Chapter 0256: Cao Que the Introverted Office Worker, Xie Chengze the Wronged One
Xie Chengze clenched his fist, his eyelid twitching several times, before ultimately choosing to endure it.
If he hadn’t called for Wuhen Wuji several times without receiving any response, why would he resort to seeking help from Cao Que!
Taking a deep breath, he picked up a sunflower seed and cracked it, getting down to business. “Commander Cao, as the Crown Prince’s right-hand man, you wouldn’t want His Highness to make mistakes and be slandered in the history books later, would you?”
Cao Que’s calm and indifferent gaze swept over the messily blood-smeared neck before slowly lowering his eyes. He took another sip of tea and corrected, “Your Highness seems to have misunderstood something. This humble official is the Empress’s right-hand man, not the Crown Prince’s subordinate.”
Xie Chengze: “…But during the palace coup, you clearly concealed the cooperation from the Empress!”
“This humble official serves the Empress, but I am also a member of the Cao family. I have the authority to make the right judgment to preserve the Imperial Guards.” Cao Que said calmly. “The Empress will understand—this is the privilege she has granted me.”
“…” Xie Chengze gritted his teeth secretly. “Regardless of this or that, don’t forget that I too have my own right-hand men. If I suddenly disappear, their first suspect will definitely be the Crown Prince!”
“You should know that my personal guards recognize neither kin nor reason—even the Crown Prince, they would dare to kill!”
“I’m doing this for the Crown Prince’s sake!”
Cao Que’s hand holding the teacup paused slightly as he finally glanced at Xie Chengze.
“So, what does Your Highness wish this humble official to do?”
Xie Chengze immediately leaned closer. “First, go… then… like this…”
Cao Que’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
He looked somewhat surprised at this naive young man.
Did he truly believe he could leash a mad tiger standing on a cliff’s edge with just a single rope?
Then again, it was natural for a young man who had never administered poison yet believed he was truly poisoned to have naive ideas.
He nodded slightly. “In that case, this humble official will assist you.”
Seeing him relent, Xie Chengze inwardly sighed in relief and carefully instructed, “Keep this operation discreet—don’t implicate yourself. If there’s any mortal danger, shift the blame onto me.”
Though he’d never met a yandere, he’d heard their thought processes were abnormal and they might even kill. So, as prevention was better than cure, he shouldn’t bring life-threatening dangers to innocent people.
Cao Que lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable. “Understood.”
Just then, the imperial physician arrived, summoned by the guards. Seeing the blood all over Xie Chengze’s neck, the physician nearly collapsed in fear. Fortunately, after examination, it was merely a broken skin with the wound already clotted.
The physician took two boxes of ointment from his medical kit and instructed, “This one can heal the wound, and this one will ensure no scarring remains. Your Highness has a weak constitution—it would be best to consume blood-nourishing foods during meals, such as pork liver, pig’s blood…”
At the mention of pork liver, Xie Chengze’s face immediately changed, and he waved his hand to dismiss the physician.
Cao Que also stood up. Before seeing the physician out, his cold gaze swept over the other’s face as he said evenly, “Physician Zhao, you should know whether you came here today or not.”
“Rest assured, my lord.” Physician Zhao hurriedly replied. “This humble one never set foot here today.”
After watching the physician leave, Cao Que returned indoors to find Xie Chengze holding the iron chain while searching the room for a bronze mirror. He couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.
No wonder the Crown Prince was so fixated on the Prince Regent.
When Cao Que temporarily resided in the Eastern Palace duty room as a child, he had once seen the Crown Prince—a small child whose back was covered with whip marks from cane strikes, more brutal than even the scars on slaves traded in the black markets.
And this was the future Son of Heaven.
The palace servants, as if accustomed to such scenes, advised him to pay no mind to the Crown Prince and simply focus on his own duties.
He tried to ignore it, but tossing and turning at night, he could no longer bear the guilt. He decided to bring some ointment to the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, only to find two children sprawled asleep on the bed. The Second Prince’s small hand was tightly clutching the Crown Prince’s, and the wounds on the Crown Prince’s back had already been carefully treated with ointment.
The neglected Crown Prince had found his own guardian spirit.
From then on, Cao Que would often see the Second Prince, having overslept, crawling out of the Eastern Palace through a dog hole, dusting off his clothes, and scurrying back to his own Cheng Huan Palace, convinced no one had noticed.
During his service at the Eastern Palace, Cao Que watched as the Second Prince went from sneaking into the palace to being able to enter openly—and eventually, to not daring to enter at all.
Cao Que walked to the tea table and picked up the ointment. “Your Highness, stop searching. There’s no bronze mirror in the room.”
Xie Chengze halted and returned to the tea table. “Then you apply it for me.”
Cao Que lowered his gaze, unscrewed one of the ointment jars, and watched as Xie Chengze tilted his head, exposing his neck without a hint of caution. Taking a steadying breath, he reached out and spread the cool ointment over the skin.
Unable to resist, he voiced the question that had lingered in his mind for so long.
“Your Highness, why did you used to despise the Crown Prince?”
Xie Chengze, still tilting his neck, let his gaze drift idly to a pillar across the room and replied casually, “If a grown man forbade you from getting close to anyone, locked you in a dark room, and only allowed you to speak with him, wouldn’t you resent him?”
Cao Que thought for a moment. “It depends on the situation.”
Xie Chengze: ???
Xie Chengze immediately covered his neck and shuffled away, casting a horrified look at Cao Que as if confronting some monstrous beast. “Minister Cao! I never expected you to be that kind of person! I misjudged you!”
Cao Que: …
Once his shock subsided, Xie Chengze’s curiosity took over. “Who is it? Do you have someone you admire? Do you wish to be imprisoned by them and then… you know… do this and that?”
Cao Que didn’t understand what “do this and that” meant, but from Xie Chengze’s expression, he sensed it was likely not an innocent phrase.
He pressed a hand to Xie Chengze’s head, leaning in to continue applying the ointment, and explained, “On mornings when I don’t want to go to the office, I wish I could be locked in a dark room—just give me some food and water, that’s all.”
Xie Chengze understood.
Wasn’t that just the wish of every introverted office worker reluctant to face the day?
“I get you!” Xie Chengze couldn’t help but grab his wrist, eyes welling up. “When I was studying back in the day, I felt exactly the same!”
Cao Que didn’t recall Xie Chengze ever attending school and was about to tell him not to move while the ointment wasn’t fully applied, when suddenly an enraged shout erupted from outside the door. “What are you two doing!”
Cao Que instinctively withdrew his hand and turned to see Xie Jinyu, his face dark with fury and menace. He stepped back slightly, bowed, and saluted. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, this humble official was applying medicine for His Highness the Prince Regent.”
Xie Jinyu’s gloomy gaze swept over Cao Que, a surge of inner force emanating from his sleeve that sent Cao Que stumbling back several steps. His eyes then fell upon Xie Chengze’s neck.
A mix of fury and heartache twisted his expression, eventually settling into a sorrowful look. “To punish me, Second Brother would go so far as to harm himself?”
Xie Chengze: …
I’m warning you, don’t you dare frame me!