Chapter 0085: Slippery Xie Chengze, Shen Yuan Nearing the Truth
The three men’s discussion grew increasingly hushed, as if afraid of disturbing someone. After an unknown length of time, Emperor Jian finally declared in a deep voice, “So be it. Tomorrow during court, have the Ministry of Rites submit a memorial. I shall approve this matter.”
“This humble servant takes his leave.” Before turning to depart, Shen Yuan cast what appeared to be an inadvertent glance toward Xie Chengze.
Xie Chengze, who had been stealing glances, immediately caught the signal and declared, “Father! The hour has arrived! Your son shall take his leave now!”
Without waiting for a response, he hastily gathered his robes and hurried out after Shen Yuan.
After paying his respects, Xie Jinyu also quickly followed them out of the Imperial Study.
Emperor Jian wiped his face in resignation. “Does he truly favor that Shen Yuan so much?”
Eunuch Zhao chuckled. “Lord Shen is indeed an outstanding talent. The Second Prince has excellent judgment.”
“It’s not that I’m unwilling, but with the current court turmoil, if he forms an alliance with Shen Yuan, it will inevitably provoke ambitious individuals to incite him to contend for the throne.” Emperor Jian sighed. “I can grant him anything except the imperial throne.”
“The Second Prince is intelligent and likely knows how to handle such situations,” Eunuch Zhao comforted. “Didn’t he previously pretend to be foolish and ignorant at court?”
“But he’s no fool. Look at all the matters he handles now – each one wins the people’s hearts. What they want is a puppet, not a wise ruler. What if those people realize this and try to harm him again?” Emperor Jian worried.
Eunuch Zhao sighed. “The Crown Prince is benevolent and virtuous. He will protect the Second Prince.”
“I hope so. If the two of them join forces to purge the court, I might eventually be willing to relent.” Emperor Jian picked up the memorial Xie Chengze had just reviewed, uncertain whether he should open it.
He feared that reading it – the genuine concern for the people evident between the lines – would only deepen his guilt.
After a long while, he asked, “Zhao Quan, do you truly believe Ze’er has no interest whatsoever in the imperial throne?”
Eunuch Zhao pondered before responding, “If the Second Prince truly harbored such ambitions, why would he have hidden his capabilities all these years?”
Emperor Jian considered this and found it reasonable.
He finally unrolled the memorial, curious about what difficult problem had made Ze’er so agitated, and what brilliant solution he had proposed. His eyes immediately fell upon a conspicuously placed greeting at the beginning:
“Is Your Majesty’s dragon body recently well? Are the imperial meals to your liking?”
Emperor Jian: ?
A sense of foreboding washed over him.
He looked to the left and found several columns describing the autumn harvest, mentioning prepared tribute carts carrying local specialties, and hoping for feedback on whether His Majesty enjoyed them.
Why would Ze’er find such trivial content so troubling?
Emperor Jian continued reading leftward, then twitched at the corner of his mouth: …
There, Xie Chengze had replied: This prince doesn’t know how well Father has been eating, but recently this prince has enjoyed Crab-Stuffed Oranges, Mandarin Duck Fried Tripe, Three-Crisp Soup, Five-Treasure Slices, Honey-Glazed Kumquats, Crystal Slices, Crisp-Boned Fish, Pickled Melon, Mountain-Fragrance Dish, Gold-and-Jade Soup…
The list went on for nearly a hundred dishes…
Now Emperor Jian understood why Xie Chengze had appeared so troubled earlier – it must have been quite the challenge to recall so many dish names!
“Look at him! Always so slippery!” Emperor Jian laughed in exasperation as he tossed the memorial to Eunuch Zhao. “It appears to me he wrote so tediously precisely to waste time and avoid reviewing one more memorial!”
Eunuch Zhao glanced over and couldn’t help but chuckle, “The Crown Prince is steady, benevolent, and measured; the Second Prince is intelligent without claiming credit; the Fourth Prince is pure-hearted with strong backing; and the Eldest Prince is loyal in guarding the borders. With all four princes united and working together, Your Majesty should be pleased.”
“You…” Emperor Jian, though delighted, could only shake his head helplessly. “Very well, since this lad dislikes reviewing memorials, I won’t trouble him with it anymore.”
Eunuch Zhao nodded, “Your Majesty is benevolent. The Second Prince will surely be overjoyed.”
…
Outside the Imperial Study, Shen Yuan paused, waiting for Xie Chengze to catch up before continuing to walk slowly forward.
Xie Chengze enthusiastically linked arms with him, his tone twisting and turning like a frivolous rogue on the streets, “Shen Shilang~ Are you free later? How about joining me for tea at Cheng Huan Palace?”
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow, reminding him, “Your Highness, it seems our relationship hasn’t reached the point of private tea gatherings?”
Wasn’t he afraid of getting too close to him? Why this sudden friendliness? What scheme was he plotting now?
“How can our relationship improve if we don’t share more tea?” Xie Chengze secretly pinched his waist, winked, and whispered, “Play along.”
Shen Yuan lowered his gaze, tolerantly not shaking off his hand. “As you command.”
Xie Jinyu approached and, seeing their familiar demeanor, let his gaze drop to their intertwined arms.
The guards he had sent to Yi Province to protect Xie Chengze had clearly reported their relationship was distant, so why did they now appear so intimate?
Had the guards missed something?
“When did Second Brother and Shen Shilang become so close?” Xie Jinyu walked up to Xie Chengze, smiling warmly and amiably.
“After spending half a year together in Yi Province, isn’t it natural we’d be close?” Xie Chengze smiled back at Xie Jinyu. “Surely my Crown Prince brother won’t mind if I borrow Shen Shilang for a while?”
“Of course not. I only wonder if there might be an extra cup prepared.” Seeing Xie Chengze’s smile, Xie Jinyu shed all pretense of gentle kindness, like a lone wolf cautiously hiding its sharpness after hunting, having shed its sheepskin, and now leaning affectionately against a kitten privately raised in its cave. He intimately linked arms with Xie Chengze’s other side.
The man’s slender fingers slowly traced the youth’s pale, delicate wrist, moving toward his palm, pulling him slightly closer before saying with a smile, “After Second Brother was attacked, I feared seeing me might affect your recovery, so I refrained from visiting. Now that you’ve recuperated, I dare to ask for a cup of tea at Cheng Huan Palace.”
Noticing Xie Chengze’s body leaning slightly toward Xie Jinyu, Shen Yuan looked up in confusion, only to meet Xie Jinyu’s dangerous, warning gaze.
Shen Yuan: ?
Why was the Crown Prince looking at him like that?
Since his rebirth, Shen Yuan had gradually felt it becoming harder to serve under the Crown Prince. In his previous life, the Crown Prince had been someone who widely welcomed talents and humbly accepted advice. They had served as ruler and minister for ten years, and aside from occasional disagreements regarding Xie Chengze, the Crown Prince had always been gentle, benevolent, and never shown displeasure.
But now, he frequently treated Shen Yuan coldly, as if he had done something taboo.
Shen Yuan couldn’t help but glance at Xie Jinyu again, but this time, he saw nothing but joy and dependence in the Crown Prince’s lowered eyes.
Following the direction of that gaze, he found it fixed on Xie Chengze’s delicate face.
Unlike the gentle smile from his past life that always seemed tinged with provocation and hypocrisy, and unlike the despondent, dazed expression when Xie Chengze had committed grave mistakes yet angrily rebuked him instead—as if having lost something—the Crown Prince at this moment was genuinely gazing at that person, radiating his dependence on them.
Shen Yuan had never seen the word “dependence” in Xie Jinyu’s eyes.
What could he possibly depend on Xie Chengze for?
Wait?
Depend on whom? Xie Chengze?
Shen Yuan felt as if his head had been struck hard by something. Stunned inwardly, he looked at Xie Jinyu, then at Xie Chengze, sensing that he had missed some crucial information.