Your Majesty, Please Be Obedient - Chapter 26

Fang Hongxi was about to wet himself. He watched with wide eyes as a plain white robe drifted closer and closer, finally stopping right in front of the table where he was hiding. What was most terrifying was that he had clearly heard footsteps, yet there were no feet visible beneath the white robe.

A ghost! A real ghost!

“I have elders to care for and children to raise. Your Majesty, Empress, it was not I who drove you to your death. Injustice has its head and debt has its owner; if you want to blame someone, blame that dim-eyed Jiang Beiwan. He calls himself an Emperor, but he was never worthy of you. Why bother wasting your spirit on him? Besides, Yanyan and I are best friends, the best friends in the whole world! Your Majesty, you must spare me. I cannot repay you, but I can repay the little Highness! Just let me go, and in the future, I will certainly help him escape the Imperial Preceptor’s control!”

“Heh.” Qin Shizhi jumped down from the ceiling beam, tossing the fishing rod and the white robe onto the floor.

Fang Hongxi’s heart took a heavy leap. He instinctively shrank back, trying to escape Qin Shizhi’s clutches, but he was a step too late. To be fair, he would rather face a ghost than confront this living Yama.

Qin Shizhi lifted him with one hand and leaned in close to his ear, whispering like a demon, “You are the first one who dares to speak of sabotaging Xunhua Pavilion’s affairs in front of this Pavilion Master. With such thick skin, why are you shaking harder at the sight of me than at the sight of a ghost?”

No kidding! Encountering a ghost at most results in being scared to death, which is just a cowardly way to go. Falling into the hands of Great Pavilion Master Qin meant being flayed, cramped, and tortured in a hundred ways, finally dying without a whole corpse in endless despair.

Fang Hongxi said tremulously, “May I ask who you are? We do not seem to be acquainted. Sir, please look at me. I was originally supposed to be on duty at the Imperial Study today, but unfortunately, I accidentally soiled my clean robes yesterday. I had no choice but to come in casual clothes. Our supervisor just patrolled this way, so I had to take this desperate measure and hide here.”

“Oh?” Qin Shizhi pulled him a bit closer. “Little eunuch, your mouth full of lies is not very likeable. Although I do not enjoy eating people, however.” Qin Shizhi paused slightly and smiled. “Your head would make quite a nice collectible, do you not think? Our Great Sorcerer, who leaped from six years old to nineteen in a mere five years?”

“Cough, cough, cough!” Fang Hongxi pressed both hands against Qin Shizhi’s chest and smiled back. “Tricks, they are just folk magic, mere parlor tricks not worth mentioning.”

“Great Sorcerer,” Qin Shizhi grabbed Fang Hongxi’s hands and leaned in so close their hair almost touched. “What were you looking for, and what did you find? Do you want to guess if this Pavilion Master knows?”

Just speak! Why get so close! Do you not know that in my eyes, you, Great Pavilion Master Qin, smell as foul as dung?

Fang Hongxi struggled but could not break free, so he resorted to playing dumb. “My dear Pavilion Master, Wuming was just wandering. I just lost my way and happened to stroll into the palace. You must believe Wuming.”

“This Pavilion Master does not dare to believe you.” Qin Shizhi reached out. Fang Hongxi thought Qin Shizhi was going to strangle him and instinctively shuddered. However, Qin Shizhi merely tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear. “After all, you are a sharp-tongued little liar.”

Fang Hongxi froze for a moment, feeling inexplicably that Qin Shizhi’s movement was almost gentle, carrying some indescribable emotion. Was he crazy? Or was Qin Shizhi crazy? It must be Qin Shizhi! When Qin Shizhi let go of him, he actually felt a tiny sense of loss, as if something was supposed to happen, yet nothing did.

Wait! What on earth was he expecting? Was he expecting the demon to strangle him to death? Fang Hongxi slapped himself without hesitation.

Qin Shizhi was slightly startled, then waved his folding fan and laughed. “I did not think you had such self-awareness. Hand it over,” Qin Shizhi said, holding out his hand.

“What? What?” Fang Hongxi’s expression changed instantly. “You, you are not asking for my life, are you?”

A man of the Fang family does not fear death! He, Fang Wuming, stands tall and fears no petty man’s tyranny! What did Fang Wuming standing tall have to do with him? Fang Hongxi burst into tears and grabbed Qin Shizhi, crying and repeating every word of mercy he knew.

Qin Shizhi watched him cry quietly. When he was almost finished, Qin Shizhi held out his hand again. “That key. Give it to me.”

You should have said so earlier! If he had known that was all, why would he have cried? Bastard, bastard, bastard! Qin Shizhi is a bastard Demon King!

“Here you go.” Fang Hongxi quickly handed over the key. His heart was bleeding, but he did not dare show a hint of displeasure on his face.

“Mmh. Good enough. This Pavilion Master does not mind giving you a piece of free information.”

Fang Hongxi felt a surge of joy. A good man, a truly good man! Information from Xunhua Pavilion was rare. He immediately spoke up, “I want.”

“Shh,” Qin Shizhi pressed a finger to his lips. “You do not have a choice. I will speak, and you will listen well. Listen carefully. If you end up as a wandering soul beneath his feet in the future, do not blame me for not warning you. The little Crown Prince is a pet he is raising, categorized as his personal property. This Pavilion Master kindly advises you to immediately drop the idea of letting the little pet go. Otherwise, if you draw fire upon yourself in the future, even I will not be able to protect you.”

Was that not obvious? Only an idiot would truly provoke that old fox, that old madman! Oh, wait. Pu Tingsong was younger than him; he should be called a little fox, a little madman.

Fang Hongxi looked speechless. “What? You? Protect me? Are you sure you would not be helping him chop me up?”

