Chapter 19 - 2#

Finally, he pressed Yanzhi’s head with one hand and held a teacup with the other, pouring two cups of warm water into his mouth.

Yanzhi didn’t resist or struggle, and didn’t even speak. Even when choked by the water, he only had red eyes, turned his head, and took out a handkerchief to wipe his face and mouth.

Seeing that His Majesty’s hand also had water on it, he even wanted to wipe it for His Majesty too.

It wasn’t until then that Xiao Cuan sensed something wrong with the satisfaction of “Yanzhi becoming obedient.”

Something was wrong! Yanzhi shouldn’t be like this!

He wanted Yanzhi to be obedient, but not like a puppet!

After this incident, Xiao Cuan paid attention to Yanzhi, and the more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong, and the more he felt that Yanzhi was hiding something from him.

The more he looked, the more he felt that Yanzhi would disappear before his eyes in the next moment.

*

This morning, Xiao Cuan was reviewing memorials at the imperial desk.

Yanzhi sat beside him as usual, seriously grinding ink.

While grinding, Yanzhi propped his head up, and his gaze drifted outside the hall.

It was already late autumn now, and the birds in Liang City that were supposed to fly to the south to spend the winter had long since flown away in groups.

There were still one or two that had fallen behind for some reason, dawdling until today to depart.

The birds’ wings crossed the horizon. Watching them, Yanzhi couldn’t help but drift off.

Suddenly, a large palm fell on his head, making him turn his head back.

Xiao Cuan asked coldly: “What are you daydreaming about again?”

Yanzhi answered formally: “Replying to Your Majesty, my cold hasn’t recovered, so I drifted off. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Wrong! Still wrong!

Yanzhi shouldn’t talk like this!

Xiao Cuan frowned, only feeling irritable.

Yanzhi waited for a while, and seeing that His Majesty didn’t speak, he lowered his head and continued to grind ink.

It’s best if His Majesty doesn’t speak. He didn’t know what to say either.

But at this moment, Xiao Cuan said again: “You indeed haven’t recovered from your cold. You’ve been daydreaming these few days, and your work is also a step slow. Go take another pill and drink a capful of liquid medicine in a while.”

Yanzhi obediently agreed: “Yes.”

“Do you know where the medicine is placed? Do you know how to unscrew the cap?”

“Yes.”

“When the imperial physicians come later, don’t let them feel your pulse.”

“Yes.”

“When you are better—”

Xiao Cuan’s action of reviewing the memorial paused, and he didn’t say anything more.

Perhaps he didn’t even know himself what he wanted to take Yanzhi to do when Yanzhi’s sickness was better.

Yanzhi instinctively followed up: “Will you then castrate me?”

With a “clack,” Xiao Cuan slammed the vermilion brush in his hand onto the desk, turned his head suddenly, and looked at Yanzhi.

Yanzhi was startled by him, quickly straightened up, and sat upright.

He was about to apologize, but in the next moment, Xiao Cuan grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in front of him.

Hunting-like searching eyes scanned Yanzhi’s face, wanting to see even a hint of anything on his face.

Xiao Cuan would rather Yanzhi be doing it on purpose, still remembering what happened a while ago, intentionally holding a grudge, so he said such things to annoy him.

But no.

Yanzhi’s face was still Yanzhi’s face, only having become thinner because of being sick, and the flesh on his cheeks was also less.

His face turned pale with Xiao Cuan’s sudden action, but his eyes were still clear, without any impurities, looking at him in confusion.

He was following up on His Majesty’s words. Why was His Majesty angry?

—He wasn’t doing it on purpose; that was just what he thought!

Xiao Cuan questioned sternly: “When did I ever say I was going to castrate you again?”

“A few…” Yanzhi quietly counted on his fingers. “A few days ago.”

“Didn’t I already carry you out of the purification room? Why do you still want to go back?”

“But…” Yanzhi said in a small voice, “but Young Master Xie is still in the purification room. Your Majesty said that only one of us can be left…”

“Xie Yi?!” Xiao Cuan was immediately furious. “You’re still thinking about saving him? After so many days, he would have long since starved to death!”

Yanzhi explained in a small voice: “Three days wouldn’t starve someone to death.”

