Chapter 17
Ji Qingzhou could feel the candy ball slowly and painfully descending from his throat, scraping against his esophagus, causing a slight rough pain.
It wasn’t until the candy finally settled in his stomach that he let out a long breath of relief.
His face was somewhat pale, though it was unclear whether it was due to choking or fright.
Fortunately, the Regent didn’t seem inclined to pursue the matter further and stepped into the imperial study.
Ji Qingzhou dared not delay and quickly rolled down his sleeves, following Li Zhan inside.
“Imperial Uncle!” The young emperor, having spent most of the morning in class and feeling exhausted, lit up with joy upon seeing Li Zhan. He almost jumped up to hug him but recalled that today’s lesson was on “the demeanor of a gentleman.” Remembering this, he simply called out to Li Zhan and then sat properly, though his eyes remained fixed on Li Zhan, shining with excitement.
“Greetings, Your Highness,” Lu Tingyi hastily bowed when he saw Li Zhan enter.
“No need for formalities.” Li Zhan walked over to the desk and casually flipped through a stack of papers. They were the texts the young emperor had copied the previous day.
Seeing this, Lu Tingyi seized the moment to speak, “His Majesty is usually diligent, though the copies made yesterday were a bit sloppy. It seems his mind wandered a bit, but it’s not a serious matter.”
“Hmph…” Ji Qingzhou, standing nearby, couldn’t help but stifle a cold snort, resisting the urge to speak out. The young emperor was still too small to be forced to copy such tedious texts. By the end, his wrist was probably too tired to avoid being sloppy!
“His Majesty is young and naturally curious about everything. It’s understandable if he still has a playful heart,” Li Zhan remarked.
Lu Tingyi, thinking Li Zhan was criticizing the young emperor, hurriedly defended him, “It is only natural.”
“Indeed.” Li Zhan turned his head to look at the young emperor, who appeared a bit tense. He walked over and gently pinched the boy’s cheek, saying, “If that’s the case, we should accommodate his nature.”
“Ah? This…” Lu Tingyi was momentarily caught off guard.
Li Zhan continued, “The emperor is very bright. It’s fine to learn some poetry and songs early on, but there’s no rush with the classics. We can delay the copying for now.”
“But…” Lu Tingyi seemed to want to argue.
“In the future, Mr. Lu will only need to guide His Majesty in practicing writing and reciting poetry in the mornings. I have other plans for the afternoons,” Li Zhan said, turning to Lu Tingyi. “Are today’s lessons finished?”
Realizing the Regent’s intent, Lu Tingyi, though he disagreed, did not dare to object and quickly nodded, “Yes, almost finished, just a bit more…”
“Then you should also take an early lunch. I’ll be taking His Majesty now,” Li Zhan concluded, extending a hand to the young emperor, who immediately beamed with joy. He grasped Li Zhan’s hand and got up from his seat, not forgetting to bow to Lu Tingyi as he did so.
As the uncle and nephew duo left the study, the young emperor mischievously winked at Ji Qingzhou as he passed. Ji Qingzhou raised an eyebrow at him before bowing to Lu Tingyi and then following them out.
Lu Tingyi watched Ji Qingzhou’s retreating figure, his expression one of utter disbelief!
Naturally, the happiest person about not having to copy the classics anymore was the young emperor.
Since leaving the study, he had been clinging to Li Zhan, who eventually had no choice but to pick him up.
“Imperial Uncle, I really do like you,” the little emperor said, rubbing his face against Li Zhan’s neck affectionately. Finally, he even gave Li Zhan a kiss on the cheek. Li Zhan, being of a cold temperament, wasn’t used to such affection. He quickly handed the young emperor over to Ji Qingzhou.
The young emperor, still overflowing with excitement, even kissed Ji Qingzhou on the cheek in his exuberance.
Ji Qingzhou was terrified, but luckily he was walking behind the Regent, so the man didn’t see the young emperor’s affectionate gesture.
After all, he was just a servant. Such intimacy from the young emperor might be common with the Regent, but for someone in his position, it was overwhelming and could easily lead to trouble.
Fortunately, the young emperor didn’t kiss him again; instead, he slyly reached into Ji Qingzhou’s pocket, took out a candy ball, and ate it. Seeing Ji Qingzhou’s anxious expression, the young emperor fished out another candy ball and stuffed it into Ji Qingzhou’s mouth.
Ji Qingzhou had no time to react, and suddenly, there was a candy ball in his mouth.
And this scene was perfectly witnessed by the Regent when he turned his head.
Ji Qingzhou: …
The Regent: …
All the way through lunch, Ji Qingzhou was on edge, fearing that the Regent might cause trouble for him.
Luckily, the man was too occupied with the young emperor to pay him any attention.
“Will you be serving at the meal today?” the man suddenly asked during lunch.
Ji Qingzhou was startled and quickly replied, “…As long as Your Highness doesn’t mind, I’m willing to serve at the meal from now on.”
