The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 46

Listening to the tearful confession, Qiu Junyao remained silent for a long time.

 

He wasn’t clueless about what had happened, or who was responsible for harming Qiu Jingxiu. He wasn’t without suspicions, which is why he repeatedly questioned Qiu Jinghe, trying to prove his inner thoughts wrong.

 

He simply couldn’t believe it.

 

…How could it be Jingyue?

 

How could it be the carefree, straightforward Jingyue, the same Jingyue who had once stormed into his tent demanding an explanation because he hadn’t given him a collar?

 

“Sigh…”

 

Qiu Junyao closed his eyes and let out a low sigh.

 

After a long while, as the sound of sobbing gradually faded, Qiu Junyao slowly opened his eyes.

 

He looked down at Qiu Jingyue, whose eyes were swollen from crying and whose shoulders were still trembling. After a moment of hesitation, he said:

 

“Stop crying, get up.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Qiu Jingyue hastily wiped his tears and was about to stand up, but suddenly thought of something and knelt down again with a thud. He grabbed Qiu Junyao’s hand, which had been wiping away his tears, and gently shook it, urgently saying:

 

“Father, what about Second Brother…”

 

Qiu Junyao started to walk away: “If you don’t get up now, I’ll have him…”

 

“Waaah, I’m getting up, I’m getting up…” Qiu Jingyue, crying like a drenched puppy, his doll-like face soaked with tears, sobbed and cautiously glanced at Qiu Junyao, as if he feared being hit.

 

Qiu Junyao took out a handkerchief, intending to wipe his tears, but this only made Qiu Jingyue instinctively flinch and raise his hand, as if reflexively afraid that Qiu Junyao would hit him.

 

“……”

 

Qiu Junyao paused for a moment, and in the corner of his eye, he saw Qiu Jinghe watching nervously, his right arm slightly raised, as if ready to rush over and protect Qiu Jingyue.

 

“…….”

 

Qiu Junyao slowly lowered his hand, which had just been raised, and then, under the watchful eyes of those around him, he roughly pressed it against Qiu Jingyue’s tear-streaked face. “Wipe your own tears!”

 

“Oh…” Seeing that his father wasn’t going to hit him, Qiu Jingyue briefly felt relieved, but soon his face fell into a worried frown, anticipating that he was about to be dealt with:

 

“Thank you, Father.”

 

Qiu Junyao glanced at him.

 

…At least he’s polite.

 

Qiu Jingyue, oblivious to Qiu Junyao’s inner thoughts, obediently wiped his tears in front of his father. Then he heard Qiu Junyao say:

 

“Go to the cliff and wait for me.”

 

The cliff…

 

Upon hearing this, Qiu Jingyue felt a chill run down his spine, goosebumps rising on his arms, and his lips began to tremble uncontrollably from fear.

 

Father…

 

Father wouldn’t want to execute him at the cliff, would he…

 

Please no…

 

Qiu Jingyue lamented inwardly: Even if I wanted to die, I’d at least want my body to be intact!

 

But Qiu Junyao didn’t care what Qiu Jingyue was thinking. He had Qiu Jinghe accompany Qiu Jingyue to the cliff first, then called for Laifu. The two of them whispered something, and Laifu looked up at Qiu Junyao, nodded, and then withdrew.

 

Since Qiu Junyao had his back to Qiu Jinghe and Qiu Jingyue, the brothers couldn’t hear what Qiu Junyao was saying to Laifu. After exchanging a glance, neither of them could guess Qiu Junyao’s intentions.

 

But if they could guess, it would be strange. If they were capable of that, one wouldn’t be crying in front of everyone, and the other wouldn’t be half-dead from poison.

 

With this in mind, Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe didn’t dare delay, and following Qiu Junyao’s command, they headed to the cliff.

 

The cliff, true to its name, was a broken protruding rock surrounded by jagged stones and weeds.

 

Below was an abyss, the wind howling through, creating an eerie echo like a 3D horror movie soundtrack(wtf). Anyone with a fear of heights would faint just by looking at it.

 

Qiu Jingyue cautiously poked his round head over the edge of the cliff, gazing at the bottomless, mist-shrouded abyss, and his brows furrowed, his legs trembling involuntarily.

 

He swallowed nervously, about to say, “Second Brother, do you think Father plans to throw us both down here?” But before he could speak, a sudden push from behind sent him stumbling forward.

 

“!!!”

 

Qiu Jingyue lost control and staggered a few steps forward, nearly falling off the edge. Just before he would have plunged to his death, he grabbed onto Qiu Jinghe, clinging to him like a lifeline, so terrified that he almost cried, his words garbled:

 

“Second Brother, how could you do that!”

 

“Ha.” Qiu Jinghe couldn’t help but smile faintly:

 

“Scared like that, really?”

