Chapter 0197: Xie Chengze’s Sarcastic Remarks and Emperor Jian’s Grumbling
When Xie Chengze woke up, the four heavily intoxicated individuals had long disappeared without a trace, and even the little white tiger was nowhere to be seen. Only he remained lying in bed with bleary eyes.
After lounging in bed for a while, Xie Chengze struggled to crawl out from under the covers. The palace attendants who usually served in Wu De Hall had been dismissed earlier, so he went to the kitchen to fetch water for a simple wash before heading to the front courtyard to find Xie Shoujun, who should have been practicing martial arts at this time.
Xie Shoujun was indeed in the courtyard practicing with his spear. When he saw Xie Chengze, he set down his weapon, picked up a cloth towel nearby to wipe his sweat, and was about to say something when his gaze suddenly paused on Xie Chengze’s neck.
“What’s wrong?” Xie Chengze asked curiously, noticing Xie Shoujun’s strange expression.
“…” Xie Shoujun averted his eyes. “Nothing.”
Sitting on a stone chair, Xie Shoujun silently wiped the sweat from his temples, yet the conspicuous light red mark in his peripheral vision remained impossible to ignore. He opened his mouth as if to ask something but ultimately changed the subject. “You woke up quite early today. What would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
“Anything is fine, something simple will do~” Xie Chengze propped his chin on one hand. “Where’s Jinyu? Why haven’t I seen him?”
“I’m not sure.” Xie Shoujun shook his head. “He woke up earlier than me. Perhaps he went to rest in another room.”
Xie Chengze nodded and didn’t inquire further about Shen Yuan and Xie Zimiao’s whereabouts—they had most likely gone to attend the morning court session.
After breakfast, Xie Chengze got ready to head to the Imperial Study to review memorials. Just as he was about to leave, Xie Shoujun suddenly called out to him, handing over a wolf-fur scarf. “It’s cold out. Wear this.”
Xie Chengze stretched his neck, feeling that the wind was quite mild today and not particularly cold. However, since this was his elder brother’s concern, he accepted it anyway. He wrapped the scarf haphazardly around his neck a couple of times and said appreciatively, “I’ll be off then!”
Xie Shoujun watched him leave, and after a long moment, he stood still, lightly tapping his chin as he murmured to himself, “Strange, was it that deep back then…”
…
When Xie Chengze arrived at the Imperial Study, he was surprised to find Xie Jinyu there as well.
The moment he saw Xie Chengze, Xie Jinyu instinctively focused on his neck, his gloomy gaze subtle and unreadable. “Is Second Brother cold? Why are you suddenly wearing a scarf?”
“Oh, Elder Brother gave it to me. I thought it looked quite nice.” Noticing Xie Jinyu’s odd expression as well, Xie Chengze couldn’t help but touch the wolf-fur scarf around his neck and asked again, puzzled, “Is there a problem?”
Why was everyone looking at him so strangely today?
Xie Jinyu slightly lowered his eyelids. “Mm, it’s nothing…”
“More importantly, why have you suddenly come to the Imperial Study?” Xie Chengze walked over and saw that the stacks of memorials on the desk had been sorted into several piles. He flipped through them and was surprised to find that the memorials had already been categorized—one pile for verbose ones, another for civil affairs, and yet another for military matters.
“I wanted to lighten Second Brother’s burden.” Xie Jinyu looked up with a smile, still as docile as the lamb in the flock that loved clinging to the shepherd dog. “Second Brother always looks so tired when you return to Wu De Hall every day.”
Xie Chengze felt genuinely touched. “You’re very thoughtful.”
Xie Jinyu lowered his eyes with a soft laugh, reaching for the cinnabar to grind ink for him. He asked casually, as if making conversation, “Did Second Brother sleep well last night? We didn’t disturb you, did we?”
