Chapter 65: After the Thousand Mile Journey at Yin Hour, He Was Cleaned...
After the Yin hour, Zhao Yan, having been washed, finally slid into the soft quilt. Yong Shaolan took the basin he had used to clean Zhao Yan's body and returned to the Purple Palace to begin dressing. Zhao Yan was now tired and sleepy. Seeing Yong Shaolan getting dressed, he asked in confusion, "It's so late, why aren't you getting dressed?"
Yong Shaolan fastened his belt, walked over to Zhao Yan's dragon bed, and kissed him on the forehead. "It's almost time for the morning court. I'll go to the kitchen and make you breakfast, and then we have to go to the Taiji Hall."
The so-called court session was simply a meeting of several important cabinet ministers in the Taiji Hall. It wasn't held every day, so sometimes taking a leave of absence was fine. Zhao Yan suspected that whatever Yong Shaolan was hiding from him must be related to state affairs, but since he wouldn't say anything, he didn't dare ask, fearing an argument if he found out. Zhao Yan considered himself quite stubborn. Even if he did something wrong, as long as Yong Shaolan opposed him, he would want to argue.
If Yong Shaolan wants to be the king of rolls, then let him be.
"..." Zhao Yan crawled out of the bed and took Yong Shaolan's arm: "Then don't worry about me. Get some sleep first. I don't mind anything I eat in the morning."
Zhao Yan's tone was soft, a rare gentleness. He usually resembled a cat with its fur flaring up at any moment, his fussing appearance endearing. But when a cat is well-behaved, it can also be a source of affection and pity. His hair had been carefully washed and dried, and every inch of his body had been cleaned and refreshed. His snow-white satin pajamas complemented his complexion beautifully.
Yong Shaolan gathered a strand of the boy's black hair with his fingers and put it to his lips. He sniffed it and rubbed the top of his head. "It's okay to stay up all night occasionally. I haven't cooked for you in a long time."
Yong Shaolan cooks delicious food and is very caring. He has a strong desire to control people, but Zhao Yan doesn't reject it. "Then you go. I'll sleep a little longer. I'll get up around seven and come find you after dinner."
"Okay," Yong Shaolan agreed, then walked out of the Zichen Hall.
It was not even morning, and the crimson sun was about to rise outside when Zhao Yan crawled out of bed. Little Zhouzi had learned his lesson the night before and hadn't rested well. As soon as he entered the hall, he prostrated himself on the ground with his head down. The person serving Zhao Yan was replaced by another young eunuch. "Your Majesty, please change your clothes."
Zhao Yan was angry about Xiao Zhouzi and Yong Shaolan's secret affair, but it was Xiao Zhouzi who saved him in the first place, so he wouldn't ignore him just because of such a small matter. "You all go down. Xiao Zhouzi, come here and help me change my clothes."
All the eunuchs in the Purple Palace retreated, and little Zhouzi rose from the ground, weeping. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace... Regarding Prince Yong's matter..."
Little Zhouzi wiped his tears, knelt down in front of Zhao Yan with a plop, and choked up his voice, "Your Majesty, Prince Yong holds the military power of Yujing and Liaodong. He supported the group of veteran ministers in the court. He asked me to serve you carefully, and I had no choice. I know that no matter what I say now, I will never be able to repay Your Majesty's kindness to me, but I sincerely want the best for Your Majesty..."
Zhao Yan felt that Xiao Zhouzi was not to blame for this matter. If he were in Xiao Zhouzi's shoes, he might not know whether Xiao Zhouzi was loyal to him or not.
Zhao Yan leaned over, looked at the crying little Zhou Zi on the ground, and asked: "Then I ask you something, you must answer truthfully."
…
After Zhao Yan changed his clothes, Xiao Zhouzi had the breakfast Yong Shaolan had prepared brought to the inner hall. Zhao Yan worked at his desk, slurping up the sweet, fragrant mutton noodles. Xiao Zhouzi ground them beside him. Seeing the emperor enjoying his meal, Xiao Zhouzi felt happy too. "Your Majesty, let me tell you, although the prince treats you well, you can't let your guard down..."
Zhao Yan slurped a mouthful of powder, looked at Xiao Zhouzi, and pointed at himself: "Me? Guarding against Brother Beilan? Don't be ridiculous, how could I possibly be his opponent? If he wants the throne, Zhao Cheng won't even be able to get it."
Zhao Yan put down a memorial and sighed, "Sometimes, I always think that if Brother Lan had been more kind to me, my father wouldn't have died."
"By the way, send someone to keep an eye on him these few days. If he's willing to tell me where our father's remains are, tell me immediately."
