Chapter 42
Editor: yummers
At the palace gate, Shi Qing leaned against Yu Chennian as he yawned. He looked on with a bored expression as Young Master Chen, who was screaming as he was being hit with the board, finally stopped crying. He limped down from the bench with cold sweat on his forehead.
The little master had been patiently waiting for his punishment to finish. When he got up, he ran over happily and acted overly sympathetic.
“Are you okay, Young Master Chen? You seemed to be making quite a bit of noise earlier. Tut tut tut. Just say something if it was too much for you. We were just making a casual bet. I wouldn’t have forced you if you didn’t want to.”
Young Master Chen wanted to spit the blood in his mouth onto Shi Qing’s face.
At this point, he was just rubbing salt on the wound.
What kind of person was this?!
But he forced a smile onto his face that was covered with old sweat from the beating. “It’s all good.”
“Good!”
Shi Qing immediately applauded him with great admiration as he shook his head. He made a casual comment to Yu Chennian who was following him. “Look how manly Young Master Chen is. 20 hits with a board is nothing to him.”
“If I have another chance to bet with him, we won’t bet a measly 20. We’ll bet 50 hits! I can’t wait!”
Young Master Chen, “…”
His mind automatically translated his words into, ‘The next time I catch you in the act, it won’t just be 20 hits, it’ll be 50.’
He already felt like he was dying after 20. If he really suffered 50 hits, he was probably better off just dying right here.
Shi Qing was still running his mouth. “Young Master Chen, although you and I were only betting, I still want to remind you that subjects need to behave a certain way. If they step out of line, even an emperor as benevolent as our won’t stop at just corporal punishment.”
As he said this, he glanced meaningfully at the cold sweat pouring out of Young Master Chen’s forehead. A charming smile lit up his cherubic face, just like an innocent little master who had been sheltered his entire life.
“So the next time you and I are chatting, Young Master Chen’s opinions should be closer to my own.”
Young Master Chen, “…”
He didn’t want to get closer.
Was there a way he could avoid getting closer?
He just wanted to be a handsome man indulging in luxuries all day with a princess and countless concubines waiting at home, alright!
The little master expressed his condolences.
His delicate lips opened and closed. The expression on his face was very soft, but his words were dripping with bloodl.u.s.t.
“I’ll cut off your hands and feet before removing your head.”
Young Master Chen, “…”
He gave in shamefully.
“Yes, yes, Shi Qing. You are right…”
Beneath Shi Qing’s friendly gaze, he hobbled slowly towards the palace gate as he was supported by the palace servants.
After he left, the radiantly smiling little master immediately showed his displeasure. He hopped back to the top of the steps and rubbed the sole of his shoes repeatedly against the floor.
When Yu Chennian returned to his side, he heard the little master’s grumble with prejudice. “I really gave him face. I even personally stood in the snow to watch him getting beat. Now, my boots are covered with snow.”
The young man stood on the topmost step. He offered his back to Shi Qing. His voice was soft because of how quiet it was. “I’ll carry you back.”
“Good.”
The little master didn’t show the slightest hint of courtesy as he climbed onto his back. A pair of delicate hands wrapped around Yu Chennian’s neck as his head obediently dropped onto his shoulder.
It wasn’t snowing right now, so Yu Chennian carried him on his back just like that. With steady steps, he headed towards the direction of the Imperial Study.
Shi Qing’s mouth never stopped moving along the way.
The little master was very arrogant. He was even muttering while being carried. “Did you have a good look at how Young Master Chen ended up today? You have to be good to me in the future, or you’ll get hit with the board too.”
Yu Chennian, “Okay.”
“But you’re pretty good for someone like yourself. I’ve been carried by so many people, but you’re the most comfortable of them all. As long as you follow me well, I won’t treat you badly. Don’t I give you that ginseng soup every day?”
The young man outright ignored the fact that the soup was given to him only because Shi Qing didn’t like it.
“Okay.”
“Just remember that I’ve been good to you, and remember to repay me later.”
“Okay.”
“But there’s no hurry. When you leave the palace, I have plenty of time to take you out to play. You’re locked in the palace all day, so you don’t know about all the fun things outside, but I do. I’ve been playing around the capital since I was a child.”
“Okay.”
The little master became unhappy. His round eyes narrowed slightly as he patted Yu Chennian’s head. He grumbled, “Are you messing with me? Why are your replies the same no matter what I say? ”
Yu Chennian, “No.”
He carried the little boy on his back; his hands encircled firmly from behind.
The young man didn’t say it, but he was thinking.
He wasn’t messing around.
Every one of his answers were sincere.
***
The war at the border was becoming more and more pressing. The officials of the court were quarreling once again.
Some civil servants felt that they needed to fight, while others were staunchly against violence.
The military officers were united on this front. Fight! We must fight! If we don’t, then we would be dishonouring our nation!
They could argue all they wanted, but the emperor’s decisions were the only ones that mattered.
