Chapter 101: The Emperor is Shy part 1
The rain had fallen for several days, changing from a heavy downpour to a light, rhythmic patter.
Since being assigned that system mission, being hunted, and then fainting, Ying Xi had been drifting in and out of consciousness. It felt as though he had lived through countless long dreams before he finally opened his eyes.
He appeared to be in a somewhat familiar place.
His head ached, and his throat felt raw.
However, his body felt dry and warm. The familiar scent of vegetation and earth drifted to his nose, causing Ying Xi’s brows to twitch slightly.
Xie Qianli.
He was likely in Xie Qianli’s tent.
Ying Xi looked down and saw that he was covered by a quilt. His personal belongings were clean, and he was dressed in a set of inner robes—everything had been changed, inside and out.
Ying Xi’s fingertips tightened slightly on the edge of the blanket.
“You’re awake?”
A breeze drifted in from outside the tent as Xie Qianli lifted the flap and entered.
He carried a tray with food on it. He set the meal on the table: a half-bowl of white porridge, two small side dishes, and two hubing.
“Your Majesty, please have some breakfast,” Xie Qianli said.
The faint sound of clinking bowls and chopsticks echoed in the tent.
Ying Xi pulled back the quilt to get up. His feet were thin, with only a light layer of flesh covering the bone.
His slippers were also in this tent, which gave him an indescribable feeling.
His legs felt weak, and he wobbled as he stood up and then sat back down. He felt that Xie Qianli, who was currently dressed in plain clothes, seemed even more tall and imposing than usual.
Ying Xi gestured for him to sit.
“How many days have I been asleep?”
“Two days,” Xie Qianli replied. He ladled the porridge and handed the chopsticks to Ying Xi. His movements were fluid, and the aroma of the food began to fill the space.
“What happened while I was asleep?”
Xie Qianli’s brow twitched imperceptibly, and his lips thinned.
He paused for a moment, suppressing his inner turmoil. “I informed Lian Qing that the two rebel generals have been executed. The personnel who surrendered have also undergone a thorough screening; an assassination attempt will not happen again.”
Ying Xi lowered his gaze and did not say much.
His mouth felt bitter. “I can’t remember much of what happened during my illness.”
Ying Xi paused. If he forced himself to remember, he seemed to recall a light—a very bright light that had warmly surrounded him.
Xie Qianli didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.
“Foal. Cough, cough cough…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Ying Xi began to cough. His throat felt as if it were stuffed with razor blades.
When he looked up again, a wave of heat rose to his forehead. He felt a pair of calloused hands touch his skin, and Ying Xi lifted his gaze.
Xie Qianli said softly, “You’re still a bit feverish. You haven’t fully recovered yet.”
Ying Xi looked slightly dazed, the headache from his illness still lingering. But being touched by that palm, feeling the temperature being tested back and forth… it was actually quite comfortable. Ying Xi couldn’t help but close his eyes.
The heat spread slowly from his forehead to his cheeks.
He turned his head slightly. “During these past two days, where did the generals think I went?”
That subtle movement of avoidance caused Xie Qianli’s heart to tighten. He cautiously retreated back into his role as a subject.
Xie Qianli said, “I sent out word that the autumn harvest is approaching, and Your Majesty is discussing tax matters with Prime Minister Su. You temporarily had no time to attend to military affairs.”
“And the generals believed it?”
“They did. As for those who didn’t, I used Your Majesty’s seal as proof and forced them to believe it.”
That seal was naturally not the Imperial Jade Seal, but Ying Xi’s private seal.
Although Ying Xi had many private seals, it was still an object belonging to the Emperor and, to a certain extent, represented his authority.
If Xie Qianli had used that seal to mobilize troops for a rebellion or forged an edict claiming an emergency at the front, with the seal and Xie Qianli’s own prestige, Ying Xi believed he could have commanded tens of thousands of men.
If that had happened, Lu Hehu’s Xizhou Army would likely have been unable to protect him.
