Your Majesty, Please Be Obedient - Chapter 10

Fang Wuming opened the bundle left by the little Crown Prince. Inside were some dry rations to stave off hunger and warm clothing. Fang Wuming shook his head and picked up a steamed bun to eat. Feeling his throat grow dry and choked, he opened the door, gathered a handful of snow, and stuffed it into his mouth. The icy snowmelt slid into his stomach, chilling his internal organs. The wind and snow from outside poured into the woodshed, leaving the room cold and lonely.

Fang Wuming stared at the lines on his palm, lost in thought for a long time. In truth, he was much older than the little Crown Prince. In fact, he was the same age as the all-powerful Imperial Preceptor. To sneak into the Imperial Preceptor’s Manor, he had used a special sorcery from his mother’s clan. With the help of his eldest uncle, he had shrunk his joints and altered his appearance, which was why he looked like a child. Since his age did not match his appearance, no matter how great Pu Tingsong’s abilities were, he would never discover that Fang Wuming was actually the grandson of Chancellor Fang.

A small shadow moved through the snow toward him. Fang Wuming snapped out of his memories. He put on a smile, appearing graceful and polite like a destitute noble son.

Jiang Qiyan stood in the snow. The smooth white blanket was crushed into scattered jade beneath his feet. He watched Fang Wuming’s smile from a distance and came to a halt. For some reason, he felt a sense of resistance in his heart and did not move any further forward.

“Little Master,” Fang Wuming said as he bowed to him, “I was abrupt before. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” His warm, jade-like eyes looked over. “Thanks to your kindness, I managed to save my life. In the future, my life belongs to you.”

“I do not want your life. You can only stay here temporarily,” Jiang Qiyan said, his gaze fixed on Fang Wuming who leaned against the door. “If anyone comes to capture you, you must leave this place.”

Master was too important to him. He was truly afraid that Master might get into trouble.

“Rest assured, little Master. Wuming will never involve you or your family.” Fang Wuming pressed his palms together and bowed again. “Providing shelter is already a great kindness. How could I drag you into trouble?”

Jiang Qiyan hesitated for a moment and took a few steps forward. This older brother named Fang seemed reasonable; surely he was a good person?

“Brother Fang,” he said as he buried his head against his chest. He gathered his courage and finally spoke while clenching his fists. “Can you? Can you play with me?”

He was determined to take the first step toward making friends. However, since Fang Wuming was his first friend, he did not know what friends were supposed to do. He simply handed the initiative to Fang Wuming.

Fang Wuming did not expect to gain trust so easily. He rolled his eyes and said, “Then shall we play hide and seek? Little Master, I do not know your name yet. How should I address you?”

“Jiang,” Jiang Qiyan bit his lower lip.

He used to dislike this name. He was an unwanted child, and even his name meant abandonment. But now it was different. He raised his head, and there was light in his eyes. He had a Master who wanted him.

“Jiang Qiyan.”

Fang Wuming’s expression changed slightly, and he quickly knelt. “This commoner deserves ten thousand deaths for failing to recognize the Crown Prince!”

What Crown Prince? It was nothing but a joke.

Jiang Qiyan felt a bit unhappy and lowered his eyelids. “Are we not friends?”

Fang Wuming was stunned, then smiled. “Yes, friends.”

“If we are friends, do not treat me as the Crown Prince,” Jiang Qiyan said. His nose felt a bit stuffed for some reason. “There is no Crown Prince here.”

Tears threatened to fall, but he forced them back. He did not want his Father Emperor anymore. He would not be the Crown Prince. He was just Master’s little Qiyan. Jiang Qiyan did not cry in front of outsiders. He held back his tears, intending to save them until he was before Master.

“My apologies, I was rude,” Fang Wuming said as he slowly reached out a hand, seemingly intending to pat Jiang Qiyan’s shoulder.

Jiang Qiyan took half a step back to maintain distance. Fang Wuming withdrew his hand, his gaze appearing somewhat lonely, but he quickly forced a smile. “Then may I call you Yanyan?”

Yanyan.

It seemed like a very distant memory from when his Mother Concubine was still alive. His Father Emperor had stood behind him, his steady and majestic voice piercing through his ears, sounding directly in his mind.

“Yanyan,” his Father had said with a hint of affection. “Talk nicely with your Mother. Father will appoint you as the Crown Prince.”

That was likely his earliest memory. Spring had turned into summer, and the cicadas were chirping.

“What else do you want? I have left the position of the head of the six palaces for you. After I die, Yanyan will succeed the throne, and the position of Empress Dowager is also yours. What are you still dissatisfied with?”

His Mother said nothing. She only stared at him in the corner, her bloodshot eyes making him tremble.

“Yanyan, come here,” his Father coaxed him. “Come here and be close to your Mother, all right?” There was actually a hint of pleading in his Father’s voice.

But he did not dare. He truly did not dare. Whenever his Mother looked at him with that expression, he was bound to be beaten. He curled up and shook his head desperately.

“Jiang Qiyan! Are you going to watch your Mother die?”

He was terrified. His Father’s enraged face looked just like a lion opening its bloody maw. He crawled under the table and hugged himself. No matter how his Father shouted, he refused to come out. He was so frightened that he did not notice his Father’s desperate and heartbroken gaze.