In fact, the emperor wanted to calm things down. After all, a winter war would be a costly expense. His treasury was already suffering. It was likely there would be nothing left at all after this war.
Why did the kingdom acknowledged by the heavens have to contend with these barbarian countries?
Although his own princesses were already married off—he could adopt the daughters of his ministers in name, and then secure peace with a marriage.
Unfortunately, before the emperor could share his idea, a minister on the same wavelength as him spoke first.
Then, he was cut, drawn, and quartered by the others; all led by the prime minister.
How can you be such a fool—
Giving them a princess?! Why don’t we give them your uncle instead!!
We’ve lost three cities already!! Three!!
Do fools like you even know what that means?! A kingdom of heaven is being terrorized by a small country filled with barbarians!
You actually want to please them in exchange for peace! Are you a citizen of this country or theirs?! They killed our people and occupied our cities. If you give them a princess, they’ll take that as encouragement!
Just wow. The winter this year was especially rough. Their crops and livestock have all died, so they came to raid our cities, kill our citizens, and live off our stores.
What about next year! The next next year! And the year after that?!
You gigantic fool—
Have you ever used your brain for even a second!
People don’t necessarily have to reciprocate your kindness. Maybe you still think that the officials in our country are all good-for-nothings like you. They will only grow more aggressive in the future!
The emperor coughed and swallowed what he had wanted to say.
But there were still doubts remaining in his heart.
He was the emperor ordained by the heavens. Surely the Hu people wouldn’t dare to go too far. They would retreat after receiving the princess, right?
The official obviously had the same thoughts as him. He defended himself and explained more.
Then, he was intimidated into silence by the prime minister again.
If there’s no food at home, does that mean I can go to someone else’s house to eat and live there? What’s more, instead of getting angry, the man offered to marry his daughter to my son. Why would I withdraw now!!
Those people are humiliating us in front of our doorstep, and instead of stopping them we’re only encouraging them! Anyone who thinks this way can only be described as the king of all fools!
Idiot!
Mentally incompetent!
I’m too tired to insult you anymore!
Hurry up and roll any dumb ideas like this out of your mind. Don’t let them affect your normal colleagues.
Especially His Majesty. Oh wait. His Majesty is wise and powerful. How could he be influenced by your foolish words.
After scolding him, the prime minister gestured and looked up at the emperor.
Your Majesty, you agree, don’t you?
Emperor, …Yep. That’s exactly what I was thinking…..?
The prime minister stood back contentedly and gave a look to the official who just came out with the idea of sending a princess.
Yes, the official was one of his men.
Prime Minister Shi was able to sit in this position not only because of his familial background.
He understood the kind of person the emperor was. When he got the news, he knew that the emperor would consider a peaceful resolution first.
The problem was that this matter really couldn’t be solved that way. If they appease them this time, the Hu people would become a recurrent thorn at their side. Should they send a princess over every year?
Additionally, there were many small countries around the border. If they didn’t retaliate against the Hu people, the others would see this as a sign of weakness and join in the next time.
Then the losses they suffer would be even worse.
After the prime minister’s pa.s.sionate rebuke of the official, the ministers who were quarrelling with each other stopped discussing whether to go to war. Instead, they quarreled with each other about who should step on the battlefield and suppress the barbarian country.
Generally, this was a matter best left to the military generals, so the prime minister didn’t interfere.
He stood quietly and watched the others argue.
The generals didn’t know who to send either. Since the Hu people’s Second Prince was leading the invasion, they proposed that sending a prince to lead their side would offer more a.s.surance to the frightened civilians.
After all, the princes weren’t young anymore.
The ninth prince—who had the most potential—was now seventeen.
The princes were now of a reasonable age to enter the courts to discuss politics, cultivate their ability to deal with affairs, and help share the burdens of the emperor.
But the emperor of this generation had different ideas.
He wasn’t a very good emperor, but he fancied himself one.
He was worried that his sons would become too powerful as they attended court, and would gain the ability to overthrow him.
Although they were father and sons, he was still an emperor above all else.
The emperor could freely admit that the infighting amongst these princes with powerful maternal backing frightened him.
Thus, if possible, he wanted to avoid sending a prince to war.
The princes were all raised within the palace. They were all treated like gold and jade. They have no ability to fight. Rather than saying that they were going to fight, it was more apt to say that they were going to be mascots.
If they got any funny ideas after he handed over military power and their maternal family lended them a hand, his reign as emperor would be finished.
It wasn’t worth it. It really wasn’t.
Therefore, when someone proposed to let the ninth prince go to war, the dull eyes of the emperor who was silently playing dead lit up.
Someone immediately issued a retort below.
No. The ninth prince can’t go.
He was only seventeen years old with no experience in leading soldiers. His adoptive mother was the deposed empress, so his maternal family was powerless as well. If he goes to the army, the soldiers would not accept him.
Then he would really just be a mascot!
Opposition arrived swiftly.
Sending a prince to war was a symbolic gesture. No one actually expected them to step foot onto the battlefield. It was just to demonstrate the imperial family’s dedication to the cause.
