Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 9
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Zuo Xiang is a veteran of three dynasties, with great prestige in the court. Although he is quite old now, the Jiangnan faction still admires his integrity.
The master had only two words to describe this man —— old-fashioned.
Fuchen waited outside the Yongxin Hall, waiting for several ministers to arrive. Thinking about Zuo Xiang’s bad temper, he wondered if he should let the imperial physician wait on the side again.
Forget it, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works seems to know a little about medical skills.
Fifteen minutes later.
“Your Majesty—!!!”
An old voice resounded like thunder, coming from afar.
The voice was powerful, but the tone was full of sorrow.
If one didn’t know, they would think the funeral bells had tolled nine times, as if the emperor had died.
Wu Jing was suddenly awakened, reflexively raising his head. His eyes were still sleepy, and his face was confused.
At this moment, he heard a soft laugh beside him. Turning his head, he suddenly met Ning Qinghong’s calm and composed expression.
Wu Jing instantly understood who caused the commotion. He was perplexed in his heart and rubbed his tired eyes, “Brother, it’s noisy.”
Ning Qinghong spoke gently, “It’s because Zuo Xiang cares too much about Your Majesty.”
Zuo Xiang?
Who is that? Does he know him?
Wu Jing blinked, his eyelids moistened with drowsiness unable to fully open.
Ning Qinghong picked up a clean handkerchief from the table and said softly, “Your Majesty’s eyes can’t even stay open from tiredness.” He smiled, “Let me help wipe them for Your Majesty.”
“Come here.”
Wu Jing instinctively tilted his face up, eyes slightly closed, allowing the action. Before he could react, he caught sight of a group of people rushing into the study hall.
The leader was white-haired, but his speed was extremely fast, seemingly very excited. Without a word, he knelt down in front of the imperial desk, “This old minister pays respects to Your Majesty.”
He performed the ritual of three kowtows and nine prostrations.
As the recipient of the bowing, having an octogenarian kowtowing to him made Wu Jing extremely anxious, but he dared not show it, after all, the regent was right in front of him.
The young man couldn’t help but shift his buttocks to the side, retreating.
He was sitting sideways, and this slight movement brought him a little closer to Ning Qinghong.
Zuo Xiang waited for the imperial order to allow the old man to stand up, but seeing none forthcoming, he dared to raise his head, becoming furious in an instant.
On the throne of the study hall, the person sitting was not the emperor, but that sycophantic traitor. The real young emperor was sitting on a wooden chair nearby, looking extremely aggrieved, with his face turned upwards, allowing the villain to casually play with his chin on the majestic dragon head.
“Insolence!”
This is simply disrespectful!
With a stern shout, Wu Jing was almost scared out of his wits. He instinctively trembled, and the handkerchief he was using to wipe his eyes also slipped off.
Ning Qinghong showed no displeasure whatsoever and instead said, “Your Majesty doesn’t want to wipe them anymore? That’s fine.”
He handed the handkerchief over, which was taken by Fuchen, who had returned from a side door unnoticed, completely ignoring the furious gaze of Zuo Xiang below.
Fuchen smiled apologetically and said, “Zuo Xiang, Lord Zhang, Lord Shang, Right Assistant Minister, please rise.”
The ministers stood up without saying a word.
Zuo Xiang didn’t even bother to salute Ning Qinghong, this treacherous minister. The thought of the old man kneeling on the Dragon Throne just now made him feel as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly.
Suppressing his anger, he turned to Wu Jing and bowed again.
Wu Jing had no idea what was going on and dared not speak. He obediently acted like a fool, earnestly bowing his head and fidgeting with his hands.
Zuo Xiang snorted, “Ning Qinghong, do you harbor rebellious thoughts by sitting on the throne of the emperor?”
Ning Qinghong smiled, “Zuo Xiang jests. It’s just that the emperor can’t handle the documents at the moment, so I’m doing it on his behalf.” With that said, he didn’t move at all, calmly supporting the throne and holding a teacup in a leisurely manner. He calmly asked, “If I don’t sit here, where else can I sit?”
