Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 41

At three and a quarter of the hour of the Dragon, the morning court dispersed.

 

The courtiers and officials of the Golden Luang Hall withdrew one by one.

 

Wu Jing, who had been dozing off on the dragon throne, was awakened by the sharp voice of a eunuch, feeling as though he had just been in a class where the teacher and classmates were chattering away, only to suddenly wake up refreshed when the dismissal bell rang.

 

He had finished a whole pot of tea and eaten two snacks on the table, leaving his stomach half-full in anticipation of a delicious early meal. However, today’s meal turned out to be entirely vegetarian. Wu Jing reluctantly finished it, thinking that he still had to accompany Ning Qinghong later to listen to the ministers’ discussion on court matters and handle some documents.

 

He felt even more listless.

 

“Take His Majesty to rest in the Imperial Garden.” After the meal, Ning Qinghong wiped his hands clean, got up, and instructed, “Take good care of him.”

 

The eunuch from the Inner Guard, who was accompanying the young lord due to the Chief of Guards still recuperating from injuries, quietly acknowledged.

 

Wu Jing’s eyes brightened. He pretended to look at Ning Qinghong in confusion, but his true happiness couldn’t be hidden.

 

With a gentle smile, Ning Qinghong half-jokingly removed the heavy crown from Wu Jing’s head, gave him some instructions, mostly to let him play around but not to injure himself.

 

Then he had the palace attendants change the emperor into more comfortable clothes.

 

Finally, leaning slightly forward, he quietly watched the person.

 

Wu Jing tentatively lifted his face. In the familiar place, he touched the strands of ink hair with his lips and said instinctively, “Will Wu Wu wait obediently for his brother?”

 

Ning Qinghong straightened up again, smiling faintly. “Go and play.”

 

Those who can work hard,

 

Wu Jing ran away without any psychological burden.

 

However, he played for a whole morning, and what should come was unavoidable. It was like starting over again. He went to court this morning and Ning Qinghong finished his work at noon and then came to teach him how to write.

 

Clearly, the experiences were the same, but the feelings were completely different.

 

He hadn’t changed.

 

It was because the other person had changed that it was different.

 

Wu Jing thought about it, but fortunately, the psychological shadow from last time’s court had faded a lot after the comfortable experience this morning.

 

Now thinking back, it felt no different from being in class.

 

Nodding off, sneaking snacks, bored out of one’s mind, picking at his hands, and then it was time to dismiss.

 

Because new memories washed away the old memories,

 

It seemed less frightening.

 

Wu Jing sat in Ning Qinghong’s arms, earnestly looking at the large sheet of paper spread out on the stone table. Because he was afraid that the other party would get angry like last time, he intended to listen carefully this time.

 

They had just finished lunch, and the scenery of the pavilion near the lake was quite good, so they stopped to admire it.

 

The surroundings were picturesque, the weather was fine.

 

Ning Qinghong had someone bring over writing materials.

 

This time, instead of teaching him one, two, three, four, Ning Qinghong held the brush, dipped it in ink, and gently instructed, “Why are you lying down again?”

 

Wu Jing timidly changed his posture from lying on the stone table, with his head resting on his arms, to sitting up straight.

 

Ning Qinghong asked, “Does Wu Wu know how to write his own name?”

 

Wu Jing carefully recalled. As the original owner was a fool, he should know or not know. His serious expression, however, made others think that he knew nothing at all.

 

Wu Jing could only pretend to be ignorant. “My name?”

 

Ning Qinghong patiently simplified his words, “Does Wu Wu know what he’s called?”

 

Wu Jing hesitated for a moment, pondering whether he should continue to play dumb. He secretly glanced at Ning Qinghong’s expression and found him smiling at him.

 

As if observing something, but very patiently said, “Hmm?” Ning Qinghong smiled, “Why are you suddenly looking at your brother?”

 

Wu Jing saw that he was in a good mood and became a little bolder. “Wu Wu calls himself Wu Wu?”

 

Because of the tentative tone in his voice,

 

As if making people truly believe he didn’t know.

