Chapter 6 – Bullied in the Study
Outside the study, Tang was snoring away.
Inside the study, the Regent Prince, with his strong physique, lifted Wei Wanlan like a panicked little chick.
The young emperor did not dare struggle in his grasp, his wrist so thin and fragile, the inner part of the wrist whiter than cheese curds, Su Jingzhi’s thumb felt the young emperor’s faint pulse, the thick callus pressing on that tender skin.
He asked again: “Why is Your Majesty’s hand trembling?”
The tips of the young emperor’s ears were quivering.
Wei Wanlan was terrified, shivering continuously. He couldn’t say that the visit was false and the assassination was true. That would surely lead him straight to the Jinling imprisonment plot, right?
He had to find a way to appease Su Jingzhi: “I-I’m sorry. It’s because the Regent Prince is so majestic, I shouldn’t have let the Regent Prince see me trembling…”
Su Jingzhi’s brow raised slightly, seeing Wei Wanlan like a rabbit cornered by a hunter, his thumb pressing on Wei Wanlan’s vulnerable pulse point:
“Is Your Majesty afraid of this Prince?”
“Of course I’m afraid, terribly afraid.” Wei Wanlan’s lips were trembling, yet he felt Su Jingzhi’s grip tightening, his wrist’s blood circulation almost cut off, his fingertips cold and numb, “It’s because I respect the Regent Prince that I’m afraid…”
But Su Jingzhi snorted, interrupting: “Respect? You tore off this Prince’s waistband, dragged this Prince into the water, and even bit me, how much respect does Your Majesty have?”
Wei Wanlan dared not utter a word, involuntarily glancing at Su Jingzhi, the exposed part of his robe collar clearly showed the bite mark, he really didn’t know how Xin Buyi and the others just faced the Regent Prince with that bite mark on his neck.
So Wei Wanlan’s face flushed hotter, the redness spreading from his ears to his neck, his breath coming out hot: “I… It’s respect…” Wei Wanlan insisted.
Su Jingzhi lowered his voice: “This Prince has never seen anyone who dared to try and tear off my waistband, and yet claim to respect me.”
Wei Wanlan fell silent. His hands and shoulders kept trying to shrink back, even though the system had previously given him a preventive warning, he knew he had done some stupid things, but he didn’t know he had almost stripped the Regent Prince’s pants, were the Regent Prince’s pants something to be casually stripped?
Conscience clear, he just wanted to complete the mission and preserve his life: “I-I’m sorry!”
“Just apologizing in front of the public for humiliating me?”
“I…” Originally wanting to say he could reward him with money, but Wei Wanlan himself didn’t know who had the key to the private treasury. He also wanted to say he could reward him with an official position, but he wasn’t sure if he could even sit firmly on the throne, everything depended on the Regent Prince’s pleasure or wrath.
He could only softly go along with Su Jingzhi’s words: “If the Regent Prince doesn’t mind, then you can also tear off mine, and bite me back in return?”
At this point, Su Jingzhi paused.
But his gaze could not help but drift downward, the young emperor’s slender waist beneath the robe, as if barely able to be lightly gripped by him, he shifted his vision, and saw the young emperor’s dazzlingly white exposed neck.
Unexpectedly, Wei Wanlan still unknowingly tilted his head, exposing that neck for him to see clearly, whimpering: “Bite me, QAQ”
Su Jingzhi’s eyes were almost turning red: “Say that again?”
Oh no, the big bad guy was truly angry now. Wei Wanlan was frightened, finally unable to hold back the tears, which dropped down one by one, but he didn’t dare cry too loudly, his chest heaving, almost unable to breathe.
“Wuwu, wuwu… I don’t know what to do, I feel so bad, Regent Prince, sniff, please let me go, don’t ask me anymore, hic…”
The young emperor looked like a beaten damsel in distress, his words incoherent, hiccuping from crying. The side of his hand that was frantically wiping away tears was also scraped, the wound slightly broken, with reddish blood seeping out, the edges already turning purple-blue, a vivid and eye-catching color.
The Regent Prince brushed away his small dirty hand wiping the tears, expressionless: “How did you get injured?”
Wei Wanlan, with tears in his eyes, hearing the Regent Prince’s question, quickly bit his lower lip and nodded: “Mm. I fell on the steps at the study entrance.” Then his little face puffed up, like an aggrieved little animal.
Su Jingzhi resisted the sudden urge to gently rub it for him. Coldly, he said: “Go pour the tea.”
“Huh?” The tears still hung on his lashes.
Su Jingzhi impatiently said: “If you want to make amends, then pour this Prince some tea.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Wei Wanlan was overjoyed, the big bad guy was giving him a way out.
