What an Audacious and Sly Servant! - Chapter 59

CHAPTER 59 – COMBINATION

How was the Emperor’s body?

Xie Yun replied, “His Majesty doesn’t have any major illness.”

Chu Xun had just relaxed halfway when he heard Xie Yun continued, “Only has an exhaustion illness.”

Vitality was just like the dumpling eaten during breakfast. With each bite, there would be a time when it was eaten completely. There might also many left unfinished due to unexpected disaster and stopped at there. It could only be said the dumplings shared into the Emperor’s bowl was far less than others yet his eating speed was far faster than others.

Chu Xun’s face was not really well. He swallowed his saliva and helplessly asked Xie Yun, “Is there any method……”

“If you have the ability to make the spring flowers don’t wither for three years.” Let’s not say forever, no flowers could bloom for a hundred year.

When Mei Qian Deng saw the Crown Prince’s loss appearance, she couldn’t hold it in her heart and quietly pulled Xie Yun’s sleeve. She had known Chu Xun for more than half a year. She had made him angry countless times yet she never saw Chu Xun reveal such helpless state. Even if he was someone above the masses, he was just a still growing teenage boy. He had never experienced the great storms and forever separation. For him, his Imperial Father was the sky. Now to suddenly tell Chu Xun his sky was going to collapse soon, what should he do?

Xie Yun glanced the two brats in front of her. One was being pitiable when the other one was being heavy-hearted. She could only correct herself reluctantly, “Hey, hey, hey. Your Highness Crown Prince, please don’t give up hope completely. I’m just a young physician from jianghu, has yet to see much of the world. This land is vast and has no lack of strange things. Disregarding those imperial physicians are better than me, your family’s warehouse must surely have numerous rare medicines hidden. Just bring them out and let the Emperor use them.”

No one bothered with her.

The female Divine Physician licked her lower lips, she suddenly realised she had said too blunt. “Why don’t we do this? I will prescribe some rare life-prolonging medicines for you? It’s just that most of them I had only read before in the medical book. I have never see them. Whether they can be found, it will be fully based on your imperial family’s ability.”

Chu Xun’s eyes finally had some rays of light, like he had caught the little tail of hope. As long as even bits of methods were around, even if he need to search the heaven and earth he had to try them.

It was quite deep in the night.

Chu Xun was wrapped in a very thick cotton-padded quilt. He and Mei Qian Deng the two of them were sitting at the Ming Jue Palace’s rooftop gazing at the moon.

At that time he couldn’t sleep so wrapping in that quilt, he silently got down from the bed and went to find Mei Qian Deng. When Mei Qian Deng drowsily opened the door, she instantly saw the dazed His Highness Crown Prince. He had yet to recover completely from the cold. After receiving such blow, he seemed to be not really well.

The female warrior Mei saw he seemed pitiful so she yielded to him for everything.

“Boor, say, if my Imperial Father is gone, what should I do……”

“Then, it’ll be your turn to be the Emperor.” Mei Qian Deng was not a sentimental young miss, she was a calm and practical one.

Chu Xun turned his head and glanced at her. He didn’t say anymore.

The cold wind rustled. Looking far into the distance from the rooftop, no a bean drop of light of warm and common empathy could be found in the huge imperial palace. Some were destined to be known through the ages yet at the same time destined unable to get some of the most common things. Chu Xun was in deep thinking for a moment before he finally couldn’t stop himself from sneezing.

The female warrior clapped her knees and stood up. She walked down the wind and stretched her hand outward to Chu Xun. She calmly said, “Let’s go down. Don’t fall sick.”

Her eyes were obviously calm without any stir yet Chu Xun saw the warm that he couldn’t refrain from depending on in that pair of clear eyes. It was just like her name. She lighted up a lantern inside the dark side of his heart, the lantern that only belonged to Mei Qian Deng. People said a flower blooming at the tip of the heart. As a future monarch, Chu Xun who was different from others had a cluster of flames coming out from the tip of his heart that able to burn completely a grassland.

Hence in the heat of the thinking, Chu Xun caught Mei Qian Deng’s held out hand. Then, using his strength he pulled it towards himself. Although female warrior Mei had martial arts, she couldn’t help but forget to make any response in such sudden moment. In just a blink of eye, Mei Qian Deng got hugged completely by Chu Xun. Then, before her wide open eyes managed to blink for the second time, His Highness Crown Prince really wanted to say something but when he opened his mouth it turned into a shriek, “Aaahhh! I’m falling!!!”

This incident was accurately reported by Mo Biao to Senior Official Song, “Boss! His Highness Crown Prince actually had a lustful intent towards Little Young Master Mei, pulling Little Young Master into a big hug.”

Senior Official Song was very happy, “Did he manage to take liberty?”

Mo Biao hummed. “But it’s good that His Highness used too much force so his attempt failed. They nearly fell down from the rooftop. In the end, he got saved by Little Young Master in princess hug.”

Senior Official Song beat his chest and stamped his feet. How did I teach such a stupid fellow?!

The next day.

