Chapter 5 Unbearable
In order to have a proper conversation, Xiao Qing personally poured a cup of tea for the Grand Tutor and placed it on the table. Despite the Grand Tutor's repeated refusals, he finally politely took a small sip before preparing to begin.
Fu Mingyi looked at Xiao Qing, who was sitting up straight with a serious expression but whose eyes revealed a hint of impatience, and unconsciously drifted off into thought.
As the fifth emperor since the founding of the Great Xiao Dynasty, the late Emperor Tianhe was the longest-lived emperor. He was placed on the throne at the age of six and did not pass away until he was sixty-six. However, this emperor had few children. Two of his first three sons died young, and his last son, who finally grew up, injured his leg in a horse-riding accident during a hunt, leaving him disabled. He eventually went to his fiefdom in the west to become a prince and never returned to the capital until Emperor Tianhe's death.
Fortunately, fate intervened. Emperor Tianhe had children late in life, and they were twins, a boy and a girl.
This delighted Emperor Tianhe, so he personally bestowed names upon them: the elder brother was named Xiao Qing, and the younger sister was named Xiao Yan. From a young age, he carefully protected and doted on them, even more so than their mother.
However, both children have been in poor health since childhood, getting minor illnesses every three days and major illnesses every two weeks. Although they are ten years old this year, they look like they are only seven or eight years old.
Especially Princess Xiao Yan—probably due to her poor health, she was always timid and withdrawn, and rarely interacted with others. Apart from Emperor Tianhe and her brother, she was not very close to her mother.
Knowing his days were numbered, Emperor Tianhe made arrangements for Xiao Qing's succession to the throne early on. He even paid a special visit to the prestigious Fu family of the Great Xiao Dynasty, inviting the renowned Fu Mingyi to serve as the Crown Prince's tutor, which was in effect a way of entrusting the young prince to the emperor.
Besides Fu Mingyi, Emperor Tianhe also invited the then Prime Minister Song Baoye and the Privy Councilor Wang Ming to assist the young Emperor Xiao Qing. Of the three, only Fu Mingyi held the honorary title of Grand Tutor and did not actually hold any official position in the court.
However, the Fu family was very powerful. Although Fu Mingyi did not hold a position in the imperial court, many members of the Fu family were in the court.
As it turned out, Emperor Tianhe's judgment was quite good. Fu Mingyi held no official position, yet in the end, it was he who led "Xiao Qing" and a group of officials out of the northern capital, Ping'an City, and successfully fled south.
And Lord Song Baoye and Lord Wang Ming...
When the dynasty was collapsing, Song Baoye, as prime minister, did not think about how to relieve the siege of the capital, but instead took the opportunity of resisting the barbarian soldiers to flee with his family overnight.
While Lord Wang Ming, as a military general, was not as unreliable as Song Baoye, the Privy Council had actually lost control of the army at this point in the Great Xiao Dynasty.
Unable to receive reinforcements, Lord Wang Ming led less than 10,000 imperial guards in a desperate resistance within the palace, buying precious time for Fu Mingyi and the young emperor to escape.
But his fate was either to die for his country or to be captured.
He naturally chose the former.
The sounds of fighting, the flashing of swords and the firelight illuminating the night sky still echoed in his ears and before his eyes. Fu Mingyi was momentarily dazed, and subconsciously lowered his eyes to calm himself down.
"Grand Tutor?"
A hand waved in front of his eyes, startling him, but he calmly and slowly raised his head.
Xiao Qing was helpless.
"I called out to the Grand Tutor three times."
She had important matters to discuss with this Grand Tutor, so how could he be so distracted?
"Your Majesty, I have been impolite. Please punish me." Fu Mingyi was about to kneel down and pay his respects.
Xiao Qing quickly blocked him, offering a smile, "It's alright, Grand Tutor, please sit down. I'd like to have a talk with you." She then pressed Fu Mingyi into a seat and sat down opposite him.
“That’s how it is.” Xiao Qing cleared her throat. “The Grand Tutor is aware of my situation. Putting aside whether I’m fit to be an emperor, just one point…” She pointed to herself, “My physical condition is not suitable for being an emperor.”
Fu Mingyi remained silent.
Xiao Qing glanced at him furtively, noticing his relatively calm expression, and continued, "Back in the carriage, I knew the Grand Tutor had many concerns, so I kept quiet. But now that we've arrived in Nanding City, these things can't be kept secret anytime sooner or later. I'd like to have an open and frank talk with the Grand Tutor and ask if he has any plans." She turned to look at Fu Mingyi, feeling that her wording was probably not too bad.
"May I ask Your Majesty, which aspect of the arrangements are you referring to?" Fu Mingyi bowed slightly respectfully.
Xiao Qing thought to herself, "What's with the pretense?" But she still patiently prompted, "For example, 'Be prepared for danger in times of peace, and think about your escape route first'?"
She felt her meaning was quite clear: first, she didn't want to be emperor; second, she was asking for a way out. If Fu Mingyi still didn't understand, wouldn't his IQ be a bit too low? Or maybe he didn't study Chinese well?
But that's probably impossible, right?
Fu Mingyi nodded, praising with satisfaction, "Your Majesty's ability to think of the principle of 'thinking of retreat before advancing' is truly commendable. It is evident that you have been diligent in your studies. Your humble servant is deeply grateful for the late Emperor's grace and the virtue of Heaven."
Xiao Qing was speechless when she saw his "I'm so gratified and grateful" expression.
Keep pretending!
Xiao Qing stood up and walked directly to Fu Mingyi. "Grand Tutor, stop beating around the bush. I don't want to be emperor, and I can't be. Give me a way out..."
Before she could finish speaking, Fu Mingyi knelt down with a thud, head bowed, startling Xiao Qing so much that she took two steps back, her heart pounding wildly.
Even more outrageous, before she could say anything, Fu Mingyi bent down, and with a crisp "thud," his forehead slammed heavily onto the ground.
"Grand Tutor!"
Fu Mingyi half-raised himself, then slammed his head down again.
Thump!
Xiao Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she closed her eyes for a moment.
Fu Mingyi wanted to come a third time.
Xiao Qing hurriedly stepped forward, laboriously reaching out to block in front of him, her forehead beaded with sweat.
"What is the Grand Tutor doing!"
"Your Majesty, as the Emperor of the Great Xiao Dynasty and the ruler of all people, you expect me, a mere subject, to..." He paused, "...to make Your Majesty have such thoughts. I am guilty beyond redemption and beg Your Majesty to allow me to reflect on my actions and punish myself. If Your Majesty feels this is insufficient, I will punish you without hesitation."
Xiao Qing looked at Fu Mingyi as if he were a monster. After a million thoughts raced through her mind, only one thing came to mind: Can't we just talk properly?
Xiao Qing hesitated for a moment, then decided that she should reason with him and appeal to his emotions.
After all, although he was now mutilating himself in front of her, with blood flowing from his forehead into his eyes, she had witnessed his previous acts of murder and arson. Although she didn't want to be emperor, she still wanted to keep her life, and she wouldn't break ties with the Grand Tutor unless absolutely necessary.
“Grand Tutor, I’ll say it again, I don’t mean to…” She took a step back.
"Your Majesty, please be careful with your words. I will pretend I never heard these words, and Your Majesty should not say them again. If they were overheard by someone with ulterior motives, it would likely bring disaster to the Great Xiao Dynasty and the people."
Xiao Qing finally couldn't hold back any longer.
She suddenly grabbed the tea that had been poured for the Grand Tutor from the table and smashed it down.
"So, you just want to dump all this mess on me and make me take the fall, right?!"
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