The Salted Fish Has Gotten Over It Chapter 85

Chapter 85

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“Chief Steward Wang, is there something wrong? His Highness hasn’t arrived yet?”

In the study, Gu Yunzhi inquired.

Emperor Hongxing had issued an order for him, Su Feiyue, and Jiang Sentao to come to the Prince Li’s residence today to work on some political matters with the newly appointed Crown Prince. They had arrived early, but had been waiting for a long time without seeing anyone.

Chief Steward Wang smiled and said, “Replying to the Minister, His Highness must have been delayed by something.”

That was essentially saying nothing. Gu Yunzhi shook his head and picked up his teacup to drink, while Su Feiyue, sitting beside him, said leisurely, “Perhaps something happened with the Crown Prince Consort.”

Gu Yunzhi turned to look, just about to speak, when the door creaked open.

Dressed in pure black with golden feather embroidery, intricate and extravagant, Xue Fangli entered the study. As his robes swept past, Su Feiyue and the others smiled and said, “Greetings, Your Highness.”

But Xue Fangli was not alone; he was carrying a young man in his arms. Gu Yunzhi was momentarily stunned and secretly gave Su Feiyue a thumbs up before bowing and saying, “I greet the Crown Prince Consort.”

Jiang Juan couldn’t see but vaguely felt that there were quite a few people and recognized some familiar voices—it seemed to be the Prince Consort, General Jiang and Prime Minister Gu. Jiang Juan felt a slight unease.

He hesitated to speak, but Chief Steward Wang spoke first, saying in surprise, “Your Highness, didn’t the Crown Prince Consort injure his eyes? Why isn’t he resting properly?”

Xue Fangli replied flatly, “He insisted on coming along.”

Chief Steward Wang smiled and nodded, not saying much more, but added, “Your Highness, the memorials have arrived, and the various officials are here. Once you settle the Crown Prince Consort… shall we begin?”

Xue Fangli nodded, “Yes.”

Jiang Juan: “???”

What memorials?

Is the Prince really dealing with official matters?

Jiang Juan stiffened as Xue Fangli placed him on the soft couch and had someone move the screen. Without much apology, Xue Fangli said, “Everyone, sorry for keeping you waiting. Since he can’t see and can’t be separated from me, he had to stay by my side, which caused a bit of a delay.”

Jiang Juan: “…”

Jiang Juan: “???”

What does it mean he can’t be separated from him? Why does the Prince need to stay by his side?

Why does the Prince have so much to say?

Is this a public humiliation?

Xue Fangli did not specify, but everyone present understood that “he” referred to Jiang Juan and responded accordingly, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

No matter how much they said it was fine, Jiang Juan was quite despairing.

How did this happen?

Wasn’t the Prince interrogating Minister Li?

This is so embarrassing, it’s beyond humiliating.

Jiang Juan felt lost and confused, almost resigned to Xue Fangli’s manipulations. In the end, he was placed on Xue Fangli’s lap and held in his arms. Xue Fangli spoke in a normal tone, “Let’s begin.”

“Yes.”

Gu Yunzhi said, “The Governor of Jingzhou has reported that recently the Jingzhou area has been afflicted by locusts…”

These were urgent memorials that needed to be dealt with. Jiang Juan listened for a while and found it quite boring. He couldn’t run away and couldn’t make sense of what was happening, so he chose to sleep instead.

Just today, for some unknown reason, first Lan Ting wouldn’t let him sleep, and now, nestled in the Prince’s arms, as he was about to fall asleep, his head tilted and he was jolted awake again.

“What’s the matter?”

Jiang Juan held onto the hand that was shaking him. Xue Fangli glanced over and said, “Stay with me and listen.”

Jiang Juan just wanted to sleep, “This is your business, you listen yourself.”

Xue Fangli, with a half-smile, asked him, “Who am I doing this for?”

Jiang Juan thought for a moment and answered decisively, “For the cat.”

“And… there’s someone in our household who needs to make an effort. Your Highness, you can do it.”

He first referred to the cat as a dog, and now to people as a cat, speaking as if it were perfectly logical. Xue Fangli pinched Jiang Juan’s face and said, “Now you know I’m capable.”

