Chapter 140#

The Frail and Sickly Powerful Minister#

The moonlight was as cool as water.

A slight, cool night breeze stirred the leaves in the garden with a rustling sound, and the occasional chirp of an insect came from the grass. The young man in black robes leaned against a pavilion pillar with his eyes closed, his pale and weary face appearing as delicate as white porcelain under the moonlight, carrying a fragile beauty.

Jing Ji, who was resting his head on the man’s lap, looked up and saw this scene. He subconsciously reached out, grabbed the young man’s thin wrist firmly in his palm, and asked as if nothing were wrong, “Earlier, when I sent the imperial physician to your residence, why didn’t you let him take a look?”

“There’s nothing to see; it’s all just old ailments.”

Lin Xiaodong’s answer remained unchanged. He calmly opened his eyes, looked down at Jing Ji, reached out, and brushed away a blade of grass from his hair with careful and gentle movements.

“Your Majesty has grown up,” he said in a sighing tone.

But Jing Ji frowned with some dissatisfaction: “I haven’t been a child for a long time.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Lin Xiaodong replied perfunctorily.

Among those who dared to speak to the current Emperor with such an attitude, only Lin Dongqing had the courage.

Jing Ji thought to himself, and his tightened brows unconsciously relaxed.

After all, didn’t Lin Xiaodong’s attitude precisely prove that his position in his teacher’s heart was different?

He was quiet for a moment, but in the end, he couldn’t hold back and asked tentatively, “It’s been so many years, why has Teacher never married? Could it be that your heart already belongs to someone?”

A corner of Lin Xiaodong’s lips unconsciously curved upwards: “Yes.”

Jing Ji choked. He truly hadn’t expected to get an affirmative answer. Clearly, the spies planted in the Lin residence had always… The young Emperor’s eyes grew cold, but he still asked in an nonchalant tone, “Oh? I wonder which fair lady it is? Perhaps I can even act as a matchmaker for you.”

The smile in the depths of Lin Xiaodong’s eyes deepened, but no matter how much Jing Ji pressed, he refused to say another word.

“Teacher, you can’t be like this! This is the crime of deceiving the sovereign!”

Jing Ji’s eyes widened, complaining with dissatisfaction like a child who didn’t get any candy.

The lap pillow he had been longing for no longer seemed sweet. Jing Ji now only wanted to quickly find out who that woman was. If she wasn’t married, he’d hurry and marry her off to someone else. If she was already married, he’d arrange for her husband to leave the capital—in short, the further from Lin Xiaodong, the better!

But Lin Xiaodong saw through Jing Ji’s bluster at a glance. He let the other person make a fuss and leaned lazily against the pillar, looking completely unmoved: “Your Majesty, I admit my guilt.”

Yet, he didn’t mention even a single word about who his beloved was.

Jing Ji was so frustrated he could only close his eyes tightly, pretending to be asleep, and turned his head away to ignore him.

Part of it was genuine anger, and the other half was, of course, an act.

The young Emperor closed his eyes, and for a moment, countless dark thoughts flashed through his mind. He even used the intelligence gathered by his spies to calmly judge which major family in the capital was most likely to connect with the Minister of Personnel through marriage, and what impact a potential alliance between the two parties would have on his own position.

If possible, he really… didn’t want to have a falling out with his teacher that was too ugly to fix.

While Jing Ji was thinking rapidly, a cold hand covered his eyes.

“Your Majesty,” Lin Xiaodong said softly, “sleep. You haven’t had a good rest for a long time.”

In the darkness, Jing Ji blinked. Although he knew this was likely just superficial comfort, a taut string in his mind slowly relaxed.

He didn’t move, just maintained this position and relaxed his body. After a while, he actually did fall asleep.

Hearing the breathing become gradual and even, Lin Xiaodong finally lowered his hand.

Busy with court affairs during the day and meeting the Emperor in the palace at night, if it weren’t for Physician Nian’s life-sustaining medicine, this body would have collapsed long ago. The young man suppressed the itch coming from deep in his throat and asked Chief Eunuch You, who was standing guard outside the pavilion, for a cloak.

