“Your Majesty! Why on earth would you allow such a reckless, insolent woman to remain at your side?”
Jiang Yi had been put through the wringer all night. He had spent the entire morning thinking it over, yet he still could not understand what use the woman could possibly have.
After getting up, Zhu Huan had taken his decoction and ginseng tea. His energy and complexion were considerably better now.
He sat reclining against the daybed, his long hair loosely tied behind his head. With every movement, a few mischievous curls brushed against either side of his thick brows.
The bright daylight outside streamed through the lattice windows, falling across one side of his high, straight nose and carving out a steep, rugged shadow.
The veins on Zhu Huan’s pale hands stood out slightly as he held a memorial. He skimmed through it at remarkable speed before passing it to the red-robed eunuch superintendent serving at his side, then picked up another.
He did not respond, but Jiang Yi could not stop himself from recounting the woman’s various outrageous acts from the previous night, embellishing the details as he repeated himself twice.
“This woman is completely fearless! If she is indulged like this, she will surely become a great danger, Your Majesty!”
Zhu Huan finished reading the memorial in his hand and tossed it lightly to the side.
It was such a small, unhurried gesture, yet moments later, every servant in the hall—including Jiang Yi—had dropped to their knees with a series of thuds.
Jiang Yi pressed his forehead to the floor, his back trembling faintly.
His Majesty was angry!
There was no trace of joy or displeasure on Zhu Huan’s face. He merely looked at Jiang Yi in silence.
After a long while, Zhu Huan finally sighed and said, “Jiang Yi, you have been at My side for so many years. You have overseen the palace staff and directed the guards, and your service has been arduous and meritorious.”
Zhu Huan’s voice was always gentle and unhurried, winding and tender as though filled with affection. “Now that you are advanced in years and there have been many matters to attend to of late, it is only natural that your strength is no longer what it once was. I shall bestow upon you the honor of retirement.”
“Outside Shuojing, there is an imperial estate where the spring flowers and autumn scenery are both lovely. In winter, you can even bathe in the hot springs. It is the perfect place for you to recuperate and live out your days. A little later, I shall send the Qianniu Guards to escort you there and settle you in.”
His words sounded full of consideration, but in truth they struck like a bludgeon. Jiang Yi immediately realized that, relying on his seniority, he had repeatedly dared to comment on His Majesty’s decisions—and had finally angered him.
But his loyalty had been pure! He had served with all his heart!
His Majesty actually intended to send him away for good!
Trembling like a sieve, Jiang Yi hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This servant is still in the prime of his life!”
“This servant… this servant still has plenty of strength to devote to Your Majesty! This servant will never again presume to comment on Your Majesty’s decisions…”
Zhu Huan remained calm and composed. Only after watching Jiang Yi strike his head against the floor until it split did he finally speak again.
This time, his voice was even softer and slower. “It is true that I can barely look after Myself these days. Since ancient times, one with a damaged appearance has been forbidden from becoming emperor. I have stubbornly clung to the throne while forcing Myself to endure this crippled, ailing body. It is truly improper… Cough, cough… I have even burdened someone of your age, making you exhaust yourself for My sake. What a grievous fault.”
“Your Majesty… how can you say such a thing? Those words are wounding this servant to the very heart!” Jiang Yi was already weeping so hard that tears and mucus streamed down his face, regret and anguish consuming him.
“This servant deserves death! This servant overstepped himself! This servant deserves ten thousand deaths!”
Jiang Yi sobbed, “Besides, this servant has served Your Majesty for so many years. If this servant leaves, who will care for Your Majesty…?”
But whether Jiang Yi slapped his own face or knocked his head bloody, Zhu Huan refused to say another word. He simply picked up another memorial and resumed reading.
The sun slowly drifted westward from its position overhead. Zhu Huan finished reading the entire stack of memorials before him.
Only then did he move his gaze to Jiang Yi, who lay slumped and dejected on the floor.
After letting out a slow sigh, he said to the palace attendants standing nearby, “Fetch the court physician and have Chief Eunuch Jiang’s injuries examined properly.”
“Yes…”
Having narrowly escaped disaster, Jiang Yi was drenched in sweat beneath his robes as the eunuchs helped him to the rear hall.
“Your Majesty, the midday meal has already been reheated three times.” The female officer in charge of the imperial kitchens stood a cautious distance away, bending at the waist as she reminded him.
“Serve it,” Zhu Huan said, setting down the memorial and pinching the bridge of his nose.
Because Zhu Huan had difficulty moving, both his meals and his memorials were handled on this daybed.
The maidservants removed the small table piled with memorials, ink, and brushes, then brought in a low dining table. The female kitchen officer carried the trays of food into the inner hall in an orderly fashion and stepped forward to serve the meal.
Two eunuch superintendents led a group of palace maids in helping Zhu Huan wash up. They then adjusted the chair supporting his waist and placed both his legs upon the daybed.
The two of them carried the low table laden with food and set it beside Zhu Huan.
After that, the eunuch assigned to taste the dishes began sampling each one in accordance with the rules.
The fragrance of food and the rich scent of medicine spread through the room.
Zhu Huan had no appetite whatsoever. In fact, he felt somewhat nauseated.
Once the tasting was complete, the attendants began serving food into his bowls.
