After taking Wen Jiao out, Bai He, with a stern face, brought him directly to her own room.
As the head steward, she held a prestigious position in the palace and lived in a single room.
“Speak up, what’s the matter?”
Wen Jiao was stunned by the slap, dare not to act spoiled, just nodded with red eyes, “Auntie, I know I was wrong.”
Bai He sat in her place, holding a cup of tea, silent, secretly observing the person in front of her.
It had to be said that this young eunuch was exceptionally good-looking, standing out even in the lush Chu Kingdom’s palace.
But was the emperor such a shallow person?
Others might not know, but she was clear. Although praised as “dazzling and precious,” the emperor was very disgusted with his own appearance. If he could be seduced just by appearance, the Queen Mother wouldn’t have to arrange so many things over the years.
“I don’t blame you.” Bai He cleared her throat with a sip of tea, then smiled, her expression gentle, as if the slap in the bath was nothing.
She waved to bring Wen Jiao closer. “Your name is Wen Jiao, right? Good child, where did you work before?”
Wen Jiao’s face still stung, dumbly pulled over. “I-I worked in the laundry bureau.”
Bai He nodded, gently taking Wen Jiao’s hand, looking at the frostbite on the pampered hand, sighed, and asked with concern, “With such delicate skin, how could you do such rough work? I’ll give you some ointment later to apply. Don’t delay.” Then she asked, “Is today your first time meeting the emperor?”
Wen Jiao felt his hands were very cold and spoke with difficulty, “Um.”
Bai He smiled, “Then you’re lucky. The last one who dared to behave improperly in front of the emperor was beaten to death with a stick.”
Wen Jiao turned pale, swallowing his fear.
Bai He looked at him indifferently, calculating in her mind. This was someone who could be seen through at a glance, probably a fallen noble from some small country, pampered, unable to endure hardship, lacking in courage to climb up, and not very intelligent.
Bai He asked, “Do you like the emperor?”
Wen Jiao was confused, shrinking his body.
Bai He said softly, “Don’t be afraid. The fact that the emperor didn’t kill you today means you’ve caught his eye. Who in the palace doesn’t want the emperor’s favor? Be good, tell me, and I’ll help you.”
—Tell me, and I’ll help you.
Wen Jiao clenched his other hand tightly around his sleeve, feeling bewildered as if he had been hit by good news and didn’t know what to do. He had gathered the courage today to approach the Emperor of Chu, only to almost lose his life in the process. Thinking of this, he felt wronged again, feeling that his luck was really bad, and everyone was against him. He couldn’t help but sniffle.
Bai He suppressed her impatience.
Wen Jiao’s nose was red, and it took him a while to raise his head. The mole between his eyebrows exuded a captivating glow as he said softly, feeling wronged, “Um, I, I like the emperor.” Only by getting close to Emperor Chu and pleasing him could he live a good life in the Chu Kingdom’s palace.
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.
Bai He smiled gradually, “It’s good that you said it. Liking the emperor is a good thing. But accompanying the king is like accompanying a tiger. Although the emperor’s temperament is unpredictable, and he treats you differently from others, you still need to be careful at all times not to upset him.”
Qfc Aljb kjr ja j ibrr, “Fw.”
Djl Lf mbcalcefv, “Po sbe kjca ab klc atf fwqfgbg’r ojnbg, sbe wera olgra ecvfgrajcv tlw.”
Djl Lf atbeuta ab tlwrfio atja qfgtjqr atf fwqfgbg tjv cfnfg fcmbecafgfv rbwfbcf rb obbilrt yfobgf, jcv obecv la jwerlcu obg j wbwfca. Lbkfnfg, meglbrlas kjr atf yfulcclcu bo jii fwbalbcr jcv vfrlgfr. Dflcu jyif ab mjamt atf fwqfgbg’r jaafcalbc, fnfc ys yflcu obbilrt, kjr jc jvnjcajuf.
“Come, sit here. I’ll tell you about the emperor.”
…
Late at night, in the imperial bedroom.
Xia Qing, in his soul form, was helping Lou Guan Xue with the memorials. For the past half month, while Lou Guan Xue was in Zhai Xing Lou, the Regent and the Queen Mother had been jointly handling state affairs.
