Saving My Life By Simping For My Empress - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: He only wanted the great beauty to see his best side!

Having learned from his past mistakes, Qin Ji became much more cautious during his training. He took special care of his lower back; if he twisted it again, he wouldn’t be able to show his face!

While he lacked talent in academic studies, Qin Ji was actually doing quite well in archery and horsemanship. Even Huang Feihao praised his progress.

Of course, there was a price to pay.

After jolting on horseback for so long, and given his delicate, pampered skin, the insides of his thighs were chafed raw. By the time he returned to Ziji Palace, he was limping so badly that a panicked Gao De rushed to find the imperial physician for medicine.

Although it was just a matter of applying some ointment, the injured person was the Emperor, so the physician had to make a trip to Ziji Palace.

Qin Ji was too embarrassed to spread his legs for the old physician to inspect the chafing. He simply took the ointment, sent the doctor away, and ordered his servants that no one was allowed to enter while he applied the medicine himself.

However, while Qin Ji had forbidden the servants from entering, Wei Yu was not considered a mere servant. Furthermore, Wei Yu’s coming and going from Ziji Palace was a common sight, so no one blocked him.

Thus, the scene of Qin Ji with his pants down and legs spread wide while applying ointment fell right into Wei Yu’s eyes.

“Wei Yu, don’t look!” Qin Ji hurriedly pulled over a quilt to cover himself.

Wei Yu froze for a moment, then quickly turned his back. “How did Your Majesty get injured?”

Qin Ji: “…Chafed from riding.”

The embarrassment of this was on par with twisting his back while mounting a horse. He truly didn’t want Wei Yu to see such a humiliating side of him.

He only wanted the great beauty to see his best side!

“Then Your Majesty should apply the medicine well. I only came to call Your Majesty for lunch.” Wei Yu knew Qin Ji valued his dignity and didn’t press for details. After speaking, he left the bedchamber.

Qin Ji sighed in relief, moved the quilt aside, and resumed applying the ointment. He grumbled at his own skin: “Look at you, so weak. Just riding a horse and you’re raw. How disappointing.”

After finishing, he limped out to find Wei Yu for lunch.

Lunch was plentiful. Since Qin Ji had been riding for so long, he had consumed a lot of energy. With his ever-growing appetite, the Imperial Kitchen now prepared extra pastries daily to keep his stomach full at all times.

Qin Ji didn’t want too many people seeing him limping, so after lunch, he urged Wei Yu back to the bedchamber to rest. He then dismissed the servants, leaving only his personal “GPS,” Gao De, to guide him to the study.

“Gao De, bring the Prime Minister’s memorials and read them to me.” Without realizing it, Qin Ji was developing into a workaholic, insisting on handling affairs even after a long workout.

This was partly due to his current low skill level; if he were as quick-witted as Wei Yu, he wouldn’t need to spend so much time in the study. Qin Ji silently prayed: Let me graduate soon!

But the Emperor’s “graduation” was a long process that didn’t care about Qin Ji’s personal wishes. The beatings from reality had to be endured.

Gao De summarized Zhao Anhong’s memorials, skipping the fluff Qin Ji disliked. Qin Ji was very satisfied; given a few more days, the silver for the Ruo River would be ready without touching the treasury. He was also successfully pruning the power of those who relied on empty titles to behave lawlessly.

Not only that, but Qin Ji’s recent actions had caused a stir in the capital. Everyone was on edge; those with guilty consciences were lying low, and no one dared to plead for the Marquis of Guiyuan, fearing Qin Ji would target them next.

Qin Ji wasn’t going to be relentless, though. He wasn’t a fool; if he pushed them too hard, they might do something desperate.

“Go call the Minister of Works. I want to confirm the project details with him,” Qin Ji ordered.

He listened to Huang Zuo’s explanations, though there were many parts he didn’t quite grasp. “Minister Huang, I still don’t understand this part. Tell me again.”

Qin Ji thought to himself that if he weren’t the Emperor and Huang Zuo weren’t his subject, the man would surely want to kill him for making him repeat things so often.

Huang Zuo was happy to see the Emperor’s interest in the river. “Even if we start now, we can’t completely stop the Ruo River’s flow. Your Majesty, there will surely be a flood along the banks this year. We must prepare early!”

Qin Ji felt his confidence wavering. “Minister Huang… should I find more people to strip of their titles?” He didn’t understand much, but he understood perfectly that disasters required money.

Huang Zuo: “…That shouldn’t be necessary.”

The two talked until Xu Ziye arrived for the afternoon lesson. Gao De didn’t want to make the Grand Preceptor wait but couldn’t interrupt the meeting, so he led Xu Ziye to wait elsewhere.

