The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 50

As soon as Qiu Junyao spoke, the others present were still unsure of how to react, but Chu Yu, the National Preceptor, immediately understood the underlying meaning of Qiu Junyao’s words. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

 

He knew better than anyone that purple energy indeed symbolized the monarch. However, Qiu Junyao had spent the night in the Pixiang Hall, and no matter how much this purple energy manifested, it was impossible for it to appear in his remote National Preceptor’s hall—unless Chu Yu was planning to usurp the throne and become the emperor himself, creating momentum in advance. This was the only explanation that made sense.

 

When Chu Yu realized that Qiu Junyao was subtly hinting that he might be plotting a rebellion, his heart skipped a beat. Faced with a life-and-death situation, he quickly donned his clothes, knelt on the ground, and bowed low to apologize:

 

“Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

 

Chu Yu’s mind was racing faster than ever before, and he quickly explained:

 

“The purple energy appeared in the National Preceptor’s hall last night because I was setting up a formation to divine your future, which attracted the purple energy.”

 

He continued, “This purple energy was not meant for me but was drawn here for Your Majesty.”

 

“Oh? Really?” Qiu Junyao raised an eyebrow with curiosity and said:

 

“How did you perform this divination? Could you demonstrate it for me now and see if it truly brings about such a spectacle?”

 

“This…” Chu Yu, who had just wanted to tell a little white lie to get through the situation, was momentarily stunned and didn’t know how to respond. To make matters worse, Qiu Jingxiu fanned the flames by raising his little paws high in excitement and exclaimed:

 

“Father, I want to see it too! I want to see it too!”

 

“…”

 

At these words, Chu Yu’s face instantly turned pale with fear.

 

Divining the fate of the emperor could indeed attract purple energy, but even for a National Preceptor, one couldn’t easily divine an emperor’s fate. It could only be slowly inferred through astrology. The higher a person’s status, the more their fate and secrets are hidden. If Chu Yu dared to directly divine Qiu Junyao’s future, at best, he’d cough up blood endlessly, and at worst, he’d meet an early death and wouldn’t die peacefully.

 

With the task his master gave him still unfulfilled, Chu Yu dared not risk his life. But if he refused Qiu Junyao’s request for this reason, wouldn’t he be admitting that his previous words were a lie?

 

Conversely, if he proved that his words were false, wouldn’t that be a crime of deceiving the emperor?

 

After thinking it through, Chu Yu realized that no matter what, he was doomed. So, he gritted his teeth and was about to risk his remaining lifespan to give it a shot when Yin Yuan suddenly spoke up:

 

“Your Majesty, it has been said since ancient times that the secrets of heaven must not be easily revealed.”

 

Yin Yuan walked up to Qiu Junyao, gently tugged his arm, and softly advised:

 

“Peering into one’s fate in advance could shorten their lifespan.”

 

“For the sake of Your Majesty’s health, it’s better not to watch.”

 

When Chu Yu heard Yin Yuan speaking on his behalf, he was overjoyed and quickly seized the opportunity:

 

“Your Majesty, the Empress is right. It’s not that I’m unwilling to divine for you, but I’m concerned about Your Majesty’s well-being and cannot do it lightly.”

 

“…”

 

Qiu Junyao was a staunch materialist and didn’t really believe in karma and retribution, but—

 

He doted on Yin Yuan. He might not listen to others, but he naturally took Yin Yuan’s words to heart.

 

Upon hearing this, Qiu Junyao indeed glanced at Yin Yuan, lowered his head in thought, and after some consideration, said:

 

“You have a point.”

 

He said indifferently, “Then, we’ll go with your suggestion and not look.”

 

Seeing that Qiu Junyao didn’t pursue the matter any further, Yin Yuan smiled and nodded.

 

“National Preceptor, you may rise.” Qiu Junyao, feeling a bit uncomfortable after sitting for so long, changed his position, and Yin Yuan immediately provided him with a cushion for his back, making him more comfortable: 

 

“Since that’s settled, I won’t pursue last night’s matter any further.”