Thus, Ying Xi’s expression darkened. “You have quite the nerve.”
However, as he moved his wrist, he felt something tied inside his sleeve. It felt heavy. Ying Xi put down his chopsticks and squeezed it; it was indeed his private seal, already returned to its owner.
His displeasure gradually faded, and his defensiveness halved instantly.
Ying Xi remained silent.
Xie Qianli had already knelt. “I have sinned. I ask Your Majesty for punishment.”
Xie Qianli was indeed different today than usual.
Ying Xi’s senses were sharp; he could perceive it.
Yet, on the surface, his “Foal” was still the same—upright and disciplined. Ying Xi couldn’t quite put it into words.
Ying Xi focused his gaze and said, “You handled things appropriately, and I can find no fault in your actions. I cannot punish you. Let us eat together.”
Two portions of food had been prepared from the start.
Ying Xi didn’t see the faint curl of Xie Qianli’s lips when he lowered his head; it was a small piece of calculation on his part.
As for the Emperor not pursuing the matter of the private seal, Xie Qianli secretly attributed it to the fact that Ying Xi’s trust in him was deeper than before.
His voice unconsciously brightened.
“By your command. I thank Your Majesty for your grace.”
The two then ate together. Having been raised with strict discipline since childhood, they didn’t engage in much idle chatter after the official business was settled.
Not long into the meal, Xie Qianli suggested, “Your Majesty, let me finish the rest of this porridge, otherwise it will go to waste.”
Ying Xi had a poor appetite due to his illness, but how could he waste military rations?
He had no choice but to eat a bit more. Seeing that small dish being pushed toward him again, he was reminded of the small pup in the Prince Yong’s manor—whenever it wanted to show affection or be petted, it would push its bone toward him…
Ying Xi froze. It was a strange association. He lowered his gaze again, his long lashes trembling.
Suddenly, a voice came from outside the tent, breaking the silence of the dinner table.
A young military doctor, carrying a medicine chest, expertly lifted the flap and entered, reporting directly, “General Xie! This subordinate has come as usual to take His Majesty’s pulse!”
However, the Emperor was awake and having breakfast.
The military doctor’s vision captured a peaceful scene within the camp:
The Emperor, dressed in inner robes with his hair loose, was slowly drinking porridge from a porcelain bowl. General Xie was using a wooden spoon to serve him and considerately handing him a side dish.
It was clearly a picture of harmony between ruler and subject, yet the military doctor felt that, once again, his timing was quite poor.
The doctor felt the Emperor’s pulse.
Ying Xi rested his wrist on the table.
While checking the pulse, the doctor asked, “The pulse is no longer a concern, and the medicine is working. Does Your Majesty feel any other discomfort?”
Ying Xi replied, “My throat is uncomfortable.”
“Your Majesty has been ill for a long time; healing is not the work of a single day. You must continue to drink the medicinal soup for a few more days. Do you cough at night? If there is coughing or wheezing at night, I will need to add some ingredients to suppress the cough and stabilize the lungs.”
Ying Xi had been asleep for two days and wasn’t sure.
“An occasional cough, but no shortness of breath,” Xie Qianli answered for him.
The doctor said, “Good, good. Then I will reduce the dosage slightly.”
This exchange once again stirred that strange feeling in Ying Xi’s heart.
But he still couldn’t articulate what it was. Looking at Xie Qianli, Ying Xi said, “Doctor, check General Xie as well to see if his wound has healed.”
General Xie had been wounded in the abdomen, stabbed by Xu Youyi before he died. The doctor knew this and was about to check.
Xie Qianli: “I thank Your Majesty for your grace, but my scabs have already fallen off.”
Ying Xi was suspicious. “Truly?”
“I would not dare deceive the Emperor again. Your Majesty may verify it.”
The spoon Ying Xi was using to drink porridge paused slightly near his lips. “…”
A red flush rose to the tips of his ears.
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