“Your dance was beautiful,” Ah Wu said, finally breaking the silence. “Are you tired? Have some water.”
Ah Wu was being thoughtful, even bringing his little one some water.
But what Ling Rui wanted most at that moment wasn’t water.
“Never mind,” Ling Rui said, feeling a bit deflated now that his bold move had gone unreciprocated. His initial surge of courage had faded.
“Alright, I’ll drink some water.”
Even though he wasn’t particularly thirsty, Ling Rui took the cup and drank a big gulp.
After downing the water, Ling Rui’s mood brightened a little.
He handed the cup back to Ah Wu and changed the topic. “I’m hungry.”
“I’ll eat with you.”
Ah Wu naturally took Ling Rui’s hand and led him to the dining table, where he asked him to wait.
The imperial kitchen had been preparing food, and Ah Wu had them bring over a table full of meat dishes.
Ling Rui had a preference for meat when it came to food.
Sure enough, a large table of meat helped lift his spirits.
“This is delicious!”
Ling Rui mumbled his approval through bites of meat.
The chefs in Ah Wu’s kitchen were indeed skilled.
“If you like it, eat more,” Ah Wu said. He himself wasn’t particularly particular about food. Although he usually ate a lot of meat, it was more out of necessity for energy than for enjoyment.
But seeing how much Ling Rui was enjoying his meal, Ah Wu unknowingly ate more than usual too.
The two ate together, exchanging glances, and found each other’s company appetizing.
After they finished eating, Ling Rui wasn’t ready to rest yet.
He tugged on Ah Wu’s arm and gently swayed it.
“I haven’t wandered around here in a long time. Would you like to join me for a walk?”
“Okay.”
Without hesitation, Ah Wu agreed unconditionally to Ling Rui’s request.
At this time of day, he used to handle political affairs, but now that his little one was here, the most important thing was spending time with him.
“The flowers in the garden have bloomed. You can bring a basket and collect the petals for your bath later tonight,” Ah Wu suggested before they left.
Ling Rui liked to pick up fallen petals, wash them, and use them for his bath, so he happily accepted Ah Wu’s suggestion.
The two of them found a basket and went to the garden.
The flowers in the garden were beautiful and so numerous that Ling Rui couldn’t count them all.
With so many flowers, there were also plenty of fallen petals.
It didn’t take Ling Rui long to fill the basket to the brim.
“Ah Wu, I can give you half of these, so you can use them for your bath too!”
“Mm, thank you, Zai Zai.”
Ah Wu thanked his little one, who loved to share, and gently patted his head as they continued strolling through the garden.
Time passed as they wandered, and they encountered quite a few people along the way.
Whenever people saw Ah Wu, they all appeared frightened and intimidated.
Ling Rui looked at them, then back at Ah Wu.
He couldn’t help but whisper into Ah Wu’s ear, “Why do I feel like everyone’s afraid of you?”
“Are you afraid of me?” Ah Wu didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he asked a lighthearted question of his own, steering the conversation elsewhere.
Hearing his question, Ling Rui’s eyes widened, and he shook his head vigorously. “Of course, I’m not afraid of you, Ah Wu.”
In this world, the person he trusted and feared the least was Ah Wu.
“As long as you’re not afraid of me,” Ah Wu said as he glanced at the kneeling people. Turning his attention back to Ling Rui, he casually asked, “Anywhere else you’d like to go? Want to go for a walk outside the palace?”
“I’d love to go outside the palace, but aren’t you busy?”
Compared to the palace, Ling Rui preferred the world outside. The space beyond the palace walls was wider and livelier, and Ling Rui loved the excitement of it all.
Although he enjoyed the bustle outside, most of his time had been spent within the palace, except for his time in Yanzhou and Guan Shan Residence.
The palace, with his parents and siblings, might not have been as lively as the outside world, but Ling Rui still found it pleasant.
“I’m not busy.”
Though Ah Wu was actually overwhelmed with work, he had quickly learned how to bluff when it came to his little one.
Ling Rui didn’t believe him right away.
When he served as an official in Yanzhou, he was often extremely busy. Ah Wu, as the emperor, must be even busier than he was back then.
“I’m not in a hurry to play.”
Ling Rui stood still, holding Ah Wu’s arm. He said, “I’ll help you with your work, and once you’re done, we can go out and have fun.”
“Alright.”
With that, the two returned to the palace, staying close to each other.
Not long after they left, a secret rumor began to spread.
The rumor claimed that the new emperor had taken a liking to a beauty—a beauty from the Qi Dynasty.
When Ling Rui and Ah Wu had been out earlier, Ling Rui hadn’t changed his clothes. He was still wearing a blue dress.
Ling Rui had a naturally excellent figure, and as a young man just entering adulthood, his slender and balanced frame made him look completely natural in the dress. Even the makeup on his face couldn’t hide his youthful vibrancy.
