Chapter 64: Reconciled
The days that followed were calm and tranquil.
One night, Chu Ziqian, who usually did nothing more than hold Jiang Yingnan while they slept, began to grow restless.
“Ah Nan, I only held back before because I was still in mourning for my mother… I know you’ve long since forgiven me, haven’t you?”
Jiang Yingnan didn’t make a sound, simply allowing the other man’s lips to land softly against his own.
Soon, they embraced and kissed, a passion long absent igniting like dry wood meeting a raging fire.
The following evening, when Jiang Yingnan returned to their room as usual, he looked rather troubled.
“What’s wrong?” Chu Ziqian hugged him from behind, asking gently. He knew that Jiang Yingnan cherished their time alone just as much as he did and wouldn’t usually let outside worries intrude on this moment.
Jiang Yingnan sighed. “Recently, the Emperor has been focused on rebuilding the dikes at Moshui Village. Perhaps because he is being particularly cautious about this matter, he has rejected proposals submitted by several ministers… I want to help, but truthfully, I don’t know enough about these things.”
“…” Chu Ziqian fell silent for a moment.
He knew about building dikes.
As the former Crown Prince, he had been required to study every aspect of governance.
In fact, the very first draft of the Moshui Village dike plan years ago had been written by him on behalf of Zheng Demin. There was nothing wrong with the plan itself; Zheng Demin was a merchant with vast wealth but no talent for officialdom. It was only because Chu Weide had submitted the plan on his behalf that he won the appreciation of Emperor Chu Wendi and secured the position of Governor of Waterways.
But now, whether Chu Ziqian understood these things or not was meaningless.
“It’s late,” Chu Ziqian said softly, masking his emotions. “Rest early. Don’t worry about it. If you aren’t skilled in this area, someone else will be.”
“For example,” Jiang Yingnan turned his head, staring straight into Chu Ziqian’s eyes, “You?”
“…” Chu Ziqian gave a bitter smile. As expected, none of his thoughts could escape Jiang Yingnan, whose mind was as fine and detailed as a strand of hair.
“Ziqian, why don’t you try drawing a blueprint for the dike construction? I’ll submit it under my name.”
“This…”
Chu Ziqian pondered for a moment.
It was hard to say if Chu Lianmo would see through it.
But even if he did, what did it matter? Would he really charge Jiang Yingnan with the crime of deceiving the Emperor over this? Everyone was simply thinking of the common people.
In the end, Chu Ziqian nodded slightly.
He spent the entire night working through to dawn, drafting the dike blueprints.
Early the next morning, when Jiang Yingnan submitted the blueprint at the morning court, Chu Lianmo stared at it for a long time.
This plan was indeed far more reasonable than any submitted previously.
Moreover, it even took into account that the existing dikes hadn’t been completely washed away; it proposed reinforcing and utilizing the remaining sections, making it the most cost-effective solution as well.
The problem was—was Jiang Yingnan the kind of person who could write such a proposal? Since when did he understand hydraulic engineering?
Chu Lianmo asked a few questions about specific details, and Jiang Yingnan answered haltingly.
Chu Lianmo stared suspiciously at Jiang Yingnan for a moment before speaking coldly, “Tell the truth—who actually drew this blueprint? How dare you join forces to deceive Zhen?”
“…This subject deserves death!” Seeing he could not hide it, Jiang Yingnan had no choice but to kneel and admit his fault. “But Your Majesty, we did this only to help the people of Moshui Village! Ziqian spent the entire night without food, drink, or sleep to draw this. He truly wants to make amends for his past sins!”
“…” Chu Lianmo remained silent for a long while.
To be fair, Chu Ziqian’s talent in this specific area exceeded his own, and the design was indeed impeccable.
However, he simply did not dare let anyone associated with Chu Ziqian handle the implementation.
“Liu Hanyue.”
“This subject is here.” Liu Hanyue stepped forward upon hearing his name.
“Zhen looked at your blueprint two days ago and knows you have some talent in this area. However, the design of this blueprint is more reasonable. Take it and execute it accordingly. You must supervise the construction strictly this time; Zhen will not tolerate incidents like materials being swapped out again!”
“This subject obeys the decree! Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will not fail you!” Liu Hanyue took the blueprint from Chu Lianmo, accepting the arduous task.
Jiang Yingnan thought to himself that with the current Prime Minister in charge, they could rest easy.
When he returned that day, he told Chu Ziqian the result.
Chu Ziqian felt a mix of emotions. He hadn’t expected that Chu Lianmo, despite seeing through the truth, would still be willing to accept his plan.
What surprised him even more was an important decision Chu Lianmo made a few days later.
That day, Jiang Yingnan said to Chu Ziqian with an excited face, “The Emperor agreed to my request today. He said you can be given an official post!”
“…What?” Chu Ziqian’s face turned frosty. “Who asked you to take the liberty of begging for such a thing? Chu Lianmo just wants to humiliate me. Who wants to work for him? Do you think everyone is like you?”
“…” Jiang Yingnan felt like he had hit a wall, and his mood immediately soured. “Fine. Blame me for being a busybody. I should just let you copy books for the rest of your life, unable to even afford your own food and clothes!”
Normally, copying books was enough to support oneself. But Chu Ziqian was used to a life of luxury; his standards for food and clothing were naturally different from those of ordinary commoners.
Jiang Yingnan mocked himself internally. Sure enough, Chu Ziqian can’t be gentle and considerate to me forever. Sooner or later, he remembers the things I did in the past.
