After Pretending to be an Idiot, I Was Targeted by the Cold-Blooded Zhangyin - Chapter 30

Xie Changsheng glared at him. “You… you bite people.”

Gu Feiyi’s narrow eyes curved. “This servant bit you; what is the Little Highness going to do about it?” As he spoke, he provocatively bit Xie Changsheng’s fingertip again. This time, he used much less force.

Xie Changsheng felt something wet and soft lick across his finger. He asked with concern, “Do you know how much bacteria is on a human hand?”

“This servant does not know what the Little Highness is talking about.” Gu Feiyi gave a casual response and rolled out of bed.

Only then did Xie Changsheng notice that Gu Feiyi’s hair was loose. The ink-like hair fell behind him like a waterfall, swaying against his lower back.

Xie Changsheng sighed, “Long hair—a man’s best dowry.”

Gu Feiyi: “…”

He ignored Xie Changsheng’s nonsense and ordered fresh water and food brought in. Only after he had changed his clothes and tied his hair did he realize that Xie Changsheng hadn’t moved for a long time. Looking back at the bed, he found that Xie Changsheng had curled up in the blankets and fallen back asleep at some point.

Thinking about how Xie Changsheng was sleeping when he returned and was still sleeping now that he was up, a subtle sense of irritation rose in Gu Feiyi’s heart. He walked back to the bedside and patted Xie Changsheng’s face. “Little Highness, get up.”

After calling him several times, Xie Changsheng finally opened his eyes groggily. Seeing that the boy looked ready to sleep again, Gu Feiyi gave him no chance and hauled him straight out of bed.

He dressed Xie Changsheng, wrung out a cotton towel to wipe his face, and finally made him sit at the table. He took a bowl of fish porridge, scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and fed it to Xie Changsheng.

After two mouthfuls of porridge, Xie Changsheng finally fully woke up. He reached out. “You eat too. I’ll do it myself.”

Gu Feiyi raised his arm, keeping the spoon out of reach. “This servant prefers watching the Little Highness eat.”

Xie Changsheng was helpless.

Once the porridge was finished, Gu Feiyi used a handkerchief to wipe Xie Changsheng’s mouth. As his icy fingertips brushed against Xie’s lips through the soft fabric, Gu Feiyi suddenly said, “Does the Little Highness remember Lady Wang?”

Xie Changsheng blinked dizzily. “Beauties, I’ve seen many. Surnamed Wang, I know some. But who is Lady Wang?”

“She is one of the concubines in His Majesty’s harem,” Gu Feiyi said. “She is pregnant.”

“The imperial physicians and many ministers believe Lady Wang will give birth to a prince. What does the Little Highness think?” Gu Feiyi withdrew his hand, slowly folding the handkerchief, then looked up at Xie Changsheng.

“If it really is a prince,” Gu Feiyi said, “I fear His Majesty’s doting, and the affection the First and Second Prince give to the Little Highness, will be divided by more than half from now on.”

Gu Feiyi finished and waited quietly for Xie Changsheng’s reaction. It wasn’t because he wanted the boy’s advice—what advice could a simpleton give? He was simply curious about the reaction. Would he cry? Throw a tantrum? Or be happy?

Gu Feiyi stared at Xie Changsheng’s face playfully. Seeing that Xie Changsheng didn’t answer, Gu Feiyi acted like a beast teasing its prey and loosened his tone: “Of course, if the Little Highness is unhappy, this servant, as your Master, will not sit idly by.”

Xie Changsheng stared blankly out the window for a good while before turning back. He gazed dizzily into Gu Feiyi’s deep eyes. “Gu Feiyi.”

“What is it?”

Xie Changsheng said, “It’s not a boy. It’s a girl.”

“Hmm?”

Xie Changsheng gestured at his own stomach. “It’s a little sister.”

Only then did Gu Feiyi realize that Xie Changsheng was talking about Lady Wang’s unborn child. He arched an eyebrow with interest. “How is the Little Highness so certain?”

Because I’ve read the original novel, obviously.

Xie Changsheng chuckled. “I am the Goddess of Mercy who sends children. Send me fifty, and I’ll bless you for two years…”

He was about to say “bless you to have three children in two years,” but suddenly remembered Gu Feiyi was a eunuch. Fearing he would poke a sore spot, he shut his mouth abruptly.

