The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 6

No matter how much Yin Yuan scolded Qiu Junyao, he was still just an eighteen-year-old youth, harboring some fear and respect for authority deep down.

 

After uttering words that would be considered treasonous by anyone’s standards, Yin Yuan seemed to have a change of heart, his smile fading like ripples vanishing on a still spring pond.

 

The air grew heavy with silence.

 

Master and servant exchanged a brief, solemn glance before simultaneously sighing.

 

Huanchen said, “If His Majesty would just pass away, it would be for the best.”

 

Yin Yuan turned to look at her, the tassels on his hairpin swaying lightly, framing his features with an alluring charm, yet beneath it lurked a hint of melancholy as he spoke in a cryptic tone, “How dare you say such words? Aren’t you afraid of losing your head?”

 

“My head is already forfeit. It could roll at His Majesty’s whim,” Huanchen replied with a bitter smile. “I may not be as wise as the young master  to discern the warning and subtlety in His Majesty’s words today. I still cling to illusions.”

 

“What good is wisdom?” Yin Yuan plucked the phoenix hairpin from his head and threw it to the ground with force. “Even if one were to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examinations, they would still be trapped in the palace, doomed to the fate of a caged bird!”

 

Seeing Yin Yuan’s furious expression, Huanchen knelt down with a thud. “Master!”

 

He wanted to advise Yin Yuan to be more optimistic, but his lips trembled for a while, and he dared not speak out.

 

Yes, after years of arduous study, one’s natural ambition to serve in the court and realize grand ambitions was shattered by the necessity to protect one’s family and life by submitting to an incompetent and tyrannical old emperor. No one could willingly accept such a reality.

 

“Accompanying the king is like accompanying a tiger. I never harbored any illusions about him from the start.”

 

Seeing Huanchen kneeling on the ground, unable to even breathe, Yin Yuan softened his stern expression and allowed him to help her up, walking to the window, hands behind his back, watching Qiu Junyao’s departing figure in the distance. He sighed softly, “After all, he is the sovereign of this realm, an emperor whose wrath can float corpses for a thousand miles.”

 

Huanchen nodded in agreement, following Yin Yuan’s gaze and catching sight of the emperor, Qiu Junyao, stumbling in the snowy night, unable to see the path clearly, nearly falling flat on his face.

 

Yin Yuan: “…”

 

Huanchen: “…”

 

Our sovereign of this realm seems a bit feeble.

 

But regardless, survival instinct dictates that one must persevere.

 

Failing to kill the emperor in one fell swoop, and being caught red-handed instead, Huanchen, in a fit of rage, wrote tens of thousands of words of complaint, accusing the knight of selling fake medicine. This forced the knight to send a pigeon carrying an apology and a new bottle of poison.

 

However, Yin Yuan had no intention of killing Qiu Junyao anymore.

 

Since being discovered by Qiu Junyao for poisoning, Yin Yuan decided to play dumb.

 

But Huanchen advised Yin Yuan not to play too dumb and to properly please that old lecher Qiu Junyao, otherwise Yin Yuan’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather would not have a good time in the court.

 

Thinking about this, the next day, when several princes came to the Xiang Palace to pay their respects to the new empress dowager, Yin Yuan casually asked:

 

“If His Majesty is angry on ordinary days, what would you do to make him forgive you?”

 

“Well…”

 

This year, Qiujing Yue was only fourteen years old, at the age of being carefree. He raised his hand and said, “Father Emperor likes antiques the most on ordinary days. Every time I make him angry, I will buy some vases and inkstones.”

 

Yin Yuan was surprised, “I didn’t expect His Majesty to have a taste for antique appreciation.”

 

He always thought that Qiu Junyao would only be interested in alchemy and drugs.

 

“No,” Qiujing Yue said, “Father Emperor likes to throw things. I buy them for him to smash on my head to vent his anger.”

 

Yin Yuan: “…”

 

Then he turned to look at Qiujing Ming, “Does your father throw things at you on ordinary days?”

 

“He doesn’t,” Qiujing Ming said calmly, “Father Emperor loves me the most.”

 

Yin Yuan felt relieved, “How do you please him…”

 

“Because every time I make Father Emperor angry, he faints from anger, then lies down for a few days and has no time to throw things at me.”

 

Yin Yuan: “…”

 

He closed his eyes, feeling tired as he held his forehead and waved his hand, “Alright, you don’t need to pay your respects.”

 

He said, “You can all leave.”

