Saving My Life By Simping For My Empress - chapter 14

Chapter 14: He is One Step Closer to Becoming a Competent Emperor

Wei Yu suspected he was hallucinating.

The Grand Capping Ceremony of the Emperor of Great Qin was to be held jointly with a mere hostage? If word got out, wouldn’t it cause a storm of gossip and criticism?

“Your Majesty, this is not in accordance with the rules.” Wei Yu looked at Qin Ji with a serious expression. “Your Majesty is the sovereign of a nation.”

Qin Ji flopped onto the bed with displeasure: “Am I not the Emperor? Is my word not the rule? How is it not ‘in accordance’ with the rules?”

It was truly difficult for him to understand. Ancient people held the Emperor in such high esteem, claiming that “under the wide heaven, all is the King’s land; within the sea-boundaries, all are the King’s subjects,” yet they forbade the Emperor from doing this or that. However, they were more proactive than anyone else when it came to pressuring the Emperor to select girls to fill the harem.

“I accept Your Majesty’s kindness, but this is a matter of great importance. Your Majesty must not act recklessly.” Wei Yu brushed a stray lock of hair away from Qin Ji’s eyes, revealing his clear, translucent gaze.

Qin Ji pouted and sat up: “You go to sleep first. I still have to finish my homework.”

Wei Yu had already reviewed the completed portion of his work and pointed out the areas that needed revision. Qin Ji planned to finish the edits before returning to sleep.

Qin Ji headed back to the study.

Watching Qin Ji’s retreating back, Wei Yu pressed a hand against his chest.

An indefinable emotion enveloped him, threatening to collapse his usual composure.

No one is indifferent to their own coming-of-age ceremony, especially a prince of high status; the Capping Ceremony was a milestone that could not be treated lightly.

However, he was far away in Qin, currently holding the status of a hostage. It was inappropriate for him to be ostentatious here. Even if he desperately wanted a grand ceremony presided over by a master teacher like Xu Ziye, it was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Unless his Imperial Brother sent someone to Qin right now to bring him back to Wei, a twentieth-birthday Capping Ceremony was, for him, a dream that could never be realized.

With the current Qin Ji’s temperament, if his brother sent for him, Qin Ji would surely not make things difficult. He would be willing to release him, perhaps even provide a carriage and a military escort to send him back to Wei in one piece.

But his brother would not send for him.

He had come to Qin as a hostage in exchange for three Wei cities; it was written clearly in black and white. If he were to return home, Qin would demand those three cities. Even if Qin Ji didn’t object, the court officials of Qin would surely stop him.

Forget it. If he must miss his Capping Ceremony, then so be it.

He bore the responsibility of the Kingdom of Wei; how could he abandon it for personal desires?

After washing up, Wei Yu habitually lay down on the inner side of the Dragon Bed, leaving the outer side for Qin Ji.

…

In the study, after finishing his revisions, Qin Ji did not rush to rest. Instead, he began assigning tasks to Gao De.

“Gao De, tomorrow go to the Bureau of Imperial Attire and have them take Wei Yu’s measurements again. Tell them to craft a set of Capping Ceremony robes for him according to the specifications of a prince. Remember, keep this a secret. If I hear even a whisper of this leaked to irrelevant ears, none of them will keep their jobs at the Bureau,” Qin Ji ordered.

Gao De acknowledged with a bow: “I have noted it all down. Your Majesty should return to the bedchamber to rest; there is an early court session tomorrow.”

Qin Ji gave an absent-minded “Mm” and slowly walked toward the bedchamber.

He still wanted to give Wei Yu a Capping Ceremony. Even if it wasn’t on the tenth day of the third month, he didn’t want Wei Yu to miss his transition into adulthood.

Because Qin Ji had sprained his waist practicing archery, he had suspended court sessions to rest for a few days. Now that his waist was better, he had to wake up early for the morning assembly.

