Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 35

A bowl of medicinal porridge shared between two people is naturally not enough.

 

With discernment, Fuchen approached and served some more porridge, forcing himself to bow respectfully without looking at the two masters, and asked respectfully to the Lord, “My Lord, would you like another bowl of medicinal porridge?”

 

“It’s just that some of the ingredients are rare and difficult to obtain. Some of them cannot be obtained by the Imperial Medical Bureau alone, so someone has to go back to the estate’s warehouse to fetch them, which takes some time.”

 

“If my lord doesn’t want to wait too long, why not have breakfast together with His Majesty?”

 

The bowl of medicinal porridge was not yet finished before dawn. Thinking that the Lord would have breakfast at the Yangxin Palace this morning, it had been arranged in advance last night, ready to be served as soon as he woke up.

 

Although the taste was not good, it was all highly nutritious food.

 

Just the thousand-year ginseng alone was worth a fortune, not to mention the rest.

 

Ning Qinghong quietly glanced at the young emperor who was still closing his eyes and frowning. He waved his finger, indicating for Fuchen to finish serving the porridge and leave.

 

Seeing that the master agreed, Fuchen finally relaxed and continued to pretend to be blind, not seeing the scene where the Lord fed the emperor spoon by spoon.

 

Ning Qinghong ate calmly for a moment, waiting for Wu Jing to regain consciousness before feeding him the remaining porridge.

 

Wu Jing had just opened his eyes and naturally took the spoon into his mouth, eating it twice before realizing that they were sharing the same spoon.

 

However, when Ning Qinghong used the spoon, it did not touch his lips, and he ate the food slowly and meticulously, unlike Wu Jing, who seemed eager to bite down on it.

 

Gradually, Wu Jing also felt embarrassed to let his saliva touch the spoon.

 

Although Ning Qinghong didn’t mind, but…

 

But he did mind!

 

Finally, after finishing breakfast, Wu Jing, who had just eaten, felt a little drowsy again.

 

Fuchen brought the memorials submitted today and slowly read them aloud on the side. Wu Jing became even more sleepy listening to them, often only hearing a few words from Ning Qinghong after finishing a whole stack.

 

It was unknown how long it took for all these memorials to be dealt with.

 

Wu Jing felt relieved when the buzzing sound in his ears finally disappeared, but the next moment, a new person came to report new matters.

 

“Master, the proceedings of the recent small court meeting were recorded by the cabinet ministers.” Another servant Wu Jing had not seen before knelt down and presented the documents.

 

If the Lord was not present, naturally, there would be people from the Imperial Guards listening at the small court meeting. Ning Qinghong only accepted them and did not open them, placing them on the desk, sparingly saying, “Speak of the important matters.”

 

Fuchen said, “The most important matter is the appointment of the chief examiners for next year’s spring examinations. After discussing, various ministers have proposed candidates, including Prime Minister Zhang and Minister Huang… However, since it’s not urgent, they are all waiting for the Lord’s decision.”

 

Ning Qinghong’s tone was slow but astonishing, “Let the Prime Minister go.”

 

With just a few words, Fuchen couldn’t help but ask in amazement, “This…” He quickly added, “The cabinet ministers are all waiting to select some talented scholars after this spring examination. When these scholars enter the court, they will all become the Lord’s assistants. By then, when clearing out the ministers aligned with the Prime Minister’s faction, there will also be people to fill the vacancies.”

 

If the Prime Minister were to be appointed as the chief examiner, wouldn’t it mean handing over these scholars on a silver platter to strengthen the Prime Minister’s faction?

 

Ning Qinghong succinctly replied, “The others will still be arranged by our people.”

 

Fuchen was puzzled, “My Lord, why is this?”

 

Wu Jing didn’t want to fall asleep, so he reluctantly propped himself up to eavesdrop, but he felt dizzy and didn’t understand the situation in the court, feeling somewhat confused.

 

Ning Qinghong closed his eyes and said slowly, “In the struggle between the aristocratic families, someone has to step forward.”

 

At this moment, the aristocratic families had calmed down slightly, but it was only because of the palace coup before the New Year. This spring examination, various factions were eyeing it, and behind the Prime Minister were scholars from Jiangnan, as well as many scholars from humble backgrounds.

 

He didn’t want to strengthen the Prime Minister’s faction, so he could only turn a blind eye and let the aristocratic children buy their way into the court.

 

But with one side strong and the other weak, if he didn’t want to see the situation where he was nurturing a tiger, it would be better to strike the tiger heavily from the beginning.

