Chapter 35
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Zhao Yuan wore a straight stone-blue robe and stood among the pine stones, looking increasingly gaunt after these few days.
Li Yi hurried over when he saw him. It was rare to see the Shizi in front of him, not bowing his head to avoid him nor showing the usual frivolous demeanor. Instead, he looked at him with clear eyes and a calm mind.
Li Yi had the feeling that this was the first time the Shizi treated him like a Crown Granson.
He wanted to ask Zhao Shen about what happened after the doctor left, but he remembered that he had instructed Imperial Doctor Lin to only say that the doctor was a graduate from the academy. Li Yi had a thousand words to say, but only managed to say a gentle sentence, “Shizi, everything is fine now?”
Zhao Yuan saw Li Yi coming over eagerly, disregarding his usual courtesy and stopping only in front of him. His deer-like eyes gazed at him, his face like a child who had just eaten candy, and his smile could not be hidden; but he opened his mouth a few times to only ask him one question.
Zhao Yuan felt the area above his heart, which had been broken into by Li Yi in the dilapidated house, heating up again.
“Thank you for worrying, I’m fine now.”
The heart of a young man is always the most fragile and straightforward. His father’s indifference and the court’s difficulties had made Zhao Yuan’s heart as cold as ice after only three years in the capital. However, he was unexpectedly broken by Li Yi, and the ice around his heart remained, but the broken part never healed.
Where the ice melted, there was always a warm current flowing, no matter how much Zhao Yuan wanted to plug it in, he was always deterred by the burning heat.
He saw that Li Yi did not mention the matter of seeking medical treatment for him, so he pretended not to know either.
Zhao Yuan had initially thought that the Crown Grandson’s confinement in the palace for more than a month was related to him, and he almost thought that he would never see Li Yi again. But now, Li Yi not only did not avoid him but also came to him with joy.
Zhao Yuan couldn’t help but wonder, “Does His Majesty allow you to associate with me?”
Li Yi was slightly stunned. How could the Shizi, who had been ill for a while, suddenly become so clever and ask such a question?
“The Emperor is only afraid that I will neglect my studies, and will not stop me from getting close to the Shizi in the future.”
Zhao Yuan could see that Li Yi was not telling the truth, but he didn’t pursue it. He only remembered his sincerity in his heart.
The two of them talked about their studies for a while, and when they saw that it was getting late, Li Yi was ready to leave first to see Guo Jijiu before returning to the classroom.
Before leaving, Zhao Yuan stopped Li Yi and said, “Your Highness, there is no need to call me Shizi in the future. I have taken the name ‘Qi Yuan’.”
Zhao Yuan had a hidden agenda, he used his own name.
When Li Yi heard this, he asked, “The ‘Qi Yuan’ in ‘The Doctrine of the Mean’s Yuanyuan Qi Yuan?”
Zhao Yuan nodded, “Exactly.”
Li Yi smiled brightly, “I don’t have one, but everyone in the palace calls me by my nickname, Huan An.” As he said this, he untied the jade belt from his waist…
Zhao Yuan took it and saw the four characters “Yi Shi Huan An” engraved on the bottom of the white jade pillar in a cross shape within the circular seal. He examined it carefully and imprinted it in his mind before handing it back.
As Li Yi left and walked to the bend in the mountain, he suddenly stopped and looked back. Surprisingly, the Shizi was still standing with his hands behind his back, gazing at him in the wind.
Li Yi suddenly shouted, “Qi Yuan!”
The young man ran towards him, but Li Yi shook his head, “It’s nothing.”
The Shizi stopped in the middle of the path and looked at Li Yi. After thinking for a moment, Li Yi added, “I’m happy in my heart.”
Zhao Yuan was slightly stunned, but then burst out laughing.
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When Zhao Heng was under attack and fists were about to land on him, Li Yi rushed in and intervened.
During this time, Zhao Heng seized the opportunity to knock down one of his attackers, while Wei Che had also caught up and protected the emperor.
“Stop it now!” Li Yi scolded the others in anger.
The young students, seeing that their teacher had arrived, had to reluctantly stop, even though they were still unhappy.
Li Yi walked over to Zhao Heng’s side and looked at his handsome face, which was as stubborn as he remembered, but his features were not quite like those of Zhao Shen.
As a result of this incident, Zhao Heng was late returning to the palace, and the secret was eventually revealed to the empress dowager that the emperor had snuck out of the palace.
