong pulled him to step on. The boat swayed slightly on the lake and the cabin was a little narrow. Gu Hong put his hands on both sides of Jing Ye, and suddenly said: ¡°Your Majesty¡­..¡± ¡°En?¡± ¡°In the future, when no one else is present, could Your Majesty¡­..still call this subject ¡®Ah Hong¡¯?¡± Jing Ye¡¯s fingers twitched and he felt a little embarrassed by what he said. Gu Hong looked at him quietly, and the two of them fell into silence for a while. Outside the boat was the sound of the wooden boat gliding through the water, and the breeze sneaked in, sending traces of the mixed fragrance of leaves and flowers. CH 13 By the time the boat was moored on the other side of the lake, Jing Ye was already rocked to the point of dizziness so when stepping ashore, he couldn¡¯t help but stumble. Fortunately, Gu Hong was there to lend him an arm. A person was already standing on the shore, with slightly curved eyes and ebony hair. Jing Ye paused for a moment, then turned to look at Gu Hong, who motioned for him to come forward. You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Jing Ye coughed lightly and said, ¡°Lin Qing.¡± Lin Xiaosheng bowed and saluted: ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Gu Hong smiled slightly, reached out to hold the emperor¡¯s hand, and led him inside. After passing through the shadows cast by the trees on both sides, Jing Ye was surprised to find that this place was also a cluster of buildings and pavilions that was tidied very cleanly with no sign of dilapidation. Lin Xiaosheng walked by the side of the two, and when he lowered his head a little, he could see their hands clasped. Jing Ye followed Gu Hong to a door. The houses and buildings here did not have plaques hanging on them to indicate any name. A black-clothed guard was waiting at the door, who also bowed and greeted, ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Jing Ye nodded and the guard pushed open the door to let the three of them into the room. Further inside was a jade gauze partition with the door already open. Jing Ye stepped in and was stunned when he raised his eyes and looked around: ¡°This place¡­..¡± Behind him, Lin Xiaosheng glanced at Gu Hong and spoke slowly. ¡°This is the work of our Gu and Lin families, who have devoted more than 20 years of efforts.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Feng Ling stood quietly in the main hall of the Feng Manor. Behind him, old Lord Feng sat on the main seat, the tea lid in his hand gently knocking against the edge of the tea cup. The servant stood in front of the doors, bowing and leading the distinguished guest in front of him to the main hall. The old man in his fifties walked slowly to the front of the hall with the servant, and said with cupped hands, ¡°Lord Feng, I haven¡¯t seen you for so many years.¡± Lord Feng hurriedly put the tea cup back on the small table, stood up and said, ¡°Elder Xing.¡± Feng Ling didn¡¯t understand, so he could only bow in greeting. The old man smiled slightly, moved his gaze to Feng Ling, and sighed with feeling: ¡°This is¡­..your son?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but take two steps forward and look more carefully. Feng Ling looked up at him, then lowered his head again: ¡°Feng Ling, greets this respected elder.¡± ¡°Good, good.¡± Elder Xing looked at him, and couldn¡¯t help but speak praises to old Lord Feng, ¡°Your son truly has the appearance and demeanor of dragons and phoenixes, truly a pillar of the nation¡­..¡± Old Lord Feng nodded and smiled. When the servant standing by the side raised his eyes, he saw the thin fingers of this Elder Xing, trembling faintly within his sleeve. ¡­¡­¡­.. In front of Jing Ye¡¯s eyes were dozens of standing cabinets, all of which were sealed with paper seals. When he looked up to the innermost part of the room, he could see the cabinet with the seal of the Zhao family, which was the largest one. So he simply walked straight to it, raised his hand to tear off the seal, and opened it. What met the eyes were shelves and shelves of booklets, each marked with the year, month and person¡¯s name, numbering almost hundreds of volumes, even divided into main volumes, auxiliary volumes and so on. Jing Ye now completely understood that this was the ¡°Qingyu Pavilion¡± planned and set up by the female emperor and Prime Minister Gu in his memory. A trove of information managed by the Gu family and funded by the Lin family. It seemed that his workaholic grandmother not only had to control the overall situation when she was alive, but also required her children and grandchildren to continue to remain fully in control of the court after she ascended to heaven. It was really not a small case of controlling and possessiveness at all. It was no wonder that after the night of food poisoning, the booklet of information Gu Hong brought over was detailed enough to write a novel. Jing Ye raised his hand to take Zhao Mingde¡¯s volume, but unexpectedly, it unstabled and brought several volumes with it, all of which fell to the ground. The black-clothed guard hurriedly stepped forward to tidy up. ¡°Your Majesty, please be at ease.¡± Gu Hong said with a smile, ¡°The people around Your Majesty are very clean, guaranteed to have no informants from outside the palace. These days, Your Majesty can come here to check more, in the case of¡­..suppressing the chaos.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..En.¡± He suddenly had a creepy feeling. It was getting late, and the three quickly returned to the shore from earlier. Gu Hong seemed to have something to do, so he quickly bowed and left. Lin Xiaosheng also turned to leave, but was stopped by Jing Ye. ¡°Lin Qing.¡± The person who was called turned around. The moonlight reflected on his handsome silhouette, making him look extraordinarily cold. Jing Ye said, ¡°Are your eyes better?¡± He nodded: ¡°This subject thanks Your Majesty for the medicine.¡± Jing Ye looked into his eyes and thought to himself that the reason his eyes were blurry and couldn¡¯t see things must be because of congenital myopia. Lin Xiaosheng said, ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Ah, ah, it is nothing.¡± Jing Ye came back to his senses and smiled at him, ¡°Qing can go back.¡± Lin Xiaosheng pursed his lips, looked at him, and in the end still turned away. The next day, all the officials with their own thoughts and motives went to court, but Zhao Mingde took sick leave, and after that, he continued to take leave for several days, putting on a full air of arrogance. Jing Ye didn¡¯t pay it any attention either, and still asked the quails with an amiable face, ¡°Are there any memorials today?¡± ¡°How is the disaster in the southwest?¡± ¡°Do the common people have enough to eat?¡± ¡°How many young can the old sows in the east of the city have in a single litter?¡± And so on. The officials were also used to it, all replying timidly with perfunctory answers one by one. The days went by without any waves. It was just that Jing Ye no longer went to the imperial study after taking a noon nap every day, but instead took a boat to Qingyu Pavilion to check the volumes. As soon as Lu Baizang heard about this he suddenly developed a whim, going to the hall every day to ask His Majesty the Emperor if he wanted to bring some snacks to relieve his boredom. While asking, he would also press kisses. Jing Ye was practically almost driven to look up to the sky and scream by this questioning mode of asking and kissing and said: ¡°Qing, qing¡¯s kindness is difficult to refuse, just¡­..hnn, uh, then you can fry Zhen some melon seeds¡­..¡± As he spoke he kept backing away to avoid the kissing. ¡°En?¡± Lu Gongzi stopped pressing down kisses and blinked, ¡°Your Majesty wants to eat melon seeds?¡± ¡°¡­..That¡¯s right.¡± Lu Baizang frowned: ¡°It¡¯s just a crude street snack¡­..¡± Then he smiled at Jing Ye, ¡°Your Majesty, please change it to another kind.¡± He stretched out his left arm and hugged Jing Ye¡¯s waist, lowered his head and bit the other¡¯s pink lips, lightly licking and kissing. Jing Ye¡¯s forehead vein twitched, he grabbed Lu Huihui, who was nibbling on some snacks, and blocked Lu Gongzi¡¯s mouth with its small belly that was like a creamy steamed bun. Lu Baizang: ¡°¡­..¡± Lu Huihui struggled fiercely: Ah, too scary, I want to take a shower¡ª¡ª Jing Ye: Who¡¯s the one refusing to shed a tear without seeing the coffin. His Majesty the Emperor who finally won the victory, brought a packet of fragrant melon seeds (Lu Gongzi expressed that his heart was broken with the act of frying them) into the archives room with a smile, and while eating melon seeds, he learned the profound science of ¡°the Zhao family¡¯s daily life¡±. By the evening, Jing Ye finally went ashore. Ye Mao had been waiting on the shore for a long time, and hurriedly stepped forward and said, ¡°Your Majesty, to the imperial study?¡± Jing Ye lowered his head and crossed under the hanging willow branches: ¡°Zhen won¡¯t go tonight, to the palace.¡± ¡°Ai.¡± Ye Gonggong raised the whisk, ¡°Your Majesty, please step on the imperial sedan.¡± Jing Ye was raising his foot to enter, but suddenly he said, ¡°Why does Zhen¡­..hear the crying of a child?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Ye Mao was stunned for a moment, listened carefully, and sure enough, ¡°This is¡­..¡± After a moment of thinking, he understood why, and hurriedly smiled: ¡°It¡¯s the little prince.¡± Jing Ye¡¯s heart moved, and after pondering about it for a while, he found his answer. Jing Ye¡¯s fifth brother was conferred the title Prince of Xiao by the late emperor because he liked to wander jianghu as a chivalrous knight-errant. Although he did not participate in the fight for the throne, when he returned to the imperial palace he was gravely injured and in the end, died from his injuries. The two sons he left behind were arbitrarily named princes by the original owner, and they were left to their own devices in an unknown secluded place in the imperial palace. Jing Ye raised his foot in the direction of the crying as soon as he understood, and Ye Mao hurriedly followed. Passing through the shade of the trees was a small spot of open grassy area, and under the twilight and sunset, there was a little child sitting there, crying with his chubby little paws covering his face. Jing Ye walked over slowly, the little guy was quite keen, and immediately moved his paws to look at him. He was only one or two years old, and was very cute like a snowball. Ye Mao let out a surprised sound: ¡°The appearance of this little prince¡­..is quite similar to Your Majesty¡¯s.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help chuckling as he watched the child raise his face to look at him. ¡°Where¡¯s the maid who takes care of you?¡± However, the child got up unsteadily, reached out and hugged Jing Ye¡¯s leg, opened his mouth and spit out a bubble. Jing Ye¡¯s heart softened. In his previous life, a group of nephews and nieces often surrounded and bothered him to play with them. The elders laughed and said that he had an affinity for children. Now it seemed, this was really the case? He couldn¡¯t help leaning down and picking up the little guy: ¡°Know how to speak yet?¡± The little prince remained silent, his big black grape-like eyes looking at the warm and gentle young man holding him in his arms, unwiped tears still on his small face. Jing Ye¡¯s heart moved, recalling that this child¡¯s parents had died, he was his uncle, so why not raise him at his side¡­.. ¡°Yun¡¯er!¡± Suddenly there was a childish sounding shout from the front. Jing Ye raised his head, and saw that it was a seven or eight-year-old child holding a hollowed-out wooden sword, watching them vigilantly. The sunset was gradually setting, and the ground was painted with red and orange rays of light. The sweet and cute little baby in his arms suddenly opened his arms and kept ¡°babbling¡± toward the boy in the distance. Jing Ye was amused and couldn¡¯t help but lower his head and rub his face against the child¡¯s smooth and chubby cheek, saying with a smile, ¡°Your big brother is here?¡± The little prince: ¡°Yah!¡± Both grown-up and child looked at each other and smiled, looking like a pair of father and son, causing the boy who was holding his sword vigilantly to startle. Jing Ye looked at him and instructed Ye Mao: ¡°Wait here.¡± He walked over with the little guy, leaned down, and handed him the child in his arms: ¡°Can you hold him?¡± The boy nodded with a serious expression on his tender face and stretched out his hands. The little prince nestled in his arms, looked at the stern face of hus big brother, and then looked at Jing Ye who was smiling gently, then turned his head, and resolutely hugged Jing Ye¡¯s neck: ¡°Yahyahyahyah!¡± The little boy¡¯s face darkened. Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help laughing, and his intention to bring this little baby home became stronger and stronger. The little boy was still working hard: ¡°Yun¡¯er!¡± Little baby: ¡°Yah!¡± Little boy: ¡°Yun¡¯er, don¡¯t fuss, come, come to big brother.¡± Little baby: ¡°Yahyah¡­..wu, wu wah wah wah¡­..¡± Little boy:¡±¡­..