Xiao Zhouzi also sighed: "Yes."
After breakfast, Zhao Yan rose and headed to Taiji Hall to find Yong Shaolan. Arriving at the front of the hall, he spotted a group of cabinet ministers, led by Sun Jianqing, making their way out. Upon seeing Zhao Yan, they were startled for a moment before kneeling, "Your Majesty, may you be well." Zhao Yan glanced at the elderly men, a look that felt as if he'd been punched. He waved his hand, distressed, and told them to go home and rest.
"Why are they off work so early?" Zhao Yan yawned and thought for a moment. It must be eight in the morning at the latest. According to Brother Lan's personality, meetings would last an hour or two. "Wouldn't they have to come to work at three or four in the morning?"
Xiao Zhouzi followed Zhao Yan to the main hall and suddenly saw a sneaky figure hiding in the corner outside the side hall of Taiji Hall: "How dare you!"
Zhao Yan was chatting with Xiao Zhouzi when he suddenly heard him scold him. He looked at himself, then at Xiao Zhouzi, and then he saw a dark figure following Xiao Zhouzi's gaze: "Someone, capture him."
The guards rushed over upon hearing this. Zhao Yan asked Xiao Zhouzi to go and see who it was and come back to tell me.
Xiao Zhouzi followed the guards, and Zhao Yan entered the inner hall. He saw Yong Shaolan still working at his "workstation." Zhao Yan walked over and stood beside him, "Brother Lan, I'm here."
Yong Shaolan put down his pen and looked up at Zhao Yan. "Did you have a good breakfast?"
The breakfast was Yong Shaolan's homemade stew, naturally delicious, but Yong Shaolan's words were clearly meant to reward him. Zhao Yan walked over, sat down on the man's mouth, and hooked his arm around his neck. "Great, Brother Lan's cooking skills are still as good as they were back then." Then, Zhao Yan smacked Yong Shaolan's lips. "What are you looking at?"
Yong Shaolan moved the letter aside and said, "Nothing." His hands were busy, supporting Zhao Yan's neck with one hand and pulling open his collar. The boy's fair neck was exposed before his eyes, like fine mutton-fat jade or delicate silk. Yong Shaolan nuzzled it and asked, "Why are you up so early?"
Zhao Yan felt uncomfortable being rubbed by him, and was also annoyed by his words. He knew that it was because of the long tossing and turning last night, and Yong Shaolan was worried that he would not sleep well. However, Yong Shaolan did not say that he had stayed up all night, but was worried about himself: "I am a man, okay, why is it so early? I told you that I can still go to work the next day after playing until the early morning, and I am no worse than you - don't bite, I want to inspect your work results."
Zhao Yan finished speaking and went to pick up the memorials that Yong Shaolan had reviewed. Yong Shaolan pinned him down on his lap. The two of them sat at the low table in front of the desk, Yong Shaolan on the futon and Zhao Yan on his lap. Zhao Yan struggled a few times but couldn't budge. His bottom alternated between cold and hot. Furious, he lashed out at Yong Shaolan, "Are you crazy? So early in the morning."
Yong Shaolan pinched Zhao Yan's waist, helping him to tidy up his messy dragon robe, and said: "Psycho?"
Yong Shaolan raised his eyes and landed on Zhao Yan's tongue. "Is that what you mean by idiot?"
"..." Zhao Yan didn't want to explain to Yong Shaolan what the word "lunatic" meant, but he wouldn't allow Yong Shaolan to insult the word "fool". "Fool" mostly describes people who are born dull, and "lunatic"...hiss...neurotic is acquired...similar to "madman"...who's messing with the boss at his workstation so early in the morning..."
Yong Shaolan, "I like the description of a psychopath, but I'm not one."
"..." Zhao Yan held down Yong Shaolan's shoulders and squeezed his waist tightly to slow him down, then took the time to give him a blank look: "Morality can't restrain you, brother." Yong Shaolan was silent for a moment and concentrated on his work. Zhao Yan was messed up inside by him, but he was still dignified and decent on the outside, and even the corners of his clothes were not wrinkled at all.
Yong Shaolan kissed Zhao Yan's eyelids and said, "I'll handle the recent court affairs. Don't ask about them or investigate further, okay?"
Zhao Yan was so angry that he punched Yong Shaolan: "Fuck, are you the emperor?"
Yong Shaolan's tone turned cold, and he asked, "Why did you look at the memorial just now? I don't like not being trusted by you. Believe me, Zhao Yan, I won't do anything to harm you."
