The Emperor and Little Chubby Boy 4

Although the old ministers were moved, they couldn’t help but frown when they saw the Emperor draw a big red circle with his vermilion brush on General Ma Ai’s request to open border trade.

The next day in court, the old ministers earnestly pleaded with the Emperor to retract his decision. The Emperor, however, ignored what he didn’t want to hear and had Eunuch Wang read aloud the terms drafted by Lin Lang. With no other matters to discuss, he directly dismissed the court. After the court session, he ordered a messenger to deliver the decree, stamped with the Emperor’s jade seal, directly to General Ma Ai at the border.

The Emperor’s actions caught all the court officials off guard, including Lin Lang. He had expected a lengthy debate among the ministers, thinking it would take a lot of persuasion to get the court to agree. He didn’t anticipate the Emperor would issue the decree so straightforwardly and forcefully.

However, this matter was different from others. With General Ma at the border eager to push it forward, as long as the Emperor approved, it could be implemented directly. The court, being thousands of miles away, couldn’t interfere. If it were any other matter requiring the court’s resources, it wouldn’t have been so simple.

Lin Lang felt something was amiss and advised the Emperor, “Your Majesty, is it not inappropriate to disregard the cabinet and the court like this?”

The Emperor retorted, “Do these ministers dare to defy my will? By the time they finish their endless chatter, the opportunity will have passed—”

“I am the Emperor of Cangxuan, and my will is the law. How can they have any say in it?!”

Lin Lang thought: Although something seems off, being a reckless and arbitrary ruler does seem quite enjoyable—

Several days passed like this. Every morning, Lin Lang went directly to Zichen Palace for duty. In Cangxuan, only officials of the fifth rank and above needed to attend court. As a sixth-rank Hanlin scholar, Lin Lang didn’t need to, but ordinary officials also started their duties early. In summer, they began at the second quarter of the hour of the rabbit, and in winter, at the fourth quarter, which was almost the same as attending court.

Lin Lang first sorted the day’s memorials into categories, provided handling suggestions for those needing attention, and then spent half an hour to an hour copying the daily records. By this time, the Emperor would have finished court. After accompanying the Emperor for breakfast, he could finish processing all the memorials in less than an hour.

By then, it was almost noon. After lunch with the Emperor, Lin Lang could rest for half an hour in the duty room of the side hall of Zichen Palace. In the afternoon, he resumed duty at the hour of the goat and could finish by the third quarter of the hour of the monkey.

Lin Lang thought of the late nights in modern society and mused that this was truly a good habit of early to bed and early to rise. No wonder they say the morning is the best time of the day; the work hours in the morning are extended, and the evening is for relaxation.

However, for Lin Lang, returning home after duty wasn’t relaxing. The little guy was still young and very attached to him. Not seeing him during the day, he would cling to him like a little sticky candy when he got home, rubbing against him and looking at him with eager eyes, vividly demonstrating what it means to miss someone as if three years had passed in a day. Lin Lang’s heart would melt, and he couldn’t even be slightly stern with him.

The little guy still remembered the imperial meals at Zichen Palace and would eagerly ask when he could visit the palace again. But Lin Lang didn’t dare to be so carefree now. That day, the Emperor looked at the little guy and thought he resembled Ning Mo, treating him differently. Eunuch Wang also casually mentioned that the little guy bore some resemblance to the Emperor. Although it didn’t catch the Emperor’s attention, it made Lin Lang’s heart skip a beat.

Not to mention that bringing a child to duty was against the rules, there was also the risk of exposure. Lin Lang dared not be careless again. However, he thought that the little guy was indeed a bit bored at home alone. Once he turned three after the new year, it would be best to send him to school, where he could at least have some playmates.

In the blink of an eye, several dozen days of duty had passed, and tomorrow was a day off. Lin Lang planned to take the little guy to get some new clothes and personally make some delicious food. The little guy had been craving his braised pig trotters for a long time. Currently, they had one day off every ten days, with additional days off during holidays, but he still felt the vacation time was too little and the time to spend with his child too short.

After a midday nap, Lin Lang went from the duty room in the side hall to Zichen Palace. From a distance, he saw someone in white carrying a soup bowl approaching. The figure looked very much like the original him, Ning Mo. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Wasn’t this his scheming half-brother, Ning Bai?!

He kept his eyes straight ahead, pretending not to see, and walked directly into the hall, only to be stopped halfway by Ning Bai.

Ning Bai looked him up and down with disdain and provocatively said, “Are you the new top scholar recently favored by His Majesty, Lin Lang?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, you do look like him, indeed, very much like my unfortunate brother who passed away—”

Ning Bai, the protagonist of the original story, bore some resemblance to Ning Mo, but his sinister nature and petty demeanor completely overshadowed any similarity to Ning Mo.

The Duke of Cheng had only two sons, but Ning Bai, being sweeter-tongued and more ingratiating, was more loved by the old Duke. The original him was naive and foolish, treating Ning Bai as a brother and caring for him, not knowing that this good brother secretly wanted him dead.

He couldn’t understand the taste of the original story, choosing such a rotten-to-the-core brother as the protagonist. But he couldn’t yet attract the attention of the small world’s rules; he needed to complete more tasks to accumulate energy points.