¡± Jing Ye smiled and looked at the wooden sword in the boy¡¯s hand. Although it looked rough, the body of the sword was as smooth as a mirror. Just by looking at it, one could estimate the smooth fluidity when the maker¡¯s hand raised their own sword to create this wooden one. ¡­..Wait. You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) He suddenly remembered that although the Prince of Xiao had passed away, before he died, he was worried that his two sons would be left unattended in the palace, so he ordered a servant to go out of the imperial palace to find a close friend to look after and teach his sons. And this person was indeed now living quietly in the imperial palace. CH 14 Jing Le hugged his younger brother and carried the small wooden sword on his back, running all the way from the small side path back to the secluded courtyard. There was an old plaque hanging in front of the courtyard, with the words ¡°Xiaoyi Pavilion¡± inscribed. Little Jing Yun was still slapping his elder brother¡¯s tender face angrily: ¡°Wah wah!¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) ¡°Don¡¯t fuss, Yun¡¯er.¡± Jing Le grabbed his younger brother¡¯s chubby paws with a stern face, ¡°We have to meet Shifu.¡± ¡°!!!!!!¡± Jing Yun widened his eyes and was finally obedient. Jing Le carefully stepped into the yard with his brother in his arms, stood in front of a paper window, and then lowered his head: ¡°Shifu.¡± After a long time. ¡°You are late.¡± ¡°Still late in the end¡­..¡± Jing Le pursed his lips and lowered his head again: ¡°This disciple understands.¡± ¡°Go outside and slash a hundred times with your sword.¡± The man¡¯s voice was as cold as ice and snow, ¡°No whistling sound of the wind should be heard.¡± ¡°Yes, Shifu.¡± Jing Le hesitated for a moment, but still raised his head and said, ¡°Shifu, can you look after Yun¡¯er for this disciple?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± The man responded, ¡°Just bring him into the room.¡± ¡°This disciple thanks Shifu!¡± Jing Le smiled and carried his younger brother to the door, ¡°This disciple is entering?¡± ¡°En.¡± Jing Le took his younger brother into the house. The man was sitting quietly by the window, the candle was flickering, and the dim yellow candlelight reflected on his long jet-black hair, shrouding it in a flowing halo. Jing Yun was carried to the couch while still babbling. Jing Le stroked his soft hair, and instructed, ¡°Be good Yun¡¯er, listen to Shifu¡¯s words.¡± Little Jing Yun stared at his older brother with wide eyes, and then turned to look at the man at the table who was as cold as snow. He suddenly recalled the gentle smile and embrace of the young man earlier, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling a surge of misery. ¡°Wah wah wah wah¡ª¡ª¡± The man¡¯s brows moved slightly: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jing Le was a little embarrassed: ¡°This¡­..¡± The man was silent for a while, then finally got up, walked to little Jing Yun and leaned over to hug him: ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡± The angry little Jing Yun was like a newborn calf not knowing to be afraid of tigers. Although he was a little scared, he still resolutely slapped Shifu¡¯s icy face with a wave of his little chubby paws. ¡°!!¡± Jing Le inhaled sharply and stepped forward: ¡°Shifu, actually¡­..this disciple can still look after Yun¡¯er¡­..¡± ¡°What happened outside?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Jing Le was stunned, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s, it¡¯s nothing, we just met one person¡­..¡± He looked at the expressionless face of his shifu, and said carefully: ¡°This disciple didn¡¯t take good care of my younger brother, letting him run off accidentally, and when this disciple found him later, someone was holding him.¡± ¡°¡­..Yun¡¯er liked his hug and refused to come back. That¡¯s why we came back late.¡± The man didn¡¯t say a word, just gently let go of the little guy who kept babbling in his arms, lowered his head and looked at him: ¡°Don¡¯t fuss.¡± Little Jing Yun was first shocked by the man¡¯s icy eyes, but he immediately reacted: You actually acted mean to me! As a result, let go of his lungs and screeched, this time turning the volume to the highest level. ¡°Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah¡ª¡ª¡± Man: ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Le: ¡°Shifu, what should be done?¡± Man: ¡°¡­..Children, hard to raise.¡± Jing Ye saw the two brothers again the next day. As soon as the little one saw him, he grinned and opened his arms to beg for a hug. Jing Ye walked over and stretched out his arms. The bigger one hesitated for a while, but still carried his brother and handed him over. Jing Ye smiled and hugged the little guy, rubbing against his little petal-like face. If he could take him back with him just like this, his mood would be even more complete. Little Jing Yun raised his head and opened his mouth, spitting out a bubble, with an adorable smile on his face. Jing Ye smiled at Jing Le: ¡°Are you lost again?¡± Jing Le looked at his smiling eyes, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed for the lie he told yesterday, and rubbed the little wooden sword in his hands: ¡°No, no.¡± Jing Ye squeezed little Jing Yun, who was constantly moving in his arms, and asked him, ¡°Do you have to practice martial arts outside until this hour every day?¡± Jing Le nodded, thought about it for a moment, and said, ¡°Shifu said that people must first work hard on their hearts and minds and then work hard on their muscles and bones.¡± Jing Ye looked at the wooden sword in his hand again, and found that the back of the sword was hollow: ¡°This is¡­..¡± Jing Le followed his line of sight and replied, ¡°Shifu wants me to practice slashing with it until there is no sound of breaking the air.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± A child who was only eight years old was treated so strictly. He remembered that group of little ancestors in his previous life who would burst into sobs if just their little finger was scraped, and he couldn¡¯t help but gently hold the boy¡¯s hand and found that there was already a thin layer of calluses on it: ¡°You practice every day, are you happy?¡± Jing Le was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I need to practice.¡± Jing Ye sighed in his heart. Lu Baizang came to deliver snacks to His Majesty the Emperor as usual. Jing Ye looked at the porcelain plate on which the desserts were placed, and suddenly asked him, ¡°Do you know what children like to eat?¡± Lu Baizang was slightly surprised and said with a smile, ¡°This subject has a little niece. Before entering the palace, she often pestered this subject for snacks to eat.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help laughing, ¡°Then Zhen must trouble qing to make some of the same from before.¡± ¡°En?¡± No need to fry melon seeds anymore? ¡°You don¡¯t need to fry melon seeds anymore.¡± Jing Ye said, ¡°If it is no trouble, please make some snacks that qing¡¯s niece likes to eat.¡± Lu Baizang raised his eyebrows and smiled: ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s words are too impersonal and distant.¡± Then he loomed closer over him, ¡°As long as Your Majesty wants, this subject can give you anything¡­..¡± ¡°Aiqing.¡± Jing Ye stepped back expressionlessly, ¡°Remember Lu Huihui?¡± Lu Baizang: ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye was once again standing by the lake, this time with a bag of cakes. Sure enough, when it was almost evening, Jing Le walked out from the shade of the tree with little Jing Yun in his arms. Jing Ye leaned over with a smile, took over Jing Yun who had already opened his arms, and said to the serious-looking elder brother with a smile, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Le lowered his eyes: ¡°I¡¯m not hungry.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Jing Ye freed one hand and slowly opened the paper bag in his hand, ¡°Then do you want to eat cakes?¡± Lu Baizang¡¯s cooking skills were truly outstanding, as soon as the paper bag was opened, a sweet fragrance wafted into the air. Little Jing Yun¡¯s eyes went cross eyed, and his drool was like a dam bursting. Jing Le swallowed his saliva, and just as he was about to say no, his stomach growled and his face flushed. Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help laughing and picked up a piece and put it into the mouth of the little guy who was already desperately trying to grab at it. Jing Le blushed and wanted to turn his back, but Jing Ye grabbed another piece and stuffed it directly into his mouth. After all, he was just a child, the yam cake with jujube filling in his mouth melted in his mouth, accompanied by the sweet aroma of red jujube filling, and he couldn¡¯t help swallowing straight down into his stomach. Since his father¡¯s death, Jing Le had never eaten any meals or snacks that could be used other than to satisfy hunger. Because his shifu never ate these kinds of things. Jing Ye smiled and rubbed his head. Whether it was the palace guards who followed the emperor, or the uncle and his two nephews who were eating happily, none noticed the corners of white robes fluttering gently in the tall trees not far away, After feeding the two little guys, Jing Ye returned to Ping An Palace in the imperial sedan. Ye Mao was waiting at the gate of the palace. When he saw the emperor getting off the sedan, he stepped forward and said: ¡°Your Majesty, the two lords, Lord Yin and Lord Tang you sent to the southwest, have returned to the capital today.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Jing Ye leaned down and got out of the sedan, ¡°All the officials on the imperial envoy have returned to the court¡­..then it¡¯s time to settle the account.¡± The next day. Jing Ye sat on the dragon throne in his five-clawed dragon robe and said loudly, ¡°Tang Aiqing, Yin Aiqing.¡± The two glanced at each other, and said, ¡°This official is here.¡± ¡°Zhen has been worried about the disaster in the southwest this whole time, and now that the two aiqings have come back¡­..¡± Jing Ye¡¯s index finger lightly rubbed the dragon head on the armrest, ¡°¡­..Can you tell Zhen how the disaster is now?¡± Yin Yuan took a step forward, stroked his sleeves, and knelt down on the ground: ¡°Reporting to Your Majesty, after the 300,000 taels arrived in the southwest, many people now live in peace and warmth, and the disaster situation has greatly improved.¡± Jing Ye smiled: ¡°Is that so? Then the two aiqings have worked hard.¡± The two of them also smiled: ¡°Your Majesty is wise, it is the blessing of the imperial court.¡± ¡°Zhen feels very relieved that aiqing has said this.¡± Jing Ye said with a smile, word by word, and only he could hear how he gritted his teeth, ¡°That being the case, Zhen has here some seemingly untrue rumors, and would like you two to have a look.¡± Lords Tang and Yin had strange expressions on their faces, raised their heads, and saw that the emperor took out a red sealed memorial from his sleeve, raised his hand and threw it down the steps. The two couldn¡¯t help the sinking in their hearts. Tang Hongwen moved his fingers, stepped forward slowly, picked up the memorial, and opened it to look. There was silence in the hall for a while. Tang Hongwen stood at the foot of the steps and looked at the memorial, and the more he read the more his body trembled, and finally his hands trembled so hard the memorial fell to the ground, and he himself also knelt down: ¡°This official! This official¡­..Your Majesty please investigate¡­..¡± Yin Yuan sensed something was wrong, so he hurriedly picked up the memorial and read through it. However, after two brief glances, he was already dripping with cold sweat, and immediately fell to the ground: ¡°Your Majesty, please investigate! This subject has never concealed anything from Your Majesty!¡± Jing Ye leaned forward and stared at them: ¡°Then does aiqing mean to say that this Shahe County magistrate falsely reported news and intended to deceive Zhen?¡± ¡°Yes¡­..yes¡­..¡± ¡°Do you really think that this was the only memorial handed to Zhen!¡± Jing Ye raised his voice sharply, ¡°The officials from several counties and towns next to Shahe County have sent them! Saying that you two! Allowed the relief funds to be robbed without reporting it! And even made a profit from it!¡± ¡°¡­..Speak, who should Zhen trust?¡± ¡°Your Majesty¡­..Your Majesty, this official¡­..¡± Jing Ye looked at the two people coldly: ¡°Tang Hongwen and Yin Yuan, who embezzled the state treasury, deceived the monarch and did not report the truth, should be sentenced to death on the basis of the law.¡± ¡°Your Majesty!¡± The two of them could no longer say anything, they just knelt on the ground and kowtowed, ¡°Begging Your Majesty to forgive the sins of this official¡­..¡± Jing Ye looked at these two people indifferently: ¡°Where are the Imperial Guards?¡± There was a sound of armor clanging behind the huge colonnade, and the soldiers who emitted the aura of blood and killing intent stood forward: ¡°Your Majesty.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) ¡°Take the two of them out of the hall, remove their official uniforms, and throw them out of the palace.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Relay the order to the Imperial Army to leave immediately without delay, seize and confiscate the manors of Yin and Tang.¡± CH 15 Nearly noon, all the officials timidly withdrew from Taihe Hall, and the several big officials in charge of the cabinet all gathered around the Prime Minister of the Right, Lord Qin. ¡°Prime Minister Qin, we never even heard a sound about those memorials from the local officials in His Majesty¡¯s hands¡­..¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) ¡°¡­..That¡¯s right, all the memorials that should be sent to the imperial study have to be reviewed by the cabinet first¡­..¡± ¡°Say, just what has¡­..¡± ¡°Enough, my lords.¡± Qin Youxiang walked unsteadily, but his tone was even and steady, ¡°It is no longer what it used to be, and the emperor¡¯s thoughts are unpredictable. You all perform and fulfill your duties and you will be able to keep your official uniform and guarantee the safety of your wife and children, as for the rest¡­..it is useless to say any more.¡± This official talk was so impeccable that though the officials wanted to ask more, they didn¡¯t even know where to start and could only shut up sheepishly. Qin Youxiang didn¡¯t look at these people either, he just continued to walk forward slowly. Jing Ye looked up at the sky that was about to fall into the night, the clouds were surging, and the sky was colored in red and and orange. ¡°Ye Mao.¡± He looked around. Ye Gonggong stepped forward: ¡°Ai, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already this hour, why haven¡¯t they arrived yet.¡± ¡°This¡­..¡± Ye Gonggong also did not know, ¡°Perhaps they are held up by something. Your Majesty, shall we still wait?¡± ¡°En.¡± The two of them just stood still on the grassy spot of ground, and the palace servants who accompanied them were sent away to prevent the two children from being nervous. The sky was getting darker little by little, and the gorgeous sunset sky gradually faded into the long night. Ye Mao beckoned the palace servants to bring the palace lanterns, and with a lantern he stepped forward and said softly, ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s go back to the palace.¡± Jing Ye¡¯s eyebrows twitched and he raised his head to look at the darkness in the distance: ¡°¡­..Fine.¡± He raised the hand that had been hidden in his long sleeve, revealing an exquisite and colorful toy drum in his hand. When he shook it hard, it would make a ¡°dong dong¡± sound. If little Jing Yun saw it, he would definitely clap his chubby paws in delight. The soft light from the gauze palace lantern reflected on Jing Ye¡¯s lonely profile, highlighting his expression of helplessness. Before he came here, he had both parents and a successful career. Unfortunately, he could not have a child of his own. He also thought that if he was a heterosexual man, liked beautiful and gentle girls, and married a virtuous girl, then he would surely be envied by many people. Unfortunately, assumptions can never hold. Just like he couldn¡¯t even imagine himself in the past now. ¡°¡­..Your Majesty?¡± Ye Mao called cautiously beside him. ¡°En.¡± Jing Ye came back to his senses, paused, turned around and began walking back, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the palace.¡± ¡°Ai.¡± Zhao Manor. Zhao Mingde leaned on the small table by the couch, raised his eyebrows and said in surprise, ¡°He actually dismissed Tang and Yin¡¯s official status?¡± Sitting in front of him was a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar: ¡°Yes.¡± Zhao Mingde thought for a while, then raised his head and said, ¡°The emperor doing this, is this a provocation?¡± The middle-aged man took a sip of tea and said, ¡°But Tang and Yin are unaware of the incident. In the past, the two of them only dealt with some court affairs that involved money but little power, yet the emperor inexplicably sent them to the southwest, and as a result, the money was robbed halfway through, and they were so scared that their souls practically fled their bodies, fearing of losing their life because of their failure in supervision,. It was only after being persuaded by the people we sent, did they sent a fake report that everything went smoothly.¡± Zhao Mingde frowned. ¡°¡­..I¡¯m afraid that it was really someone who was lucky enough to pass their memorial to the emperor, and the emperor learned that the money was taken.¡± The middle-aged man shook his head, ¡°As for who put the memorial in front of the emperor, in my opinion, it is no doubt the Prime Minister of the Right.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­..¡± Zhao Mingde didn¡¯t continue. It wasn¡¯t until a long time passed that he nodded as if he was truly convinced. Jing Ye waited by the lake for the second time until it got dark. Ye Mao looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky, stepped forward and bowed: ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s time to return to the palace.¡± ¡°En.¡± Jing Ye guessed that this would be the result, but he still waited until this time. ¡°Go back to the palace.¡± His Majesty the Emperor walked ahead with his head down. Ye Gonggong looked at his back from behind, and only felt a strong feeling of the bleak autumn wind being emitted. On this side, Xiaoyi Pavilion was not so peaceful anymore. Whe little Jing Yun found out that he was not being carried to see Susu the night before, he instantly opened his mouth and wailed. It was an hour of being held by his older brother and coaxed and kissed before his wailing stopped. But who knew that the next day! It! Was! Still! The! Same! So the little bun¡¯s face really bulged into a bun (due to the need to gather air into his lungs), and with a ¡°wah¡±, the wails that ensued were comparable to that of earthquakes. Even shocking Jing Le¡¯s hand that held the sword to tremble. Jing Le looked at his baby brother who was crying non-stop, and in the end his heart softened. He couldn¡¯t help turning around and bowing to Lin Hangyu: ¡°Shifu¡­..¡± The man looked at him and then lowered his eyes: ¡°If this doting becomes a habit, it will be difficult to turn it around later.¡± ¡°Shifu¡­..¡± Jing Le opened his mouth, but in the end still lowered his head. He turned and walked back to his younger brother, carefully wiping the tears on his tender face with his sleeve. ¡°Can Yun¡¯er be good?¡± ¡°Wah¡­..¡± Little Jing Yun raised his two chubby paws, grabbed his outstretched hand, and looked at him with big black eyes, ¡°Wah wah wah wah¡ª¡ª¡± Jing Le pursed his lips and turned his face away from him. Little Jing Yun was practically about to die of sadness. Usually after he did this, big brother would give him whatever he wanted! Lin Hangyu also turned his face and looked out the window. The noise and clamor lasted until the middle of the night. Both this one adult and one child did not know how to look after a toddler. When the little guy became thirsty from crying, they would hand over water, and when he was hungry, they would hand over food. So little Jing Yun became more and more courageous, and in this regard, he made full use of the amazing physical strength that his father passed on to him. In the end it still couldn¡¯t be helped. When the little guy finally fell asleep with tears in his eyes, Jing Le breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to climb into the bed and hug his brother to sleep, but found that the little guy¡¯s body was hot. At this, now the two people were really at a loss. In Ping An Palace, Ye Mao slipped gently into the bedroom, and whispered beside the dragon bed, ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°En?¡± Jing Ye¡¯s eyelids moved, and he made a sound in his throat. ¡°Your Majesty, something happened at Xiaoyi Pavilion.¡± ¡°Where¡­..¡± Jing Ye turned over and buried his head in the quilt, but then suddenly raised his head, ¡°What did you say?¡± Ye Mao: ¡°Lin Gongzi went to the imperial medical college in person, and according to the imperial physician¡¯s report, the young prince has a fever¡­¡­¡± ¡°What!¡± Jing Ye sat up all of a sudden, ¡°That Sword Sage or whatever, he wouldn¡¯t happen to really not know how to take care of children, would he?¡± Ye Gonggong muttered, ¡°Would someone called the Sword Sage know how to take care of children?¡± Jing Ye had already got up from the bed: ¡°Light the lanterns! We go to Xiaoyi Pavilion!¡± As he spoke, he had already landed on the ground, stepping on the cold floor with his bare feet. Ye Mao: ¡°Ai, ai, Your Majesty, please wait¡­..let this servant call the palace maid to change your clothes first¡­..¡± Inside Xiaoyi Pavilion. The imperial physician sat at a small wooden table, so shabby it did not look like it belonged in the palace, his hands trembling as he wrote the prescription. Lin Hangyu, who was emitting cold air, was sitting quietly by the window, watching the little guy whose face was reddened from fever on the bed and said nothing. Jing Le, with the wooden sword on his back, leaned against the edge of the bed, and looked at his brother, barely even blinking his eyes. The room was silent. It was dark outside the window. Jing Ye strode to the gate of the courtyard, raised his head and glanced at the plaque on the door, then stretched out his hand to open the door and stepped in. The courtyard door squeaked, Jing Le¡¯s ears twitched, and he turned to look outside, but the little guy on the bed suddenly stretched out his arms, and the little chubby paws touched Jing Le¡¯s fingers. He quickly turned around and grabbed his brother¡¯s hand: ¡°Yun¡¯er?¡± ¡°Sir Lin.¡± Jing Ye walked into the courtyard, ¡°May Zhen come in and take a look at the little prince?¡± Lin Hangyu¡¯s thin lips pursed slightly. But Jing Le couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. He stepped forward and knelt down and said, ¡°Shifu, let him hold Yun¡¯er. Maybe Yun¡¯er will be more comfortable.¡± Waves appeared in the man¡¯s eyes, he was silent for a while, but finally said, ¡°The door is not locked.¡± Although the words were not loud, Jing Ye outside the house could hear it clearly, and immediately stepped forward to open the door. The imperial physician at the table hurriedly put down his pen and knelt on the ground: ¡°Paying respect to Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Is the prescription ready?¡± Jing Ye walked over and picked up the prescription, looked at it closely, and suddenly couldn¡¯t help being exasperated, ¡°You have been here for such a long time, and you haven¡¯t written anything?¡± A cold light flashed in the eyes of the man by the window. ¡°This¡­..¡± The imperial physician tucked his neck in fright, and after thinking for a long time, he carefully replied: ¡°Actually¡­..according to¡­..according to this official¡¯s investigation, the little prince¡¯s fever is not because of illness, but from teething.¡± ¡°Teething?¡± Jing Ye was stunned for a moment, remembering that when he watched his brothers take care of their children this word had come up before, so he felt relieved, ¡°It¡¯s not a misjudgment?¡± The imperial physician bowed his head and said, ¡°The prince¡¯s body is hot but the back of his ears are as usual. Thus a sign of teething. It is recorded in ¡°Secrets of the External Body¡±: ¡®When teething occurs, the body becomes hot, the pulse becomes disordered, the sweating becomes profuse, and the eyes become unclear. Slightly similar to suffering a fright.¡¯ It is all in line with the symptoms of the little prince, so this official predicts that his fever-like symptoms are due to teething.¡± ¡°Let Zhen take a look¡­..¡± Jing Ye walked to the bed and sat down. He picked up little Jing Yun in his arms and felt the temperature of his ears. And indeed it was as usual, and his heart finally went back to its usual place: ¡°Good. Ye Mao.¡± Ye Gonggong, who was standing by the door, bowed: ¡°Ai, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Pour some clean warm water for the prince to drink, not too hot.¡± Ye Mao nodded and was about to turn around, but was stopped again: ¡°Have someone bring a bottle of the new tribute rose dew from the palace. It¡¯s sweet, and the little guy will like to drink it with water.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) ¡°This servant will go now.¡± ¡°Your¡­..Your Majesty.¡± Jing Le pressed the edge of the bed and stared up at his little brother¡¯s sleeping red face: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Yun¡¯er?¡± Jing Ye rubbed his head and chuckled: ¡°He¡¯s not sick, he¡¯s grown up.¡± CH 16 Soon, Ye Mao brought warm water and rose dew. Jing Ye took a spoon and mixed a small bowl, personally feeding the little guy spoon by spoon. Little Jing Yun was obviously very fond of this sweet water with a fragrant scent, and he quickly drank it all. Seeing his younger brother finally sleeping peacefully, Jing Le also couldn¡¯t help but reveal his tiredness. He wiped his face with a towel and got in the bed, holding little Jing Yun in his arms before quickly falling asleep. The imperial physician had already retired. Jing Ye walked out of the room, closed the door, then turned to look at the handsome swordsman standing in the courtyard and said: ¡°Lin Gongzi. I want to take these two children with me and let them inherit the throne in the future. Zhen hope you will fulfill this request.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t allow it.¡± The Sword Sage¡¯s answer was succinct and powerful. Jing Ye curved up the corner of his mouth: ¡°What if the prince really had a fever? Do you know how to take care of a child?¡± The man was silent for a while, and then a single word popped out, ¡°Hungry.¡± ¡°What?¡± The man frowned slightly, seemingly a little uncertain about his decision: ¡°Hunger. When I got sick when I was young, I relied on that to get better.