Chapter 18
In May, the capital already carried the sweltering heat of early summer.
Especially in the afternoons—standing under the sun for just a short while would quickly make one break into a sweat.
In the Imperial Garden, Ji Qingzhou squatted on the ground with a small hoe, digging into the soil, while the young emperor, full of excitement, used a small shovel to dig beside him. Children around four or five years old had a natural fascination with sand and dirt—once given a chance to dig, they would soon become completely absorbed.
“Your Majesty, please take a rest, you’ll get heatstroke staying under the sun like this!”
“Ji Gonggong, say something, will you?”
“His Majesty is too precious to be exposed to the sun like that…”
The young eunuchs nearby were holding up parasols and wiping off sweat, terrified that something might happen to the young emperor under the scorching sun.
Ji Qingzhou wiped the sweat off his forehead and gave a wry smile. “Don’t treat His Majesty like he’s so fragile, alright? What harm is there in a child this age digging a bit of soil?”
“Ji Gonggong, His Majesty is worth more than gold. How could we dare be careless?” another young eunuch said with a worried expression.
Just then, the young emperor suddenly shouted and pulled something out from the soil. One of the nearby eunuchs was so startled he stumbled back, face turning pale. Ji Qingzhou took a closer look and saw that the emperor was holding up an earthworm.
“Is this a snake?” the young emperor asked excitedly.
He had only ever seen snakes in illustrated books before and had a vague idea of their appearance, but no sense of their actual size.
Ji Qingzhou laughed. “That’s an earthworm, not a snake.”
“What’s an earthworm? Does it bite?” the young emperor asked again.
“An earthworm…” Ji Qingzhou thought for a moment and explained, “It burrows through the soil and helps flowers and plants grow. It’s a very useful little creature.”
The young emperor nodded thoughtfully after hearing this.
“Earthworms have another use,” Ji Qingzhou added. “They can be used as fish bait.”
“What’s bait?” the young emperor asked again.
“It’s something used to catch fish,” Ji Qingzhou replied.
“And what’s fishing?” the emperor asked again.
Ji Qingzhou paused, then suddenly remembered that day in the imperial kitchen when the young emperor thought fish grew inside wooden buckets. It was a shame that someone had recently died in the lotus pond in the palace—otherwise, he could have taken the boy fishing there.
“Do you want to go fishing?” A calm male voice came from behind.
The young emperor looked up and, upon seeing who it was, jumped to his feet and ran straight into the man’s arms—still holding the earthworm in his hand.
“Imperial Uncle, Royal Uncle!” the emperor exclaimed, beaming with joy. “Are you going to take me fishing?”
Li Zhan raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat from the young emperor’s face and said, “Yes.”
“But the lotus pond recently…” Ji Qingzhou began, trying to remind him.
At the mention of the lotus pond, Li Zhan’s brow furrowed slightly. Realizing he had spoken out of turn, Ji Qingzhou quickly fell silent.
“There’s a lake at the imperial retreat in the outskirts. This time of year, we should be able to catch some fish,” Li Zhan said calmly.
“We’re leaving the palace?” the young emperor was thrilled. He turned and tugged at Ji Qingzhou. “Can Ji Gonggong come too? I want him to go with me!”
The man didn’t answer the question. Instead, his gaze fell to the ground nearby. The once neatly arranged garden had been left a mess—pitted and uneven—thanks to the chaotic digging of the boy and the youth.
Resisting the urge to press his fingers to his forehead, Li Zhan stepped into the garden and took the hoe from Ji Qingzhou’s hand.
“Wang Ye, that won’t do…” an attendant exclaimed the moment he saw the regent prince entering the garden, hurrying to stop him.
Li Zhan didn’t even acknowledge the interruption. He crouched down and smoothed out the patch of ground. After surveying it for a moment, he said, “Plant something suitable for this season here. Let His Majesty tend to it himself. No one else is allowed to help. I want to see if he has the patience for it.”
Everyone was stunned by his words, but they all nodded in agreement nonetheless.
Finally, Li Zhan handed the shovel back to Ji Qingzhou and said coolly before leaving, “You’ll come along too.”
Ji Qingzhou stood in a daze for a moment. It wasn’t until Li Zhan had walked away that he realized what had just happened—Li Zhan intended for him to go to the retreat as well?
“Why would His Highness take you to the retreat?” Tu Dayou asked in surprise when he heard the news.
“If His Majesty is going, someone has to attend to him,” Ji Qingzhou said indifferently.
Tu Dayou replied, “You’re in charge of His Majesty’s writing and ink—do you even know how to serve in other matters?”
“Other matters… there should be other people for that, right?” Ji Qingzhou responded.
“I heard from my master that among all the palace attendants and eunuchs accompanying them, the prince only named you,” Tu Dayou said. “The rest of the entourage is made up entirely of the prince’s trusted guards.”
Ji Qingzhou: …
“The Yinghui Pavilion has already been nearly restored. I expect the prince will move in very soon,” Tu Dayou added. “What I don’t understand is—he assigned many eunuchs to serve at Yinghui Pavilion before, so why hasn’t he summoned anyone else recently? Why is it only you by his side?”