 

Ning Qinghong smiled ambiguously, “Then what about brother?”

 

Wu Jing didn’t dare to directly call him by his name, so he pretended not to know, “Brother is brother?”

 

“Wrong.” Ning Qinghong pressed the fully inked brush tip lightly onto the snow-white paper, then retracted it. The characters were not as sharp as iron hooks but flowed smoothly, each stroke showing his skill.

 

It was quite beautiful, making the brushwork clear.

 

It was truly the script of the officialdom.

 

However, if Ning Qinghong imitated the handwriting, it wasn’t difficult for him either. When he wrote his own name, his movements seemed a bit awkward, hesitating slightly at the end but just right, leaving a stroke with rich ink, bringing the character “Hong” to life.

 

Ning Qinghong smiled, “I’ve gotten a bit rusty.” He sighed, then looked at Wu Jing, “Do you remember, Wu Wu?”

 

Wu Jing seemed to understand vaguely, “Is this brother?”

 

The characters in this era were very complex, and Wu Jing identified them very seriously, relying on pictograms—what each stroke in the character resembled, composed of combinations of small animals, mountains, trees, etc.

 

It was a lot to keep in mind.

 

Even when Ning Qinghong changed the paper and asked him to write it again, Wu Jing could only recall drawing two crooked mountains and couldn’t remember more.

 

Was this the character “Ning”?

 

He cautiously glanced at Ning Qinghong, eyes lowered nervously.

 

How was this any different from learning a new language?

 

Wu Jing gritted his teeth and, when writing “Qing,” started with a wave-like stroke of water. Did it need to connect here? Did it need a vertical stroke here?

 

Ning Qinghong chuckled softly, “That’s enough.” Finding it amusing, he took a different approach and wrote down two identical characters again.

 

He looked at Wu Jing and smiled, “This is Wu Wu.”

 

He was referring to Wu Jing as a person, not the character.

 

Wu Jing unconsciously repeated, “Wu Wu?”

 

He attempted to compare this strange character with his memory of the simplified characters, but before he could memorize it, Ning Qinghong wrote down another character.

 

Was this the character “Jing”?

 

Because Ning Qinghong seemed genuinely focused on teaching him, Wu Jing took it particularly seriously.

 

There seemed to be two claws above, a mountain below, and another upside-down mountain, and then…

 

Why did it look odd?

 

Wu Jing tentatively held the pen. He still gripped it like a fist when writing, and then copied Ning Qinghong’s three characters. However, it was obvious that the strokes were incorrect, the order was wrong, and the characters were round and clumsy.

 

But at least he managed to write them out.

 

The young emperor was happily saying, “Is this Wu Wu?”

 

He seemed to be seeking praise.

 

Ning Qinghong smiled gently, seeming amused. He softly said, “Yes, this is Wu Wu.” His smile didn’t diminish, “Brother has learned it as soon as he was taught. Wu Wu is not at all stupid, very clever.”

 

He continued, “But brother got it wrong. Wu Wu’s name isn’t written like this.”

 

Ning Qinghong didn’t try to hide it at all,

 

changing his words directly.

 

Wu Jing was stunned, before he could react, he heard Ning Qinghong say softly again, “Brother is a bit clumsy.” He smiled, “Brother’s memory isn’t very good. Shall I teach Wu Wu again?”

 

With just a few words, Wu Jing’s sulking mood dissipated.

 

How could characters still be written wrong?

 

Wu Jing looked puzzled, inexplicably.

 

As he glanced down, he saw Ning Qinghong write two characters. The characters were completely different from before, so he had to painstakingly write them again.

 

Throughout the afternoon, Wu Jing remembered how to write his and Ning Qinghong’s names, compared them with the simplified characters in his mind, barely grasping the principle and remembering the two separate parts.

 

He also barely remembered how Ning Qinghong said the order should be written, painstakingly correcting Wu Jing’s way of drawing a small mountain on one side and a claw on the other.

 

As he finished the last stroke, dusk was falling.

