After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Read and Memorize

 

The moment he heard the words “son of a concubine,” Zhou Xun’s blood instantly surged to his head.

 

Prime Minister Lu, unaware of his reaction, continued, “I’ve seen many young men like you with such origins. Since their mothers are mostly lowly concubines and uneducated, they tend to grow up with such teachings, often becoming a bit more short-sighted. But you, despite your talent, are limited by your perspective, which is truly—”

 

He felt quite regretful about it, but before he could finish expressing his appreciation for Zhou Xun’s talent, Zhou Xun’s peculiar voice interrupted, “May I ask, Prime Minister, you… or your relatives and descendants, have you ever taken a concubine?”

 

Given his age, Prime Minister Lu had, of course, been married. However, his wife passed away due to illness two years after their marriage, and he hadn’t considered remarrying. As for concubines… his mother had once gifted him one due to his long years without a spouse, but she also passed away. Thus, feeling a bit embarrassed, he replied, “There was one, but for a man, this is…”

 

“This is only natural, isn’t it?” Zhou Xun sneered. “If women are deemed lowly concubines, then the men who take such concubines and have children with them—uneducated as they may be—are no better, are they? By your logic, those who take concubines aren’t very impressive either.”

 

Prime Minister Lu hadn’t expected Zhou Xun to be so blunt. But given his own history of taking a concubine, he couldn’t immediately find a retort. Zhou Xun, knowing the man’s prejudice against him was deeply rooted, and misunderstanding abounded, didn’t want to waste further words: “This argument is useless to me, Prime Minister. If you have something to say, go tell the Emperor instead.”

 

Prime Minister Lu instantly realized the conversation was over—hadn’t he only spoken to Zhou Xun because the Emperor didn’t know? He had previously broached the idea of Zhou Xun leaving the capital with the Emperor, only to be rebuffed in every way possible.

 

Zhou Xun had initially been quite polite, but now, seemingly without reason, he’d become confrontational… Prime Minister Lu couldn’t help but take note of it and mentally docked points against him.

 

Setting aside Prime Minister Lu, Zhou Xun returned to the side hall. The Emperor hadn’t returned yet—he knew the Emperor had another banquet tonight, continuing his dealings with merchants.

 

Usually, Zhou Xun wouldn’t think much of it, but tonight, the cold emptiness of the hall left him unusually restless.

 

He suddenly wished the Emperor were here to chat with him—or not even chat, just give him a pat on the shoulder. That would be good enough.

 

…Though whenever the Emperor did that, he’d be flattened under the force of it.

 

It took three pages of calligraphy for Zhou Xun to regain his composure. As he wrote the final stroke, he began to think that perhaps the Emperor’s burdens were far heavier than his own.

 

He was merely confined to the palace, yet one careless remark could trouble him for hours. What of the Emperor? The Emperor must face his ministers daily, under pressure far greater than his own.

 

Yet recalling the Emperor’s usual cheerful demeanor, Zhou Xun couldn’t help but laugh wryly.

 

For some reason, just thinking of the Emperor made him feel that the sky was vast and open, and there was nothing to worry about.

 

Shortly after, Xiao Li came in with a message: “His Majesty’s banquet won’t end anytime soon, and it’s late. He’ll rest at Fuchun Hall nearby tonight. Master Zhou, you should rest early.”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor’s sleeping arrangements had nothing to do with him… but why go out of his way to send someone to inform him?

 

Seeing Zhou Xun’s peculiar expression, Xiao Li added, “Don’t worry, Master Zhou, there isn’t even a single pretty fly at Fuchun Hall!”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

Even more peculiar now.

 

For some reason, he thought of certain married couples. When the husband returned late from socializing, reeking of alcohol, he might sleep in a different room to avoid his wife’s displeasure—though not before reporting his whereabouts, especially to assure her there were no pretty ladies involved.

 

Zhou Xun dismissed his odd thoughts and shook his head at Xiao Li. “…”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

What should he say? “I trust you”?

 

Too strange. He and the Emperor weren’t at that point.

 

“Have a good drink? Enjoy your meal? Rest well?”

 

…Why did that sound so much like a dutiful wife?

 

Zhou Xun could only say, “Alright.”

 

The moment he spoke, his face heated up.

 

This sounded even stranger, as if the Emperor needed his permission.

 

Xiao Li, however, looked entirely unperturbed. Spotting the pile of calligraphy on the desk, he kindly added, “Master Zhou, about last night in the Hall of Mental Cultivation… His Majesty didn’t mean to embarrass you. Please don’t take it to heart.”