Liu Shunzhong couldn’t escape a scolding, but it wasn’t a big deal. After all, it was something the emperor had instructed him to do, and it was done under Zhao Heng’s watchful eyes.
After a long day, the emperor had to listen to the empress dowager’s admonitions. When he finished dealing with her, the moon was almost at the top of Zhonghe Palace.
He sat quietly in the great hall with Wei Che by his side. Seeing that no one dared to approach him, Wei Che took the initiative and said, “Your Majesty, why don’t you rest first? Tomorrow, when the sun rises, everything will be resolved.”
Zhao Heng liked Wei Che’s fearless personality and his energetic manner. Thinking of what happened during the day, he felt a strange discomfort from his self-sacrifice. His chest ached and felt hot, as if all the blood in his body was rushing towards his heart. This feeling had reached its peak when he fought those boys, perhaps because it was the first time he had ever fought.
On the second day, Zhao Heng attended the regent’s court session early in the morning, then listened to the lecture of a great scholar after it ended. In the afternoon, he took a nap and when he woke up, he wanted to find Wei Che to practice some skills, but he couldn’t find him. Only then did the Yunhui messenger of the imperial guard dare to report that the Empress Dowager had detained Wei Che in the palace.
“When did this happen?” Zhao Heng was furious. The affairs of the state were now being handled by the regent, and he only had the right to listen in. Could it be that he couldn’t even make decisions about his own affairs? Not only that, but he didn’t even know what was going on in his own household!
“It was after Your Majesty went to Ningan Palace to pay respects,” the servant replied.
That was hours ago, and now it was already close to the end of the day. Zhao Heng rushed to Ningan Palace, followed closely by the royal entourage.
As he walked, his heart raced with anxiety. He had already guessed that the Empress Dowager was blaming Wei Che for something. He had thought that since Wei Che was an outsider, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on him. But he had forgotten that anyone who had anything to do with the palace was fair game for the Empress Dowager’s wrath.
As soon as Zhao Heng entered the palace, he saw Wei Che kneeling under the scorching sun, his back exposed and covered in wounds.
The sight made Zhao Heng’s chest ache and his temperature rise. He tried to suppress his discomfort and walked directly into the main hall to pay his respects.
Shen Zhi saw the emperor and gently put down her teacup. She only spoke about unrelated matters.
After patiently listening for a while, Zhao Heng finally waited for Shen Zhi to stop talking before asking, “What did Wei Che do? Royal Mother punished him so severely, it hurts the face of a court official like him.”
It was not just a matter of Wei Che losing face; it was also a matter of Zhao Heng losing face. What kind of emperor would not be able to protect his own officials? It was shameful for him as a ruler.
Shen Zhi looked at Zhao Heng, the more she knew what he cared about, the more she wanted him to suffer, and the goal was to make the emperor not dare to offend again.
“Is there anything else you don’t know, Heng Er? He is suffering for you.”
Without even bothering to give a pretense of concealment, the Empress Dowager slapped Zhao Heng in the face with her words.
The Emperor’s face turned red with anger. He couldn’t protect Wei Che in the school, and he couldn’t protect him in the palace either. He couldn’t save him even once or twice. The pain in his chest made Zhao Heng frown tightly, but Shen Zhi still thought the Emperor was just feeling uneasy.
“Since you’re here, take him back. Heng is grown up now and won’t listen to advice. Your Majesty insisted on going to the Pan Palace right? Fine. From tomorrow on, if the Emperor goes to the Pan Palace once, I will make Wei Che kneel outside the hall for a day.”
“Royal Mother!” Zhao Heng couldn’t believe that Shen Zhi could threaten him like this.
“Your Majesty is getting old, and I cannot persuade you otherwise. Since ancient times, when the emperor makes a mistake, it is the duty of the ministers to make up for it. This is their responsibility. If the emperor can take responsibility for the mistake, it is his good fortune!”
The emperor suddenly stood up, without saying a word, turned and walked out. The followers hurriedly followed, causing birds and animals around them to fly in panic.
Passing by Wei Che, Zhao Heng clenched his fists and blurted out the word “go.”
Wei Che had to gather his energy to stand up, but he couldn’t keep up because he was a few steps behind. When he caught up to Zhonghe Palace, he saw that the emperor was alone in the warm pavilion, and he was about to approach him to pay his respects, but he heard that something was wrong inside.
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