Gu Feiyi: “…”

It was unclear if Gu Feiyi understood what Xie Changsheng was about to say. He gave a half-smile and stood up after a long moment. “This servant is heading to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Does the Little Highness want to come along?”

Xie Changsheng shook his head vigorously. Seeing Gu Feiyi turn to leave, Xie Changsheng suddenly called out, “Gu Feiyi!”

Gu Feiyi looked back at him. “Little Highness, what is it?”

“If it’s a little sister, can she play with me?”

Gu Feiyi smiled but didn’t answer. He turned and left.

After leaving Gu Feiyi’s quarters, Xie Changsheng didn’t rush back to Yuling Palace. Instead, he went to his old spot in the Imperial Garden to mix mud. He buried his head in stirring the mud as if it were a task of great importance, his expression exceptionally serious.

He was so focused that he didn’t even hear Yang Luo call him several times. When he finally snapped back to reality, he heard Yang Luo talking worriedly to a fellow palace maid: “…Hasn’t the Little Highness been doing better lately? Why does it feel like he’s turned stupid again?”

“Maybe we should call the imperial physician to take another look?”

“Call the physician… Right, I’ll go look for one immediately… If the Little Highness has truly regressed, and the Emperor blames us, you must say a few good words for me. Just let me have a whole corpse. And my sandalwood coffin…”

Hearing Yang Luo obsessing over her coffin again, Xie Changsheng looked up and gave her a silly grin. Yang Luo scrutinized him and asked a few more questions; seeing him answer in his usual nonsensical way, she let out a massive sigh of relief.

She clutched her chest with a look of having survived a disaster. “Good, good! The Little Highness is still just as stupid. That’s wonderful!”

Xie Changsheng: “…”

In truth, he had been thinking about something. The news Gu Feiyi told him this morning about Lady Wang’s pregnancy was a plot point he had seen in the book.

The original novel mentioned that after Gu Feiyi learned of Lady Wang’s pregnancy, he worried it would be a prince and intended to secretly “deal” with the child. Actually, the author’s setting was very clear: in this book, the Old Emperor would only ever have three sons—Xie Chengjing, Xie Hemiao, and Xie Changsheng. Everyone else was a princess.

However, Xie Changsheng had tried to recall for ages and couldn’t remember if this child was ever born. He didn’t know if Gu Feiyi had gotten rid of it or if it survived. He didn’t even know the fate of Lady Wang.

Characters who were a mere mention in a book had become living lives. Thinking that the child might never even open its eyes to see the world, the most he could do was try to negotiate with Gu Feiyi. But would Gu Feiyi listen? Xie Changsheng didn’t know.

He lowered his head to roll another mud ball when a maid hurried over. She stopped before him and smiled, “Little Highness, the Empress requests your presence.”

Empress Wu was the Old Emperor’s second empress and Xie Changsheng’s nominal mother. She was originally betrothed to another man but was sent into the palace by her family to please the Emperor. Empress Wu was plain-looking, and the Emperor didn’t like her. Later, acting on Gu Feiyi’s advice and out of respect for the Wu family, the Emperor gave her the position of Empress.

He only saw her on major occasions like family banquets, state banquets, or receiving foreign envoys. Usually, she lived a quiet life of Buddhist prayer and rarely showed her face. Aside from the time Xie Changsheng hit his head—when she thought he had been possessed and arranged for Yuling Palace to be purified with mugwort—and seeing her from a distance at the Hundred-Day Banquet, Xie Changsheng had never spoken to her.

He wondered why she was looking for him now.

Xie Changsheng followed the maid to Kunning Palace. Empress Wu was already waiting. Seeing him, she pulled him aside and talked for quite a while, asking about his health and daily life. Xie Changsheng responded with a standardized “simpleton” vocabulary of “Ah,” “Mm,” and “Oh.”

Empress Wu didn’t mind. Holding a hand warmer, she said with a faint smile, “Why don’t you stay here for lunch?”

Xie Changsheng gave an “Ah” and shook his head. “No, I…”

He had barely spoken two words when the voice of a maid came from outside: “Your Majesty, Lady Wang has arrived.”

Empress Wu smiled faintly. “Understood.” She rose and looked at Xie Changsheng. “Little Highness, come with me to receive her.”

