After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 16
Him with the Emperor?
Zhou Xun hesitated and did not speak. However, in the expression of the Fifth Prince, which seemed to be full of words unspoken, he sensed that there were words left unsaid.
Zhou Xun’s expression turned cold. “Those who are well-fed have no ambition. The moment they see someone else, they immediately think of the dragon bed, think of adultery. Your imagination only goes as far as this…”
“So, what’s the relationship between you and him?” the Fifth Prince asked. “What does he mean to you, and what do you mean to him?”
What relationship?
Zhou Xun was taken aback.
…What relationship did he have with the Emperor?
He had attempted to assassinate him, yet the Emperor had saved him. He had brought him to the study, placing all his trust in him. The man had leaned over the table, listening to him explaining. He had been cautious and aloof, but the Emperor had described him as gentle and attentive.
He had said he wanted to create a prosperous era, wanted to be great friends and rulers together…
He had said that there had never been anyone who listened to his nonsense with such seriousness instead of laughing.
…
“What kind of relationship can it be? Between the Emperor and me, it’s a deep and unbreakable friendship!” The Emperor interjected. “What’s wrong with staying over? Good friends sharing a bed, what’s wrong with that? Why can’t two men share a bed? It’s just your type of people who make a fuss.”
Zhou Xun:…
“Since you’re so obsessed with beds, from now on, you won’t see a bed again. Let me save your values. Xiaodeng, when you ‘escort’ the Fifth Prince back later, strip all the beds in his residence!”
Zhou Xun: ??
Fifth Prince: ?!
Xiaodeng: “This servant obeys, but after the Fifth Prince…”
The Emperor impatiently waved his hand. “On a tree, a stone, on the ground, let him lie wherever.”
With that, he patted Xiaodeng’s head. “This is your responsibility, and if an extra bed appears in the Fifth Prince’s residence, you’ll answer to me!”
Zhou Xun:…
“The Fifth Prince’s residence, once grand, will no longer accommodate a single tranquil bed.”
For some reason, Zhou Xun couldn’t help but think of this sentence. He tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Emperor…”
“Young brother, Xun has a good temper; don’t make a scene here,” the Emperor said with a wry smile. “Xiaodeng, take him out.”
The Fifth Prince looked humiliated and shook off the guards who came to take him away. “I can walk on my own…”
The Emperor said, “Isn’t this a remarkable skill? Do you want to show it off? You’re not a monkey; I know you can walk on your own.”
“Imperial Brother!” The Fifth Prince finally couldn’t bear it. “Younger brother doesn’t know what he did wrong. Why are you humiliating younger brother like this? Are you really disregarding the brotherly affection between us?”
“What did you do wrong?” The Emperor sneered. Suddenly, he seemed to recall something and said, “I don’t care.”
Fifth Prince:…
Emperor: “Destroy you, what’s it to you?”
The Fifth Prince, with a shocked expression, was dragged out of the council chamber. Zhou Xun saw the Emperor’s subtle expression of delight, reminiscent of the one he had when he saw that stamp with the inscription “Three parts cool, three parts disdain.”
When Zhou Xun looked over, the Emperor raised an eyebrow and smiled triumphantly.
Emperor: “You’ve definitely never heard that phrase before.”
Zhou Xun:… No, I haven’t.
“Although you didn’t include it, ” the Emperor raised his thumb, “this is still a very outstanding work!”
…He seemed secretly pleased. Zhou Xun quietly noted this statement.
Before leaving, Zhou Xun suddenly said, “Wait a moment.”
He walked up to the Fifth Prince, whose eyes were bloodshot, and said, “My relationship with the Emperor, my affairs have nothing to do with you.”
A gust of wind blew through the palace road, lifting the fallen leaves and petals scattered on the ground. The young man in his watery robes spoke with lowered lashes amidst the rustling of falling leaves:
“Don’t bother me anymore in the future.”
In his eyes, there was no more sadness, no more fear, no more loneliness.
Only the calm of wrapping everything up.
The Fifth Prince was dragged through the palace road under the late spring breeze. The vermilion palace doors closed before his bewildered eyes, concealing the world behind them.
It was only much later that he realized that, as he was being dragged away, Zhou Cai had been anxiously watching him from under the eaves, her delicate brows knitted in concern. It was the scene that he would always remember most painfully.
But as he neared the end of his life, thinking back to that day, he remembered only the wind on the palace road and the eyes that had never looked at him again.
– He had once tried to obstruct the wind for personal desires, but the wind’s longing was for boundless horizons.
The Fifth Prince was finally taken away. The Emperor, watching him disappear, suddenly said, “Wait… dragging him away like this, isn’t it a bit too much?”
Xiaoli: “Well, the Fifth Prince is your brother, so it’s a bit… But the Emperor is the ruler of the realm! The Fifth Prince was acting recklessly in the palace, inexplicably assaulting courtiers. The Emperor’s actions are those of an older brother acting in the place of a father, driven by deep love and stern discipline, enforcing the same law on the monarch as on the commoners, showing no partiality!”
Xiaoli flattered for a while, and the Emperor said, “…Forget it, get a cloth to stuff in his mouth. I’ve seen this in TV dramas where they drag people away.”
Xiaoli: …
Emperor: “This is my first time dragging someone away; there should have been a bit of a ceremony. Oh well, next time I’ll remember.”
He saw Zhou Xun still standing there, and a sudden wave of sadness overcame him. He kicked Xiaoli.