Ji Qingzhou rubbed his nose and said, “Maybe because His Majesty likes me?”
“That’s not entirely impossible,” Tu Dayou said, frowning thoughtfully.
Ji Qingzhou hesitated for a moment, debating whether to tell Tu Dayou about the regent prince trying to recruit him. But in the end, he held back. After all, he didn’t know who Tu Dayou truly served behind the scenes—if they ended up on opposing sides, things would get complicated.
“Don’t overthink it. I figure the prince is just showing favor because of my father’s past service,” Ji Qingzhou said. “As long as I behave properly in front of him, I don’t think there will be any problems.”
Tu Dayou studied Ji Qingzhou for a moment, as if he had something to say, but in the end, he simply nodded and said no more.
Two days later, the group set out for the retreat.
It was located in the outskirts of the capital and only took half a day by carriage.
When they arrived, Ji Qingzhou was surprised to find that not only had Li Zhan brought only him as an attendant during the journey, but the entire retreat had no eunuchs or maids arranged to serve. In other words, aside from himself and the young emperor, everyone present was a guard.
“Young Master Ji, allow me,”
“Just set it down, you don’t have to do it yourself.”
One of the guards accompanying them gently took the still-sleepy young emperor from his arms. Another took Ji Qingzhou’s luggage. From their manner, one would think he was someone too delicate to lift a finger. Ji Qingzhou, however, wasn’t one to be overly fussy. While the palace eunuchs had always treated him with respect, the way these martial men “looked after” him felt entirely different.
“If you need any help, Young Master Ji, just let us know,” one young guard said after placing Ji Qingzhou’s belongings. When Ji Qingzhou looked up and met his eyes, the young man’s face immediately turned red, as if too embarrassed to meet his gaze.
Ji Qingzhou: ???
Something felt off.
And besides, these men were calling him “Young Master Ji,” not “Ji Gonggong.”
Meanwhile, Dong Dong personally arranged the security of the retreat. The guards in the entourage were all long-serving men under Li Zhan. Their mutual understanding and loyalty to the prince were unquestionable.
“All right, everyone, back to your tasks,” Dong Dong said after giving his instructions, waving his hand to dismiss the men.
A few of the guards gathered together. Once they were out of sight, they began whispering among themselves.
“Did you see clearly?” one asked.
“Couldn’t be clearer,” another replied.
“Come on, spill it—so was it what we think it is?” one said with a grin.
“How could we tell just by looking?” another answered. “Why don’t you go eavesdrop tonight by the wall?”
The group burst into laughter at that.
“If Wang Ye catches you, he’ll cut off your ears,” one laughed.
“Then you should dig your own eyes out—you were staring at Young Master Ji all day,” another teased.
The accused quickly denied it. “I wasn’t staring—I just helped him carry his luggage, that’s all.”
“Then why were you blushing?” someone teased. “Well, well, daring enough to eye Wang Ye’s person, are you—mmph…”
Before he could finish, another guard clapped a hand over his mouth, and the group lowered their voices as they walked away together.
Inside the main hall, Dong Dong was preparing a cup of tea for Li Zhan.
Li Zhan wiped a finger across the table’s surface. Seeing there was no dust, his brow finally relaxed a bit.
“Second Young Master Qin from the Qin family heard you were coming to the retreat and already sent a message in advance. He should be arriving later,” Dong Dong said.
Li Zhan responded with a quiet acknowledgment, then suddenly seemed to remember something. “Where is Ji Qingzhou?”
“Young Master Ji is with His Majesty. His Majesty fell asleep during the journey and still hasn’t woken,” Dong Dong replied.
Li Zhan nodded, then asked, “Among the boys we brought, is anyone acquainted with him?”
“Not that I’ve heard,” Dong Dong said.
Li Zhan frowned slightly at that, seeming puzzled.
Then Dong Dong seemed to remember something. “Did Your Highness notice someone trying to curry favor with Young Master Ji?”
“You saw it too?” Li Zhan asked.
Prince Residence’s guards were usually serious and tight-lipped, but today, strangely, all of them had their eyes drifting toward Ji Qingzhou. Even someone as reserved as Li Zhan couldn’t have missed it.
“Well… the boys in our estate aren’t exactly young anymore. Maybe one or two of them lean toward liking men, and with how good-looking young Master Ji is, they couldn’t help themselves,” Dong Dong said.
In the Dayu Dynasty, having affection for the same sex wasn’t rare—especially among the military, where it was even more common. However, due to a recent rumor in the palace, the imperial guards had been placed under stricter regulations, prohibiting overly close contact between the palace eunuchs and the guards. Outside the palace, though, things weren’t nearly as strict.
And besides, Li Zhan’s personal guards were Prince Residence’s soldiers, not part of the imperial guard—so they didn’t fall under the same restrictions.
“But our men have their boundaries. Your Highness doesn’t need to worry,” Dong Dong added. “At most, they’ll steal a few glances or try to get close. No one would dare cross the line.”
Li Zhan didn’t respond to that. He merely sat quietly, a complicated expression flickering in his eyes.
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