Chapter 69

Chu Zhaoyou was genuinely a little upset. It’s easy for an injury to become infected, especially after not resting well and staying up all night.

The Regent, not being an expert in consoling an emperor, suddenly felt a bit nervous. He gently patted Chu Zhaoyou’s back to soothe him, “Your Majesty, are you hungry? What would you like to eat? Loquats? Roast chicken, fish soup…”

The physician slapped the Regent’s uninjured shoulder, “No more food! He’s eaten too much! You can console him, but don’t indulge him in eating!”

Regent: “But Your Majesty hasn’t had breakfast yet.”

Chu Zhaoyou nodded.

Physician: “I saw him eat just now.”

While you were changing dressing.

Xiao Heng gently touched Chu Zhaoyou’s face, “Then why did you nod?”

Chu Zhaoyou: “I was just considering how to nourish the Regent Prince, given how much blood he lost.”

“I’m fine just watching you eat,” Chu Zhaoyou added.

Chu Zhaoyou felt he was being very sincere. He just watched, didn’t eat.

The physician scoffed. “This is not about stopping the emperor from eating. When his pregnant wife is eagerly watching, which man could eat?”

“The two of you, no more nourishing. Stick to a light diet and take your medicine on time.” The old physician chased the annoying pair away. He hadn’t slept well yesterday. First, he had to carry Lu Jinghuan back with red eyes, and then he was called to treat the Regent and the Emperor. These patients didn’t follow his advice and were flirting in front of him.

“This time I’m serious, unless it’s a midnight childbirth, don’t call me. If you do, I’m leaving.”

“There are reasons for this. Please forgive us, physician,” the Regent added money to his plea.

Chu Zhaoyou, while asking for someone to comfort him, actually pressed the Regent onto the bed and tucked him in. “Get some sleep. Otherwise, don’t talk to me later.”

Xiao Heng  mentioned having many pending matters to attend to and requested a six-hour extension.

Six hours? It was already dark outside.

“No negotiation,” Chu Zhaoyou said sternly, displaying authority. “If you resist today, don’t expect to decide how many meals I eat in a day, whether I can go drinking with Lu Jinghuan, whether you I leave the palace in September, whether to take medicine when sick, whether you can be present when I give birth in ten months, and who our child will call ‘father’… You won’t have a say in any of these.”

Chu Zhaoyou’s words became increasingly extreme, frightening the Regent into silence.

“I know you have many things to do, and I can help you.” Chu Zhaoyou’s fingers lightly brushed over the Regent’s shoulder, where bandages were wrapped. His sleeve had been forcefully cut off, revealing the Regent Prince’s muscular arm, just the sight of which brought a sense of comfort.

Chu Zhaoyou withdrew his hand. “My shoulder can be bitten, but yours cannot be injured.”

He closed the door, took the seat Xiao Heng had previously occupied, and continued reviewing the memorials he hadn’t finished.

He and Lu Jinghuan had been studying diligently together for half a month, not just fooling around. The Regent had custom-tailored courses, and upon completion, he would be ready to become an emperor.

A certain emperor decided to issue himself a graduation certificate.

Chu Zhaoyou called for a guard. “Report all matters related to Wei Yue to me. Do not disturb the Regent.”

The guard’s gaze subtly turned towards the closed door. Clearly, the Regent dared not dissent.

“At your command, Your Majesty.”

Chu Zhaoyou patiently reviewed the memorials for half an hour, then received a report that, based on the information provided by Lu Pei, he had arrived a step too late at Wei Yue’s hiding place and couldn’t find him.

This was expected. Wei Yue probably intended for Lu Pei to wait for the Regent on the mountain and never planned to use this pawn again.

With Lu Pei captured, Wei Yue should have fled long ago.

Wei Yue held the remnants of the Youzhou old guard. Losing Lu Pei meant losing the support in the capital. While the capital was now secure, allowing him to lead the old guard and incite others to rebel in various regions posed a significant threat.

“Have you informed my aunt?”

“The Regent ordered it last night.”

To prevent his aunt from knowing the truth and becoming overly emotional, potentially heading to the capital to confront the Regent, Chu Zhaoyou and Zhao Cheng had decided that they would personally inform her when Zhao Cheng returned to Youzhou. This was to delay her, ensuring she didn’t rush to the capital alone in impulse. The journey was long, and it wasn’t safe for a woman to travel alone.

