Your Majesty, Please Be Obedient - Chapter 19

Midday had just passed, and Pu Tingsong let out a faint sigh before ordering the main gates to be closed. Jiang Qiyan heard that sigh. He reached out and grasped the Teacher’s trailing fingers, offering comfort with his eyes.

“So sensible, aren’t you?”

Of course. It was because they had both once been equally isolated and without help.

“The housekeeper has set a separate table for the children. Do you plan to stay with your teacher, or go sit over there?”

He shouldn’t cause any more trouble. “Go over there.”

“Good. I will walk you there.”

Jiang Qiyan’s heart skipped a beat as he looked up. No matter how old or young the other children were, they all took their seats on their own. Where would one find an elder personally escorting a child to the table?

“Your Royal Highness.”

“Lord Preceptor.”

“Mm,” Pu Tingsong laughed softly. “Don’t you all go bullying my little one now.”

“The Imperial Preceptor jokes,” the Minister of Literature said, raising a cup from a distance in a respectful toast. “With the Young Heir of Prince Xu here, how could His Highness be bullied?”

Prince Xu Jingwu held heavy military power. His only son, Xu Zhengnian, the Young Heir of the Xu Estate, had been sent to the capital as a hostage to put the Emperor’s heart at ease. Although he was a hostage, no one dared to cross the young heir. After all, nobody wanted to wake up and find their front gates kicked in by an army under the command of Xu Jingwu.

Pu Tingsong nodded slightly, but his gaze remained on Jiang Qiyan, still looking a bit worried. Jiang Qiyan shook his head, signaling to the Teacher that he was fine. Then, he heard the Teacher say, “If you miss me, come over at any time.”

Pu Tingsong turned around with an unhurried pace, strolling back to the head of the table to take his seat. Once the formalities and pleasantries were finished, the midday banquet officially began. Jiang Qiyan lowered his head and counted the grains of rice in his bowl, occasionally looking toward the main hall outside. The Young Heir of Prince Xu sat beside him with a carefree air, gnawing on a duck leg without a care for his image.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Xu Zhengnian glanced at Jiang Qiyan. “What do you keep peeking over there for? Don’t tell me you’re waiting for the Emperor.”

“No, I’m just not hungry.” Jiang Qiyan withdrew his gaze.

Xu Zhengnian stared at Jiang Qiyan’s slightly trembling hands and sneered. “The old Emperor is holding a grand banquet in the palace. Surely you know that your maternal aunt, oh, I should say your mother, that woman, she is pregnant. If you ask me, she didn’t love that little Secretariat official all that much. Even if she did, it’s in the past. Now that she is carrying a dragon child and sits firmly as the head of the inner palace, she is happy enough.”

“Cousin.” Jiang Qiyan grabbed Xu Zhengnian’s wrist. “If Father hears these words, Uncle Xu will be in trouble.”

“What does it matter? Whether he hears it or not, the one holding the reins of the court is your Teacher.”

My Teacher what? Jiang Qiyan felt a sudden wave of unease. He turned his head to meet Xu Zhengnian’s gaze.

“Uh,” Xu Zhengnian’s eyes darted around as he thought of a diversion. “Anyway, the matters of the court are things you haven’t touched yet, so you wouldn’t understand the twists and turns. Why are you lecturing your elder brother? Can a few words of gossip really make the Emperor strip my father of his military power? That would be too much of a joke.”

“It is better to be careful.” Jiang Qiyan bit his lip. “He, he is the Emperor. Many times, he won’t care about old sentiments.”

“Old sentiments.” Xu Zhengnian pondered that for a moment and shook his head. “Tsk, tsk. And you say you aren’t expecting him to come. Tsk, tsk.”

“Whether he comes or not has nothing to do with me.” Jiang Qiyan poked the rice in his bowl with his chopsticks. “He doesn’t want me anymore. I, I don’t want him to come. If he came, we would all be uncomfortable. I, anyway, I don’t expect him to come.”

“I say one sentence and you reply with several; it is hard not to be suspicious.” Xu Zhengnian licked his lips. His gaze scanned the tables, but failing to find what he wanted, his face immediately darkened. “How are you all hosting guests here?”

Xu Zhengnian grabbed Jiang Qiyan and pulled him toward the main table. “Fine, there is no yellow wine since this is a table of brats, but they didn’t even provide fruit wine! Who are they looking down on!”

“Cousin, Cousin, slow down. I have an injury on my foot.”

“What?” Xu Zhengnian stopped suddenly, his voice rising. “Who bullied you? Tell me, and I’ll take you to beat down their door right now!”

“I was just careless myself.” Jiang Qiyan rubbed his fingers together, his heart racing. Beating down the palace gates would be outright rebellion.

“Tsk, useless thing.” Xu Zhengnian scanned Jiang Qiyan with a look of disdain. “How old are you and you still manage to trip and hurt your foot? Your cousin here started horse-stance training at the age of three. Back in the day.”

Once Xu Zhengnian started bragging, there was no stopping him. Jiang Qiyan listened half-heartedly. Seeing that he had no intention of stopping, he interrupted, “I’ll go get the wine for you. Just sit back down first.”

“Nonsense! Your foot is hurt and I would still let you run errands? Am I even human?”

“Don’t worry about it. I can walk.”

“Then go quickly. Remember to get something strong; don’t try to fool me with that sugar water stuff.” Xu Zhengnian said with a grin. He didn’t stand on ceremony and turned back to the table. Jiang Qiyan dazed for a moment; this cousin of his was truly something.

Pu Tingsong had just picked up a vegetable and placed it in his bowl when he felt something soft and small press against his leg. He set down his chopsticks and looked down. “What is it?”

“I want wine.”

“Mm. What was that? Say it again for the Teacher to hear.”