It didn’t matter if he lacked backing from his maternal family. Although his mother was a deposed empress, he was still His Majesty’s trueborn son!
Prime Minister Shi aloofly looked on as the two groups of people furiously debated this. Then he glanced up. The emperor was obviously moved.
Come on. He could see this routine from a mile away.
Who is this? I have to push the ninth prince to the battlefield.
The person yelling about how he was definitely opposed to sending a green-eared child like the ninth prince to the battlefield seemed like he was against the idea on the surface. In actuality, every one of his words were carefully chosen to incite His Majesty to choose the ninth prince. His features seemed familiar as well.
Prime Minister Shi remained standing with a serious face where he was, but his mind was far away digging through his memories.
After a bit of work, he finally remembered.
Isn’t this the little military officer who was helped by the father of the deposed empress 25 years ago?
Oh……
It seems that he was letting the ninth prince take care of this embarra.s.sing situation.
I see.
Prime Minister Shi, who understood his intentions, didn’t intend to interfere.
His task was to stop the emperor from killing himself. He didn’t care what the princes did as long as they didn’t harm civilians.
The battle within the court ended for the day.
Finally, the emperor issued his decree. The ninth prince would go to war.
When the news reached the Imperial Study, the other princes looked at Yu Chennian, eyes filled with schadenfreude.
That was a live battlefield!
Swords had no eyes. The enemy didn’t care if you were a prince or not.
No, that wasn’t right. They would.
They would specifically target Yu Chennian precisely because he was a prince.
If Yu Chennian were to lose an arm, a leg, or an eye on the battlefield, he would become even more rejected by their father.
The other princes all had their own thoughts. They only secretly made eye contact with each other. No one told Yu Chennian the horrible fate that awaited him.
Let him find out for himself, hehehe.
However, Yu Chennian was actually aware long before they were.
During the afternoon rest time, when the young master was nestled comfortably in his arms, he yawned for a while, and poked his muscles as usual to get some exercise in before he took a nap. The young man broke the news to him.
The expression on Shi Qing’s face was suddenly stunned.
“The border?”
“Yes.”
Yu Chennian boldly circled the person in his arms. He rarely initiated contact like this. His hand stroked the youth’s back again and again. “Father has sent down his decree. I will be leaving soon.”
The little master was shocked into silence for a long time.
He was obviously frightened by the news.
Yu Chennian pitied him. As he thought, he was only a teenager, and one that had been spoiled rotten at that. Even if he had a few little tricks up his sleeves, fighting a war was something foreign to Shi Qing.
After a long time, the delicate and soft little master asked quietly, “Can you not go?”
He seldom showed such a soft look towards Yu Chennian, let alone words so close to a plea for him to stay.
The young man nearly disregarded all of his careful planning to nod and agree.
But he had to go.
If not, the dynamics of his relationship with Shi Qing would never change.
If he didn’t go, he would never be able to fill the palace with peony ice sculptures for Shi Qing.
If he didn’t go, he would never be the kind of person Shi Qing thought he could become in this lifetime.
Yu Chennian refused the little master for the second time. “I must go.”
Shi Qing’s face immediately showed his displeasure.
He got up in a huff and stretched out his tender hand to push at Yu Chennian angrily. His delicate voice was full of unhappiness. “Suit yourself. If you want to go so much then go! Go ah!”
“Do you think I can’t bear you leaving?! I’m just afraid that there’s no one to warm my feet in winter! And those eunuchs suck at carrying people! Don’t touch my stomach! Get your hands off me!”
The young man obediently took back his hand.
He fixed his eyes steadily on Shi Qing. His expression was filled with an obscure darkness that the little master couldn’t understand. “I will come back. I will bring everything you like back to you when I return.”
“I don’t like anything!”
Shi Qing was like a little kitten who had been robbed of food. He mewled furiously with all his might.
He tried to leave the bed, but the cold air that a.s.saulted him as soon as he lifted the covers made the little master lay back down with an unwilling huff.
“This is my room! You go out!”
Yu Chennian followed his wishes and left.
The little master in the room seemed to become even more upset. There was a thump as if he had thrown a pillow at the door.
The next few days, he intensified the way he ordered Yu Chennian around. As if he was trying to make up for the time that he would be away.
The other princes were happy to watch.
Yu Chennian’s heart was not as calm as he outwardly appeared.
Shi Qing’s reaction to his departure was so extreme. Could it be that he also……
As long as the young man thought about this possibility, he felt like he could continue down this road, no matter how hard or dangerous it might be.
No matter how opposed the little master was to his departure, the day when Yu Chennian was to set off from the capital arrived.
Shi Qing didn’t go to see him off.
The young man rode on his horse and left the gate of the city. He looked back at the capital that he had never left before. He wondered whether his little master was still sitting in his room sulking.
When he turned around again, the young man hid his tenderness, leaving only the aloof edge of one that was about to face the battlefield.
He will come back.
He will bring back military honours and political power, presenting it all at Shi Qing’s feet.