Lu Bohuan watched as this person in front of him seemed to drift off into another world. If he didn’t call out to him a couple of times, he probably wouldn’t even know where his mind had wandered off to. He appeared rather foolish, making it a bit hard to look at him directly. At the same time, there was a subtle sense of suspicion. Could someone like him really gain the trust of Emperor Qin Yuanxi?
So, what exactly was his purpose?
As these thoughts crossed Lu Bohuan’s mind, he furrowed his brow slightly and withdrew the memorial in his hand.
“We should discuss this matter further. Your Majesty, perhaps you should approve the remaining memorials first.”
Without giving Qin Yuanxi any room for rebuttal, Lu Bohuan put away the memorial about the Minxi bandits as if his previous questions were merely casual inquiries, as if he didn’t take him seriously at all.
Are you treating me like a fool, playing games with me? Qin Yuanxi’s expression soured. He thought about turning and leaving, but there was also a hint of reluctance. Lu Bohuan was clearly picking a fight on purpose, making him waste his time on useless memorials. He had been writing aimlessly, and just when he finally encountered a matter worth discussing, he was interrogated for a few questions and dismissed. What was going on here?
With a heart full of reluctance, Qin Yuanxi turned back to pick up the stack of memorials, directly tossing them onto Prince Lu’s desk. His attitude wasn’t particularly friendly.
“Suddenly, I remembered that there are other matters to attend to. I’ll trouble the Regent Prince.”
After putting down his burden, he was ready to leave. It was absurd for him to waste his time here with Lu Bohuan, who was clearly out to provoke him. The key point is that he hasn’t eaten anything yet. Have you ever seen an emperor who is hungry and suffering?
Prince Lu has the ability to handle it himself. Since it doesn’t matter whether he approves or reads these things, why waste time here?
I won’t play with you anymore.
“Stop,” Lu Bohuan didn’t move and his tone became even colder. “What is Your Majesty so busy with? Practicing calligraphy? As an emperor, if you don’t even want to approve memorials, are you worried about something?”
This statement was overloaded with meaning. Qin Yuanxi halted in his steps, turned back, and looked at Lu Bohuan. “Worried about something? Prince, you can speak plainly. There’s no need for hints. I’m not as intelligent as you, and I might not understand.”
Qin Yuanxi was subtly accusing Lu Bohuan of being scheming, but Prince Lu didn’t take the bait.
“Your Majesty doesn’t understand?” Lu Bohuan pulled out a piece of paper from the pile of memorials and opened it slowly. “Your Majesty’s calligraphy has improved significantly in recent days. Which master’s calligraphy is this? I’ve never seen it before, and it’s quite different from Your Majesty’s usual style. I wonder…”
“That’s because the Prince has limited knowledge. This is the calligraphy of Master Yan from the previous dynasty. Have you never seen it?” Qin Yuanxi began to fabricate, “Master Yan’s calligraphy has become extinct, and I’ve only seen copies in the palace. I found it quite elegant and decided to practice it in my spare time.”
“Why is Your Majesty nervous?”
“I’m not nervous!”
“Why are your hands shaking then?”
“My hands are not shaking!” Qin Yuanxi immediately clenched his fists, feeling a slight tremor in his fingertips. He was genuinely feeling a bit uneasy, especially under the deliberate pressure exerted by Lu Bohuan. He swallowed and forced himself to say, “I’m just trying to provoke you.”
Lu Bohuan clearly didn’t expect to hear such a response, and a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. “Oh, I wonder where I offended Your Majesty?”
“In many ways!” Qin Yuanxi pointed to the memorial that had just been presented.
“Why are you ignoring the issue of the bandits in Minxi? You keep delaying it, but don’t you know that every day you delay, the people suffer more?!”
Qin Yuanxi was desperate to get out from under Lu Bohuan’s pressure, so he blurted out whatever came to mind. He hadn’t really expected to confront Lu Bohuan with just these two sentences. In his mind, he was already coming up with all sorts of excuses, even though he was, in reality, an imposter. But here and now, he was Emperor Qin Yuanxi, and he was trying to motivate himself while thinking about how to escape this situation as quickly as possible.
To his surprise, after he spoke, Lu Bohuan fell silent. His eyes lost their sharpness and gained a complexity that Qin Yuanxi couldn’t comprehend. They were intensely black, as if they could draw someone in. Qin Yuanxi quickly averted his gaze.
