Saving My Life By Simping For My Empress - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Holding the Brush with a Long Face, Qin Ji is at Odds with Today’s Homework

Qin Ji supported his waist with one hand, his eyes glazed over, unaware that the tea by his side had already gone cold.

“Your Majesty, the tea is cold. I shall go and fetch a fresh cup of hot tea for you.” Gao De walked over and took the teacup away.

“Confiscate the property…”

Gao De shuddered, nearly dropping the teacup.

Confiscate property? Whose house does His Majesty want to raid? One cannot just seize a household’s assets on a whim.

“Forget it, I’ll think about it later.” Qin Ji decided to give his limited brain capacity a temporary break.

“Gao De, why haven’t you left yet?” Qin Ji saw Gao De still standing there in a daze, holding the teacup.

Gao De snapped back to reality: “I am going immediately.”

“Wait a moment. Has the Bureau of Imperial Attire sent over Wei Yu’s new clothes yet?” Since he wasn’t thinking about government affairs, Qin Ji remembered this matter.

The weather had been gradually warming up lately, and it was time to prepare spring clothes. When the people from the Bureau of Imperial Attire came for instructions, he had ordered some new clothes to be made for Wei Yu as well. Calculating the days, they should be about ready.

“In response to Your Majesty, the people from the Bureau are currently having His Highness try on the new clothes.” Gao De had carefully tested the waters; now that His Majesty no longer flared up when the servants referred to Wei Yu as “His Highness,” they had continued using the title.

Qin Ji rubbed his waist and slowly stood up: “I’ll go take a look.”

He had been pushed so hard to study by the great beauty lately, and even had to learn how to handle government affairs, that he hadn’t dared to admire Wei Yu’s beauty. He was afraid that if he got caught being immersed in his looks, Wei Yu would think of him as a lecherous rogue.

Qin Ji strolled to the place where Wei Yu was trying on clothes, arriving just as Wei Yu had put on a pale green robe. His ink-black hair was bound with a jade crown, making him look exactly like a refined and handsome young gentleman, as gentle as jade.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Seeing Qin Ji arrive, the palace servants all bowed.

“At ease.” Qin Ji didn’t give the servants so much as a glance; he rushed straight toward Wei Yu. “You look truly wonderful in this outfit. No, that’s not right—this outfit is complimented by you.”

How could a mere piece of clothing compare to Wei Yu’s Peerless beauty?

Wei Yu was speechless: “Why has Your Majesty come? Weren’t you contemplating the matter of the property confiscation?”

He had left Qin Ji with such a difficult problem; he figured Qin Ji probably hadn’t found a solution yet.

“I haven’t figured it out, I’ll go back to thinking later. I wanted to see the new clothes I had made for you first.” Qin Ji sat down naturally, his eyes wide as he scrutinized the details.

Under his orders, the Bureau of Imperial Attire had used the finest materials, following the standards of a prince of a nation—second only to the Emperor himself. In the Qin Palace, there was no other master besides Qin Ji, so there were plenty of fine things lying around with no one to use them.

“Are there any others? Change into another one and let me see.” Qin Ji was reminded of a certain dress-up game; perhaps he could create a “Miracle Wei Yu”?

The Bureau had sent over many sets in various colors. Wei Yu didn’t care for some of them and had no intention of trying them on, but considering they were made on Qin Ji’s orders, he decided to wear them for him to see.

Wei Yu changed out of the pale green set and emerged in royal blue.

The royal blue round-collared robe made Wei Yu’s skin appear even fairer. Looking at him, Qin Ji almost forgot to breathe.

The great beauty was truly a beauty; with skin like cream, he was a character of peerless elegance that could only exist in a novel.

Qin Ji subconsciously touched beneath his nose to check for any suspicious fluids. If he, a dignified Emperor, got a nosebleed in front of so many people, where would his dignity go?

“Beautiful. Try that orange one next,” Qin Ji urged.

So Wei Yu changed again.

“Your Majesty, I believe His Highness looks good in anything he wears,” a female official from the Bureau of Imperial Attire praised boldly.

Qin Ji gave the official’s taste his full approval: “You are right.” Of course Wei Yu looks good.

The Bureau had sent a total of seven outfits. By the time Wei Yu had tried them all, quite a lot of time had passed.

Having finished watching the great beauty change and enjoying the joy of a real-life dress-up game, Qin Ji was promptly chased back to the study by Wei Yu.

“How are Your Majesty’s memorials coming along today?”

Qin Ji felt powerless. How could they be? I still can’t understand what these traditional characters are trying to say.

However, Wei Yu was a truly cold and ruthless teacher. After shooing Qin Ji back to the study, he immediately began testing him on his lessons. Qin Ji was nearly driven to tears by the questioning.

Qin Ji only managed to persevere by relying on Wei Yu’s beautiful face. He managed to study that thick stack of memorials thoroughly. Just as he finished, Xu Ziye entered the palace, prepared to give him his lesson.

“I heard Your Majesty sprained your waist while riding. Is it serious?” Xu Ziye asked with concern.

Qin Ji made a bitter face: “It’s not serious. I can manage.”

Xu Ziye nodded: “Then Your Majesty must absolutely not stop your calligraphy practice.”

