Half a month later, news came from the Dali Temple that a former Hanlin Bianxiu, Xu Shixian, had committed suicide in fear while in custody. Outraged by this, Emperor Zhaoyang ordered people to throw his body into an unmarked grave outside the city. And Tanhua, a young man who was astonishingly talented and brilliant in the past, fell from grace.
On another two days, the results of the three-count trial of the Jingzhou prefect, Du Tingzhong’s anti-poetry case, were presented to the prison before the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Surveillance Bureau. All the evidence, including testimony and material evidence, was conclusive. Du Tingzhong was sentenced to death, with his whole family implicated. The old prefect was a native of Jingzhou, and he had few connections in the capital. This sentence was nothing more than a pebble thrown into the ocean. Except for a few people who sighed in private, there was no splash.
In the suburbs of the capital, on Phoenix Mountain Private Estate.
Phoenix Mountain was a famous mountain in the western suburbs of the capital. It was named after the founding queen was born here. The mountains were full of ginkgo trees. Every late autumn, the golden scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a popular destination for dignitaries in the capital to enjoy the scenery and have fun. From the foot of the mountain to the top, there were many private estates belonging to the capital’s nobility. Zhu Yunjing’s estate was one of them.
This estate was Zhu Yunjing’s mother’s dowry. Zhu Yunjing occasionally came here, and the estate was decorated in an extremely comfortable and luxurious manner for his enjoyment.
At this moment, Zhu Yunjing had just entered the estate, and the steward reported to him about the situation of that Xu Gongzi. He said that Xu Gongzi had been foolishly sitting in his room since he entered here, without going out, not letting anyone wait on him and eating very little.
It had been several days since Xu Shixian had been sent to Zhu Yunjing’s private estate. It was arranged by Zhu Yunjing’s cousin, Xie Xuanming. The Dali Temple had taken care of everything, and only five people, including Zhu Yunjing himself, knew about it. Xie Xuanming had no other skills, but he was quite adept at handling such private affairs.
Zhu Yunjing scoffed coldly when he heard the words: “He is really arrogant.”
Pushing open the door and walking in, Zhu Yunjing waved his hand, and the following servants retreated consciously and closed the door.
Xu Shixian was sitting by the window, dressed in a clean, plain-coloured garment, with his hair neatly combed. He no longer looked distressed like he did that day in prison. It was just that his face seemed to be colder, with no trace of colour. He was sitting there, but not looking at the scenery outside the window. His eyes were empty, as if nothing was in them.
Zhu Yunjing walked forward slowly, and said sarcastically: “Xu Hanlin, you have such a big temper. I heard that you neither want to be served nor eat much at Gu’s place. What? Do you think Gu is not hospitable enough?”
Xu Shixian turned his head slightly to look at Zhu Yunjing. After a moment, he knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground with a hoarse voice: “The servant kowtows to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Zhu Yunjing frowned impatiently. Xu Shixian’s excessive humility and distant attitude made him unhappy: “Gu has already rescued you from the Dali Temple prison. How are you going to repay Gu?”
We Vtlzljc ijs bc atf ugbecv, rlifca obg j ktlif. Lf jrxfv Ite Tecplcu: “Qtfgf lr ws afjmtfg? Qtfc mjc atf rfgnjca rff tlw?”
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“Ktf rfgnjca vbfrc’a vjgf. Pa lr pera atja P mjc’a rff ws afjmtfg, jcv P jw gfjiis ecfjrs jybea la.”
“You have a deep and loyal friendship with him. To save him and his family, you are willing to do even the most despised things. Is it worth it?”
Xu Shixian was neither overbearing nor humble, and replied in a deep voice: “My teacher’s kindness to the minister is as heavy as a mountain.” We have a teacher-student relationship as well as a father-son bond. Even the servant’s death cannot repay him.”
Zhu Yunjing only felt that he was pedantic. If it weren’t for being implicated by the Jingzhou prefect, how could Xu Shixian have fallen into his current situation? Not only did he not have complaints, but he also thought about saving people and repaying kindness. Zhu Yunjing had never seen such a rigid and foolish person.
However, what Xu Shixian wanted was destined to be in vain. The prefect of Jingzhou and his family of more than a dozen members had already been guillotined yesterday. Only Xu Shixian was kept in the dark.
As he stood in front of Xu Shixian, Zhu Yunjing pinched Xu Shixian’s chin, forcing him to lift his head. He narrowed his eyes and looked down at Xu Shixian condescendingly: “Gu has already saved the person and sent him to a safe place. It is not convenient to bring him here for the time being. Let Gu remind you, if you want to see your teacher again, you must be happy to serve Gu first. Right now, it is you who is asking for something from Gu, not Gu who is begging you!”
Xu Shixian’s expression remained unchanged, lowering his gaze slightly: “Your Highness, why bother being so persistent with me? The servant is a rigid and dull person who does not understand romance. Apart from this body, it can be said that the servant is useless. If Your Highness wants a beautiful woman, there are many beauties with different styles to choose from. Why waste your time on this servant alone? ”
Zhu Yunjing’s slender fingers pinched Xu Shixian’s chin forcefully, and sneered: “But what if Gu takes a fancy to you, this beauty?”
Xu Shixian sighed: “Your Highness just feels that I have repeatedly refused you, which makes you lose face. Because the servant cannot fulfill your wishes, you have to force the servant to submit. If the servant had surrendered to you from the beginning, the servant is afraid you would have lost interest in the servant.”
“Since you know it well, why are you so pretentious? Could it be that you want to play the trick of cat and mouse with Gu?”