He was wondering what to do next when Lu Bohuan made a decision for him.
“In that case, summon the officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue to draft a plan for this matter. Your Majesty, what do you think?” Lu Bohuan stood up. “Your Majesty, please go and have your meal. Half an hour later, we will gather at the Council Hall.”
With that, Lu Bohuan left, leaving Qin Yuanxi a bit bewildered. He couldn’t understand Lu Bohuan’s intentions. How could he switch moods so suddenly? One moment, he forbade Qin Yuanxi from meddling, and it felt like he was ready to confront him at any moment. The next moment, he changed his tone completely, not even bothering with appearances, and even suggested that Qin Yuanxi have a meal first. It was all so strange!
Afterward, as Qin Yuanxi had hoped, Lu Bohuan gathered the ministers to discuss the bandit issue. The discussions were productive, bringing up many points that Qin Yuanxi hadn’t considered. It made him realize that the previous generation’s ideas could be quite advanced. Many issues were raised that Qin Yuanxi hadn’t thought of, and he listened attentively, occasionally taking notes. When he didn’t fully understand something, he made a small mark to revisit it later.
They continued the discussion until it was dark outside, and they had outlined a rough plan. Qin Yuanxi had been sitting for so long that when he finally stood up, he felt dizzy and his vision blurred. He almost stumbled.
Fortunately, Lu Bohuan was nearby and noticed Qin Yuanxi’s condition. He reached out and steadied him. Qin Yuanxi leaned against Lu Bohuan for a moment, trying to regain his balance.
“It’s nothing, just a little dizzy.”
He had been sitting in the same position for too long, and standing up suddenly had caused a drop in blood pressure. It wasn’t a serious problem, but it was something Qin Yuanxi had never experienced before. He had always been in good health, but since arriving here, he had occasionally experienced minor health issues. Qin Yuanxi rubbed his temples and reached for the notes he had made earlier, not paying much attention to the brief dizziness.
“It’s getting late, Your Majesty.”
“Send Yan Shaoning to check on him,” Lu Bohuan said, his brow furrowing unconsciously as he looked at the pale lips of the person in front of him. He didn’t let go of Qin Yuanxi’s hand. “I’ll accompany Your Majesty back to the palace.”
Qin Yuanxi replied, “There’s no need, it’s just a minor ailment.”
But when he looked into Lu Bohuan’s dark, shining eyes, Qin Yuanxi couldn’t say anything more.
Why does this dog thing make me feel like it’s actually caring about me?!
“Let’s take a look, Your Majesty, your health is supreme.” Prince Lu had made up his mind, and when Qin Yuanxi returned to the palace, Yan Shaoning was already waiting for him. Qin Yuanxi placed the notes he had been carrying all the way down and smiled at Yan Shaoning. “Troubled the divine physician again.”
Yan Shaoning was a follower of Prince Lu, holding no official position or status within the palace. Qin Yuanxi wasn’t sure what to call him, so he simply referred to him as the divine physician. As he did so, he attracted the gaze of two people. Qin Yuanxi pretended nothing was amiss, acting as if everything was normal. However, when he saw Lu Bohuan reach for his notes, there was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Does the Regent have any self-awareness? Doesn’t he know that casually flipping through someone else’s things is quite offensive to their privacy? Or is it that in Prince Lu’s eyes, this puppet emperor has no privacy at all? Isn’t that going a bit too far? It was the same last time. If it weren’t for Lu Bohuan casually flipping through his things, how could his handwriting have been exposed?
Furthermore, if you’re going to flip through them, can you at least not do it in front of me? How can I face this?
“Your Majesty’s pulse is somewhat irregular,” Yan Shaoning said, his expression serious, as if the word ‘irregular’ alone couldn’t describe it, he added an adjective, “very irregular!”
Qin Yuanxi’s heart raced as he listened, and then Yan Shaoning’s brow furrowed even tighter. “Your Majesty, slow down your breathing, let me examine you again.”
“Divine physician, don’t scare me. I can’t slow down. Can’t we talk it over carefully?”
In fact, Qin Yuanxi had also noticed that his health seemed a bit off lately. But, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. At most, he just felt a bit weak, getting tired easily. Moreover, he couldn’t sleep well at night, often having restless dreams. It was as if he had burnt out his overall health with the fever he had before.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