Zhu Huan slowly lifted the spoon between two fingers and took a sip of the day’s Four-Gods chicken soup.
He had only just set down the spoon when he suddenly heard the loud bang of a door being shoved open.
Then a tall figure swept in from the direction of the side hall like a gust of wind.
Xie Shuishan strode forward with her chin raised and her long legs carrying her swiftly. Two palace maids hurried after her, trying to stop her but failing to catch up.
Xie Shuishan came to a halt beside the daybed. Two pairs of similarly narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes met and regarded each other for a moment.
Xie Shuishan tilted her head slightly, staring into Zhu Huan’s eyes. Leaning toward him, she spoke first.
“Back from the dead?”
Yesterday, he had looked as though he was only one breath away from dying. Yet today, he seemed to be in surprisingly good spirits.
Zhu Huan’s expression did not change, and he did not answer. He merely tipped his head back slightly and continued looking at her.
Xie Shuishan had slept for most of the day and was naturally hungry.
Unfortunately, all the food the eunuchs and palace maids had brought her was so bland it could have made a bird lose its appetite.
After a moment’s thought, she had risen and followed the passage from the side hall over to this one.
She had come to see what delicacies even the emperor, Zhu Huan, was eating.
“Just as I thought. The food and drink here are much more decent.”
The dishes laid out on Zhu Huan’s table were all exquisite. There was fish and meat, as well as several kinds of soup.
Xie Shuishan swept up her robe and sat down beside Zhu Huan, nearly landing on his legs.
Without the slightest ceremony, she pushed his legs farther inward, then picked up the bowl of soup in front of him and stirred it.
The female officer attending the meal looked startled. Chief Eunuch Jiang was not here, so there was no one to reprimand Xie Shuishan on His Majesty’s behalf. But this… this…
Stealing the emperor’s food was practically unheard of!
The female officer had just opened her mouth to stop her when Zhu Huan raised a hand slightly. The woman immediately fell silent.
Xie Shuishan took a sip with the soup spoon.
Then she held the mouthful in her mouth, her expression going blank for an instant.
She set down the bowl and spoon. With the soup still in her mouth, she turned to look at Zhu Huan, catching a fleeting glimmer of amusement in his phoenix eyes.
It was as brief as light skimming across a surface, like ripples stirring a dead, still lake and filling it with shimmering radiance.
The mouthful of soup lingered in her mouth for a moment. A strange flavor—salty, fishy, and sweet—exploded across her tongue. Worst of all was the medicinal aftertaste that rose up afterward.
It was medicinal food.
Making Xie Shuishan swallow such a thing would be little different from making her drink hemlock.
Frowning deeply, Xie Shuishan crooked a finger at a palace maid not far behind Zhu Huan. The maid was holding a small, wide-mouthed bottle.
The maid came forward and held out the bottle. Xie Shuishan turned to the side and covered her face with her sleeve, finally spitting the soup out.
What in the world was that?
After being attended to as she rinsed her mouth and drank a cup of tea, Xie Shuishan finally managed to suppress the bizarre flavor.
By then, another bowl of soup had been served in front of Zhu Huan. He was drinking it slowly and unhurriedly, his expression unchanged.
Xie Shuishan sat beside him, watching as he took a few sips of soup before beginning to pick up the dishes the palace maid had placed for him.
His movements were slow, taking only tiny bites at a time. His manner was refined and elegant, a pleasure to watch.
With her elbow propped on the table and her cheek resting in her hand, Xie Shuishan leaned so close that she was practically brushing against his face as she watched him eat. Zhu Huan remained completely unaffected, looking as though he was enjoying his meal immensely.
As she watched, Xie Shuishan wondered if perhaps only the soup was awful and the other dishes were actually edible. She was genuinely hungry.
She picked up the silver serving chopsticks and took a bite of what appeared to be a crisp, refreshing cold vegetable dish from the plate in front of Zhu Huan.
A moment later, the corner of her right eye began twitching rapidly.
This wasn’t a vegetable. Could it be the sprout of some medicinal herb?
Spitting it out after chewing it would look far too unpleasant.
Xie Shuishan forced herself to swallow it whole.
Then she heard the stifled laughter in the man beside her.
Xie Shuishan looked at the corners of Zhu Huan’s eyes, which had flushed faintly from holding back his laughter. It was as though two streaks of rosy clouds from the horizon had been cut out and spread across them.
For once, she found herself slightly dazed.
To be an emperor like Zhu Huan—to drag around a crippled, sickly body, to have a harem filled with spies, to be unable even to crawl on his own, and to eat food that even a dog wouldn’t touch—when more than half the people in the world probably wanted him dead.
Even the plot itself wanted him dead.
What meaning could there possibly be in staying alive?
And yet, he actually seemed rather fond of smiling.
Xie Shuishan had already seen him smile several times.
What was there to laugh about?
Xie Shuishan never smiled like that. Zhu Huan looked far too much like her, and seeing her own face smiling in that way was truly difficult to describe.
Almost instinctively, Xie Shuishan reached out and pinched Zhu Huan’s cheek.
“Stop laughing,” she said coldly.
Today’s update is a little shorter too, but I posted it early. Once I make the rankings, things will return to normal.
