The Taiji Hall was in a frenzy.
Eunuchs hurried in and out, carrying hot water, soft cushions, wooden racks, buckets, charcoal ash, incense, silk cloth, and fresh clothes.
Nearly thirty people were involved.
After a stick of incense had burned, the crowd dispersed.
Qi Hanmiao emerged from behind a screen, holding Jiang Wu’s discarded clothing, and informed Yin Wuzhi, “His Majesty needs a moment to himself.”
After that, he turned to issue further instructions: “Clean the warm chamber and prepare for a bath.”
Yin Wuzhi asked, “A bath?”
“Indeed,” Qi Hanmiao said indulgently, “His Majesty is very particular about cleanliness. After using the toilet, he always requires a thorough wash.”
“Didn’t someone already bring hot water?”
“That was for washing certain parts. If His Majesty relieves himself, he must soak in the warm chamber for at least an hour.”
“…”
This lazy emperor—his demands were truly endless.
“I’m taking the clothes to the laundry department for the maids to wash. Does Your Highness have any other orders?”
“Laundry?” Yin Wuzhi snapped back, “He wears washed clothes?”
“Of course,” Qi Hanmiao replied with pride, “His Majesty has always been frugal. Even now, after ascending the throne, he continues this virtue, wearing washed clothes. Sometimes, he even has his outer garments cleaned twice before discarding them.”
Yin Wuzhi remarked, “I hadn’t heard of this before.”
“His Majesty only ascended six months ago, so it’s natural that no one has noticed these small details. As you spend more time by his side, you’ll understand His Majesty’s character.”
Yin Wuzhi nodded.
This foolish emperor wasn’t just frugal with food—he was careful with his clothes too. He wasn’t so dim-witted as to be completely disliked…
Realizing what he was thinking, Yin Wuzhi gloomily turned his back, facing the shadows.
Frugal with food? He’s just lazy. And what’s so virtuous about wearing washed clothes? Countless commoners wash and repair their clothes hundreds of times, with dozens of patches. What virtue is there in wearing something washed only once or twice?
“Yin Wuzhi.”
Yin Wuzhi perked up but didn’t respond.
“Yin Wuzhi. Yin Wuzhi. Yin Wuzhi.”
Yin Wuzhi straightened his posture and walked behind the screen.
Jiang Wu was sitting neatly in fresh clothes, perched on a sandalwood rack covered with soft cushions. With a clean voice, he said, “I want a bath.”
Yin Wuzhi stared at him for a moment, then stepped forward, saying, “You can’t rely on others for everything.”
“Carry.”
Yin Wuzhi exhaled and bent down to lift him up. As he carried Jiang Wu to the warm chamber, he said, “If this continues, you’ll grow weaker and weaker, feeling like you have no strength.”
“Mm.”
Did he finally understand?
Yin Wuzhi stopped and asked, “Your Majesty, do you want to walk to the warm chamber yourself?”
Yin Wuzhi continued walking forward, saying, “Right now, you’re surrounded by people serving you, and it seems like you’re enjoying it. But if one day you lose these privileges and your ability to care for yourself, what will you do?”
Jiang Wu tilted his head up and made eye contact with Yin Wuzhi.
“Do you realize how serious the consequences will be?”
“Are you saying I won’t be emperor for life?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
But Jiang Wu interpreted it that way. Yin Wuzhi’s words felt like a warning, an attempt to scare him, just like how Jiang Wu sometimes frightened Yin Wuzhi. He likely hoped Jiang Wu would restrain himself a bit so that his own life would be easier.
Yin Wuzhi still hadn’t made up his mind to get rid of him, as he harbored hope for this incompetent ruler.
Jiang Wu pondered for a moment, thinking that he might need to find more time to bully Yin Wuzhi harder.
A group of people suddenly approached from the front. Yin Wuzhi stopped, and since he was holding Jiang Wu, he simply bowed his head respectfully: “Greetings, Empress Dowager.”
Empress Dowager, Yao, glanced at the person in his arms and stepped forward to Jiang Wu. “I heard you were ill, so your Royal Mother came to see you.”
She knew Jiang Wu had been ill for a while, but since he had publicly embarrassed her in the imperial garden, she had been stewing in anger and deliberately refrained from showing concern. However, after hearing for several days that Jiang Wu was too sick to attend court and had called in senior ministers to assist with state affairs, she could no longer sit still.
“I’m heading to the warm pool,” Jiang Wu said quietly, resting in Yin Wuzhi’s arms without sparing a glance at the Empress Dowager. “Now is not a good time.”
“You child…” The Empress Dowager’s delicate brows furrowed with concern. “What’s wrong with your health?”
He was either in a wheelchair or being carried wherever he went, and he’d lost so much weight.
“If anything is wrong, be sure to tell your Royal Mother.”
To Jiang Wu, the Empress Dowager was an unnecessary figure. In his memories, she wasn’t involved in Yin Wuzhi’s eventual coup, so she wasn’t worth the effort to deal with. He closed his eyes and said nothing more.
