Chapter 84
One statement from Yu She had shut everyone else up .
He had truly caused the conversation to become a bit too heavy . The senior officials had nothing to say in response .
Yet, Yu She scanned everyone in the room . His gaze was filled with slight anticipation .
He liked talking about this . He wanted to say some more .
An awkward period of silence later, it was still Senior Cabinet Official Sun who ultimately got out with difficulty, “Yes, that could cause death . ”
Yu She nodded . In a tone that he believed was calm and not awkward at all, he said, “Originally, I wasn’t willing to listen to him, but I couldn’t withstand his frequent onslaught of reminders . I could only listen to him . What he said wasn’t wrong in the first place, anyway . One really should limit their poison intake . ”
Senior Cabinet Official Sun forced himself to say, “Exactly so . ”
Yu She nodded . He picked up his handkerchief and daintily wiped off his fingertips . Then, he ordered someone to take away the bowl and chopsticks so he could continue looking over the documents .
The senior cabinet officials made eye contact and rapidly finished their meals before going back to commenting on the booklets .
Outside, Zhong Wan slammed his head against a pillar . He didn’t want to go inside to see Yu She at all .
The little eunuch in charge of serving Yu She walked over . Just as he was about to speak, Zhong Wan shushed him . “Don’t announce me . I’ll just wait here for him . ”
Thanks to Yu She, Zhong Wan was no longer curious in the slightest about what the Cabinet looked like inside .
He even felt a bit fortunate that he didn’t have such a crazy colleague .
The little eunuch nodded before silently retreating .
Zhong Wan sat down . He drank tea while waiting . Almost two hours later, the little Hanlins started carrying booklets out of the room . Zhong Wan knew that it was almost time . He stood and walked out of the palace alone .
Zhong Wan told everyone to help keep the fact that he had gone looking for Yu She a secret; they were only to say that he had made a trip back to the estate before returning . In less than five minutes, Yu She walked out .
Yu She’s brows were furrowed . On one hand, he scolded the family soldiers for not following his orders . On the other, he honestly couldn’t handle Zhong Wan continuously tugging at his sleeve . Reluctantly, he held onto Zhong Wan’s hand .
The horse carriage driver put the stool away, lit the lanterns, turned the horse carriage around, and started on their way back to the estate .
There was a brazier inside . Zhong Wan’s hands were even colder than Yu She’s though, and Yu She had been walking outside in the wind for a while . Yu She’s expression was a bit dark . Zhong Wan took this opportunity to be mushy . “My body is cold too…The weather today is honestly terrible . ”
Yu She hesitated for a moment . He undid his cloak and wrapped Zhong Wan up with it .
Zhong Wan sighed, pleased . He asked in a low voice, “Why did you have so much business to attend to today?”
“Prince Yu has temporarily hidden himself away . Those on his side have all either retired or quit…” Yu She said in his deep voice . “Though he doesn’t have any allies in the Cabinet, because there are less people working in the lower levels, trivial matters have naturally gotten pushed up . ”
Itbcu Qjc rboais rjlv, “Uglcmf Te vbfrc’a cfmfrrjglis kjca ab lcoegljaf atf fwqfgbg . Lf cffvr ab jma ilxf tf’r jigfjvs jvwlaafv vfofja . Ktja wfjcr atf qfbqif ecvfg tlw klii vfolclafis cffv ab tlvf jkjs abb . Qtja’r atf fwqfgbg’r bqlclbc?”
Te Vtf rtbbx tlr tfjv . “Rba mifjg . Lf vlv gfjv jii atf ybbxifar atja kfgf rfca ab tlw abvjs, yea vlvc’a wjxf jcs mbwwfcar . Ktf Jjylcfa tjnf ulnfc atflg reuufralbcr gfujgvlcu atf gfqijmfwfca bo j ofk lwqbgajca boolmljir, yea atf fwqfgbg vlvc’a wjxf jcs vfolclalnf rajafwfcar . Lf abiv atf Jjylcfa ab vlrmerr la rbwf wbgf . ”
Zhong Wan said, “He’s testing you . ”
Yu She made a sound of acknowledgement . “I didn’t say anything… Those senior officials whom the emperor will listen to are the trusted subordinates that he has personally promoted over all these years . They wouldn’t listen to me . Even now, they haven’t expressed any inclinations to join my side either . Saying too much is useless . Besides…”
Yu She calmly said, “I don’t have any possible replacements . ”
These past few years, Yu She had never thought about fighting for the position of crown prince . He had also never trained any people . Speaking of this, he was probably even less powerful in the Court than Xuan Jing .