Early the next morning, Qin Ji was woken by Gao De. He waited listlessly as the palace servants dressed him, then sat on the imperial sedan with bleary eyes as he headed to the Taiji Palace.

Previously, some had suspected whether Qin Ji’s “sprained waist” was just an excuse to skip court. They had been watching closely, and when the notice to resume court arrived, they were all quite surprised.

Their Majesty had finally changed his ways.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Qin Ji listened to Gao De’s loud cry of “If there is business, present your memorials,” so sleepy he wanted to yawn.

Unfortunately, he was the Emperor. With so many officials watching him from below, he had to suppress the urge to yawn even if it killed him.

“Your Majesty, I have a matter to report.” The first to stand out was Prime Minister Zhao Anhong.

Zhao Anhong had taken Qin Ji’s decree and, last night, had revoked the title of the Marquis of Guiyuan. He had personally gone to the Marquis’s estate to audit the property.

Gifts bestowed by the Emperor could not be taken away, and the lands granted to the Marquis had to be reclaimed. All of this required meticulous care to avoid errors.

When Zhao Anhong led the officials to perform the task yesterday, the Marquis of Guiyuan was so furious he nearly started a physical fight with him.

Even with a sealed imperial decree, the Marquis insisted that Zhao Anhong was forging the edict to deliberately target his household. The people of the estate refused to cooperate with the audit; the Marquis’s mother, an elderly lady, even sat on the ground and threw a public tantrum.

Of course, Qin Ji didn’t know the details yet; Zhao Anhong only stated that the audit was not proceeding smoothly.

“Your Majesty, the Marquis of Guiyuan insists that I have forged the decree and demands an audience with Your Majesty today. I ask for Your Majesty’s instructions: how should this be handled?” Zhao Anhong wasn’t afraid at all; in fact, he wished for the Marquis to come and make a fool of himself at court.

Qin Ji’s fingers stroked the golden dragon head on the armrest of the throne: “The Marquis of Guiyuan… is quite conceited.”

The title must be revoked. Why should someone useless to the Qin State receive such a high salary? On the merit of his thick skin?

“Let the Marquis in. I would like to hear from his own mouth if I have already been sidelined by the Prime Minister into a puppet emperor.”

Gao De bowed and flicked his fly-whisk: “Summon the Marquis of Guiyuan to enter the hall!”

The Marquis of Guiyuan looked very much like his brother, the Marquis of Wuping; both brothers appeared to be quite good-for-nothing.

Entering the hall, the Marquis knelt to perform the formal greeting: “Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty.”

Qin Ji did not tell the Marquis to rise.

Hiss… his waist still seemed a bit sore. Qin Ji subtly leaned to one side to ease the persistent ache.

“Marquis of Guiyuan, it has been a long time. I see you have grown… even more plump,” Qin Ji said with a smile.

Looking at that belly, there were at least twenty or thirty pounds of extra meat. How could he eat even more than the tyrant did?

The Marquis didn’t know how he had angered Qin Ji to receive such mockery from the start. The words of grievance he had prepared got stuck in his throat.

“Marquis, have you turned mute? Why don’t you speak? I heard that when you argued with the Prime Minister yesterday, you were quite energetic,” Qin Ji’s tone was light, yet it carried the undeniable, inviolable majesty of a ruler.

Cold sweat trickled down the Marquis’s temples: “I… I did not argue with the Prime Minister. There was merely a minor disagreement.”

“A ‘minor disagreement’ is worth a trip to the palace at dawn to speak before me and the assembled officials?” Qin Ji scanned the desk in front of him. The items seemed expensive—the teacup probably wasn’t cheap either. It would be a waste to throw it just to scare someone like the Marquis.

“What do you think the morning court is for? To listen to your trivial trifles?” Qin Ji’s voice dropped lower, sounding even more intimidating.

The Marquis slammed his head against the floor: “Your Majesty, I absolutely had no such intent!”