 

The newly arrived eunuch, unlike Fu Chen, didn’t understand Ning Qinghong’s intentions. When the time came, he politely reminded him, “Master, should we prepare the sedan to return home?”

 

Ning Qinghong glanced at Wu Jing, “Prepare the carriage.”

 

Were they going to leave the palace?

 

Wu Jing guessed, because when Ning Qinghong left alone, he usually took a sedan chair, except for the last time when he brought him back home.

 

After all, leaving the palace required the inner guards to change into plain clothes when driving the carriage, and as for the two of them, they wore similar fur coats.

 

Wu Jing thought this time would be the same as last time, with the carriage directly heading to Ning Qinghong’s residence, but this time his interest wasn’t as great as before.

 

Along the way, he boredly played with his hands.

 

Because his fingertips were stained with ink, Wu Jing tried to wipe it off while fidgeting. Ning Qinghong sighed softly and reached out for Wu Jing’s hand, using a damp cloth to carefully clean off the ink stains one by one.

 

The journey from the palace gate to the outside on the heavily guarded official road was unusually quiet, and inside the sedan, it was equally tranquil.

 

Scouts outside the carriage were urgently reporting something, rushing to compile reports one after another, as if Ning Qinghong deliberately postponed handling these matters until they were on this stretch of the road.

 

Ning Qinghong said he was helping Wu Jing, but it was more like Wu Jing’s hands were the ones receiving the confidential reports, allowing him to quietly handle these items.

 

Wu Jing tilted his head slightly, watching Ning Qinghong absentmindedly wipe the ink stains from his fingers, feeling somewhat lost in thought for a moment.

 

The journey seemed long, and the surroundings gradually changed from quiet to noisy. Though curious, Wu Jing obediently waited for Ning Qinghong to finish cleaning the stubborn ink stains before preparing to look out the window at the passing scenery.

 

He was still curious about the outside world.

 

But the noise slowly subsided until the carriage gradually stopped. A palace attendant reported, “Master, we have arrived.”

 

It was already dark outside,

 

barely discerning the pitch black.

 

“That’s enough.” Ning Qinghong set down the cloth, “We’ll clean Wu Wu properly when we get home.” He said, “You can get off now.”

 

Wu Jing got off the carriage first. Outside, there was only the faint light of a palace lantern hanging in front of the carriage. He carefully jumped down, glanced around, and realized that this was a dark and deep alley, not Ning’s mansion gate.

 

He didn’t know where he had been taken, just standing stiffly by the carriage until Ning Qinghong got off the human footstool and took his hand in fear, “Brother, it’s dark.”

 

“It won’t be dark soon.”

 

Ning Qinghong led him towards the mouth of the alley. His pace was unhurried, and as they approached, the noisy voices became more distinct.

 

Wu Jing was led out of the dark alley. The moment he stepped out, he saw a lively night market decorated with lanterns and colored banners all over Great Zhou.

 

He was stunned for a moment.

 

“I haven’t been here for a long time. It’s still bustling.” Ning Qinghong smiled faintly, and the eunuch dressed as a stable boy next to him continued casually, “Naturally. When the late emperor passed away, the whole country should have observed mourning. It was His Highness who abolished this custom, preventing Great Zhou from falling into a period of decline after the late emperor’s death and the young emperor’s weakness.”

 

Ning Qinghong seemed disturbed, but he merely glanced lightly at the person without saying much, and the eunuch closed his mouth nervously.

 

If it were Fu Chen, he wouldn’t dare to say a word now to avoid disturbing His Highness and Your Majesty.

 

Wu Jing was led forward in a daze. Perhaps his bewilderment was too obvious. Sensing his hesitation, Ning Qinghong stopped and half-smilingly turned to look at him, “What’s wrong?”

 

Ning Qinghong asked calmly, “Last time, weren’t you almost sticking your head out?”

 

It seemed like he knew everything and saw everything.

 

It depended on whether he wanted to pay attention.

 

“Is it that you’re not interested this time?”

 

“Or have you been stunned again?”

 

Ning Qinghong shook his head slightly, smiling as he asked.