After Being Reborn as the Chief Eunuch Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ji Qingzhou spent the entire afternoon fishing with the young emperor, and their haul wasn’t bad.

It was just that the Regent hadn’t shown up at all the whole time, simply handing the young emperor over to him and never once checking in.

During dinner, it was still just the two of them—one big, one small. According to the guards, the Regent had been with a certain guest the whole time. Ji Qingzhou was somewhat curious about who this guest might be, but he knew better than to ask. After all, his current identity was merely that of a servant.

“This fish, is this the fish that His Majesty and I caught ourselves?” Ji Qingzhou glanced at the fish on the table and asked the guard.

“Yes,” the guard quickly replied. “Both the sweet and sour fish and the fresh fish soup were made into two portions—one of them was sent over to Wang Ye as well.”

The young emperor was thrilled to see the fish he’d caught on the table. He immediately picked up his chopsticks to take a bite, but Ji Qingzhou, afraid he’d choke on a bone, carefully picked the fish bones out for him before letting him eat.

“Who exactly is Imperial Uncle with?” Li Cong suddenly asked.

The guard instinctively glanced at Ji Qingzhou before replying, “It’s the Second Young Master Qin.”

“Qin Zheng?” Li Cong pouted. “I don’t like him.”

Seeing the little emperor looking unhappy, Ji Qingzhou asked, “Why not?”

While chewing the rice Ji Qingzhou had fed him, the young emperor muttered, “Imperial Uncle hardly ever takes me out of the palace. But the moment he comes, Uncle won’t keep me company anymore.”

Hearing the name Qin Zheng, Ji Qingzhou suddenly recalled that this man, in the original novel, had an extremely close relationship with the Regent. Later in the story, he even became the Regent’s right-hand man. Half of Ji Qingzhou’s eventual downfall and crimes had been investigated and confirmed by Qin Zheng and his people.

Noticing Ji Qingzhou’s complicated expression, the guard beside him assumed he was upset and felt unsure about how to smooth things over. He had heard gossip among his fellow guards about something between the Regent and Ji Qingzhou and had been skeptical. But he had to admit—Wang Ye’s treatment of Ji Qingzhou really was out of the ordinary.

Bringing him along to the estate was already unusual, but to specifically instruct that he dine with the young emperor—and even have meals prepared according to his tastes—was almost too considerate not to raise eyebrows.

With that in mind, the guard said, “Wang Ye and the Second Young Master Qin are most likely discussing official matters.”

Ji Qingzhou was caught off guard, only then realizing the guard was speaking to him. For a moment, he couldn’t make sense of it.

What Wang Ye and Qin Zheng were discussing—what did that have to do with him?

After dinner, the young emperor started to get drowsy. He’d been far too excited during the day—digging up worms, fishing, and constantly on the move. Ji Qingzhou figured he wouldn’t stay awake much longer, so he gathered a set of clean clothes and prepared to take the boy for a bath first.

The guard quickly led the two of them to the bathhouse in the rear courtyard, and to their surprise, the hot water was already heated and ready.

Ji Qingzhou helped the young emperor out of his clothes, then dressed down to a thin inner shirt and shorts himself. He crouched in the pool, helping the boy bathe. The young emperor was already sleepy, and once the hot steam hit him, he became even more lethargic. Before long, he was dozing off against the edge of the pool.

Afraid he might slip underwater, Ji Qingzhou hurriedly finished washing him, then carried him out of the pool. Though the weather was already quite warm, there was still a slight chill in the evening air. Not wanting the boy to catch cold, Ji Qingzhou didn’t even have time to change out of his own damp clothes. He first dried the little emperor thoroughly and changed him into clean sleepwear.

“Young Master Ji, I’ll take His Majesty back first. Please go bathe and warm yourself quickly—if you catch cold, it’ll be a real problem,” the guard said, reaching out to take the sleeping boy from Ji Qingzhou’s arms. Ji Qingzhou draped a thin blanket over the little emperor, then finally let the guard carry him away.

The water in the pool had already cooled a bit, but Ji Qingzhou didn’t have the energy to care. He planned to rinse off quickly and be done with it.

However, just as he was halfway through washing, he heard footsteps approaching from outside. A moment later, someone walked in around the screen.

“Well, what a coincidence.” The newcomer had a bare torso, a towel wrapped around his waist, and a grin on his face as he stared at Ji Qingzhou.

Ji Qingzhou looked up and saw an unfamiliar face. Almost immediately, he guessed that this must be the same Qin Zheng who had kept the Regent occupied the entire day.

Qin Zheng looked to be only in his twenties, with striking good looks and a solid build that carried the strength and agility typical of a martial artist—clearly someone trained in combat.

Regardless of who the man was, Ji Qingzhou instinctively felt that he held a trace of hostility toward him. He decided not to stay any longer. Reaching out to grab a towel from the edge of the pool, he wrapped it around himself, ready to leave. But Qin Zheng pressed down on his wrist with a half-smile and said, “Young Master Ji, we hardly ever meet. Why the rush to leave?”

“What does Second Young Master Qin want to say?” Ji Qingzhou asked calmly.

Qin Zheng’s gaze swept over him, taking in the youth’s composed demeanor, utterly unaffected. He realized Ji Qingzhou wasn’t the least bit intimidated by him.