 

Just as the group finished paying their respects and were about to leave, Qiujing He, who had been drinking tea and not speaking, suddenly spoke up, raising his head to Yin Yuan:

 

“Mother, the son knows a way to please Father Emperor.”

 

Yin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the smiling Qiujing He, feeling inexplicably like he was dealing with a fox:

 

“What’s the method?”

 

“My mother said, to capture someone’s heart, you must capture their stomach.”

 

Qiujing He was the most similar to Qiu Junyao among the three princes in appearance, but there was a hint of cunningness in his eyes, completely different from the clean and gentle demeanor of Qiu Junyao:

 

“Mother can often have the kitchen make some delicious food.”

 

He looked at Yin Yuan leisurely and deliberately revealed some information to him:

 

“Father Emperor likes sweets, and he especially loves to eat plum pastries.”

 

Yin Yuan narrowed his eyes and did not immediately respond. After a moment, he waved his hand:

 

“You may leave.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Qiujing He didn’t care about Yin Yuan’s indifferent attitude and bowed before leaving.

 

His unusual behavior caught the attention of Qiujing Yue.

 

He squeezed next to Qiujing He, curiosity evident on his face, still carrying a hint of baby fat, blinking his almond-shaped eyes:

 

“Second Brother, why did you help that new empress dowager today?”

 

He rubbed his chin in distress, “If he gets along well with Father Emperor and bears another prince, what should we do?”

 

“When did I help him?” Qiujing He asked back.

 

“You seem to have forgotten that the least favorite thing for Father Emperor to eat is plum pastries.”

 

He said, “Because when Father Emperor was young, he accidentally ate poisoned plum pastries.”

 

“…Second Brother, you actually know this.” Qiujing Yue was stunned. “So you…”

 

“So I’m not helping him,” Qiujing He sighed lightly, not knowing what he was regretting. “It’s a pity… such a beautiful person…”

 

“What’s there to regret?” Qiujing Yue said, “If you like this type, I can find someone similar for you.”

 

He didn’t care at all, “If it doesn’t work out, when Father Emperor dies, you can ascend to the throne and then take in Yin Yuan as a concubine.”

 

“You’re talking nonsense.” Qiujing He glanced around, seeing no one nearby, and said, “Be careful what you say.”

 

Qiujing Yue grinned and took Qiujing He’s arm, teasingly saying “Huama is getting old,” while Qiujing He lightly tapped his head with a fan. The two brothers walked out of the palace gate together.

 

Shortly after the two left, a black figure flashed out from behind the plum tree in the imperial garden, revealing Qiu Junyao, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation between the two brothers.

 

Frightened but emboldened, Lai Fu watched Qiu Junyao’s changing expression, bowed, tightened the cloak in front of him, brushed off the snow on his shoulders, and whispered:

 

“Your Majesty, it’s snowing… The imperial physician said your body is still weak and cannot stay outside for too long. Let’s go back first.”

 

“… I’ve only been out for less than a moment,” Qiu Junyao coughed, his face full of unwillingness, thinking to himself that even dogs could go out for a walk after staying at home for a long time, was he worse than a dog?

 

“It’s not that you can’t come out, it’s that your body can’t handle it.”

 

With that, seeing Qiu Junyao’s displeased expression, Lai Fu added, “But the imperial physician said that if you rest for another seven days, your body will be much better, and you can spend an extra hour outside.”

 

“… Alright,” seeing the eunuchs and palace maids shivering in the snow, Qiu Junyao couldn’t bear it.

 

Having seen the snow and enjoyed the plum blossoms, Qiu Junyao unexpectedly gained an unexpected harvest. He heard those words in the garden and already knew that the princes were interested in Yin Yuan.

 

Although it was far from reaching the level of love, it was enough to make Qiu Junyao cautious again. He calculated how to deal with those princes, but he knew that apart from the chief physician of the Taiyi Hospital, Qiu Taiyi, and the little eunuch Lai Fu, he had no allies. He could only pretend that nothing had happened on the surface, return to the palace, and continue lying in the Qinzheng Hall.

 

But what he didn’t expect was that as soon as Qiu Junyao returned to the Qinzheng Hall, before he had eaten, he saw a pile of documents on the table—

 

All of them were documents he hadn’t approved during his illness these past two days.

 

Qiu Junyao had never encountered such a situation before, especially since he wasn’t actually the emperor. Who knew if a mistake would lead to any decision-making errors? So, he took advantage of feeling unwell and expressed a desire to rest, avoiding dealing with the documents.

