Published at 22nd of October 2020 08:47:05 PM
Chapter 96
Zhong Wan had Yu She’s outer robe draped loosely over his body . With a lot of effort, he sat up and leaned against the head of the bed with half of his chest uncovered .
Zhong Wan’s mouth was a slightly unnatural red . He licked his lips and closed his eyes to try and get a bit of rest . Then, Yu She got on top of him again .
He was already obedient after being taught a lesson by Yu She . Just now, he had already said everything he could and couldn’t bear to say . He had exhausted all the pleas and compliments . At this time, he only knew to beg . “Y-Young Prince Yu, my throat really hurts . If you don’t trust me, if you don’t trust me…”
Even in bed, Yu She was not excessively expressive, as cold and indifferent as normal . In a deep voice, he asked, “What if I don’t trust you?”
Zhong Wan was honestly traumatized by how Yu She had treated him . He whispered, “I’ll open my mouth . Take a look for yourself . ”
Upon hearing this, Yu She’s throat tightened .
In a flash, Zhong Wan realized that he had said the wrong thing again . Pitifully, he asked, “What do you actually want to do…”
Yu She replied in his deep voice, “Weren’t you the one who was going to open your mouth so I could take a look? So open your mouth . ”
Zhong Wan instantly flushed red again . “Quit… quit playing around . ”
Yu She’s expression was solemn as he pinched Zhong Wan’s chin; he had actually taken Zhong Wan’s words seriously .
Zhong Wan was embarrassed to the extreme . Yet, Yu She remained unmoved . He calmly said, “Open it . Let me see… if you ate it all . ”
Zhong Wan’s face was practically on fire . He had originally thought that it was already mortifying enough that Yu She had blocked his front and forced him to say he really enjoyed it . Completely unexpectedly, though Young Prince Yu didn’t say much during these activities, each phrase he did say was enough to cause death .
Right now, Zhong Wan only wanted to find a crack in the ground and burrow into it . He escaped from Yu She’s grasp and buried his head against Yu She’s chest . Voice muffled, he said, “I ate it all . It already got… swallowed into my stomach . ”
Yu She’s hand slid down and pressed against Zhong Wan’s stomach . In a meaningful manner, he rubbed that area .
Zhong Wan curled up, pained . “Young Prince Yu, have mercy . Even if you had bought me, you would need to let me take a short break, right?”
Upon hearing this, Yu She chuckled . “But I did buy you, remember?”
Yu She lowered his head and was about to kiss Zhong Wan when a palace servant entered the room . Yu She snatched up the blanket nearby and covered Zhong Wan with it . He grabbed his own outer robe and draped it over himself before getting out of bed . “What?”
The palace servant lowered his head and responded, “In reply to Young Prince, news just arrived from the capital saying that clues have been revealed about the assassination . It truly was an attempt by Prince Yu . As of now, there are both witnesses and physical evidence . His Majesty has said that we will return to the capital tomorrow . ”
Yu She turned around to look at Zhong Wan . Finally .
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The next day, everyone returned to the capital .
When leaving the temporary imperial palace, Yu She was unable to ride in the horse carriage with Zhong Wan . In accordance with the Ministry of Rites’ arrangements, he needed to ride on horseback alongside Emperor Chongan’s royal carriage and pretend to be the filial son for outsiders to see . Zhong Wan sat in the horse carriage by himself and took a nap .
About two hours after departing the temporary imperial palace, a servant following outside the horse carriage gently tapped the window and asked, “Young Master Zhong, do you want tea?”
Zhong Wan just so happened to be feeling slightly thirsty . Thus, he opened his eyes and massaged his neck . Then, he said to the curtain, “Okay . ”
The horse carriage stopped . A little eunuch crawled in while holding a box of food . He knelt and poured Zhong Wan a cup of tea .
The royal carriage up front hadn’t stopped . This meant that Zhong Wan’s carriage couldn’t stop for too long . The horse carriage slowly caught up . Zhong Wan narrowed his eyes and observed the little eunuch . He sat up straight and smiled . “I’ve been impolite . Just now, I didn’t realize that Gonggong is someone who directly serves the emperor . Gonggong needn’t wait on me anymore . I can take care of myself . ”
When he had been summoned by Emperor Chongan that day to play chess, Zhong Wan had seen this little eunuch . He had a good memory and could still recognize the other .
The little eunuch smiled . “Young Master Zhong still remembers this slave?”