 

Zhou Xun immediately knew he was referring to the matter of the ritual text. Smiling wryly, he said, “I didn’t take it to heart.”

 

Xiao Li left after delivering his message. Seeing how considerate Xiao Li was, Zhou Xun had a bold thought and asked, “Today’s message… was it you who reminded His Majesty to report to me?”

 

Xiao Li coughed lightly. “While I’ve always understood His Majesty well…”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

Xiao Li: “This time, it was indeed His Majesty who brought it up first.”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

Xiao Li also departed. Feeling slightly reassured, Zhou Xun went to bed, mulling over his conversation with Prime Minister Lu earlier in the day.

 

Enough. Hadn’t he long since learned not to take others’ words to heart? His treatment of the Emperor was never for the reasons these people assumed.

 

But Zhou Xun ultimately couldn’t sleep. Rising from bed, he sat at his desk and began writing prayers for the Emperor.

 

The moonlight gently illuminated his fingers, and Zhou Xun’s heart felt serene.

 

Perhaps the serenity of the scene made any sound more noticeable.

 

Midway through writing, a faint rustling came from outside the door.

 

It sounded like someone lurking outside, peering in.

 

Zhou Xun rose from his desk, and the noise ceased.

 

Feigning ignorance, he finished the last line and gently blew out the oil lamp.

 

Then, following the darkness, he crept toward the door, step by step.

 

——And suddenly flung the door open!

 

“Ow!”

 

The Emperor, clutching his nose, lay on the ground. Zhou Xun gripped the door frame, staring at him helplessly. “What are you doing, sneaking around here?”

 

——Yes, he did smell faintly of alcohol, Zhou Xun thought.

 

The Emperor whimpered, “Just passing by…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“To use the bathroom… got lost…”

 

Zhou Xun didn’t believe him for a second. He was staying in the side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, while the Emperor slept in the southern Fuchun Hall—separated by a lake and a grove. How could he have gotten lost here?

 

The Emperor, seeing Zhou Xun’s disbelief, scratched his nose. “Night run…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Uh, hehe! You know how it is—ate too much, felt bloated, went out to walk it off! Hahaha!”

 

Raising an eyebrow, Zhou Xun prompted the Emperor, who finally mumbled the truth: “I just came to check on you…”

 

Check on him?

 

“You know, about the ritual text…” The Emperor scratched his head. “I’m lazy, didn’t want to write an essay. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Don’t be mad.”

 

Who said he was mad?

 

“Xiao Li told me you couldn’t sleep, staying up out of anger.”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

It seemed Xiao Li not only understood the Emperor well but was now trying to “understand” him too.

 

The Emperor rubbed his hands awkwardly, mumbling, “Actually, I didn’t mean not to write… it’s just…”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor: “Ah, I… I just think, why should we let those censors lead us by the nose? Just because they want to see it, we have to write it? And besides, you’re busy with your studies, and I’m imposing on you. I feel bad about troubling you too much…”

 

“I actually don’t—”

 

“And I don’t even pay you wages! Making you work overtime is unfair!”

 

Zhou Xun stared at him for a long moment, then chuckled softly and opened the door. “Come in.”

 

Inside, Zhou Xun noticed the Emperor still hesitating outside. The Emperor rubbed his hands, mumbling, “Uh…”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Isn’t this a bit inappropriate? So late at night…”

 

Zhou Xun: “…What’s inappropriate about it?”

 

Only then did the Emperor suddenly look as if he’d had an epiphany, with a slightly embarrassed expression. “Ah, right, right, it’s fine!”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor: “We’re both men. It’s fine!”

 

The emperor rushed in, his movements overly dramatic, as if trying to cover something up. Zhou Xun looked at him, feeling something was off.

 

Zhou Xun picked up the prayer text he had just written from the desk and handed it to the emperor. “Take a look at this.”

 

This piece was written by Zhou Xun for him, drawing on the strengths of many renowned writers and brimming with literary flair. The emperor took it and pretended to read it seriously for a moment before clapping his hands. “Excellent! Well written!”

 

Zhou Xun strongly suspected that even if he had written a whole essay titled ‘The Three-Year Drought Has Ended, Welcome Back, Dragon King’, the emperor would still clap and say it was excellent.

 

He looked at the emperor with a skeptical expression, but the emperor immediately pointed out a few classical references in the text, analyzing them in detail with terms like “reading comprehension,” “foreshadowing,” “contrast and exaggeration,” and “structural techniques.”