His lazy, dismissive posture brought a worried expression to the Empress Dowager’s face. She clutched her handkerchief for a moment before reluctantly stepping aside.
Yin Wuzhi carried Jiang Wu forward again.
Behind them, the Empress Dowager said, “Your Royal Mother will be waiting for you in Taiji Hall.”
She watched as Jiang Wu’s figure disappeared from view, then turned back and, supported by her attendants, entered the hall. Once inside, she dismissed her servants and sat alone in the vast palace.
“Does everyone who takes the throne change?”
A mocking smile appeared on her lips as she slowly straightened her slim neck, sitting upright with grace and dignity. “Summon Imperial Physician Gu.”
Inside the warm chamber, Jiang Wu was placed in the water. He lazily closed his eyes, stretching out his limbs and gradually relaxing completely. Only the buoyancy of the water allowed him a brief reprieve from the constant pain of his frail body.
Yin Wuzhi sat by the edge of the pool, watching him. It was only in moments like this that Jiang Wu’s expression would change ever so slightly. It was clear he truly liked water—not in a casual way but with a genuine desire to stay submerged.
Yin Wuzhi poured water over his shoulders and asked, “Can Your Majesty swim?”
Jiang Wu opened his eyes, seemingly reminded of something. Then he slowly reclined back into the water.
Yin Wuzhi exclaimed, “!”
Before he could react, Jiang Wu spread out his limbs and lay flat on the water’s surface. His belly faced upward as he floated, his long limbs gently outstretched. His hair fanned out like seaweed, swaying gently in the water’s ripples.
Amid the mist and steam, he resembled a mythical creature from the ocean, captivating and ethereal.
Yin Wuzhi’s gaze lingered like glue, slowly moving from Jiang Wu’s flushed cheeks down to his gracefully pointed toes before he finally forced himself to look away.
Jiang Wu shifted slightly. His pale hand fluttered like a wing, and his body silently drifted forward. Though the warm pool was spacious, it wasn’t large enough. With just a small movement, Jiang Wu’s head soon bumped into the edge of the pool.
Breathing steadily, he didn’t slip underwater, but the feeling of his head pressing against the pool’s edge was clearly uncomfortable. He spoke, “Yin Wuzhi.”
Yin Wuzhi, struggling to maintain composure, turned to him with a stern expression. “What is it?”
“Turn me around.”
Yin Wuzhi pressed down on his robes, hesitating for a moment before standing and walking over to gently rotate the floating Jiang Wu.
Once again, Jiang Wu’s movements caused him to drift, and his head quickly bumped into the other side. “Turn me again.”
Yin Wuzhi pursed his lips and walked to the opposite side of the pool to turn him once more.
As Jiang Wu floated, his arms and legs swayed slightly, and from where Yin Wuzhi crouched, he had an unobstructed view of the gap between Jiang Wu’s legs.
He stared silently, only moving when Jiang Wu’s head collided with the wall again. He walked over, crouched down, and watched as Jiang Wu floated slowly away in the same position.
After several rounds of this, Jiang Wu began to struggle with his breathing and sank slightly, the warm water quickly filling his nostrils.
Still crouching across from him and lost in thought, Yin Wuzhi suddenly snapped back to reality. “?”
Seeing the gap between his legs sink out of view, he leaped into the water and scooped Jiang Wu up.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty?”
Yin Wuzhi patted his face, but Jiang Wu didn’t respond. He pinched Jiang Wu’s nose and, taking a deep breath, prepared to press his mouth to Jiang Wu’s when suddenly a mouthful of water sprayed into his face.
Coughing and spluttering, Jiang Wu weakly rested against Yin Wuzhi.
When would Yin Wuzhi finally agree to kill him? When would he be free from all this?
In the distant past, Jiang Wu had once floated freely, but now, just to feel that simple happiness again, he had to pay such a steep price.
Pessimist just wants to die.”
Yin Wuzhi breathed a sigh of relief, brushed aside the long hair sticking to his forehead, and softly said, “It’s alright now.”
There was no joy of survival on Pessimist’s face, only despair and exhaustion were written all over him.
Yin Wuzhi touched his slightly cold shoulder, scooped up some water, and poured it over him. Then he lifted him out of the pool, ordered a servant to bring a blanket to wrap him up, and gently said, “It’s okay, don’t be afraid, just relax.”
After changing out of his wet clothes, Yin Wuzhi returned to care for Jiang Wu.
By the time they left the warm chamber, it was already dark outside.
In the Taiji Hall, lights were lit. Empress Dowager Yao, who had been waiting for a long time, had a cold expression. Gu Yan stood quietly on the side after being questioned, and the entire hall was eerily silent.
Yao Ji picked up the tea next to her, took a sip, and then slammed it down heavily.
Qi Hanmiao, keenly observing the situation, immediately stepped forward, “This servant will fetch a fresh cup of hot tea for the Empress Dowager.”
Yao Ji straightened her back, her breathing slow and strained. “When is Yin Wuzhi bringing the Emperor back?”
“Empress Dowager may not know, but His Majesty has recently taken a liking to bathing. He often soaks for a long time, and if it’s not for two hours, I’m afraid he won’t return.”