“Ning Qinghong! You—” Zuo Xiang was furious, almost bursting into curses.
So this person’s name is Ning Qinghong, sounds pretty decent, like a true gentleman, Wu Jing secretly thought.
Zuo Xiang took a deep breath. “You take advantage of the emperor’s ignorance, confine him to the Yongxin Hall, preventing him from attending court or meeting with ministers. Your rebellious intentions are crystal clear!”
Ning Qinghong replied, “Is that so?” He glanced indifferently at Wu Jing. “Does Your Majesty also think so?”
Zuo Xiang also looked deeply at Wu Jing, his eyes seemingly filled with expectation.
Wu Jing nodded frantically in his mind, thinking, “Exactly! Not giving him food or drink, scolding him is totally right!”
But on the surface, he pretended not to hear and continued fidgeting with his hands.
Sorry, he couldn’t help it. He was just a fool, and fools couldn’t understand these things.
Although he wasn’t very smart, he wasn’t stupid either.
The original emperor had been on the throne for so long, and he hadn’t been able to see the courtiers before. Why was it that today he happened to see them?
Not to mention, sitting next to him was such a big villain. Even he could guess that these people were deliberately arranged by Ning Qinghong.
He didn’t know what the other party’s purpose was.
Wu Jing’s alarm bells rang loudly.
“Your Majesty? Your Majesty!” Zuo Xiang called out unwillingly.
“Wuwu?” Ning Qinghong softly called, “Zuo Xiang is calling for you.”
“He’s calling for me?” Wu Jing furrowed his brows in confusion. “But I’m not called ‘Your Majesty.'”
Zuo Xiang felt like he was about to spit blood. “Your Majesty!” His expression was filled with sorrow. “When the late emperor was alive, our dynasty was prosperous and the people were at peace. But now, just one year after the late emperor’s passing, Great Zhou is like a floating duckweed, on the verge of collapse.”
He sighed heavily again, then dramatically lifted his robe and knelt down, pleading, “Your Majesty, please open your eyes and see. As long as you give the order, this old servant will risk his life today to take you out of the palace for medical treatment.”
Take him away from the control of the nine-thousand-year-old emperor?
Was that what Zuo Xiang meant?
Wu Jing’s heart was stirring, but he forced himself to suppress it.
No, it must be a trick.
How could he be sure that this Zuo Xiang wasn’t part of the nine-thousand-year-old emperor? Perhaps today’s performance was staged just for him because they thought he had been acting strangely lately and wanted to test him.
Even if it wasn’t, if Zuo Xiang could have taken him away earlier, he wouldn’t have waited until today. This was just a surge of grief and indignation, speaking out of courage.
They were just blabbering.
He couldn’t possibly believe them.
Wu Jing hadn’t grown up here and had no sense of belonging to this dynasty. Although Zuo Xiang’s words about patriotism and righteousness were touching, they were not important to him.Â
“Brother, what is he talking about?” Wu Jing suppressed his anxious emotions, pinching his fingertips and pretending to be calm as he asked innocently.
Ning Qinghong looked at him carefully for a moment, then suddenly smiled and kindly explained, “Zuo Xiang is saying…”
Wu Jing looked up at him.
“He’s saying that His Majesty is no longer pretending to be ignorant and wants to take Wuwu away,” Ning Qinghong said each word softly, but it felt like thunder in the room.
Wu Jing held his breath instantly, not daring to make a sound. He caught a glimpse of Fuchen kneeling down the moment Ning Qinghong finished speaking.
The entire study room, except for Zuo Xiang still standing, fell silent as everyone knelt down.
Wu Jing had never expected Ning Qinghong to tear apart the facade so directly, to expose everything so bluntly. He subconsciously swallowed and his mind went blank.
