The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 31

Although Qiu Jingxiu voiced his opinion, he knew well that his father, Qiu Junyao, would not necessarily follow his advice.

 

He understood his father very well. Qiu Junyao had his own unique views on many matters and had a clear understanding of the thoughts of his sons. His judgment of worldly affairs was precise and would not easily be swayed.

 

The two continued discussing the central topic of “how to deal with Qiu Jingming” for a while. Then, for some reason, the conversation suddenly shifted back to the essays they each had written. They began exchanging opinions—primarily, Qiu Junyao questioning, and Qiu Jingxiu answering. As the sun set and darkness enveloped the sky, their conversation showed no signs of winding down.

 

When the father and son duo finally returned to the Pixiang Hall, they were met with a storm of reprimands.

 

“Why does Your Majesty still come to my Pixiang Hall?”

 

Ying Yuan, who had been waiting at the table with a full spread of cold dishes, did not lift his head when he heard “Your Majesty has arrived.” His face was cold, and he was nearly crushing the chopsticks in his hand:

 

“I thought you were detained by some palace maid named Ning Fan or Ning Bi, and were staying at her place with Jingxiu.”

 

“… What Ning Fan?” Qiu Junyao was momentarily confused and asked:

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“……”

 

Seeing Ying Yuan’s frustration with Qiu Junyao’s bluntness, Qiu Jingxiu quickly tugged at his father’s sleeve and kindly reminded him:

 

“Father, she’s the palace maid who combed your hair before.”

 

“…… Oh,” Qiu Junyao had been preoccupied with Qiu Jingxiu and Qiu Jingming these past few days and had indeed forgotten about this issue: “Why bring her up suddenly?”

 

Qiu Junyao was puzzled: “Didn’t I have her punished with ten strokes and give her some money to leave the palace?”

 

“She hasn’t left the palace,” Ying Yuan suddenly sneered, “She refused the money and is still in the palace, nursing her injuries. She got up and begged me to let her see you one more time.”

 

“See me?” Qiu Junyao was genuinely puzzled: “Why would she want to see me?”

 

“That’s something you’ll have to answer,” Ying Yuan said with a smile that seemed a bit sinister under the flickering candlelight, casting eerie shadows on his face:

 

“You have repeatedly praised her intelligence and even dressed her. What are you trying to do?”

 

Ying Yuan’s tone was dripping with sarcasm: “Are you not satisfied with having only me in the harem, and thinking of bringing in a consort or a noble lady?”

 

“……… What are you talking about?” Qiu Junyao genuinely found Ying Yuan’s words absurd, filled with question marks, and completely ignored Qiu Jingxiu’s frantic hints: “When did I think like that?”

 

“…… Father,” Qiu Jingxiu couldn’t bear it any longer. Before the situation could escalate, he quickly went to the table, grabbed a few dishes, and hurriedly left:

 

“I just remembered I have some homework to finish, so I’ll leave now~”

 

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

 

Qiu Junyao tried to call him back, but Qiu Jingxiu fled faster than a rabbit. Before he could even reach out to grab him by the collar, Qiu Jingxiu had already vanished.

 

“…….”

 

At this point, Qiu Junyao was still unsure about what was happening. He mumbled to himself:

 

“I haven’t eaten yet?”

 

Then he looked at Ying Yuan:

 

“Ah Ying, are you going to eat?”

 

Ying Yuan, exasperated by Qiu Junyao’s dullness, threw his chopsticks aside with a clatter, stood up, and stormed out.

 

Lai Fu, seeing that things were going south, quickly signaled the surrounding eunuchs and palace maids. They all bowed their heads and quickly withdrew.

 

Before Lai Fu exited the inner hall, he also closed the palace doors.

 

Soon, the sound of plates crashing and Qiu Junyao’s confused and placating voice filled the room:

 

“Ah Ying, why are you angry…?”

 

“Is it because I didn’t come back to eat? I promise I won’t…”

 

Before Qiu Junyao could finish his sentence, Ying Yuan’s cold voice cut him off again:

 

“Whether you eat or not has nothing to do with me. Anyway, if you only care about that palace maid and not me, it would be better if I moved out of this Pixiang Hall, making room for the intelligent woman you speak of.”