“How come I was unaware of His Majesty’s fondness for bathing?”
“This is only in the past two months, it only started recently.”
“Two months, or since Yin Wuzhi entered the palace?”
Gu Yan remained silent with his head bowed, but a slight alarm rang in Qi Hanmiao’s mind.
The Empress Dowager suspects that Yin Wuzhi is seducing the Emperor?
He tried to defend Yin Wuzhi. “There is absolutely nothing like that. His Majesty had this habit even before the shizi entered the palace. If the Empress Dowager does not believe me, you can ask His Majesty yourself.”
“Do you think I don’t know?” Yao Ji replied coldly. “His Majesty has been utterly enchanted by him. Even the Imperial Study has become the sleeping quarters for that prince. Just a few days ago, His Majesty even defied me because of him. Didn’t you see it yourself?”
Qi Hanmiao shuddered and knelt, banging his head on the floor. “Empress Dowager, please calm down. This servant saw nothing. I promise, everyone present saw nothing.”
Yao Ji, unable to contain herself, stood up.
Jiang Wu had been soaking in the bath for nearly two hours, and Yin Wuzhi had been with him for the entire time… In the warmth of that pool, one an emperor, the other a handsome shizi—what could happen between them was self-evident.
Yin Wuzhi, how cunning!
He had only been in the palace for a few days, yet he had already persuaded the Emperor to hand over state affairs to him. Despicable!
Yao Ji clenched her fists, her face darkening.
“Empress Dowager.” She raised her eyes as her personal maid hurried in, leaned in, and whispered, “His Majesty has come out.”
Yao Ji forced her rage down, softened her expression, and sat back on the throne.
Yin Wuzhi carried Jiang Wu into the hall.
Yao Ji’s gaze was sharp, as if she wanted to devour him. “Let go of His Majesty.”
Perhaps it was because he had just come out of the bath, Jiang Wu was drowsy and didn’t protest. Yin Wuzhi could only find a chair and set him down first.
The chair was a bit hard, and Jiang Wu tried to sit upright, though he was still slouching a bit.
Yao Ji frowned and approached him, noticing that Yin Wuzhi was still standing nearby. She spat angrily, “Get out.”
Even after driving Yin Wuzhi away, it wasn’t enough for her. “Everyone, leave.”
Things couldn’t go on like this. She had to speak to Jiang Wu alone.
Soon, only mother and son remained in the room.
Yao Ji crouched down beside Jiang Wu’s feet, gently holding his hand. She raised her head and gazed at his face, so similar to hers, and said, “Wu Er, are you deliberately ignoring your Mother?”
Jiang Wu lazily fluttered his eyelashes, meeting her gaze indifferently.
Tears welled in Yao Ji’s eyes. “Wu Er, your Mother doesn’t want to pressure you. I have my own difficulties.”
Jiang Wu continued to look at her without a trace of emotion.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Yao Ji said. “Wu Er, think about how your Mother has nurtured you all these years. Things can’t go on like this. If the old ministers learn about our secret, they won’t spare you. You must take control of all power to save yourself, to save your Mother.”
Jiang Wu found her chatter unbearable. “Shut up.”
Yao Ji froze, then, after a moment, pitifully asked, “Wu Er… Do you hate your Mother?”
“Shut up.”
Yao Ji began to cry. “Wu Er, even if you don’t care about your own life, do you not care about your Mother’s?”
“Stop talking,” Jiang Wu closed his eyes, wearily. “Don’t talk to me anymore.”
He felt so tired, so sleepy, but this woman kept talking, never understanding his words.
Listen, she was still talking. “And as for Yin Wuzhi, if you’re just playing with him, I don’t mind. But his father—he’s a criminal. He cannot be allowed to live.”
“…” Since he couldn’t stop her, let her go on.
It wasn’t that hard to endure, after all.
“Wu Er,” Yao Ji sobbed, “please say something to your Mother. You weren’t like this before.”
“…”
It was so noisy.
Jiang Wu remembered when, as a wandering spirit, he once floated above a city and encountered a noisy person or event. When the wind didn’t blow and he was too lazy to move, he would let himself hover there, shutting off all his senses.
When he regained awareness, he was either carried away by the wind or the noise had ended, and everything returned to calm.
But since becoming human, he hadn’t used this trick. He didn’t know if it still worked, and more importantly, if he used it now, who knew when he would wake again.
“Wu Er…”
How painful.
Pessimist slowly lowered his head.
Let Pessimist die.
“Wu Er?” Yao Ji saw his eyes tightly shut and instinctively pinched his hand. “Wu Er? Are you asleep?”
Deep within the sea of consciousness, a profound silence settled.
“Wu Er? Wu Er, don’t scare your Royal Mother!” Empress Dowager Yao reached out to push him. “Wu…”
With a heavy thud, Pessimist’s body toppled from the chair.
Silence. Peace. Tranquility.
This was the small, blissful contentment that truly belonged to Pessimist.
Empress Dowager Yao screamed, “Ahhhh! Wu Er, what’s wrong with you?!”
