Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 46

Wu Jing heard Ning Qinghong’s light laugh and was momentarily confused. Logically, Ning Qinghong should have been angry when Wu Jing splashed water on him. But now, things were different from the past.

 

Wu Jing looked up at him, puzzled, but his gaze involuntarily met Ning Qinghong’s half-smiling eyes. He heard Ning Qinghong’s gentle voice, “Wu Wu, would you help your brother clean up?”

 

When the servants in the pavilion saw the Emperor splash the small ball at the Lord, they almost immediately knelt down.

 

Fu Chen, holding a handkerchief, was unsure whether to step forward or retreat. Hearing that the Lord was not angry, he tactfully stepped forward and presented the handkerchief to the Emperor.

 

But Wu Jing was still a bit anxious. He instinctively started to dab Ning Qinghong’s face with the handkerchief, only to be reminded by the startled Fu Chen, “Your Majesty—!”

 

Ning Qinghong smiled, “Wu Wu, first clean your hands.”

 

Wu Jing then remembered his hands were still dirty. After carefully cleaning his hands, he was given a new handkerchief.

 

Only then did the boy look up and carefully lift his hand to wipe the water stains from Ning Qinghong’s face.

 

To make it easier, Ning Qinghong even slightly bowed his head.

 

After returning to the residence today, Ning Qinghong had changed into his regular attire—a brown gown with gold thread, embroidered with cloud patterns at the hem. The fabric was the finest soft smoke gauze from the south. With autumn arriving, he wore a slightly thin, dark green silk cloak over it.

 

His black hair was partially loose, and he had his eyes half-closed in a faint smile.

 

Wu Jing was dressed similarly, though his clothes were slightly smaller. He had removed the cloak before entering the water, and now the brown color of his clothes, soaked by water, had turned an unusual red.

 

But it also made him appear more vibrant.

 

Ning Qinghong seemed to be able to handle any color of clothing, and his taste was impeccable. Even with red and green, the combination was such that everyone would compliment it.

 

Since Wu Jing’s living conditions had improved, he hadn’t worn ill-fitting, rough clothes anymore.

 

While Wu Jing was wiping Ning Qinghong, he couldn’t help but sneak glances at him and asked instinctively, “Brother, aren’t you angry?”

 

Ning Qinghong smiled and echoed, “Not angry.”

 

But didn’t he have a cleanliness obsession?

 

Wu Jing was somewhat confused, “But brother’s face is dirty.” It meant he had made Ning Qinghong’s face dirty, so why wasn’t he angry?

 

Ning Qinghong softly replied, “It’s not dirty, just clean it up.”

 

Wu Jing was even more puzzled, feeling that Ning Qinghong seemed different from the Jiuqian Lord in his memory who would scare someone into bowing repeatedly if tea was spilled on his clothes.

 

Ning Qinghong asked again, “Has Wu Wu finished wiping?”

 

His voice was gentle, with a tone of indulgence that Wu Jing could clearly detect.

 

Wu Jing paused for a moment, then nodded and withdrew his hand. He still couldn’t stop glancing at Ning Qinghong, lowering his eyes as if deep in thought.

 

He had an untrusting feeling.

 

It couldn’t be because of him, right?

 

It was too strange.

 

While Wu Jing was lost in thought, he noticed Ning Qinghong bend down to pick up the small ball that had rolled onto the ground, now covered in a layer of dirt. Because it was wet, the dirt was also muddy and unappealing.

 

But Ning Qinghong picked it up barehanded, and even though his fingers got dirty, he didn’t spare it a glance. He simply placed it on a wooden tray held by a servant, instructing them to wash it clean.

 

Then, he slowly wiped his hands with a clean handkerchief.

 

Noticing Wu Jing’s gaze following his actions, Ning Qinghong smiled, “Did Wu Wu have fun?”

 

Wu Jing nodded.

 

It was actually quite enjoyable compared to standing idly by with nothing to do.

 

Wu Jing even thought about stepping into the lake again, soaking his feet, and getting a foot massage from the fish.

 

But the next moment, Ning Qinghong said, “Since you had fun, go change into clean clothes. You still need to practice your calligraphy this afternoon.”

 

Wu Jing’s earlier happiness vanished instantly. As he was led away by the servants, he silently grumbled.

 

He did want to learn characters, but practicing the same two characters he already knew was too boring. When would Ning Qinghong understand that calligraphy couldn’t be perfected in a day or two?

 

Wu Jing was indignant in his heart. He hadn’t practiced calligraphy before, so what if his writing was a bit ugly?!

 

After being led to a hot bath, Wu Jing noticed it was strange that Ning Qinghong’s servants didn’t have the habit of assisting with bathing, unlike those in the palace. Yesterday too, after confirming that the Emperor would bathe himself and dress in inner garments, they closed the door and left without needing Wu Jing to hurry them.

 

When he emerged, they dried his damp hair and dressed him in outer garments.

 

The new clothes were also chosen by Ning Qinghong. Even if they were not good-looking, they would be discarded if they didn’t meet Ning Qinghong’s standards after being presented by the Tailoring Bureau.

 

After being taken back to the study, Wu Jing continued practicing those two characters. Ning Qinghong sat in the grandmaster’s chair, reading a scroll slowly and playing with two jade walnuts in his hand, lost in thought.

 

Wu Jing, bored with practicing, began observing his surroundings.

