Chapter 4 Chip Chip Chip Chip
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After confirming that Huo Caiyu’s life was not in danger, Li Jinyu relaxed a little. He repeatedly instructed the palace attendants to take good care of Huo Caiyu and make sure that not even a single blemish was left on his precious buttocks. Aware, suddenly, of the strange looks he was getting from the attendants, he realized that he had forgotten to maintain his persona, so he quickly stopped talking and returned to his quarters.
That night, he rolled on the dragon bed and couldn’t fall asleep. The sleeping time in this world was quite early, but Li Jinyu’s nocturnal habits prevented him from dozing off. Nevertheless, the dragon bed was really comfortable…
The eunuchs outside seemed to have heard some noise in the hall and respectfully asked, “Does Your Majesty want to to flip the green head plaque?”
Li Jinyu started, and stopped his rolling motion. He was not sure what “flip the green head plaque” meant, so he didn’t dare to act rashly and responded, “Flip it.”
The eunuchs quickly prepared a tray with several translucent green jade plaques and presented it to him.
Li Jinyu carefully opened one of the jade tokens, and saw the name “Concubine Wei” written on the back. A bad premonition flashed through his mind.
The eunuch knelt down and respectfully said, “This servant will arrange for Concubine Wei to attend to Your Majesty in bed.”
Li Jinyu blinked and looked at the eunuch as he left, feeling a bit confused as he rubbed his head. What does this ‘attend to Your Majesty in bed’ mean?
He had heard about this term from various novels, dramas, and movies that he watched with his owner, but whenever it came to the actual attending, it was always a cutaway or a blackout. His owner would always sigh and say, “water without any meat flavor.” As a result, he still had no idea what attending to the Emperor in bed actually meant…
The business of attending to the Emperor in bed was not slow. Soon, Concubine Wei was brought in on a dragon carriage.
Li Jinyu cautiously looked at the beautiful and unfamiliar woman in front of him, ready to retreat at any moment.
Concubine Wei appeared to be of a mature age, with a hint of makeup on her face. There was a faint look of forced smile and fear in her expression. “Is Your Majesty well?”
“Yes, and you?”
Li Jinyu’s response caught Concubine Wei off guard. Although she felt that something was off, she didn’t dare to ask and was just grateful that His Majesty today seemed less irritable than usual. She lowered her head and asked, “Does Your Majesty want this concubine to do it as usual tonight?”
It was best if he didn’t have to issue any orders himself. Li Jinyu nodded happily, “Yes, yes.”
Concubine Wei breathed a sigh of relief, got up and made the bed for Li Jinyu, then knelt under the bed. “Your Majesty, please go to bed at ease. This concubine is waiting here.”
Li Jinyu lay on the bed with a puzzled look on his face. After a short moment, he heard Concubine Wei singing a gentle and melodious song in a low voice.
Although there was no accompaniment, Concubine Wei’s voice was soft and sweet, like a mother soothing her young child to sleep. Li Jinyu gradually relaxed, his tense heart finally loosening. Hence, even if it was not yet his bedtime, he felt a drowsiness emerging from his body, making him unable to resist a yawn.
Before falling asleep, he mumbled to himself, “So, attending to the Emperor in bed means singing to lull him to sleep?”
Why make such a big fuss about it…
The next day, he slept in bed until daybreak. Imperial concubines were not allowed to spend the night in the Emperor’s bedroom, so Concubine Wei had already left. The attending eunuch had presented him with his clothes.
Li Jinyu noticed that the clothes were mainly bright yellow embroidered with a black dragon pattern, which was different from the black-bottomed and gilt cloud-patterned imperial robe he had worn a few days ago. He couldn’t help but be surprised and asked, “Does Zhen have to change clothes today?”
The eunuch was taken aback and didn’t expect His Majesty to ask this question, so he explained in a low voice, “Your Majesty, today is a rest day. There’s no need to wear the dragon robe.”
Li Jinyu realized that an Emperor did not wear the same garments throughout the entire year.
