The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 16

Seeing the bread, which was dirty and hard but had been treasured by the little wolf cub in front of him, Qiu Junyao finally understood why those palace maids who had tried to touch him earlier had been treated as enemies and kicked and bitten.

 

Having only learned survival in the cold palace, the little wolf cub didn’t understand that the palace maids were trying to help him bathe. Instead, based on past experiences, he mistakenly thought they were trying to steal his steamed bun, hence his defensive reaction.

 

But now, this precious piece of food had been given to him by the little wolf cub.

 

Suddenly, Qiu Junyao felt his eyes welling up.

 

He slowly clenched the dirty bread, tucking it into his sleeve, then leaned forward and hugged the little wolf cub.

 

This time, the little wolf cub didn’t bite him.

 

The little wolf cub didn’t know what closeness meant, nor did he understand father-son affection. He could only stiffen in place, allowing Qiu Junyao to pick him up.

 

Although the little wolf cub still harbored some wariness towards Qiu Junyao, his instincts told him that this handsome, god-like person wouldn’t harm him—

 

And would even give him rice cakes to eat.

 

Slowly, the little wolf cub relaxed, clinging to Qiu Junyao to stabilize himself, like some kind of soft little animal, sticking to Qiu Junyao’s chest.

 

He was very dirty, but Qiu Junyao didn’t mind. He gently patted his back like comforting a child, swaying lightly, causing the well-fed little wolf cub to squint his eyes, feeling drowsy.

 

Fifteen minutes later, another bucket of water was brought in by the palace servants.

 

This time, Qiu Junyao decided to personally bathe the little wolf cub.

 

The little wolf cub didn’t like others touching him. Whenever palace maids or eunuchs reached out to him, he would emit a low growl from his throat in response and defensively cover his head with his arms, his eyes revealing a fierce and eerie gaze through the gaps in his arms, like a wild beast, both fierce and intimidating, making the few palace maids who had been bitten by him too afraid to approach again, only able to stand stiffly in place.

 

Qiu Junyao was helpless, so he had to personally roll up his sleeves to undress the little wolf cub.

 

At first, the little wolf cub trembled a bit, but after realizing that Qiu Junyao wouldn’t harm him, he obediently extended his hand to let Qiu Junyao undress him.

 

As the clothes were removed one by one, and everyone’s attention was focused on him, almost everyone present gasped in shock—

 

The reason being that this little wolf cub’s body was almost devoid of a good piece of flesh; it was covered in scars everywhere. Because the weather had turned cold, he had developed frostbite on his hands and feet, with a large piece of skin almost rotting away, loosely adhering to his hand back, and peeling back the frostbitten skin revealed the tender flesh inside.

 

It seemed as if a light touch would cause the skin to fall off.

 

Qiu Junyao’s expression changed when he saw the frostbite, and Yin Yuan, who couldn’t bear to watch, showed a look of pity. Despite Huan Chen’s attempts to stop him, he reached out to help Qiu Junyao.

 

But the little wolf cub only trusted Qiu Junyao, and whenever anyone else approached, he would bristle. Qiu Junyao could only hold him down to prevent him from hurting Yin Yuan.

 

“Yanyang, have someone come over to wash his hair first,”

 

Qiu Junyao said, “I’ll hold him down. As long as I’m here, he won’t hurt anyone.”

 

Yanyang nodded, and under Qiu Junyao’s command, the palace servants brought over a basin of hot water.

 

It took almost five or six basins of water just to wash his hair, and it wasn’t until the fourth basin that the hair-washing water became clear.

 

“The little cub also has natural curls.” Qiu Junyao grabbed his wrist, preventing him from moving around, and let Yin Yuan dry his hair for him, smiling:

 

“I also had natural curls when I was young.”

 

“Really?” Yin Yuan asked curiously as he worked on his hair, “Did His Majesty also look like this when he was young?”

 

“Yeah.” Qiu Junyao tousled the little wolf cub’s natural curls. The little wolf cub shook his head like a puppy, splashing Qiu Junyao and Yin Yuan with water, much to Qiu Junyao’s delight:

 

“Pretty much. Just like this, with slight curls, and blonde. Later, it was straightened.”

 

“Straightened…?” Yin Yuan didn’t understand: “What did His Majesty use to straighten it?”

 

“Uh…”

 

Qiu Junyao suddenly realized that he had unconsciously used words that were out of place with this era while relaxed, and after a moment, he hurriedly corrected himself:

 

“It’s, uh, straightened by asking the imperial physician for help.”

 

“The imperial physician…?” Yin Yuan didn’t understand: “Does His Majesty’s imperial physician also do this business?”

 

Did the imperial physician also moonlight in this line of work?

 

Without realizing it, he inadvertently implicated the imperial physician, who also took on the role of the foremost fashion consultant, in this black pot.

 

After washing his hair, Qiu Junyao and Yin Yuan worked together to give the little wolf cub a bath.

 

Because the little wolf cub still had injuries and frostbite all over his body, they couldn’t wash him too vigorously, so Qiu Junyao and Yin Yuan were both very careful and ended up sweating profusely, only finishing bathing the little wolf cub after going through the whole process.

 

After the whole routine was over, Qiu Junyao, who had finally cleaned up the little wolf cub, could finally see the little wolf cub’s true face.

 

The little wolf cub had a pair of phoenix-shaped eyes exactly like Qiu Junyao’s, sharp and slanted, with fair skin that hadn’t seen sunlight for years, a high nose, and vermilion lips. His features were delicate and refined, pretty much like a graduation project from Nuwa.