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The little eunuch nimbly poured the tea out, then pulled out two plates of delicate refreshments from the food box . With a smile, he said, “Please help yourself, Young Master Zhong . ”
Zhong Wan leaned against the window and gently said, “I’ve troubled Gonggong, but I’m not thirsty yet . Just leave it there for now . ”
The little eunuch smiled at Zhong Wan with unspoken understanding . He softly asked, “Could it be that Young Master Zhong fears this slave has poisoned the tea?”
Zhong Wan was even more polite . “What a funny joke, Gonggong . ”
But he still refused to touch it .
Exasperated, the little eunuch said, “Young Master Zhong is too careful . How could the emperor bear for anything to happen to you? Even after punishing Young Master yesterday, didn’t he immediately let you leave after Young Prince went to beg for mercy on your behalf? His Majesty truly values you greatly . ”
Zhong Wan lowered his head and chuckled . He knew . Emperor Chongan could be fooled by him once, but definitely not a second time . This time, he had directly foregone meeting in person, sending a eunuch to be the messenger instead .
“Young Master, take a look . What’s this?” The little eunuch pulled a booklet out from his breast pocket and used both hands to hand it to Zhong Wan .
Zhong Wan didn’t accept it . He asked, “What’s this? The imperial decree gifting Young Prince a marriage arrangement?”
The little eunuch smiled and gestured for Zhong Wan to read it himself . Zhong Wan grabbed the booklet and opened it to look . The smile on his face slowly disappeared .
“As of now, Young Master is still a slave . This matter has always been one of the emperor’s sore spots . Back when you, Young Master Zhong, first entered the capital, His Majesty had already ordered Young Prince Yu to bring your self-selling contract and take you to the yamen for a formality that would return you to freedom . Unfortunately, Young Prince Yu had been unwilling to . Thus, things got delayed .
“Later on, His Majesty considered it once more and felt that only freeing you from slave status isn’t enough . Who are you? Wouldn’t it be too pitiful if you really lived out an ordinary life?”
Carefully, Zhong Wan read the words personally written by the emperor, taking them in one by one . He fell into a daze .
“Speaking of this, there’s an old story that perhaps even Young Master Zhong doesn’t know about . This slave only heard it from the old gonggongs that serve His Majesty by chance too . ” The little eunuch smiled . “This slave will relay it to you?”
Zhong Wan knew this was a trap, but because it was related to past events, he still reluctantly nodded .
“This story is from long ago . Seven… oh no, eight years ago . When the Prince Ning case had just happened,” said the little eunuch . “At that time, Young Master had yet to be imprisoned . You would’ve been guarding the little masters of Prince Ning’s estate and waiting for news in agitation . Which is why you don’t know .
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“You don’t know that Old Imperial Preceptor Shi once knelt for a whole fourteen hours outside His Majesty’s resting palace!”
Zhong Wan’s mouth became filled with the taste of blood . He no longer wanted to listen .
But the little eunuch continued speaking . “The old imperial preceptor was the teacher of two emperors . How proud of a person was he? Back then, our current emperor had also partaken in the ceremony that acknowledged the old imperial preceptor as his teacher . The emperor respected his teacher . After ascending to the throne, he exempted Old Imperial Preceptor Shi from having to kneel or kowtow to him . But that day, Old Imperial Preceptor Shi knelt outside the palace hall for a long time, incessantly kowtowing .
“Old Imperial Preceptor Shi said that Guiyuan was still a child . No matter what Prince Ning did, Guiyuan definitely didn’t know . Old Imperial Preceptor Shi begged the emperor to not let you get implicated in this case . The palace examinations were coming up . You had studied hard for many years . If you happened to become imprisoned, your entire life would be ruined .
“At that time, your sixteenth birthday had just passed .
“Normally, Old Imperial Preceptor Shi rarely praised you, right? But that day, Old Imperial Preceptor Shi told the emperor that Zhong Guiyuan was the god of literature reincarnated in mortal form . He couldn’t be ruined because of this incident .
“The emperor was conflicted too . With no other option, he told Old Imperial Preceptor Shi to return to his own estate first . The old imperial preceptor refused to listen and simply knelt there . Think about it . All those people entering and exiting, passing by… aiya . ”
Zhong Wan’s lips quivered a hint . “You people…” Zhong Wan’s voice was hoarse . He pressed his lips into a thin line and refused to make another sound .
Zhong Wan wanted to ask, he was the teacher of two emperors, the head of the Hanlins . Did nobody go help him up?
The little eunuch lamented, saying, “In the end, the emperor suppressed his pain and approved the booklet asking to arrest you . When the booklet was brought out, Old Imperial Preceptor Shi fainted . Only then did the eunuchs dare to send him out of the palace…” He sighed .