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Little Jing Yun was very happy today. When he opened his eyes in the morning, he saw Susu who he hadn¡¯t seen for two days, and Susu smiled and fed him sweet red water. Yiyah! Gotta get sick more often in the future! The little guy sat on the bed, clapping his chubby paws with excitement. Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help smiling when he saw it. Although it was only teething, he still stayed in the small courtyard all night to avoid missing any sudden changes. After all, Jing Le was only a child, and as for that swordsman¡­..hehe, let us not mention him. Speaking of which, this should be the last time the little guy will experience teething, and then he could start learning to speak. Thinking of this, Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help reaching out and hugging the little baby to his lap, rubbed the tip of his nose and smiled, ¡°Uncle didn¡¯t sleep all night because of you, come, say uncle.¡± Little Jing Yun looked at him with wide eyes, opened his mouth and spit out a bubble. ¡°¡­..¡± En, perhaps he was too impatient. Jing Ye held the little guy with both hands to let him stand up, little Jing Yun immediately put his little arms around his neck, and the uncle and nephew pair just hugged together, ¡°Ai, even if you can call out to people, it won¡¯t be Zhen you¡¯ll call out to first.¡± Little Jing Yun let out a ¡°woo¡± sound. ¡°¡­..But you are not allowed to call your shifu first.¡± Jing Ye stroked his back, ¡°With his way of raising children, baby, it¡¯s a miracle that you survived until now.¡± ¡°Haha.¡± The little guy opened his mouth and laughed in a silly manner. Outside the room, Ye Gonggong called tremblingly, ¡°Your Majesty¡­..Your Majesty, it¡¯s time to attend morning assembly¡­..¡± He glanced at Lin Hangyu, who was standing like a statue outside the door, and after resisting it for a long time, he eventually lifted his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Fine, your uncle has to go to court.¡± Jing Ye put his precious nephew back on the bed, ¡°Be good, en?¡± ¡°Ah woo.¡± Little Jing Yun clenched his small fist, his grape-like black eyes watched Jing Ye get up and walk out, so he raised his chubby arms and kept ¡°yiyah¡± non-stop. Jing Ye turned around and looked at him. So this¡­..was what it¡¯s like to be a father. Jing Ye opened the door, and when he looked up, he saw Lin Hangyu holding a sword and standing in front of him, dressed in all white robes like a sculpture made of ice and snow, cold and expressionless. ¡°I promise you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Jing Ye was startled at first, then chuckled, and couldn¡¯t help turning his head to look at the little baby in the room who was still peering his way, ¡°Lin Gongzi, it is rumored that your word is worth nine sacred tripods.¡± (TN: expression for one¡¯s word having enormous weight) ¡°It¡¯s not a rumor.¡± Lin Hangyu¡¯s eyes were as still as water, ¡°You take Yun¡¯er to take care of, and when he reaches six years old, he will still come back here to become my disciple.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye looked him over carefully, black eyes, black hair, white robes, and suddenly felt that time seemed to stand still on this person, like the snow on the highest point of an icy mountain, which had remained unchanged for thousands of years. ¡°Gongzi was entrusted by your best friend to raise his two children, but now you entrust Jing Yun to me¡­..Lin Gongzi, do you know the rumors about me?¡± The man glanced at him and said slowly, ¡°Seeing is believing.¡± His tone was firm. And so arrogant that it was endearing. Feng Manor. The servant girl who received the words from Madam Feng stood outside the room, knocked on the door and said, ¡°Young master, are you awake? Madam sent this slave to invite you over.¡± There was a sound of footsteps in the room, and soon, Feng Ling came to open the door in person: ¡°You all wait a minute.¡± The servant girl looked into the room and said with a smile, ¡°How come the young master is alone and didn¡¯t call Song Yan and the others to come and serve you.¡± ¡°I have something to do, and so I told them to wait outside.¡± Feng Ling waved his hand and gestured that he was about to close the door. The servant girl had sharp eyes, and saw the color on his hands at a glance: ¡°Young master, it¡¯s so early in the morning, but you¡¯re not preparing to go to morning assembly, are you painting something in the room?¡± Feng Ling suddenly stiffened: ¡°No, I didn¡¯t paint anything¡­..¡± Knowing that he was shy, the servant girls all backed away with a smile. Feng Ling closed the door, turned around, walked to the desk, and gently lifted the gauze veil covering the painting. The painting was suffused with hazy morning light, and there was a young man with a gentle and warm appearance, who was resting on a soft couch. The sunlight by the window shone down softly on the young man looking at the painting, as if the years were quiet and the world was stable. ¡­¡­¡­.. Northwest Khotan, Zhenbei General¡¯s Manor. The weather was perfect that day, and the Yang family invited a few officials and their wives whom they were on good terms with to drink tea in their garden. The conversation between women was nothing more than rouge, jewelry, in-laws, husbands, and occasionally also those concubines kept by their husbands back at home. ¡°Huiyin, that concubine surnamed Bai had been living in your manor for three years now, right? How can you be so magnanimous and let her run wild in your General¡¯s Manor.¡± Huiyin was Yang shi¡¯s boudoir name. Yang shi¡¯s hand holding the tea cup paused, she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°The general dotes on her, what can I do? How many times have I persuaded him in the past three years, don¡¯t let those shameful things get too complacent, but was it of any use?¡± ¡°Ai, you have to say it softly, don¡¯t speak accusingly.¡± Chen shi, her best friend, said, ¡°Don¡¯t think you are not in a hurry now, if you wait until she gives birth to a child in the future, then who knows if the family¡¯s inheritance will be snatched by that mother and son pair!¡± This remark could be said to be a direct hit on the head. Yang shi no longer had interest in drinking tea, she put the tea cup on the table: ¡°Tell me, do you have any useful solutions?¡± The several women exchanged looks and all of them shook their fans and began talking about the way they used to deal with those concubines. ¡­¡­¡­¡­. Dong Ling was wearing only the inner layer of robes and was adjusting the clothes for the man in front of her who was around forty years old. She was born with a beautiful face like a hibiscus, and her figure was also perfectly curved and exquisite. What was even more rare was her knowledge or etiquette and courtesy that ordinary concubines did not possess. Xu Ming was hooked at first sight. In the past three years, Yang shi had complained a lot about her, but how could he be willing to let go of such a rare beauty. Thinking of this, Xu Ming couldn¡¯t help but pull the beauty in front of him into his arms only for Dong Ling to put up a hand in resistance and say, ¡°General.¡± Xu Ming secretly swallowed his saliva and let go of his hands: ¡°Fine, fine.¡± Then he turned around and strode out. The little servant girl took this opportunity to walk in with a copper basin: ¡°Madam, please wash up.¡± Dong Ling stood there silently for a while, and then nodded: ¡°Bring it over.¡± ¡°Ai.¡± The little servant girl came over with the basin of water and a face towel, and whispered while serving her mistress, ¡°It¡¯s all according to your wishes, all secretly done, the guards in Hongqin House are now replaced with ours.¡± Dong Ling raised her head: ¡°All done?¡± The little servant girl smiled and said, ¡°Yes.¡± She couldn¡¯t help smiling too, but as he smiled, tears began welling up in her eyes. ¡°Madam¡­..¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Dong Ling wiped the corners of her eyes and covered her face with the wet face towel, ¡°I¡¯m just¡­..happy.¡± ¡°Is the Thousand Autumn Festival coming soon?¡± ¡°Yes, Madam, the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°En, good, really good.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Taihe Hall. Jing Ye sat on the dragon throne and said slowly: ¡°The day after tomorrow will be imperial grandmother¡¯s Thousand Autumn Festival. In previous years, it was celebrated extravagantly, but now with the devastation left by the severe drought in the southwest still not having passed, it is not appropriate to hold an extravagant palace banquet. What do you all think of spending the festival with your wife and children instead?¡± The officials all knelt down one after another: ¡°Your Majesty is wise, this official respectfully follows the imperial word.¡± Jing Ye didn¡¯t sleep all night last night, and didn¡¯t want to force himself any longer. He yawned secretly and said, ¡°Are there still memorials?¡± There was silence below. ¡°No? Then you are all dismissed.¡± After Jing Ye left the Taihe Hall, he did not return to his palace residence, but went straight to Qingyu Pavilion. When he arrived at the lake, Gu Hong had already prepared a boat and was waiting on the shore. Jing Ye leaned over and stepped onto the boat, sat down in the cabin, raised his head and asked Gu Hong, who followed him, ¡°The Jiang family¡¯s only daughter?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Hong helped him smooth the folds on his sleeves, ¡°She is now a concubine living in the Zhenbei General¡¯s Manor, her surname is Bai, and she is very favored by Xu Ming.¡± Bai Dongling, formerly known as Jiang Zhitao, was the daughter of a sixth-rank civil official in the northwest. Four years ago, Qi Lan, the eldest son of the Qi family in the northwest, was snatched into the Xu family by Xu Huang, the son of Xu Ming. Qi Lan was handsome in appearance and possessed brilliant literary talent. Although he was not a noble son of an aristocratic family, his appearance, demeanor and character was at the same level as Gu and Li. He was engaged since young, and his fiancee was the daughter of the Jiang family who grew up with him as his childhood sweetheart. Qi Lan was originally a withdrawn person and also had little affluent background. After being targeted by a local tyrant like Xu Huang, even if he used his death yo resist, he was still snatched into the Xu residence in the end. After entering the Xu residence, he refused to submit to Xu Huang, and was fed all kinds of unspeakable strange medicines. After two months, he was driven insane. The Jiang family was also implicated, and Jiang Zhitao disappeared from the Jiang family after confirming that Qi Lan had gone insane, and was never seen since. Looking at the narration on the dossier in the pavilion, every word literally dripped blood and tears. Gu Hong said: ¡°She is the spy that my father put at Xu Ming¡¯s side, so the information she sent are all kept in a more hidden place in the pavilion. This subject will go to find them for Your Majesty later.¡± Jing Ye was silent for a while and asked him, ¡°What about Qi Lan?¡± Gu Hong let out a light laugh: ¡°Just a lunatic now, but he¡¯s still alive.¡± Jing Ye fell silent. On the night of the Thousand Autumn Festival every year, the lantern market in the capital would set off various lanterns all night, sometimes even more than 10,000. Looking out from the bedroom of Ping An Palace, he could see that the lights lit up the night sky in red for most of the night, and could also vaguely hear the lively celebrations and laughter of the people. Jing Ye sat at a small table by the window looking through the memorials, and Ye Mao stood quietly behind him. A bright light suddenly appeared in the distance, lighting Jing Ye¡¯s profile. Ye Mao thought about it and said, ¡°Your Majesty, why don¡¯t we¡­..also light some candles?¡± Jing Ye stopped writing, looked at the red dotted sky in the distance, and shook his head: ¡°What¡¯s the point, it¡¯s cold and quiet, and it¡¯s not like Zhen is one of the common people, the whole family lively and together.¡± Ye Mao fell silent. Feng Manor. The Feng family sat in the waterside pavilion in the manor, enjoying the coolness and company. As they chatted, Madam Feng somehow began talking about the first time she met old Lord Feng when she was a young lady. ¡°Your father and I, the first time we met was during the Thousand Autumn Festival.¡± Madam Feng took Feng Ling¡¯s hand and smiled, ¡°There were so many lanterns that year, it was rare for me to be allowed to go out once by your grandfather, and I was so happy that I ran around everywhere and ended up getting lost. Later, I ran into your father. He and his sisters who were also out to play sent me back to the manor. At that time he was silent and did not say anything. But after a month, the matchmaker came knocking at our door. Say, don¡¯t you think your father is quite impatient¡­..¡± Feng Ling was stunned, and thought of Jing Ye. Did he have someone to accompany him in the palace? Come to think of it¡­..he did. Not mentioning others, but Gu Gongzi would definitely accompany him. Thinking about this, he suddenly no longer had any interest in the festivities. Feng Ling got up and said, ¡°Father, mother, this son plans to step out the manor for awhile.¡± Madam Feng: ¡°Ai? Are you tired of listening?