Chapter 112 Playing Rogue
That afternoon, the imperial edict was brought to the palace by Bai De'an's apprentice. With Bai De'an's instructions, the young eunuch had already made preparations, but he was still shocked by what he saw.
The early summer breeze passed through the courtyard, carrying with it the lingering fragrance of locust flowers.
The young man in the corridor was sitting at the table, his back straight, his face calm, and his fine cloth casual clothes made him look elegant. He was drawing something with a pen and never looked up.
After the young eunuch led the people to the steps outside the corridor holding the imperial edict, the quiet young man slowly raised his head and looked at him.
This glance made the young eunuch stunned - he felt that in those peach blossom eyes there was no trace of the pride that once belonged to the crown prince, only coldness and numbness.
Combined with his previous actions, the young eunuch suddenly remembered that those unsuccessful painters in the palace were also like this, facing the rice paper day after day, turning their unspeakable thoughts into brush and ink.
He didn't dare to go forward rashly, but just stood in the corridor waiting. The imperial edict in his hand seemed to become particularly heavy.
"Sixth Prince, His Majesty has rewarded you with land..."
The young man paused slightly with the brush in his hand, but did not put it down immediately. Instead, he gently rinsed the brush in the brush washer and then quietly instructed Zhao Tong beside him, "Go and take it."
The voice was so light and airy that the young eunuch could actually hear it was barely breathing. He swallowed and stepped forward, "According to the rules, you have to answer it yourself..."
The young man glanced up at the young eunuch. His expression was ordinary, revealing no emotion, but it made the young eunuch's heart leap. He suddenly remembered the gossip he'd heard in the imperial teahouse the previous day—that the Sixth Young Master had been lingering by the river for a long time, perhaps determined to die.
The young eunuch's hands began to tremble unconsciously. If this gets pushed too far, Sixth Young Master... He didn't dare to think about it anymore, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Here, here you are..." The young eunuch hurriedly handed the imperial edict forward, not even paying attention to the rules. Zhao Tong saw this and took the imperial edict calmly.
Xiao Ji then withdrew his gaze, dipped the pen in ink again, lightly touched the tip of the pen on the rice paper, and added two more strokes.
The young eunuch, as if granted amnesty, took two steps back, nearly tripping over his own clothes as he fled the courtyard. He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he was quite far away. This look of complete disregard for protocol, of not fearing that he would tell His Majesty, clearly meant... that he truly didn't care, that he really didn't want to live anymore!
Little did he know that when he led his men out of the palace, the young man who had been standing in front of the table with a cold face immediately raised a smile at the corner of his lips, and Qingwu also walked out from behind the door.
Several people opened the imperial edict without any respect. After reading the contents clearly, Xiao Ji snorted lightly, feeling quite disappointed. "Ten miles? Are you sending me there?" He curled his lips and said dissatisfiedly, "Even Shanglin Garden is bigger than this."
Qing Wu chuckled when he heard this: "My dear, you think it's too young? Why didn't you just reject it directly and firmly? This way, the emperor will know that you are truly disheartened."
In the past, Xiao Ji would have blushed at Qing Wu's teasing, but now, he raised his chin and smiled, "On the day I left the Eastern Palace, Qing Qing taught me that I must seize every opportunity. Now that I want to gain power, I can't let go of even the slightest opportunity. I'll learn from Kong Ming's story of borrowing arrows from a straw boat."
Qingwu also remembered the day she saw him when she first entered the East Palace. Although his face was calm at that time, his eyebrows and eyes were full of gloom. Now looking at his brows and eyes, he couldn't help but raise a smile at the corner of his lips.
"Those brothers really don't know how to do things. They don't even come to see me and pretend..."
In the past, Xiao Ji hated seeing them the most, but now Xiao Ji even disliked them not coming.
His eyes rolled, and he suddenly straightened up, the tiredness in his eyes swept away. "Zhao Tong, go to the Ministry of Revenue's Tuntian Division and ask them for some rice seeds from Jiaozhi."
