Ying Changle tried to pry away the hand covering his eyes, but was too weak to move it.
“Brother, what are you doing? They stopped fighting already. It wasn’t even that bad. Why can’t I look?”
His brother always refused to let him see overly bloody things, so Ying Changle assumed Brother was simply stopping him from watching the Northern Di and Turkic envoys fight.
Ying Shenchu knew perfectly well that covering the child’s eyes did nothing. The only way to stop this would be to make his little brother “fall asleep,” but he would never do that unless the boy was genuinely sleepy.
He rubbed his brother’s head and face, gently patted his back, and coaxed, “Ale, are you sleepy? Do you want to go to a side hall and sleep?”
Ying Changle was busy consuming gossip and answered very perfunctorily, “Not sleepy. Brother, I slept a lot this morning.”
The ministers: Why did the inner voice stop? Hurry, this is killing us with suspense!
As long as the gossip did not concern the imperial family, the civil and military officials listened with great enjoyment. And when it concerned the new ruler of their northern neighbor, naturally they were even more eager.
The Emperor could tell Ying Shenchu was deliberately interrupting his younger brother. He understood an elder brother’s desire to protect his sibling and not let him see such things, but Ale himself loved reading them. What was the harm?
[Ohhh, that scared me. So even among the perverted Turks, fathers and sons together are very rare. I knew it. Even animals don’t do this kind of thing!!!]
The ministers: Quick, quick, give us more. We really want to hear how these barbarians can be this disgusting.
Emperor: Ale, good child, quickly tell Us who Banbur forced into such beastly acts.
The Turks and Northern Di people could not hear Ying Changle’s inner voice. They only found it strange that the Emperor, Empress, and ministers of the Celestial Empire had suddenly stopped speaking.
But they assumed the supreme empire had strict etiquette and that noise was forbidden at an imperial banquet. Since the music and dance performances had also begun, the silence seemed much more normal.
Although the Emperor, Empress, and ministers all listened with ears pricked, their expressions did not change in the slightest, making it even harder for the foreign envoys to notice anything unusual.
[Sigh, Banbur was actually pitiful as a child too. He entered the military camp at twelve and became someone’s male favorite. But he really was formidable, with a thousand schemes in his head while the other Turks collectively owed him two hundred!
…
This reverse operation was kind of genius. Other male favorites feared losing favor; he feared remaining favored too long.
Every night he competed to be the model worker and pleased his master, while during the day he desperately ate meat and trained. In a little over half a year he covered himself in hard muscle. Becoming too muscular would make him lose favor, shortening the time he stayed desired and reducing by seventy percent the chance of being played to death.
But after only half a year he still had some novelty value. Using the “bond through the backside” he had with his master, he begged to be transferred into the elite forces and successfully changed careers from bed-soldier to cavalryman.
Like, seriously, for a male favorite to reach that point already counts as defying fate and changing his destiny!
…]
The ministers: Heh. As expected of a barbarian state. For a military camp to behave this way is absolutely foul.
Emperor: With neighbors like these, We can finally relax.
The Turks and Northern Di people found the situation stranger and stranger. They noticed the expressions on the Emperor, Empress, and ministers becoming increasingly complicated.
Even harder to understand, the Emperor, Empress, and officials seemed to keep looking at a child only a few years old. Who exactly was this child?!
Unable to resist, they asked palace attendants nearby and learned that the child was Ying Changle, youngest son of the famous Marquis of Xuanping Ying Ding and Grand General Who Pacifies the Far Regions Yu Huan.
Ying Ding and Yu Huan had both fought campaigns in the northern desert. In Northern Di and the Turkic realm, their names were known in every household and rang like thunder. Yu Huan in particular had practically become synonymous with a god of slaughter, a name capable of stopping babies from crying at night.
Northern Di’s female-general envoy, Axibao, looked solemnly at Ying Changle and Ying Chengqi beside him.
Before coming to the Celestial Empire, Her Majesty had told Axibao everything she needed to know, naturally including everything that had once happened between Her Majesty and the Great Ning Emperor, Her Majesty’s past friendship with Yu Huan, and so on.
Axibao looked at Ying Chengqi, eyes full of worry. Little Highness, you are both a prince of Northern Di and a prince of the Celestial Empire. Both identities are incomparably noble, but in the end, are they a blessing or a curse?
[AAAAH, I finally reached the key point. Banbur’s ultimate benefactor has appeared: the Turkic Crown Prince, Das!
Oh my God, damn that Das. He is way too beastly!
Ordinary male favorites could no longer satisfy his perverted tastes. The closer the blood relation, the more excited he became. People even nicknamed him the “son-obsessed fiend”?