Jiang Juan nodded, “As long as you don’t disturb my sleep, Your Highness, you’re the best.”

After saying that, Jiang Juan grasped Xue Fangli’s hand and earnestly said, “Your Highness, since you’re so capable, let me sleep.”

Jiang Juan was really ready to go back to sleep. He snuggled into Xue Fangli’s arms, found a comfortable position, and got ready to drift off.

But pale fingers reached out and grasped Jiang Juan’s chin. Xue Fangli slowly said, “I can’t let you sleep. Get up and listen with me.”

Jiang Juan: “…”

He stayed still, pretending to be dead. The hand then gently stroked upward, resting on Jiang Juan’s lips. Xue Fangli lowered his voice and said, “If you keep pretending to sleep, I’ll kiss you.”

At this moment, the memorial regarding the Jingzhou governor’s report was being discussed. Gu Yunzhi and Su Feiyue exchanged views and asked, “Your Highness, what do you think about the locust disaster in Jingzhou?”

Xue Fangli didn’t respond but asked Jiang Juan, “Aren’t you getting up?”

He lowered his head, fingers tracing over the young man’s lips. Jiang Juan tried to stay still, and Gu Yunzhi waited for a moment before calling out, “Your Highness?”

Chief Steward Wang, sensing something strange, approached. His footsteps were light, but still made some noise, growing closer with each step.

No matter what, Jiang Juan had some sense of pride. It was bad enough that His Highness’s first official day was marred by his lateness. To be seen being kissed by His Highness was even worse. Jiang Juan couldn’t explain it, so he had no choice but to yield. He bit Xue Fangli’s finger sullenly.

The slight pain made Xue Fangli’s eyelids lift. He knew Jiang Juan had stopped pretending to sleep and finally let him go with a “Hmm.”

Gu Yunzhi then repeated, “What do you think about this locust disaster?”

“Setting up bonfires to kill them is fine. But it requires a lot of manpower and resources, and local officials can’t cover every area. It might be better to issue a bounty, regardless of whether people burn or beat them…”

Xue Fangli spoke leisurely, and Chief Steward Wang stopped his approach, not entering the screen area. Jiang Juan sighed in relief. Although he was still not happy about not being allowed to sleep, he begrudgingly paid some attention.

So many issues—private salt, embezzled official silver, frequent rainfall in the south.

It was so boring; he really wanted to sleep.

Wait.

Frequent rainfall in the south?

Jiang Juan suddenly sat up.

By mid-May, summer had already arrived, and so had the rainy season.

He almost forgot about this.

Gu Yunzhi said, “…Recently, the rainfall in Jiangnan has been frequent, causing river levels to rise. The Governor of Yangzhou is requesting the court to allocate some funds for flood prevention.”

“So many years have passed, and they still need money for the same reason.”

Su Feiyue listened and shook his head with a smile, seemingly unconcerned. Gu Yunzhi sighed, “Yes, every year the river rises, and every year they need funds.”

Su Feiyue said, “Let’s hold off for now.”

Gu Yunzhi agreed, waiting for Xue Fangli to give further instructions.

“Your Highness…”

Jiang Juan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

In the original plot, when Emperor Hongxing was ill, it was Eldest Prince Xue Chaohua who took over the governance. At that time, he also ignored such memorials, delaying their handling. Unfortunately, a major storm hit that year.

The storm flooded many areas, leaving many people displaced, causing a chain reaction of problems. Xue Chaohua’s regret was useless; he hastily sent Marquis Anping south, but by then, it was too little, too late, and had little effect.

Jiang Juan had thought this was an issue between the protagonist shou and Marquis Anping. As long as they managed to escape in time, it would be fine. But now—Xue Fangli was the Crown Prince, and it was his responsibility to handle it.

The previous Eldest Prince who mishandled a situation met a tragic end.

This wouldn’t do.

“Can we postpone it? What if there really is a flood?”

Xue Fangli: “Why do you care about this?”

Jiang Juan: “Didn’t you ask me to listen?”

Xue Fangli glanced at him and explained in a neutral tone, “The southern region is rainy in summer. The court allocates funds every year.”

Chief Steward Wang, having overheard, also smiled and said, “Crown Prince Consort might not know, but the southern weather is peculiar. His Majesty is very concerned, but no matter how much money is given, the local officials always think it’s insufficient. Every summer, when the memorials come, His Majesty always gets upset.”