 

Although the Imperial Guards and the cabinet ministers couldn’t take direct action, they could still leverage their influence.

 

After thinking for a while, Fuchen still couldn’t understand, “But… the Prime Minister may not fail to see that we are forcing him into opposition with the aristocratic families. The aristocratic families will definitely vent their anger on the Prime Minister’s faction. If he refuses…”

 

Ning Qinghong decisively stated, “He will go.”

 

“Countless scholars from humble backgrounds are watching him. If he doesn’t go, we won’t need to intervene. People from all over the world will criticize the Prime Minister.” Ning Qinghong smiled ambiguously and said softly, “See, even the self-proclaimed upright Prime Minister is nothing more than this.”

 

“He’s afraid, he’s yielding.”

 

The spy trembled in fear, kneeling down and dare not speak.

 

Ning Qinghong closed his eyes, “If he really refuses, then we’ll persuade his subordinates to do it. There will always be someone willing to do this.”

 

“When the time comes, let him take the blame, and then silence the people.” He spoke slowly and coldly, “Without evidence, others will naturally believe it.”

 

Ning Qinghong felt the person in his arms seemed to tighten around his neck, burying his face in his shoulder, so he raised his finger and gently probed into the black hair behind the young emperor.

 

The cold fingertips unexpectedly pressed against the back of the person’s neck.

 

Wu Jing shivered suddenly from the cold. He was sitting in Ning Qinghong’s arms, leaning so close to him.

 

In Ning Qinghong’s arms, he trembled slightly.

 

However, Ning Qinghong only kneaded the flesh of his neck.

 

Wu Jing couldn’t feel any sense of comfort. He felt the cold fingers slowly rotating, and the other person’s breath was almost within reach.

 

He knew his hands were cold, but he just closed his eyes lazily, not caring, or perhaps he didn’t have the energy to care.

 

He didn’t even bother to conceal his words, blatantly revealing the hostility.

 

The spy asked again, “Should I inform the cabinet ministers?”

 

Ning Qinghong replied, “Just mention it to avoid those fools focusing too much on this small matter.”

 

The spy complied with a “yes” and silently withdrew.

 

After the spy left, Fuchen, who was waiting outside the hall, quietly brought in hot tea again. The palace attendants who were serving on the side had been dismissed while he was reading the memorials.

 

After Fuchen silently served the tea and left, only Wu Jing and Ning Qinghong remained in the hall.

 

The young emperor was obediently lying in Ning Qinghong’s arms, pretending to be a human pillow, not moving at all.

 

He vaguely felt that Ning Qinghong seemed to be a little unhappy.

 

Their conversation became less frequent, and he didn’t even call him “Wu Wu” with a smile anymore. The most noticeable thing was that Ning Qinghong seemed to have no energy at all.

 

He seemed drowsy, but in fact, he was awake.

 

His mood seemed unpredictable, so Wu Jing didn’t dare to disturb him. Except when he wanted to go to the toilet, he would quietly tell Ning Qinghong that he needed to go to the small room, receiving a faint response before crawling down by himself, quickly dealing with it, and then hurrying back.

 

He would crouch by the desk, eat a few bites of snacks, drink some tea, run back and forth, and then crawl back obediently into Ning Qinghong’s arms.

 

Wu Jing had become quite skilled in this posture. Without Ning Qinghong’s prompting, he would hug his neck and bury his face quietly.

 

Hypnotizing himself was just a large-scale doll when someone was in a bad mood.

 

Lunch was similar to breakfast, except that when he followed Ning Qinghong, he would sometimes stop for no reason and quietly gaze into the distance, lost in thought.

 

The whole group would stop as well, but no one dared to urge him.

 

Wu Jing could only quiet down, picking at the clothes Ning Qinghong had put on him, looking around a few times along his line of sight, but he couldn’t see anything special.

 

But the other party could be lost in thought for a long time.

 

He had been standing there for almost two quarters of an hour, and his legs were sore before he couldn’t help feeling tired and tugged at Ning Qinghong’s sleeve.

 

Fuchen behind him almost knelt down, but the young emperor just glanced at the emperor faintly and continued walking towards the dining hall. So he breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Until nightfall, Ning Qinghong also rested in the Yangxin Palace.

 

The palace lamps were lit one by one, and the floating gold thread continued to burn without stopping. Wu Jing only wore inner clothes, pretending to be busy, and went to the wooden box placed on the table by the palace servants.

 

It was filled with items Ning Qinghong had sent over.