 

“But…”

 

Qiu Junyao looked at Qiu Jinghe, then shifted his gaze away with a calm voice:

 

“But, Chu Yu, since you shared a bed with Jinghe…”

 

He hinted, “Since you’ve already had a marital relationship, why not get married soon? I’m not an unreasonable person. If the two of you truly love each other, I won’t oppose your union just because you’re both men.”

 

“This…”

 

These words left even the eloquent Qiu Jinghe at a loss for words.

 

Of course, he could say that he and Chu Yu slept together naked without doing anything, just to cure his illness, but the problem was—

 

Would Qiu Junyao believe it?

 

Not to mention that Qiu Junyao wouldn’t believe it—if Qiu Jinghe hadn’t experienced it himself, he wouldn’t believe it either.

 

Who would believe that two people could sleep naked together all night without anything happening?

 

Seeing the embarrassed and conflicted expressions on Qiu Jinghe and Chu Yu’s faces, mixed with a bit of shame, Qiu Junyao deliberately stayed silent. After a moment of thoughtful consideration, he decided not to make things difficult for them:

 

“Forget it.”

 

He said, “Since you’re both troubled, think it over carefully. If you come to a decision, you can come to me at any time, and I can bestow a marriage on you whenever you’re ready.”

 

After saying this, Qiu Junyao straightened up, and Yin Yuan stood up alongside him, standing shoulder to shoulder:

 

“Let’s go. Jinghe, take care of yourself.”

 

With that, Qiu Junyao took Yin Yuan by the hand and walked out of the National Preceptor’s hall.

 

On the way back to the Pixiang Hall, Yin Yuan remained silent.

 

Naturally, Qiu Junyao noticed this, but although he was usually very perceptive of others’ emotions, he didn’t say a word this time.

 

His silence only deepened Yin Yuan’s suspicions.

 

So, once everyone else had been dismissed, Yin Yuan couldn’t wait to drag Qiu Junyao toward the bed.

 

Qiu Junyao, of course, knew why Yin Yuan was so eager, but he deliberately didn’t mention it and instead asked with a smile:

 

“In such a hurry?”

 

He feigned modesty on his face, but his fingers were already mischievously hooking onto Yin Yuan’s belt. Hugging him from behind, he gently untied it, then mischievously blew air into Yin Yuan’s ear:

 

“Doing this in broad daylight, Ah Yuan, you’ve become naughty.”

 

Yin Yuan remained silent, allowing him to undress him. His palm covered Qiu Junyao’s hand, and he turned his head. It wasn’t until Qiu Junyao kissed down his nape to his shoulder that Yin Yuan suddenly shivered:

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

He turned around, his outer robe had already completely fallen to the ground, leaving only a thin, light blue ruqun wrapped around his upper body.

 

“Why did you bestow a marriage upon Jinghe?”

 

Qiu Junyao pressed Yin Yuan down on the bed, his palm had already slipped inside from his thigh. While kissing him, he replied:

 

“Are you sure you want to bring this up now?”

 

“If Your Majesty doesn’t tell me the truth today, you can forget about having me serve you tonight.”

 

Yin Yuan grabbed Qiu Junyao’s hand, sat up, and glared at him:

 

“Your Majesty… mm…”

 

He suddenly frowned, his waist going weak as he leaned on Qiu Junyao’s shoulder, breathing lightly, seeming somewhat uncomfortable:

 

“…”

 

“You’re so smart, do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know?”

 

Qiu Junyao’s hand didn’t stop moving. He tilted his head and bit the turquoise gemstone earring on Yin Yuan’s ear, planting a kiss on his earlobe.

 

“Can’t you see it? Jinghe likes you.”

 

“…”

 

Yin Yuan widened his eyes in disbelief: “Impossible!”

 

“How is it impossible?” Qiu Junyao’s breathing grew heavier:

 

“You’re too dense to notice, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t see it.”

 

“…How could that be?”

 

Yin Yuan said: “Before I married Your Majesty, I had no interactions with him… We only exchanged a few distant glances at the Qionglin Banquet. I was only fourteen then, and he was about eleven or twelve.”

