“Your Royal Highness, this harms your health…” (Part Two)
Translation Checker: jellypeaches
Editor: jellypeaches, Special_K,
When they returned to the compound, the imperial physician was already waiting in the main hall to give treatment to Lin Bozhou’s eyes.
The treatment was no more than acupuncture and drinking medicine every day.
Physician Zhou looked solemn, quietly waiting for Lin Bozhou, who by nature was not very keen on it, to cooperate with the treatment. Lin Bozhou’s attitude towards treatment was usually lazy, and even occasionally rebellious.
However, today, when Lin Bozhou arrived, there was a small smile on his lips. Poking out from behind him was his charming little wife.
It was probably because Meng Huan had kissed Lin Bozhou on the carriage that he was in such a happy mood right now. After sitting down, You Jin helped the man remove his white gauze.
Meng Huan watched from the side, anxiously eyeing the fine needles, and each time one was inserted, he asked, “Does it hurt?”
“Any pain?”
“It must hurt, right?”
“Ouch…”
Meng Huan looked beautiful even when suffering the pangs of illness, grieving and lamenting.
Physician Zhou could hardly hold the needles steady, biting back the urge to say “Can busybodies leave while this miracle doctor is giving treatment?” He controlled his urge to scold and finally finished using up all the silver needles.
Each treatment lasted about an hour. After treatment, as the physician prepared to leave, he asked, “Can Your Royal Highness see shadows?”
Lin Bozhou replied, “No.”
Physician Zhou stroked his beard. “This subject understands. Your Royal Highness, please take the medicine as usual.” After that, he left.
Seeing that he didn’t give a clear explanation, Meng Huan asked, “How many more days?”
Lin Bozhou washed his hands and, with a drop of water on his fingertips, calmly said, “Sometimes it will be one to two days, sometimes three to five, and sometimes it will be a dozen. It’s unclear.”
Meng Huan sighed.
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.
He felt that if this continued, it would delay matters.
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In the past, when Lin Bozhou’s eye illness recurred, the atmosphere in the compound would be still and suffocating. Everyone would be afraid of inadvertently upsetting Lin Bozhou, who would lash out from annoyance. Now, they heard Lin Bozhou say instead, “Anyone with nothing to do should go for a stroll.”
It was meant to give everyone in the compound a break. Usually it was something they would only hear during the Spring Festival.
By the lotus pond, with a gentle breeze blowing, Meng Huan lowered his head and dipped his brush into the ink. After finishing writing the words he needed to memorize today, Shan Shu also withdrew his brush and ink.
Then came an enthusiastic voice, “Greeting Your Royal Highness, and Royal Consort.”
Meng Huan looked up and saw a handsome man with a pair of relaxed and affectionate eyes. With a smile, he looked down at the words he wrote and asked, “What did the Royal Consort learn today?”
Having been caught off guard, Meng Huan recognized this man as Shen Qingyu, the son of the Minister of Revenue, who he met before.
Coming in like an old acquaintance, and before Meng Huan could answer, the man blurted first, “Thousand Character Classic? The Royal Consort is still not finished with this? Hahaha, if I remember correctly, with how smart His Royal Highness was, he was able to recite this from memory at the age of four. Hahaha, does His Royal Highness have to learn along with you now? That is great. I have to say that His Royal Highness should also experience the hardships of ordinary people, we just have to trouble our Royal Consort.”
Meng Huan: “…”
In the original book, this person has a great relationship with Lin Bozhou. With a witty and affable personality, he could easily get close to people with his lack of reserve and was also liked by people in return.
Meng Huan covered his writing paper, turned to Lin Bozhou and complained, “Is he calling me stupid?”
Lin Bozhou paused and said with a smile, “Shen Er could not solve the problem given by the teacher at the Qinglu Academy. Instead, he doodled pretty women on his paper. This was also spread very widely, so do not make fun of my helpmate.”
Helpmate, it was the old way of saying wife.
Meng Huan glanced at him as his ears turned red.
Shen Qingyu showed a pitiful face. “His Royal Highness attacked me. At home, I get scolded by my wife, and out here, I get scolded by His Royal Highness. Neither outsider or insider is nice to me.”
Lin Bozhou ignored the pity the other man was selling. “Did your father send you here?”
“That he did.” Shen Qingyu surveyed around and said, not at all serious, “Your Royal Highness sure likes to get to the point, like where is the foreplay? How dull. I wonder if the Royal Consort has ever scolded you for being boring—”
Chen An coughed as his old face blushed slightly.
Meng Huan understood what the man was hinting as his eyes widened slightly, showing a very complicated expression.
Lin Bozhou lowered his gaze. “Be less vulgar in your words.”
“…” Shen Qingyu smiled and nodded. “My father asked me to ask about the distribution of funds.”
Lin Bozhou stayed seated, but with his back against his seat obviously straightening. “What do you mean?”
“My father said this is quite urgent,” Shen Qingyu took a sip of tea before continuing, “Each faction heard of the surplus from the salt tax that was brought back to the treasury. Following the smell of wealth, they came to apply for more funds one after another. One moment Henan Province requests funds against drought, another moment Anhui Province requests funds for flood damage, then the next moment His Majesty demands funds to build his mausoleum. Not to mention the funds needed to pay the soldiers and manage the navy. The imperial family also wants money, and the salaries owed to various civil and military officials need to be paid. My father intends to spend this money quickly and towards critical issues, so everyone stops asking.”
Originally, Meng Huan wanted to leave, but Lin Bozhou did not indicate for him to do so. In the end, he could not resist staying, and pricked up his ears, trying to understand as he watched the bustling conversation between the two.