“Emperor!!” Xiaoli exclaimed.
“Everything is your damn mess!” The Emperor, angry and annoyed, said, “What’s wrong with your brain? You brought him to my bed!”
Xiaoli whimpered, “Your Majesty!”
The Emperor kicked Xiaoli, still not relieved, and his second kick landed on a rock. Seeing the Emperor’s frustrated look, Xiaoli quickly knelt down, sticking up his buttocks. “Your Majesty, kick here! It won’t hurt your foot!”
Emperor: … This scene is getting too weird.
“Your Majesty! It’s all the servant’s fault! Please punish the servant!”
Emperor: …
He was about to say something, but Zhou Xun had already turned around. “Emperor…”
Zhou Xun:…
Emperor:…
Xiaoli, sticking up his buttocks:…
“No, that, let me explain.” The Emperor was sweating profusely, but Zhou Xun just said, “I… I’ll go back and rest for now.”
Emperor: “No, don’t go back yet! Listen to my explanation first!”
He took a step forward, but from behind, Zhou Cai’s voice came, “Your Majesty.”
“Oh, it’s you?” the Emperor said. “Isn’t it already off work? Why haven’t you left yet?”
Zhou Cai:…
Zhou Xun saw him and his expression immediately turned cold. Zhou Cai, on the other hand, smiled warmly and said, “Little brother.”
“…”
Zhou Xun remained silent.
“Your father was very worried about you when you entered the palace. Even though the palace is good, you should come home often,” Zhou Cai said. “Living in the palace, are you used to it or not?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Before Zhou Xun could speak, the Emperor interjected, “I provide Zhou Xun with the best. What I have, he has. What I eat, he eats… Uh, well, there’s nothing to get used to.”
Zhou Cai:…
He tightened his fingers in his palms and still smiled. He looked at the Emperor and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty, for taking care of my little brother.”
The Emperor said, “What’s there to thank me for? It’s only natural. But your brotherly relationship seems quite good.”
Zhou Xun, seeing Zhou Cai’s false concern and caring expression, suddenly spoke.
“Words alone are not enough; what’s important is action,” he said. “Since my elder brother cares for me, and I’ve been bored in the palace recently, why doesn’t my elder brother bring over the book I often read the next time you come to the palace?”
“The palace doesn’t have the book you want? You should have told me, and I would have sent Xiaodeng to buy it for you,” the Emperor said.
Zhou Cai was momentarily speechless.
He didn’t expect Zhou Xun to actually speak up – not just ask for a book, but do so in front of the Emperor, and give such a vague description. Normally, he would just ask for the title of the book. Although Zhou Cai resented Zhou Xun, he wasn’t so petty as to withhold a book.
But Zhou Xun’s words were so certain, and it looked as if the two of them had a close relationship. He must know the book’s title… If he claimed not to know the name of the book, wouldn’t he be slapping his brotherly concern in the face?
The Emperor was curious again, “Which book is it?”
Zhou Xun smiled without saying anything and just looked at Zhou Cai. “On my fifteenth birthday, my older brother personally gave me that book. Do you still remember, older brother? Later, when we read together, I would often flip through that book… Could it be that you don’t remember?”
The Emperor also looked at Zhou Cai. Zhou Cai, under the scrutiny of both of them, showed some embarrassment.
Fifteenth birthday? What had he given Zhou Xun on his fifteenth birthday?
In front of others, Zhou Cai had always been very courteous. To avoid anyone finding fault, he would give Zhou Xun what he should have received, but it was just some “leftover items given to servants” anyway. He simply didn’t take that matter seriously, and he honestly couldn’t remember what he had given…
The Emperor watched Zhou Cai, and Zhou Xun didn’t let him off the hook. “It’s a book of strange stories.”
“Yes, I remember now,” Zhou Cai finally continued the conversation, smiling. “It should be in the study. I’ll get it for you next time. When we were young, the brothers often read books together, and books were scattered everywhere…”
“Big brother, you’re mistaken,” Zhou Xun ruthlessly exposed, “How could the book be in the study? I haven’t entered the study since I was twelve.”
Zhou Cai broke out in a cold sweat. Zhou Xun continued, “However, it’s also because I was too playful…”
Zhou Cai had just relaxed a bit when Zhou Xun continued, “I don’t know why, but at one point, Father claimed that I had damaged his books. He often taught the two legitimate sons in the study. I entered only occasionally, but somehow I ended up with this reputation. Father gave me a good beating, and I never entered the study again.”
“I remember that when I was injured and recovering, it was also you, big brother, who came to visit me and brought medicine wine. You said that Father not letting me enter the study was for my own good,” Zhou Xun said with a sly smile. “Big brother’s memory seems quite poor. Could it be that you’ve mistaken me for another younger brother?”
This time, Zhou Cai had nothing to say, and he wiped away some sweat before preparing to take his leave. Just as he was about to go, Zhou Xun suddenly said, “Never mind, don’t trouble my big brother.”
Zhou Cai asked, “What kind of trouble between us brothers is there?”
“No,” Zhou Xun continued to smile, “Both my big brother and I have poor memories. I just remembered…”
“On the year of my fifteenth birthday, when my big brother was seventeen, he was a guest at the Fifth Prince’s residence. On that day, the prince’s mansion hosted a banquet, and my big brother even composed a poem,” Zhou Xun said, “With a thousand miles between Jiangzhou and the capital, how did my big brother manage to hand over a book to me?”
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