“You’re already a puppet emperor, why bother reviewing memorials? Will they still grant you power?”
Lou Guan Xue had just come out of the bath, wearing a pristine white snow robe, with moisture still lingering in his hair. He chuckled lightly, “Take a closer look.”
“Hmm?” Xia Qing obediently examined the stack of memorials carefully and immediately noticed something amiss. The documents were all sent by the Regent and mostly contained nonsense. They were either flattering praises from officials or trivial matters.
Xia Qing took down the memorials in his hand and curiously asked, “How do you usually review these memorials?”
Lou Guan Xue replied, “I don’t.”
“…,” Xia Qing was perplexed and took a while to find his voice again, muttering, “So this is what it’s like to be an emperor? With or without hands, it doesn’t matter. Love it, love it.”
Lou Guan Xue casually flipped open a book, ignoring his sarcastic remark, and said with lowered eyes, “If you’re free, you can review them one by one.”
Xia Qing glanced at him and took a pen, “Oh, then I’m really free.”
He recognized the characters of this era but didn’t know how to write them. Even if he could, his handwriting would differ from Lou Guan Xue’s. So Xia Qing simply took a red pen and began to circle and mark various parts of the classical Chinese text like a Chinese teacher – circling “alternative characters,” marking various pronouns, adverbs, and auxiliary words, and even identifying inverted sentence structures in classical style! He was truly a genius!
“I’m done.” Xia Qing handed the memorials to Lou Guan Xue.
In the dim candlelight, the young emperor propped up his chin, appearing quite courteous. He quickly glanced at them and then averted his gaze, saying, “Um, thank you.”
Curiously, Xia Qing asked, “Don’t you have anything you want to say?”
Lou Guan Xue thought for a moment and replied calmly, “There’s nothing I want to say.”
Xia Qing: “…”
Lou Guan Xue, with long eyelashes and a dust-free demeanor, added, “But you better keep them for yourself. When the writers of these memorials face consequences, your merits will also be diminished.”
Xia Qing: “???”
Is he bearing the burden of someone’s life now???
Xia Qing’s hazel eyes narrowed slightly, and he awkwardly said, “It can’t be that extreme.”
Lou Guan Xue’s smile was enigmatic, “He might think I’m targeting him. Instead of being tormented by my disdain to the point of wishing for death, it’s better to commit suicide.”
Xia Qing dryly said, “Well, your reputation is indeed very bad.”
Xia Qing felt somewhat intimidated by the constant willingness of the people of Chu to seek death. He withdrew his “focus on classical Chinese” and, after a brief pause, immersed himself in hard work once again.
Originally, he was just looking for something to do out of boredom, wanting to indulge in the “as long as there are hands” mentality of the emperor. As for the subsequent memorials, he meticulously checked them with a red pen, marking them as read.
One of the memorials unexpectedly praised Lou Guan Xue, leaving Xia Qing momentarily dumbfounded. However, he keenly caught onto a particular word.
“Is ‘Ling Guang Pearl and Jade’ referring to you?” Xia Qing asked.
Lou Guan Xue lowered his arm, his eyes carrying a hint of lazy fatigue as he glanced indifferently at him, saying nothing.
Xia Qing finally felt comfortable and smiled kindly, “It’s a beautiful name, like precious jewels, captivating and enchanting. Your Majesty truly deserves to be called a peerless beauty.”
Lou Guan Xue remained expressionless for a moment before slowly smiling as well, his expression innocent and clear as he softly asked, “Do you like it?”
Xia Qing: “?”
Lou Guan Xue leaned forward, his hand propped on the table.
The pristine white robe revealed delicate collarbones, his black hair with a hint of moisture, resembling a captivating demon. He whispered in a hoarse voice, “If you like it, would you like to take a closer look at what ‘Ling Guang Pearl and Jade’ looks like?”
Lowering his voice, he spoke gently with a smile, as if there were indescribable hooks luring into one’s heart.
Xia Qing: “…”
What the hell are you trying to seduce me with in the middle of the night?!
Xia Qing stared at him as if he had seen a ghost.
“Don’t be like this,” Xia Qing tried to reason. “We still have to cooperate for half a year, so it’s not good to have a falling out.”