Lin Bozhou spoke calmly, “What did Senior Cui and Minister Chen say?”
“Senior Cui wants the funds to be allocated to critical issues first, such as His Majesty’s mausoleum, military pay, and handling of the navy. Border disputes still happen from time to time, and the Japanese pirates have only just subsided, so we still have to be on guard. Minister Chen argues to appease the commoners first and give the money to the disaster stricken areas. The people of Henan and Anhui are starving, and if pressed further, there will be chaos.”
Meng Huan looked to the left and then looked to the right, only somewhat understanding.
“What does His Majesty say?”
“His Majesty wants to build a mausoleum and a Weiqi palace to honor the masters from the previous dynasties to the present. He said he would move to the Weiqi palace to eat and sleep in the future.” Shen Qingyu was dead serious.
Lin Bozhou frowned, and he breathed much heavier out of his lips. Without stating his opinion, he asked, “What does your father say?”
Shen Qingyu said, “My father thinks that we should allocate funds across the board and inspect their use. The people must be pacified, and if something happens, no one would be able to handle it. Pay the officials with long overdue pay. The other ones can wait a little longer. As for the army, the most urgent thing now is Liaodong; the funds must be sent. As for His Majesty’s mausoleum, he is still young in age, so there is no rush…”
Lin Bozhou finally nodded and said, “Your father is loyal to the country.”
Shen Qingyu chuckled. “But what my father says does not count. Although he manages the money, the suggested rescripts could only be drafted by the cabinet and Supervisor of Ceremony, all under Senior Cui, Minister Chen, and Your Royal Highness’s power.”
Meng Huan looked from left and right again, trying to understand more clearly.
Lin Bozhou spoke further, “Your father does not want to allocate the funds to His Majesty, and wants this Regent to play the villain again?”
Shen Qingyu kept smiling and said, “If Your Royal Highness does not play the villain, no one dares to play the role. We all know that His Majesty will listen to Your Royal Highness’s words and no one else’s.”
Lin Bozhou entered a rare moment of silence.
The Xuanhe Emperor is a child who likes whoever gives him what he wants.
For example, right now he wants a mausoleum and a Weiqi palace, so the two ministers, despite being aware of the financial constraints and dire straits of the people, did not forget to leave a small amount for the Xuanhe Emperor, in order to enter the Emperor’s good graces.
But if they said they would not give money to the Xuanhe Emperor, the Emperor would definitely be angry. To lose the ruler’s heart and then one’s head could happen in a flash of thought.
“Mmm.” Lin Bozhou said, “Tomorrow, this Regent will go to the palace and ask His Majesty’s opinion.”
“That is very kind of you.” Shen Qingyu said, able to get his father’s words to the right place. He picked up a cup of tea and took a sip, noticing the frowning Meng Huan, who was lost in thought.
He smiled and asked, “Royal Consort, how do you think the funds should be allocated?”
“…”
Meng Huan did not expect the topic to be directed at him.
“Ah? Are you asking me?”
Meng Huan glanced unconsciously at Lin Bozhou, as if he had suddenly been called out in class. Looking at a loss and without the time to think, he said hesitantly, “The large portion of it should be given to the people?”
“That is right.”
Shen Qingyu smiled in approval, though there seemed to be some bitterness within the smile.
“See, even the Royal Consort understands this logic, but there are people in the court who clearly don’t.”
The lotus pond was surrounded by a gentle breeze as the voices went silent unknowingly.
Then your court…is not doing a great job.
Meng Huan complained on the inside, but didn’t say it out loud.
He knew it was time for Lin Bozhou to speak, so he turned his head again.
Lin Bozhou looked dignified as he brought something up, “About the military funds for Liaodong, Commander Mao Chengchang has been asking for it year after year. He has never said anything before when the pay was not issued, so what is the urgency this year?”
Shen Qingyun stared, feeling puzzled for a moment. “This was from Senior Cui. He thinks that it’s several years overdue and if funds are not issued to Liaodong, the military armament will become ineffective from neglect. Previously, there have been several scattered Jurchen who have not submitted to the allegiance, invading southward from time to time and causing endless annoyance. If we were to cripple the military force there and conflict started on the north-eastern border, we would have to fear a repeat of the disgrace when the capital was overrun by the Jurchen.”
Jurchen, military forces, border conflict.
Although Meng Huan was struggling to keep up with this, he managed to catch a few key words. They were talking about Jurchen.
—That was the tribe Echul was from.
Lin Bozhou’s look was chilling as he sneered, “The accounts book Mao Chengchang has handed to the capital every year stated that the border defense is stable and the army forces sufficient, and for His Majesty not to worry. ‘The barbarians do not dare to rush to the south to herd livestock, their warriors do not dare to draw their bows and arrows to take revenge’, so what changed this year for him to suddenly bewail his poverty?”
Shen Qingyu scratched his head and continued to look puzzled. “I got nothing.”
Lin Bozhou put down his teacup.
And said only one word, “Concealment.”
I love the part of Meng Huan’s personality and his relationship with Lin Bozhou that allows him to both cover up his school work and ask Lin Bozhou if he’s being insulted, right in front of this person Lin Bozhou calls “Shen Er.”
Wow, real game started
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
I love how complimentary their characters are… I’ve read a couple of other novels where there is a big gap in intelligence/knowledge between the pair of lovers but this gets the balance nicest I think. Lin Bozhou never patronizes MH
Lin Bozhou is such a green flag 🤧
Hmmm (∩⌣̀_⌣́)
Thank You for the new chapter (｢･ω･)｢♥
Thanks for the chapter