Chu Zhaoyou had kept Zhao Cheng for some time. Zhao Cheng stayed voluntarily to observe the Regent’s words and actions, as he had to report to the court and was concerned about the Regent. If he returned too early, his wife might come after him again.

Calculating the time, Zhao Cheng would arrive in Liangzhou in about three days, likely faster than the individuals Wei Yue had sent to incite trouble.

At any rate, small people couldn’t stir up trouble. Chu Zhaoyou was simply afraid that his aunt would be overwhelmed with grief upon suddenly learning of his “death.”

“Wei Yue must have brought quite a few people. It shouldn’t be difficult to find them. We need to thoroughly interrogate those who gather around large convoys and unfamiliar faces near the city, especially those about to head to the coast,” Chu Zhaoyou thought for a moment. “Ask Lu Pei where the Empress Dowager and Zhang Huiji conspired in private.”

From last night until today, the palace gates remained closed, and no information leaked out. Wei Yue might still be in the capital waiting for news of the Emperor’s assassination.

The Regent clearly wouldn’t spare Lu Pei. The difference between saying too much or too little was just the level of pain before death.

Lu Pei seems to be extremely loyal to the Empress Dowager. In her confession, she mentioned that the Empress Dowager suppressed the Emperor intentionally to support the Wei family’s ascendancy to the throne after the Regent’s death, with Wei Yue being the primary candidate. Consequently, she seemed quite obedient to Wei Yue as well.

Although she couldn’t withstand torture and revealed most of the truth, there were likely some questions that she wouldn’t voluntarily address, which hadn’t been covered during the interrogation.

“Your Majesty, a group of commoners has suddenly arrived outside the palace, kneeling and requesting the court to release the senior monks from the Wuyun Temple. It seems their numbers are increasing.”

Chu Zhaoyou: “Bring the imposter monk over and have him personally inform the commoners that the four monks from the Wuyun Temple are suspected of colluding with the enemy.”

“Understood.”

“Wait a moment…” Chu Zhaoyou turned to glance at the Regent’s room, closed his eyes briefly, and continued, “Apart from the He Xin Gu, be truthful about the others.”

The Royal Guards looked at the Emperor in astonishment. Being truthful meant that the matter of the late Emperor seizing the treasure and killing the monks would also be openly disclosed.

During the late Emperor’s reign, despite not having a good reputation, those were past events. There was no need to bring them up now and tarnish the court’s dignity.

Chu Zhaoyou: “The people’s capacity for acceptance is actually higher than you imagine. Go and inform them that the Wuyun Temple will select a new abbot. Since they are so concerned and frequented the Wuyun Temple to burn incense, they will have the right to decide. It’s imperative to select a new abbot of high virtue and prestige for the capital. Handle this matter.”

The guard contemplated for a moment and solemnly said, “I will attend to it immediately.”

The incident stemmed from the Wuyun Temple’s five monks seeking power, ultimately choosing to collude with the enemy. The late Emperor, being foolish, had committed far worse deeds than this, and the people had long heard about it. They were not surprised.

Evil begets its own retribution.

The explosion in the late Emperor’s underground palace could be seen as retribution. The people’s discontent had likely diminished significantly, and they would likely forget the rest when choosing a new abbot.

The guard inwardly sighed. Indeed, by entrusting state affairs to the Emperor, there was no room for doubt about the Emperor’s capabilities. The Emperor was quite shrewd.

Chu Zhaoyou raised an eyebrow and continued reading the memorials.

He had no need to conceal the late Emperor’s misdeeds. The late Emperor’s foolishness only served to highlight the Regent’s wisdom and prowess, didn’t it?

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Pei confessed that, during Zhang Huiji’s last visit to the capital, the Empress Dowager had arranged to meet with him at the Full Moon Pavilion.

The Full Moon Pavilion was an inconspicuous brothel in the capital, ostensibly engaged in the liquor trade, but the truth was well known to the common people.

A brothel certainly fit Zhang Huiji’s style. The Empress Dowager, knowing his preferences, had purchased the brothel, promising Zhang Huiji that if he was willing to raise troops to assist her, upon success, the area around the Full Moon Pavilion, within two streets’ radius, would be his. The purpose was self-evident.

After Zhang Huiji fell from favor, these temporarily acquired assets remained idle.

Chu Zhaoyou: “Wei Yue has been in Youzhou for years, and his specific appearance is unknown. Disguise yourselves and surround the brothel. Don’t wear official attire. Once everything is secure, take action. Move quickly, send a few people in, and casually leak that I’m in imminent danger after the assassination attempt. Anyone with a suspicious demeanor should be detained.”