Zhao Yan thought to himself, if he didn't believe me, he would have fallen out with him long ago. He was always upset about Yong Shaolan's restrictions on his work. Zhao Yan didn't know how to explain it to him. In a relationship, trust is the key. He simply changed the subject: "Don't go in there. Hold it with a handkerchief. Otherwise, it will be hard to clean up later."
Yong Shaolan turned Zhao Yan's face over and said, "Don't change the subject."
"...Can you be more frank, buddy?" Zhao Yan was so angry that he wanted to kick him, but he couldn't move, so he could only turn his head and glare at him. Those clear eyes were filled with spring water, his lips opened and closed, and hot air kept overflowing from his mouth. His anger was more like flirting: "We are in a relationship now, so we should say whatever we want? And your logic is very problematic. You are afraid that I will be angry if you do something wrong. The problem is not that you don't tell me, but that you shouldn't do things that make me angry... To put it another way, maybe my cognition is not as good as yours, but I am willing to believe you if you explain it well. If you hide it, it will make me more curious. We are all independent individuals. Can't I have my own thoughts? Just because I look at your work, I don't trust you? What kind of logic is this? Can't I just be curious?"
"It's not about doing something wrong, it's about doing something right. There are some things you just can't accept. Telling them will affect our relationship." Yong Shaolan didn't get angry, and explained slowly: "It's better for both of us not to tell them."
"Fuck, I want to quarrel with you again," Zhao Yan said, "How can I accept incompetence? I have a strong ability to accept it, okay?"
Yong Shaolan said calmly, "Really?"
Yong Shaolan's tone became serious, and Zhao Yan was scared again. He always felt that Yong Shaolan was a bit sadistic. He felt a chill on his butt. "Ahem, as long as it's not too extreme, it's acceptable. But you can't do anything too perverted, or you will suffer retribution."
Yong Shaolan cleared his throat, thought for a moment, and then said, "Can you please stop looking down on me? Zhao Yan, your emotions are very important to me. I'm going to be very anxious."
Zhao Yan sighed and softened his tone: "Okay, okay, I know you won't do anything bad. I'm not angry. I promise to try not to quarrel with you in the future."
Zhao Yan spoke sincerely, his clear eyes reflecting Yong Shaolan's shadow. Yong Shaolan held the back of Zhao Yan's neck and pressed his forehead against his: "Wait until I get the results."
…
A few days later, in the evening, Zhao Yan summoned Xiao Zhouzi alone. Xiao Zhouzi thoroughly investigated what Zhao Yan had asked him to investigate. The breakthrough was the minister transferred from Jinling who had expressed dissatisfaction with Yong Shaolan in the palace that day. After Xiao Zhouzi explained the whole story, Zhao Yan was amazed. "Are you saying that Brother Lan is planning to mobilize troops against the barbarians north of Liaodong? This is what he's hiding?"
Little Zhouzi was confused. "What? What are you hiding? Your Majesty, you don't even know?"
Zhao Yan asked Xiao Zhouzi, "Do you know?"
Xiao Zhouzi finally reacted: "Slave, slave doesn't know... Slave only knows that His Royal Highness Prince Yong summoned several ministers to the palace."
Little Zhouzi only knew that the prince had reasons to mobilize troops and had ordered His Majesty not to touch the memorials he had reviewed. He had no idea that Prince Jiang Ran was so bold. Moreover, this kind of thing... Given His Majesty's temperament, if the prince wanted to keep it secret, he might really be kept in the dark. "Oh my God, could it be that the prince wants to mobilize troops privately?"
"That's right." Zhao Yan had never thought that this was such a ridiculous reason. He was not a fool, so how could he be angry about such a thing? "Go to the palace and ask Brother Lan to come over tonight."
Little Zhouzi looked at the young emperor's thin cheeks and thought that the princes had been staying in the Purple Palace for three to five days. If the emperor came again, he might not be able to bear it.
"Don't worry about this matter for now, Your Majesty." Little Zhouzi remembered another strange incident: "The eunuch who was peeping at you outside the Taiji Hall a few days ago has been caught, but he insisted that he had something to tell you in person. The inner court has already interrogated him once and used torture, but he refused to tell me what it was."
"Brother Lan once reminded me to be wary of Zhao Cheng's remnants. Who knows if he'll harm me?" Zhao Yan thought for a moment and hooked his finger at Xiao Zhouzi. "How about this, you tell Brother Lan about this, and later, Brother Lan and I will go to the inner court together."
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The author has something to say: I'm here. Recently, a family member has been hospitalized, so I've written less. Sorry. Thanks to all the readers who are still following the update. Thank you!
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