To be honest, my apprentice Zhu Xiaoba is incredibly filial to his master. He lets me drink the finest wines and eat as much rice and other delicacies as I want.
My spirit, which I spend all day in the wine cellar, drunkenly soars proudly to the highest heavens.
When I got hungry, I would sway my body and go to the imperial kitchen to eat the delicious white rice that had been prepared for me and have a hearty meal.
After a satisfying meal, one can leisurely stroll through the palace's back garden.
Occasionally, I would encounter a few dignified and beautiful palace maids who would bow to me. I could even pinch their pretty chins and take a closer look.
This made them all lower their heads shyly and quickly walk away...
Ranmo, however, couldn't stand it any longer and muttered to herself, "It's a good thing you're a woman. If you were a man, such a brazen flirtation with the woman next to the emperor would be a capital offense."
Everyone loves beautiful things, and everyone enjoys appreciating the wonderful people and things in the world; I am no exception.
Especially their pure eyes, hoping to find a trace of Zhou Lang's pure gaze in these people's eyes.
Why not look among the men? After all, in this palace, there are mostly girls everywhere.
But none of them resembled Zhu Silang or Zhou Lang in appearance.
After all, he was originally possessed by Wen Heng's appearance and spirit.
Finally, I found myself swaying uncontrollably until I reached Zhu Silang's residence.
In the dead of night, I stood on the roof, squinting as I gazed into the distance at the silhouette of a young palace maid undressing Zhu Silang in his bedroom, illuminated by candlelight.
I scoffed: "They are princes after all, even their sleep is helped by palace maids to undress them! Do you think they might do something else besides undressing?"
"Didn't you say he wasn't Wen Heng and had no interest in staying here any longer? Why are you so pathetic, running out in the middle of the night to say such sarcastic things? Why are you meddling in other people's business?" Ranmo has been teasing me directly lately.
"..."
"You're so infatuated with him? Even if he's just a substitute?" Ranmo's tone became harsh, as if she was disappointed in him.
“But his face is indeed the spirit of Zhou Yu. He is my man, so why can’t I take a look?” I argued.
"Alright, since you want to see, don't sneak around here. If you want to know what they're doing, let's watch openly!"
As the words fell, the ink turned into a wisp of black wind.
A violent impact with a loud "boom!"
They smashed open the window of Zhu Silang's bedroom.
The master and servant inside both looked out the window.
Zhu Silang was dressed in a snow-white undergarment, his shirt half-open, revealing his ample chest. The pretty young palace maid beside him blushed and shyly hid behind Zhu Silang when she saw me outside.
In my experience, these two are definitely not in a typical master-servant relationship.
But for some reason, seeing him with Wen Heng's face protecting other women behind him made my heart feel a little tight.
Zhu Silang glared at me angrily, as if I had ruined his plans, as if he wanted to kill me.
But I stared at him with a sullen face, neither of us giving the other a friendly look.
Soon, the news that the dignified Prince Yan was indulging in a love affair with a mere palace maid, while I, as the emperor's teacher, disregarded human ethics and also secretly harbored feelings for His Highness Prince Yan, spread like wildfire throughout the entire capital.
My apprentice, Zhu Xiaoba, as the ruler of a country, could neither lose face for the royal family nor offend me.
So they arranged a marriage.
He betrothed the daughter of a loyal and veteran general to Zhu Silang.
Upon learning the news, Zhu Silang angrily insisted on dragging me before his father, the Emperor, to clarify the facts and make me responsible for his future.
I thought that his idea of taking responsibility meant he wanted me to take him in and be responsible for him.
He grinned and said, "Alright, since you want me to take responsibility, then I'll ask your father to take you in and make you a vase in my house. It'll be a pretty good idea to keep you here and look at you every day."
I stood in front of Zhu Xiaoba's dark desk, watching him rub his temples, looking troubled and distressed: "Do you really like His Highness Prince Yan?"
“That’s right, I only like his looks, not him as a person!” I said to my disciple Zhu Xiaoba with a serious expression.
“Master, you can like anyone, but you can’t like my son. Wouldn’t that mess up the seniority? If word gets out that you are disrespectful to your elders, it will not only damage your reputation, but also make the entire royal family lose face.”
“Where am I old? Where am I disrespectful? I’m not marrying him. Look at him, he has the aura of a dragon but no desire for power. Wouldn’t it be better to keep him by my side and let him live a life of leisure?” I said gently.
He spoke with a very serious expression.
However, my words inadvertently revealed a secret.
"Who said the throne would be passed to him in the future?"
“Look at his face, he has the countenance of a future hegemon,” I said.
"If he becomes emperor, what will become of my eldest son, the crown prince?" Zhu Xiaoba's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Your eldest son looks like he'll die young. Not only will he not become emperor, but he'll also die before you. How will he inherit your throne?"
I did meet his eldest son, the Crown Prince, twice; his life was indeed not going to be long.
However, the fate of the royal family is related to the peace and stability of the world, and the secrets of heaven must not be revealed.
However, with the alcohol slurring my words, I blurted out all the big secrets.
Everyone stared at me in astonishment.
"Insolence!" This Emperor Zhu Xiaoba, who had always treated me with great respect, was enraged by my words and roared at me.
His shout startled me so much that I staggered, and the effects of the alcohol wore off considerably.
What does it mean that the emperor's authority is inviolable? He is, after all, the ruler of a country. So what if I am his master?
That's when I came to my senses and realized what nonsense I had been talking about.
I heard that my apprentice dotes on his eldest son the most and has placed great hopes on him, nurturing him with great care. But I told him that his most beloved son would die before him.
Who can accept this fact?
Later, my beloved disciple found a reason to give me a chest of gold so that I would have no worries about the future, and then he wanted to expel me from the palace.
And that brat Zhu Silang didn't give him to me as I wished.
Ha, since you want to banish me from the palace, then I am a person who knows my place, knows when to advance and retreat, and has dignity.
Would I covet his box of gold?
I waved my sleeves, taking nothing with me, and in the dead of night when no one was around, I leaped over the palace wall.
On this grand path of life, we shall meet again.
If they don't want me here, there are plenty of other places that will.
Later, I heard that it was because of this rumor that revealed a secret.
His eldest son, to my surprise, died prematurely from illness.
Zhu Xiaoba, who loved his son dearly, suspected that it was Zhu Silang who had killed his eldest son in his struggle for the throne.
They suppressed him at every turn and even exiled him to the frontier to guard the country.
He vowed that he would rather pass the throne to his grandson than to Zhu Silang, a man of both virtue and talent, outstanding in both literature and martial arts.
I don't care about these things, because regardless of whether it's because I revealed heavenly secrets, Zhu Silang's tribulation will not change. This may be his tribulation in the mortal world.
After leaving the palace, he secretly followed behind Zhu Silang.
Although it wasn't him, I only caught a glimpse of his face from afar.
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