Chapter 10: Remembering a Lost Friend; Mo Shuihan’s Outburst
“What? You say you’re going on duty?” Princess Jiu stared at Mo Shuihan with her already large almond-shaped eyes.
Mo Shuihan steeled himself, “Yes, it can’t be helped. Cheng Yang is getting married…”
“So you’re going to leave me alone at home?” Princess Jiu stormed towards him, “Stinky scholar, are you doing this on purpose? He’s getting married, not everyone in the Hanlin Academy! Let someone else do it!”
Mo Shuihan calmly explained, “We three are newcomers. How can we let others take the night duty? It’s unreasonable. Besides, I just arrived at the Hanlin Academy, and I want to make a good impression to live up to the Emperor’s expectations, don’t you think?”
Princess Jiu looked at him suspiciously, “You’re not really avoiding me, are you?”
Mo Shuihan remained calm, “You’re overthinking.”
Princess Jiu snorted and sat back on the bed, “I hope not.”
Mo Shuihan cautiously asked, “So, Princess, do you… agree?”
Princess Jiu pouted and patted the soft cushion, “You’ve already agreed to someone else. What can I do even if I disagree?”
As a newcomer to the Hanlin Academy, Mo Shuihan wasn’t familiar with everything. Someone would be assigned to work with him, and coincidentally, it was Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng seemed very interested in Mo Shuihan. Regardless of whether Mo Shuihan acknowledged him, he followed him relentlessly, surprising and frustrating the Hanlin Academy colleagues who were used to his spoiled young master attitude: It’s unknown what charm Mo Shuihan possesses. First Princess Jiu, now Xiao Heng, both notoriously difficult to deal with, yet they act completely different around him.
Mo Shuihan frowned at Xiao Heng, “It’s daytime. We’re not on duty, so you don’t need to shadow me.”
Xiao Heng remained cheerful, “I’ve been on duty with you for the past few days, and we work well together. Why don’t I talk to the president and get us assigned together?”
Mo Shuihan looked down at the manuscript, calmly replying, “I appreciate your good intentions, Minister Xiao. I’m a newcomer, only capable of simple proofreading tasks, and I’m truly unworthy of such consideration.”
Xiao Heng’s gaze fell on Mo Shuihan’s refined, cold face, “You know, you look very much like an old friend of mine.”
Mo Shuihan raised an eyebrow without looking up, “Is that so?”
A hint of reminiscence flickered in Xiao Heng’s eyes, “She was a very important person in my life. My savior…”
Mo Shuihan paused, suppressing the intense hatred in his eyes before smiling, “Where is she now?”
A wave of intense pain suddenly washed over Xiao Heng’s face. His voice was filled with bitterness, “She’s dead. I killed her!”
Mo Shuihan responded with an “Oh,” disinterestedly lowering his head, “So, Minister Xiao, you’re treating me as a substitute for your old friend?”
Xiao Heng snapped out of his memories, leaning down to gaze at Mo Shuihan’s face, “I’m not treating you as her substitute. I just think you’re very similar to her, not just in appearance… Sometimes, I even wonder if she’s come back.”
“Snap!” Mo Shuihan slammed his pen on the table, coldly looking at Xiao Heng, “Minister Xiao, I don’t know how I’ve offended you that you compare me to a dead person.”
“She’s not dead!” Xiao Heng widened his eyes, his voice filled with anger and excitement, “In my heart, she’s always alive!”
The surrounding colleagues were startled and looked at the two facing off: There you go, old habits die hard. How could Young Master Xiao transform from a tiger into a house cat?
Mo Shuihan ignored his anger, maintaining his calm demeanor, “That’s only in your heart. I don’t know her, Minister Xiao. Your comparison is disrespectful to her and an offense to me.”
Without further consideration of Xiao Heng’s reaction, he picked up the documents and moved away.
Xiao Heng, angry and furious, was helpless against that familiar face. He angrily shouted, “What are you all looking at? Don’t you have work to do?”
The others fell silent, quickly lowering their heads, not daring to look.