“Lord Lin, here.”

The little eunuch who used to follow Jing Ji around in fear had long since become the Chief Eunuch of the palace, someone whom even court officials had to show respect to. However, You Shu still maintained his respectful attitude toward Lin Dongqing from the beginning and even advised in a low voice, “The chill in the garden is heavy at night, Lord Lin. I brought one for you as well.”

Lin Xiaodong glanced at him. You Shu kept his head down respectfully, not meeting his eyes.

After a long pause, he smiled faintly: “There’s no need for me.”

“Yes.”

Seeing this, You Shu didn’t continue to persuade him. He simply stepped back outside the pavilion again, holding a wind lantern in his hand, standing motionless in the night like a stone statue.

Lin Xiaodong looked at his back, thinking that this little eunuch under Jing Ji’s command was indeed a clever person. He just didn’t know what his character was like and if he would turn on his master in the future.

In recent years, his informants in the palace had been lost or lost contact by more than half due to various “accidents.” He estimated that most of them were the handiwork of this unremarkable-looking eunuch in front of him.

As Lin Xiaodong thought, he yawned. He was also a bit sleepy, and his legs were a bit numb. But whether out of a subject’s duty or personal feelings, Lin Xiaodong hoped Jing Ji could have a good night’s sleep.

So he could only lean drowsily against the pillar, waiting for dawn.

However, just as Lin Xiaodong’s consciousness was about to sink into darkness, a hand brushed against his cheek.

He woke up with a start: “Who—”

“Shh,” the person said in a low voice, staring at him with an extremely suppressed and deep gaze, “It’s me.”

Lin Xiaodong’s eyes widened slightly. His back was against the railing, trapped in a corner in a state of complete suppression, like prey caught in a spider’s web with nowhere to escape. He stared fixedly at the domineering young Emperor in front of him. Although the appearance was identical, those eyes, as black as night, gave off a completely different sense of pressure.

After a few breaths, the young man’s tense body gradually relaxed, and a smile unconsciously touched his lips.

“Too slow,” he complained, but there wasn’t much blame in his tone.

“…Sorry.”

Clearly, it was the amnesia caused by the spiritual energy shock after Lin Xiaodong recovered his memories, but Gu Xi didn’t mention a single word about it. His memory was still stuck at the end of the previous life, so his aura seemed somewhat chaotic, like a beast driven to its limit with no way to retreat. His eyes were fixed on Lin Xiaodong, as if to brand the other person’s appearance deep into his pupils.

Lin Xiaodong could feel that Gu Xi’s current state wasn’t quite right. He had been trying to stimulate the boy with spiritual energy before, but after Jing Ji fell seriously ill, he didn’t dare do it anymore. Now that Gu Xi was back, he still sensed a feeling of incongruity, as if a soul had been split into two halves and had not yet fully merged.

“Who exactly are you…” The young man opened his mouth, wanting to ask clearly, but Gu Xi seemed finally unable to endure it and directly pressed the back of his head, kissing him fiercely.

“唔……等……”

This kiss was so violent it was almost like biting. Lin Xiaodong couldn’t help but struggle in pain, but he was unhesitatingly suppressed by Gu Xi, who was still stuck in the concept of “killing his lover with his own hands.” Immense fear kept his sanity on the brink of madness; he could only use this method to confirm the presence of the person in his arms. His tightening arms seemed to want to melt the young man into his own blood and bone, holding Lin Xiaodong so tightly he could almost not breathe.

You Shu, with his back to the pavilion, heard the faint sounds of moisture and intermittent low moans from behind him. His face turned pale, his body stiffened, and the wind lantern in his hand almost hit the ground.

The Emperor and Lord Lin, actually… actually…

But You Shu remembered the unusual attention and unique attitude Jing Ji showed toward Lin Xiaodong on a daily basis. That was not something that could be simply summarized as “favoring a subject.” He then felt it was somewhat expected.

