The White Moonlight Turns Out to Be a Black-Hearted Lotus - Chapter 20

Ji Yuanhui gritted his teeth, reluctantly pulling Pei Xu along to pay his respects: “This son greets Imperial Father.”

Wasn’t it said he went to the Xiaoshan Palace to recover from illness? Why would he appear here?

Still so suspicious… he likely feared an assassination attempt or something similar, letting the ceremonial guard proceed ahead to scout the way.

“Mm,” Ji Jun responded faintly, his gaze falling upon the two hands tightly clasped together.

Pei Xu felt somewhat ill at ease, feeling that such behavior was truly improper in front of an elder. Moreover, this elder held another identity entirely.

He struggled ever so slightly, but failed to withdraw his hand. Instead, Ji Yuanhui followed the momentum to interlace their fingers in a death grip, making it impossible to break free.

Ji Yuanhui held his hand so tightly it was as if he feared someone would forcibly take him away.

“What are you afraid of? Be dignified,” Ji Yuanhui said, yet his palms were already seeping with cold sweat from unease. “We are a legitimate couple who have bowed to Heaven, Earth, and Parents. With the Three Letters and Six Rites, it was a proper marriage; even if we die and go below, the gods and Yama must acknowledge it.”

Ji Jun watched him silently. Ji Yuanhui stared back without showing any weakness, refusing to yield an inch.

After a long while, the man sitting there let out a light scoff, his half-shrouded pupils reflecting contempt: “Ji Xun, don’t be like a stray dog that’s been beaten into fear, barking the moment it sees a stone.”

Standing behind the Emperor, Wang Fu watched the atmosphere grow increasingly tense. Sweating profusely with anxiety, he kept advising: “Master, Master, it wasn’t easy to meet. This isn’t the way to speak…”

Ji Yuanhui was provoked by the disdain in those words and laughed: “Don’t bother advising him, Eunuch. If he were one to listen to advice, how could he have become a ‘solitary man’ [the Emperor]?”

“Oh, my young ancestor…” Seeing the last trace of a curve on the Emperor’s lips flatten out, Wang Fu wailed, “Third Highness, you should also say a few words less.”

“You just go on managing your power plays.” Ji Yuanhui couldn’t listen to reason, his words remaining fierce. “I will not let you take anything else away from me again.”

“How could I give birth to such a stupid thing?” Ji Jun seemed unwilling even to look at him anymore and simply closed his eyes. “Your abilities haven’t improved, but your temper certainly has.”

Ji Yuanhui wanted to say more, but Pei Xu pulled on his hand. Turning back, he found that Pei Xu was pale with fright from his rebellious words, shaking his head at him with a look of restraint.

Ji Yuanhui exhaled and snatched the umbrella from Wang Fu’s hand: “Too many words lead to error. This son takes his leave.”

He opened the umbrella and pulled Pei Xu away. Behind them, Ji Jun’s voice rang through the curtain of rain: “When you can finally understand me, only then will you be considered grown.”

Ji Yuanhui’s brow furrowed. He had heard this tone countless times since childhood; he hated it most when others lectured him with such condescension. That man’s arrogant tone made it seem as if whatever he did was wrong, and nothing could ever be satisfactory.

He was not allowed to have his own thoughts; he had to do everything exactly as that man demanded to be considered “qualified.”

Ji Yuanhui’s pace did not falter for a second. He lowered his head and whispered to Pei Xu: “We didn’t bring an umbrella when we left; the carriage from home should be coming to pick us up.”

Pei Xu looked at him worriedly and hummed in response.

As their figures drifted away, Wang Fu was still trying to soothe the Emperor: “Master, Master, don’t be angry anymore. The Third Highness has always had this temperament; he didn’t mean it…”

“Sooner or later, I will be angered to death by this rebellious son,” Ji Jun pressed his hand to his forehead. “I often suspect he is one of my former brothers reincarnated as this obstacle to collect a debt for their deaths.”

“Ha, you sired him yourself, yet you blame others.” The Taoist on the side watched the whole scene with an interested expression, looking as if he were only missing a plate of melon seeds. He smiled and commented, “Don’t just talk about him—what kind of good person are you? None of you in the Ji family has ever been anything good.”

“Old Ancestor, you should keep your mouth shut,” Wang Fu’s face crumpled like a bitter melon. “Shall I see you out?”

“Do I need you?” The Taoist glanced at them, gave a bored yawn, and vanished as fast as a ghost.

“Master, it doesn’t look like this rain will stop anytime soon,” Wang Fu asked tentatively. “Should I summon the Golden Feather Guards to take you back to your room?”

Ji Jun opened one hand in a gesture of refusal.

Seeing his pale complexion, Wang Fu understood. He unfolded the white fox fur he was carrying and draped it over the Emperor’s knees: “This old servant remembers that when the Third Highness was born, the rain was even heavier than it is now…”

“He shouldn’t have been born.” Ji Jun turned the prayer beads on his wrist one by one to distract himself, trying to dissipate the pain coming from his knees. “An ignorant thing, doing stupid things all day long…”

Wang Fu tried to speak up for Ji Yuanhui: “Didn’t Master say earlier that the trouble the Third Highness caused came at just the right time?”

“It was just a lucky strike.” Ji Jun propped up his forehead, his gaze lowered. “I was originally considering what reason to use to demote him for convenience; this saves the trouble. Have Consort Shu keep a close eye on him from the side. Don’t let him cause any more trouble before the fish bites the hook.”

Wang Fu complied.

After a long silence, only the resonance of the rain remained.

The smell of damp earth rose in the air after the rain. Ji Jun suddenly asked Wang Fu, “Am I being too harsh on him?”

