Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 147

Today is the second month of spring, just before the vernal equinox. Outside, the winter snow is beginning to melt, and it’s the perfect time for a spring outing in the countryside.

Wu Jing had started preparing several days ago. To avoid Ning Qinghong noticing, he did everything secretly, constantly asking the servants which day it was. Each night before bed, he would mentally count down on his fingers how many days were left until his brother’s birthday, which was two days before the vernal equinox.

The sun had been warming up recently, and even if the equinox hadn’t arrived yet, the thick snow and ice in the outskirts were likely to have completely melted. Wu Jing still remembered that his brother had mentioned taking him out for a spring outing.

Wu Jing had been thinking about this for days but still hadn’t figured out what birthday gift to give him. Lately, he had been so distracted that he couldn’t even focus during lessons at the Guozijian Academy, let alone pay attention to the long speeches from the imperial ministers in the court.

Over the past few months, he had gotten used to sitting in the palace during court sessions, often daydreaming. The ministers were now also accustomed to the young emperor’s presence. Some had even dared to approach him when Ning Qinghong wasn’t around—not to discuss important matters but to try and curry favor, offering things like vegetables from their estates despite it being winter.

Once, a minister tried to offer Wu Jing some freshly harvested greens, but Wu Jing, who didn’t particularly like leafy vegetables, awkwardly declined with a forced formal tone. “No need, thank you for your kind effort.”

At first, he had been startled by these approaches, but over time, he became accustomed to politely declining and sending the ministers on their way.

Others would come to air grievances, such as claiming that so-and-so wasn’t managing their household well, whose legitimate son was frequenting brothels, who had forcibly taken a young woman, or who had paraded through the streets in broad daylight on horseback.

In general, these ministers thought the young emperor was easy to manipulate and tried to bring trivial matters to his attention, hoping to make themselves known or cause trouble for opposing factions by fooling the inexperienced boy with these petty issues.

Initially, Wu Jing didn’t know how to respond and would go to Ning Qinghong, telling him the entire situation, only to be told not to bother with it. However, Ning Qinghong hadn’t instructed anyone to stop these ministers from seeking out the young emperor, clearly intending to let Wu Jing gain some experience.

After a while, Wu Jing managed to clumsily respond, “It’s just a small matter. You should seek out the head of the Dali Court to handle it, or report it to the local authorities.”

Naturally, Ning Qinghong had taught him that.

Gradually, fewer ministers came to bother him with trivial issues. Over time, the Left Minister also began introducing some of his trusted officials to the young emperor. However, they were well aware of Wu Jing’s limitations and only introduced him to people in passing.

So far, Wu Jing had only learned about half of the court’s positions, and since Ning Qinghong hadn’t pushed him to study these matters rigorously, it was clear that it would take him a few more years to master them.

Wu Jing’s friends at the Guozijian were still quite young, with the youngest being only fourteen or fifteen, and the oldest around sixteen. They wouldn’t enter court until they came of age, which would be in another four or five years. Wu Jing carefully kept his royal identity a secret, making sure they didn’t find out who he truly was.

So, time passed peacefully until today, and he still hadn’t figured out what to give Ning Qinghong for his birthday.

Wu Jing rolled around on the bed, tossing from one side to the other, before finally snuggling back into the embrace of the person next to him.

Ning Qinghong sighed softly as he was awakened. “Why is Wu Wu awake so early?”

Wu Jing stammered as he tried to make up a lie. “I… I…” He thought of many excuses but eventually gave up and blurted out, “Brother, can you help me take a day off? I don’t want to go to school today.”

Ning Qinghong smiled knowingly. “Why do you suddenly want to take a day off?”

Wu Jing stammered again. “I… I had a little disagreement with a classmate yesterday, and I don’t feel like going today.”

The boy’s thoughts were written all over his face, his eyes full of guilt.

Ning Qinghong continued to question, “What kind of disagreement? Who is it? What’s their name and family?” He chuckled. “Would you like brother to help you make up with them?”

He emphasized the words “make up.”

Wu Jing shook his head furiously like a rattle drum. “No, no need.” He hesitated for a moment. “We… we just had a little argument!”

His eyes lit up when he found a suitable excuse.

“We’ve already made up, but I’m just a little embarrassed… I want to wait a bit before going back.”

“Brother?”

Wu Jing snuggled against his face, giving him a kiss. “Can you just write me a note to excuse me?”

