Why is the Dog Emperor Like That? - Chapter 7

Upon hearing that I wanted to feed him, Yin Xiao froze. It was not the type of bashful, blushing freeze that suggested he was embarrassed. Rather, it was the type of frozen stare that suggested he was currently considering which knife to use to kill me. As my hand holding the spoon hovered mid-air in hesitation, Yin Xiao suddenly snatched the bowl and spoon away. With a dark face, he began to eat by himself.

Under my relentless supervision, Yin Xiao finally grew a bit rounder than before. He naturally had a larger frame, so when he lacked meat, he looked exceptionally gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes like a victim of abuse. Now that he had gained some weight, his beautiful face was finally filled out.

A twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, naturally possessed of an exquisite and noble countenance, coupled with brocade robes and a jade belt, made it very difficult for anyone to dislike him. Once, I truly could not help myself. While accompanying him in his calligraphy practice, I reached out and pinched his cheek. Taking advantage of the moment Yin Xiao frowned, I quickly covered his small hand with mine, gesturing for him to continue practicing. Yin Xiao’s face flushed red repeatedly. He sputtered “You, you, you” for a long time, but in the end, he did nothing to me. I was delighted.

On the day of Yin Xiao’s thirteenth birthday banquet, officials arrived one after another. After a full year of my guidance, Yin Xiao had shed his previous rebellious attitude and began to receive the officials with proper decorum. Seeing such a great transformation in the Second Prince, many officials praised him highly. Not only that, but when the Emperor heard I had been the one teaching Yin Xiao this past year, he even rewarded me with a piece of calligraphy by a famous master.

By all logic, making such immense progress in just one year was excellent. However, as the wine ran low and the banquet ended, the corners of Yin Xiao’s mouth sank. Jin Lan found it strange and tried to coax him. “Why is the Little Highness unhappy? Today is your birthday banquet, and both the Emperor and Empress came to celebrate. You should be happy.” Yin Xiao shook his head and said nothing.

That night, when I returned from bathing, the lamps in Yin Xiao’s room were already extinguished. Having lived here for so long, I could find every pillar and beam with my eyes closed. I walked straight over, lifted the moon-shadow gauze curtain separating us, and sat by Yin Xiao’s bed. Yin Xiao’s body was turned away from me. He did not move, but his back, stiff as a line, betrayed him. He was still pretending to be asleep.

I looked at him with envy. This was my first time raising a child, and I had not expected him to grow so much in a year. Perhaps in two more years, Yin Xiao would be taller than me. Surely that would not happen.

I often suspected that there was something “unclean” in Lanyue Palace. Otherwise, how could it be cold in both winter and summer, permeated by a mysterious chill? I lightly tapped Yin Xiao. “Little Highness, why didn’t you leave a lamp for me?”

The person on the bed ignored me. Due to his past experience with a maid climbing into his bed, Yin Xiao was a light sleeper and would wake at the slightest disturbance. I had walked right to his bedside and sat down, yet he was still pretending to be asleep. I poked this brat, who seemed to be growing in height but not in sense. He remained motionless, his body tensed like a dark fortress wall. I decided to persist. Before I could poke Yin Xiao into a sponge full of holes, he finally spoke.

“Teacher,” Yin Xiao’s face was buried in the quilt, his voice sounding muffled. “I am tired. If there is anything, let us speak of it tomorrow.”

Good heavens. I had asked Yin Xiao to call me “Teacher,” but the brat was usually exceptionally cautious and avoided calling me that whenever possible. Now, just to get rid of me, he was even willing to say “Teacher.” It left me with quite a complicated feeling. I thought for a moment and suddenly tapped him. “This matter of mine cannot be pushed to tomorrow. It must be done today.”

Yin Xiao kept his head covered, seemingly unbothered by the lack of air. “What is it?”

I joked, “Climbing into your bed?”

