Ying Changle’s mouth was stuffed so full he could not form complete words. He made muffled sounds while swallowing frantically, only to choke and start coughing repeatedly.
“Ah, cough-cough, awaaah, Aqi, cough-cough, stuck…”
Ying Chengqi had already prepared warm water beside them. He hurriedly held it to Ying Changle’s lips. “Don’t rush. Drink slowly. Don’t swallow too fast. Let it go down little by little…”
He tilted the two-handled jade cup only slightly, letting clear warm water enter his brother’s mouth bit by bit and precisely controlling the amount so the child would not choke on the water too.
Ying Chengqi had already anticipated that the potatoes were rather dry and Changle always ate too quickly, making choking likely. While Changle seasoned the potatoes, Ying Chengqi had already poured water from the insulated pot and left it to cool.
The small kitchen in Embrace Simplicity Courtyard contained everything. Every item needed for the masters’ food and drink was complete and exquisite. There were many different cups for drinking alone.
This two-handled jade cup was Ying Changle’s personal drinking cup, specially made by craftsmen. The jade handles on both sides were large, making them easy for a small child to grip.
Changle liked drinking by himself and disliked being fed, but he was young and could not hold an ordinary cup steadily. With this design he could grasp both jade handles using two hands, keeping it very stable.
He could not get enough water with the tiny sips Ying Chengqi offered. Ying Changle put down his bowl and reached for the cup handles. “You feed too slowly. I drink myself.”
Ying Chengqi refused to release it and said heavily, “You cannot drink too quickly. Chili mixed with water hurts badly if it goes down the wrong way.”
Only after his brother had swallowed everything in his mouth did Ying Chengqi use the insulated pot to refill the jade cup and hand it over for Changle to drink by himself.
Changle held the cup and gulped it completely empty. He wiped his mouth roughly with his sleeve and immediately asked,
“Aqi, how do you know His Majesty might make you go to Northern Di?”
Naturally he did not want his adopted brother to go to Northern Di. If Aqi left, there would be even fewer people to accompany him.
His parents and older brother were too busy and were hardly home during the day. He did not want to spend every day alone. Having countless servants made no difference. Ancient life was too boring, and the Gossip System did not always have new gossip.
Ying Chengqi hurriedly said, “Ale, I was only asking casually. His Majesty should never allow me to go to Northern Di.”
Logically, His Majesty would rather kill him than let him go to Northern Di, but Ying Chengqi still feared some unexpected change. Even the slightest possibility was unacceptable!
He regretted asking almost the instant the words left his mouth. His little brother was too young and should not have to think about such things.
Ying Changle, unusually, used his little head to think very seriously and deeply about the question.
He grabbed both of Ying Chengqi’s hands, rolled his eyes around, and said mysteriously,
“The Emperor is very, very bad to you. Always hits you and punishes you. I know you’re not happy at all. Aunt Zhenzhu will definitely be very, very good to you. You should go.”
[Waaah, Aqi, I really want you to stay in my family because then someone will keep me company. But I can’t be that selfish. What if scumbag father Emperor suddenly wants to kill you again one day?
Mother makes Aunt Zhenzhu sound so good. Aunt Zhenzhu must be wonderful!]
Light and shadow shifted in Ying Chengqi’s eyes. He regretted asking such a foolish question even more.
“If the Emperor won’t let you go, I’ll beg Father, Mother, and Brother to help. Aunt Zhenzhu will persuade the Emperor too and take you away…”
Ying Chengqi immediately covered his brother’s mouth and asked gloomily, “Ying Changle, do you want me to go to Northern Di that badly?!”
Being called by his full name froze Ying Changle in place. Aqi only used his full name when he was extremely angry.
The last time had been when Aqi was teaching him swordsmanship. Ying Changle thought wooden swords were boring and insisted on seeing Aqi’s real sword. That blade was incredibly sharp and could slice through iron as though it were mud. Ying Changle then played a trick and tried to grab it while Aqi was not looking, nearly injuring himself.
Aqi had become furious and said he would never teach him swordsmanship again. Only after Ying Changle pestered and argued for a long time did Aqi continue teaching. He also hung the real sword very high on the wall where Ying Changle could never reach it.
Normally Ying Changle was somewhat afraid when Ying Chengqi became angry, but now he only felt wronged. He forcefully pulled Ying Chengqi’s hand away, pouted, and accused,
“Ying Chengqi, why can’t you tell good intentions from bad?!
“If I were selfish, I’d refuse to let you leave no matter what and make you play with me every day. I wouldn’t care if staying here meant scumbag Father keeps tormenting you!
“I already said Aunt Zhenzhu will treat you well. That’s why I said go!”