It seemed that from that day on, his Father never called him Yanyan again.

A few months later, his Mother found rat poison from somewhere and ended her life. At that time, Jiang Qiyan was terrified, but he still could not bear to let her go. He grabbed her hand to stop her from eating it, but her strength was much greater than his. She threw him to the ground, gave him a cold look, and drank the poison in one gulp.

When his Father arrived, he had already shrunk back into the corner. A look of disappointment pierced through him. “You are truly cold blooded.”

It was not like that. He had tried to stop her, but he could not. He was also in pain. He had hit his head when he was pushed down, and the back of his head was still bleeding. But his Father seemed certain that he had stood by with indifference.

“You are on your own now. I will never look after you again.”

Jiang Qiyan knew these were not words of anger; his Father truly did not want him anymore. His Father did not even bother to give him a second glance, failing to see the blood on his head that was so obvious.

Sadness spread through his heart, aching and painful. He had tried hard to accompany his Mother and comfort her. But no one cared about his efforts because when she died, he was hiding in the corner crying.

Before his Father stepped out the door, the last thing he said to him was, “Your Mother’s death is your fault. Since she is dead, you do not need to be the Crown Prince anymore. You are not worthy of the position.”

No one cared about his helplessness. They ruthlessly pushed the one and a half year old boy into the abyss of self loathing.

Afterward, because Jiang Beiwang missed his late wife, he married her younger sister. Their identical appearance seemed to dull the grief, but it was nothing more than self deception. Jiang Beiwang did not love the new Empress, and she did not love him either.

His aunt had a beloved fiancé and was already preparing for her wedding. But because his Mother had died, a single imperial decree forced her into the palace to face his Father in mutual dislike. The aunt who used to pamper him the most began to hate him from then on. She hated him for causing her sister’s death and for forcing her into the palace, separating her from her lover forever.

Once his Mother died, everyone began to despise him. For the next year, he endured injuries and unbearable abuse until Master took him in. Only then did it all slowly stop. It was Master who saved him. Master pulled him back during his darkest hour. If it had been a moment later, he might have truly followed his Mother to the grave.

“Yanyan?” A finger waved before his eyes. “What is wrong? Is there a problem?”

“No,” Jiang Qiyan shook his head. “I have never played hide and seek. I do not know how to play.”

Fang Wuming’s eyes moved. “It is very simple. You cannot go inside the rooms. You find a place to hide, and I will come look for you. If I find you, I win. If I do not, you win.”

“All right.” Jiang Qiyan was not very enthusiastic. He missed Master now and wanted to crawl into Master’s arms to cry. But he did not want to disappoint his only friend. He tried to cheer himself up and began looking for a place to hide.

He walked aimlessly until he reached the door of the master bedroom. He wanted to go inside; Master was in there. But Brother Fang had said he could not enter the rooms.

Jiang Qiyan knelt and swept away a small pile of fallen snow with his hand, clearing a patch of dry ground. He sat down right at the door. He pressed his small face against the wood and traced the patterns on the door with his index finger.

Fang Wuming did not actually go looking for him. There were two sets of clear footprints in the snow, but he did not follow them. He wandered around the courtyard and even climbed the walls of the locked areas, attempting to find some leverage against Pu Tingsong. Hide and seek was a perfect cover. If he were caught, he could simply say he was playing with the little Crown Prince.

Jiang Qiyan sat at the door for a long time, but no one came to find him. Instead, the door to the master bedroom opened.

A person dressed in thin undergarments paused and sighed. “Who is this? Why are you sitting at the door again?”

Jiang Qiyan did not know what was wrong with him. As soon as he heard Master’s voice, he wanted to cry. “It is me.”

“Who are you?” The voice, filled with a gentle smile, slipped easily into his ears.

“I am Master’s little Qiyan.”

“So it is Master’s little Qiyan.” Master’s hand came down. Even while it was still in the air, the boy eagerly craned his neck, wanting Master’s hand to land on his head sooner.

Pu Tingsong smiled. “Why are you sitting at the door? Do you not find it cold?”

“I missed Master.” Jiang Qiyan felt a bit gloomy. Although Master’s hand was resting on his head, why was it not moving? Jiang Qiyan nudged the hand with his head, signaling for Master to rub his hair.

Pu Tingsong did as he wished and rubbed it a few times.

“Master, rub it a little longer,” he said, his voice nasal from his stuffed nose. “Rub it longer, Master.”

“What will I do if you are always this spoiled and clingy?” Pu Tingsong rubbed it again. “You have to grow up eventually. When you grow up, you will start to find your Master annoying.”

How could that be! Jiang Qiyan became frantic, his words becoming incoherent in his urgency. He boldly grabbed the hand on his head and pressed it down firmly, not letting it move.

“No! That is not true! Master!”

The hand slipped away from his head. Just as he raised his arms to chase it, a finger pressed against his forehead. “Hush, you are being a bit loud. There is no need to worry, and do not be so loud. Master is listening. Master knows little Qiyan will not leave me alone, right?”

There was no need to shout, and no need to worry that Master would not hear. Master’s attention had been on him from the very beginning, listening intently to his words. Jiang Qiyan’s nose felt very sore. His voice took on a nasal tone, sounding even more obedient and soft than usual. “Yes.”

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