With a sudden movement, Yin Xiao’s quilt was flung open. An angry little face emerged. As I dodged the fist he swung my way, I said, “Your big brother did not come today because his mother is seriously ill. He rushed out of town to seek medicine. It was not for any other reason.”

Yin Xiao suddenly froze. His eyes dropped low, and his expression became unreadable. “I wasn’t.” As he spoke, his confidence failed him, and his voice trailed off. After a few seconds, Yin Xiao took an agitated breath. While changing the subject, he still dared not look me in the eye. “Consort De is ill?”

Consort De was the mother of the First Prince, Yin Shu. She came from a prominent family but was approachable. Like a pure lotus flower, she stayed away from harem conflicts and had remained uninvolved for years. Even toward Yin Xiao, despite his own mother always opposing her, Consort De would always treat him with courtesy whenever they met.

I comforted him. “Rest assured, your big brother has already gone to find the best doctor in Great Liang. Consort De will be fine.”

Not only will she be fine, but your big brother will also meet a man and begin a thrilling, world-shaking romance. These words, of course, I did not say aloud.

That night, I lay down beside Yin Xiao and stayed with him. Neither of us slept well, tossing and turning all night. By midnight, feeling that he was still awake, I could no longer restrain the curiosity and questions in my heart. “Little Highness? Do you perhaps have a bit of a brother complex?”

Yin Xiao’s mouth let out a string of curses, telling me to get out. Not only did he curse, but he also used his fists on my back. Honestly, after being hit for a while, it actually hurt a little. As expected, a thirteen-year-old’s fist is much harder than a twelve-year-old’s. I commented on this sincerely, which nearly exasperated Yin Xiao to death. He hammered me with his relatively weak fists for a long while until, tired and angry, he finally fell asleep.

I wondered if he had been stimulated by this event. From the next day onward, Yin Xiao practiced martial arts with incredible diligence, going to the grasslands every day with his riding and archery instructor. I was too lazy to return to the Ji household, so I continued to sleep in the palace. To be honest, I was very curious just how much effort this brat could put in just to beat me up. Surely it would not be too much.

Oh no. After summer arrived, Yin Xiao wore lighter clothing, and I could actually see the faint outlines of muscle beneath his thin garments. There was not much muscle yet, and he was not exactly muscular, but the lines were visible. Because he had begun to focus on martial arts, he seemed to have aged several years all at once. It had only been a few months. The weak, sickly, and pitiful Second Prince of the past was nowhere to be found. I had a sudden vision of Yin Xiao becoming a massive, muscular powerhouse a few years from now. At that point, wouldn’t he be able to kill me without an executioner just by raining fists on my face? I was terrified.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Emperor held a palace banquet and required both princes to attend. As we headed to the banquet hall, we happened to encounter Yin Shu. Yin Shu smiled. “Second brother, since we have met, why not head to the banquet together with your elder brother?”

Yin Xiao gave a grunt of affirmation and suddenly raised his hand.

“Your Highness.” I walked to Yin Xiao’s side and presented the gift on his behalf, having truly become an advisor under Yin Xiao’s wing.

Yin Shu snapped open his folding fan, fanning himself as he looked us over. “Second brother has truly obtained a fine teacher. If there comes a day when you are willing to part with him, please return Zijin to me.”

Yin Xiao’s brow furrowed, and his gaze instantly turned cold. Yin Shu’s tone was half-jesting and half-serious. It was hard to tell if he was joking. Before the smell of gunpowder in the air grew any stronger, I quickly smoothed things over. Yin Shu’s smiling eyes hid many emotions. I began to feel that he was not as gentle and non-competitive as the original novel had portrayed him.

We engaged in awkward small talk along the way. Once we arrived at the banquet, the two brothers finally separated, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Yin Xiao glanced at me. I understood his meaning and leaned in close. He whispered, “I have checked for you. My big brother is still surrounded by the same people lately. There is no one named Ye.”

That should not be right. I was extremely puzzled, wondering if he was hidden away.