 

The sounds of clattering chopsticks and arguing were soon drowned out by an inexplicable rustling noise. Soon, the sounds of clothing rustling came from the crack in the door, followed by faint water sounds and heavy breathing, creating an ambiguous and unclear atmosphere.

 

At this time, Qiu Jingxiu dared not make a sound. He crouched by the door, eating a bowl of cold fish noodles with big bites.

 

Lai Fu stood beside him, wanting to get a chair for the young master, but was waved off by Qiu Jingxiu.

 

“No need,” Qiu Jingxiu said nonchalantly. “Father and Mother are usually gentle and rarely argue. Once they’re done, I’ll go right in. It’s not a problem.”

 

Lai Fu hesitated, looking at Qiu Jingxiu with concern, and said:

 

“Your Highness, I’m afraid it might not end so soon.”

 

“Impossible,” Qiu Jingxiu, holding a bowl of noodles larger than his face, shook his head as he ate, “Father and Mother are not the type to hold grudges. They won’t argue for too long.”

 

“………” Lai Fu remained hesitant.

 

Qiu Jingxiu, confident in his understanding of Qiu Junyao and Ying Yuan, believed his judgment was accurate. So, he continued to enjoy his large bowl of noodles and cleaned up the food on the plate, waiting quietly by the door for his parents to finish their argument.

 

He waited outside for a full fifteen minutes, his legs numb from crouching, and still did not hear Qiu Junyao and Ying Yuan calling him inside.

 

“……..”

 

Qiu Jingxiu gritted his teeth, rubbing his numb legs, and signaled Lai Fu to help him stand. His legs felt like ants were crawling on them.

 

“Why haven’t Father and Mother finished arguing yet?” Qiu Jingxiu wondered.

 

“Usually, even if they have disagreements, they wouldn’t argue for this long.”

 

Seeing Qiu Jingxiu’s naive words, Lai Fu’s face grew increasingly complicated and hesitant.

 

“…….?”

 

Noticing Lai Fu’s conflicted expression, Qiu Jingxiu felt deeply puzzled.

 

Unable to contain his curiosity, he wriggled free from Lai Fu’s support, crouched by the door, and peered inside on tiptoe.

 

Then he saw his father, Qiu Junyao, pinning Ying Yuan firmly against the imperial concubine’s couch. Ignoring Ying Yuan’s struggles, he forcefully held her wrists above her head.

 

Ying Yuan was clearly unhappy with this position, seemingly arguing with Qiu Junyao, her lips moving angrily. The words she uttered only deepened the smile on Qiu Junyao’s face.

 

Father… is smiling?

 

Given the distance, Qiu Jingxiu doubted his own eyes. Unable to hear clearly what they were arguing about, he was about to move closer when, in the next moment, a shocking scene unfolded before him—

 

His father, Qiu Junyao, lowered his head and blocked Ying Yuan’s incessant talking lips with his own.

 

Ying Yuan seemed surprised by Qiu Junyao’s sudden kiss. He pushed back reflexively but was held by Qiu Junyao’s grip on his chin, deepening the kiss.

 

As neither of them had experience, the kiss was initially awkward. But soon, something seemed to click, and the sounds of kissing began to spread. Qiu Jingxiu watched in astonishment as Qiu Junyao closed his eyes, kissed Ying Yuan deeply, and casually loosened the tie at Ying Yuan’s waist, reaching inside…

 

“…… Mmm!”

 

Before Qiu Jingxiu could fully witness the intimate scene, his mouth was covered, and he was swiftly pulled away by Lai Fu, who hurriedly carried him away until the scene through the door crack was no longer visible.

 

“Your Highness, why did you have to see everything!”