 

Wu Jing hesitated, took out two cloth tigers, one of which had been played with by him and the little dog from the imperial garden before, covered with dust and the saliva of the little dog, although it had been cleaned by the palace servants.

 

But…

 

He always felt that Ning Qinghong liked cleanliness, perhaps even a bit of a neat freak. Whenever his face or hands got dirty, Wu Jing would use a handkerchief to wipe them clean.

 

Previously, he had asked him to take off his clothes because he was too dirty.

 

Wu Jing put the dirty cloth tiger back and picked up another one, then hesitated and stood still, not daring to approach.

 

This was the first time Wu Jing had consciously slept in the same bed as Ning Qinghong. To say he wasn’t nervous was definitely a lie; the previous times were either when he had a fever or when he had fallen asleep early.

 

And when he woke up, he was always calm, sleeping inside while Ning Qinghong slept on the outside.

 

Would he also have to hold him while sleeping tonight?

 

Wu Jing hesitated in place.

 

He secretly lifted the curtain and saw Ning Qinghong standing in front of the bed. Because he had just come back from the bath, he was only wearing a golden brocade robe.

 

Feather Duster was helping him take off his robe. After Ning Qinghong took off his crown, Feather Duster withdrew.

 

Ning Qinghong turned slightly, and with astonishing accuracy, he looked directly at the young emperor who was peeking behind the curtain.

 

Wu Jing hurriedly dropped the curtain, and after a while, he walked back as if nothing had happened.

 

He remembered the little wooden box Yan He had given him, still hidden under his bed. Ning Qinghong probably had no thoughts about him, right?

 

He was just a cloth tiger.

 

Wu Jing hypnotized himself, holding his cloth tiger and slowly climbed onto the bed.

 

Ning Qinghong was extinguishing the lamp by the bed. When the lamp went out, the palace attendants guarding behind the screen also extinguished the palace lamps lit in the hall one by one.

 

The brightness slowly turned into dimness,

 

Then into pitch darkness where one couldn’t see their own fingers.

 

Wu Jing was mentally preparing himself, waiting for Ning Qinghong to lie down so he could stick to him, which was very simple!

 

After hearing the sound beside him stop, Wu Jing hugged the cloth tiger and rolled over. The next moment, he felt the warmth of the person next to him in the darkness.

 

He carefully leaned over, holding the cloth tiger in one hand and embracing the person with the other.

 

Ning Qinghong furrowed his brows slightly, “No moving at night.”

 

Wu Jing felt a little guilty, “Wu Wu won’t move.”

 

His sleeping position was good!

 

Wu Jing thought to himself.

 

He added, “Wu Wu hugs the cloth tiger, and gege hugs Wu Wu. The cloth tiger won’t move.” Meaning he wouldn’t move either, just like the cloth tiger.

 

Ning Qinghong paused, then reached out and moved the cloth tiger in Wu Jing’s arms to the pillow beside him, “And no making noise.”

 

Wu Jing muttered to himself, and after a while, he fell asleep in a drowsy manner.

 

His sleeping position was indeed not commendable. By the second half of the night, he had turned into an octopus entangled around Ning Qinghong, but fortunately, Ning Qinghong had taken medicine from the imperial hospital before sleeping and wasn’t awakened by him.

 

The next day, knowing that the young emperor wouldn’t attend court due to his illness, Feather Duster didn’t come to wake him up. The earliest to wake up was Wu Jing, who had slept for almost a whole day yesterday.

 

He woke up groggily, lying on the person for a while before slowly waking up, and then realized who the person beside him was.

 

Wu Jing suddenly became alert, carefully withdrawing his messy hands and legs from Ning Qinghong’s body, climbing up from him, and kneeling beside the bed.

 

Because he changed positions, he immediately noticed the cloth tiger that Ning Qinghong had placed outside the pillow last night, seemed to have fallen down.

 

It fell beside the bed.

 

Wu Jing hesitated for a moment whether to pick it up or not. He looked at Ning Qinghong, who seemed to still be asleep, hesitated for a moment, and then, in this position, leaned over with his eyes, arms propped on the side of the bed, his body supported above Ning Qinghong, and the other hand reached out to the ground, ready to pick up the cloth tiger that had fallen on the floor.

 

Half of his body leaned forward, and Wu Jing lowered his head, almost lying on Ning Qinghong’s body, not knowing what he saw under the bed, he was stunned for a moment.

 

Huh?

 

The author’s note:

 

Wuww (Confused): ?