Ning Qinghong hugged him, sat up, and said, “Why don’t you go wash up first? Brother will write it for you.”

Wu Jing’s eyes lit up as he nodded eagerly.

Ning Qinghong put on the dark green peacock-embroidered robe from the screen and called a servant into the outer room, instructing, “Prepare ink, paper, and a brush.”

The palace attendants entered in an orderly manner. Some assisted the young emperor with washing and dressing, while others attended to the prince as he wrote. A separate group took the written leave of absence and, riding fast horses, delivered it to the Guozijian Academy.

Wu Jing glanced at today’s attire and exchanged a secret look with Fuchen, who quickly caught on. Fuchen signaled the palace attendants who were about to help the emperor dress to leave and personally removed some of the more conspicuous accessories from the emperor’s outfit. After helping Wu Jing into his robes, he knelt to change the emperor’s shoes to a pair of cloud-patterned boots. He tucked the hem of Wu Jing’s inner pants into the boots and finished the dressing.

Lastly, Fuchen handed Wu Jing a small wooden box.

Wu Jing opened it, peeked inside, then eagerly ran off, carrying the box in search of Ning Qinghong.

Fuchen, always perceptive, gestured for the other servants to withdraw.

Wu Jing sat in Ning Qinghong’s lap, holding up the box. “This is for brother.”

He looked up at him expectantly, his face full of anticipation.

Ning Qinghong chuckled. “What birthday gift has Wu Wu prepared for brother?”

Wu Jing froze. “How did you know it’s a birthday gift?” He muttered, “That’s strange. Fuchen told me that brother rarely celebrates his birthday.”

Ning Qinghong softly replied, “Because this year, brother wants to celebrate it with Wu Wu.” He smiled. “Shall we open it together?”

Wu Jing opened the wooden box—inside were two small wooden figurines, carved in a cute, chibi style. Since this artistic style didn’t exist in ancient times, Wu Jing had drawn the design himself. Unable to use the traditional brushes effectively, he had snuck into the kitchen to take a piece of charcoal and ground it into a pencil to draw the design.

It had taken a lot of effort.

Wu Jing picked up the two figurines, one in each hand. “This one is me, and this one is you.” He explained, “I specially commissioned these carvings. The wood is high-quality, and I used the pocket money I’d been saving for months.”

He added in a quieter voice, “I didn’t spend all the money you gave me on playing around. I couldn’t think of what to give you, and I’m not as wealthy as brother.”

Nervously, Wu Jing said, “You can’t dislike it…”

Ning Qinghong carefully examined the figurines in his hand, smiling after a moment. “Wu Wu is so thoughtful; how could brother dislike such a gift?”

Although he was referring to the cuteness of the carvings, Wu Jing’s ears couldn’t help but redden.

Ning Qinghong placed the figurines beside the pen stand on his desk, ensuring they would be visible whenever he worked on documents.

Wu Jing still had the second figurine in his hand, the one of Ning Qinghong, and asked, “What about this one?”

Ning Qinghong replied gently, “Wu Wu’s carving is… very well done.”

Wu Jing, not catching the deeper meaning in his words, excitedly placed the second figurine next to the first on the desk.

Ning Qinghong closed his eyes for a brief moment.

Wu Jing continued to chatter, “Brother is very cute too.”

Ning Qinghong paused briefly and simply responded, “Yes.”

Wu Jing swung his legs, trying to draw attention. “I even changed into boots today,” he said eagerly, “Brother said before that we’d go for a spring outing together in the countryside.”

Ning Qinghong agreed, “Shall we go after breakfast?”

Wu Jing’s eyes lit up, and he nodded. He quickly closed the official documents Ning Qinghong had just opened, then jumped down and tugged on his arm. “Then hurry up and change clothes.”

Ning Qinghong stood up, following Wu Jing’s lead, and said, “Alright, brother will get dressed now, okay?” He bent down and planted a kiss on the boy’s lips.

Wu Jing’s breath became noticeably warmer in response.

Ning Qinghong didn’t change into casual riding clothes but instead wore long boots similar to Wu Jing’s. Underneath, he donned a white crane-patterned robe and an outer coat of dark green with gold-threaded peacock designs. Over that, he draped a crimson cloak embroidered with cranes.

Worried that the countryside might still be cold, Ning Qinghong also had a fox-fur cloak of matching color draped over Wu Jing’s shoulders.

After they finished breakfast and washing up, they set off in a carriage, heading out of the city for their outing!