 

Lai Fu, sweating profusely, held Qiu Jingxiu and said urgently:

 

“Your Highness, this…”

 

“Father and Mother just now…” Qiu Jingxiu hesitated, seemingly unable to believe what he had just seen. After a long pause, he finally said slowly:

 

“I just saw Mother biting Father’s…”

 

“Your Highness! Shh!” Lai Fu nearly jumped up, placing a finger over his lips and shaking his head frantically:

 

“Your Highness, you must not speak of this!”

 

“……….”

 

Seeing Lai Fu’s desperate attempts to stop him, Qiu Jingxiu paused for a moment, then shrugged and pretended to be nonchalant:

 

“Alright.”

 

He said, “It seems that Father and Mother won’t finish arguing anytime soon.”

 

After saying this, Qiu Jingxiu thought for a moment and then raised his face, looking at Lai Fu with a smile that lit up his eyes:

 

“Please find a few people to take me to the library. I’ll read for a while and come back later.”

 

“……. Yes.”

 

Qiu Jingxiu, still young and knowing little about matters of love, thought his parents were simply playing a game he couldn’t participate in. After a brief moment of frustration, he quickly reassured himself.

 

Once he came to terms with it, he stopped thinking about the matter and immersed himself in the library, losing himself in the sea of knowledge.

 

Before he realized it, night had fallen. The sound of the wind rustling the leaves outside and the cool night air seeped into the library, creeping up Qiu Jingxiu’s fingertips like a cold-blooded creature.

 

As he was deeply absorbed in his reading, the moonlight suddenly chilled him, making him shiver and pause his reading.

 

He was young, and since he had come out in a hurry, he hadn’t brought a cloak and was only wearing a light yellow garment. The wind made him quite uncomfortable, and he couldn’t help but sneeze.

 

Having entered the library without calling anyone to follow, Qiu Jingxiu glanced at the window that had been blown open by the wind and realized he needed to handle it himself.

 

He rubbed his hands together to warm himself, then straightened up and huffed into his palms. Using the light from the candle on the desk, he reached for the window to close it—only to find he was too short. No matter how hard he tried to stand on tiptoe, he couldn’t reach the edge of the window.

 

“……..” Qiu Jingxiu used all his strength, his face turning red from the effort. He even tried jumping to reach the window but failed every time.

 

As he was about to shout for the eunuchs to help, he suddenly heard steady footsteps behind him.

 

Before he could turn around, he felt someone’s chest press against his back, making him widen his eyes in surprise. He watched as a pair of white hands reached past him and easily closed the window by grasping its edge.

 

“…….”

 

Hearing the steady heartbeat from behind, Qiu Jingxiu turned slowly, only to find himself staring into a pair of light purple eyes.

 

These were exceptionally beautiful and deep eyes.

 

Youthful and attractive, they were set in a fair, refined face, sparkling with a star-like gleam.

 

Even having seen the striking appearances of Qiu Junyao and Ying Yuan, Qiu Jingxiu was instinctively drawn to these eyes. What puzzled him was that although the man before him was only a young adult, he had long, white hair and wore plain white clothes. His demeanor was as cold as snow, exuding an aura of detachment and abstinence, contrasting sharply with the gentle nature of Qiu Junyao.

 

Qiu Jingxiu jumped out of the man’s embrace, hugged his little hands, and looked up at the strange man with confusion:

 

“Who are you?”

 

“If I’m not mistaken, you must be the Seventh Prince.” The white-haired man didn’t introduce himself but stared intently at Qiu Jingxiu. His eyes briefly showed a complicated and sympathetic emotion before returning to a calm state, and he said in a vaguely meaningful tone:

 

“I can’t believe… you really survived.”

 

“?”

 

For some reason, Qiu Jingxiu felt a strange wariness towards the white-haired man. He took a few steps back, intending to call for help, but saw the man suddenly crouch down to his level, smile with an oddly stiff expression, and extend his hand towards Qiu Jingxiu in a gesture of invitation:

 

“Since you’re here alone today, someone must have caused you trouble. You came here to read and ease your worries, right?”

 

As he spoke, he extended his hand invitingly and added with a hint of subtle persuasion:

 

“Why don’t you tell me about it? Let me help you resolve it.”