…

Xiao Heng, suppressing the urge to get up, lay there for two hours, managing to fall asleep for a while during that time.

Approaching noon, Xiao Heng got up and without a word, pulled Chu Zhaoyou onto the bed. “You only slept for two hours last night.”

Chu Zhaoyou, resting his head on the Regent’s thigh, felt reluctant to get out of bed. “Why don’t we have our lunch brought here and eat together?”

The emperor’s daily life, including his diet and routine, adhered to strict protocols, making living quite tiresome. It’s said that some ancient emperors had no freedom, not even to eat a simple egg.

Chu Zhaoyou nudged the Regent; he couldn’t care less about those things.

Xiao Heng had a long table brought in and placed it by the bed, joining in Chu Zhaoyou’s delight.

Chu Zhaoyou swiftly filled bowls with rice, fish, and vegetables, then beckoned to the other people in the room.

Cui Geng approached, perplexed, and had a bowl of food instantly thrust into his hand.

“Master Cui, you should eat too. Forget about meal times,” Chu Zhaoyou pointed to the other end of the table. “Sit there and eat.”

Eating while in bed was beneath the dignity of a wise ruler.

Cui Geng didn’t dare refuse the rice given by the Emperor, but he certainly wouldn’t dare share a meal at the same table as the Regent.

“I told you to sit, so sit. Master Cui, don’t you think it’s lively to eat with a group?” Chu Zhaoyou, now understanding Cui Geng’s temperament, forced him to sit down, excited yet apprehensive.

Chu Zhaoyou chuckled and planted a kiss on the Regent.

Cui Geng, without shifting his gaze, went from being a stern official to someone flustered.

Chu Zhaoyou, while eating, flipped through Cui Geng’s daily log. This person was truly quite interesting. When he had no real relationship with the Regent, Cui Geng constantly weaved narratives about him in the log. Even a simple meal with the Regent could be deciphered in a myriad of ways by Cui Geng, although it later turned out that the Regent might have truly had those intentions.

Once Chu Zhaoyou and the Regent were truly together, the daily log immediately returned to normal.

Chu Zhaoyou suspected that Cui Geng was being overly cautious and meticulous.

“When the Regent and I share a bed, we discuss state affairs all night,” Chu Zhaoyou began. “When I hold the Regent’s hand, it’s to foster good relations with court officials. As for carrying the Regent’s child, he didn’t even write that down. And when I kissed the Regent…” Chu Zhaoyou looked at Cui Geng. “How should this be recorded?”

Cui Geng’s face turned ashen.

As a historiographer, it was natural for him to obscure a few things for the Emperor, to prevent future generations from focusing on the Emperor’s and the Regent’s love affair rather than their achievements and merits.

No matter how much he fabricated, it wouldn’t become the truth, and depicting the real events was quite difficult. Although it would be delightful for his fabrications to come true, the Emperor and the Regent currently had no intentions of publicizing their relationship, and it was uncertain if they ever would. Therefore, the daily log naturally couldn’t be too explicit.

Cui Geng felt an unprecedented sense of duty. He had to keep these two hidden!

He struggled between the truth and fiction in his recordings.

The Regent patted Chu Zhaoyou’s back. “Stop smiling, you might choke.”

Chu Zhaoyou paused. “Master Cui, please note down this phrase: ‘The wheel of fortune turns on the heavenly path.'”

The Regent attended to Chu Zhaoyou as if no one else was there, removing fish bones, serving food, pouring soup, and wiping his mouth.

Cui Geng numbly held the pen and began to write, “The Regent and the Emperor dined together, during which there were three kisses, two belly touches, one shoulder pat, several mouth wipes and head touches…”

He crossed it out and rewrote, “The Regent and the Emperor dined together, discussing the matter of the traitor Wei Yue and the heir to the throne, embodying the virtues of a wise ruler and loyal subject, like the wind and the clouds, and the tiger and the dragon.”

Extremely official.

Author’s note: “Like the wind and the clouds, and the tiger and the dragon” – It signifies the interplay between similar things. In ancient times, it also metaphorically referred to a wise ruler having loyal subjects, and loyal subjects serving a wise ruler.

Cui Geng: “The wind and the clouds, the tiger’s roar stirs the wind, the dragon’s rise stirs the clouds, stirring up a storm.”