“Hmm? No, you were all sound asleep, not even talking in your dreams, very quiet.” Xie Chengze flipped through the memorials, dipped his brush in vermilion ink to circle key points, and answered casually, “I slept very soundly too.”
Xie Jinyu curved his lips slightly, “Good, that’s fine then.”
The two fell silent and lowered their heads to continue reviewing memorials. When Emperor Jian arrived at the Imperial Study after court, he saw the two brothers sitting together in perfect harmony, with more than half of the previously piled-up memorials already cleared away.
Emperor Jian immediately excitedly ordered Eunuch Zhao to bring over the newly submitted memorials from today.
Xie Chengze: …
Dog Emperor? Have you no shame?
Xie Chengze clenched his fists, silently reminding himself several times that this was the emperor and couldn’t be hit, thus suppressing his anger. He said with sarcasm, “As an emperor, you don’t even review memorials. Should I just attend court on your behalf tomorrow?”
“Eh? Great idea!” Emperor Jian slapped his thigh, looking eager to try, “It’s settled then! Haha, all the ministers will be stunned when they see you tomorrow!”
Xie Chengze: ?
“Is he insane?” Xie Chengze turned to whisper to Xie Jinyu, “Or is he about to collapse and starting to let loose?”
Xie Jinyu’s eyes flickered slightly before he smiled, “His Majesty is joking.”
Xie Chengze thought that made sense – Emperor Jian probably wouldn’t go that crazy yet. Relieved, he continued reviewing the memorial in his hand.
With two capable sons jointly handling the memorials, Emperor Jian found himself idle and somewhat restless. He paced around the Imperial Study, wanting to make his presence felt. Xie Chengze, annoyed by his pacing, said, “Father, if you’re really that bored, why don’t you go to the rear palace and make some babies?”
Emperor Jian choked, “Your mothers are all of certain age now. Childbearing would be bad for their health.”
It definitely wasn’t because he was unpopular.
“Then you…” Xie Chengze wanted to suggest he hold a selection of new consorts, but considering Emperor Jian’s age and that young girls’ lives mattered too, he silently sighed, “Forget it. Can’t do anything right, but first in slacking off. Why did I end up with a father like you?”
Emperor Jian: …
What’s wrong with that!
He’s worked hard all his life, what’s wrong with slacking off a bit! Besides, isn’t having sons meant for them to inherit the work and help review memorials!
Thick-skinned, Emperor Jian sat down by the desk, pretending to flip through a few memorials before feeling dizzy and unable to focus. So he turned to look at Xie Chengze instead. “Hmm? Is the Imperial Study cold? Why are you still wearing a neck scarf?”
“Elder brother gave it to me.” Xie Chengze said sarcastically while writing, “Envious? Too bad you don’t have one. Should’ve had your father bear more children~”
Emperor Jian: … Can’t you speak without being so prickly?
Furious, Emperor Jian went to pull at the neck scarf, grumbling, “I may not have brothers, but I have sons! Unlike you – so what if you have brothers, you don’t have any sons~”
“Oh, not only do you lack sons, you don’t even have a princess consort!” Emperor Jian went for the kill, “Who is it that’s already twenty but still can’t get a wife! Could it be that no one likes you?”
Xie Chengze: ?
Are those even human words?!
Xie Chengze’s temper flared up as well. He tugged hard at his wolf-fur neck scarf and shouted, “Ohoho, look who’s over forty and still doesn’t have a single grandson! Ah, it’s Father Emperor! What’s the use of having so many sons when none of them have taken wives? There’s not even a shadow of a grandson to be seen!”
Emperor Jian was completely provoked. He turned and commanded Xie Jinyu, who had been watching with an amused smile, “You shall take a wife tomorrow! I want to see a grandson by the end of this year!”
Xie Jinyu: ?
Xie Jinyu politely declined: “The eldest imperial brother hasn’t married yet. How could I dare to marry before either of my elder brothers?”
Xie Shoujun in Wu De Hall suddenly sneezed.