After a moment, he found his voice again. “What’s going on?” Wu Jing forced himself to keep his head up, stopped fidgeting with his hands, and tugged at Ning Qinghong’s sleeve. “Wuwu is not leaving.”
His tongue felt like it was tied in knots as he spoke nervously. “Brother, didn’t you say you’d let Wuwu play here?”
Zuo Xiang remained silent, deeply disappointed by what he saw.
Ning Qinghong smiled for a while before saying, “But I am also curious, Zuo Xiang,” he continued, “The Right Assistant Minister has studied some rudimentary medical skills. Why not let him come forward and see whether His Majesty’s mind is still intact?”
The Right Assistant Minister, kneeling on the ground, trembled as he replied, “I, I was just being presumptuous. My knowledge is rudimentary and not worthy of great use.”
Ning Qinghong chuckled, “How can the Right Assistant Minister be so self-deprecating? Don’t you agree, Zuo Xiang?”
Zuo Xiang spoke in a deep voice, “Right Assistant Minister, why don’t you come forward and diagnose His Majesty?”
Wu Jing saw the Right Assistant Minister trembling like a leaf, and he couldn’t help but feel jittery himself. He forced himself to calm down by pinching his fingers and seemed to find the pattern on Ning Qinghong’s robe fascinating, observing it intently.
Zuo Xiang called out to him again, “Your Majesty, rest assured, this old servant believes the Right Assistant Minister will diagnose a good result.”
Could these two be in cahoots?
Regardless of his pulse, were they preparing to say he wasn’t foolish, and then forcibly take him out of the palace under this pretext?
Wu Jing could hardly maintain his composure. He saw the Right Assistant Minister tremblingly crawl up and slowly approach him again, then kneel down once more.
Right at his feet.
Wu Jing almost hallucinated about the little eunuch who had knelt beside him earlier this morning, kowtowed, and then been dragged away.
The Right Assistant Minister said, “Your Majesty, please extend your hand.”
Wu Jing clung tightly to the sleeve of his robe.
Ning Qinghong said, “Wuwu, give him your hand.”
Wu Jing hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, “Oh,” and extending his hand. “Brother, why is he touching Wuwu?” He continued to play dumb persistently.
Ning Qinghong remained silent as he watched the Right Assistant Minister examining his pulse with great care, then asked, “Why didn’t the Minister of Revenue allocate funds for disaster relief during the recent floods in Jiangnan?”
As soon as the question was asked, Wu Jing felt the hand of the Right Assistant Minister, who was taking his pulse, tremble slightly.
The Minister of Revenue stood up and respectfully replied, “After the passing of the late emperor, the nation mourned together. After that… the new emperor ascended the throne, granted amnesty, and reduced taxation by twenty percent. At the beginning of the year, additional military funds were allocated to the border regions, causing a deficit in the treasury. It’s not that I didn’t want to allocate funds.”
He omitted the part about the turmoil in the palace after the late emperor’s passing.
Ning Qinghong asked, “Deficit in the treasury?” He countered, “Isn’t it solved by confiscating the properties of a few ministers?”
Wu Jing distinctly felt the Right Assistant Minister trembling again.
Ning Qinghong glanced at him, “Right Assistant Minister, why are you trembling?”
Before Wu Jing could react, the Right Assistant Minister abruptly released his hand, knocked his head on the ground with a clatter, and said, “Your Majesty suffers from an inherent illness, no matter how long it lasts, he will always be like a three-year-old child. I am incompetent! I am truly unable to cure Your Majesty. I implore… I implore Your Majesty to punish me!”
“You! You—” Zuo Xiang clutched his chest, pointing first at the Right Assistant Minister on the ground, then at Ning Qinghong, almost out of breath with anger, “Rebel scoundrel!”
Ning Qinghong casually added fuel to the fire, “Fuchen, Zuo Xiang seems to be speaking deliriously. Why don’t you quickly bring the imperial physician here?”
Fuchen quietly replied, “Yes.”
Zuo Xiang was so enraged he nearly spat blood. After coughing violently a few times, he suddenly looked towards Wu Jing. Wu Jing was already shrinking towards Ning Qinghong, frantically grabbing his sleeve, then his arm in a panic. He buried his face into Ning Qinghong’s robes, “Brother, brother.”
He was truly terrified.
In the midst of chaos, he seemed to hear Ning Qinghong chuckle softly, seemingly satisfied yet also cryptic.
Wu Jing felt as if his back was gently patted, and he faintly smelled the tea fragrance and incense in the room, calming him down.
He could hear the calm commands from the other side.
“Minister Zhang, why don’t you stop Zuo Xiang? What if he clashes with His Majesty?”
Minister Zhang?
He seemed to be one of the officials who came in with Zuo Xiang.
Minister Zhang had a background in martial arts and his arms were incredibly strong. He dared not offend Zuo Xiang, so he reached out and held onto Zuo Xiang’s legs, calling out repeatedly, “Zuo Xiang, Zuo Xiang!”
Zuo Xiang looked at him incredulously, “Even you are one of this scoundrel’s accomplices!” He was truly overwhelmed with grief and despair now, lamenting, “I have failed the late emperor, failed the people. I let a eunuch steal the throne of Great Zhou!”
“I am too ashamed to face the elders of Jiangdong. Today, I will use my death to expose your treacherous heart to the world!”
Could they be planning to crash into a pillar?!
Countless TV dramas flashed through Wu Jing’s mind, and he was terrified.
He didn’t want to harm anyone,
He had no choice.
He didn’t refuse to leave, he didn’t—
Wu Jing closed his eyes, his mind went blank, and tears streamed down uncontrollably. He clung desperately to the only person who could support him, instinctively holding Ning Qinghong tighter.
“Bang—”
A loud noise.
Wu Jing trembled, overwhelmed with immense guilt, and began crying. Tears flowed incessantly, staining the crimson court robe beneath his face with dark hues.
“Are you crying?”
Someone asked softly beside him.
Wu Jing knew immediately who it was. Now, in the entire study room, the only one who remained calm and composed was Ning Qinghong. Then he heard Ning Qinghong say, “Fuchen, go check.”
“Yes.”
Before long, footsteps approached again.
“Master, Zuo Xiang is not seriously injured. Minister Zhang managed to stop him in time. It’s just that he’s getting old, and his anger overwhelmed him, causing him to faint.”
Not dead?
Wu Jing nervously sniffed and glanced sideways. It seemed that two guards approached and carried the unconscious Zuo Xiang away.
Wu Jing suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed his tense body, and uncontrollably slumped onto Ning Qinghong’s lap. He still held onto Ning Qinghong’s arm, subconsciously wiping his face with his sleeve to dry his tears.
He was so scared, so scared.
Ning Qinghong said, “Send him back home and send a physician to check on him.” After a moment of thought, he added nonchalantly, “Since there is flooding in Jiangnan, and I’ve heard that the Right Assistant Minister is knowledgeable about dam construction, why not appoint him as the governor and let him manage the river repairs?”
Ning Qinghong continued, “I trust that the Right Assistant Minister will not disappoint the people, right?”
The Right Assistant Minister replied, “Yes, yes.”
“Have the Ministry of Revenue allocate one hundred thousand taels of silver,” Ning Qinghong sighed softly. “Oops, I forgot again. The Ministry of Revenue doesn’t have the money.”
The Minister of Revenue immediately knelt down and said, “Although the treasury is empty, we can still manage to allocate one hundred thousand taels by tightening our belts.”
Ning Qinghong smiled faintly, “That’s good.”
He then said, “Fuchen, reward Minister Zhang for saving Zuo Xiang.”
Minister Zhang thanked him.
Everything proceeded in an orderly manner. After giving their instructions, the three men left one after another, and the study room returned to silence.
Wu Jing’s eyelids trembled, and he felt a chill down his spine.