 

Zhou Xun was stunned, his expression one of surprise and admiration as if to say, “You’re not the same ignorant man from before,” and he said delightedly, “Your Majesty has improved a lot.”

 

The emperor scratched his head, smugly recalling how his past skill of “failing to understand but nailing reading comprehension questions” had not faded. Of course, his recent efforts to cram cultural knowledge had indeed paid off.

 

Although the learning process had been tough and exhausting, seeing Zhou Xun’s delighted expression, tinged with admiration (or so he thought), the emperor felt as if the little corgi in his heart was dancing a jig.

 

—Of course, he would absolutely deny that Zhou Xun’s look actually meant, “The kid’s grown up and finally knows how to use a Point-Reading Machine.”

 

Besides that, he genuinely thought Zhou Xun’s piece was outstanding—its lofty intentions were evident even to an outsider.

 

From Zhou Xun’s perspective, the emperor merely cleared his throat softly and solemnly said, “I’ve just done a little humble work. Adapting to local customs, I simply read a few books.”

 

Zhou Xun: “Oh—”

 

The emperor puffed up again. “You don’t know, but at today’s banquet, there was a national studies master—his level is miles above those court officials! I chatted and laughed with him!”

 

Zhou Xun smiled at him, lips curving upward. To the emperor, it was as if peach blossoms were blooming all over.

 

So beautiful, it almost knocked him out.

 

Unfortunately, the peach-blossom-like Zhou Xun then asked, “When His Majesty ascends the sacrificial platform, can he bring the script with him?”

 

The emperor didn’t process it immediately: “Of course not; it has to be memorized.”

 

“The auspicious day is seven days from now, and the ceremony is scheduled for that day. Your Majesty’s script will definitely pass,” the emperor said cheerfully, clapping Zhou Xun on the shoulder. “But don’t worry. Tomorrow, I’ll let those talkative officials be amazed!”

 

Zhou Xun smiled. Before the peach blossoms knocked him out again, Zhou Xun said, “Then over the next few days, I’ll trouble Your Majesty to work hard.”

 

The emperor: “Not hard at all, not hard at all.”

 

Zhou Xun thought for a moment and said, “Since the ceremony is in seven days, Your Majesty should quickly study and memorize the entire piece.”

 

The emperor: ???

 

The emperor’s smile froze. Slowly, he asked, “Study… and memorize?”

 

Zhou Xun smiled warmly. “Read it a hundred times, and its meaning will naturally reveal itself—isn’t that how the saying goes?”

 

The emperor: …

 

After emphasizing it several times, Zhou Xun added thoughtfully, “To ensure there are no mistakes, doesn’t Your Majesty have a day off in two days?”

 

The emperor nodded stiffly. Zhou Xun said, “Then I’ll quiz Your Majesty on the text that morning.”

 

The emperor’s face crumpled, but he finally sighed, “Uh… fine.”

 

Zhou Xun’s smile grew even brighter, and the emperor, looking at him, felt like King You lighting beacon fires to amuse Bao Si.

 

Except that his Bao Si didn’t want beacon fires; she wanted him to memorize texts.

 

This…

 

Fine, fine. He’d already come this far—might as well memorize it. After all, as a scholar of the Celestial Empire, he had plenty of tricks for handling dictations.

 

This was the wisdom of modern people!

 

And besides… when Zhou Xun smiled so beautifully earlier, it must have scrambled his brain, making him agree without thinking.

 

“Memorize and recite—you’re truly unyielding and true to form,” the emperor lamented aloud after leaving Zhou Xun’s quarters, looking up at the sky. “Ah, why!”

 

“Little language arts textbook, you’ve reincarnated into a person, and yet you’re still such a demon!”

 

The emperor didn’t know that Zhou Xun had overheard him. Listening to the odd phrases in his rant, Zhou Xun froze for a moment.

 

Little language arts textbook?

 

Language… textbook?

 

At first, he thought the emperor was addressing him as “Yu Wen,” but now it was clear the pronunciation was precise—there was no mistake in calling it a textbook.

 

Wasn’t the emperor referring to him?

 

Two days later, the emperor had his day off, and Zhou Xun was also granted a full day of rest. He rose early and waited for the emperor in the imperial study.

 

To his surprise, the emperor was even earlier, already seated at the desk with a stack of papers before him. When he saw Zhou Xun, he called out from afar, “Let’s begin!”

 

Seeing how enthusiastic he was, Zhou Xun agreed.

 

Somehow, at first glance, he noticed something about the snowy white paper—

 

It seemed a little… bumpy?