“Oh? Then you just wanted to see who exactly is sitting in this chair—me, or someone else?” Qin Ji reached out and brushed aside the jade tassels of his crown that blocked his vision. “You suspected the Prime Minister of forging the decree… isn’t that just doubting my grip on the throne?”

Qin Ji pulled the tassels further apart; he wanted a good look at this fellow who was trying to stop him from filling the national treasury.

The Marquis had long since been frightened out of his wits. Trembling, how could he dare to argue?

In the past, his arrogance relied on the Emperor’s favor for his son, who had been the Emperor’s childhood study partner. But now that the favor was gone, his family’s honor had vanished into thin air, making them no different from anyone else.

The Marquis finally realized how fickle a ruler’s heart could be.

“It seems the Marquis has no more doubts.” Qin Ji let go, and the bead curtains swung back to block his view. “Someone, drag this man out.”

The Imperial Guards waiting outside entered, took the Marquis by both arms, and dragged him out of the Taiji Palace.

The Marquis had not yet recovered from the shock of losing the imperial favor, allowing himself to be dragged away brutally by the guards.

After the Marquis was gone, Qin Ji began the real process of “killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.”

“The Kingdom of Qin is a vast nation with many people to feed. We cannot afford to support idlers. Therefore, I have thought it over: the idlers Qin has been supporting shall be supported no longer. If any of you wake up one morning to find your neighbor across the street or next door gone and their house empty, do not be too surprised. I simply hope for them to be self-reliant.” Qin Ji put on a performance, sweeping his gaze from the front row to the back, left to right, and back to the front again.

Sure enough, Wei Yu was right. To establish authority among the ministers, one had to use the method of making an example of someone.

To make himself look more frightening, he remained silent and scanned them with a cold gaze.

Qin Ji tested it out, and the results seemed excellent.

He was one step closer to becoming a qualified Emperor.

…

After court was dismissed, Qin Ji returned to the Ziji Palace to have breakfast with Wei Yu.

Taking off the heavy ceremonial crown, Qin Ji twisted his neck, which was nearly stiff. He was genuinely worried about developing cervical spondylosis.

“Did Your Majesty not just order the Bureau of Imperial Attire to make new clothes for me? Why have they come again today?” Wei Yu sat at the table, looking puzzled.

Surely Qin Ji doesn’t have some strange obsession in this area?

“I felt you had grown a bit thinner and feared the clothes wouldn’t fit, so I ordered them to come and measure you again,” Qin Ji lied without blinking.

Wei Yu observed Qin Ji’s expression but found nothing amiss.

Perhaps Qin Ji simply felt I had lost weight? Wei Yu comforted himself, deciding not to overthink it. Calling the Bureau of Imperial Attire could only be for making clothes, after all.

“I thank Your Majesty,” Wei Yu said gratefully.

Qin Ji maintained his act: “No need for thanks.”

“Here, this is a new bean cake from the imperial kitchen. Try it.” Qin Ji naturally shifted the topic.

This Qin Ji truly treated him well. Forget a hostage; even a biological son might not receive such treatment. Once Wei Yu rationalized it, he stopped wondering if there was any issue with the re-measurement.

Having bluffed his way through, Qin Ji was no longer worried about the secret being exposed. Wei Yu rarely left the palace. Aside from teaching him politics and classics, his hobbies included reading and playing chess against himself.

Qin Ji actually wanted to join in Wei Yu’s nearly non-existent entertainment, but he couldn’t understand the books and was even worse at chess. It wouldn’t be right to drag an elite royal graduate into playing Gomoku with him.

Qin Ji still had some pride to maintain.

Now that his waist was better, archery was back on the schedule. However, Huang Feihao didn’t dare let Qin Ji mount the horse immediately; he made sure Qin Ji spent time warming up first.

Huang Feihao had a vivid memory of Qin Ji spraining his waist. Entering the palace to teach again, the first question he asked was: “Is Your Majesty’s waist truly alright?”

Qin Ji: “…My waist is perfectly fine.”

There is absolutely no need to keep mentioning such an embarrassing incident.