Lou Guan Xue cast a cold glance at him, silent.
Xia Qing plucked up his courage and spoke honestly, “I just thought it sounded nice, nothing else.”
Lou Guan Xue replied with a simple “Oh”. He returned the book to its original position, his expression cold and weary, and then walked towards the bed. After leaving the Zhai Xing Lou, Lou Guan Xue felt the increasing sense of exhaustion between his brows.
Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief and continued to read the memorials behind him. He asked, “Will you attend the morning court tomorrow?”
Lou Guan Xue’s eyelashes trembled slightly. “No need. After leaving the Zhai Xing Lou, I have three days of rest. Tomorrow, I will go to meet Yan Lan Yu.”
“Okay,” Xia Qing replied.
Lou Guan Xue went to sleep, but Xia Qing didn’t stop studying.
In fact, handling the memorials was also to facilitate his understanding of the people and events around him. Although Lou Guan Xue seemed to have a good temper when he wasn’t losing his mind, answering questions readily, the content of his responses was often vague and perfunctory. It was better to figure things out on his own.
He always adhered to one principle: if he promised something to someone, he would do it well.
Xia Qing was originally feeling drowsy, but when he flipped to the last memorial, he suddenly became wide awake.
Unlike the previous ones, this one was an accusation from a court official against the the Regent.
The court official indignantly accused the the Regent of indulging his son excessively, allowing his son to act arrogantly and lawlessly within Ling Guang City.
Xia Qing read it carefully and summarized.
It was probably a scandal caused by a courtesan from a brothel.
The Regent had a son named Yan Mu, who was sixteen years old and notorious for his tyranny within Ling Guang City. He was arrogant and domineering, and no one dared to provoke him.
This time, the court official dared to report him, probably because he wanted to please the Wei family. Because this time, Yan Mu had clashed with another difficult character, Wei Liu Guang, the sixth son of the Wei family.
Wei Liu Guang was also a famous playboy in Ling Guang, known for his love of indulgence and extravagance. He was highly favored by the Duke of Wei. Some time ago, he had spent a fortune to buy the top courtesan newly listed in the Feng Yue Tower. Unexpectedly, before he could even touch her, he was intercepted halfway by the impulsive Yan Mu.
The two of them fought over a woman at the Feng Yue Tower, almost destroying the venue.
After the brawl, neither Yan Mu nor Wei Liu Guang benefited, and the situation remained unresolved.
Xia Qing was puzzled.
What did the Regent mean by presenting this memorial to Lou Guan Xue?
It was obvious that Yan Mu was at fault in this matter.
However, it was quite disgraceful for the scions of noble families to cause such a commotion over a courtesan. It was unclear how the Wei and Yan families would handle it.
Yawning, Xia Qing was now curious about the courtesan. Wei Liu Guang was known in Ling Guang for his discerning taste, and while Yan Mu was arrogant, he wasn’t foolish enough to pick a fight with the Wei family for no reason. It was as if he had gone mad. What kind of beauty was this courtesan?
He didn’t respond to this memorial.
Feeling too tired, Xia Qing was about to doze off on the table, but when his gaze fell on the book Lou Guan Xue had just read, he suddenly woke up.
“Peng Lai”
—Well, look at that! I’m here pulling an all-nighter to handle memorials for you, and you’re off reading idle chatter?!
Maybe I have missed it somewhere, but how is Xia Qing able to touch physical things since he is a ghost?
He just can’t touch living beings. As mentioned from beginning , he could read books himself
Something tells me that Peng Lai book is a spring book but who knows 😂 xia qing is such a cutie, but wasn’t the term Ling Guang Pearl and Jade derogatory (someone who’s loose) as mentioned in the previous few chapters? 🤔 Guess xia qing didn’t know the exact meaning behind it ><
Mentioned in ch9: Ling Guang Pearl and Jade: A remarkable beauty in Ling Guang city. He is a “the Radiant Pearl and Exquisite Jade”, exuded an alluring charm that was both bewitching and delicate
Hm, they are have a really chaotic energy together
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
If our Jade Fairy liked to fight the MC would be a real ghost by now! 😂