He had starved for five days in the purification room back then and didn’t die either.

Yanzhi had been thinking about Xie Yi these past few days, but afraid that His Majesty would be angry, he didn’t dare mention it.

His original plan was simple: let Xie Yi endure for a few days, wait until he was castrated, then plead with His Majesty.

In this way, he could succeed in one stroke and save him.

Yanzhi’s face was serious: “Your Majesty, Young Master Xie and I have no private feelings. It’s just that he was convicted because of me, dragged down by me, and I really feel guilty, so I…”

“He already went home long ago!”

“Really?” Yanzhi’s eyes lit up.

“He went home long ago.” Xiao Cuan took a deep breath and turned his head away. “I already had someone release him, on the day you woke up.”

“That’s great!” Yanzhi hearing this, immediately smiled and said sincerely, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

He didn’t doubt the truth of these words.

His Majesty wouldn’t lie, and His Majesty wouldn’t deign to lie.

No one suffered because of him, which was the best.

“You really want to be castrated that much?” Xiao Cuan looked at him with dark eyes. “You’ve been thinking about this these past few days?”

“I…” Yanzhi withdrew his joyful expression and said seriously, “Because Your Majesty always said so, therefore…”

Xiao Cuan’s face was gloomy, looking at him, seemingly at the edge of extreme displeasure.

Yanzhi thought for a moment and comforted him instead: “Actually, what Your Majesty said is also right. I am serving in the palace, and I still haven’t been castrated, which is indeed against the rules. Moreover…”

Moreover, when he was on the couch with His Majesty, he really didn’t exert any effort.

Even if he wanted to leave the palace in the future, he never thought of getting married and having children.

So, it’s fine to be castrated.

Just take it as…

“I won’t say it anymore.” Xiao Cuan suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts.

“Hmm?” Yanzhi raised his head, blinked his eyes, and looked at him in confusion. “What did Your Majesty say?”

His voice was too low, and he didn’t hear clearly.

Finally, under Yanzhi’s open and searching gaze, Xiao Cuan was defeated.

Xiao Cuan picked up Yanzhi, placed the much lighter Yanzhi on his lap, held him, rested his chin on his shoulder, picked up the brush, and continued to review the memorials.

His voice was still very low, as if coming from his chest.

—“I won’t say it anymore in the future.”

*

Actually, when His Majesty said it the first time, Yanzhi heard it.

His Majesty said that he wouldn’t say he would castrate him anymore in the future.

But Yanzhi didn’t believe it, nor did he want to joyfully thank him for the grace. That would make him look very stupid, as if he were easily tricked again.

So he pretended he didn’t hear and asked His Majesty on purpose.

His Majesty always talked about castrating him, and would frighten him every now and then.

After saying it for so many years, how could it be changed just like that?

Yanzhi didn’t dare take His Majesty’s promise seriously.

If he took it seriously, and then heard His Majesty say he would castrate him again later, he would be twice as sad.

As long as he didn’t take these words seriously, if His Majesty broke his promise in the future, he wouldn’t care.

So now, since Xie Yi had already safely returned home, he should also start planning to leave the palace.

Yanzhi wasn’t stupid.

Although he had the deed of manumission written by His Majesty himself in his hand, if he went to find His Majesty directly and begged His Majesty to let him leave the palace, His Majesty definitely wouldn’t agree and might even destroy the deed of manumission.

So, he had to think of a way to leave the palace both secretly from His Majesty and also openly and justly.

Just when Yanzhi was troubled, the “final interview” of the selection arrived—

*

The selection candidates had entered the palace a while ago.

But at that time, Xiao Cuan was angry because of Yanzhi and Xie Yi, and later he was furious because Yanzhi fell ill, so he couldn’t care about them at all.

Nearly a hundred sons and daughters of noble families, boys and girls, had lived in the palace for ten days or so.

It wasn’t until Xiao Cuan saw the account statistics of grain expenditure in the Daliang Palace and found that grain consumption had increased a lot that he remembered them.

This morning.

The cloudy days of several consecutive days finally dissipated, the sun rose, and shone upon the earth.

The doors of the Zhaoyang Hall were wide open.