Zhong Wan thought about it . “Old Imperial Preceptor Shi left a few people for me . One of them is an assistant astronomer in the Imperial Astronomy Department . ”
Yu She held down Zhong Wan’s disobedient hands . Lowly, he asked, “What? You want to have that assistant astronomer tell the emperor that he discovered in the stars that I must be the crown prince?”
Zhong Wan laughed . He said, “I’ll get in contact with him tomorrow . ”
Before waiting for Yu She to respond, Zhong Wan rushed to add, “I naturally won’t let anyone discover that I ever went . If I return late tomorrow, I won’t come pick you up . ”
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Yu She fell silent for a moment . Then, he nodded . “Okay . ”
It was late at night . Soft murmurs could be heard from Yu She’s carriage as it traveled along the official path . Nice and peaceful, like the upcoming maelstrom had nothing to do with these two people .
A few days later, Emperor Chongan had the rare energy to attend morning court . After morning court, he told Yu She to stay behind .
The weather was slowly getting warmer . Emperor Chongan strolled around the imperial gardens with the aid of his cane .
Yu She followed behind him . Emperor Chongan didn’t speak . Not a word left Yu She’s lips either .
“These past few days, you’ve been quite stressed out about Cabinet business . I’ve heard about this . ” Emperor Chongan turned his head to look at Yu She . “Ziyou, if you didn’t understand in the past, you should understand now after this period of hard work, right? This throne isn’t easy to sit on . ”
Emperor Chongan stopped in his tracks . He gazed off into the distance at the spring blossoms, dazed . “At your age, I too wanted to help the previous emperor carry some burdens . After actually inheriting the throne, though… I felt that things were truly very tiring . ”
Yu She didn’t respond .
Emperor Chongan continued to walk forward . He said in a low voice, “These past few years, I’ve eaten late and woken up early to placate the inside while stabilizing the outside . I’ve exhausted all my energy . I personally believe that even if I had made a mistake in the early years, I’ve already compensated for it by now . Who… could be up next?”
Emperor Chongan stared at Yu She as he had said this . Yu She’s gaze was cold . He didn’t answer .
Emperor Chongan kept walking . Bibo Pond was close by . He hesitated for a moment before turning around and walking in the opposite direction .
Ridicule flashed through Yu She’s eyes .
Emperor Chongan was scared that he would suddenly fly into a fit and push him into the water too .
He relied on Yu She heavily now, but was still guarded against him .
The fact that a biological father and son had gotten to this step was quite ironic .
Emperor Chongan continued to say, “I heard the senior cabinet officials say that you’re very diligent while reading the booklets everyday . You don’t speak much, but do a lot . Additionally, even after entering the cabinet for so long, you still only watch and learn . You’ve never intervened in a single matter . ”
Emperor Chongan lamented, “I remember when Qiong’er was there… he practically wished that the entire cabinet would listen to him . ”
“I’m not talented nor well-learned,” said Yu She in a nonchalant manner . “There’s not much I can help with anyways . ”
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Emperor Chongan continued to walk . He asked, “Then after you have learned for so long, have you experienced the difficulty of being someone in power?”
Yu She did his best to hide the scorn in his eyes . He fell silent for a moment before saying, “It’s very difficult, but sometimes, having this sense of difficulty is a blessing . If I have too peaceful of a life… I fear that I won’t be able to live for too long . ”
Emperor Chongan gave Yu She a long, hard look . He sighed . “Just say a few nice things . As a way of being filial to me . Okay?”
Yu She lowered his gaze .
Yu She didn’t look like Little Imperial Consort Zhong . Only his eyes and eyebrows slightly resembled Emperor Chongan’s eyes from when the other had been younger . Emperor Chongan stared into Yu She’s eyes and softly said, “You grew up in the palace, Ziyou . Did you know? You started walking really late . All the other kids learned how to walk before they turned one . Only you—you were almost two, but still wobbled and walked very slowly . However, every time you saw me, you wouldn’t care about those things . You would run very fast . One day in the imperial gardens, you saw me from afar and started running toward me at once . None of the palace servants could catch up to you . You were running too quickly, so tripped on a stone step . Both of your little hands were covered in blood . At that time, my heart honestly hurt so much that I felt like it was going to break…”
Both of Emperor Chongan’s hands rested on his wooden cane . He coughed twice and said while panting, “Thinking back now, I’m immensely regretful . At the time, why did I care about etiquette so much? I ought to have run forward a few steps too and picked you up well before you could’ve fallen…”
Yu She’s expression was normal . “I learned to walk late . Since young, I’ve been in the habit of falling over . After falling enough times, I’ve long since gotten used to it . There’s no need to mind, Emperor . ”
As he coughed, Emperor Chongan laughed bitterly . “You still blame me . ”
Yu She’s expression was calm . “It’s the truth . I’ve truly gotten used to it . ”
Emperor Chongan knew that it was too late to try and start warming up Yu She’s heart now . He didn’t say anything else regarding that topic . He waved his hands . “Nevermind . Accompany me a bit longer .