Li Jinyu didn’t have to go to the morning court on a rest day, so he finished his breakfast with peace of mind. He was considering whether to check on Huo Caiyu’s injury or go for a stroll in the Imperial Garden when he heard the servant asked, “Your Majesty, the dragon carriage is ready. Is it time to leave now?”
“Ah? What for?”
“Your Majesty originally planned to visit the Empress Dowager on the rest day. Is there a change of plans today?”
Li Jinyu recalled the original plot and suddenly remembered that the original Emperor still had an Empress Dowager! In the novel, the Empress Dowager was barely introduced, so Li Jinyu couldn’t remember this person, nor did he know what her relationship with the original Emperor was like. However, since she was the biological mother of the Emperor, they should have a closer relationship.
He was very reluctant to interact with strangers, but since he was impersonating the Emperor Jingchang, he naturally couldn’t ignore the Empress Dowager. Li Jinyu coughed and said, “Zhen was worried about state affairs and almost forgot. Let’s depart now.”
………
The Cining Palace was simpler than Li Jinyu had imagined, not as luxurious as Emperor Jingchang’s palace. There were some winter jasmine planted at the entrance, and the pale yellow flowers had already bloomed, with a faint fragrance.
Li Jinyu walked into the Cining Palace and found that it was decorated with many Buddha statues and incense. He couldn’t help but be curious. Does the Empress Dowager believe in Buddhism?
Perhaps seeing the strangeness in his eyes, the palace maid leading the way said, “The Empress Dowager eats vegetarian food and recites Buddha day and night, all for praying for Your Majesty.”
Li Jinyu nodded, thinking that the Empress Dowager and the original Emperor should have a very close relationship. He should at least try to be as enthusiastic as possible.
If only he could restrain his phobia of people…
But what he didn’t expect was that all the courage he had been trying to muster for so long had been for nothing.
“The Empress Dowager won’t see Zhen?” Li Jinyu repeated in surprise.
The person across from him was an older palace maid, her eyes calm and apologetic as she said, “Your Majesty, please don’t be offended. The Empress Dowager has been copying Buddhist scriptures and praying for Your Majesty these past few days. May Your Majesty understand the Empress Dowager’s devotion.”
Li Jinyu had no reason not to understand, and seeing a stranger was even less stressful for him. He didn’t understand all the various ways of human interaction, and could only nod and say, “Zhen understands. May the Empress Dowager takes care of her health.”
A hint of surprise flashed in the old woman’s eyes, as if she didn’t expect to hear this words from Li Jinyu’s mouth. She quickly replied, “This servant will definitely pass on the message to the Empress Dowager.”
After being rebuffed by the Empress Dowager, Li Jinyu was left with nothing else to do. He didn’t know anything about the leisure activities of Emperor Jingchang on a regular basis, and was even more clueless about politics. If he went out for a walk, he would run into all sorts of strangers.
On the way to visit the Empress Dowager today, Li Jinyu encountered a person who knelt tremblingly by the side of the road. This made Li Jinyu uneasy, as he couldn’t understand how a person, who is much larger than a hamster, could be more timid than the timid rodent. This experience made him more hesitant to interact with people.
After thinking it over, Li Jinyu realized that the only thing he could do now was to go and check on Huo Caiyu.
The future Emperor won’t tremble when he sees me!
“Drive to Jin… Jin…” Li Jinyu opened his mouth but couldn’t remember which palace Huo Caiyu had been assigned to, so he gave up and said, “Go find Huo Caiyu.”
The eunuch responded quickly and arranged for the dragon carriage to turn towards the Jinxiu Pavilion.
Familiar with the route, Li Jinyu entered Huo Caiyu’s bedroom and, with the intimidating Ziwei aura, approached him carefully. He observed that Huo Caiyu’s complexion had improved considerably. He must be out of danger.
Satisfied, Li Jinyu nodded and turned to the palace maid serving next to him, asking, “Where’s the imperial physician?”