 

Now, no one could recognize him as the dirty little child from before. Everyone looked at the little wolf cub with astonished eyes, but the little wolf cub remained indifferent, sitting in Qiu Junyao’s arms with his little hands tucked in, ignoring everyone’s scrutiny.

 

“Your Majesty, these are clothes that this servant found elsewhere.”

 

After Qiu Junyao finished bathing the little wolf cub, the clothes brought by Lai Fu were also brought over:

 

“I asked all the palace maids, but none of them had clothes that the princes had worn before. Instead, this servant ran into a boy from the imperial physician’s side on the way back and got a few sets of clothes from him.”

 

“Is this all?” Qiu Junyao reached out to pick out a piece, carefully examining it:

 

“It doesn’t look worn out… It looks like it’s newly made?”

 

“I don’t know where the national teacher got the child’s clothes from,” Lai Fu quickly knelt down and replied.

 

“It’s okay,” although there were doubts in his heart, Qiu Junyao did not have the habit of being suspicious:

 

“First, let’s put it on for this… Sixth Prince? ” 

 

“Your Majesty, it’s the Seventh Prince.”

 

A guard who had been waiting by Qiu Junyao’s side stepped forward, understanding the subtle change in his expression, and reported:

 

“This is the Seventh Prince.”

 

“Oh, right, you haven’t told me where the Sixth Prince went.”

 

Qiu Junyao handed the clothes to Lai Fu, wanting him to put them on the little guy, but just as he was about to step forward to ask again, there was a sudden burst of force at his sleeve:

 

“Wo—”

 

Qiu Junyao’s footsteps halted, and he instinctively turned his head to see the little guy gripping his sleeve with his mouth and hands, not letting him go. The little guy made small whimpers, seemingly either coaxing or threatening.

 

Qiu Junyao could do nothing but go back to dress the Seventh Prince. After dressing him, he held him in his arms, gently comforting:

 

“Don’t be afraid, Daddy’s here.”

 

Only then did the Seventh Prince quiet down, lying quietly on Qiu Junyao’s shoulder without moving.

 

“Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince, he, he…”

 

Seeing the unexpected scene of fatherly love and filial piety in front of him, Eleven suddenly felt it difficult to speak the words he was about to say, and knelt down, biting his lip:

 

“… The Sixth Prince, he, he… passed away in the Cold Palace four months ago.”

 

“What?” As soon as the words fell, the windows of the hall were suddenly blown open by a gust of wind, and snowflakes flew in, turning into countless silent droplets of water, chilling everyone’s hearts:

 

“The one you’re talking about… is dead?”

 

“… Yes.” Feeling the sudden decrease in Qiu Junyao’s aura, Lai Fu lowered his head, afraid to raise it:

 

“According to the information I’ve found, the palace maid who was originally responsible for delivering meals to the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince became pregnant due to an affair with a guard. After the Empress Dowager discovered it, she forcibly fed her a bowl of safflower to induce a miscarriage… After that, the palace maid harbored hatred for the royal family and tortured the two princes in the Cold Palace, withholding their rations and sending them back home as silver. The Sixth Prince couldn’t bear the torture and starved to death in the Cold Palace four months ago.”

 

“And because the two princes were born of a lowly maid, they were cursed, and before they were sent to the Cold Palace, Your Majesty also personally said that he didn’t want to hear any news about the twin sons, so the eunuchs of the Yieyou Hall dealt with him privately and did not let Your Majesty know about the death of the Sixth Prince.”

 

“…”

 

At the moment of knowing the truth, Qiu Junyao suddenly trembled, feeling as if all the blood in his body had coagulated, causing his whole body to tremble with cold.

 

Such a living life was lost in the Cold Palace, and he was completely unaware.

 

It felt absurd to Qiu Junyao.

 

If even human life is not valued, then what kind of monarch is he?

 

Qiu Junyao squatted down slowly, placing the Seventh Prince on the ground.

 

His eyes felt hot, and something hot flowed from his eyes, tasting salty when it reached his mouth. Qiu Junyao’s eyes were reddened, but he smiled gently:

 

“Shall I call you Xiaoqi? Is that okay?”

 

Qiu Junyao held the little guy’s paw, his voice a bit hoarse:

 

“Do you have a name?”

 

The little guy, half-understanding, looked at Qiu Junyao, then reached out and wiped away the tears from the corner of Qiu Junyao’s eyes. Qiu Junyao couldn’t help but smile at his clumsy gesture:

 

“It’s okay if you don’t.”

 

Qiu Junyao said, “Would you like Father to give you a new name?”

 

The little guy didn’t know why there were more tears on Qiu Junyao’s face, and finally got a little anxious. He made a small, angry face, not saying a word.

 

Since he didn’t speak, Qiu Junyao thought he had agreed to his suggestion. After thinking for a moment, he spoke softly after a while:

 

“The poem ‘Nan Heng’ goes: ‘Scenic beauty veiled, brilliant and elegant.’ How about calling you Jing Xiu? Qiu Jing Xiu, how’s that?”

 

Qiu Jing Xiu tilted his head, and as Qiu Junyao looked at himself and read out the three words “Qiu Jing Xiu” again, he suddenly became very excited, putting his chin on Qiu Junyao’s palm, and made a small whimper, as if to express his agreement:

 

“Wo—Woof!” 

 

The name “景秀” (Jing Xiu) translates to “scenic beauty” or “beautiful scenery.” In the context of the poem, the phrase “景秀” (Jing Xiu) is taken from the poem “南衡” (Nan Heng), which describes the beauty of the scenery. Therefore, the name “秋景秀” (Qiu Jing Xiu) reflects the imagery of picturesque and elegant landscapes, which aligns with the sentiment of the poem.