So wiping the reddened corners of his eyes, Wei Wanlan elegantly poured two cups of tea in front of Su Jingzhi, placing the pastries alongside: “Regent Prince, please have the tea, as for offending you in the Summer Palace pool, please be magnanimous and don’t blame my ignorance anymore…”
The young emperor’s tea serving etiquette was impeccable, with an elegant charm of the ancients, but it was actually because he looked good and was easy to deceive, Wei Wanlan often let the senior sisters in the cosplay club convince him to role-play as a courtesan, a noble lady, or a little maid with double buns.
Su Jingzhi raised his gaze, his pupils reflecting the rippling water surface of the teacup, reflecting Wei Wanlan’s shimmering eyes.
“Mm.”
The Regent Prince picked up the teacup and took a sip, the young emperor deftly picked up a salted pepper ox tongue pastry and handed it over, overly eager. But unfortunately, Su Jingzhi couldn’t taste the flavor, though he did notice the young emperor’s fingertips, whiter than the pastry, with a dusting of crumbs.
“How is it? Delicious, right?” Wei Wanlan tilted his head.
Su Jingzhi simply said: “It’s alright.”
“But it’s really delicious, this is a pastry I personally had the Imperial Kitchen bake, it’s so fragrant, I even had a few pieces before coming here.” As he said this, Wei Wanlan picked up the ox tongue pastry and popped it into his mouth, squinting his eyes to savor it, but it was a bit dry, puckering his little face. He quickly picked up the tea to wash it down.
Su Jingzhi’s lips tightened further.
His eyes clearly exuded a refined elegance, how could this little thing give the impression of… being a bit stupid?
***
After the emperor left, Tang was awakened by Su Jingzhi:
“Old Master, I was wrong, please spare me!”
He jolted awake, hastily springing up from the floor like a carp, how could he have fallen asleep so suddenly without any warning?
The Regent Prince’s military law was strict, even if he didn’t kill him, he would definitely punish him severely, and being executed on the frontlines wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Thinking about this, Tang’s cold sweat was about to drip onto the floor.
Sure enough, the old master was staring at him, with a contemplative expression.
“Where did this fox fur come from?”
It was only then that Tang noticed he had been sleeping on the floor, covered in a fox fur robe. Carefully recalling, it seemed the young emperor had put it on him when leaving the Regent Prince’s study.
Wow, the young emperor was so thoughtful.
But the Deputy Commander Tang, who should have been honored, was instead scared by this fox fur. He immediately knelt on one knee: “This humble servant knew nothing! This humble servant absolutely did not dare to offend His Majesty! This humble servant looks at His Majesty like the moon and stars in the sky, only daring to gaze from afar but not to touch! Please, Your Highness, see through it!”
Su Jingzhi felt this man had lost his mind: “What nonsense are you spouting?”
Tang was even more terrified: “No, from now on I won’t even dare to gaze from afar!”
Su Jingzhi: “…”
Tang: “I swear!!!”
“Come in and talk.”
After this back-and-forth conversation, Tang trembled as he brought the white fox fur into the room. The air still had the lingering sweet scent of the young emperor. On the desk were teacups and an empty pastry plate.
Ever since being appointed Regent Prince three years ago, Su Jingzhi’s temperament had greatly changed, becoming more tyrannical and cold-blooded. Those sweets, fruits, and pastries that represented the luxurious lifestyle of the Chang’an aristocracy, Tang had never seen the Regent Prince enjoy them.
The young emperor was clearly different!
“What did His Majesty say to you before entering the study?” Su Jingzhi asked.
Tang paused, truthfully answering: “Nothing else, just said he felt guilty that you caught a chill last night, and wanted to visit and bring some good things.”
“Only that?”
“Yes.”
“Was there anything else unusual?”
“Not really.” Tang carefully recalled, “His Majesty was eager to see you, and stumbled at the doorway. But I think that was just an accident, not really unusual.”
Su Jingzhi said: “Think harder.”
Tang did not dare to be careless, after pondering for a bit, he said: “Perhaps there was one thing.”
“What?”
Tang chuckled: “This servant wanted to see what His Majesty had in the food box, but His Majesty was unusually nervous, saying it was something he personally made for Your Highness to try, and stubbornly hugged the box without letting me see.”
Su Jingzhi’s tense demeanor, without him realizing, gradually relaxed, and the corners of his lips even lifted slightly.
—It’s something I personally had the Imperial Kitchen make, and it’s so delicious!
…This silly thing.
Even when lying to curry favor, he still blurted out the truth.
Tang was a crude man, but after following the Regent Prince for so long, he naturally could sense when the old master seemed to be in a good mood. Tang scratched his head.