“Is that necessary?” Yin Xiao said disdainfully. “If that Ye Fuchen is truly as formidable as you say, like dust settling to reveal light, he wouldn’t be able to hide even if he wanted to.”

“True.” I sighed silently, still unable to figure it out. Where was Ye Fuchen? Where did my grand protagonist go?

I carefully recalled the plot where the protagonist gong and shou first met. The original book stated that while Yin Shu was on his way to find a doctor for his mother, he entered a teahouse to buy water. While talking with his attendants about his mother’s illness, Ye Fuchen struck up a conversation, immediately addressing him as “Your Highness” and seeing through his noble status.

So why did Yin Shu go to that teahouse in the first place? I thought it over until a devastating memory resurfaced. At that time, Ji Zijin, the original “me” in the book, was a man of delicate skin and tender flesh. After several days of traveling, he had suffered heatstroke and fainted. Only then did Yin Shu stop his journey and go to the teahouse to buy water to save me.

Holy crap. So the problem originated with me!

I was deeply regretful. The palace banquet was lively, with lanterns and decorations everywhere, but nothing could lift my spirits. They say it is better to destroy ten temples than to break up one marriage. A perfectly matched pair like the protagonists had drifted apart because of me. I let out a heavy sigh.

Yin Xiao’s footsteps stopped. He stood in front of me, turned his head, and gave me a cold, sideways glance. “Hey.”

Confused, I also stopped. “Hmm?”

Yin Xiao said nothing but waved his hand to dismiss the nearby attendants. Beneath the palace walls, the quiet stone path at night reflected the glow of countless sky lanterns, yet it still felt cold. He questioned me. “What was with that dark face of yours the whole way?”

“Little Highness,” I smiled, “you should call me Teacher.”

This sentence usually worked in ninety-nine percent of situations with Yin Xiao, allowing me to win without a fight. However, this time was the one percent exception.

“Tea…cher.” Yin Xiao spoke slowly, each syllable heavy with anger. “Are you thinking of going to my brother’s side?”

I froze. Was it the words of the officials at the banquet that made Yin Xiao misunderstand? I recalled how many officials had politely presented Mid-Autumn gifts to Yin Xiao. I had been quite happy. After all, such a grand sight was much better than in previous years. But the most lively area was still around Yin Shu.

As Yin Shu’s power grew, I, having joined Yin Xiao’s camp, had become a laughingstock to some of them. Our seats were not far from Yin Shu’s. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but I felt like people were constantly looking my way and saying unpleasant things. I did not mind. A pack of noisy pests wasn’t worth taking to heart. I did not expect Yin Xiao to take those nonsense words seriously.

“Teacher, you are a man of great learning and indeed a person of talent.”

It was the first time Yin Xiao had praised me so directly, yet I did not dare accept it. Yin Xiao narrowed his long eyes, observing me closely, like a snake coiling around its prey but not killing it immediately. “This student understands less the more he learns. Why would a man of talent like Teacher choose me?”

Because my life is in your hands. If I chose Yin Shu, I would still end up in your grasp and be killed by you. Of course, I couldn’t say that. But what should I say instead? “This subject.”

Perhaps because Yin Xiao’s gaze was too sharp and fierce, as if it could pierce through all lies, my words of defense failed me. Even if a tiger is tamed and becomes obedient, it is still a fierce beast capable of biting a wolf to death. For a moment, I felt that I might die today.

Right now, I was certainly on Yin Xiao’s side. But if I weren’t Ji Zijin, but someone else, I might have stood on Yin Shu’s side without hesitation. He was gentle and understanding. Barring any accidents, he would certainly be the one to ascend the throne. But in this cold Lanyue Palace, there was also a pitiful child ignored by his father and disregarded by his mother.

While I hesitated, unable to speak, my chin suddenly hurt. It was so painful I nearly cried out. Yin Xiao pinched my chin, his gaze so terrifying that I couldn’t utter a single word. I suddenly realized that we were almost the same height.