 

“Eleven years old, in this dynasty, is about the age when spring feelings start to stir.” Qiu Junyao’s nose pressed against Yin Yuan’s smooth, delicate shoulder, inhaling a faint sweet fragrance, a scent that Yin Yuan naturally carried, like a gentle magnolia flower mixed with the smell of dew:

 

“That’s why I wanted to settle him down early, to make him understand the duties of being a husband and a father, to know what responsibility is, so he wouldn’t spend his days daydreaming.”

 

Yin Yuan wrapped his arms around Qiu Junyao’s neck, his body trembling from Qiu Junyao’s actions. After a moment, he slowly relaxed, letting Qiu Junyao kiss him and do as he pleased:

 

“But in my heart, there’s only Your Majesty.”

 

Yin Yuan lay back, his hair in disarray, his eyes tinged with a hard-to-define allure:

 

“I belong to Your Majesty, body and soul, always have.”

 

“I know,” Qiu Junyao kissed his forehead, saying, “That’s why I didn’t punish him.”

 

Qiu Junyao joked, “If you had fallen for him, I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to punish you either. I would only blame him for seducing you.”

 

“…”

 

Hearing this, Yin Yuan burrowed into Qiu Junyao’s arms, looking up at his profile and softly asked:

 

“Then, will Jinghe agree to marry Chu Yu?”

 

“I don’t know.” Qiu Junyao shook his head, pondering for a moment before continuing, “Actually, I think… his feelings for you aren’t what we common people might understand as affection…”

 

“Affection, in essence, is a kind of possessiveness, an overwhelming need, a longing that haunts one’s soul.”

 

“But what Jinghe feels for you isn’t that.”

 

“The way he looks at you seems more like a dependence, an admiration, like a child toward a beloved elder. He doesn’t know what to do to earn your favour, so he feels nervous, at a loss.”

 

“This, rather than love, looks more like a lack of love.”

 

Qiu Junyao added, “He probably wants to get from you the love he lacked in childhood. Simply put, it might be a kind of father or mother complex.”

 

“…” Yin Yuan was so creeped out by Qiu Junyao’s explanation that his hair stood on end, goosebumps rising all over his body: “Your Majesty, please stop, I’m scared…”

 

“Hahaha…”

 

Qiu Junyao laughed, ruffling Yin Yuan’s hair, “Don’t worry. It’s not that difficult to resolve.”

 

“When I was in middle school, during a physiology class, my psychology teacher told us about this. It’s also called the Oedipus complex, proposed by the famous psychologist Freud. This complex isn’t scary. As long as it’s properly guided later on, as the child gradually awakens and matures psychologically, he can slowly become independent and grow into a well-adjusted adult.”

 

“He doesn’t necessarily like you. It’s more likely that he’s projecting an overly idealized image onto you, resulting in a subtle dependence.”

 

“Then does Your Majesty have a solution in mind?”

 

Yin Yuan half-understood, but his instincts made him trust his husband. He snuggled against Qiu Junyao and asked, “What should be done? Your Majesty must have a plan, right?”

 

“Mm.” Qiu Junyao said, “As a child grows up, he must first distance himself from his parents, gradually shedding this dependence, and eventually forming his own independent life. After a while, this complex will naturally fade away.”

 

“I’ll first give him a wake-up call, to let him know that he too will have to start a family and build a career one day. Whether or not he wants to marry Chu Yu is up to him. If he doesn’t, I have other ways to deal with him.”

 

“I can’t let him keep daydreaming like this forever. Otherwise, if I were to pass away one day, I wouldn’t feel at ease leaving you behind.”

 

Yin Yuan was about to say that if Qiu Junyao were to die, he would surely follow him, but it seemed like Qiu Junyao knew what he was thinking. He leaned down to cover his lips, preventing him from saying it out loud.

 

The two became increasingly passionate, losing control as they looked at each other, just as things were about to progress naturally. But before they could continue, Laifu’s voice came from outside the door:

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

He said, “The Second Prince is outside requesting an audience with you. He said… it’s about his marriage, and he has something to discuss with you.”

 

Qiu Junyao: “…”

 

He exchanged a glance with Yin Yuan and was about to sit up, but Yin Yuan suddenly burrowed under the covers for some reason. In just a moment, Qiu Junyao’s voice suddenly changed in tone:

 

“Let him… ah… let him in.”