Hearing this, Li Zhan dismissed the other palace servants. He never liked having too many people around him, finding their endless rules exhausting. Fortunately, this young man was sensible and never made himself a nuisance.
“Imperial Uncle, why is Ji Gonggong serving us at the meal?” the young emperor asked, puzzled.
Since childhood, there had always been people attending to his every need, yet he had never questioned why.
However, Ji Qingzhou seemed different from the other eunuchs in his eyes—not only was he good-looking, but he could also accompany him in studying. Because of this, he never really saw Ji Qingzhou as a mere servant. So today, when he saw Ji Qingzhou serving at the meal, his curiosity was piqued.
Ji Qingzhou was holding his chopsticks, having just picked up a piece of sweet and sour fish, when he froze at the question, instinctively swallowing a bit of saliva.
Li Zhan’s gaze swept over the young man’s subtly moving Adam’s apple, and he spoke to the young emperor, “Because he has a sweet tooth.”
“Oh~~” The young emperor, remembering the candy ball in Ji Qingzhou’s pocket, immediately wore a look of sudden realization.
Ji Qingzhou: …
The young man, with the piece of sweet and sour fish still in his chopsticks, was at a loss—unsure whether to eat it or not—his entire face turning red with embarrassment.
Without the burden of homework, the young emperor was much more lively.
While Li Zhan was reading his documents, the boy kept bustling around, causing a distraction.
“Ji Qingzhou…” Li Zhan looked up at the young man and said, “It was your idea to reduce His Majesty’s workload. I’d like to hear your thoughts on His Majesty’s current state.”
Ji Qingzhou noticed Li Zhan’s expression, realizing that the young emperor’s antics were starting to wear on him. After some thought, he spoke, “Since Your Highness mentioned accommodating His Majesty’s nature, perhaps in the afternoons, instead of studying, His Majesty could explore various parts of the palace.”
“What is there to see in the palace? Doesn’t he see enough of it every day?” Li Zhan asked.
“His Majesty may see a lot daily, but it’s still not very much,” Ji Qingzhou explained. “The other day, His Majesty got some cake on his clothes and asked me how they would get clean again. It was only after I told him that he learned there’s such a thing as washing clothes.”
The young emperor had been pampered since birth, with no need to do anything himself. Even when the palace servants performed menial tasks, they would never do so in front of him, so he had seen less than a child from a common family.
“Not only washing clothes, but His Majesty is also unaware that the food he eats every day is prepared by the palace kitchens. The other day, he even asked me if candy balls grew on trees,” Ji Qingzhou said.
Li Zhan was slightly surprised by what he heard and turned to glance at the young emperor.
The young emperor asked innocently, “So candy balls don’t grow on trees?”
Li Zhan: …
Well, this truly confirmed that he was unaware of the ways of the world!
“Then you can take him around the palace,” Li Zhan instructed.
Ji Qingzhou quickly agreed, and the young emperor immediately became excited, eager to run out the door at once.
Thus, in the days that followed, Ji Qingzhou accompanied the young emperor to the palace school in the mornings, and after lunch, he took him on tours around the palace.
In truth, there were many places in the palace that not only the young emperor had never seen, but even Ji Qingzhou found intriguing. During this time, rather than merely showing the young emperor around, it felt more like Ji Qingzhou was taking advantage of the opportunity to broaden his own knowledge and familiarize himself with the various departments of the inner court.
It was only then that he realized how complex the departments within the entire imperial palace were.
Washing clothes and cooking were just the basics. There were even specialized people responsible for tasks such as hairdressing and foot care…
In the imperial study, Dong Dong reported to Li Zhan on Ji Qingzhou’s activities over the past few days: “Young Master Ji has taken His Majesty around the entire Inner Attendant Department. His Majesty didn’t seem very interested in most things, but yesterday, they visited the Imperial Garden, where the eunuchs were tending to the flowers and plants. For some reason, His Majesty became quite fascinated. After lunch today, he went back to the Imperial Garden,” Dong Dong explained.
Li Zhan acknowledged this and then asked, “How has Ji Qingzhou been performing?”
“Young Master Ji has been quite patient with His Majesty. According to the shadow guards, every time they encounter something new, he personally demonstrates it for His Majesty. However, his skills are not very refined. It’s said that he has ruined embroidery at the embroidery workshop, burned pots in the kitchen, spoiled medicine in the pharmacy, and even angered the horses in the stables…” Dong Dong listed Ji Qingzhou’s “accomplishments,” clicking his tongue in amazement as he spoke.
“Is that all?” Li Zhan asked.
“There’s also… the shadow guards reported that he often sneaks food and has even led His Majesty to do the same,” Dong Dong added.
Li Zhan: …
If you love what Ciacia is doing, then consider showing your support by supporting a cup of coffee for her at Kofi. If you can’t wait for the next release chapter, subscribe to advanced chapters membership on her Kofi to get access to up to 10 chapters!