Aaaaah, what kind of garbage is this? I hate my ability to read ten lines at a glance. By the time I realized what I was reading, it was too late!
Give me a pair of eyes that never saw this garbage!
Heaven, Earth, gods, save me! Curiosity killed the cat and it’s killing me too!
That piece of shit Das not only harmed his own sons, he liked watching other members of the royal clan and powerful nobles perform father-son acts for him. Banbur specifically handled this dirty work and forced other people to perform???
…]
The ministers: What sin. We had long heard barbarians commit every evil imaginable, but this is too… Truly sinful, truly sinful!
The Emperor, however, became happier the more he heard and memorized every name of the people Banbur had coerced.
These people were all Turkic nobles. If he sent this list to the ruler of Northern Di, then with Yelü Zhenzhu’s methods and strategy, internal chaos among the Turks would only be a matter of time.
[No, bleurgh, bleurgh, bleurgh. So disgusting. I want to vomit!!!]
Ying Changle could not endure any longer and dry-heaved twice.
Ying Shenchu immediately fed his brother tea and asked urgently, “Do you feel very ill? Brother will have an imperial physician summoned at once.”
The finest tea was clear, fresh, and mellow, leaving fragrance on the lips and teeth and refreshing the entire body. It instantly suppressed the nausea.
“Brother, no need, no need. I’m all better.”
By now the banquet was nearing its end. To prevent the Turkic envoy from becoming suspicious, the Emperor deliberately granted generous rewards to both delegations in recognition of the hardship of their long journeys.
He then ordered the Interpreter Secretaries of the Hall of the Four Quarters to personally escort both delegations to rest and ensure that their food and accommodations were the finest available.
The Hall of the Four Quarters was Great Ning’s institution for receiving surrounding ethnic groups and foreign kings and envoys. It belonged to the Court of State Ceremonial.
Although the Interpreter Secretary was only a minor official of the lower sixth rank, Great Ning was so powerful and received envoys from countless states that an Interpreter Secretary of the Hall of the Four Quarters sometimes wielded more practical authority than a first-rank minister, including the privilege of entering without prior summons for an audience.
Great Ning was only on its second emperor, but the founding generation of fierce generals was overwhelmingly capable in war, the state’s martial vigor was excessive, and gifted civil ministers kept emerging one after another. It would have been difficult for the empire not to become strong.
Using the excuse of preventing the two delegations from fighting again, the Emperor ordered Ying Ding and Yu Huan to personally escort them with the Imperial Guard.
The banquet had ended, but before the Emperor and Empress had even left the hall and before the ministers dispersed, Princess Roujia had already run in front of Ying Changle and announced at maximum volume,
“Ale, from now on, if anyone dares bully you, this princess will make them wish they were dead!”
When Duke of Pei Wei Wu had previously ordered the Noble Consort to splash Changle with dog’s blood, Princess Roujia had deeply regretted not being in the palace.
At the time she had still been heartbroken over Yelü Zhendan and had gone on a spring outing to distract herself. The moment she returned, she stormed into Noble Consort Wei’s palace and caused such relentless trouble that the consort could not enjoy a single peaceful day. Only after Noble Consort Wei fell seriously ill did Roujia finally stop.
“Huh???”
Ying Changle found the whole thing baffling. He had absolutely no idea when his relationship with Princess Roujia had become this good!
In truth, he and Princess Roujia had barely ever spoken.
Although he often entered the palace, it was usually because the Emperor summoned his parents or older brothers and they happened to bring him along. He spent most of the time before the Emperor and rarely interacted with the princes and princesses.
[No, Princess Roujia, I barely know you. What are you doing? And why are you so loud? Now everyone is staring at me. You’re way too socially fearless and suddenly you’ve turned me socially anxious.]
The ministers: …What else is she doing? Thanking you for saving her life. Without your inner voice, the princess would definitely have been tricked by Yelü Zhendan into that marriage and lived a life worse than death, unable even to find a tune to cry to!
The Emperor and Empress had originally worried Roujia had been wounded too deeply by Yelü Zhendan and would struggle to recover. Seeing her finally return to the spoiled and domineering princess she had been before naturally made them happy.
Roujia quickly said, “Ale, it’s all my fault. Did I scare you? Ale, don’t be afraid. From now on, whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do.”
Ying Shenchu said heavily, “Your Highness, this lowly official once served as your private tutor and taught you etiquette. No matter how fond you are of Ale, you must not lower your own status this way. Besides, Ale is still young. How could he bear such treatment?”
Princess Roujia was naturally free-spirited and uninhibited and had been spoiled into willfulness by the Emperor and Empress. More importantly, she no longer studied in the Southern Study and was not afraid of this old-fashioned teacher anymore. She laughed.