Ying Chengqi immediately stroked his brother’s back soothingly. “Ale, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said these things to you, and I shouldn’t have been fierce with you.”
“Hmph, good intentions get no reward!” Ying Changle was difficult to coax. His cheeks remained puffed with anger and his pout was strong enough to hang an oil bottle from.
Ying Chengqi feared his little brother would keep being foolish and insist he go to Northern Di, so he had no choice but to invent a flawless explanation.
“Ale, you are still too young to understand the dangers involved. Now that the Turkic realm is unified, the Emperor still wants to use me to restrain Northern Di. He will not make things difficult for me again.
“Her Majesty of Northern Di already has two princes of pure Northern Di blood. If I went there, even if Her Majesty spared me for the sake of our mother-son bond, the Northern Di ministers would certainly use every possible method to kill me in order to eliminate future trouble…”
Ying Changle listened with a completely blank expression and felt his intelligence being rubbed against the ground.
[Heavens, no wonder Aqi can survive even when scumbag father Emperor torments him like a hated Japanese enemy. His analytical ability is genuinely incredible. How did I never think of any of this?
Ah, are clear-eyed, foolish modern people forever incapable of mastering the essence of ancient political scheming? Transmigration dramas lied to me. Going back to ancient times and crushing ancient people with modern intelligence doesn’t exist at all!
Such complicated relationships. My head is itchy. I think my brain is starting to grow.]
Ying Chengqi: What are “Japanese people,” and why would His Majesty hate them so much?
[Waaah, heavens, Aqi is so pitiful. No wonder people say the imperial family is the most heartless. Both parents are sovereigns—sounds like an unbeatable starting hand, but it’s actually hell difficulty. Surviving at all is hard!]
Ying Chengqi quickly comforted him again.
“The Emperor will never let me go, and the ruler of Northern Di will not make me go. It was my fault for telling you these things.”
In reality, Ying Chengqi did not know what the future would bring either. Both His Majesty and the ruler of Northern Di were exceptionally skilled at imperial power games. He was nothing more than a chess piece that became troublesome no matter where it was placed.
If the ruler of Northern Di decided he was useful, she possessed countless methods to bring him to Northern Di. That was what worried him most.
Ying Changle suddenly hugged Ying Chengqi.
“That’s great! Then you can stay with me forever. Aqi, don’t be sad. You have us. Mother and Father have treated you like their own son for a long time.”
Ying Chengqi’s entire body stiffened. He truly was not accustomed to any intimate behavior and did not know how to respond.
Changle had long grown used to it. Normally he would even hug Aqi deliberately just to tease him, but today was different.
Just then, senior maid Yuehua’s anxious voice came from the kitchen doorway. “Aiyo, little ancestor, why are you sneaking food like this again? What if you ruin your stomach?”
Ying Changle hurriedly lifted the bowl and stuffed several huge bites into his mouth until his cheeks bulged.
Yuehua strode over, immediately took away the bowl, and used a handkerchief to pat away the nonexistent “dust” from her young master’s clothes.
Every corner of the Marquis of Xuanping’s residence was spotless, even a kitchen where oil and smoke were unavoidable.
Yet first-rank senior maids still believed their masters should never step into a back kitchen at all, much less sit directly on a floor without carpeting, even if every kitchen tile was clean enough to reflect light.
Zhaojun immediately ordered the kitchen staff to boil a light lotus-leaf soup to settle the stomach and instructed that every dish at dinner must be exceptionally mild.
Ying Changle swallowed his final mouthful, rubbed his round belly, and pleaded pitifully,
“Sister Yuehua, Sister Zhaojun, don’t tell my brother, okay? Please. Brother is really fierce. I’m scared.”
Zhaojun said helplessly, “My little ancestor, now you know fear? If you obediently drink the medicinal soup and your stomach does not rebel, naturally we can hide it.”
Yuehua laughed. “Thank goodness there is still someone you fear. All right, don’t be afraid. When have we ever reported you? Every time you get caught, it’s because you can’t stay calm and expose yourself.”
Ying Changle giggled. “I knew you were the best!”
Yuehua found it strange. In the past, Young Master Chengqi disciplined his younger brother just like the Eldest Young Master. Why lately did he repeatedly allow his brother to make trouble and even help conceal it?
Ying Chengqi said, “Ale, don’t be afraid. If Eldest Brother asks, I will handle it.”
Ying Changle laughed. “Oh, all of you are so naggy. My stomach won’t hurt. We won’t be discovered!”
That day Ying Chengqi personally watched his brother drink every drop of the little lotus-leaf soup, swallow the small medicine pills the imperial physicians had specially developed to protect his stomach, and drink extra water. He also forbade him from eating anything else difficult to digest.
