Chapter 115: CH 105.1

The fifteen-year-old Yu Ziyou had still been a little gentleman. 

If it was impolite, he wouldn’t look. If it was impolite, he wouldn’t touch.

As such, even though he knew that the person he hid in his side courtyard was someone whom he had “purchased,” and someone he could look at and touch, he would not approach him one step.

Several months later, Yu She either lived in Prince Yu’s estate or stayed at Princess Royal Anguo’s estate. Among that, he once returned to his side courtyard to take something very important before leaving. Yu She merely had the carriage driver stop the carriage by front doors for a moment, and instructed his family soldiers to bring out that item for him. As if once he stepped one foot into the side courtyard, it would ruin Zhong Wan’s reputation.

Although Yu She and him, this classmate, did not have much of a relationship, Yu Se revered Imperial Preceptor Shi and pitied Zhong Wan extremely. 

Yu She had planned it out very well. After Prince Ning’s case was finalized, he would wait two more years, so that those other people would forget about Zhong Wan. And when that happened, he could banish his slave status and make him a civilian again.  Then Yu She would give him some money and send him far away, so that Zhong Wan could spend the rest of his days in peace.

In Yu She’s heart, the Zhong Wan of the time was frail, sensitive, and should not be disturbed. He even specially ordered Steward Feng, who had taken care of him since his youth, to take care of Zhong Wan well. To not let him suffer.

Never had he imagined that the one to suffer would be Steward Feng.

Three months later, Steward Feng could not endure it any longer.

Although Emperor Chongan had yet to announce a decision for Prince Ning’s case, he gave off the slight impression that he wanted to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots. Many people analyzed the emperor’s intention, wanting to use this opportunity to curry favor. If Zhong Wan happened to escape and people with aspirations captured him, then Yu She was uncertain that he could protect him.

Yu She had no choice but to move to the side courtyard and carefully watch over Zhong Wan himself.

Yu She was very courteous. What he shouldn’t see, he never did. What he shouldn’t say, he never did. No matter how Zhong Wan provoked him or teased him, Yu She stayed magnanimous. More than once, he said to Zhong Wan, I don’t have any intentions toward you.

Up until Yu She had lived in the side courtyard with him for one month. 

At that time, Zhong Wan and Yu She had already become familiar with one another. And Zhong Wan probably could tell that he truly held no intentions toward him; he grew more relaxed with Yu She.

One day, the two of them sat at a low couch reading. Zhong Wan rose to his feet to pour some tea. Yu She had already read for four hours, legs numb and hands sore. He stretched a bit and placed his hand on the couch for support. When Zhong Wan returned, he didn’t realize this and sat on Yu She’s hand.

The cushions on the couch were thick and fluffy. As such, Zhong Wan didn’t feel his hand at all, continuing to drink tea and read.

On one side, Yu She stiffened in place, arm growing numb in a flash. 

Gods and demons at work, Yu Ziyou did not retract his hand at once.

There was no reason for this; he just felt reluctant to.

He didn’t know what was up with himself.

The young Yu She blushed, ears blooming red and thoughts in a mess. One moment, he thought of what the sages had said. The other moment, he couldn’t understand those words. Zhong Wan was obviously so skinny, so why… was it still that soft? 

The thick cushion and the dim candle light helped Yu Se hide his reaction. This was the first time Yu She had eaten meat after having maintained a vegetarian diet. After that, he blamed himself for many days, punishing himself to copy the Heart Sutra one hundred times.

……

“Why are you reading so slowly?” said Xuan Congxin, frowning.

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Pc bgvfg ab jiibk atf qglcmfrr gbsji ktb kjr ja atf qglwf bo tfg sbeat ab ifjgc qbilalmr klat atf cfk fwqfgbg, Te Vtf jcv Itbcu Qjc fzqfcvfv wemt foobga. Dea fnfgsatlcu kjr kbgat la. Rbk, Te Vtf tjv gfijzfv j iba. Ktfs olcjiis vlvc’a tjnf ab kbggs jybea erlcu atf gfra bo atflg ilnfr ab qjs yjmx atflg vfyar ab Wejc Te. Ccv atfs ofia gfjrregfv atja atfgf kbeiv yf j dejilolfv remmfrrbg obg atf mbecags lc atf oeaegf.

In any case, the twins were Prince Ning’s children. Even if the princess royal beame the regent in the future, the goods would still be kept in the family. Not to mention, Zhong Wan was still around. So the twins shouldn’t fight among themselves.