At this moment, he truly understood what it meant to owe one’s life to someone else’s grace.
These four people were all completely under Ning Qinghong’s control. Even he himself was almost scared out of his wits and dared not harbor any other thoughts.
Fuchen asked quietly, “Master, Zuo Xiang was so disrespectful, should we…?”
Ning Qinghong, still looking down, smiled as he glanced at the teenager lying in his arms. “No need. Let the physician treat him well,” he said. “With Zuo Xiang’s sense of righteousness, everyone in the court should learn from him.”
Using a big stick to discipline others,
Wu Jing understood.
“Alright, don’t cry anymore, Wu Wu,” Ning Qinghong coaxed in a gentle tone, running his fingertips through the young man’s black hair. “You’ve dirtied my sleeves.”
Seeing no response, he softly prompted, “Hmm?” reaching out to lift Wu Jing’s face, slightly lowering his gaze to meet the wet eyes and flushed cheeks.
Ning Qinghong chuckled softly, “Wu Wu, be good,” he said. “Get up first.”
Wu Jing finally, somewhat dazedly, propped himself up on Ning Qinghong’s knees and sat up, feeling truly afraid.
Wu Jing said, “He was going to grab me, and I was scared.”
That’s why he cried.
“I know,” Ning Qinghong said, lowering his gaze and gently wiping away the tears from the corners of Wu Jing’s eyes with his fingertips. His actions were intimate, and he praised softly, “Wu Wu is very obedient.”
Wu Jing shuddered, feeling unnerved by Ning Qinghong’s sudden change in attitude. Previously, when Ning Qinghong helped him, they were always separated by a layer of fabric. How come today he went straight for physical contact?
He dared not speak, nor did he dare to resist.
Was it because Ning Qinghong trusted him now?
Was he safe?
As Wu Jing relaxed under the gentle wiping, his tense nerves gradually eased, and he dared to breathe normally again.
Had he succeeded in clinging to the thigh?
It wasn’t until Ning Qinghong let go of his hand that Wu Jing retreated to his original position.
At this moment, Fuchen softly reminded, “Master, it’s time to return to the mansion for dinner.”
Ning Qinghong, still reluctant, said, “Make sure to send His Majesty back to his bedchamber safely.”
Wu Jing blinked slowly, still feeling dazed. He was slow to react, and his thoughts were muddled. He subconsciously asked, “Can Wu Wu still play with his brother tomorrow?”
He had been terrified the whole day, and now he was relying on this nine-thousand-year-old for after-sales service.
Ning Qinghong smiled, “Of course.”
As he watched Wu Jing being escorted away by the palace servants, Ning Qinghong waited until Fuchen had wiped away the tears from the young man’s face before standing up.
Fuchen bent down to help the master straighten out the clothes that had been rumpled by His Majesty.
Ning Qinghong, lost in thought, suddenly asked, “How long has the Empress Dowager been raising cats?”
Fuchen replied, “About four or five years, I believe.”
Ning Qinghong said, “Send someone to ask the Empress Dowager how she takes care of them.”
Fuchen paused for a moment but readily agreed.
When they were in a good mood, they could come up with all sorts of absurd ideas.
Ning Qinghong added, “And what about the little dog in the Imperial Garden? Find out who took it and how it’s being cared for.”
Fuchen nodded in response.
After a moment, Ning Qinghong continued, “I remember the Empress Dowager also gave birth to two princes.” He paused, then said, “Fuchen, send someone to ask her how she raised her children.”
This time, Fuchen hesitated, “Master, this…”
Ning Qinghong frowned slightly and shook his head with a smile, “Forget it. One was poisoned, and the other seized power.”
“They’re both dead.”
“She wouldn’t raise them.”
“Better to go and ask the Empress Dowager how to raise kittens.”
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:) g
i like this story so far… it’s a very interesting concept. the plot is different from things i’ve read before… little wu wu is so cute like a bunny, i wonder if he’s going to get eaten!! thank you for your hard work in translating!