“I want strong wine.”

“For yourself, or,” Pu Tingsong looked at Xu Zhengnian’s back, “are you asking for the Young Heir of Prince Xu?”

“I am asking for him, but, I,” he felt uneasy, especially after hearing that his Father had another child. It was a sour, stifling feeling in his chest. “I want to drink a little too.”

“Then have a little.” Pu Tingsong reached out and handed his own cup over. “Only this one cup. I will watch you drink it.”

Jiang Qiyan held the cup, stuck out his soft tongue, and took a tentative lick. It was sweet and sour. Was this really wine? Of course it wasn’t wine; it was merely a fruit tea brewed with green plums and honey. The guests at the banquet weren’t very fond of drinking; the two jars of fine wine Pu Tingsong had placed on the table hadn’t been touched. Instead, everyone was asking him for tea.

“Just a bit of fruit wine. It is fine to drink a little. But if you get greedy, I won’t allow it.”

After Jiang Qiyan finished the fruit wine, the cup was taken away, and a somewhat heavy small jar was placed in his arms.

“Hold it steady,” the Teacher said, resting his head on his hand and looking at him lazily. “Don’t let me find out you’ve been sneaking drinks.”

Fine, I won’t. Jiang Qiyan pouted and left with the jar. Why was Xu Zhengnian allowed to drink but he wasn’t? Xu Zhengnian was only a few years older than him. Was being ten years old that impressive? Two of him put together would also make ten years.

“My heart is deeply gratified.” Xu Zhengnian snatched the wine jar. “Little Yanyan, let me have a smell. I am dying for a drop!”

Xu Zhengnian impatiently opened it and took a deep breath. “Oh my god, just one whiff and I wouldn’t trade it for an army of eight hundred thousand!”

“Young Heir, if His Majesty truly wanted to strip military power with a cup of wine, what choice would you make?” Fang Wuming, who had never gotten along with Xu Zhengnian, couldn’t help but make a sarcastic remark.

“Who do you think you are? Why do you sound so much like that brat Fang? That bastard relied on being three years older than me to corner me in an alley. If he hadn’t died early, I would have personally seen him off!”

A chill ran through Xu Zhengnian’s heart. Two years ago, that bastard Fang Hongxi had led people to corner him. Not only that, he had tried to borrow Xu Zhengnian’s waist token to go to a brothel under his name. He had been so angry he beat Fang Hongxi to a pulp on the spot, yet that brat actually smiled at him and said he would come back for it another day! What bad luck; just thinking about it was unlucky!

Fang Wuming smiled and poured himself a cup of wine. “Just a nameless person. Heir, please suit yourself.”

Wait, you snatch my wine and then tell me to suit myself? Why does this bastard look more and more like that dead brat!

“I don’t know why, but I really want to punch you.” Xu Zhengnian tilted his head back and drained the wine in his cup. “The way you act like a jerk while staying so serious is really begging for a beating.”

Fang Wuming smiled without speaking and rose from the table. Shallow, Fang Wuming thought. Too shallow. All he knew was violence; if that wasn’t shallow, what was? Just as Xu Zhengnian was about to stand up to block his way, his sleeve was suddenly tugged.

“Cousin.”

His heart softened inexplicably. Xu Zhengnian replied in a tone much gentler than before, “Yes? What is it?”

“Actually, what Brother Fang said isn’t without reason. You and Uncle Xu should be careful. I am worried that Father.”

Worry about what? If your Father had real power, would he let me be so arrogant? Right now, half the country was in the hands of someone named Pu, and the other half was, naturally, guarded by his father for the old Emperor. If his father got tired of guarding it one day and decided to rebel, what could the Emperor do to him?

Xu Zhengnian suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. “It is fine. We made preparations to withdraw long ago. Besides, my father is at the border. It would be hard for Uncle to even find him for a drink.”

Stripping power with a cup of wine? That could never happen. Jiang Qiyan although he was still worried, he didn’t say more. On a small scale, this was his cousin’s family matter; on a large scale, it was a factional struggle. Neither was something he should interfere with. He just didn’t want to become enemies with Xu Zhengnian. Years ago, before the Teacher had entered the court, he had been ostracized at the Imperial College. Only Xu Zhengnian was willing to sit next to him, although, although he often asked for help with cover-ups or even writing cheat sheets.

Later, with the Teacher’s private tutelage, he never went back to the Imperial College.

“Little Yanyan, you have no idea how much I have missed you. I have nearly fallen ill from it. Without you, I have had a hard time under the old man’s thumb. And I cannot even punch him, for fear that one accidental strike would send the old guy to his grave.”

Jiang Qiyan listened and laughed softly.

“Oh, right. Have you ever had wine before? If you are this old and haven’t had a drink, I am not looking down on you, but back in the day, I drank a whole table under the table at two years old.”

Seeing that Xu Zhengnian was about to start rambling again, Jiang Qiyan quickly replied, “I have had it.” He had had it. The Teacher gave it to him.

“It was good, right?”

“Yes, it was very good.” It was just that the wine the Teacher gave wasn’t strong; it sounded like the sugar water Xu Zhengnian had mentioned. The Teacher must not have a high tolerance for alcohol; otherwise, why wouldn’t he drink something stronger?

“You have good taste! I admire you! I am telling you, this wine is water from the heavens, it is celestial dew, the nectar of the gods. Come, come, drink a few cups with me. Only a man who can drink is a true man. Don’t be all delicate like a girl. I am telling you, people who can drink are the ones who bully others; others cannot bully them!”

No wonder the Teacher gets bullied; is it because he cannot drink? Jiang Qiyan raised his cup, waiting for Xu Zhengnian to fill it. He wanted to drain this cup so that no one would ever bully him again!

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