The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 41

When Qiu Junyao first entered this book, he only had a vague understanding of most things in this era. Without Yin Yuan and his maternal family’s assistance, he would have already thrown the entire Daduan kingdom into chaos and ruined everything.

 

Therefore, Qiu Junyao nearly always granted Yin Yuan’s requests. At that moment, he could no longer maintain his imperial composure, leaned in, and kissed Yin Yuan’s brow, chuckling softly:

 

“Alright, I’ll go right away.”

 

Seeing Qiu Junyao agree, Yin Yuan’s expression finally softened.

 

He cupped Qiu Junyao’s face and gently reminded him:

 

“Your Majesty, remember, you must not be biased. If Yue’er has any requests later, as long as they are not excessive, you should fulfil them.”

 

“I understand. Don’t worry, I will follow your advice.”

 

With that, Qiu Junyao lowered his head again, this time kissing Yin Yuan on the lips. His gaze lingered on Yin Yuan’s lightly made-up face, and he murmured:

 

“You are truly beautiful.”

 

“How is it that all four children look like me? If one of them looked like you, I would love them with all my heart.”

 

Yin Yuan simply dismissed Qiu Junyao’s words as nonsense, thinking, how could a man bear children? He then gently pushed him away.

 

“Hurry and go.”

 

“… I know.”

 

When Qiu Junyao left the royal tent, Qiu Jingyue had already used his light-footed technique to run far away. As he stood outside the tent, unsure of how to find him, Yin Yuan came out and draped a cloak over his shoulders.

 

“To the west is the hunting ground, and to the north is the road down the mountain. Yue’er is unlikely to go to either.”

 

Yin Yuan had been here with his father when he was young, so he was familiar with the terrain:

 

“Your Majesty should check the south and east.”

 

“Alright.” Qiu Junyao tightened the black phoenix cloak around himself, feeling the cold bite of the spring night, and couldn’t help but sneeze.

 

His body was frail and couldn’t withstand the chill of the night wind, and he began to feel cold.

 

Fortunately, Qiu Jingyue, even in his irrational state, remembered not to run too far. Qiu Junyao, enduring the discomfort, searched around and finally found his figure in a peach blossom grove in the mountains.

 

In the night, Qiu Jingyue was still practicing his sword, but his sword dance was quite unrefined, even a bit rough, chopping the peach blossom branches into a mess. Petals fluttered in the wind, only to be further shredded by the long tassel of his hair tie, with some even drifting in front of Qiu Junyao, causing him to sneeze again.

 

“Who’s there?”

 

Qiu Junyao had been quietly watching Qiu Jingyue’s sword dance from a distance, but he was soon discovered. Qiu Jingyue sheathed his sword with a swift motion, his gaze as sharp as a blade, aimed at Qiu Junyao:

 

“Who’s there, sneaking around?”

 

“It’s me.” Qiu Junyao tightened his cloak and stepped forward. His features under the moonlight were extraordinarily refined, naturally carrying a smile, although the cold mountain wind made the smile a bit stiff, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably: “Sulking by yourself?”

 

Qiu Jingyue was indeed still angry, but he didn’t want anyone to point it out, so he reacted strongly, refuting:

 

“I’m not.”

 

“Then come here.” Qiu Junyao beckoned him over:

 

“Come here and let me take a look.”

 

“… ” Qiu Jingyue didn’t want to go, but an imperial command could not be disobeyed. He reluctantly kicked a stone and dragged his feet over, muttering:

 

“Why did Father come out to find me? Why not stay with Seventh Brother?”

 

“What nonsense are you muttering to yourself?”

 

Qiu Junyao smiled, “Come here.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Jingyue was standing in front of him.

 

He was the son who looked the least like Qiu Junyao, especially in temperament. His baby face appeared extremely innocent, yet his words could infuriate anyone:

 

“Father is biased.”

 

He complained, “Second Brother and Seventh Brother have things, but I have nothing.”

 

Talking about this made him angry, and tears of frustration welled up in his eyes:

 

“If Father doesn’t like me, why did you give birth to me? You could have just thrown me away.”