Xu Ziye nodded. “I have seen the Emperor’s recent homework. Besides me, someone else is teaching him, right?”

Gao De was startled but kept a straight face. “The Grand Preceptor is truly wise.”

Xu Ziye smiled. “It’s not about wisdom; that person’s style is just so different from mine. It’s hard not to notice. Eunuch Gao, if it’s convenient, take me to meet that person.”

Gao De: Actually, it’s not very convenient…

It wasn’t that Wei Yu was inconvenient to meet, but rather where he was staying. Ziji Palace was the Emperor’s residence, and Wei Yu had been living there for some time. Gao De led the way with a long face, wondering how he would explain this.

They found Wei Yu in the main hall, intensely focused on a solo game of Go.

“Prince,” Gao De prompted, “this is the Emperor’s teacher, Grand Preceptor Xu Ziye.”

Wei Yu snapped out of his concentration, stood up, and bowed. “So it is Master Xu. I have long heard of your great name.”

Xu Ziye hesitated. “You are… Wei Yu of the Wei State?”

Wei Yu lowered his eyes. “I am.”

Xu Ziye’s expression shifted, his wrinkles deepening. “Eunuch Gao, tell me—how long has the Emperor kept Prince Wei Yu trapped here? Has he… forced himself upon him?”

Fury rose in Xu Ziye’s heart. If Qin Ji had done something so beastly, he would speak his mind even if it meant losing his position as the Emperor’s teacher.

“Huh?” Gao De didn’t understand.

“Prince Wei Yu is still a prince of a nation! Even as a hostage, he cannot be forced to be a male concubine (luan chong)! I must see the Emperor!” Xu Ziye began rolling up his sleeves.

“Master Xu!” Wei Yu quickly stopped him. “I believe you have misunderstood.”

Xu Ziye was still fuming. “Misunderstood what? Do not make excuses for him!”

Wei Yu, caught between laughter and tears, held Xu Ziye back and sat him down. “Master Xu, the Emperor truly hasn’t forced me to be his concubine. We are perfectly innocent.”

Xu Ziye remained skeptical. “Truly?”

Wei Yu: “Truly.”

Xu Ziye still didn’t get it. “Then why are you living in Ziji Palace? The palace is huge; is there nowhere else to put you?”

Wei Yu froze. He actually didn’t know why Qin Ji kept him there. Since that first night he was brought here to sleep in the same bed, he had never returned to the side hall. Even though winter had passed and they no longer needed the charcoal fires, Qin Ji hadn’t let him leave.

“I suspect the Emperor himself might have forgotten about this issue,” Wei Yu offered. Given Qin Ji’s occasionally functional, occasionally “short-circuiting” brain, it was a real possibility. “Master Xu, don’t be angry. When the Emperor returns, I will ask him. He likely just forgot.”

Xu Ziye huffed and slapped the table. “He better have!”

Shaken by the encounter, Xu Ziye couldn’t focus on teaching that day. He left a pile of homework and departed the palace.

When Qin Ji finished with Huang Zuo, Gao De reported the encounter. Hearing that Xu Ziye thought Wei Yu was his male concubine, Qin Ji nearly jumped out of his skin.

Do I dare make the protagonist my concubine?

“Wei Yu has helped me so much; I’d even grant him a Qin title if I could! I respect him! I would never insult him like that!” Qin Ji wanted the whole world to know he had no offensive intentions.

“But Your Majesty, it really isn’t proper for Prince Wei Yu to live with you indefinitely. Perhaps you should choose another palace for him,” Gao De suggested.

Qin Ji: “Wei Yu teaches me every day. If he has to travel back to another palace late at night after finishing, it would be too exhausting. No.” Is this a capitalist squeezing surplus value?

Gao De looked troubled. Why did he, a eunuch, have to worry about so much?

“Then why not officially grant the Prince the side hall? We can move fine things there so he is comfortable,” Gao De continued.

The side hall… that was even worse. Qin Ji had read the novel; he knew what the side hall of Ziji Palace represented to Wei Yu. It was his personal hell. How could he send him back to hell?

But Ziji Palace hadn’t been built to house anyone long-term except the Emperor.

“Fine. Put a bed in the study for me. I’ll sleep in the study,” Qin Ji decided.

“Huh?” Gao De stared at him, speechless. What kind of Emperor gives up his own bed and sleeps in the study?

“Your Majesty, you can’t! If people find out, they will blame the Prince. You don’t want him to carry a bad reputation, do you?” Gao De pleaded.

Qin Ji: “Then just put another bed in the bedchamber. Wei Yu and I will each have our own. Is that okay?!”

Ancient people are so much trouble!