Chapter 160 The Powerful Minister Returns to His Youth 14.

"Xuan Shu!"

Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Yu Shiqing had already lifted his robe and leaped down.

Ye Zangxing was startled and hurriedly went to help him up, but before he could reach out, Yu Shiqing had already landed. His blue robes swayed gently, and the scholar was surprisingly elegant and agile.

"You actually have some skill!" A hint of surprise flashed in Ye Zangxing's eyes. After speaking, he immediately frowned. "Even if you have some skill, you shouldn't have jumped down like that. The carriage hadn't even come to a complete stop yet. What if you got injured? How old are you? Still so reckless..."

Yu Shiqing knew that Ye Zangxing was worried about him, and he had also lost his composure. But it was not surprising for a seventeen-year-old boy to behave like this. He was about to explain, but before he could speak, he was amused by Ye Zangxing's last words.

"You're two months younger than me, so why are you lecturing me like an old man?" Yu Shiqing lowered his head and smiled at Ye Zangxing.

Ye Cangxing glanced at him: "So what if you're two months younger? Does that mean I can't criticize you? What you said makes sense, and everyone should listen, regardless of age..."

Yu Shiqing agreed with this, and then begged for forgiveness: "Don't worry, I was just overjoyed because we hadn't seen each other for so long, and I got a little impatient. I definitely won't do it again next time. Besides, of the six arts of a gentleman, I am good at charioteering and archery, and I have won first place many times in the county school."

Ye Zangxing's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "That's wonderful! When you have some free time in a while, let's go on an autumn hunt!"

“Okay.” Yu Shiqing replied with a gentle smile.

As the two were talking, Chief Secretary Fei had already dismounted and made arrangements for the carriage. Upon seeing this, Ye Cangxing cupped his hands to Chief Secretary Fei and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you this time. If Fourth Brother has no other instructions, Chief Secretary Fei, please go ahead and do your work. I will take Danzhi to the hall."

Fei Changshi glanced at the two men with his small, beady eyes, then smiled and bowed respectfully: "Then I will trouble Your Highness. But I hope Your Highness will hurry, as the Prince is waiting anxiously."

"nature."

Ye Zangxing responded.

After exchanging a few words, Ye Zangxing led Yu Shiqing through the side gate of this unmarked courtyard, while Fei Changshi and the others entered through another gate, driving their carriages.

The side gate had just opened, and the road was quiet. Ye Cangxing walked a short distance and, seeing that no one was around, his face immediately fell. He lowered his voice and said, "Danzhi, when you go in to see my fourth brother, whatever you talk about, try to say and do as little as possible, and be quiet. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, I will find an excuse to call you out."

"My fourth brother has been suffering from headaches for the past few days, and he's been in a bad mood. I feel like I'm going to get into trouble if I just walk around in front of him a few times. He suddenly got better this afternoon, but something's still a bit strange, so I'd better be careful..."

Has Prince Yong's headache been cured?

Yu Shiqing was slightly surprised upon hearing this.

He glanced around discreetly, his voice lowering slightly: "On the way here, I happened to run into Brother Bao Shaojie. I learned the general situation of His Highness Prince Yong's headache from him, but I didn't know that His Highness's headache had actually been cured..."

“Bao Shaojie…the second young master of Councilor Bao’s family?” Ye Cangxing said, “I heard that. I guess he asked for leave to go down the mountain to see Councilor Bao. He and my fourth brother had a fight over posting the notice. The old man was so angry that he almost hit his head against a pillar. He’s resting at the post station now.”

"As for Fourth Brother's headache," Ye Zangxing frowned and shook his head, "I can't say for sure either. Not long after noon, he suddenly felt better and said that his headache was gone. Then he kicked his sister-in-law out, called some people in, and then summoned Chief Secretary Fei to come and invite you immediately."

"When I found out, it was already late. When I asked them, they said that the day to invite you to the mansion had been delayed for too long, and Fourth Brother was anxious and couldn't delay any longer, so he rushed over. But what family would hold a master-disciple ceremony at this hour?"

"I couldn't get any information and felt uneasy, so I was about to rush out to stop them. But as soon as I got to the stable and before I could even get on my horse, I heard Xile say that you had already entered the city."