“I used to know your elder brother—we go back a ways. Based on that, you should be calling me ‘big brother.’” Qin Zheng leaned in and lowered his voice. “Since you’re already here, why not bathe with me?”

His words were blatantly suggestive, but to Qin Zheng’s surprise, the youth wasn’t the least bit flustered. Instead, Ji Qingzhou glanced at Qin Zheng’s waist and said, “Second Young Master Qin, are you seriously planning to compare sizes with an eunuch?”

Qin Zheng: …

Outside the screen, Li Zhan had just stepped into the bathhouse and clearly heard every word the youth had said.

Moments later, he saw Ji Qingzhou walking out briskly from behind the screen.

“Wang… Wang Ye…” Ji Qingzhou paused when he saw Li Zhan. The steady composure he had shown while facing Qin Zheng faltered, and a flicker of unease crossed his face.

Li Zhan’s gaze fell on the youth. His hair was dripping, and droplets of water trailed from his damp locks down the side of his fair neck, following the sharp line of his collarbone, before slipping past his lean stomach and disappearing beneath the towel wrapped at his waist.

“You’re not leaving?” Li Zhan asked.

Ji Qingzhou snapped out of his daze at the sound of his voice and quickly walked over to the low bench where his clothes were and got dressed.

Only after watching Ji Qingzhou finish putting on his clothes did Li Zhan call for the guards to come and replace the water with a fresh hot batch. Meanwhile, Qin Zheng, still shirtless, was forced to wait awkwardly at the side as the attendants bustled around. By the time he finally got into the bath, his face was as dark as thunder.

“Did you hear what he said to me?” Qin Zheng muttered. “I’m your guest, aren’t I? And he talks to me like that?”

“You brought it on yourself,” Li Zhan replied.

“I…” Qin Zheng grew even more annoyed but couldn’t really hold it against the youth.

The whole thing had indeed been his doing. Earlier, he had bumped into the guard who was carrying the young emperor back and found out Ji Qingzhou was bathing in the bathhouse. On a whim, Qin Zheng decided to prove to Li Zhan that the youth wasn’t as proper as he looked. Before Li Zhan could stop him, he had already barged in.

Li Zhan had followed close behind, slightly worried that Qin Zheng might go too far.

Who would’ve thought the youth would leave Second Young Master Qin completely speechless?

“I refuse to believe that’s the end of it,” Qin Zheng muttered in frustration. “He’s Mr. Ji’s son, so he must be a decent sort. I probably scared him with my approach. If I talk to him nicely, appeal to reason and emotion, don’t you think he might waver?”

Li Zhan gave Qin Zheng a side glance and didn’t bother to respond.

Qin Zheng continued, “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m doing this for you, you know!”

“I’d bet next time he’ll throw hands instead of words,” Li Zhan replied coldly.

Qin Zheng: …

That night, after Ji Qingzhou made sure the young emperor was sound asleep, he was about to lie down himself when he heard a knock at the door.

He opened it to find Li Zhan standing there.

“Has Cong’er fallen asleep?” the man asked.

“Yes, he’s already asleep,” Ji Qingzhou replied.

Hearing this, Li Zhan stepped into the room and walked over to the side of the bed, reaching out to gently touch the young emperor’s forehead. This was the first time the boy had spent a night outside the palace. Without the usual palace attendants by his side, Li Zhan had come to check on him, afraid he wouldn’t sleep well.

“Imperial Uncle…” Still half-asleep, the young emperor reached out and clutched the Regent’s hand tightly, refusing to let go.

Li Zhan tried to pull away, but the boy held on with all his might, clearly determined not to let him leave.

“Fine, I’ll stay with him,” Li Zhan said.

Ji Qingzhou responded with a quiet “Mm” and went to extinguish the candle. Then he laid down on the low couch outside to sleep.

Outside, the guards on night watch saw the Regent enter the room, then noticed the lights inside go out. Immediately, they exchanged knowing glances. They weren’t the type to gossip about their master, but when gossip practically handed itself to you, it was hard to ignore.

Even those who had previously been skeptical began to waver after witnessing this.

Elsewhere, Qin Zheng couldn’t sleep. In the middle of the night, he headed to the kitchen for some wine, intending to wake Li Zhan and share a drink. But when he went to the Regent’s chambers and found them empty, he asked the guards and learned that Li Zhan had gone to the young emperor’s room.

Still unable to sleep, he brought his wine over, only to be stopped at the door by the guards.

“Come on, your Wang Ye and I grew up wearing the same pair of pants! Sharing a bed’s not unheard of either—why stop me now?” Qin Zheng said with a laugh.

“Well…” one of the guards scratched his head awkwardly. “Wang Ye’s already turned in for the night.”

“I know,” Qin Zheng replied. “So I’ll just go in and wake him up. Problem solved, right?”

The guard quickly added, “It’s just that… he’s not alone in there.”

“I know, His Majesty’s there…” Qin Zheng started, but then paused. From the expressions on the guards’ faces, he caught a flicker of something and suddenly asked, “Don’t tell me… that person is in there too?”

The guards gave a couple of forced laughs, neither confirming nor denying it.

Something snapped in Qin Zheng’s mind. At last, he put the pieces together.

So that’s what was going on?

No wonder…

And then he remembered how he had almost flirted with that person earlier today. Qin Zheng wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it.

It was all that damn Li Zhan’s fault—that scheming wolf with a bushy tail. Things had gone this far, and he still hadn’t said a word about it!

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