 

Qiu Jingyue had always thought that aside from Qiu Jingxiu, neither Qiu Jingming nor Qiu Jinghe were favoured by Qiu Junyao. But unexpectedly, Qiu Jingming had now moved into the Orchid Bamboo Hall, and Qiu Jinghe had received a lot of precious rewards. Only he had nothing.

 

He was still childish at heart, otherwise, he wouldn’t have fought with Qiu Jingxiu at the Fragrant Pavilion that day. So when he found out that even Qiu Jinghe had been rewarded with a close-fitting golden collar by Qiu Junyao, he was furious, livid, and felt deeply wronged.

 

Only he had nothing!

 

“… ” Seeing Qiu Jingyue’s pouting, aggrieved face, Qiu Junyao softened his expression and quietly stepped forward to gently embrace Qiu Jingyue.

 

Qiu Jingyue was only fourteen years old, a bit smaller in stature than Yin Yuan, though he was already getting quite tall.

 

Qiu Junyao gently patted Qiu Jingyue’s back, listening to his sniffles of frustration, and softly consoled:

 

“Father doesn’t.”

 

“Father does.” Qiu Jingyue tried to push Qiu Junyao away, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He stood there stiffly, his tone hard, as if ready to fight:

 

“Father favours Qiu Jingxiu more. You even burned my sachet earlier because you thought I’d tampered with it, didn’t you?”

 

Qiu Junyao admitted he was suspicious because the previous tensions between Qiu Jingxiu and Qiu Jingyue made him wary.

 

But now that even Physician Qi said the sachet was fine, and he had tested it himself, he confessed his mistake openly:

 

“I’m sorry, Father was wrong. I misunderstood you.”

 

Qiu Junyao lowered his head, gently touched the tassels of Qiu Jingyue’s hair tie, and softly said, “Whatever you like, Father will give it to you as compensation. How about that?”

 

“… ” Qiu Jingyue stiffened his neck, saying nothing, but his tightly clenched fists revealed some wavering emotions.

 

“… ” Qiu Junyao could see the intense struggle within Qiu Jingyue’s heart and smiled slightly, pressing on:

 

“If you don’t say, Father will assume you don’t want anything.”

 

“I… want!” Qiu Jingyue suddenly became agitated, quickly raising his head, nearly jumping in excitement:

 

“I want, I want!”

 

“…” Seeing Qiu Jingyue’s nervous yet expectant expression, Qiu Junyao chuckled softly, pinched his face, and said, “What do you want? Speak up.”

 

“…” Upon hearing this, Qiu Jingyue hesitated, spun around in place, then suddenly turned back. The red tassel of his hairband swept through the air in a long arc, almost hitting Qiu Junyao in the face.

 

“I want to compete with Seventh Brother during the spring hunt in a few days.”

 

“If I win the first prize, I want Father to publicly admit in front of all the ministers that I’m better than Seventh Brother!”

 

Children love to compete. Qiu Junyao thought for a moment and found this request not excessive, so he nodded in agreement. “Alright.”

 

“Really?” Qiu Jingyue’s eyes widened in disbelief.

 

“Really.”

 

Qiu Junyao paused and then continued, “This is Father’s first time being a father, so there are many things I haven’t done well. I hope you, Jinghe, and Jingming can be more understanding.”

 

“…” Hearing Qiu Junyao’s sincere words, a flash of surprise crossed Qiu Jingyue’s dark eyes, quickly replaced by awkwardness. “Father, you speak too seriously.”

 

He lowered his head, fidgeting with his hands, and said nothing more. “…”

 

“Alright, I know you’re still upset with me.”

 

Looking at Qiu Jingyue’s still youthful face, Qiu Junyao didn’t refer to himself as “Zhen” this time. Instead, he gently leaned down, lowering his head to look at Qiu Jingyue’s face from the side. “Are you really crying?”

 

“…I am not!”

 

Qiu Jingyue almost broke down, feeling both anxious and angry. “Father, why are you like this again!”

 

“Hahaha…” Qiu Junyao laughed at Qiu Jingyue’s tearful face, showing some compassion but not too much. “Alright, don’t cry. Father will take you back. The dew outside is heavy; what if you catch a cold?”

 

After saying this, Qiu Junyao affectionately put his arm around Qiu Jingyue’s shoulders and started walking him back. As they walked, he gently explained, “I gave your Second Brother a collar as a thank you for teaching Father how to ride, not because I’m biased.”

