After Pretending to be an Idiot, I Was Targeted by the Cold-Blooded Zhangyin - Chapter 19

Grow up happily?

Xie Changsheng stood with his mouth half-open, staring at Gu Feiyi blankly.

A red leaf fluttered down from a branch, twirling lightly in the air a few times before landing on Gu Feiyi’s shoulder. Gu Feiyi tilted his head, cast his gaze downward, and brushed the leaf away with his hand.

He looked back at Xie Changsheng. “Little Highness?”

Xie Changsheng couldn’t figure out Gu Feiyi’s intent. Fearing that his answer might displease him, he thought for a moment and chose the safest possible response:

“In the eyes of ten thousand people, there are ten thousand kinds of happiness. Maybe… maybe she feels happy, but others don’t think she is. Or maybe she feels unhappy, while everyone else thinks she’s happy. Or maybe she’s happy, or maybe she’s not…”

Gu Feiyi: “…”

Gu Feiyi instinctively raised his hand to massage his aching temple. His thin lips parted as he spat out a single word: “Idiot.”

The idiot was, naturally, Xie Changsheng. But Gu Feiyi himself wasn’t necessarily any smarter—otherwise, why would he be discussing such a philosophical topic with Xie Changsheng in the first place?

Xie Changsheng gazed at him in bewilderment. “Idiot? Who? Where’s an idiot?”

Gu Feiyi curled the corners of his mouth and asked eerily, “What does the Little Highness think?”

Xie Changsheng blinked and gave a silly grin. “Well, it’s definitely not me. I’m very smart.”

Gu Feiyi: “…”

Gu Feiyi didn’t want to continue this useless entanglement over “who is the idiot.” He looked back at the wet nurse and waved his hand, signaling her to take the little princess from Xie Changsheng’s arms.

The nurse stepped forward immediately. Strangely enough, the little princess, who had been staying quietly in Xie Changsheng’s arms, suddenly opened her mouth and began to wail the moment she felt she was leaving.

Fearing the child’s crying would irritate Gu Feiyi, the nurse hurriedly snatched her away. Gu Feiyi, however, showed no signs of annoyance. Instead, he reached out to straighten the princess’s wrinkled sleeve and instructed, “She’s likely hungry. Take her to the wet nurse.”

After the nurse jogged away with the child, only Xie Changsheng and Gu Feiyi remained. The air suddenly became very quiet. Gu Feiyi looked at Xie Changsheng with a lingering smile, his eyes flickering as if he were contemplating something.

Xie Changsheng felt uncomfortable under his gaze. He looked down at his own fingers and asked dizzily, “Gu Feiyi, do you like children very much?”

Gu Feiyi hadn’t expected this question. He arched his eyebrows, the smile in his eyes deepening. He didn’t answer, simply raising his voice slightly: “Feng Wang.”

Feng Wang appeared like a ghost from behind them, carrying a white jade goblet filled with wine. He placed the cup in Gu Feiyi’s hand and withdrew silently.

Holding the cup, Gu Feiyi suddenly said, “Little Highness, stand closer.”

Xie Changsheng stood there blankly. Gu Feiyi let out a light tsk, impatiently reached out, and hooked Xie Changsheng’s belt to pull him forward two steps. Then, Gu Feiyi shifted his body slightly, as if blocking someone’s line of sight.

“You…”

Xie Changsheng wanted to ask what he was doing, but his attention was caught by Gu Feiyi’s movements. He saw Gu Feiyi dip his index finger into the wine and stir it. A strange white powder slid from Gu Feiyi’s pale fingertip into the liquid, dissolving as he swirled it.

Xie Changsheng watched, stunned. In the original novel, it was mentioned that Gu Feiyi knew a bit of medicine. He knew how to combine incense with the Emperor’s daily meals to make the Old Man’s journey to the yellow springs slow and painful. But Xie Changsheng hadn’t expected Gu Feiyi to poison someone right in front of him.

Once the powder had completely dissolved, the wine became clear again. Gu Feiyi looked up at Xie Changsheng. He hooked his finger in Xie’s belt again, bringing him even closer.

Xie Changsheng’s nose was filled with the scent of plum blossoms from Gu Feiyi’s body. The distance between them was so close that Xie’s right leg was pressed firmly against Gu’s.

“It’s too crowded.” Xie Changsheng tried to back away, but Gu Feiyi’s hand wrapped around his waist, pressing against his back.

In the next instant, Gu Feiyi pressed the wine cup against Xie Changsheng’s lips. “Little Highness, want a taste?”

Xie Changsheng: “…”

I was wondering why he dared to poison the drink so openly without fear of being seen. Turns out he wants me to drink it! Haha, well, I guess that’s what happens when you’re a fool, haha.

In his mind, Xie Changsheng cursed every word he knew, but on the surface, he remained dazed. He locked eyes with Gu Feiyi’s dark, freezing gaze, gave a silly smile, and opened his mouth. He bit the rim of the jade cup and tilted his head back to drink.

To his surprise, Gu Feiyi suddenly pulled the cup away. In its place, something round was pushed into Xie Changsheng’s mouth.

Xie Changsheng used his tongue to taste it. “…Candy?”

The malicious smile on Gu Feiyi’s face deepened, turning into a look of pure satisfaction.

“Naturally, it’s candy. The Little Highness is still young; how could this servant give you wine?”

Xie Changsheng: “…”

He had thought of so many things before resolving to drink that “spiked” wine. He thought it was a test of loyalty or a probe by Gu Feiyi. He had even comforted himself that if it were poison, it wouldn’t be the kind that kills instantly.