¡± Old Lord Feng also looked at him and said, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Feng Ling lowered his head: ¡°This son¡­..this son remembered borrowing an ancient book from the son of the Yang family. Yesterday he asked me for it. As this son is free today, this son decided to return it to him now.¡± There was some hesitation and stuttering in his words. A gleam of light flashed in old Lord Feng¡¯s eyes, but he still nodded and said, ¡°Fine, go.¡± Madam Feng: ¡°Come home early, don¡¯t play too much.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Feng Ling bowed and stepped back. Immediately, he asked the little servant boy to wrap the ancient book in cloth and took it with him out of the manor. Ping An Palace. The unfinished memorials were put aside, and the master and servant were surrounded by a five-colored lamp that had just been brought in. Ye Mao looked at the lantern and sighed: ¡°Your Majesty, just now Lu Gongzi came to accompany you, why did you refute it?¡± And then accompany him to the bed? As if. Jing Ye snorted coldly, ¡°He didn¡¯t bring Lu Huihui.¡± Ye Mao: ¡°?¡± Jing Ye pouted and drew an outline on the lantern. ¡°¡­..¡± Ye Gonggong blinked, ¡°Your Majesty, what are you drawing?¡± ¡°Mickey Mouse.¡± ¡°?¡± Ye Mao¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°How could this be a mouse?¡± ¡°How isn¡¯t this a mouse?¡± Jing Ye switched to a red pen and added a cool pair of little red pants to Mickey Mouse. ¡°Look, how cute, my painting skills are better than Gu Gongzi, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Speaking of Gu Hong, Jing Ye also stopped writing. If he wasn¡¯t so busy with Qingyu Pavilion, he could come and have a chat with him. Suddenly, the other man¡¯s deep pool-like eyes appeared in his mind. ¡°Your Majesty doesn¡¯t need to say any more, this subject just asks Your Majesty to understand, Gu Hong is not the kind of person who is willing to do things against his heart.¡± What was this man thinking, he wondered. Some people¡¯s thoughts could not be expressed with their words, but their actions could reveal it clearly. When Jing Ye came back to his senses, he saw the smiling Mickey Mouse on the palace lantern with his hands behind his back and a little cinnabar red beauty mark on his forehead that was painted by a certain someone. Ye Gonggong looked over and said, ¡°Ai, isn¡¯t this Gu Gongzi? He looks quite playful now¡­..¡± Jing Ye: ¡°Go go go go! What Gu Gongzi, this is a female!¡± After speaking, he drew a huge bow on Mickey Mouse¡¯s ear. Ye Mao: ¡°¡­..¡± Then why does he wear pants? The master and servant pair whittled the time by chatting with each other. Suddenly a little eunuch slipped into the hall and said, ¡°Your Majesty, Lord Feng asks to see you.¡± ¡°Feng Ling?¡± Jing Ye and Ye Mao looked at each other, ¡°On such a big holiday, yet he is not accompanying his parents at home. What is he doing here in the palace?¡± Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help but smile and said, ¡°Invite him in quickly.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After a while, the handsome young man with an aura of an orchid entered the hall with the little eunuch and bowed down. ¡°Paying respect to Your Majesty.¡± ¡°Qing, please rise quickly.¡± Jing Ye put down his red pen and stepped forward to help him with a smile, ¡°Zhen hasn¡¯t seen you for a few days, how is qing?¡± ¡°This official is very well, thanking Your Majesty.¡± Feng Ling raised his head slightly and looked at the rather deserted palace, ¡°Why aren¡¯t the few Gongzis accompanying Your Majesty during such a lively holiday?¡± Jing Ye smiled: ¡°You also called it a festival, why isn¡¯t qing accompanying your parents, wife and children at home?¡± ¡°This official hasn¡¯t married yet.¡± This sentence was answered so quickly that both of them were taken aback. Jing Ye was stunned for a while, then chuckled: ¡°Qing answered so quickly, you wouldn¡¯t happen to want Zhen to be a matchmaker for qing?¡± ¡°No. This official, doesn¡¯t mean that.¡± Feng Ling blushed and turned away. And just happened to see the fireworks igniting instantaneously outside the window, and hurriedly looked for another topic. Jing Ye pulled him to sit on both sides of the small table, and had Ye Mao serve tea. It was already improper for the ruler and the official to sit face to face. Feng Ling wanted to get down and sit below the emperor, but when he looked up and saw Jing Ye¡¯s smile, he also couldn¡¯t bear giving up the intimacy. After struggling with himself for a while, he lowered his head slightly and only clenched the corner of the small table. CH 17 The flower lantern market was lit up as bright as day. The streets were crowded with people, and the noises of so many people. Jing Ye was wearing a dark blue robe, swinging a folding fan made of ivory and white silk, and walking through the crowd with a smile on his face. Feng Ling walked side by side with him, while Ye Mao in a servant¡¯s uniform followed behind him with a bitter face. You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Ye Gonggong: ¡°Your Majesty¡­..Young Master, this market is full of who knows what unsavory¡­..¡± Jing Ye: ¡°Elder, how much are these candied haws?¡± The old man in his fifties stood with the straw stick stuck with candied haws and said with a smile, ¡°Five coins for a bunch. Today is the Thousand Autumn Festival so it sold well. There are only four bunches left. Does gongzi want to buy it all?¡± Ye Mao leaned over to Jing Ye: ¡°Young Master, let¡¯s not eat this outside stuff¡­..¡± Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was stuffed with a stick of candied haws, ¡°Uuuuuu!¡± ¡°Even food can¡¯t stop your whining.¡± Jing Ye simply reached out and took the purse on his waist, poured the money out and saw that it was all pieces of silver, so he picked the smallest piece and handed it to the old man, ¡°Do you have change for this?¡± ¡°Certainly.¡± The old man weighed the amount of silver, put down the straw stick with a smile, pulled a large pouch over, counted out some coins for a long time, and finally took out a few copper coins. Was he kidding, just this? Immediately, the old man stuffed the copper coins into his pocket, lifted the pouch, and handed it to Jing Ye. The latter took it, and immediately stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Feng Ling watched from the side and couldn¡¯t help laughing, but recalling that this was the honorable emperor, he could only hold it in desperately. So when Jing Ye turned around, he saw a handsome face with bright smiling eyes. Suddenly, a tall man walked out of the crowd, silently stepped forward and took over the bag of copper coins. Jing Ye glanced at Ye Mao, who nodded to him, so he pulled out the remaining three sticks of candied haws on the straw, one for himself, the other for Feng Ling, and the last stick, he thought about it and then gave it to the man who carried the bag of copper coins for him. ¡°Your reward.¡± The man said, ¡°Thanking the young master.¡± Jing Ye nodded and smiled: ¡°Well, go ahead and eat.¡± The man paused, and obediently stuffed the candied haws into his mouth. He originally had s stern face, but now he was biting a string of candied haws in his mouth. The cool guy¡¯s aura had been completely destroyed, making Jing Ye want to laugh. Suddenly there was a burst of laughter not far away. Jing Ye said: ¡°It¡¯s so lively, let¡¯s go over there and see?¡± He immediately took Feng Ling¡¯s hand and walked over. ¡°It should be the lantern dealer asking people to guess lantern riddles.¡± Feng Ling looked at him and smiled, ¡°It occurs every year, the young master can just watch it from the outside the crowd lest you are influenced by those smells.¡± ¡°Am I so delicate?¡± Jing Ye frowned and shook the fan, but he still compromised, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± I¡¯ll listen to you. Feng Ling¡¯s heart jumped when he said this, and his eyes softened unconsciously. The four of them had just walked to the edge of the crowd when they suddenly heard screams, the sound of collapsing shelves, and the sound of horses¡¯ hooves kicking violently. Jing Ye frowned: ¡°This is¡­..¡± The sound quickly changed from far to near, and the crowd immediately surged to either side of the street. He was hit by the wall of people in front of him, and he couldn¡¯t help staggering back, forced to let go of Feng Ling¡¯s hand in the process. Under the emperor¡¯s feet, who dared to violate the law and ride a horse in a busy city! When he raised his head, he saw a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy sitting on a tall steed, with an arrogant and vicious expression on his face, which was comparable to that of the young emperor back then. Jing Ye gritted his teeth, but his arm was suddenly grabbed by someone, and a man¡¯s voice sounded behind him: ¡°Gongzi, please follow this subordinate¡­..¡± However, he suddenly groaned and his hold loosened. ¡°What¡­..¡± Jing Ye was about to turn his head, but a hand hit the back of his neck, and his vision suddenly went black. The person who came took advantage of the situation to grab and take him out of the crowd while the crowd was in chaos, and dodged into an alley on the side of the street. There was already someone waiting against the wall inside, and when they saw him dodging in, they stood up straight. ¡°It¡¯s done?¡± ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Yonghua Palace. ¡°Seven black-clothed guards.¡± Gu Hong stood in the hall, ¡°Including the head of the guard, yet managed to kidnap the emperor right under your nose.¡± ¡°Yuan Mo, it¡¯s me who thought too highly of you.¡± The man lowered his head and knelt on one knee: ¡°This subordinate was negligent.¡± ¡°Negligent?¡± Gu Hong sneered, ¡°¡­..Get out, when he comes back, you will go to the Prison Division to collect your punishment. Fifty whips and not one less.¡± Yuan Mo leaned down and touched the cold ground with his forehead: ¡°This subordinate is leaving.¡± Then he got up and stepped back silently. ¡°You¡¯re angry.¡± Lin Xiaosheng¡¯s voice came from behind the screen, ¡°Gu Gongzi has never been so angry before.¡± Gu Hong turned around, and Lin Xiaosheng walked out slowly from behind the screen, his figure dashing, but his features gentle as spring water. ¡°He¡¯s not as tall as you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no matter.¡± Lin Xiaosheng lightly tapped the makeup on his face, ¡°When sitting, it won¡¯t show as much. Those officials are too afraid and would never dare to look carefully. Did you find out who did it? The Zhao family?¡± ¡°Just a clown jumping on the beam, he doesn¡¯t have such courage.¡± Gu Hong said softly, ¡°The news just sent from the pavilion two days ago, two people from Pingyue City infiltrated the capital.¡± Lin Xiaosheng paused: ¡°Pingyue City?¡­..No wonder.¡± Gu Hong looked at him: ¡°Ye Mao is just outside the hall, tell him to be careful and don¡¯t reveal any hints.¡± ¡°En.¡± Gu Hong turned around and went outside the hall. The servant boy who was serving him hurriedly followed. Lin Xiaosheng laughed and said, ¡°Be careful, your master is angry.¡± The servant boy shrank his neck and nodded again and again. To the north of the capital there was a cluster of jade mountains. Because the mountains were deep and dangerous, and wild animals often infested them, the area was deserted for dozens of miles. In the mountains. The treetops swayed lightly, and a squirrel nimbly jumped down from the branch, dug at the soil, and suddenly it seemed to smell something, raised its head and quickly escaped. Not far away the entrance of a cave could be seen. A dying tiger fell to the ground and panted, its claws clawing at the ground twice, before gradually closing its eyes. The man sitting idle watching the cave entrance smiled, took out a gorgeous and brilliant red gold earring from his pocket, and put it on his left ear. ¡°The fur of this big worm is so beautiful, it¡¯s better to peel it off and make a jacket.¡± ¡°Skin it yourself.¡± The man who was starting a fire in the cave glanced at him, disgusted, ¡°Filthy.¡± ¡°As if you are any clean, you¡¯re the one who killed the big worm.¡± ¡°Mmmph¡­..¡± Jing Ye, who was sitting on the innermost side with his mouth blocked and his hands and feet tied, ¡°¡­..Mmph.¡± The man turned his eyes and saw tears glistening in his eyes, so he couldn¡¯t help sneering: ¡°This cowardly emperor actually cried.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± The man at the entrance of the cave walked in with a smile, stood in front of Jing Ye, leaned over and glanced at him, ¡°A useless rice bucket he might be, but what a beauty.¡± Jing Ye was born with a gentle and elegant appearance, and also possessed a dignity and self-control acquired since childhood. Therefore, compared with other good-looking people, it added an extra touch of charm. ¡°For the sake of this.¡± The man reached out and untied the cloth tied around his mouth, ¡°Come, I¡¯ll let you talk.¡± ¡°Bah, I¡­..¡± Jing Ye took advantage of the situation to move back, exhaled, and then looked at the two with sincere eyes, ¡°¡­..I¡¯m so hungry, do you have food?¡± Man: ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°No ingredients.¡± The man sitting by the fire turned his head, ¡°How to cook.