 

“Of course I am!” Qiu Jingyue protested loudly, his face a picture of misery: “Who wants to die!”

 

“If you don’t want to die, Qiu Jingxiu does.” Qiu Jinghe tugged on Qiu Jingyue’s ear, giving it a light twist:

 

“I told you we should reconsider this matter, but you boldly came up with this plan to harm him. Did you think Father was a fool? Did you really think it would work?”

 

Qiu Jingyue, scolded, hung his head, mumbling softly: “…It didn’t work.”

 

“Not only didn’t it work, but you got yourself into trouble.”

 

Qiu Jinghe said: “You idiot.”

 

“……I!” Qiu Jingyue was about to loudly protest to salvage his fragile dignity, but suddenly he noticed a figure dressed in black appearing in the distance—it was Qiu Junyao in a black robe.

 

Qiu Junyao seemed particularly fond of black clothing, especially black robes embroidered with silver thread, which emphasized his slim waist and handsome face, giving him an air of steadiness.

 

Perhaps because his face looked so young, as if he was not yet twenty, he preferred wearing black clothes to project authority; otherwise, he might look sickly and weak, as if he could pass out at any moment.

 

“Are you two just admiring the view over there?”

 

From afar, Qiu Junyao, cloaked in his cape, spoke, his words almost blown away by the wind:

 

“If you want to admire it, go down and admire it. I won’t stop you.”

 

Qiu Jinghe and Qiu Jingyue: “…….”

 

They raised their wind-chilled, stiff faces and walked over to Qiu Junyao. Just as they were about to bow, Qiu Junyao raised his hand to stop them:

 

“No need to bow. Today, it’s just the three of us, so let’s act like an ordinary family.”

 

Before they could feel touched, Laifu suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding a tray with wine cups, and solemnly said:

 

“Your Majesty, I am a person too.”

 

Qiu Junyao: “.”

 

Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe: “…….”

 

After a brief exchange of pleasantries that hardly counted as such, Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe were led by Qiu Junyao to an inconspicuous pavilion called “Yiran Pavilion” near a cliff.

 

If one ignored the desolate wilderness and the emptiness around, sitting high above did indeed evoke a sense of lofty ambition, reminiscent of the saying, “One must have youthful aspirations, once vowing to be the best in the world.”

 

Qiu Junyao filled Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe’s cups with wine from a jade jug. Just as he was about to take a sip, Qiu Jingyue nervously glanced at him and asked, “Father, this is poisoned wine, isn’t it?”

 

“…” Qiu Junyao replied, “Why don’t you try a sip?”

 

Qiu Jingyue swallowed nervously, beads of sweat trickling down his temples. After a moment, he picked up the cup with a resolve as if he were facing death and took a gulp.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Still trembling from nerves, Qiu Jingyue accidentally let the cup slip from his hand, but Qiu Junyao swiftly caught it, saying, “It’s expensive.” He placed the cup back on the tray.

 

Qiu Jingyue protested, “But Father, you were the one who smashed a tea cup when you were angry before!”

 

“… That was fake, a counterfeit, got it?” Qiu Junyao feigned calmness. “Now that you’ve had your so-called execution wine, a dying person should speak kindly. Can you tell me how you controlled the wolf pack?”

 

“Oh, that.” Qiu Jingyue, thinking he might as well drink more since he was going to die, tried to sneak another drink, but Qiu Junyao stopped him.

 

“Talk first, then drink.”

 

“Fine…” Qiu Jingyue withdrew his hand, clasped them together, and lifted his head, mimicking Qiu Junyao’s usual mannerisms.

 

“It’s actually not difficult.”

 

As he spoke, the red ribbon in his hair fluttered in the wind, and the purple tassel beads made a faint tinkling sound.

 

“The sachet I gave to Jingxiu that day was indeed an ordinary sachet. However, I had mixed the spices into the meat and fed it to the wolves for a month. This way, whenever they smelled a similar scent, they would instinctively rush towards it and attack Qiu Jingxiu.”

 

“But I burned that sachet.”

 

Qiu Junyao asked, “How did you manage that?”

 

“It’s simple.” Qiu Jingyue snapped his fingers. “All I had to do was bribe the groom to feed the Emperor’s Akhal-Teke horse the same spiced grass daily. The grass is hard to digest and would remain in the horse’s system. With wolves’ keen sense of smell, they couldn’t miss it. As soon as Qiu Jingxiu rode out on that horse, they would…”

 

“…” Qiu Junyao gave a thumbs-up. “You’re something else.”

 

“Hehe.” Qiu Jingyue was feeling proud, only to be smacked on the head by Qiu Junyao.

 

“So many cunning ideas—your brain must be full of holes!”