Since he wants to grow rice, he must grow the best rice.
Zhao Tong was shocked when he heard this and hesitated, "Are we just going to ask for it? That's where Prince An is in charge."
Xiao Ji glanced at him, not finding anything strange about his words: "My fourth brother is very proud, just go and ask for it. If he doesn't give it to you——"
The young man suddenly revealed a sly smile. "You can cry in the Ministry of Revenue. The more miserable you cry, the better. Tell them that I have fallen to this point because I just want to make a living by farming, and he, as your brother, didn't even give me this little seed..."
Qing Wu almost dropped the imperial edict in his hand, and Zhao Tong was dumbfounded: "My dear, this..."
Where had they ever seen Xiao Ji act like such a scoundrel? Where had his once upright and reasonable master gone?
"What?" Xiao Ji raised an eyebrow. "Are you afraid of losing face? Or do you feel sorry for him?" He slowly picked up his brush and continued to draw. "Now that I'm so miserable, if he's stingy with even a few seeds, wouldn't the whole world laugh at me?"
"And those seeds... how can we plant them all in the government fields? We say we want to promote it nationwide, but the teacher is not in the court, so who would care about it?"
Thinking that the teacher's policies might not be implemented well, the indifference between Xiao Ji's brows gradually disappeared, and a trace of melancholy emerged.
But if others won't do it, he will do it! Even if the land is limited, what does it matter? Accumulated water makes a deep pool.
All the seeds grown will be kept as grain seeds. In just a few years, I believe it won’t be too long before these grain seeds will spread all over the world.
Qing Wu had also heard Xiao Ji talk about Master Yao, and she knew he was thinking of his teacher. She had a grandmother too, so she wanted to go over and offer some comfort, but the young man waved his hand and said softly, "No need. Just knowing that the teacher is alive is enough."
In a secluded courtyard somewhere in Beijing, Yao Chongchun was sitting with someone sipping tea. Suddenly, he felt a heat in the tip of his ear, the teacup in his hand trembled slightly, and a few drops of tea splashed onto his stone-blue sleeve.
"Mr. Yang," Yao Chongchun put down his teacup and looked at the white-haired old man opposite him, "could you please allow me to go out and take a look?"
This old man was surprisingly Xiao Ji's grandfather. He slowly raised his eyes, scraping the teacup lid against the edge with a crisp sound. "Old Yao, how many times has this happened?"
The old man's eyes were gleaming with restraint, and he whispered, "If you go out and get discovered, it will bring disaster to my Yang family."
"Don't worry, Mr. Yang. If I'm caught, I won't betray the Yang family even if I'm beaten to death. I just want to go out and see Xue Nu, just once."
Upon hearing this, Yang Gong put down his teacup and said with a stern face, "Do you know how many eyes are watching the palace right now? Even I, your grandfather, dare not go there. Even if you go and get caught, you should know that Xue Nu's leg couldn't be healed in order to save your life!"
Yao Chongchun shuddered upon hearing this, his teacup clattering onto the table, spilling tea onto his sleeves. He slowly closed his eyes, his throat moving a few times, and when he spoke again, his voice was hoarse, "Mr. Yang's teachings are... I've lost my mind."
A gust of wind blew past the window, swaying the bamboo shadows and casting mottled shadows on the ground. Looking at the once high-spirited Taifu before him, now with white hair and a hunched figure, Yang Gong felt a pang of sadness.
"Master Yao," Yang Gong sighed, his tone softening, "We need to wait until this storm has passed and the situation has stabilized. Then I will inform Xue Nu of your news."
After saying this, he himself was not confident - when would the situation stabilize? Would the deposed crown prince be reinstated, or would a new emperor ascend the throne?
But if he was asked to do more, he wouldn't dare. This was already the boldest thing he had done in all those years. Yang Gong rubbed the ring on his finger, stood up, and after leaving the house, he resumed his timid appearance.
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