¡± Jing Ye swallowed his saliva and turned his eyes to the dead tiger at the entrance of the cave, his eagerness obvious. The other two: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Feng Ling stood silently at the gate of the palace. After a long time, a little eunuch walked out quickly and said, ¡°His Majesty is busy with state affairs, Lord Feng, please go back.¡± ¡°Since that¡¯s the case¡­..¡± Feng Ling lowered his eyes, then raised his head again and asked, ¡°Is His Majesty alright?¡± The little eunuch smiled and said, ¡°His Majesty has been in good spirits these past few days. No need for a servant to say anything, didn¡¯t my lord meet His Majesty last night.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Feng Ling pondered for a while, then smiled, ¡°I thought too much.¡± The little eunuch smiled: ¡°Then¡­..my lord, please walk slowly?¡± ¡°En.¡± Feng Ling nodded and turned around. The three walked to the foothills of the Jade Mountain. Jin Jue let out a whistle, and called three sturdy horses from both sides of the road. Yu Heng got on the horse first, Jin Jue took the whip from his waist, pointed it at one of them, and smiled at Jing Ye: ¡°This is Obsidian. Can you ride a horse?¡± Jing Ye lifted the gauze veil on his head and looked at the dark horse that stopped in front of him. This horse¡¯s fur was dark and shiny, its eyes were inky with specks of brownish-yellow, and its long face when facing Jing Ye seemed very tame. He couldn¡¯t help but feel moved. What young boy did not dream of such a thing. In the martial arts novels he read when he was a child, those knight-errants who roamed jianghu and danced on the edge of knives often rode such a good horse over thousands of miles, which was quite the enviable thing. Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help but put his hands on Obsidian¡¯s face. This horse seemed very human-like, lowering its head and gently rubbing against his palm. The two people on the side were surprised. If Obsidian was not too difficult to tame, he would not be without a master even now. Jing Ye was deeply moved by comrade Obsidian¡¯s behavior, he petted it in his arms excitedly for a long time, finally took out two fruits, and stuffed them into Obsidian¡¯s mouth with a smile. ¡­..Wait, fruit? It¡¯s the leftovers he ate earlier¡­.. The dark horse had already started to chew happily, but in the next second, the horse¡¯s mouth opened wide, and he sneezed in an earth-shattering manner! Jing Ye, who was sprayed with saliva: ¡°¡­..¡± The three had not yet reached the city gate, but the sky had already darkened. Yu Heng stopped in the front and turned around, saying, ¡°It¡¯s late, find a place to rest?¡± Jin Jue reigned his horse and smiled, ¡°Just go to the inn where we stayed in, the boss is honest.¡± ¡°There should be no rain tonight.¡± Yu Heng raised his head and looked, ¡°It¡¯s better to stay the night in the wild.¡± Jin Jue frowned: ¡°Are you serious? Did you forget when we came¡­..¡± This remark had obviously stepped on someone¡¯s weak point, and the man turned his head: ¡°Go to the inn.¡± Four days later, Tianyu, Zhenbei General¡¯s Manor. That night. The hall was full of song and laughter. Xu Ming sat high in the main seat, with his official wife Madam Yang on the right, and Lady Dong Ling on the left. Gu Yun and Li Tingqiu sat chatting together with the aristocratic sons from Tianyu. When Gu Yun raised his head, he saw the daughter of the Xu family who was sitting beside Yang shi looking at him, so he smiled back at her, and the face of young lady Xu instantly turned red. Yang shi had already noticed it, so she leaned into her daughter¡¯s ear and said, ¡°You like him?¡± Young lady Xu blushed for a while before nodding lightly: ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Yun and a few young gongzis exchanged cups for a while, before pulling Li Tingqiu¡¯s sleeves. The latter turned his head slightly: ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to go back.¡± Gu Yun raised his cup with a smile, and said softly, ¡°If we don¡¯t leave, a pool of spring water will be shattered.¡± Li Tingqiu raised his eyebrows: ¡°That young lady of the Xu family?¡± ¡°You saw it too?¡± Gu Yun touched his nose. ¡°The so-called looking through the autumn water.¡± Li Tingqiu raised his cup and took a sip, ¡°No one could not see it.¡± Gu Yun got up: ¡°Then let¡¯s go quickly¡­..¡± ¡°Gu Gongzi.¡± The two looked up and saw a docile looking maid walking over and said, ¡°The Madam has an invitation.¡± Gu Yun: ¡°¡­..¡± Li Tingqiu drank the cup of wine, dropped the wine cup and got up and said, ¡°I will take my leave first.¡± Gu Yun nodded helplessly. Walking in front of Yang shi, the young lady of the Xu family leaned against her mother shyly, peeking at him from time to time, the demeanor of a little girl in love completely obvious to all with eyes. Gu Yun cupped his hands and said, ¡°Madam, greetings.¡± ¡°Gu Gongzi.¡± Yang shi looked at the third young master of the Gu family with a smile and was very satisfied, ¡°This is the first time Gongzi had come to our General¡¯s Manor, the flowers and trees in the garden happened to be newly renovated. There is a lot of noise at this banquet, so why not go to the garden for a walk and relax?¡± As Yang shi had already spoken, it was inconvenient for Gu Yun to dismiss them, so he nodded with a smile. Yang shi couldn¡¯t help but smile even deeper: ¡°Then let my little girl bring the servants and lead Gu Gongzi to go for a tour.¡± Her daughter beside her became more and more shy, but her eyes lit up. Gu Yun felt exasperation in his heart, but he could only cup his hands again: ¡°Then I must trouble the young lady.¡± The garden of the General¡¯s Mansor could be considered as properly trimmed and maintained, but it was far inferior to the gardens of the Gu Manor. After all, the Gu family had a second young master who was famous for his artistic cleverness. Thinking of his cheap second brother at home¡­..Gu Yun couldn¡¯t help clenching his teeth, if it wasn¡¯t for him shirking his duties, why would he be forced to stand in the cold wind facing this young lady of the Xu family who had a pool of spring water in her heart! Even drinking with Li Tingqiu was better than this! The young lady of the Xu family stood with her sweetheart who she fell for at first sight, and the redness on her face never once faded. After thinking about it for a long time, she said softly, ¡°I heard that Gongzi is good at playing the flute, could¡­..could you play it for Yuying?¡± Gu Yun smiled lightly and said, ¡°I went out in a hurry, and I didn¡¯t bring my bamboo flute. My lady, forgive me.¡± ¡°Yuying, Yuying¡­..has a jade flute, which has been kept in the box and no one has ever used it.¡± Xu Yuying raised her head, her expression adoring. ¡°Can Gongzi make do?¡± Gu Yun could only smile and say, ¡°The young lady is so kind, I don¡¯t dare to disobey.¡± Xu Yuying¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and recalling that the jade flute was very precious, she curtsied slightly and said, ¡°Gongzi, please wait a moment, wait for Yuying to fetch it.¡± Gu Yun nodded, and she shyly took the maid and turned away. You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) Gu Yun watched her walk away, twitched the corners of his mouth. Having nothing to do, he simply lowered his head to look at the rose garden beside him. Under the moonlight, the faint scent of roses surrounded him. After an unknown amount of time, a distant sound of the guqin seemed to come from a distance. CH 18 Xu Yuying came out of her boudoir with a flute box in her hand, raised her head and hearing the sound of the guqin, she frowned, ¡°That lunatic again?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The little servant girl followed her, ¡°often at this time, he would sit in the courtyard and play the guqin.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) ¡°Lunatic.¡± Xu Yuying stroked the flute box in her hand, ¡°It¡¯s a pity, he has such good looks.¡± Gu Yun was looking for the source of the music and slowly following the sound. The sound of the guqin was high and low, and it was played rather discordantly, but it still moved his heart. As he walked, the surrounding scenery gradually became desolate and dilapidated, and the words ¡°Hongqin House¡± suddenly appeared in front of him. Under the plaque was a crumbling red lacquer courtyard door, the vermilion paint mottled and dirty. And the sound of the guqin was only separated by a wall. Gu Yun didn¡¯t rush to push open the doors, but stood quietly for a while. After the guqin music subsided, he stepped forward and knocked twice. ¡°Gu Yun of the Gu family in the southwest, I heard the sound of the guqin, and I would like to meet your excellency.¡± There was only silence behind the door. Gu Yun waited and said in a louder voice, ¡°Then I will push the door and come in?¡± Still silent. Gu Yun pressed his palm against the door knocker, paused slightly, and then pushed it open. The first thing that caught his eye was a blooming parasol tree, and even in the dark night, it still shone like a crown. A person sat quietly under a flower branch, his hair was not tied, his clothes were like rags, and his long bangs blocked his profile. Looking from Gu Yun¡¯s position, one would be shocked at his thin stature and bony wrists. Gu Yun¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple moved: ¡°You¡­..¡± The man slowly stood up holding the guqin, turned his back to Gu Yun, and walked into the house step by step. He was so thin that he was practically all bones, and the clothes hung large and baggy on his skeleton-like figure, as if he was about to fly away with the wind. ¡°Wait!¡± Gu Yun took two steps forward, ¡°Qi Lan?¡± The man¡¯s steps paused. Gu Yun said firmly: ¡°You are Qi Lan, I recognize you.¡± The man looked back at him with a look of panic, and Gu Yun was taken aback. His cheeks were sunken, his pupils were dull and his lips were chapped white. He didn¡¯t look at all like the young master of the Qi family, who used to be beautifully handsome and possessed great literary talent. But his natural beauty was still there, long eyelashes lowered and eyes gentle. Even with rough clothes and messy hair, it did not hide his beauty. No wonder it made Xu Huang disregard his reputation and insisted on snatching him into the manor. ¡°You¡­..¡± Gu Yun was about to take a step forward, but the man had already hurried into the room holding the guqin tight to his chest, and the door was closed with a creak. ¡°Gu Gongzi.¡± Gu Yun turned his head and saw Xu Yuying standing there with a forced smile: ¡°Why did you come here, gongzi?¡± Gu Yun turned his face slightly: ¡°I was attracted by the sound of the guqin.¡± Xu Yuying came over with the flute box and said, ¡°It¡¯s not advisable to stay here for a long time. Gongzi, please go back to your original place. When this person goes crazy, he will hit anyone he sees.¡± She said so with a hint of concern, but Gu Yun was not appeasex at all, and with a flap of his sleeves, he cupped his hands and said, ¡°It¡¯s already quite late, and I won¡¯t bother you any more. I will take my leave from the manor and go back to the inn. Young lady, please go back to your room and rest.¡± Xu Yuying¡¯s expression shifted: ¡°But¡­..¡± ¡°I will be retreating now.¡± Gu Yun nodded lightly, turned around and left. If he was in a good mood, it didn¡¯t matter to be polite. If he was unhappy, then the Gu family did not have to give anyone face. Just as he walked outside the high walls, he couldn¡¯t help but look up to take a look, but only saw a flower growing on the tree that was as bright as snow. On Jing Ye¡¯s side. In the middle of the night, the three of them slept in a clearing in the woods, only the bright bonfire kept crackling. Jing Ye was sleeping fitfully when suddenly he felt someone touching his wrist. He woke up in a haze, and in front of him was Yuan Mo, who had followed him on the night of the Thousand Autumn Festival. Jing Ye: ¡°!¡± Yuan Mo raised his hand to signal for silence, and gestured him to lower his head to look at the wrist guards on his wrists then tapped at the area near the back of his hand. Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± What? These movements only took a few seconds, and then he heard a very fast sound of something breaking through the air, and it was Jin Jue who swung over the whip in his hand. Yuan Mo dodged to the side with Jing Ye and drew his sword to meet the whip that brought with it a strong wind. However, Jing Ye felt his vision darken, and Yu Heng also joined in. Thinking of Yuan Mo¡¯s movement just now of lightly tapping the wrist guard, Jing Ye subconsciously raised his wrist to block the other¡¯s grabbing fingers. He felt his wrist being grasped, tightened, and then released suddenly. The man staggered back a few steps, expressionless. Jin Jue was taken aback by this situation, his movements also slowed down a bit, and lost his momentum. He immediately knelt back on one knee and blocked Yuan Mo¡¯s sword with his whip. This whip was actually made of finely melted iron, and when metal met metal, small sparks flew in their wake. Yuan Mo leaned against his sword and watched him as he spoke slowly. ¡°What was given a few days ago, is now returned to its original owner.