 

Ning Qinghong’s scroll was pulled from the bookshelf behind the desk. His study had two or three large shelves made of black sandalwood. One side was filled with collectibles and curios, including a string of Buddhist beads made from human bones that Wu Jing recognized.

 

Another side held court letters and official documents, while the third side was divided into upper and lower sections. The upper part displayed books with colorful covers featuring small illustrations, suggesting they were interesting, miscellaneous reads.

 

The lower part was filled with ancient, uniform blue or yellow-covered books, with titles written in large characters that Wu Jing couldn’t understand.

 

While there were many leisure books on the upper shelves, they seemed few compared to the ancient books below.

 

The ancient books were densely packed, making one feel uncomfortable just looking at them.

 

Ning Qinghong was reading one of those ancient books slowly.

 

Before dinner, a carriage was prepared to take Wu Jing back to the palace for the meal.

 

After all, as the Emperor, Wu Jing couldn’t stay outside the palace for too long. Although Ning Qinghong didn’t mind much, he still needed to maintain appearances, showing that he had a respectful attitude towards the throne.

 

Wu Jing was somewhat reluctant to leave, feeling he hadn’t played enough. As he passed by the small courtyard he had visited last time, he noticed that the birdcage hanging in the corridor had been replaced with a new one. It seemed to contain a small sparrow. Although it was a common bird, it was much cuter than the previous unpleasant parrot.

 

He thought to himself that next time he came, he would definitely want to play with it.

 

The carriage took a special route, passing through the bustling market. Wu Jing happily looked out the window, enjoying the sights and buying some snacks to eat slowly.

 

Ning Qinghong still held the scroll, seemingly not finished with it, and was now resting his eyes.

 

The servants, having noticed the Grand Emperor’s attitude towards the Emperor, bought everything Wu Jing wanted. They even bought a roast chicken freshly dug from the earth kiln, cleaned of mud and leaves, boned, chopped, and wrapped in oil paper, which a eunuch serving as a coachman brought into the carriage.

 

The aroma was so enticing that Wu Jing’s mouth watered uncontrollably.

 

Ning Qinghong opened his eyes, frowned slightly, and looked at what Wu Jing had bought. Seeing that it was meat, he said with a hint of reprimand, “Wu Wu?”

 

His tone was gentle but carried a note of scolding.

 

After the afternoon’s events, Wu Jing was bolder now. He couldn’t resist the temptation and offered Ning Qinghong the food, looking at him eagerly, “Brother, eat.”

 

Ning Qinghong chuckled and asked, “If Brother eats—”

 

Wu Jing interrupted eagerly, “Wu Wu will eat!”

 

If his role model was eating, he couldn’t be stopped from eating too.

 

Ning Qinghong slowly replied, “Then Brother won’t eat.”

 

Wu Jing was clearly surprised that someone could resist eating when the food was right in front of them. He deflated instantly, looking quite pitiful.

 

Ning Qinghong sighed lightly, “You can eat a little, but not too much.”

 

Wu Jing’s mood brightened again. He obediently ate only a couple of bites before putting it down, turning his attention to the carriage window.

 

The carriage arrived at the palace gates. Since it wasn’t a sedan that could enter the palace, Fu Chen presented a token to the palace guards at the South Gate, and the group entered the palace discreetly.

 

Once inside, Fu Chen handed the token to the coachman. The small eunuch, who had no beard, respectfully returned it to the carriage, where Ning Qinghong casually placed it on the desk.

 

They then transferred to a palanquin within the palace and made their way back to the Yangxin Hall. After dinner, they went to the Imperial Study. The scroll, which Fu Chen had been holding while Ning Qinghong was busy, was now back in Ning Qinghong’s hands.

 

Wu Jing was taken to bathe and changed into his sleeping attire. Since Ning Qinghong hadn’t yet retired, he stayed in the study, soon becoming drowsy.

 

Wu Jing rested his head on the table, watching Ning Qinghong, who was engrossed in his work under the candlelight.

 

It seemed he often just watched Ning Qinghong work, and only when Wu Jing’s head hit the table did Ning Qinghong glance over.

 

Wu Jing, covering his forehead, felt a bit embarrassed as Ning Qinghong looked at him but couldn’t help yawning.

 

Ning Qinghong asked, “Is Wu Wu tired?”

 

Wu Jing covered his forehead with one hand and his mouth with the other, yawning and not having free hands to reply. His eyes were already getting moist. He was wrapped in Ning Qinghong’s dark green silk cloak from the day, with only a thin undergarment beneath. He naturally tilted his face up, subtly brushing his cheek against Ning Qinghong’s.

 

It was as if to say he was tired.

 

In just a few instances, Wu Jing had unconsciously adopted Ning Qinghong’s way of communication, without even realizing it.

 

Ning Qinghong smiled, “Then go to sleep.”

 

Fu Chen stepped forward, ready to take Wu Jing to the sleeping quarters, but then paused and asked, “Sir, since you’ve been working all day, would you like to rest with His Majesty?”

 

Ning Qinghong responded lightly and stood up, “Put the medical books away carefully and don’t mess them up.”

 

Medical books? What medical books?

 

Wu Jing instinctively looked over and saw the palace servant carefully placing the blue-covered book on a shelf in the study, making sure not to flip any pages and keeping it in its original state.

 

As Ning Qinghong prepared to leave, Wu Jing instinctively reached out to hold his hand, following behind him.

 

He hadn’t fully realized it yet but was thinking in his heart,

 

Were all those densely packed books on the wall also medical books that Ning Qinghong had read?