"Uneasy?" Yu Shiqing was slightly taken aback. This was not the kind of description Ye Zangxing would use to describe the Prince of Yong. In his memory, he had only mentioned it once, before the rebellion of the Prince of Yong broke out in his previous life.

“Uneasy,” Ye Zangxing said, lowering his eyes, “but I don’t know where this unease comes from. In the past, when my fourth brother’s headaches flared up, they were mostly just a few throbbing pains. There have only been two times when it was this serious.”

"Those two times, he acted somewhat strangely, but it seemed different from this time... And just like that, this time he wanted to post a notice seeking a renowned doctor, and I didn't stop him. Although this was inappropriate, I think he was in great pain and didn't want to be tortured anymore..."

Yu Shiqing saw the worry in Ye Zangxing's eyes, a worry for him and for Prince Yong.

"Have you found that famous doctor?" he asked.

Ye Zangxing shook his head: "I don't know. This matter was handed over to Chief Secretary Fei. Fourth Brother didn't let me handle it."

Yu Shiqing sighed inwardly and gently comforted him, "You can keep this in mind, but don't worry too much. His Highness Prince Yong... if he likes your younger brother, knowing your concerns, he won't be happy either. Besides, everything in this world is predestined..."

Ye Cangxing paused, his willow-green hair ribbon gently brushing against his shoulder. "Destiny..." He looked at Yu Shiqing, his dark blue eyes reflecting the dim lights along the way, their light both bright and dim. "Danzhi, do you believe in so-called destiny?"

"I believe it, but I don't," Yu Shiqing said.

Those who believe have come here, and those who do not believe have also come here.

Ye Zangxing seemed to have gotten used to Yu Shiqing's somewhat enigmatic answers. "Then do you believe that so-called destiny can be reversed or rewritten?" he asked again.

Yu Shiqing's eyes flickered slightly. He looked into Ye Cangxing's eyes and vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

So he could only answer, "I have no choice but to believe it."

Ye Zangxing lowered his eyes and remained silent.

The hems of their clothes brushed against each other, stirred by the night breeze, fluttering among the artificial rocks and pond, an unbelievable stillness.

As the lights ahead gradually increased, someone came to greet us; it turned out we were approaching the inner hall for receiving guests.

Ye Zangxing stopped in his tracks first, about to speak, but was stopped by Yu Shiqing's smiling gaze.

"Don't worry," Yu Shiqing said softly, looking at the young boy in front of him, "I'm just going to see His Highness Prince Yong, not to the execution ground. Nothing will happen to me."

"Am I obviously worried?" Ye Zangxing raised an eyebrow.

Yu Shiqing smiled and leaned closer, her voice even softer, like a falling leaf brushing against Ye Zangxing's ear: "Not very obvious, but her face is full of 'regret for teaching her husband to seek fame and fortune'."

Before Ye Zangxing could react, he reached out and stuffed a roll of drawing paper into his palm. "This is for you."

After speaking, he smiled, turned around, and quickly met the approaching figures not far away.

"Is the visitor Mr. Yu?"

"Exactly."

"Your Highness has been waiting for you for quite some time, please come in, please come in..."

The eunuch's shrill voice clashed with Yu Shiqing's laughter. He took a few quick steps and soon disappeared into the distance.

The surroundings became quiet again.

A night breeze swept by, carrying frost and dew, and blew through Ye Cangxing's blue robes. He seemed to be chilled, or perhaps he had just woken up; his stiffly raised eyelashes suddenly trembled, and like a startled butterfly, slowly fluttered down.

"Still a top scholar, such an inappropriate comparison..." Ye Zangxing lowered his head, his voice as soft as a murmur.

As he spoke, the boy's gaze shifted to the drawing paper in his hand, where ink marks were faintly visible, suggesting that a painting was already in progress.

For some unknown reason, the boy's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately raised his finger to pull open the ribbon and unfold the drawing paper.

Along the stone path, stone lanterns cast a soft glow, illuminating the drawing paper inch by inch. On the paper, a boy's cheeks are flushed, his expression one of drunken bliss. He holds a wine jug, tilts his head back, and tugs at an unreal hand, as if inviting someone to drink with him, or perhaps playfully begging someone.