The little eunuch gazed at Zhong Wan, choosing to rub salt into the wounds that hurt the other the most . “Young Master Zhong, Old Imperial Preceptor Shi could see through the entire situation the most clearly . No matter what, he refused to let you go to prison . His fear was that you would end up the way you are now, in a life of hustle and bustle but without any true accomplishments . Completely wasting yourself away for naught .
“Even though Young Prince Yu eventually bailed you out, even if you could be freed from slave status in the future… it was already too late . ” Then the little eunuch said with sympathy, “You understand all the concepts in this story, right?”
Zhong Wan’s Adam’s apple slightly shifted . He lowly replied, “I understand… According to the rules of this dynasty, those who have been convicted as criminals are not allowed to attend the imperial examinations for the rest of their lives . ”
“Right now, the opportunity has come!” A bright smile lit up the little eunuch’s face . “Take a close look at this booklet . The emperor has already made himself clear . Our emperor is willing to break the ancestors’ laws for you . He has fulfilled Old Imperial Preceptor Shi’s wish and personally issued an imperial decree that will allow you to take the imperial examinations one more time . Young Master Zhong has only turned twenty five this year . You’re still very young . Even though you’ve wasted a few years in between everything, this slave believes… you still might place, right?”
“Place?” Zhong Wan snorted . He set the imperial decree down on the desk . “As long as I attend, first is mine . ”
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The little eunuch froze . He was quite young . Everything he knew about the past had been told to him by others . In his heart, he was actually a bit disdainful of this male lover with a bad reputation that Yu She kept in his room . He only thought of the other as a disgraceful cut sleeve .
But at this moment, he could actually notice the hint of a scholar’s arrogance in this useless cut sleeve’s eyes .
In this moment of hesitation, he surprisingly found himself somewhat believing that if this cut sleeve partook in the imperial examinations once more, he might actually make a name for himself .
The little eunuch didn’t dare to continue down this path of thought . He smiled in an ingratiating way . “True, true . Look, Young Master Zhong . ” The little eunuch flipped open the booklet and softly said, “This was personally written by His Majesty . Only a seal is missing . As long as Young Master can successfully convince Young Prince to get married, that seal can be stamped on!”
The little eunuch refused to believe that Zhong Wan could withstand such a temptation . Once more, he smiled . “You’d repay the old imperial preceptor’s affections for you from back in the day and could console the spirits of your relatives buried underground . What a great opportunity . ”
Zhong Wan stared straight at the booklet . His pupils shifted faintly . Without waiting for him to respond, the little eunuch continued, “Naturally, Young Master might also be thinking that Young Prince would be able to write an identical decree for you when he ascends to the throne . However…”
The little eunuch lowered his voice and said, “His Majesty has said that Prince is too young . For fear that he’ll make foolish decisions, in the future, when that day truly comes, His Majesty will issue a decree and ask all loyal officials and imperial clan relatives to bear witness; when Prince worships the Heavens, he must announce to the country that for the next thirty years, he won’t break any of the previous emperor’s laws . ”
Zhong Wan clenched his hands into fists .
The little eunuch softly added, “So, only His Majesty can change the law for you . Young Master Zhong, this is a big deal . You only need to coax the prince a bit . Do you really not feel tempted?”
Zhong Wan’s gaze was glued on that imperial decree . The little eunuch could see the hesitation in Zhong Wan’s eyes . Pleased, he lowered his head . “Then this slave will leave first . Think carefully, Young Master . Old Imperial Preceptor Shi is watching you from the Heavens . ”
The little eunuch scurried out of the carriage . Zhong Wan stared at the booklet on the little table . He was in a daze for a long time .
If he said he wasn’t tempted, he would be lying .
Back then, he had also wanted to dress in new clothes and view all the flowers of Chang An in a single day from atop a well-groomed horse .
Two hours later, Xuan Jing replaced Yu She . Yu She had been feeling impatient since long ago . He urged his horse towards Zhong Wan’s horse carriage, got off the horse, and flipped into the horse carriage . As soon as he entered the horse carriage, he started coughing . “What were you doing? It’s so smokey!”
“Nothing important . I accidentally burned something . ” Without waiting for Yu She to keep asking questions, Zhong Wan immediately embraced Yu She and buried his head against the other’s collarbone . This proactive hug caused Yu She’s entire being to freeze in shock . A long time later, Zhong Wan sighed . “Ziyou… I really like you too much . ”
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