Chapter 16
The Emperor is Angry
Today, Ji Zheng has to go and pay the empress dowager a visit. Although she does not quite like him, she does not let her dislike show. Both of them maintain the illusion of a harmonious relationship between a mother and her stepson. Ever since he moved out of the palace, he visited the empress dowager in the palace a lot.
He accompanied the empress dowager for a while before leaving Ci Ning Palace, only to stumble upon a really curious scene.
A little eunuch is hugging a little child while riding on top of a large turtle.
The turtle moves forward with a lot of effort. There are a lot of people following it from behind. Those people are walking really slowly, like a bunch of wooden puppet.
If he waits for them to pass him by, he will have to wait until sunset so Ji Zheng takes the initiative to approach them first. He looks at the two people. The little kid is his nephew, not really a stranger to him. The little eunuch isn't as well, he have met this eunuch before.
Ji Zheng is not really good at remembering people's faces, this eunuch just happens to leave a deep impression on him, that day.
When Tian Qi notices Ji Zheng, she wants to get Ruyi down from the turtle to greet him, but Ji Zheng stops her. "No need to come down. This is alright."
The two of them stays on the turtle.
Tian Qi: "Greeting wangye."
Ruyi: "Greeting imperial uncle."
Ji Zheng rubs his chin before laughing, "This king has seen children playing with crickets, with dogs, with cats, but this is the first time this king is seeing a child playing with a turtle."
The turtle is very discourteous, it ignores him before begrudgingly crawls on.
When Ruyi hears that, he proudly introduce Ji Zheng to the turtle, "Imperial uncle, meet Dai San Shan." After saying that, he pats the turtle on it's shell.
"Dai San Shan? What an interesting name, who chose that name?"
Ruyi grabs Tian Qi's hand and waves it around, "Tian Qi did!"
Ji Zheng looks at Tian Qi, "So your name is Tian Qi? How is the injury on your head?"
"Thank you for your concern, wangye. This servant's injury has already healed." Just, she received a new set of injuries.
"How did you tame this turtle? I have been trying to see him these past few days, but it wouldn't come out of the water." Ji Zheng feels very intrigued. He walks beside the turtle as he chats with them.
"Answering wangye, this servant occasionally feeds it."
Ji Zheng think this little eunuch is very interesting. He is pretty intelligent and knows how to play. And so, he chats with Tian Qi in interest.
He asks her a lot of questions, from when she entered the palace to where is she on duty to what does she like to play… They find themselves pretty compatible with each other.
The two of them chats on without paying attention to everything else. Before realizing it, they have already reached Long Zong Gate.
Coincidentally, Ji Heng who is planning to go to Ci Ning Palace is going their way. He can see Tian Qi and Ruyi sitting on top of a turtle from far away. Ji Zheng is walking next to them, as though leading their way. The three of them are chatting happily while laughing.
All in all, they look like a single family unit.
Ji Heng is really angry with that thought. He approaches them with brisk steps and cuts them off, "Get down, now!"
Tian Qi and Ruyi who did not noticed his presence are shocked by his outburst. A nanny immediately picks Ruyi up from the turtle. As for Tian Qi, as she is trying to get off the back of the turtle, she slips on it's slippery shell. Just as she thought she is going to fall, Ji Zheng catches her.
As Tian Qi falls into Ji Zheng's embrace, only one thought plays in his mind: Why is it still so soft?
When he realizes how far his mind has gone to, he feels embarrassed. He let go of Tian Qi, looking slightly sideway as his ears turn pink.
Ji Heng's anger does not diminish and instead becomes even more fueled up, "Is there any rules that allows people to ride turtles inside the palace?"
Everyone looks down, not daring to say a single word. The atmosphere becomes dead quiet.
Even Dai San Shan has stopped moving and shrinks back into it's shell. All they can see is a huge, misplaced, rock-like shell in the middle of the crowd.
Tian Qi secretly sigh; the emperor is indeed the emperor! Even a divine turtle is afraid of him.