Yu She and Zhong Wan sat at the other side. Booklets of memorials and proposals piled up on their desk. After Yu She or Zhong Wan had annotated those booklets, they handed them over to Xuan Yu. After he had read through them, he would hand them over to Xuan Congxin. But Xuan Yu read at a slow pace, and the booklets before him grew into a little mountain. Xuan Congxin waited at the side, growing bored. And she couldn’t help but say, “Is it that you don’t understand it or that you don’t know some of the characters?”

“I recognize all the characters,” Xuan Yu rushed to explain in a soft voice. “Regent said don’t bite off more than you can chew. It’s better to read slowly than to read quickly and not understand what’s been read.” 

Xuan Congxin pushed down her anger. Expression dark, she said, “Then can you understand it like this?”

Lacking confidence, Xuan Yu said, “Not completely.”

Before Xuan Congxin could explode, Zhong Wan said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s change it up. Princess can read it first, then it’s Emperor’ turn.”

And Xuan Yu and Xuan Congxin got exactly what they wanted. 

Zhong Wan was between laughter and tears. He rose to his feet and picked up the pile of booklets in front of him. After handing them to Xuan Congxin, he returned to his seat. All of a sudden, his expression changed a shade.

Perceptive, Xuan Congxin asked, “Big Brother, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” Zhong Wan forced a smile. “I’ve sat for too long and my legs fell asleep.”

Xuan Congxin understood it clearly and nodded, no longer paying him any mind. 

The twins lowered their heads and got to work. Meanwhile, Zhong Wan ground his teeth in secret. Turned his head toward Yu She for a glance.

The regent who was above all except one sat there perfectly composed. He held a vermillion writing brush in his left hand, writing in a steady manner. As if he sensed Zhong Wan’s glance, Yu She turned to face him. His young and handsome face was open as he said, “What’s wrong?”

In a flash, Zhong Wan glanced at the twins, then angrily mouthed, What. do. you. Think?

A ray of dim light flashed through the young regent’s eyes. He slightly moved his left hand that Zhong Wan was sitting on, the corners of his lips rising a hint. 

In passing, the regent wrote the character for “soft” in an unimportant booklet. And Zhong Wan’s outer ears reddened in an instant.

Zhong Wan was very annoyed. How could the graceful and beautiful young noble of the past grow up to be a scoundrel who’d secretly take liberties with someone in the emperor’s presence?

But Yu She just had to be so good at pretending, and the scoundrel would only act scoundrelly to Zhong Wan. In the presence of other people, he was still an imposing and untouchable person. The members of the court all felt Yu She was cold and reclusive, remaining a respectful distance from him. If it weren’t for Yu She nurturing the twins, they wouldn’t be able to tell that he was a person of noble character inside, and respect and fear him.

Who would believe it? The regent who treated everyone coldly and was alienated from everyone would take advantage of Zhong Wan getting up, secretly placing his hand underneath other people. 

And this wasn’t just it. He also slowly and faintly bent and extended his long, fine fingers.

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Bad to the bone.

Yu She’s teasing caused flames of anger to spark in Zhong Wan’s heart. While the twins weren’t paying attention, he pulled out Yu She’s hand. Yu She pinched Zhong Wan’s leg neither lightly nor heavily before withdrawing his hand, taking advantage of his wide sleeves to cover this action.

Before Zhong Wan could flare up, Yu She asked him in a natural manner, “Has the head examiner been determined for this year’s imperial exam yet?” 

As soon as Xuan Yu had ascended the throne, the first imperial decree that Yu She wrote for him was one that allowed Zhong Wan to participate in the imperial examinations.

Yu She first forced Hanlin Academy’s academicians to “petition” to the emperor. No longer caring about the court ministers’ obstruction, he directly drafted out an imperial decree for the new emperor. Without even asking the new emperor, Yu She took the imperial stamp and stamped the decree in a proper manner.

The moment Xuan Yu had ascended, Yu She had offended many academicians and scholars, and made the faithful and true senior officials deeply worried. And a large reason for this was this imperial decree.

But Yu She had only decided and acted alone this one time. 

After acting recklessly once, Yu She reverted to being Duke Zhou. He no longer treated Xu Yu disrespectfully.

As if the person who had wanted to seize the throne at once wasn’t him.

Once the decree was sent out, the members of Hanlin Academy all acknowledged it, and many scholars waited for the God of Literature to return to his proper position. Now, they just had to see Zhong Wan’s results.

When a new emperor ascended the throne, a new cycle of imperial examinations must be given as a rule. Almost everything had been prepared—except for who the head examiner would be. 

Originally, the regent wanted to personally take on that role. But Zhong Wan stopped him from doing so.