“Oh, Junior Preceptor Ying, this princess knows she was wrong, all right? Stop lecturing me. There are so many people here. This princess needs some dignity too.”
Then she added, “Ale, next time you come to the palace, I’ll take you to play. You can go anywhere you want.”
Ying Changle was still confused. Lying against Brother’s chest, he muttered, “Ah. Oh. Mm. Okay.”
Only then did Roujia happily hurry after the Emperor and Empress, talking as she walked.
“Father, Mother, I really like Ale. Can’t you give him some kind of official post? He’s more capable than lots of people…”
The ministers: Heh. He is three years old. What official post could he possibly hold? She really can think of anything!
[Huh??? Is Princess Roujia okay?! Why does she like me? Don’t tell me she fell for my brother and wants to be nice to me so she can get closer to him?]
It was not as though this had never happened. Marquis households, ducal families, and great aristocratic clans all wanted his brother as a son-in-law. Even at Ying Changle’s one-month celebration, he had received many exceptionally expensive gifts from them.
Ying Shenchu still needed to hurry to the Hall of the Four Quarters on official business. He immediately took both younger brothers out of the palace and back home, instructed the senior maids to watch them carefully, then left again.
“Shh, Aqi, hehe, Brother is gone. Quick, quick, quick, let’s sneak into the small kitchen. There’s something delicious. Brother can’t know. He won’t let me eat it…”
Ying Changle whispered beside Ying Chengqi’s ear. The moment Yuehua and Zhaojun entered, he immediately shut his mouth.
Yuehua asked gently, “Young Master, you probably didn’t nap in the palace today. Would you like to sleep for a while?”
Ying Changle yawned, grabbed Ying Chengqi, and fell backward onto the bed. “Yes, yes, yes. Hurry and go outside. Aqi will sleep with me.”
Yuehua laughed. “My little ancestor, someone still needs to bring tea and water. You sleep. I’ll stand watch outside the bed curtains and won’t make a sound.”
Ying Changle pouted. “No. Aqi and I want to whisper secrets. Everyone out!”
As he spoke, he darted meaningful looks at Ying Chengqi, his eyes rolling around rapidly.
Ying Chengqi said helplessly, “Go outside. I am here. There is no need to worry.”
Yuehua and Zhaojun could do nothing with Ying Changle, and since Ying Chengqi was the steadiest person imaginable, they naturally went to the adjoining room, merely reminding both young masters to call if they needed anything.
The moment both senior maids left, Ying Changle grabbed Ying Chengqi’s wrist, ran out the back door, crossed a long covered corridor, and arrived at the small private kitchen attached to Embrace Simplicity Courtyard.
It was afternoon, and not a single maid or kitchen matron was inside.
Ying Changle familiarly found a bowl of boiled potatoes in a cupboard. They were basic ingredients prepared every day for cooking.
Potatoes were rare in Great Ning, tribute from a maritime kingdom. Only a household like the Marquis of Xuanping’s could use them every day.
Ying Chengqi said, “You’re still young. You can’t eat things recklessly. If you crave these tubers, why not have the kitchen prepare them properly?”
Ying Changle was far too greedy to care what Ying Chengqi said. He dragged over a little stool to stand on and took a spoon, chili powder, ground Sichuan pepper, and a salt jar from the stove, then evenly sprinkled the seasonings over the potatoes.
To eat more comfortably, he even found an excellent corner, hugged the bowl, and dropped down to sit.
Lazy afternoon sunlight streamed through the kitchen window and warmed his entire body.
Ying Chengqi covered the bowl with his hand. “Ale, you cannot eat this much chili. What if your stomach gets upset?”
“Oh, the more all of you stop me from eating it, the more I want it. None of you understands how much I love spicy food! You eat too, Aqi. Trust me, it’s super delicious!!!”
Ying Chengqi thought that since the tuber was a tribute item, it had to be good, so he stopped objecting.
Ying Changle scooped a huge bite into his mouth. The potatoes were still warm. At last he could eat something with a strong flavor. So satisfying!
Ying Chengqi had not wanted any, but after a bite was forced into his mouth, he still did not think it especially delicious. It was, however, genuinely different from what he normally ate.
“Yiya, so yummy! Aqi, hehehe, it’s so good that even many years from now I’ll remember the potato cakes we stole today!”
“Eat slowly. Don’t choke.”
“Aqi, I’ll teach you a rhyme: drool soaks the potato cake, numbing and spicy, still I ache for it!”
Ying Chengqi froze for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Ale, if His Majesty ordered me to go to Northern Di, what would you do?”
“Huh?