After Mo Shuihan left, Princess Jiu grew increasingly suspicious: Could he really be avoiding me?
Fearing Mo Shuihan might be deceiving her and secretly seeing other women, she secretly sent a servant to the Hanlin Academy to inquire. The officials of the Hanlin Academy, seeing the Princess’s servant, dared not conceal anything and truthfully reported Mo Shuihan’s daily activities, including his dispute with Xiao Heng.
Princess Jiu felt relieved knowing that Mo Shuihan stayed at the Hanlin Academy obediently without any ulterior motives. However, this reached the Emperor’s ears, and he frowned, “Are they quarreling again?”
The servant dared not conceal anything, reporting Princess Jiu’s actions—preventing Mo Shuihan from entering their room, throwing cold water on him, and Mo Shuihan’s sulking retreat to the Hanlin Academy.
The Emperor massaged his temples in distress, “These two little ancestors, there’s never a day of peace!”
Noble Consort Chu was serving the Emperor. Hearing this, she became angry, “This top scholar is truly ungrateful. Jiu’er is a princess! What’s wrong with him being more considerate?”
The Emperor pushed her hand away, stepping down from the bed, “That’s not how it is. Jiu’er was indeed acting up. How could she throw cold water on her Prince Consort? Although she’s a princess, the top scholar is not an outsider. As his wife, how can she disrespect her husband so?”
Noble Consort Chu smiled softly, walking behind the Emperor to massage his shoulders and telling funny stories to cheer him up. Seeing that his expression had improved, she asked, “But we can’t ignore Jiu’er. Your Majesty, although Jiu’er isn’t my daughter, she was raised by the Empress and me. Seeing her treated like this, my heart aches…”
Seeing her tears, the Emperor quickly turned around, taking the handkerchief from her hand, wiping her tears while coaxing her, “There, there, why are you crying? I didn’t say I wasn’t going to do anything. Jiu’er is my most beloved daughter. Can I let her suffer?”
Noble Consort Chu let the Emperor wipe her tears, her voice slightly coquettish, “I only raised Jiu’er. Seeing her suffer feels like a knife cutting my heart. Your Majesty, you must stand up for Jiu’er!”
The Emperor sighed, “That’s true. Jiu’er has been spoiled since childhood. This Prince Consort is truly unreasonable!”
That night, Mo Shuihan was on duty with Xiao Heng again. With an outsider present, Mo Shuihan couldn’t rest and took out a book to pass the time.
Seeing Mo Shuihan ignoring him as usual, Xiao Heng, remembering his earlier offense, went to the stove in the outer room, brewed two cups of tea, and brought some snacks he had brought with him to Mo Shuihan.
Mo Shuihan was puzzled, “What’s this for?”
Xiao Heng smiled, “I offended you earlier today. This is an apology.”
Mo Shuihan smiled casually, “Minister Xiao is too kind.”
Seeing Mo Shuihan lower his head back to his book, Xiao Heng peered at it before losing interest and sitting back down, “You like reading very much?”
“It’s alright,” Mo Shuihan responded indifferently, never taking his eyes off the book.
Xiao Heng changed the subject, “Princess Jiu… seems to be inquiring about your whereabouts recently?”
“I know,” Mo Shuihan nodded frankly.
“You don’t care?”
Mo Shuihan looked up, “Care about what?”
Xiao Heng frowned, “Her actions insult your dignity in the Hanlin Academy. Besides, a grown man being treated like this by his wife, don’t you feel angry?”
“What’s there to be angry about?” Mo Shuihan didn’t care, even defending Princess Jiu, “I’m her husband, and I haven’t been home for days. Wouldn’t it be unusual if she didn’t care?”
The Emperor took advantage of the night to inspect the Hanlin Academy, hoping to reconcile the couple. As he approached the duty room, he overheard Mo Shuihan and Xiao Heng. He wanted to see Mo Shuihan’s attitude toward his precious daughter, so he stopped the eunuch from announcing his presence. Hearing Mo Shuihan defending Princess Jiu, he was quite satisfied before signaling the eunuch to proceed.
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