Su Jingzhi said: “Sleeping during the day, dereliction of duty, you should be punished with thirty strokes of the military cane.”
Tang instinctively covered his behind.
Then the Regent Prince said: “But since this is your first offense and it’s within the mansion, the punishment is waived.”
Hurray~
“It will be deducted from your salary for three months instead.”
Tang’s face fell completely: “Old Master, I’d rather choose the military cane, can this humble servant just take a good beating instead?”
***
In the ancestral shrine.
The fragrant incense had burned out in front of Su Jingzhi, and the various scenes of the young emperor in the study that afternoon surfaced in his mind:
—This is the pastry I made myself, how does it taste?
—Regent Prince, you’ve worked so hard for state affairs, let me massage your shoulders, do you find it useful?
—This pastry, let me try it again for the saltiness and sweetness. I can’t tell, let me have another bite.
—Regent Prince…
—Regent Prince…
Su Jingzhi’s lips tightened.
In the dim candlelight of the ancestral shrine, the memorial tablets were those of the six generations of generals who had protected the state since the founding of the Great Wei.
The fragrant smoke curled, the flame of the white candles flickering, Su Jingzhi stared at the glowing embers, his thoughts wandering through the many past events.
“Yan’er.”
“Ah Yan, you brat.”
In the candlelight, he dimly saw the figures of his father and mother.
“You brat, you don’t read military strategy treatises, and you’re not even good at poetry and lyrics, even Xiang Yu aspired to be a ‘Conqueror of a Thousand’ back then, you just keep fooling around with swords and blades, hanging out with a bunch of reckless young men in Chang’an, are you planning to just be a common soldier on the frontlines with your old man?”
“My dear, your words are mistaken, I’ve seen Yan’er actually leading those reckless young men, bringing them to the General’s mansion to rehearse formations, he has quite a commanding presence, it’s as if he wants to transform those unruly youths into his own subordinates…”
Below is the translation from Chinese to English, retaining the Chinese names, places, and proper nouns in their English equivalent form, while maintaining uniformity with the names, tenses, and proper grammar. Proper punctuations, especially periods to end sentences, have been used to avoid overly long sentences and paragraphs.
General Su Zhenwei sneered: “Being a roaming knight and being a soldier are completely different paths. You’re just a doting mother spoiling her child, look how you’ve indulged him, I bet he thinks his parents are praising him, wanting him to bring the good news to his ancestors – kneel down!”
With a pat on the back of his head, the young Su Jingzhi straightened his posture, but still smiled. His eyes were extremely bright, his brows and eyes handsome, his bearing bold and unyielding, like an unsheathed sharp sword.
Madam Su Rong gently smiled: “My son, don’t blame your father’s strictness, our Su family has served the state for generations through military service, your father fears you straying down the wrong path, learning the decadent ways of a profligate, tarnishing the reputation of our ancestors, my son must remember your father’s good intentions, as for those jianghu friends of yours, if they are truly righteous, occasional interactions are not forbidden, if they have talent, they can even join our army…”
As Madam Rong spoke softly, General Su frowned and reluctantly denied: “No. I didn’t say it’s allowed. I just hope this brat won’t disgrace the Su family, that’s all I want.”
“Husband, be at ease, our Yan’er will carry on the glory of the Su family, he won’t bring disgrace to the Su family.”
Kneeling before the ancestral tablets, the young Su Jingzhi looked up with a grin: “Father hopes I will shoulder the Su family, what does Mother hope I will do?”
“Nothing in particular.” Madam Rong answered without hesitation, her voice slightly lowered, “Mother knows you have an innately ambitious and driven nature, but fears that if people see your diligence and excellence, the care you show for others, only hope that in the future you can find a confidant, to let you lower your guard and truly be yourself.”
This little fellow, just yesterday was poisoned because of me, soaked in icy water all night, yet he came to the Regent Prince’s mansion, all because he felt guilty for dragging me into the water.
Su Jingzhi took a deep breath.
The candlelight flickered, the night wind rose, the silhouettes of his father and mother dissipated. Gazing at the two imperial plaques side by side on the many memorial tablets, they were bestowed by Wei Taizu Wei Yan:
Devoted to the state, skilled in martial arts.
Su Jingzhi’s brows furrowed, his gaze falling on the glaring character “loyalty” granted by the founding emperor, an aversion flashing in his eyes, Su Jingzhi inwardly questioned: “My Su family has not betrayed the state, yet why have successive sovereigns plotted against the Su’s?”
The entire Wei clan is muddleheaded, the descendants of Wei are incompetent.
Wei Wanlan… cannot become my beloved, nor is he worthy to be the master of this court!
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