 

“Ugh…”

 

Qiu Jingyue lowered his head. “Father, I was wrong…”

 

He said, “Punish me if you must, but don’t blame my second brother. It really wasn’t him!”

 

“I know,” Qiu Junyao said. “Jinghe wouldn’t play such clever tricks.”

 

At these words, Qiu Jinghe raised his head and glanced at Qiu Junyao.

 

“But he does lack a bit of sense.”

 

Qiu Junyao gave Qiu Jinghe a light smack on the head as well. “Trying to take the blame for your brother—do you think that makes you a hero?”

 

Both brothers lowered their heads, rubbing the spots where Qiu Junyao had hit them, and remained silent.

 

“Alright, alright. Enough with the pouting.”

 

Looking at the two of them annoyed Qiu Junyao, and he didn’t even bother to stop his cloak from being blown away by the wind. “Jinghe, go write a self-reflection essay. Once that’s done, this matter will be considered closed.”

 

Seeing Qiu Jingyue’s eyes light up instantly, Qiu Junyao added irritably, “And you, you’re confined to the residence for half a year, your salary is suspended for a year, and you’re not allowed to enter the palace without a summons. Stay home and reflect on your actions, got it?”

 

“…Half a year?” Qiu Jingyue’s eyes widened. “Father, but I was supposed to die just now!”

 

“… The wine wasn’t poisoned. I was lying.”

 

Qiu Junyao explained, “Since Jingxiu wasn’t seriously injured, and no officials suffered or died, I’ll compensate them with rewards. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

 

“However,” Qiu Junyao continued as Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe’s eyes grew wider, “if this happens again, I will have to punish you severely. Understood?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe exchanged glances, bowed to express their gratitude, and watched as Qiu Junyao, unable to stand the cold wind while talking to them, got up with the help of a servant named Laifu.

 

Qiu Junyao thought to himself that he should have known better than to try and create a dramatic atmosphere in such a desolate place like in a TV drama. Just as he turned to leave, he heard a soft question from behind:

 

“Father.”

 

“Why?”

 

Qiu Jinghe, still holding the cup of unfinished wine, asked, “You could have easily expelled Jingyue and me, giving the position to Jingxiu…”

 

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Qiu Jinghe quickly lowered his head and said no more.

 

But father and son share a connection, and Qiu Junyao understood the meaning behind Qiu Jinghe’s words.

 

He turned around, slowly walking up to Qiu Jinghe.

 

The two identical faces stared at each other for a long time before Qiu Junyao finally spoke.

 

“Because it’s rare.”

 

“…What?” Qiu Jinghe was puzzled.

 

“Because the bond between you and Jingyue is rare.”

 

Qiu Junyao squeezed Qiu Jinghe’s thin shoulders, took off his cloak, and draped it over him, speaking softly:

 

“They say the royal family is heartless, but how can a person truly be without feelings?”

 

“For the throne, for the world, to give up the bond between brothers—that’s not something I want to see.”

 

“Jinghe, in this life, the untroubled and trusting bond between brothers is incredibly precious. When you grow up, you’ll realize that as you each pursue your own goals, you’ll eventually drift apart. Such pure camaraderie is something that only exists in your youth.”

 

Qiu Junyao said, “I want to do everything I can to help you extend this time of mutual trust.”

 

“…Father, are you saying that you want us to treat Jingxiu with the same attitude?”

 

Qiu Jinghe asked, “Is that it, Father?”

 

Qiu Junyao chuckled and then shook his head. “Jinghe.”

 

He said, “If you have something to ask, just ask it directly.”

 

Qiu Jinghe hadn’t expected Qiu Junyao to be so straightforward, so he nervously licked his lips, the calmness and composure he usually had gradually giving way to unease.

 

But after a while, Qiu Jinghe gathered his courage, looked Qiu Junyao in the eye, and said firmly:

 

“Father, I want to ask…”

 

“Do you want to make Jingxiu the crown prince?”

 

He said, “Have you never considered me?”

 

In that passage, Qiu Jingyue is revealing how he set up a situation where a pack of wolves would attack Qiu Jingxiu.

 

1. **Bribing the Groom**: Qiu Jingyue paid the person responsible for taking care of the Emperor’s Akhal-Teke horse to secretly feed the horse a special type of grass daily.

 

2. **Spiced Grass**: This grass was mixed with a particular scent or spice that the wolves had been conditioned to recognize as food. The grass is also hard to digest, meaning it would stay in the horse’s system for a long time.

 

3. **Wolves’ Sense of Smell**: Wolves have a very keen sense of smell, so even a small amount of the scent would attract them.

 

4. **Triggering the Attack**: When Qiu Jingxiu rode the horse that had been fed this spiced grass, the wolves, drawn by the familiar scent, would instinctively attack the horse and, by extension, Qiu Jingxiu.