¡± Jin Jue raised his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. He used his hand to block Yuan Mo¡¯s blade. The latter took a few steps back but still stabbed forward with his sword. The two fought in the open space, the light reflecting off the sword flickered, and the shadows of the whip danced. Jing Ye saw that Jin Jue couldn¡¯t get to him, and Yu Heng was also unable to stop him either, so he ran under the tree and untied Obsidian¡¯s reins, getting on his horse. Yuan Mo stepped back and shouted, ¡°Go south!¡± Southward. Jing Ye looked at the surrounding woods, it was pitch black, where the hell was south¡­.. His Majesty the wise and decisive Emperor only hesitated for a second, then resolutely pulled the reins, and with a lift of Obsidian¡¯s hoofs, he ran towards the due north. Yuan Mo: ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Getting distracted?¡± Jin Jue was already approaching again in a single breath, ¡°Last time I used the poison needle, this time¡­..let me experience the so-called Yuan Family Sword.¡± Yuan Mo¡¯s thin lips pursed, and greeted him with his sword. Jing Ye first steered with the reins for a while, then let go of the reins and let Obsidian run wild in the woods. The night was dark like ink, and he didn¡¯t know how long they ran, but his field of vision gradually became brighter. They had already arrived outside the forest. Jing Ye tugged on the reins, and Obsidian slowed down obediently. He couldn¡¯t help rubbing his face. Now¡­..where was this? Jing Ye looked around, but he couldn¡¯t see any road. It was probably an untouched field. He glanced back and suddenly saw a clump of firewood burning in a clearing in the distance. A traveler passing by? Jing Ye hesitated for a moment, and then slowly rode forward. Anyway, he didn¡¯t know where he had run to or how far it was from Yuan Mo, so he¡¯d better find someone to ask. If the other had bad intentions, no big deal, he would just sit on the horse and could run away at any time. The horse hoofs kicked and stepped to the front of the cluster of firewood, where a man lay on his back beside the fire, as if he had fallen asleep. Jing Ye said, ¡°This brother?¡± The man slowly opened his eyes. ¡°I was staying in the forest near here.¡± Jing Ye pointed to the not-so-distant distance, ¡°When I woke up, I accidentally lost my way. I hope this brother can point me in the right direction¡­..¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) The man in his forties with a slender figure slowly sat up when he heard the words. ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye suddenly felt a sense of crisis, pulling his horse back two steps. The man looked at him and smiled: ¡°Jing Ye?¡± CH 19 10-12 minutes 23.07.2022 Hello everyone, my name is Jing Ye. Never thought. I still ended up getting kidnapped. The man lifted Jing Ye by the collar as he jumped several times, and finally landed on a hill. Followed soon after by the two men from earlier. As soon as their feet touched the ground, they knelt down on one knee and said, ¡°My Lord.¡± You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) ¡°Things that don¡¯t grow a brain.¡± The man snorted coldly, ¡°Not even a match for the Yuan family¡¯s kid, Pingyue City¡¯s face has been thrown away by you!¡± Jin Jue bowed his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s this disciple who underestimated the enemy, my Lord, please punish this disciple.¡± ¡°As if this Lord needs you to remind me?¡± The more the man thought about it, the angrier he became. ¡°If Yun Guang found out about this, wouldn¡¯t everyone think that my disciple is not even better than that bastard Yuan Hongyan?¡± Jing Ye was lying on the side, completely overwhelmed by the man¡¯s ingenious qinggong, he could only breathe out but not breathe in, and from time to time he would cough twice. The man calmed down his anger, turned his head and examined him carefully, and then spoke as if satisfied: ¡°Good child, you look very well-behaved, do you know who this Lord is?¡± Jing Ye paused and shook his head honestly. ¡°I¡¯m an old friend of your father.¡± The man leaned down, his face that was full of anger just now, now showed a gentle smile, ¡°Good child, come, call me Uncle.¡± Jing Ye was stunned. The man didn¡¯t hear ¡°Uncle¡± despite waiting for a long time, and became irritable again: ¡°You don¡¯t want to call me Uncle, right? Then cal me Dad!¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± The man raised his finger and pointed at Yuan Mo, who was thrown not far away, ¡°Did they say something to you?¡± He tapped his finger in the air, and Yuan Mo instantly started vomiting blood. Jing Ye hurriedly propped himself up, only to feel that his five internal organs were overturned: ¡°Uncle!¡± The other person¡¯s expression became slightly better. Jing Ye: ¡°Uncle, ou¡­..¡± Man: ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye leaned his upper body on a stone as wide as his body, and vomited everything up. After vomiting, he found that Jin Jue was kneeling beside him, so he pulled the other person¡¯s sleeve and wiped the corner of his mouth, then tilted his head and continued to play dead. Jin Jue¡¯s face stiffened, but because of the presence of the Lord he could not explode. He could only secretly use his hands to cut off the dirty section of the sleeves. The man said, ¡°With such a weak body, could it be that in the future, after marrying Huan¡¯er, you won¡¯t even be able to enter the bridal chamber?¡± (TN: euphemism for sex) Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..!!¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good.¡± The man¡¯s expression sank and he strode over. Picking up Jing Ye¡¯s collar again he said, ¡°If you can¡¯t handle it then we shall try once again! Before arriving at Pingyue City, you must get used to it!¡± Jin and Yu also got up and followed. The man walked to Yuan Mo¡¯s side, waved his hand, and used his qi to ease open the acupuncture points on his chest: ¡°I¡¯ll let you live today, go back and tell Huo Qianji¡¯s sly disciple that the emperor is taken away by this Lord, if he wants to chase after him, he can come to Pingyue City himself.¡± Yuan Mo spat out the blood clotting in his chest and turned his eyes to Jing Ye. The latter blinked slowly at him. After the man finished speaking, he tapped on the ground with his foot and jumped north with Jing Ye in his hand. Jing Ye¡¯s arms windmilled and he felt that the last breath left in his body had flowed from the corner of his mouth into the air, and was waving goodbye to him. ¡­..Hello everyone, my name is Jing Ye. Never thought. I¡¯m actually about to die this early. Jing Ye still remembered that when he was eleven years old, his parents both went abroad to attend an academic seminar. They were worried that he and his brothers and sisters would turn their house upside down, so they decided to take their children with them. The entire family arrived at the airport talking and laughing. He especially loved to run around and ended up making a fool of himself. Then he went through security with his parents, got on the plane, and took off. It was his first and last time on a plane. He couldn¡¯t remember many of the things that happened afterwards, but it seemed that he almost lost his life. His physical condition and the psychological shadow left after that made him want to run whenever he saw a plane. Later, when he was in college, he liked a younger junior brother, and the other also seemed to have feelings for him too. On his birthday, the younger junior brother blindfolded him and said that he would take him to a romantic place. Well, it was a pretty rotten experience instead. It was the largest Ferris wheel in the city, and a large lavender field was planted below it. Often, the male and female protagonists in romance films kissed each other at the highest point, promising to stay with each other in life and death. He also endured to the highest point, but when the younger junior brother smiled and moved his handsome face closer, he finally fainted to the ground with a pale face. Now he was not the only one who had a psychological shadow. Jing Ye dreamed about his junior brother¡¯s face in a daze, and it was still so youthful and handsome. In fact, he really wanted to tell his junior brother, let¡¯s get married. ¡°¡­..you can now get married.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°?¡± He opened his eyes hazily, and a splash of blood red filled his vision, hurting his eyes. When his vision gradually became clear, he saw a vermilion robe covered with plain gauze, shaking gently outside the bed curtain. ¡°If the father can¡¯t have his love, then the son will take the punishment. You are really my good father.¡± A younger voice came from outside the bed. A little low-pitched, with a lazy tone, and a hint of disdain. ¡°Is this what you should say to your elders?¡± The other person obviously felt his painful point being trampled and his voice instantly became an octave higher, ¡°Get married! You will attend the wedding ceremony tomorrow! Even if you can¡¯t get out of bed! I¡¯ll have people carry you there and finish the ceremony!¡± The young man snorted coldly. Jing Ye stared blankly at the red veil on the top of the bed, his throat moved, but he didn¡¯t expect that it would affect his lungs, and he suddenly coughed violently. Both of them heard the sound, and they both turned around and walked over. One of the men was the one who kidnapped him out in the woods. The other was a young man of the same age as Jing Ye, standing beside him indolently, his head lowered slightly, revealing a stunning appearance. His cheekbones were cut like knives, eyebrows like painted ink, and he wore a forehead band inlaid with precious stones. On his slender figure was a red brocade robe dazzling like the red clouds of sunset. Don¡¯t know if it was his clothes that made him stand out, or the person himself who brought out the clothes. The young man examined him a few times, and said with disgust: ¡°How ugly.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± The older man squinted coldly at him, and the young man sat reluctantly on the edge of the bed. He stretched out his left hand and lifted a bowl of dark concoction. Jing Ye¡¯s hair stood on end subconsciously, but he couldn¡¯t speak, so he desperately scooted inwards and away from the young man. The young man raised his eyebrows: ¡°What? This master feeds you medicine by hand, do you think anyone could enjoy this treatment?¡± Jing Ye ignored him and rolled into the bed with the back of his head facing out. The corner of the young man¡¯s mouth twitched, his long arm reached out and grabbed Jing Ye¡¯s collar, pulling him over. Looking at the person in front of him with messy hair and a haggard appearance, he inexplicably felt wicked amusement. ¡°Wife.¡± He took him in his arms, spooned the medicine in his hand, and smiled maliciously, ¡°Be good, how can you recover if you don¡¯t drink medicine.¡± The older man had already left with satisfaction. Jing Ye struggled a few times, but found that he was completely powerless to resist, so he simply kept his mouth shut and refused to drink. The medicine flowed down his lips to his chin, and finally dripped onto the boy¡¯s brocade robes, wetting a deep red spot. The young man lost his patience when he saw his clothes were ruined, raised his hand and threw him back to the bed. Jing Ye felt as if he had been granted amnesty and rolled further into the bed in a daze, feeling a severe headache. In a daze, he fell asleep again. It seemed that someone outside the bed drapes was asking something accusingly. ¡°Weren¡¯t you¡­..drink medicine¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..He¡­..drinks¡­..¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to feed the child medicine?¡± ¡°As soon as he drinks it, he complains that he has a headache, and I simply can¡¯t bear to force him at all¡­..¡± In the hospital ward, Jing Ye, who was still a little child, listened to his parents while pretending to be asleep. Mom seemed to be crying. The slender hand reached out and gently held his little chubby hand. Jing Ye felt a little guilty, he won¡¯t pretend to be asleep anymore, he¡¯ll just drink it then. He also held back onto the other¡¯s hand, and felt that his mother¡¯s hand¡­¡­seemed to be getting bigger? The hand stiffened. You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m ) After a long time, Jing Ye felt that something was stuck in the palm of his hand, and it was a little cold. She must have caught a cold while taking care of him, his mother¡¯s health was not good. As he thought so, he finally fell asleep and thought no more. CH 20 So Jing Ye slept like this, and slept two days straight. He woke up early in the morning. The first thing he saw was snow-white fur, and then a fluffy dog ??face, with soft ears that fold down and dark eyes. It was currently exhaling hot air with its tongue hanging out. Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Someone hugged him from behind, touched his earlobe, and drawled: ¡°The fever is gone.¡± Jing Ye moved his lips: ¡°Water¡­..¡± ¡°You want to drink water again?¡± The young man was very impatient, ¡°Didn¡¯t I just feed you?¡± Feed? Jing Ye saw him stretch out a long arm, pick up the water bowl placed by the bed, took a sip, and pulled Jing Ye¡¯s face up to him. Jing Ye: ¡°! Gulu gulu¡­..¡± The young man held his waist, raised his head slightly, his eyes sparkling: ¡°Are you still shy? I¡¯ve already fed you a hundred and eighty times.