“Master has never shown a kind face to the Third Highness and has stripped him of many things he loved. Over time, the Highness would inevitably harbor some resentment,” Wang Fu said cautiously. “When you meet in the future, perhaps Master could be more gentle…”

“Without coldness, how can there be majesty?” Ji Jun was displeased, his brow tightly knit. “I am the Emperor. What matters in this world is not decided by me. Can I not even discipline my own son? If I don’t restrain him strictly from childhood, should I let him grow up to lose his ambition in trivial pursuits?”

When there were no court assemblies, Ji Jun did not often refer to himself as “Zhen” (the Royal ‘I’) in private. Once he did, it meant he was truly angry.

Ji Jun was proud and conceited; when angry, he would not listen to counsel. Wang Fu immediately asked for forgiveness: “This servant was talkative and said the wrong things, I beg for Master’s punishment…”

“Forget it, don’t speak of him; it only brings irritation.” Ji Jun’s eyes stared blankly at the leaves swaying in the rain outside the pavilion. “The one just now, what was his name?”

Wang Fu’s mind raced, immediately realizing who he was asking about: “The Young Master Pei’s name is Xu, his courtesy name is Zehuai. Speaking of which, he is also the nephew of Consort Shu.”

Ji Jun somewhat absentmindedly remembered the day Ji Yuanhui came to beg for the imperial decree for marriage, rarely kneeling properly and finding all sorts of ways to praise the person.

In the end, after all the good and bad talk, he had shown no reaction. Ji Yuanhui had become anxious and forceful, saying he only wanted this one, he had to have this one, no one else would do, and that even if the Emperor wouldn’t fulfill his wish, he had to.

If Ji Yuanhui had dared to speak to him like that in the past, a fight between father and son would have been unavoidable. But that day, perhaps he truly didn’t have the energy to argue with the rebellious son, or perhaps in a daze he saw some overlapping, familiar shadow, so the marriage decree was issued.

“Mm…” Ji Jun returned to his senses, his tone flat. “He looks gentle and mild-tempered, not like someone capable of killing five people alone.”

Besides the Third Highness, who would dare not be mild-tempered in front of your aura?

Wang Fu didn’t dare say this aloud. He only said, “Master, people cannot be judged by their appearance.”

Ji Jun hummed and went back to turning the beads on his wrist in silence. A moment later, he asked: “What position did the Ministry of Personnel report for him a few days ago?”

“It was the Ministry of Justice Main Secretary (Zhu Shi).” Wang Fu observed his expression and asked, “Does Master have other arrangements?”

“The position in the Ministry of Justice is fine, no need to move it. But the sixth rank is indeed too low; he can’t get anything done.” Ji Jun pondered for a moment. “Change it to Bureau Director (Lang Zhong), and let him take office once he has recovered from his injuries.”

“Master is wise.”

“It’s useless for me to be wise alone. If he is sensible, he should know that there are no benefits for nothing in this world.” Ji Jun lowered his eyes. “Ji Xun’s whole heart is hung on him; he had better be someone who can help. He will be needed in a few days; let’s see his capability then.”

“Only a promotion in rank, and mention nothing else?” Wang Fu probed, “Should this servant remind them a bit…”

“No, you don’t need to say anything,” Ji Jun said impatiently. “The food has been fed to their mouths; if those two still don’t know how to swallow, then they really are a pair of fools.”

…

Pei Xu could feel Ji Yuanhui’s anxiety.

Roughly from the moment he saw Ji Jun, he had become like a lion struck by a stone, his fur standing on end, his defensive posture not relaxing for a second.

By the time they returned to the manor, the sky was dark, with rolling clouds and unceasing rain.

“Go change your clothes first.” Ji Yuanhui touched the tips of his hair, which were damp from the rain, speaking in as normal a tone as possible. “Don’t catch a cold.”

“Highness, my hand is not very convenient…” Pei Xu instinctively felt it was best not to let Ji Yuanhui stay alone right now. He raised his arm wrapped in bandages. “Can you help me?”

Ji Yuanhui did not refuse and followed him back to the bedroom.

A servant brought dry clothes for changing, the lacquer tray hitting the table with a light thud, followed by the sound of a door closing in a hurry.

Ji Yuanhui’s low mood was truly too obvious; besides Pei Xu, for a moment, no one dared to be in the same room as him.

The belt was untied, and Ji Yuanhui’s cool fingers occasionally brushed against Pei Xu’s skin. Pei Xu’s eyelashes trembled; he could feel Ji Yuanhui’s gaze constantly lingering on his neck.

Finally, Ji Yuanhui’s fingers stroked his neck, gently rubbing the bruises that had not yet faded: “So thin and weak…”

He tried to wrap his hand around it; the pulse beneath his palm throbbed vulnerably, without any power to resist. It seemed that with a little force, it could be easily snapped.

If it were anyone else being stared at and choked by Ji Yuanhui with such eyes, they would have been scared out of their wits long ago.

But Pei Xu just quietly looked into his eyes, carefully discerning every trace of emotion Ji Yuanhui expressed.

Then, he hugged Ji Yuanhui’s waist, gently embracing him, his hand sliding along his back: “Highness, don’t be afraid…”

He discerned the unease and sorrow in those eyes.

Those eyes were craving and longing for something—pain, or love.

After a brief moment of daze, Ji Yuanhui hugged him back forcefully, as if only by rubbing him into his own body could he feel at peace.

“The neck is so slender, the body so fragile… if that person wanted to kill you… Would it be as simple as strangling a cat?” Ji Yuanhui buried his face in the side of Pei Xu’s neck, his voice carrying a nearly imperceptible tremor. “How should I protect you, so that you remain completely unharmed?”