Qin Shizhi’s face darkened, and he kicked Fang Hongxi in the backside, sending him flying out of the study. “There is nothing you are looking for here! If you want that kind of thing, you should go to the Court of Judicial Review! You idiot.”

As Fang Hongxi scrambled away, Qin Shizhi’s expression shifted, becoming serious. How did the token of the Land of Oblivion end up in Jiang Beiwan’s hands? Could it be? Could it be!

Qin Shizhi’s expression was grim; this matter was of great importance. He thought for a moment, put the jade key back in its original place, cleaned up any traces of the intrusion, and then quickly returned to the estate under the cover of night.

The light of dawn gradually increased. When he returned, Pu Tingsong was combing Jiang Qiyan’s hair.

“Do you want to sleep a bit more?” Pu Tingsong coaxed in a low voice. “Sleep a little longer to nourish your spirit?”

Jiang Qiyan shook his head and pointed outside. “Master.”

“Ignore him.” Pu Tingsong brought over a bowl of medicine. “Come. No milk for these few days. Master.” He paused. “Master sees that you have some internal heat.”

Jiang Qiyan lowered his head, burying his face in the medicine bowl. His sadness was due to his reluctance to leave, but why did Master’s tone also hide a faint, irrepressible sorrow?

“Sweetheart, that is not how you drink medicine. Come, Master will feed you.”

He did not say yes, nor did he say no. He just stuck out his tongue and, like a kitten, curled the tip to lick a drop of medicine from his face. It was very bitter, but his mind was not on the bitterness. He thought about how Master had been calling him “Sweetheart” frequently lately. He thought that just now, that sentence should have been said with a playful, nonchalant tone.

Master should have said, “How can you turn into a little calico cat just by drinking medicine?” He should have looked at him with a half-smile. “Are you doing this on purpose because you want Master to feed you?”

Every time this happened, he felt at a loss. He did not know how to answer those questions. Nor did he know how to respond to Master’s teasing. It seemed that every step he took, every thought he had, was within Master’s predictions. In fact, he had a hazy feeling in his heart: Master liked to ask him questions but gave him no right to choose.

If he answered in a way that pleased Master, Master would give him a reward, a pat on the head or a hug. If he answered in a way that did not please Master, Master would speak in a low voice, letting an undeniable “Mmh?” escape from his throat. Though Master was smiling, it weighed on him until his legs felt weak, making him quickly change his mind to suit Master’s wishes. Master truly disliked being refused.

Jiang Qiyan picked up the bowl and handed it to Pu Tingsong. Pu Tingsong wiped his face, fed him the rest with great patience, and placed a pine nut candy in his mouth.

“Master is giving you a break; there is no need to study for the next few days.” His head was patted, and several more candies appeared in his pocket. “Master will be discussing matters in the study; I may need you to step away for a bit.”

He touched the candies in his pocket and nodded gently. Once Pu Tingsong left, he walked over to the table by the window, sat in the chair, took out the scarf hidden in the drawer, and continued knitting.

Qin Shizhi was waiting so anxiously he was about to lose his temper when his young Master finally strolled out. As soon as he appeared, Qin Shizhi pulled him into the study with urgency. He did a quick sweep for eavesdroppers and then shut the door.

“The token of the Land of Oblivion has been found,” Qin Shizhi said, clenching his fist. “The upheaval of Xunhua Pavilion years ago and the disappearance of my younger sister, Qin Hanshuang, could it all be, all be.”

“Do not panic yet.” Pu Tingsong’s expression also turned solemn. “Jiang Beiwan likely has not yet gained the recognition of the Gatekeeper. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to act with us; he would simply lay his cards on the table. If the Land of Oblivion stands up to support the legitimacy of the imperial family, then that High Priest is very likely to send people to purge the officials. If you have not secured the other half of the military power from Xu Jingwu by then, relying solely on my small Xunhua Pavilion and the pitifully weak forces under your command, I am afraid disaster will strike.”

“Since it has not happened yet and we have learned Jiang Beiwan’s trump card in advance, we can stir the waters before he can overwhelm us directly.”

“You mean?”

“The priests of the Land of Oblivion love poems of prayer most. In a few days, I will propose holding a Harvest Poetry Assembly, inviting the younger generations of each family to compose poems of prayer. Jiang Beiwan will only think I am trying to win the people’s hearts and will not be suspicious. He can also benefit by using it to flatter the High Priest, so why would he not do it?”

“So, he will definitely hold it, and he will make it grand, letting his own imperial son participate as well.” Qin Shizhi thought for a moment and guessed Pu Tingsong’s plan. “But the little Prince is only five years old; how could he compose a poem? Jiang Beiwan will surely secretly ask a Grand Scholar to write it in advance, then let the little Prince present it.”

“Correct,” Pu Tingsong nodded. “But it will not be a Grand Scholar. Think carefully: who is the only person to have achieved the ‘Triple First’ in the same year since the founding of Suiyang, and who was the one to propose the poetry assembly?”

“You mean, Jiang Beiwan will send secret guards to infiltrate the Imperial Preceptor’s estate to steal your poem! Then he will have the little Prince recite it before you can, putting you in a difficult position?”

“No, he will not recite it. He will write it down and present it to the High Priest in advance, inviting the people of the Land of Oblivion to attend the assembly. The assembly will be held by writing the poems on the spot rather than reciting them. At that time, if our Qiyan submits an identical poem, how do you think the crowd will react? The Crown Prince lacks integrity, plagiarizing his younger brother!

And you, the Imperial Preceptor, obviously fall under suspicion of covering for him!

If this plan succeeds, under the pressure of public opinion from the world’s scholars, you will have to sacrifice the pawn to save the rook, watching helplessly as Jiang Beiwan deposes the Crown Prince!”

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