With all that, Ying Changle did not develop an upset stomach and therefore was not discovered.
…
In ordinary days, time passes easily.
Summer arrived before they knew it, and the rulers of Northern Di and the Turks finally reached the capital.
The Emperor sent Prince Jing to welcome them and ordered Ying Ding and Yu Huan to escort them with the Imperial Guard.
Early that morning, the Emperor summoned Ying Shenchu for an audience and instructed him to bring both younger brothers.
For once, Ying Changle had no waking temper and did not doze. He was bursting with energy.
Brother had told him Aunt Zhenzhu had already reached the outskirts of the capital and would almost certainly be seen today, making him unbearably excited.
On the way into the palace, Changle kept tugging at Ying Chengqi and talking nonstop.
Ying Chengqi, by contrast, was extraordinarily calm.
After they entered the palace, a senior eunuch led them to the Emperor’s residential hall, the Hall of Purple Dawn.
Ying Shenchu was not surprised in the slightest. Summoning him had been a pretext; the Emperor truly wanted to see Ying Chengqi. For father and son to “reminisce” in the Emperor’s private residence would create a greater appearance of closeness.
The Emperor wanted to perform a scene of “loving father and filial son” in front of the ruler of Northern Di, so he had no choice but to familiarize himself with Ying Chengqi first.
Ying Shenchu led both younger brothers through the full formal salute before the Emperor.
The Emperor smiled. “Minister Ying, sit quickly. It is very early today, and presumably none of you has eaten yet. Accompany Us for breakfast.”
A senior eunuch guided Ying Chengqi to sit beside the Emperor, while Ying Shenchu naturally took the lower seat with his youngest brother.
[Heavens, I’m not dreaming, right? How did scumbag father Emperor change personality? Why is he suddenly treating Aqi so well?
Hmph, hmph. It must be because Aunt Zhenzhu is about to enter the capital. This scumbag father is plotting something again. He definitely wants to use Aqi to negotiate some condition with Aunt Zhenzhu!
Hehe, my brain really has grown. I’m so smart. I definitely guessed right this time.]
Emperor: …
Ying Shenchu and Ying Chengqi: …
The Emperor said with immense paternal warmth, “Aqi, serve Us soup.”
Ying Chengqi respectfully ladled soup for the Emperor, then returned to his seat.
Serving soup and dishes to the Emperor was an enormous honor. On formal occasions only the Crown Prince possessed the qualification, and in private only the most favored princes and princesses received such privilege.
What was ordinary filial service of meals in common households became, in the imperial family, a way for the Emperor to display extraordinary favor.
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Scumbag father Emperor is really something. He waits until Aunt Zhenzhu is practically inside the capital before frantically grinding intimacy points at the last minute.]
Ying Shenchu and Ying Chengqi: …
Emperor: This ridiculous inner voice is useful and useless at the same time. Sigh. Judge actions, not motives. We are an enlightened ruler!
The Emperor personally picked up food and placed it in Ying Chengqi’s bowl. “Eat more. At your age your body is still growing.”
Ying Chengqi said stiffly, “Many thanks for Your Majesty’s concern.”
Ying Shenchu silently accompanied his younger brother through the meal, feeding him first before eating himself.
After the quiet meal ended, the Emperor still ordered them all to remain in the adjoining room, drinking tea and chatting idly.
Ying Chengqi was poor with words and simply sat there in silence.
Ying Shenchu was skilled at discussing state affairs and literature, but when it came to casual family chatter, he did not know what to say. Knowing as well that the Emperor had no wish to discuss politics, he kept silent.
At home, Ying Changle behaved like a little bandit, but in front of the Emperor he was very well behaved. He repeatedly opened the Gossip System, yet there was no new gossip at all.
The Emperor smiled and asked, “Minister Ying, the weather grows hotter by the day. We see that Changle has broken into a sweat. Wipe him down and change his clothes.”
Ying Shenchu froze for a moment, then immediately understood. The Emperor wanted to pretend that he often visited the Ying residence incognito to see his son and spent time with them. To make the details convincing, he wanted Ying Shenchu to demonstrate the routine in front of him.
He was truly curious what condition His Majesty wanted the ruler of Northern Di to agree to, that he would go so far as to put on such an act.
[What are you doing, scumbag father Emperor? You want my brother to show you how to take care of a child?
Are you sick? If you don’t know how to act like a good father, then don’t act! It’s so fake. Who would believe it? Who would believe the Emperor personally takes care of children? Not even a ghost would believe you!
And why do I have to be the prop? Protest for me! Protest for me!]
Ying Shenchu: Little ancestor, stop talking.