“The beauty sent from Qi must have some serious charm.”
A palace servant whispered to a friend, “The emperor, who’s always so indifferent, treats this beauty so well. Did you see? The emperor personally fixed his clothes.”
“Fixing his clothes is nothing. I saw them holding hands with my own eyes!”
“Sister, I saw it too! I even saw the emperor feeding the beauty.”
The palace servants whispered among themselves, and by the end of their conversation, they had reached a shared conclusion:
There might soon be a new empress in the palace.
The emperor had dismissed all the candidates from the beauty selection, leaving only one beauty from Qi, who was unruly and didn’t follow any of the usual rules.
With the emperor’s former temperament, this kind of unruly behavior would have gotten the beauty executed long ago.
But as the servants observed more each day, they became increasingly convinced—
This beauty was so favored that even if “she” asked the emperor to pluck the stars from the sky, he would probably find a ladder to climb up and get them.
They had never seen their volatile and unpredictable emperor spoil anyone so unconditionally.
The affairs of Great Qing Palace were the subject of much attention.
Some of the beauties who had been dismissed had already returned home, while others had yet to leave.
For example, Miss Yuan Yuan, one of the selected candidates from Qi, was still at the inn, waiting for Ling Rui.
“Miss Yuan Yuan, I might not be able to leave with you right away,” Ling Rui said apologetically when he met her at the inn.
He continued, “I’m sorry, but I can’t go with you just yet.”
“How long are you planning to stay here?” Miss Yuan Yuan asked kindly.
Ling Rui thought for a moment and replied, “Probably another month.”
Ah Wu was busy, and Ling Rui was spending most of his time helping Ah Wu with his work.
They were occupied with important matters, and their peaceful, relaxed time together had become much less frequent.
Ling Rui wanted to stay and spend more time with Ah Wu.
“I can stay here for another month too.”
Just as Ling Fu had described, Miss Yuan Yuan had a round, small face and spoke in a soft, sweet voice.
Right now, she didn’t really want to go back.
“My family situation is pretty bad. I want to delay my return for a while,” she said.
Since she wanted to stay, Ling Rui certainly wouldn’t stop her.
This was Miss Yuan Yuan’s own decision, and Ling Rui chose to respect her.
“If you don’t want to go back, you can stay here as long as you like,” Ling Rui said. “When you’re ready to go back, we can return together.”
Ling Rui and Miss Yuan Yuan got along quite well. As soon as he found her, Ling Rui had written a letter to his Sixth Brother, explaining the situation. He also assured him that Miss Yuan Yuan would return safely.
Ling Rui informed his Sixth Brother of Miss Yuan Yuan’s safety, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about himself yet. After all, the fact that he was pretending to be a palace maiden and acting with such authority in Ah Wu’s palace was not something he was keen to bring up.
Since he hadn’t mentioned it, the entire royal family of the Qi Dynasty remained in the dark. Although Emperor Ling had not been actively involved in affairs for some time, he still discussed the matter with Ling Chen.
The recent sending of palace maidens to the Great Qing dynasty had been initiated by other countries, with the Qi Dynasty following suit.
“Chen Er, you see, I told you—no emperor can resist the allure of beauty,” Emperor Ling said with a smug expression, sitting face-to-face with his son. “As an emperor yourself, I remember you once said that you admired the new emperor of Great Qing.”
“You admire him, so shouldn’t you follow his example?”
“Royal Father,” Ling Chen, now the emperor, still addressed him as “Royal Father.” “I admire the new Great Qing emperor for his political decisions.”
As for the idea of maintaining a harem, Ling Chen didn’t admire that at all.
Every time they discussed such topics, the conversation grew unpleasant. To avoid another argument, Ling Chen changed the subject. “RoyalFather, have you reviewed the list of the palace maidens?”
Both father and son had seen the list. Most of the maidens had already returned, and those who hadn’t were staying in inns with proper records.
By all accounts, there shouldn’t be any unaccounted-for beauty currently residing in Great Qing’s palace and enjoying the emperor’s favor.
“I’ve reviewed it,” Emperor Ling replied.
The two sat in silence for a while before Ling Chen finally spoke. “If no one is missing from the list, then who is the beauty currently in Great Qing’s palace?”
Emperor Ling didn’t have an answer.
Both were silent for a long time until Emperor Ling muttered, “It really seems like there’s a ghost involved this time…”
The rumors from Great Qing’s palace had already spread outside. Both father and son had heard them. Other countries had softened their attitudes toward Qi Dynasty recently because of the rumor that the beauty they sent from Qi had completely bewitched Great Qing’s new emperor.
It seemed that their beauty was about to become the new empress of Great Qing.
Even though their beauty was proving to be quite impressive, the Qi Dynasty itself was utterly confused.
“Chen Er, who do you think this beauty is?”
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get up to 5 more chapters of Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