According to the rules set by His Majesty, the selection candidates were to wait in the back hall. According to the order on the roster, they were to enter the hall in groups of five to be interviewed in turn.

Xiao Cuan sat on the high platform with his arms crossed, his scrutinizing gaze scanning their faces in turn.

Yanzhi sat beside His Majesty obediently, holding the organized roster.

Another group of boys left.

Xiao Cuan said flatly: “Cross out the name of the one surnamed Zhang.”

Yanzhi held a brush and drew a line: “Yes.”

“The one surnamed Yu, his talent has increased to seventy-three. Note it down.”

“Yes.”

Yanzhi didn’t know how His Majesty could see how much talent and martial arts these boys had, even down to the precise score.

But he didn’t dare ask more. His Majesty told him to note it, so he just noted it.

At this time, His Majesty said again: “Turn to the last page.”

“Okay.” Yanzhi did as told.

“Look at the last line.”

“Yes.”

“There’s an empty space there. Write your own name on it.”

Yanzhi raised his head and looked at His Majesty in confusion.

Xiao Cuan still had his arms crossed, looking at the open space in front of the hall, without changing his expression: “Write.”

“Yes.” Yanzhi held the brush and wrote his own name stroke by stroke at the end.

He wrote slowly, and Xiao Cuan became impatient while waiting, turning to look at him: “Just two characters, why has it taken so long?”

In the next moment, Xiao Cuan looked closely, sat up straight with a “thump,” and looked at him in disbelief.

“You idiot, what are you writing again?”

—Yanzhi’s family background, lowest grade.

—Yanzhi’s appearance, lowest grade.

—Yanzhi’s learning…

Yanzhi had just written the two characters for “learning” when he heard His Majesty calling him, so he stopped his brush and raised his head.

“I thought that since I have to write it anyway in a while, I’d just write it together to save from having to turn pages again, and also to prevent the ink from being wet and getting on the paper again.”

He still had that innocent and pitiful look, which was enough to make one angry.

Xiao Cuan snatched the roster from his hand, threw it out fiercely, and then grabbed his arm, pulling him up and striding down the jade steps.

“Go!”

Yanzhi followed behind him stumbling: “Your Majesty, where are we going?”

“Choosing five by five is too slow. Let’s go straight to the back hall to choose.”

“But…”

“Anyway, they are all ugly and worthless. I don’t like any of them anyway. In the end, what’s being chosen are your future masters. You choose!”

Xiao Cuan was clearly extremely angry, but he still forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart, dragging Yanzhi through the corridor, and kicking open the door of the back hall.

With a loud “clack”—

Everyone in the hall was terrified and shouted.

“Ah!”

“Who? Who is it?”

“What’s going on?!”

—“Shut up, all of you!”

Xiao Cuan roared, quieting the scene.

“All those for the selection, line up!”

The crowd hesitated for a moment, then the palace servants rushed in and arranged for them to stand properly.

“Quick, quick, this way, this way.”

“Your Majesty, wait a moment. It will be ready soon.”

Xiao Cuan didn’t pay any attention to them, but turned his head, looked at Yanzhi, cupped his face with both hands, and looked steadily into his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and emphasized in a low voice: “Yanzhi, I am holding the selection. This is the ‘final interview.’ The ‘final interview’ is the last interview, the very last interview.”

“After the ‘final interview’ is over, the Empress is decided, the Noble Consort is decided, the four consorts, and sixteen concubines are all decided.”

“Your future masters are also decided.”

His Majesty’s hand was too forceful, pinching Yanzhi’s face so much that he pouted his mouth, almost pinching him into a little goldfish.

Yanzhi stood on tiptoe to meet His Majesty’s gaze, also looking into His Majesty’s eyes.

He nodded and answered: “I know.”

On the day the army returned to the city, on the city tower, he knew.

On the day he organized the roster, in the Taiji Hall, he knew.

On the day he welcomed the selection candidates, in the purification room, he knew.

He had long since known.

“Then why are you…” Xiao Cuan paused and pulled him closer, “not crying anymore?”

Last night, Yanzhi held a pillow, turned his back to him, faced the wall of the curtains, and slept very soundly.