“Ah Nan!” Seeing Jiang Yingnan turn to leave, Chu Ziqian quickly grabbed the corner of his robe, softening his tone. “I’m sorry, I spoke without thinking just now… I just felt that having to kowtow to Chu Lianmo at morning court every day would be very awkward…”
“Do you think the Emperor and I didn’t consider that?” Jiang Yingnan finally turned back, though his tone was still clipped. “The position he gave you is a Ninth Rank Shuling Shi—a Bookkeeper Scribe. You would be my subordinate. You don’t need to attend morning court, nor do you need to interact with him much.”
At this, Jiang Yingnan took out Chu Lianmo’s edict for Chu Ziqian.
It read: Considering that the deposed Crown Prince Chu Ziqian has turned over a new leaf, We specially pardon his past crimes and appoint him as the Bookkeeper Scribe by the side of Vice Minister Jiang Yingnan.
Only then did Chu Ziqian realize that Jiang Yingnan and Chu Lianmo had actually considered his feelings so thoroughly.
“Chu Ziqian, are you still unable to let go of the past? If so, you don’t have to force yourself to be with me!”
“Ah Nan, I haven’t!” Chu Ziqian regretfully pulled Jiang Yingnan into his arms. “But that incident was a massive event for me, after all. You can’t expect me to forget it cleanly in the blink of an eye, right? Give me a little more time, and I will definitely let it go. Besides, I don’t blame you; I only blame my own incompetence…”
“You really know how to handle me.” Jiang Yingnan’s eyes reddened in Chu Ziqian’s embrace. “You know full well that as soon as you show a fragile side, my heart softens.”
“Yes.” Chu Ziqian held Jiang Yingnan and smiled faintly. “I rely on the fact that you love me. But Ah Nan, my love for you is no less than yours for me.”
Jiang Yingnan silently leaned against Chu Ziqian’s chest, listening to his heartbeat, trying to discern how much of that statement was true and how much was false.
“By the way, Ah Nan,” Chu Ziqian suddenly remembered something. “Father’s birthday is coming up soon. If I am a minor official now, then… can I go too?”
“Of course.” Jiang Yingnan looked at him and nodded. “You are my subordinate. As long as I receive an invitation, you can come along. And in my current position, I will certainly receive an invitation.”
Since Chu Ziqian was stripped of his status, he had not seen his father.
Ever since Xu Ruliang resolutely left the palace, Emperor Chu Wendi had taken a heavy blow. His already poor health had worsened, adding snow to the frost, which made Chu Ziqian worry.
However, regarding seeing his father again, Chu Ziqian felt both anticipation and apprehension. “Father he… will he still want to see me?”
Jiang Yingnan said warmly, “Where is there a father who doesn’t think of his son? The Retired Emperor surely misses you too.”
Chu Ziqian smiled bitterly. “They say there is no family affection in the Imperial House. Sometimes I also don’t understand how much weight I hold in Father’s heart.”
“Alright, don’t overthink it. Won’t you know when you see him?”
“Mmn…”
Chu Ziqian said no more, simply lowering his head to kiss Jiang Yingnan’s lips.
A few days later, it was Emperor Chu Wendi’s birthday.
Chu Ziqian hadn’t stepped into the palace for a long time.
Arriving outside the Anshou Palace where the Retired Emperor lived, he hesitated, unsure whether to go in.
“Ah Nan, today Father… the Retired Emperor will have many guests. He probably won’t have time to attend to me. Maybe I should go back.”
Jiang Yingnan let out a laugh, “Pfft. We’ve walked all this way, how can you go back now? Why are you acting like an ugly daughter-in-law afraid to meet the in-laws? You’re so nervous.”
Chu Ziqian could only smile wryly. He was nervous because this was the first time he was meeting him not as the Crown Prince, but merely as Chu Wendi’s son.
“Ah Nan…” Suddenly, Jiang Yingnan heard a familiar voice from behind.
Turning around, the person was none other than Jiang Ruobin.
“That’s good.” Jiang Ruobin smiled at Jiang Yingnan, though a hint of loneliness was hidden in that smile. “I’ve known you for so long, yet this is the first time I’ve seen you smile so happily. Indeed, you can only be truly happy when you are with him.”
“…I’m sorry.” Upon seeing Jiang Ruobin, those were the only three words Jiang Yingnan could say, and the only words he wanted to say. “Ruobin, I have wronged you.”
Jiang Ruobin maintained his gentle and refined smile. “Matters of the heart cannot be forced. It is not your fault that you do not love me, so what is there to apologize for? Seeing the two of you in harmony now, my words to Lord Chu back then were not in vain.”
“…!” Only then did Jiang Yingnan realize that Jiang Ruobin had actually played a part in him and Chu Ziqian finally coming together.
“Let’s go.” Chu Ziqian, keeping a straight face, put his arm around Jiang Yingnan’s shoulder. “We should go in early.”
After all, Jiang Ruobin was technically their benefactor, so Chu Ziqian couldn’t speak harshly to him anymore. However, asking him to have a friendly conversation with Jiang Ruobin was simply impossible.
“Really, you…” Jiang Yingnan turned and rolled his eyes at him. “I’ve let Ruobin down to this extent for you, yet you’re still jealous? Come on, let’s go while there are few guests, so we can see the Retired Emperor early.”
(Translator’s Note: So close to the ending!)
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