Xu Shixian looked up at Zhu Yunjing. His eyes were clear, without flinching at all: “Although the servant is pedantic, the servant also yearns for the the harmony of the two hearts, like qin and se sing in harmony. But it is a pity that the servant doesn’t have that blessing. I don’t want to be a courtier who uses my body to please others. However Your Highness saved the servant and the teacher, and the servant owes Your Highness a debt. If Your Highness insists on the servant repaying in this way, then the servant will comply with your wishes.”
After Xu Shixian finished speaking, he raised his hand and slowly untied his belt. Zhu Yunjing stared at his actions without blinking. It was clear that he was about to get his wish, but he didn’t feel happy at all. Xu Shixian’s expression, not to mention showing a little accommodating attitude, was probably only a generous sacrifice.
Was it really that uncomfortable?
The door was kicked open. Zhu Yunjing rushed out angrily, and strode away. Wang Jiu, who guarded the door, was startled, and quickly followed him: “Your Highness, what’s wrong with you?”
Zhu Yunjing kicked a floor-to-ceiling vase in the corridor with a loud crash. The vase shattered to the floor.
Wang Jiu was shocked, and immediately supported him: “Your Highness, be careful! You might get hurt!”
He gave a signal, and a few servants behind him quickly came forward to clean up the mess on the floor. Zhu Yunjing was still angry, seeing that no one was pleasing to his eyes: “Get out! All of you, get out of Gu’s sight!”
Wang Jiu hurriedly led the people back. He didn’t dare go far, so he waited outside the corridor. After a while, he heard Zhu Yunjing call out to him in an irritated tone: “Wang Jiu!”
Wang Jiu rolled back immediately, with a smile: “The servant is here. What orders do you have, Your Highness?”
Zhu Yunjing gave him a sidelong glance, seeming to hesitate before asking, “Do you think Gu is that dirty and nasty person?”
Wang Jiu’s heart suddenly jumped. He was so scared that his legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground: “Of course not! Who dares to slander Your Highness like this?!”
” Then why does Xu Shixian think of Gu as a ferocious beast? Is Gu so unacceptable?”
Wang Jiu secretly lamented in his heart: “That’s because Xu Hanlin doesn’t know what is good or bad. Your Highness sees him as his blessing, but he doesn’t know how to appreciate it!”
Zhu Yunjing’s eyes flashed. After a moment of silence, he seemed to deflate and paced to the edge of the corridor and sat down, staring blankly at the slightly desolate winter scenery outside in the courtyard.
Wang Jiu got up and stood not far behind Zhu Yunjing, unable to help but secretly complain about Xu Shixian. Everyone was amorous with His Highness the Crown Prince. All the palace maids in the Eastern Palace vied to serve him. But Wang Jiu had been following Zhu Yunjing since he was a child. He had seen that Zhu Yunjing hadn’t even touched those palace maids. Sometimes, he would urge him on. However, His Highness disdainfully ignored it. The first time he showed any interest in someone was towards Xu Hanlin, but the other party was not appreciative.
Zhu Yunjing’s heart was on fire, and he was annoyed at the thought of Xu Shixian’s cold and aloof face. However, he was unwilling to just let him go like this. As Xu Shixian said, he could have any kind of beauty he wanted, and there were several stunning palace maids in his palace. But those people either tremblingly submitted to him, or put all their efforts into trying to become a phoenix perched on a tree. No matter how beautiful their exterior, he was not interested in it. It was rare to fall in love with one. Why was it so difficult?
There were only a few days left before the expeditionary army returned. Zhu Yunjing had no time to go out of the palace. He had to discuss various matters with the Ministry of Rites officials every day to welcome the army’s triumphant return. Zhu Yunjing actually didn’t have much patience for this matter, but Emperor Zhaoyang valued it greatly. So he had to settle down and finish the task properly.
On this day, the Minister of Rites came to the Eastern Palace to present the proposed process. Zhu Yunjing absent-mindedly skimmed through it, and then glanced at the Minister of Rites standing below with a nervous expression on his face. He threw it back, and asked: “Who drafted this process? Let He Huailing lead thirty thousand soldiers and horses into the city? Are you planning to open the city gate and let him take over the palace?”
The Minister of Rites was sweating profusely as he knelt down to beg for forgiveness: “The servant had no such intentions. I respectfully request Your Highness to have keen insight into this matter! It’s just that this is the usual practice of this army’s triumphant return…”
“Allow at most five thousand people to enter, and the rest will camp and wait outside the city.” Zhu Yunjing didn’t give the other party a chance to argue at all.
“…Yes.”
“And after entering the city, just lead people straight to the palace. Why do you need to specially arrange for the common people to welcome him along the streets of the capital? Do you treat him like an emperor on an inspection tour?”
The Minister of Rites was almost terrified by Zhu Yunjing’s astonishing words. As he thought his predecessor was kicked into the netherworld by this Crown Prince after a few words offended him, he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly and carefully explained: “The servant has absolutely no such intentions! It’s just that the great victory in the north stirred up people’s hearts. Even if we don’t deliberately arrange it, there will surely be countless people spontaneously gathering on the streets to welcome the triumphant army. If we don’t take a longer route, too many people will gather in those streets, and there may be trouble…”
Zhu Yunjing looked at the Minister of Rites in front of him and felt dissatisfied. It was unknown to him who made this process. There’s too much obviousness to please He Huailing. He had never liked this group of people in the Ministry of Rites, who had just been drinking and eating for years. Now he didn’t want to give them a good face, and said coldly: “Don’t take a longer route. Change all parts of the process that go beyond limits. You know what Gu is talking about? As for the other things, you have to find your own way. If something really happens, it is because you are incompetent!”
The Minister of Rites had a bitter face. This was a bit of an unreasonable request….
It seems that ZY will fall soon.
Thank you for the chapter.
😘
It’s like a calm before the storm…
Thank You for the chapter (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