He couldn’t hear the conversation between Lin Xiaodong and Gu Xi from where he stood, only able to judge their relationship based on some vague phrases.

“Don’t worry about… kill…”

“The last life, I don’t want to…”

“He’s also you, cough cough… I can’t bring myself to do it.”

But these whispering voices lasted for only about fifteen minutes before becoming quiet.

Then, Lin Xiaodong’s low coughing sounded behind him: “Chief You, please send His Majesty back to his bedchamber.”

You Shu turned around abruptly and saw the young man wrapped in a cloak standing behind him. His long hair was slightly messy, draped over his shoulders, but the cloak ties at his neck were properly tied. A faint blush appeared on his pale cheeks, and even at night, one could see that his lip color was excessively red, as if he had just been brutally ravaged, still shimmering with a faint glint of moisture.

Probably noticing You Shu’s gaze, Lin Xiaodong coughed uncomfortably, turned his head away, and gave a low instruction: “Don’t mention what happened tonight to His Majesty,” then quickly departed.

You Shu still didn’t quite understand. What did “don’t mention it to His Majesty” mean?

Could it be that the person who was with Lord Lin just now… wasn’t the Emperor?!

He looked at the young Emperor lying unconscious in the pavilion, and suddenly, he gasped as a terrifying thought occurred to him.

Although he hadn’t slept all night, You Shu didn’t feel sleepy at all. He waited anxiously until dawn, and after Jing Ji woke up rubbing his temples, he reported cautiously: “Your Majesty, Lord Lin has already returned to his residence.”

“Is that so… hiss.” Jing Ji suddenly covered his lip where the skin was broken, frowning. He thought to himself, I just slept for a bit, how did a wound appear on my lip?

But he didn’t care much and just turned his gaze toward You Shu, who had his head lowered: “Did Teacher say anything before he left?”

You Shu hesitated for a moment. Although he was a staunch royalist, for some reason, he still followed Lin Dongqing’s words in this matter: “No.”

This was the imperial palace gardens; after all, it was impossible for someone to sneak in, let alone in front of the Emperor.

So, surely Lord Lin and the Emperor had a lover’s spat?

He had heard that Lord Lin used to be on the battlefield—although only as a strategist, he surely knew some martial arts.

Getting knocked out halfway through a kiss was indeed quite embarrassing.

You Shu served Jing Ji as he changed clothes with a sympathetic gaze, causing the young Emperor a burst of inexplicable dread.

Lin Residence.

“My Lord, you didn’t rest much last night. Are you still going to court today?”

Xie Chen asked with concern while tying Lin Xiaodong’s robe: “Government affairs can never be finished. You must also pay more attention to your health.”

Lin Xiaodong gave an “En” but didn’t take Xie Chen’s words to heart.

He was still thinking about what Gu Xi had told him last night. Two dominant consciousnesses appearing in one body shouldn’t happen, but fortunately, it wasn’t some two-souls-in-one-body situation; it hadn’t reached the worst case.

To put it simply, it was more like a temporary split personality caused by a shock. As soon as Gu Xi’s consciousness returned to headquarters, this problem could be solved. In this world, Jing Ji still held the dominant position. Unless Jing Ji was asleep or in a subconscious state like before, Gu Xi wouldn’t be able to appear.

“Don’t be too good to him,” Gu Xi had seriously warned Lin Xiaodong last night, harboring a jealous mentality of “if I can’t have it, don’t even think about it.” “I know best what kind of person ‘I’ am. This little wolf pup has had his eyes on you for a long time.”

Lin Xiaodong: “…Is there anyone who pits themselves like this?”

He felt like laughing. Forget “little wolf pup,” Gu Xi, this big bad wolf, had long since devoured him whole, and he still had the nerve to say that?

But undeniably, Gu Xi’s return did make him feel at ease. Therefore, Lin Xiaodong did not take a hardline stance demanding Jing Ji send troops at court as he had before, which made the young Emperor sitting on the dragon throne breathe a long sigh of relief.

It seemed that the heart-to-heart talk last night was useful.