He hadn’t expected it was just one of Gu Feiyi’s pranks.

Xie Changsheng was furious but didn’t dare speak. He crunched down on the candy bit by bit. Knowing from the original book that Gu Feiyi loved cleanliness and likely had a touch of mysophobia, Xie Changsheng decided on a small revenge. He lightning-fast reached into his sleeve, pulled out a mud figurine, and stuffed it into Gu Feiyi’s arms.

He didn’t forget to add fuel to the fire: “Heh heh, it’s shedding crumbs.”

Gu Feiyi: “…”

Frowning, he used two fingers to pick up the ugly thing with six arms and two heads. “Feng Wang.”

Feng Wang stepped forward to take it. Gu Feiyi thought for a moment and said, “Keep it. Store it with the rest of the junk the Little Highness sent over.”

Feng Wang wanted to laugh but held it in, his face twitching as he replied, “Yes.”

Xie Changsheng really didn’t want to stay with Gu Feiyi anymore. While Gu and Feng Wang were talking, he stealthily turned to leave. But before he could take two steps, Gu Feiyi grabbed his back collar and hauled him back.

Xie Changsheng made a bitter face. “What now?! I have things to do! Can’t you find someone else to play with?”

“If the Little Highness helps me with one favor, I won’t bother you again today.”

Gu Feiyi shoved the wine cup into Xie Changsheng’s hand. He grabbed the boy’s shoulders and turned him around so his gaze was fixed on the center of the banquet, where the Old Emperor was deeply kissing a consort while holding her chin.

A cold, ghostly voice sounded right against Xie Changsheng’s ear:

“Take this cup of wine and give it to the Emperor to drink.”

Xie Changsheng sat back down beside the Old Emperor, holding the wine cup. Not much time had passed since he left. Xie Chengjing was still chatting with the princes; Xie Hemiao was still joking with the dandies; and the red leaf Fang Ling had picked for his sister was already in her hand.

The little girl was now playing with other children. Fang Ling was fiddling with a wolf-tail pendant at his waist, his gaze drifting lazily toward Xie Changsheng. Their eyes met in mid-air; Xie Changsheng gave a wide, foolish grin, while Fang Ling rolled his eyes and looked away.

Having prepared himself mentally, Xie Changsheng tugged on the Old Emperor’s sleeve. The Emperor released the beauty in his arms and looked at him. Xie Changsheng held out a pastry. “Nuo.”

“For Zhen?”

Xie Changsheng nodded vigorously. “Yummy… eat…”

The Emperor’s expression was one of surprise and joy. “To find something delicious and remember to share it with me… Good, good, Changsheng… I knew my doting on you wasn’t misplaced.”

After he ate the pastry, Xie Changsheng stuffed another into his hand. “This one is yummy too.”

The Emperor was genuinely touched. After eating four pastries in a row, he waved his hand, saying he couldn’t eat another bite. Then, his gaze fell on the cup of wine in Xie Changsheng’s hand.

“For Zhen?”

Xie Changsheng hesitated for a second. Although he knew Gu Feiyi wouldn’t use a poison that was instantly fatal, his hand holding the cup still trembled imperceptibly. But before he could say anything, the Emperor had already snatched the cup and downed it in one gulp.

“Lord Palm Print?”

Lin Man was the Governor of Wuzhou. Several prefects under him had, with his permission, taken massive kickbacks during a river management project. They were discovered, and several memorials had been sent to the capital to impeach them.

But everyone knew that Gu Feiyi monopolized the court’s affairs. Those memorials had all been intercepted by him. He had kept them quietly, without response, as if waiting for something.

Lin Man knew exactly what Gu Feiyi was waiting for. This trip to the capital was specifically to seek Gu Feiyi’s favor. He had offered silver and hinted that he possessed several rare authentic works by famous masters. Just as Gu Feiyi seemed to be loosening up, the conversation suddenly stopped.

Gu Feiyi looked off into the distance. Lin Man followed his gaze. He saw Xie Changsheng—the beautiful, flawless young prince with eyes that were entirely hollow. He had heard the Prince fell into water, hit his head on a rock, and became a mad simpleton.

Fate was indeed fickle. Who would have thought that a person once so arrogant and tyrannical would become such a pathetic creature? Thinking of how Xie Changsheng had once tied Gu Feiyi up in the hall and whipped him, Lin Man assumed the Palm Print must be happy now that the Prince was a fool.

Lin Man rubbed his hands. “Lord Palm Print, for the Little Highness to turn out like this… Truly, Heaven has eyes.”

Gu Feiyi withdrew his gaze and looked at Lin Man. A faint, unidentifiable smile rippled in his eyes. Lin Man, thinking he had finally successfully flattered him, began to disparage Xie Changsheng from head to toe.

Gu Feiyi listened with a smile until Lin Man paused. Only then did he ask, “Finished? Then please leave.”

Lin Man chuckled. “Then, about the business…”

Gu Feiyi smiled without a word and turned to walk away. Once he was at a distance, he flicked his finger and told Feng Wang, “Raid him.” (Confiscate his property).

Gu Feiyi looked back at Xie Changsheng once more. Lin Man had thought he hated Xie Changsheng. He certainly had hated him—but that was before he became a fool. To the current Gu Feiyi, Xie Changsheng was a brand-new person.

He was his kitten, his puppy. He was the little pet to be kept under his wing, someone who grew more interesting the more he was teased.