¡± As he spoke, his attention was attracted by Jing Ye¡¯s slim waistline. He couldn¡¯t help but squeeze it hard, feeling the texture between his fingers and palms: ¡°Say¡­..you are a man, why is your waist so thin.¡± Jing Ye¡¯s waist shook, and he couldn¡¯t help but move forward to get away from this strange atmosphere. Suddenly, he felt a burning sensation between his legs, as if there were some serious abrasions. Not only between the legs, but all over his whole body, there was the slight sting of skin being bitten, and his lips¡­.. The person behind him moved forward, Jing Ye only felt that something was pressing against his butt, hard and hot. The young man laid his head on his neck, and the heat from his breath blew into his ear as he murmured: ¡°Don¡¯t move, I really won¡¯t be able to resist.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± When the young man raised his eyes, he saw his gentle brows and corners of his eyes, long lowered eyelashes, and pale and flawless cheekbone and jaw. He felt inexplicably soft and warm in his heart. So he simply lowered his head and lazily licked and kissed this person¡¯s smooth neck and shoulders. Jing Ye frowned, but didn¡¯t say anything. The silly dog squatting on the edge of the bed tilted its head and stuck out its tongue, watching the intimacy between the two of them. After it became fond of Blacky from next door, it would also often run over to lick each other¡¯s fur attentively. The sky outside the window gradually brightened, and there were footsteps outside the silk screen. The door was lightly knocked twice: ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s time to get up.¡± ¡°Come in.¡± The young man hugged and rubbed against Jing Ye for a long time, and finally sat up lazily. Jing Ye hadn¡¯t walked on firm ground for many days, his body had already become stiff, and he felt no strength in his limbs when he moved. A group of maids walked in with water basins, face towels and other items. The woman at the head of the line looked eighteen or nineteen years old, with willow leaf eyebrows and almond shaped eyes, currently curved in a smile. After the young man was dressed by them, he picked up the black sheathed sword on the table, looked back at Jing Ye, and then strode out. The woman bowed as the young man walked out, then turned around and walked to the bedside, and said, ¡°Gongzi, do you want to get up?¡± Jing Ye looked at her and nodded. The woman turned around and waved, and the servants presented things for washing. She helped Jing Ye get out of bed, who almost stumbled. While serving him, the woman smiled and said, ¡°This servant¡¯s name is Shanyue, and I am the head servant girl of Little Mountain Residence. The city lord has ordered this servant to serve the young master and gongzi.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Young Master was brought up under the city lord¡¯s pampering. Since he was a child, except for martial arts training, he followed his wishes very well.¡± Shanyue smiled, ¡°Although the young master is a little spoiled, he has a good heart. After getting along for some more time, Gongzi will understand.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Hehe. Shanyue sighed: ¡°Isn¡¯t there no need for Gongzi to be so rigid?¡± Jing Ye raised his eyes and glanced at her, saying lightly, ¡°Even if there are fancy clothes and fine wine, I am still just a prisoner.¡± ¡°Gongzi¡¯s words are inaccurate.¡± Shanyue smiled and tied the belt for him, ¡°In the past, your respected father was also invited to Pingyue City as a guest, but unfortunately¡­..later, he escaped from the marriage.¡± Jing Ye was speechless, so was it their tradition to kidnap an emperor to marry? ¡°In order to prevent the same tragedy happening again.¡± Shanyue smiled modestly, ¡°The city lord specially invited several famous assassins in the city to conceal at Gongzi¡¯s side.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± And you are f**king telling me that this was not captivity?! In the garden. Several servant girls trimmed flowers together in one area. Servant Girl A: ¡°Look at the young master¡¯s wife!¡± Servant Girl B: ¡°The eyelashes are so long.¡± Servant Girl C: ¡°The cheeks look so soft.¡± Servant Girl D: ¡°¡­..ah¡­..the smile is so gentle¡­..¡± Servant Girl E angrily snapped off the flower branch in her hand: ¡°No wonder we weren¡¯t needed to serve in the bedroom, Shanyue that little b*tch¡­..¡± The maids rolled up their sleeves one after another: ¡°Just you wait! After the work is done, we¡¯ll go and beat her to death!¡± ¡°Ah-choo!¡± Jing Ye rubbed his nose. Shanyue took the teacup from the little servant girl and said with a smile, ¡°Gongzi, drink some warm tea.¡± ¡°En.¡± Jing Ye lowered his head and took a sip, and she took the opportunity to glance at the group of maids who were daydreaming behind him. Not to be outdone, the enemy party glared back. When Jing Ye finished drinking the tea and raised his head, he was startled by Shanyue¡¯s fierce look, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shanyue¡¯s face changed as quick as flipping a book page, and in the blink of an eye, she smiled as bright as a spring flowers: ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Jing Ye followed the direction of her eyes from before and looked back, only to see a group of pretty and gentle mannered girls playing in the flowers: ¡°They¡­..is there something not right with them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Shanyue smiled, ¡°It¡¯s just that they are so happy that I feel very uneasy.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Whatever happened to being as kind as an angel. He proposed to leave the City Lord¡¯s Mansion and take a look outside, Shanyue readily agreed. Pingyue City was the most peaceful place in the empire. Because there were too many unremarkable expert masters here, no matter how lawless people were elsewhere, they would all become polite and careful when they arrived here. Jing Ye picked out a noodle stall and sat down. A young man dressed as a scholar came to wait on him: ¡°What kind of noodles does the customer want?¡± Jing Ye: ¡°What kinds are there?¡± The young man smiled and said, ¡°Pulled noodles, stewed noodles, knife-cut noodles, cat ear noodles, fried noodles, braised noodles, boiled noodles, cold noodles, fried sauce noodles, big knife noodles¡­..¡± The list went on, and Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°You know how to make all these kinds?¡± The scholar also laughed: ¡°I don¡¯t know any of these.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°That¡¯s why this customer must not order any of these.¡± The scholar said, ¡°This humble shop only has plain noodles in soup.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye¡¯s eyes twitched, ¡°Then let¡¯s have a bowl.¡± ¡°Please wait a bit, customer.¡± Sure enough, he just needed to wait a bit, because there were only three steps for the scholar to make the noodles, boil the water, throw the noodles in, and then ladle it out of the pot. ¡°¡­..¡± Jing Ye looked at the steaming noodle soup in front of him, and suddenly felt very gratified, at least the noodles were cooked. Wait, wasn¡¯t this too low a requirement! He swallowed his saliva and was about to ask the scholar if he had any salt. Suddenly he heard a coquettish shout: ¡°Pervert!¡± He turned his head and saw a figure flying out of the tea house opposite the stall, and then with a ¡°bang¡± hit the bluestone street. The passers-by turned their heads to take a look, then turned around and continued to walk without bothering with a second glance. The person propped himself up on the ground with his hands and sat up slowly. He seemed to have hit his head when he was thrown out. He rubbed the sore spot with his hand and sighed. This scene was too curious, and Jing Ye couldn¡¯t help but take a second glance. The man stood up slowly, revealing broad shoulders and a narrow waist, making him look even taller than he already was. He had long legs, with leather riding boots tightly wrapped around his slender and powerful calves. Turning his face, he revealed one that had prominent facial features that were very handsome indeed. The man called laughingly towards the building, ¡°Wife, I¡¯ll come back tomorrow!¡± It turned out to be a henpecked husband, Jing Ye was amused and speechless. The man laughed a few times at the direction of the teahouse, then suddenly turned his head and looked straight at Jing Ye who was sitting at the table. ¡°Are you looking at me?¡± Jing Ye was caught off guard. After all, he was caught watching the joke of the other so he was a little embarrassed. He cupped his hands: ¡°I was not polite, this brother, please forgive me.¡± The corner of the man¡¯s lips twitched: ¡°Looking at your appearance, you have just entered the city?¡± Jing Ye nodded: ¡°Exactly.¡± The man wanted to ask more, but Shanyue next to Jing Ye stepped forward and said, ¡°Jing Gongzi is a distinguished guest of the City Lord¡¯s Mansion, and he doesn¡¯t understand Mister Wen¡¯s rules, so please forgive him.¡± ¡°So your surname is Jing.¡± The man smiled, ¡°Do you have a courtesy name?¡± It was strange for two strangers meeting by chance, and suddenly jumping to exchanging courtesy names. But the way he asked was very natural. Jing Ye¡¯s courtesy name was given by his father on his sickbed, before he died from illness suddenly. No one called him it, and no one even knew what it was. After all, who could call the emperor¡¯s courtesy name directly? Jing Ye paused for a while, then said, ¡°The courtesy name is Han Fang.¡± ¡°Jing Hanfang.¡± The man whispered then smiled, ¡°Fang¡¯s meaning is bright dawn, it¡¯s a good courtesy name.¡± ¡°I still have things to do today.¡± He took out a pocket knife, played nimbly with it between his fingertips as he turned around, ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to eat noodles next time, Brother Han Fang.¡± Jing Ye frowned and looked at Shanyue. The latter shook her head, and so he could only cup his hands again: ¡°Have a good day.¡± The man¡¯s pace seemed to be casual, but he was actually extremely fast, and soon disappeared down the street. Jing Ye turned back and sat down. He asked Shanyue, ¡°Who was that person?¡± Shanyue: ¡°Across the river, the snow white robes are bright.¡± ¡°This is Su Shi¡¯s poem.¡± Jing Ye smiled, ¡°Is there any special meaning?¡± Shanyue smiled and said, ¡°No special meaning, because this person is very famous, and his name is Xueyi, Wen Xueyi, so everyone would mention him when they recite this poem.¡± (TN: xueyi=snow white robes) ¡°He recently fell in love with the proprietress of the restaurant opposite.¡± The scholar brought another bowl of noodles, threw it to the customers at the next table with a smile, and then sat on the bench on Jing Ye¡¯s right hand, ¡°Every day he would come and get beaten, getting hit yet still very happy. It¡¯s been a month, brang a lot of rare treasures to give to that woman, but unfortunately they were all smashed to pieces by her.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Jing Ye stirred the noodles in the bowl with wooden chopsticks, ¡°That¡¯s really a devoted love.¡± The scholar looked at him: ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating it?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The corners of Jing Ye¡¯s eyes twitched again, ¡°The taste of this noodle wouldn¡¯t be strange, would it?¡± ¡°How could that be?¡± The scholar widened his eyes. ¡°My Ning family¡¯s noodle shop is the number one in the city. If you don¡¯t believe me, ask them!¡± Jing Ye turned his head and saw that the men at the next table were eating like wolves. Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Just who the hell was problematic here! ¡°Why don¡¯t you put other things in it?¡± Jing Ye asked tentatively, ¡°For example, some salt¡­..¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t understand.¡± The scholar took out a bamboo fan from his sleeve and unfolded it with a ¡°snap¡±, ¡°Everything has a way of doing things, like a dream like a bubble, like dew like lightning, the things in the world are chaotic, this bowl of plain noodle soup shows the true taste of life.¡± ¡°Oh¡­..¡± Jing Ye seemed to have an epiphany, nodded, and suddenly said, ¡°Mister, what do you think of the Harmony Pavilion¡¯s three whites?¡± (TN: three whites refer to stewed and seasoned duck slices, duck feet, and duck liver) Scholar: ¡°The color is as white as snow, the quality is soft and the meat is tender, it is of top quality.¡± Jing Ye: ¡°¡­..¡± Whatever happened to the true taste of life. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± The scholar smiled, ¡°Looking at you, who is of the dusty secular world, it¡¯s normal for you to not be as pure and penetrating as them¡­..¡± The folding fan pointed to the men around him who were stuffing their faces with noodles, ¡°¡­..You don¡¯t need to pay for the noodles, customer, have a good day.¡± Jing Ye clearly felt a strong sense of envy emanating from the men. He still got up and nodded and said, ¡°Mister is generous, your business will be booming.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too kind.¡± The scholar smiled gently, shaking his folding fan. Jing Ye left with Shanyue, and one of the men hesitated for a while, then raised his head cautiously: ¡°Actually, I am not so pure and penetrating¡­..¡± The scholar glanced at him and said, ¡°Can you afford to eat three whites? You penniless ghost.¡± Man: ¡°¡­..¡±