Ruyi does not know why they are not allowed to ride a turtle inside the palace, but what he do know is that his imperial father is angry. He lowers his head and obediently admits fault, "Please do not be angry, imperial father. I was wrong."
What is there to be wrong about? Ji Heng is too lazy to pay him any attention. He glares at Ji Zheng, "What are you standing here for? You want to ride a turtle too?"
"No, imperial brother. I should leave, please excuse me, " Ji Zheng says, becoming the first of the lot to wipe his hand off the matter.
Tian Qi feels very apologetic. This has nothing to do with the wangye, he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ji Heng ordered Sheng An Huai to order his people to send the turtle back to Tai Ye Lake. Then, he turns and walks to the direction of Ci Ning Palace. After a couple of steps, he stops and turns around. When he realize that Tian Qi is not following him, he scolds her again, "What are you waiting for? You want zhen to personally welcome you?"
Didn't he told her not to show her face in front of him? She does not have the guts to say anything, so she quickly follows his order.
Ruyi suddenly holds her, not letting go. His imperial father is angry. He will hit Tian Qi. He must not let him hit Tian Qi. Ruyi is very loyal and wants to protect Tian Qi, so he grabs the corner of her robe and bravely lock eyes with his imperial father.
That little brat is rebelling! Ji Heng is livid, and also somewhat embarrassed. This little kid is actually brave enough to disobey the emperor's order….
Ruyi's courage does not last too long. In the end, he burst into tears.
Ji Heng: "……………"
To tell the truth, he does not mind Ruyi kicking a fuss, he is only afraid of Ruyi crying, because once he cries, the empress dowager will cry as well. The empress dowager's tear is a weapon against the emperor. He cannot bear to see her cry.
Honestly, Ruyi rarely cries, and even if he does, it may not necessarily be because he is sad. He usually only wants to negotiate; basically, if he cry, everyone will have to listen to him.
Ji Heng looks up to the sky and sigh; what sin has he committed to have a child like Ruyi?
"Stop crying!" After saying that, Ji Heng walks to Ci Ning Palace with a dark face.
Ruyi feels like he has won.
As for Tian Qi, she feels like her little life is going to end soon.
Tian Qi only dared to ride that turtle because there is no direct rule in the palace that prohibit people from riding turtles. She didn't think this will be considered a crime.
Unfortunately, good or not and can or not depends solely on the person at the very top.
Now that that person is not very fond of her, the small mistake has become a crime.
Don't tell her that she managed to pass the hurdle that was Song Zhaoyi's death only to end up dying for riding a turtle.
This is too much.
The development of the plot is too complex, Tian Qi has no way of figuring out which tunes the emperor will be singing next. She has always been perceptive yet why is it hard for her to guess the heart of her new master?
She is scared.
Ruyi is no longer crying- in fact, he stopped crying the moment Ji Heng left. Even he has his own worry and curiosity, "Why was imperial father so angry at us for riding a turtle?"
How should she know? Tian Qi look at the direction of Ci Ning Palace in worry.
Ruyi is still so young, he shouldn't be exposed to his imperial father's quirkiness. It will affect his growth. And so, she coax him, "Your imperial father is angry because he wants to ride the turtle too, but he can't because he is too heavy."
Ruyi totally believes her, because who doesn't want to ride a divine turtle? Not everyone who wants to ride it can ride it though, he kind of pity his imperial father.
Seeing Ruyi's mood getting lighter, Tian Qi coax him with another 'I'll play with you tomorrow' promise.
As for Ji Heng, although he is already in Ci Ning Palace, he is worried of his son and ordered a eunuch to look after him. When Ruyi goes back to his own palace, that eunuch returns to Ji Heng and reports everything that he hears.
The cup on Ji Heng's hand falls to the ground.
The usually refined emperor is bursting with expletives on the inside.
Who the hell said he wanted to ride a turtle?
Serene: This chapter was brought to you by Govinden.