But Lin Xiaodong wasn’t the only one in the pro-war faction at court. After he remained silent, another person soon stood up.

“Your Majesty, I have something to say!”

Jing Ji narrowed his eyes and glanced at the person; it was a familiar face.

Guo Xinwen, a Reader of the Hanlin Academy.

Because Guo Xinwen had persistently opposed Lin Dongqing in court over the years, Jing Ji had also remembered this person’s name. He was able to leap from a minor sixth-rank Editor to a fourth-rank Reader in just a few years also because of Jing Ji’s secret support.

Guo Xinwen was a loyal subject, but he had a fiery temper and was upright and unyielding. Although Jing Ji liked his loyalty, he was always troubled by this man’s overly blunt and greenhorn personality, to the point that his head would start to ache as soon as he heard him offer advice.

He hadn’t intended to let Guo Xinwen speak, but after noticing Lin Xiaodong lowering his eyes and saying nothing, looking as if he were minding his own business, Jing Ji felt a stir in his heart and nodded: “Speak.”

“Your Majesty, it’s currently early spring. If we don’t collect grain and fodder now, by the time the grass is lush and the horses are fat in the Northern Frontier, it will be too late!”

Guo Xinwen spoke with conviction and sincerity, analyzing the situation in the Northern Frontier from various aspects like timing, geography, and popular support. In fact, it was mostly similar to what Lin Xiaodong had said in the palace last night, but Guo Xinwen added a very crucial point—

Recovering the Northern Frontier was the last wish of the ancestors.

Jing Ji didn’t have much affection for his father who died early, but he greatly admired the founding Emperor of the Jing Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu. Back then, because he was attacked from both front and back, Emperor Gaozu had to cede a city and send a princess for a marriage alliance to appease the Shan-yu’s army that was eyeing the border like a tiger. This ultimately led to his most beloved youngest daughter dying lonely and helpless in the wind and snow of the Northern Frontier.

This matter was the regret of Emperor Gaozu’s life and an indelible humiliation for the Jing imperial family.

Now that Guo Xinwen actually dared to mention this matter in court, all the ministers couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat for him.

But it seemed that Guo Xinwen himself didn’t notice the treacherous atmosphere around him and the gradually darkening face of the young Emperor above. He continued his eloquent speech in the main hall: “…The people at the borders of the Jing Dynasty have long suffered from the harassment of the Northern Frontier, and our territory and mountains have fallen into the hands of thieves for nearly one hundred and thirty-six years. Your Majesty, I implore you to immediately order the dispatch of troops to the Northern Frontier!”

Guo Xinwen’s clear voice echoed in the silent palace. After a long while, Jing Ji suddenly gave a cold laugh.

“Guo Xinwen,” he said nonchalantly, glancing at the young man who had been standing at the very front and remaining silent. “What does Teacher think?”

Lin Xiaodong didn’t look up, but simply took half a step back, lifted his official robe, and knelt down.

“I implore Your Majesty to dispatch troops to the Northern Frontier!”

“Good, good, good,” Jing Ji laughed instead of being angry. He watched with his own eyes as the ministers following the young man knelt down in a group. How could he not know that this was a situation Lin Xiaodong had calculated long ago?

Jing Ji stood up, staring indifferently at the ministers bowing to him below, knowing that he had to make a decision this time.

Guo Xinwen belonged to his own faction. If he still wanted to use this chess piece, he had to remain consistent with the other party on this matter. Lin Dongqing had seen through this, which was why he had contacted Guo Xinwen privately… but it was indeed unexpected that this upright and hot-tempered man would cooperate with Lin Dongqing, whom he usually regarded as a thorn in his side.

Is it worth it?

He looked at the young man in black robes kneeling in front and couldn’t help but think.

Is recovering the Northern Frontier truly so important to you?

“I grant it,” finally, Jing Ji took the initiative to break this deathly silence. He said in a command tone devoid of any emotion, “General Zhao, for this northern expedition, you shall lead the army in battle.”

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left the main hall.