Helpless, Yu She could only ask Zhong Wan why. “The imperial examination is right around the corner. The two assistant test examiners have mostly been decided. What about the head examiner? Do you have someone in mind?”

Zhong Wan thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

Curious, Yu She asked, “Who?” 

And Zhong Wan said in a straightforward manner, “Shi Hong.”

In a flash, Yu She’s expression darkened.

A smile graced Zhong Wan’s lips. “What’s wrong? Shi Hong is the son of someone who had been the teacher to two eras of emperors. He is an honorable jinshi and renowned in Hanlin Academy. Isn’t it suitable for him to be the head examiner now?”

Previously, Shi Hong had reprimanded Zhong Wan severely a few times for being disloyal and unjust. And when Zhong had first returned to the capital, this stubborn person had reported him for taking bribes. Whenever Yu She laid eyes on him, he’d be extremely unhappy. If it wasn’t for Yu She recalling fondly Shi Jin’s affection toward Zhong Wan, Yu She would have long since sent him back to his ancestral home. 

Yu She said, “You’re not afraid of him making trouble for you?”

Zhong Wan shook his head. “Make trouble for me? With his character, he most likely won’t go that far. However…”

“However what?” asked Yu She, frowning.

“Even if he does what he wants and makes trouble for me… the zhuangyuan would still be me,” said Zhong Wan calmly. 

Startled, Yu She had no choice but to smile.

This was fine too. Everyone knew that Shi Hong and Zhong Wan did not get along. If Zhong Wan received the top score on the exam in the future, no one would dare to have any say in the matter.

Yu She stared at Zhong Wan. Even if they had been together for a long time, he couldn’t help but be fascinated by his confidence and air of arrogance. And he could not help but ask, “After you become the zhuangyuan, what’s next?”

“What’s next?” 

Zhong Wan thought a bit. Then he slowly said, “I’ll go kowtow to Old Imperial Preceptor Shi, then offer incense at the graves of my birth parents. And I’ll offer sacrifices at the tomb of Father and Consort-Mother.”

The Zhong clan’s ancestral tomb had long since been repaired. Recently, Yu She had accompanied Zhong Wan in offering sacrifices.

Zhong Wan did not feel much, but it was a different story with Yu She. As the regent, he actually kneeled and paid respects before the tombs of Zhong Wan’s birth parents. Previously, when he had accompanied Xuan Yu in offering sacrifices to the gods, he hadn’t been this serious.

Following that, Yu She asked, “Then what about after that?” 

Zhong Wan smiled. “There’s no after that.

“Before the previous emperor had left the world, I wanted to win the top mark in the imperial examinations, riding a horse through the streets and basking in glory. But now…” Zhong Wan said calmly, “I just want to report it to Teacher Shi, then burn the roll of honor before his grave. Something like this.”

Yu She fell silent for a short while. Afterward, he said, “Then your official position in the future…”

“You can give me any position in passing. I’m fine with anything.” After a bit of thought, Zhong Wan rushed to say, “But don’t make me become an academician at Hanlin Academy. Give me a more practical position. I’m not looking for achievements and I don’t care about promotions. As long as I can help, then it’s good.” 

Yu She gazed at Zhong Wan profoundly. “You don’t want to be conferred the position of marquis or higher?”

Again, Zhong Wan smiled. And he only mouthed, you don’t want to be the emperor?

The two shared a smile.

Before the age of thirty, one rushed to make accomplishments; on the long journey back, one could rest. Those things he had once longed for were now easily within his reach. In reality, he had long since not cared about such matters. 

At the side, the twins had already become distracted from listening to them. Confused, Xuan Yu asked, “Big Brother… what are you talking about?”

Zhong Wan turned to look at Xuan Yu’s adorable face with baby fat. Helpless, he said, “Nevermind. Although this isn’t what I want to continue doing, it’s still what I have to do. May Your Majesty work hard. Once Your Majesty can take care of matters personally, Regent and I won’t need to manage anything anymore.”

Although Xuan Yu didn’t understand, he felt incredibly moved for some reason. He was so emotional that he gestured while talking about his future major undertakings to Zhong Wan.

Zhong Wan grew more and more dazed from Xuan Yu’s words as he spoke, until Zhong Wan almost believed them. On the other hand, Yu She had already gotten used to Xuan Yu’s antics. Preoccupied, he read the booklets, paying attention to only Zhong Wan from the corners of his eyes. 

Her Highness the princess royal lifted her head from the mountain of booklets. She shifted her gaze to the trio, a sigh escaping her lips.

She had the heavy impression that ten plus years later, the role of regent would be thrown over her shoulders.

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