Qin Ji: “…” So the teacher’s concern for his student consists of only this one sentence?

He was nineteen, not nine. It was impossible for the teacher to spoon-feed him everything. Furthermore, Xu Ziye was extremely strict. Every time Qin Ji finished a two-hour session, he felt as if his soul was about to depart for the heavens.

Seeing Qin Ji in his “more dead than alive” state again, Gao De sent his disciple, Gao Huan, to the imperial kitchen with a message to prepare a bit more for dinner.

If the Emperor of a nation couldn’t even get enough to eat, wouldn’t people laugh themselves to death if word got out?

At dinner, Qin Ji and Wei Yu shared a table as usual. Wei Yu had grown accustomed to it; he rarely even bowed formally to Qin Ji anymore, and Qin Ji never took offense.

“Wei Yu, I have to go back to the study to do my homework after dinner, so I won’t wait for you.” Qin Ji devoured his meal like a whirlwind, as if a hungry wolf were chasing him. He finished in a few bites and headed back to the study.

Wei Yu enjoyed the meal alone—the quality was even higher than what he had in the Kingdom of Wei. Watching Qin Ji’s hurried departure, he felt a momentary sense of emotion.

This Qin Ji wasn’t exceptionally brilliant, but he was someone willing to put in hard work. If given time to grow, he would surely become a very good Emperor in the future.

Wei Yu lowered his head and smiled. What am I doing? Planning for another country? I must be bored. He was a Prince of Wei; he should be thinking more about his own home country.

Qin Ji returned to the study and buried himself in his work. The homework Xu Ziye had assigned today was a bit much, but if he didn’t finish it today, he would have other things to do tomorrow and even less time to get it done.

Holding the brush with a long face, Qin Ji was at odds with today’s homework.

Gao De lit a lamp and placed it on the desk for Qin Ji to prevent the dim light from straining his eyes.

“Your Majesty, if you cannot finish today, then do it tomorrow,” Gao De advised, seeing Qin Ji’s eyelids drooping.

“No, I must finish it.” Qin Ji put down the brush and rubbed his face vigorously several times. Feeling slightly more awake, he picked up the brush and continued.

Wei Yu was reading in the bedchamber. He already knew the book by heart; flipping through it was merely to pass the time.

“Your Highness.” Gao Huan entered the bedchamber with a bow. “His Majesty said he will be busy for a while longer. He asked me to tell you that if you are sleepy, you should go to rest first and not wait for him.”

Wei Yu: “I understand. You may go.”

Usually, by this time, Qin Ji would have been in bed. Today, he was actually still struggling against the homework left by Xu Ziye.

To turn such a person into a great scholar, Xu Ziye’s remaining black hair would likely turn entirely white.

Wei Yu didn’t stand on ceremony with Qin Ji. Since he was told to sleep, he slept. From his initial awkwardness to now, he could sleep very soundly in the dragon bed; he didn’t know how he had changed so much.

“Is Your Highness ready to sleep? I shall assist you in changing.” Seeing Wei Yu put down his book, a maidservant stepped forward to ask.

Wei Yu had a slight impression of this maid. She was pretty, quite young, just a girl, but very quick and efficient with her hands.

“What is your name?” Wei Yu asked her.

“In response to Your Highness, I am called Cai Lian.” Wei Yu sat before the bronze mirror, and she began to remove his hair crown.

“The jade hairpin Your Highness uses to bind your hair is quite unique. It looks like the shape of a peach blossom.” Cai Lian was a bold one, daring to speak with Wei Yu.

Wei Yu took the hairpin and toyed with it in his hand: “You have a sharp eye, little girl.”

There weren’t many lamps lit at night, and there was only one in front of the mirror, yet she could see it was carved into a peach blossom.

He was born in the fragrant days of spring when peach blossoms covered the fields. His mother had commissioned a craftsman to make this peach blossom jade hairpin for him, and he had worn it for many years.

A plum blossom hairpin was made from the same piece of white jade for his Imperial Brother. His brother was born in winter, amidst heavy snow when only the winter plums bloomed.

It was said the jade was part of his mother’s dowry when she married his father. Later, she gave it to the two brothers as a token of good fortune.

Thinking of his mother, Wei Yu somehow lost his focus for a moment and dropped the peach blossom hairpin.

The hairpin hit the floor and snapped into two pieces.

“Your Highness!” Cai Lian cried out, picking up the shattered jade. “Your hairpin is broken.”

Wei Yu’s gaze slowly froze. Looking at the hairpin in Cai Lian’s palm, he felt a sense of unease in his heart.

It was a gift from his mother; he was naturally loath to see it broken. Now that his was shattered, he wondered if his brother’s hairpin was still intact. His mother had been gone for many years; this jade was a rare memento he could carry with him.

“If it’s broken, then it’s broken. Just put it away,” Wei Yu comforted Cai Lian. “It’s my hairpin that broke; why are you more upset than I am?”

Wei Yu averted his gaze from the hairpin. After undoing his long hair, he went to the bed.

He was actually quite happy to have Qin Ji’s large bed all to himself.

Cai Lian was restless in the bedchamber. Seeing that Wei Yu had fallen asleep, she quietly left and headed toward the study.