Gu Yunzhi added, “Moreover, Yangzhou has received funds, but places like Jinling, Kaifeng, Suzhou, and Hangzhou also need their share. We can’t favor one over the other. Yet, the military and supplies in the border regions are tight, so we can’t give more.”

Jiang Juan: “…Alright.”

He didn’t quite understand these matters, but he could grasp the implication of Gu Yunzhi’s words—it’s not that they didn’t want to give, but that they couldn’t. Jiang Juan furrowed his brow, feeling that changing fate was difficult.

Seeing his furrowed brows, Xue Fangli scrutinized him and asked indifferently, “Are you having another episode of your ‘Bodhisattva disease’?”

What Bodhisattva disease? Jiang Juan slowly said, “You’re the one with the Bodhisattva disease. I just…”

Saving your dog’s life.

Jiang Juan couldn’t explain the plot to him, so he made up a story instead: “Last time, I had a nightmare about a flood. Many people drowned, and many others became refugees.”

Xue Fangli snorted, “A nightmare? I see you sleeping until noon every day, and you’ve never been woken by a nightmare.”

Jiang Juan: “…”

How can we continue this conversation? It’s impossible.

He slumped back, annoyed, and grumbled, “Who says you have to be woken up by nightmares?”

“I sleep well and never wake up from nightmares.”

Xue Fangli didn’t comment further and simply told Gu Yunzhi, “Prime Minister Gu, continue.”

Gu Yunzhi agreed and picked up another memorial.

The water disaster in Jiangnan felt like a heavy stone on Jiang Juan’s chest. He had forgotten about it, but now that it was brought up, he couldn’t do anything about it, and his unease grew.

He was increasingly restless. He had wanted to sleep, but now he truly had no mood for it.

His Highness was indifferent, and with the onset of summer and potential heavy rains, they would all be in trouble.

Jiang Juan became more and more uncomfortable, moving around in Xue Fangli’s arms. The more he thought, the more frightened he became, his brows furrowed the entire time.

After some time, a hand gently stroked him, and Xue Fangli asked impatiently, “What’s started again?”

Jiang Juan asked in confusion, “What? What’s started again?”

Xue Fangli frowned, “What are you afraid of this time?”

How should he explain? The storm was a future issue; even if Jiang Juan spoke honestly, no one would believe him. Moreover, both the Prince, Prime Minister Gu, and Chief Steward Wang had explained that the court wasn’t without funds.

After thinking hard, Jiang Juan couldn’t come up with a good explanation and sighed in resignation.

Xue Fangli looked at him, his expression unchanged. He didn’t like Jiang Juan’s behavior and had some idea about the reason for Jiang Juan’s unease.

—The memorial from Yangzhou.

After staring at Jiang Juan for a long time, Xue Fangli finally spoke again, not to Jiang Juan but to Gu Yunzhi.

“Prime Minister Gu, keep the Yangzhou memorial.”

Gu Yunzhi was taken aback, “Yes, Your Highness.”

Jiang Juan was also surprised and looked up, “Your Highness…”

Xue Fangli’s tone was cold, “If you want to be a Bodhisattva, what can I do?”

Despite being mocked by His Highness again, Jiang Juan was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events. His furrowed brows relaxed, and his eyes slowly curved into a smile, “Your Highness, you’re really kind.”

Seeing him smile, Xue Fangli’s irritation eased a bit, and he asked, “Why do you like playing the Bodhisattva so much?”

Jiang Juan clarified, “It’s not about being a Bodhisattva. I just…”

“Your Highness, doing good deeds will bring blessings.”

Xue Fangli scoffed, “I don’t believe in gods or the cycle of karma, and I don’t need any blessings.”

Fine, if you don’t believe, Jiang Juan tried another approach, “Then consider it for my sake?”

Xue Fangli lowered his gaze, “For your sake? Don’t you understand why I’m keeping the memorial?”

“I’m doing it for you.”

Xue Fangli’s tone turned harsh, “You don’t sleep and become a nuisance. It’s really troublesome.”

Author’s note: Salted Fish Juan: Who’s not letting me sleep?

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