The palace attendant knelt down and replied, “The imperial physician comes daily to dispense medicine and then leaves.”
Shaking his head, Li Jinyu felt sorry for the physician. This imperial physician is so lucky to have the opportunity to heal the future Emperor’s injuries. Why doesn’t he know how to take good care of his patient?
In the later stages of the novel, those who wanted to climb the ranks with Huo Caiyu were as numerous as the crucian carp crossing the river. However, Huo Caiyu paid no attention to them, and instead showed gratitude to those who had helped him.
What a missed opportunity for the imperial physician!
Wanting to fight for another opportunity for the physician, Li Jinyu thought for a moment, held his breath, and pretended to be angry. “Huo Caiyu has been unconscious for so long. How did he treat him? Bring him over here quickly…”
Before he finished speaking, he heard a violent coughing sound from the side.
Huo Caiyu woke up just at the right moment, coughed weakly a few times, and looked around in confusion. He slightly raised his head and asked, “Where is this place?”
Li Jinyu’s attention was immediately drawn to him and he exclaimed in surprise, “You woke up?”
As he met the future Emperor’s eyes for the first time, he noticed that Huo Caiyu’s eye color was not purely black, but a transparent brown, like a piece of sparkling jade. At this moment, his beautiful brown eyes were flashing with obvious resistance and anger.
But in just a moment, those sharp emotions were quickly suppressed.
Huo Caiyu lowered his eyes and his voice was still slightly hoarse as he said, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Li Jinyu was stunned and at a loss for words.
He had already felt suffocated by the Ziwei aura around Huo Caiyu, but he didn’t expect it to be even stronger now that he had regained consciousness.
After waking up, Huo Caiyu’s Ziwei aura faithfully followed its master, strongly rejecting Li Jinyu.
Ordinary people naturally could not perceive the existence of the Ziwei aura. At most they would just think that Huo Caiyu’s temperament was out of the ordinary, but for Li Jinyu, who had not yet achieved enlightenment, the pressure was great.
Li Jinyu held his breath until his face turned red, then stammered out two words, “N-no problem.”
In the eyes of others, it looked like His Majesty was blushing because of a sentence from Young Master Huo.
People who served around His Majesty usually could not stay long before angering Emperor Jingchang for various reasons. Now these palace people had never seen Emperor Jingchang look so pure.
Regardless of His Majesty’s temperament, his appearance was excellent. He was in the age between youth and young adulthood, with handsome features. His crimson face made the palace servants beside him momentarily dazzled.
However, they soon came to their senses. His Majesty’s brutal reputation made them bow their heads instantly, and only lamented for Huo Caiyu in their hearts.
Being favored by His Majesty was definitely not a good thing…
Huo Caiyu naturally saw Li Jinyu’s red face. He gritted his teeth, and was about to say something when he saw Li Jinyu stand up suddenly and take two steps back.
Li Jinyu was nearly suffocated by the overwhelming imperial aura around Huo Caiyu, and he couldn’t even manage to express his concern for the latter’s well-being. He quickly retreated a few steps and stammered, “I, Zhen will go back first.”
Without waiting for anyone’s reaction, he immediately turned around and rushed out of the bedroom. It wasn’t until he was outside that he could finally breathe properly and he leaned against the wall, taking a long breath.
The eunuchs who followed him were surprised and asked, “Your Majesty?”
“It’s nothing.” Li Jinyu barely straightened up his body and didn’t have the energy to worry about his own image. “Go back.”
Just as the servants were preparing the dragon chariot to go back, a servant rushed over from afar and knelt in front of Li Jinyu. “Your Majesty, this slave has something to report.”
Li Jinyu shrank back reflexively, then asked, “What is it?”
“Miss Huo has been summoned into the palace and is waiting to be ennobled. This slave has come to ask Your Majesty what arrangement must be made.”
Miss Huo?
Li Jinyu’s mind went blank. Wasn’t that Huo Caiyu’s sister? Who brought Huo Caiyu’s sister into the imperial palace?!
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