Xie Changsheng gave an “Oh” and followed her out. As they reached the door, he saw a slender woman in the distance, one hand on her waist and the other on her lower abdomen, walking toward them.

Before Xie Changsheng could get a clear look at Lady Wang’s face, a maid following behind her suddenly revealed a twisted, ferocious expression. The maid, her eyes bloodshot, suddenly reached out and shoved Lady Wang with all her might.

Caught off guard, Lady Wang fell forward violently. Her head slammed against the bluestone pavement. Bright red blood, mixed with something white, slowly flowed from her forehead. Her pink skirt was quickly stained red by the blood.

Xie Changsheng’s eyes slowly widened.

Screams, curses, and chaotic footsteps soon followed. Someone shouted, “She’s stopped breathing!”

In the middle of the chaotic crowd, Xie Changsheng stood frozen on the spot until Yang Luo took him back to Yuling Palace. This wasn’t the first time he had seen a body—he had attended his parents’ funerals—but it was the first time he had witnessed a crime scene.

He admitted he was quite frightened. Yang Luo prepared a soothing tonic for him and added many calming medicinal herbs to his bathwater. But in the middle of the night, Xie Changsheng developed a high fever.

Gu Feiyi heard the news from the palace while he was in a small, abandoned village south of the capital. He had come specifically to investigate reports of someone stockpiling troops and training soldiers there. He had captured the leader and spent half the night interrogating him, only to learn that these militiamen were connected to the Prince of Liang.

Gu Feiyi waved his hand, and the leader was immediately dragged away. Shortly after, bone-shaking screams echoed from outside. Gu Feiyi wasn’t curious about how his subordinates were torturing the man; he simply called for Feng Wang. “Prepare a clean room for me.”

“Yes.” Feng Wang turned to leave but returned shortly after.

“What is it?”

Feng Wang said, “Master, something has happened in the palace.” He told Gu Feiyi everything about Lady Wang’s death, adding, “The Little Highness is ill.”

Gu Feiyi’s eyes were dark and unreadable. After a long silence, he curled his lips and let out a light huff. He looked at Feng Wang. “Prepare the horses. We return to the capital.”

“Yes.”

After galloping through the night, Gu Feiyi returned to the palace. He arrived at Yuling Palace to find the servants busy and anxious. He entered the inner chamber and saw Xie Changsheng lying on the bed with his eyes shut tight, his face flushed with fever and his forehead covered in cold sweat. Moving closer, he could see Xie Changsheng’s body was trembling incessantly.

He was truly terrified.

Gu Feiyi thought of something, and his eyes flickered with a cold, dissatisfied light.

—His little pet had said he wanted a sister, so he had decided to let the child live. If it were a girl, he would give it to Xie Changsheng as a toy. If it were a prince, it wouldn’t be too late to kill it later.

But the Wu clan, seeing no movement from him, apparently couldn’t wait any longer. They had actually committed the murder themselves. Fine, let them kill, but they even had to use his little pet as a witness to clear the Empress of suspicion. Perhaps the Wu clan thought Xie Changsheng was a fool and couldn’t figure out the scheme.

But they shouldn’t have targeted his little pet and scared him into an illness.

Gu Feiyi took the towel from Yang Luo’s hand, dismissed all the servants and the waiting physicians, and stepped forward to gently wipe the sweat from Xie Changsheng’s forehead.

After a long while, he said, “Feng Wang.”

“Master.”

“The night is cold. Go and add some ‘firewood’ to Kunning Palace.”

Feng Wang acknowledged the order and withdrew. Shortly after, a brilliant fire rose from the east, illuminating half the imperial city.

Feng Wang returned to report: “The Empress has passed away.”

Gu Feiyi gave a brief response. He kept his eyes down, continuing to wipe the sweat from Xie Changsheng. The cold sweat on Xie Changsheng’s body was only increasing, covering him entirely. Gu Feiyi wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck, felt his soaked clothes, and propped him up against himself. He reached from Xie’s waist to the front to unfasten his collar.

He heard Xie Changsheng murmuring: “Mom, Dad…”

Gu Feiyi arched an eyebrow. He summoned Feng Wang again. “Invite the Emperor here.”

Thus, when Xie Changsheng woke up dizzily, the first thing he saw was the Old Emperor’s face right in front of his own. He was so thoroughly startled that he nearly flew off the bed.