 

Seeing His Majesty wanting to retire, Lai Fu immediately gave a signal to the little eunuch next to him.

 

Soon, a wooden tray covered with yellow silk was brought over, filled with the green plaques of various palace concubines.

 

Qiu Junyao: “…”

 

As an innocent eighteen-year-old pure boy and virgin, he had never seen such a scene of a harem. He quickly waved his hand, intending to sleep by himself. However, Lai Fu said that a few days before the grand wedding, Qiu Junyao must stay in the empress dowager’s palace, otherwise all the palace concubines would think that the empress dowager was not favored and would not obey her management.

 

Qiu Junyao: “…Since I can only choose him, why did you bring this tray for me to choose from?”

 

Lai Fu flicked his feather duster and said, “Your Majesty, procedures cannot be omitted.”

 

Qiu Junyao: “…”

 

After thinking for a moment, he felt that what Lai Fu said made sense. So he set off to Yin Yuan’s Xiang Palace.

 

The Xiang Palace was still brightly lit at this time.

 

Yin Yuan did not know that Qiu Junyao was coming and was still busy making plum pastries in the palace. He always liked to be meticulous when studying, and he liked to do everything himself. As a result, he ended up covered in ash. When Qiu Junyao arrived, he hadn’t even wiped the ash off his face yet. He hastily rushed out of the kitchen and knelt down to greet Qiu Junyao.

 

“… What’s wrong with you?” Qiu Junyao looked at the ash on Yin Yuan’s face, puzzled.

 

“Back to Your Majesty, it’s not that something is wrong with Yin Yuan, it’s that the kitchen exploded,” Huanchen said.

 

Qiu Junyao: “…”

 

When will I be able to see a homophonic pun without laughing?

 

Suppressing his laughter, Qiu Junyao looked at Yin Yuan, who was full of regret, and walked up to him. He squatted down beside Yin Yuan, intending to wipe it off with the handkerchief in his hand.

 

But Yin Yuan instinctively dodged.

 

Qiu Junyao was stunned.

 

Yin Yuan also paused for a moment. After realizing what he had done, his eyelashes trembled nervously for a moment. Then he quickly turned his face away and made a gesture for Qiu Junyao to wipe his face.

 

But Qiu Junyao didn’t continue.

 

He reached out and handed the handkerchief to Huanchen beside Yin Yuan, smiling, “Wipe your master’s face.”

 

With a calm demeanor, as if he didn’t feel embarrassed at all, nor was he angry with Yin Yuan for rejecting him.

 

Huanchen stupidly took the handkerchief in her hand and helped Yin Yuan up under Qiu Junyao’s permission.

 

Yin Yuan didn’t dare to wash his face and remove his makeup in front of Qiu Junyao, for fear of removing the powder specifically used to soften his features. So he just wiped it casually and asked Qiu Junyao, “Your Majesty, why did you come tonight?”

 

Qiu Junyao pressed his fingertips to his forehead, suddenly recalling the conversation he had heard in the garden earlier today. He couldn’t help but feel suspicious about Yin Yuan’s change from hostility to pleasing him, but he didn’t reveal it:

 

“Of course, I heard that my empress specially made plum pastries to please me, so I came to take a look.”

 

Yin Yuan was silent for a moment before saying, “Really?”

 

True or false. Qiu Junyao thought to himself, I just purely didn’t want to deal with the memorials.

 

Although he thought this way in his heart, he said on the surface, “Naturally.”

 

“Your Majesty, do you really want to try it?” Yin Yuan confirmed again.

 

For some reason, Qiu Junyao’s smile stiffened slightly, feeling somewhat hesitant:

 

“Why…?”

 

“Huanchen, bring the plum pastries I made.” Yin Yuan gently tapped the table, and after a moment, a lump of pitch-black substance was placed on the table.

 

“Your Majesty, please try it.” Yin Yuan seemed completely oblivious to Qiu Junyao’s solemn expression, calmly pushing the plate towards Qiu Junyao.

 

“…?” Qiu Junyao made a sound of uncertainty, feeling somewhat reluctant to eat it, “Has the empress herself tasted it?”

 

“Of course not.” Yin Yuan maintained a false social smile, “This is food for Your Majesty. How could I taste it first?”

 

“But this thing looks more like medicine brewed by the empress than something edible.” Qiu Junyao tapped the table with his fingertips, glanced at the palace maids who had spilled medicine a few days ago and were trembling, then turned his head and casually said something that made Yin Yuan’s face suddenly change:

 

“Empress, are you planning to poison me?”