Lin Lang sidestepped Ning Bai and said calmly, “I must attend to my duties, please step aside, young master—”

Ning Bai’s expression turned more ferocious. He turned and blocked Lin Lang’s path again, his face full of malice, “Ha, you really are like him, even your arrogant attitude is almost identical, it’s infuriating—”

“But what does it matter how much you resemble him?! In the end, you’re just a stand-in, not even worth a single hair of my brother!”

Lin Lang watched his cheap brother jump around in front of him, slightly turned his body, and with a smile, drawled, “Oh, so you’re the illegitimate son of the Duke of Cheng’s household—I’m quite ignorant, I’ve only ever heard of the Duke’s legitimate son’s extraordinary talents, never of the illegitimate son, my apologies!”

Lin Lang knew his cheap brother well, always sensitive about two things: his illegitimate status and living in the shadow of the original him. His words hit Ning Bai’s sore spots, but who told him to do so many disgusting things and then come flaunting in front of him? Though he couldn’t act too hastily or obviously due to the small world’s rules, who couldn’t be a little annoying in return?!

Ning Bai’s face turned ashen, his eyes almost spitting fire. He gritted his teeth and spat, “A lowly commoner dares to look down on me?! What does your new top scholar status count for? In the capital, any noble family could crush you like an ant!”

“Don’t think that just because you’ve caught the Emperor’s eye, you can act recklessly. My brother was the Duke’s legitimate son, a top scholar at eighteen, his status and knowledge far surpass anything you, a counterfeit, could ever hope to achieve!”

Lin Lang leaned slightly forward, whispering in Ning Bai’s ear, “I bet the person who hates and resents Ning Mo the most in this world is you, right? It must be exhausting pretending to admire and look up to your brother so much, isn’t it?”

Ning Bai involuntarily took a big step back, failing to hold the tray steady, causing the soup bowl to crash to the ground, shattering into pieces and spilling soup everywhere.

He looked as if his crime had been discovered, his face full of panic, “You, you!—” He almost blurted out, “How do you know?” but quickly corrected himself, “You, you’re talking nonsense!”

Lin Lang also took a step back, leisurely watching him, smiling without saying a word.

Ning Bai was thoroughly provoked by his demeanor, feeling like a mere clown jumping around while the person in front of him didn’t even regard him.

Ning Mo was one thing, but who did this Lin Lang think he was, daring to put on airs in front of him!

He angrily blurted, “Ha, don’t get too cocky! Wait until the day the Emperor tires of you, you’ll see! If I don’t make you regret it, I won’t be called Ning!” He had dealt with Ning Mo, so he couldn’t believe he couldn’t handle Lin Lang!

Lin Lang glanced behind him, smiling innocently, “I’m just a commoner, if I’ve offended you, young master Ning, please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against me!”

Ning Bai thought he was scared, showing a smug smile, ready to flaunt his power, but then he heard the Emperor’s voice from behind, “Xiao Bai, what are you doing here?”

Ning Bai’s face turned a mix of red, white, and green, like a spilled paint can, stiffly turning around, forcing a flattering smile, “Emperor brother, I, I just heard you’ve been working hard on the memorials lately, so I made some soup to nourish you.”

“Who knew I’d accidentally bump into Lord Lin, and the soup bowl fell and broke, such a pity, I worked hard all morning on it for you—”

Lin Lang, watching, couldn’t help but praise his half-brother’s acting skills! With that pure and innocent demeanor and tone, if he hadn’t seen his ferocious face a moment ago, he might have believed him.

The Emperor’s expression was a bit dazed. He, like the original Ning Mo, didn’t know Ning Bai had two faces. He had always only seen Ning Mo, rarely noticing Ning Bai, only knowing Ning Mo had a brother who seemed well-behaved, and Ning Mo treated him well.

Since Ning Mo’s passing, Ning Bai occasionally entered the palace. Although the Emperor felt indifferent towards Ning Bai, he usually showed more leniency than to others, for Ning Mo’s sake.

But seeing Ning Bai’s true face today surprised him. However, he didn’t feel much about it. To him, Ning Mo was Ning Mo, and Ning Bai was Ning Bai. Ning Bai’s previous pretense of obedience had nothing to do with him.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of disgust, coldly saying, “Zichen Palace is where I summon ministers and discuss state affairs, not a place for you to come and go as you please! If it happens again, don’t blame me for being unkind—”

Ning Bai’s expression froze for a moment, then his eyes quickly filled with tears, “Emperor brother, I, I just wanted to come in my brother’s place to see you—” Previously, mentioning Ning Mo always worked, the Emperor would usually relent, he thought it would be the same this time.

Unexpectedly, the Emperor didn’t spare him a glance, turning to sternly address the surrounding palace staff and guards, “Who let Young Master Ning in?!”

The palace staff and guards all lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.

The Emperor lowered his voice, “Take the guards and palace staff on duty today and give them thirty strokes!”

The guards and palace staff knelt, faces pale, not daring to utter a word.

Ning Bai’s face turned deathly pale, thinking it must be Lin Lang’s fault! The Emperor never used to blame him for such trivial matters, but this time he was so angry, who else could it be but Lin Lang! His hatred for Lin Lang grew even stronger!

Lin Lang was also puzzled, wondering why the Emperor was so unyielding towards his half-brother. Didn’t the original him influence the Emperor to view Ning Bai more favorably?!

But seeing the Emperor unaffected by his half-brother’s white lotus act, he couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased.