At the entrance of the great hall, Shi Qing leaned against Yu Chenyan, yawning lazily, and watched with a bored expression as Chen Gongzi, who had been howling while receiving a spanking, finally stopped. Chen Gongzi, drenched in cold sweat and limping, got up from the long bench.
The young master had been patiently waiting for him to finish. When he saw him rise, he quickly ran over, showing concern.
"Chen Gongzi, are you okay? You sounded like you were in a lot of pain. If you couldn't handle it, you shouldn't have insisted. After all, it was just a casual bet. If you feel uncomfortable, I wouldn't force you," Shi Qing said, his voice filled with a playful tone.
Chen Gongzi felt like spitting blood on his face. He had taken advantage of the situation, but this guy... What kind of person was he?
However, he had to maintain his composure and, with a face covered in cold sweat, he smiled at Shi Qing, "No need to worry, I'm fine."
"Great!" Shi Qing immediately applauded and cheered with admiration, shaking his head as he whispered to Yu Chenyan, who had followed behind, "Look, Chen Gongzi has quite the manly spirit. Just twenty strokes of the cane, and it's nothing to him."
"In the future, when we have another opportunity, I must bet with him again. We won't settle for just twenty strokes; let's bet fifty strokes!" Shi Qing continued.
Chen Gongzi thought to himself, "Twenty strokes were already excruciating; if it's really fifty strokes next time, I might lose my life here."
Shi Qing kept babbling, "But, Chen Gongzi, although this was just a bet between us, I want to remind you that a subject should stay within their boundaries. If you cross the line, even though our Emperor is lenient, there may not be such tolerance when it comes to punishment."
With a meaningful look, he gazed at Chen Gongzi, whose cold sweat was increasing, his face innocent and delicate, as if he were a pure young boy who had been sheltered from the world.
"So, next time when we chat, Chen Gongzi, you should align some of your views with mine," Shi Qing said.
Chen Gongzi sighed internally. He couldn't avoid it anymore.
"Fine, Shi Qing, you're right. You're absolutely right..."
When he had walked away with the help of palace attendants, Shi Qing, who had been smiling and clapping, suddenly revealed a displeased expression. He returned to the steps, scuffing his shoe soles against the ground.
When Yu Chenyan came back to him, the young master, who had been smiling just moments ago, looked unhappy. He muttered, "I gave him face, even stood in the snow to watch him get spanked. Now, look, my boots are probably covered in snow."
Standing at the top of the steps, Yu Chenyan turned away and spoke in a deep, slightly gentle voice, "I'll carry you back."
"Alright," the young master replied without hesitation.
He didn't hesitate to lie down on Yu Chenyan's back, his delicate hands clinging tightly around Yu Chenyan's neck, his face resting gently on his shoulder. There was no snowfall at the moment, and Yu Chenyan carried him steadily, taking steps toward the direction of the study.
As they walked, Shi Qing's mouth never stopped moving.
The young master was quite willful. Even while being carried, he grumbled, "Did you see how Chen Gongzi ended up today? You better treat me well in the future, or you'll also get spanked."
Yu Chenyan responded, "Alright."
"But you're not bad; out of everyone who has carried me, you're the most comfortable. As long as you stick with me, I won't mistreat you. You see, I make that ginseng soup for you every day," the young master said, ignoring the fact that he only made it because Shi Qing disliked it.
"Alright."
"Just know that I'm good to you. You should repay me in the future," he continued.
"Alright."
But the young master became displeased. His round eyes narrowed in dissatisfaction, and he playfully patted Yu Chenyan's head, complaining, "Are you just humoring me? Why do you always respond with 'alright' no matter what I say?"
Yu Chenyan said, "No."
As he carried the young master on his back, Yu Chenyan held his hands firmly around him.
Unspoken in words but clear in his thoughts: It's not just humoring. Each word I say is sincere.
On the border, the situation in the war was dire, and the officials in the court were in a heated debate.
Civil officials had varying opinions, some in favor of going to war, and some against it. The military officials were all shouting, "We must fight! Not fighting is a disgrace!"
They argued among themselves, but the key was the Emperor's decision.
The Emperor actually wanted to resolve the matter peacefully. After all, it was winter, and a war would be costly. The royal treasury was not particularly well-stocked, and after this war, there might be nothing left.
Why bother with these small barbaric states when there were other options?
Although he had already married off his own princess, he could adopt the daughters of ministers as his adopted daughters and marry them off in the name of princesses to secure peace.
Unfortunately, before the Emperor could voice this idea, other officials with the same thought had already spoken up. He was met with a chorus of criticism, particularly led by Prime Minister Shi.
In the end, the Emperor was bombarded with criticism:
"You're an idiot!"
"Sending princesses? Screw that! We've lost three cities already! Three!"
"You idiot, do you even know what this represents?! It means that our glorious Heavenly Kingdom is being suppressed by a small barbaric state! And you actually want to appease them for the sake of peace? Their ambitions are boundless, they've killed our people, taken our cities, and if you give them a princess, they'll think you're encouraging them!
Oh! This winter, they have no grass on their prairies, their cattle and sheep have frozen and starved to death. So they come to plunder our cities, kill our people, and seize our food to survive the winter. What about next year? The year after that? And the year after that?
You big idiot—never use your brain for anything! Are you trying to please them, and they might even think that officials in our Heavenly Kingdom are all like you, wine sacks and rice bags? They'll only become more audacious in the future!
The Emperor cleared his throat and swallowed the words he wanted to say. But deep down, he still had some thoughts.
After all, he was the Emperor of the Heavenly Kingdom. Those barbarians wouldn't dare go too far, right? They'd get a princess, and that would be the end of it, wouldn't it?
Apparently, an official shared his line of thinking and began to explain. But he was immediately silenced by Prime Minister Shi:
"When you're starving at home and you go to someone else's house to steal their food and money, and you also take over their house, and that person not only doesn't get angry but also marries their daughter to your son, how can I possibly let go of such a good deal!! They've oppressed us so much, and instead of stopping them, you're encouraging them. That's not just being a big idiot—it's what? A moron! Braindead! I'm tired of insulting you! Quickly roll your useless thoughts into a ball and get them out of your head. Don't influence the colleagues who still have functioning brains, especially His Majesty. No, I mean, His Majesty is wise and valiant; how could he be influenced by your idiotic remarks?"
After finishing his tirade, Prime Minister Shi bowed and looked at the Emperor at the top.
"Your Majesty, do you agree?"
The Emperor: ... I was thinking, yes...?
Prime Minister Shi returned to his place with a satisfied heart and exchanged a glance with the official who had proposed the idea of sending a princess.
Yes, this official was his man.
Prime Minister Shi could sit in his position as prime minister not just because of his noble family background. He knew the Emperor too well. When he received this news, he knew the Emperor would first think of pacifying the situation.
The problem was that this matter really couldn't be pacified. If it were, would those barbarians come every year? Would they still send princesses every year?
Especially with many small states near the border, if they didn't push the barbarians back this time and those states saw that they didn't care, they might join in next time. By then, the losses would be extremely severe.
After Prime Minister Shi passionately scolded everyone, the officials who had been arguing loudly didn't argue about whether or not to go to war anymore. They changed their argument to who should go to war to suppress this small barbaric state.
Usually, that was the duty of military commanders, and Prime Minister Shi didn't care about it. He just stood in his place, watching others argue.
The military commanders didn't know who should go, but they suggested that since the opponent's commander was the second prince of the barbarians, if they wanted to show their might and comfort the frightened people due to this incident, it would be best to send an imperial prince.
After all, the imperial princes were not young anymore.
The best Ninth Prince was already seventeen.
According to the norm, the imperial princes could participate in court discussions and develop their administrative abilities when they were in their teens, helping to relieve the Emperor's worries.
But this Emperor had different ideas.
He was not very useful himself but considered himself a decent Emperor. He was a bit worried that if his sons started participating in court discussions, they would build their own power bases, and if they gathered support from their maternal families, he, as the Emperor, might become superfluous.
Although they were father and sons, in front of the father, he was still the Emperor.
He didn't want to send his imperial sons to war.
The imperial princes were all raised in the palace, pampered and cherished. How could they have any combat ability? Sending them to the battlefield was basically sending them as mascots.
If they relinquished military authority, and if they had any ideas behind them, with the support of their maternal families, his reign as Emperor would be over.
It was not worth it, not worth it at all.
So when someone suggested that the Ninth Prince should go to war, the Emperor, who had been pretending to be silent and motionless all this time, brightened up.
Got it, he knew this trick all too well.
Who was this person anyway? They insisted on sending the Ninth Prince to the battlefield.
That chattering person with a bright red neck, loudly objecting to the Ninth Prince going to the battlefield, was absolutely against it. However, every word seemed to be in line with the Emperor's thoughts, appearing to block the Ninth Prince, but in reality, it was cheering him on. This all seemed quite familiar.
Prime Minister Shi stood solemnly in his place, secretly reminiscing.
After rummaging through his memories, he finally figured it out. Wasn't this the small military officer who had been helped by the deposed queen's father twenty-five years ago?
Oh...
It seemed that Prime Minister Shi planned to put the Ninth Prince in this awkward situation.
He understood it instantly.
The moment he understood, Prime Minister Shi decided not to interfere. His task was to prevent the Emperor from making reckless decisions. As for what the imperial princes thought, as long as they didn't harm the people, it was fine.
The argument in the court came to an end. In the end, the Emperor made the decision to let the Ninth Prince go to war.
When the news reached the study, the other princes looked at Yuchen Nian with eyes filled with schadenfreude.
That was the battlefield! Swords and spears had no eyes, and the enemy wouldn't care if you were an imperial prince. No, they would care, and they would target Yuchen Nian even more because he was an imperial prince. If Yuchen Nian lost an arm, leg, or an eye on the battlefield, wouldn't the Emperor despise him even more?
They all had their channels, so they exchanged glances silently, none of them telling Yuchen Nian about this impending disaster. They would let him find out for himself, hehehe.
However, Yuchen Nian actually found out about it faster than they expected. During the noon break, the young master was comfortably nestled in his arms, yawning while poking his muscles as part of his bedtime routine. Yuchen Nian told him about the news.
Shi Qing's expression froze for a moment. "The border?"
"Yes."
Yuchen Nian, for once, boldly pulled him into his arms, gently caressing the young master's back. "The Emperor has already given the order, and we may have to depart soon."
The young master was stunned for quite a while. He was clearly shocked by the news. Yuchen Nian couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was just in his teens and had been pampered and cherished since childhood. Even though he knew a few tricks, warfare was still too distant for Shi Qing.
After a long pause, the young master, who rarely showed such a vulnerable expression, softly asked, "Can you not go?"
He rarely displayed such a soft expression towards Yuchen Nian, especially in a near-pleading manner. Yuchen Nian was almost tempted to agree immediately, disregarding his earlier plans. But he couldn't refuse to go. If he didn't go, his relationship with Shi Qing would come to an end. If he didn't go, he could never become the person Shi Qing believed he could be. Yuchen Nian refused the young master for the second time. "I must go."
Shi Qing's face immediately showed displeasure. He angrily got up and pushed Yuchen Nian's chest with his delicate, angry hands, his voice petulant, "I didn't stop you. If you want to go, then go! Go!!"
"You think I don't want to keep you? I'm just afraid that there will be no one to warm my feet during the winter, and those eunuchs are uncomfortable to carry. They don't let me touch their bellies. Let go!!"
The young master obediently withdrew his hands.
He stared at Yuchen Nian with an expression that a person of his age couldn't understand, filled with a mysterious darkness.
"I will come back. When I return, I'll bring you whatever you like."
"I don't like anything!"
Shi Qing was like a little kitten that had its food stolen, angrily meowing. He tried to get out of bed, but when he pushed aside the blanket and felt the cold outside, the young master reluctantly lay back down.
"This is my room. You go out!"
Yuchen Nian complied with his wishes, leaving the room.
Inside the room, the young master seemed even more furious, as if he had thrown a pillow at the door.
In the following days, he became more ruthless in ordering Yuchen Nian around, as if he wanted to take back all the power he had lost. The other princes enjoyed watching this spectacle.
But Yuchen Nian wasn't as silent as he appeared on the surface. Shi Qing's strong reaction to his departure made him wonder if Shi Qing also...
Just thinking about this possibility made him feel that no matter how difficult the road ahead was, he could still walk it. Although the young master didn't want him to leave, the day Yuchen Nian departed from the capital finally arrived.
Shi Qing didn't come to see him off. Yuchen Nian mounted his horse, left the city gate, and looked back at the city he had never left. He wondered if his young master was still sulking in his room.
As he turned away, Yuchen Nian hid his tender feelings and only showed the cold determination he would need on the battlefield.
He would come back. He would present all his military achievements, honor, power, and throne to Shi Qing.
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