 

Qiu Jingyue was still a bit sulky. “I can teach Father how to ride too.”

 

“Alright, next time I’ll definitely ask you.”

 

Qiu Junyao rubbed Qiu Jingyue’s still chubby cheeks and smiled, “One after another…just like children.”

 

.

 

Because he had agreed to let Qiu Jingyue compete with Qiu Jingxiu, Qiu Jingyue had been paying close attention to Qiu Jingxiu these past few days, even showing particular enthusiasm, determined to observe Qiu Jingxiu’s horse riding and archery skills firsthand.

 

Qiu Jingxiu was still young, but he was very strong. He could easily lift a bow that would require significant effort for an ordinary adult to raise. The only drawback was his accuracy, which was somewhat lacking; he could only hunt slow-moving prey with noticeable fur. If he encountered animals like deer, Qiu Jingxiu would struggle.

 

Qiu Junyao knew that Qiu Jingyue was holding onto a grudge and would definitely challenge Qiu Jingxiu on his own. Standing not far away with his hands clasped, he watched the four brothers galloping up the mountain, looking like youthful swordsmen. For some reason, Qiu Junyao suddenly sighed softly and then started coughing.

 

That night, when he had chased after them, he had caught a chill. Over the past few days, he’d been taking medicine mixed with ginseng tonic, but it didn’t seem to be helping.

 

Yin Yuan, standing beside him, tightened his cloak and gently patted his back, speaking in a low voice. “What is Your Majesty thinking about?”

 

“…Zhen is thinking about how short life is, especially youth.”

 

“At eighteen, one never knows what aging is, thinking the world is in one’s grasp. But now, with the elixir’s poison seeping inward and my strength weakening, I realize how fleeting youth is.” Qiu Junyao coughed again and said, “A’yang, I…”

 

He tightly gripped Yin Yuan’s hand, not knowing why, but as he looked at his sons in the distance, he felt his blood surge, and a metallic taste filled his throat.

 

“I don’t know why, but suddenly, I feel reluctant to leave you, reluctant to leave my sons…”

 

Three years is far too short. Heaven gave him a second chance at life and brought Yin Yuan back to his side. He should be grateful, yet he inexplicably felt a surge of resentment.

 

“Your Majesty…” Seeing the slightly pallid look on Qiu Junyao’s face, Yin Yuan didn’t understand why he was suddenly saying such things. Knowing that Qiu Junyao was still severely ill from the cold, Yin Yuan worriedly supported him, trying to steady his body, but he didn’t expect Qiu Junyao’s expression to suddenly change. Unable to hold on any longer, Qiu Junyao knelt down and violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.

 

Bright red blood dripped from his lips and flowed through his fingers. Qiu Junyao’s mouth and nose were filled with the strong taste of iron. His vision darkened, and he saw Qiu Jingxiu and his brothers galloping towards him from a distance. They almost tumbled over themselves as they ran to Qiu Junyao, each with visible worry on their faces, crying out:

 

“Father!”

 

“…It’s nothing.”

 

Qiu Junyao wanted to say these words, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, looking quite frightening.

 

Yin Yuan was almost in tears, abandoning the usual dignity and gentle composure of the imperial consort, shouting for Laifu to call the imperial physician. Just before losing consciousness, Qiu Junyao weakly held onto Yin Yuan’s hand and, with great effort, forced out fragmented words:

 

“It’s…fine… If I cannot wake up in the next few days…the spring hunt must not be canceled.”

 

“Whoever wins the first prize, all the rewards must be given to them. There must be no favoritism.”

 

Qiu Junyao’s eyelids drooped as he looked at Qiu Jingyue, then slowly closed his eyes, his voice low, hoarse, and barely audible:

 

“Jingyue, Zhen remembers our agreement… You also—”

 

“Must not disappoint Zhen, understood?”

 

 **”Zhen”** (朕) is a first-person pronoun used exclusively by the emperor in ancient China to refer to himself. It’s a way for the emperor to assert his authority and differentiate himself from other people. The translation kept it as “Zhen” to maintain the cultural nuance, but it can also be translated as “I” when the emperor is speaking.