As if burned by the painting, Ye Zangxing's fingertips trembled slightly and turned a faint red.

...

Inside the hall, Long Ran sat at the head of the table, took a sip of tea, and then casually popped pastries into his mouth. As he did so, he couldn't help but sigh, "Truly worthy of being a prince, the pastries he eats are so exquisite, with so many flavors and varieties that they could fill a book."

Speaking of books, Long Ran sighed again.

If it weren't for that book, he would probably still be lounging in his dorm room with watermelon, cola, and air conditioning, instead of constantly preparing to outwit every creature he encounters.

Yes, he is a time traveler.

Long Ran, male, 20 years old, a native Earthling and a history major, was sleeping in class when he accidentally traveled to the end of the Tianxi era of the Great Qi Dynasty, which was 800 years away from his own time.

A few years later, Emperor Gan Ding would ascend the throne. In the history books that Long Ran had studied, this emperor was known as the restorer of the Great Qi Dynasty. He had countless talented people under his command, the most outstanding of whom was Yu Shiqing, who was praised by later generations as the prime minister for all ages. This shows his ability.

However, Long Ran didn't particularly like this Chief Minister Yu and that Emperor Gan Ding.

As a historian, he knew best that while history is based on objective facts, those who write it are not necessarily truthful or objective. He had consulted various classic texts, read some novels, and engaged in numerous online debates. Ultimately, he concluded that this period of history was definitely haunted.

Where in the world can you find a monarch who is almost perfect except for having an empty harem and suffering from a hidden illness?

Where else can one find a minister who wields immense power yet remains virtuous, capable, and upright?

It's all just an act!

He liked this period of history, but not because of those two hypocrites, but because he liked Prince Yong.

Prince Yong was talented and could have ascended the throne, but because Emperor Tianxi favored him, he had to remain subordinate to others. He was depressed for many years afterward and passed away before he was over forty.

Long Ran read the rumors on the forum, and many said that Yu Shiqing's reform ideas originally belonged to Prince Yong, but Yu Shiqing stole them. Prince Yong's death was also caused by Ye Cangxing's secret assassination. This was a very treacherous relationship between the emperor and his minister.

Long Ran hated them.

However, whether he likes or dislikes something is separated by the long river of history and should not affect anyone else.

But that was just the original state.

Eight years ago, in a coma, he unexpectedly arrived in the Tianxi era and became his favorite Prince Yong.

At the time, Prince Yong was only sixteen. When Long Ran woke up after transmigrating, he looked at the unfamiliar face of the boy in the mirror and felt both surprised and terrified. He was naturally surprised that such an interesting thing as transmigration had happened to him—who wouldn't be excited? He was terrified because he didn't want to become Prince Yong.

He had also fantasized about what he would do if he traveled back to this era, but in those scenes, he was either a good brother of the Prince of Yong or a good strategist of the Prince of Yong; in none of them, he became the Prince of Yong himself.

Does the fact that he transmigrated into the body of Prince Yong mean that the original Prince Yong is already dead?

Long Ran was in great pain.

But soon, he became happy again. Because he discovered that Prince Yong was not dead. He was even the true owner of this body.

He was able to control his body because Prince Yong had accidentally fallen into the water, caught a cold and developed a high fever, and fell into a coma. His own soul seemed to be in a daze and asleep, and he happened to have transmigrated there, which is why he got up.

A short while later, Prince Yong awoke, and Long Ran immediately felt a strange, immense force emanating from his soul, pressing him back down and rendering him unable to control his body. Long Ran was not angry but rather pleased; he did not want his beloved historical figure, Prince Yong, to die, even if it was someone he had transmigrated into.

After that, it took Long Ran some time to figure out his situation with Prince Yong.

Author's Note:

Late but here it is!

[Pigeon] If there's no update by 11 AM tomorrow, it's probably because I'm too busy. I'll make an announcement later. I'll be back as usual the day after tomorrow, and I'm preparing to resume my daily updates. Thank you so much, my little angels! [Please!]