“These past few days, Prince Yu has been locked up at home and very well behaved,” Emperor Chongan said . “Say… Does he really not want to fight anymore, or is he crafting another plan?”
Upon hearing this, Yu She, who was walking behind him, said, “I’ve never had a clear understanding of Prince Yu’s thoughts . I daren’t guess . ”
“You’ve been his son for many years . If even you can’t guess, I’m even less capable . ” Emperor Chongan walked up the stone stairs step by step . “The Imperial Astronomy Department came to report the astronomical phenomena today…”
Emperor Chongan was truly in poor health . He had started panting after merely climbing a few steps . He stopped and slowly said, “Originally, everything was only normal . They talked about how the spring rains would be this year and whether or not there would be floods this summer . However, this time, they also mentioned… They said that this year, Mars might be approaching Antares . ”
Mars stayed at Antares . Great calamity befell the Son of Heaven .
Emperor Chongan took his time saying, “Ziyou, who is it that wishes harm against me?”
Yu She’s expression was unchanged . He answered, “The matters of astronomical phenomena can be both believed or disregarded . ”
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“I’ve been in poor health this year, but I feel that I should be able to last two more years . It probably isn’t the Heavens that wants me to go . ” Emperor Chongan’s voice grew colder . In a low voice, he said, “The Imperial Astronomy Department also said that the two stars next to Antares are flashing . One is fortunate, while the other is unfortunate . ”
Emperor Chongan gazed at Yu She . His eyes were dark . “These two stars have always represented the imperial princes . One is going to be fortunate and the other is going to be unfortunate . Tell me . Which is which?”
Yu She’s expression slightly changed .
Emperor Chongan pressed down on Yu She’s shoulder briefly . “The fortunate one has been trapped by the unfortunate one . If that’s the message… isn’t it a bit obvious?”
Yu She inhaled deeply . “I was born in the middle of July: truly the unfortunate one . Right now, Xuan Qiong is under house arrest . He also truly is…”
Yu She scoffed . He didn’t continue speaking .
“I do believe these superstitious messages . In the early years, someone said that I have no luck in regards to offspring . I really did lose many princes and felt depressed for a long time . ” Emperor Chongan narrowed his eyes . All of a sudden, he changed the topic, saying, “But as of now, I have three nice and healthy sons alive . What does that mean?
“First, they said that Mars will stay at Antares . Then, they said that a prince will be trapped . Now, they’re saying that the fortunate prince might be able to divert this astronomical phenomenon . ” Emperor Chongan’s voice was completely cold . “Prince Yu has been waiting for many days . So he’s been using all his energy in this regard! He wants to use the words of the Imperial Astronomy Department to make me name Xuan Qiong as crown prince . He’s also using your birthdate against you . How terribly evil…”
Yu She’s heart finally fell back into place . He couldn’t help lamenting to himself that Zhong Wan really understood Emperor Chongan quite well .
Emperor Chongan’s glabella was a bit dark . His expression was foul too . “It’s my fault . I wasted too much time before naming you as prince of the first rank . So long that these people think that they can change my mind .
“Don’t worry,” said Emperor Chongan, placating Yu She . “I’ve just given the imperial decree to officially name you prince of the first rank . ”
Yu She knelt and thanked the emperor for his grace . This entire process was extremely proper . He didn’t say any excessive words of gratitude .
Emperor Chongan ordered him to stand up . He laughed bitterly . “Why have I heard that you’re very talkative around Guiyuan? You spend everyday together and nobody can separate you two . But you have nothing to say to me?”
Emperor Chongan furrowed his brows and thought about it . He said, “Oh right… Who did I hear this from again…
“They said that since I’ve admitted you to be my son, the Imperial Clan Court and Ministry of Internal Affairs have both sent a lot of stuff to your estate . And people are already starting to write down where you stay each night now . ” Emperor Chongan burst into laughter . “How come I heard that the entire booklet is filled with…”
Yu She calmly said, “All Zhong Wan . ”
Yu She’s expression changed a bit . He found Zhong Wan slightly embarrassing . However, he also couldn’t resist saying, “H-he didn’t even know what the booklet was for . He thought that I was required to go find the person whose name was written under the date on that day . Thus, he asked for dozens of those journaling booklets . When he had nothing to do, he would simply write his name onto them, filling every page out to the brim . As of now…”
Yu She couldn’t help adding, “He’s probably already scheduled the next few decades of my life . ”
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