After the morning court ended, the Emperor sent away all those ministers that wanted to stay and continue chatting. He only let His Highness Crown Prince stayed. Chu Xun’s heart was filled with the thought of his Imperial Father didn’t have much time in living world so his beautiful eyes turned watery. He had yet to feel tender when the Emperor without any word picked up the teacup on the imperial table and threw it violently at Chu Xun’s forehead.

“Imperial Father!”

It was a blessing Chu Xun recently had painstakingly learnt martial art. He barely managed to avoid the flying item but one of his shoulders got wet from the tea. He was very surprised and bewildered why his father flared up suddenly without any foreshadow.

The Emperor pointed at Chu Xun’s nose as he scolded, “Zhen has yet to die. You can’t hold it anymore? Little bastard, if you really have the ability, don’t let zhen know your little trick.”

Chu Xun immediately knelt and asked for forgiveness. “Imperial Father, erchen already know wrong. Erchen shouldn’t make own decision and invite Divine Physician Xie to secretly read Imperial Father’s pulse.”

His voice had just stopped when the Emperor used the just picked up cinnabar brush and threw it out. The fresh red colour flew and splashed on Chu Xun’s sleeves. It smeared larger on the wet sleeves due to the previous tea, very eye-catching. Chu Xun’s words were like a firewood, making the Emperor angry even further as he asked in response, “You even secretly did this?!”

What the, Imperial Father actually doesn’t know about it.

Chu Xun felt stupid a little. He didn’t dare to say anything further, letting the Emperor to scold him.

“Why did you secretly investigate Ru Nunnery? What sort of secret can’t be revealed that even zhen can’t know?” the Emperor questioned.

That day when Chu Xun and Mo Nian Yuan reached a consensus about Xiao Jian’s matter, Chu Xun promised Mo Nian Yuan to investigate Ru Nunnery. He was worried the business in the Ru Nunnery would in the end implicated Mei Qian Deng due to the chain reaction. Hence, he only used some of his own dead guards and didn’t dare to tell his father. By right, it obviously wouldn’t have any connection with Mei family but Chu Xun just have to worry unreasonably. What if? What if they had connection?

Now, the Crown Prince Chu Xun saw this matter couldn’t be covered any longer so he could only confess, “All the nuns in the Ru Nunnery are not those proper vegetarians and praying to Buddha. At night, after they close the door, there will be many men feel their way inside. At first erchen only want to capture this money-grabbing lair in order to ensure a correct understanding of the issue. Yet, erchen found out this matter is not that simple. The Ru Nunnery abbess has some secret transaction with one of those male guests. Erchen is still new in the imperial court and is eager for instant success so wants to hide it from Imperial Father and give a big……”

He had confessed but it was not all the truth. He never mentioned Mo Nian Yuan. Mentioning Mo Nian Yuan, what if it made others thought of Mei Qian Deng? That was a very bad one. Chu Xun right now hated he couldn’t shrink Mei Qian Deng and put her inside a bottle before plugging it. If someone turned the matter to the Mei family, he would be able to fish out the bottle and swirled it around for those people to see. Mei Qian Deng had been isolated so she had no connection at all with those nonsense matters.

“Oh? Then, have you found the truth?”

“Already have the prospect. None of that abbess’ frequent customers are this dynasty’s people. Erchen guess it’s related to the northern region. Maybe it’s from Ru Nunnery that those colluders work with the outsiders.”

The Emperor obviously turned lively. He didn’t expect Chu Xun was this promising, to be able to catch such a big ‘melon’ from following the vine[1]. For now, his anger had dissipated as he asked his son, “Then, what hindrance did you meet? Why did you hide it?”

“That abbess is extremely cunning, she didn’t leave any proof. Erchen doesn’t dare to beat the grass and startled the snake so has been secretly keeping a close watch over.”

“Why not dispatch someone in disguise and penetrate into the enemy’s belly?” the Emperor rubbed both his palms.

Chu Xun felt it was a good idea, “But who to dispatch?”

Although the Emperor’s body was not so well, his dragon eyes were still lively. After silently circling three times, he quickly screened suitable candidates in his mind. In the end, he picked a person, “How about Senior Official Song?”

First of all, Senior Official Song was a worldly-wise person. He had experienced all sorts of winds and storms yet his boat never capsized. Plus, Senior Official Song was old, it was much easier to bluff others. No matter where he sat, even if he couldn’t execute that abbess on the spot, bearing the jianghu’s morality of respecting the old and cherishing the young she still had to be respectful three parts to this old man. Maybe, it would be easier to talk. Lastly, the Emperor privately thought Senior Official Song was someone who once roamed the jianghu in the past. If that abbess was someone from jianghu too, with their age difference not that much and coincidentally she knew Senior Official Song who once roamed the jianghu, with some chatters and the problem would be solved.

“Won’t it be too obvious if it’s Senior Official Song?”

“It won’t. Have you see him casually and arbitrarily leave his house?” The Emperor asked in reply. Senior Official Song was the General Director of the imperial family’s ‘Gossip Department’. He was responsible specially to receive information so it was not really good for him to always reveal his face in the public since it was easy to expose his identity. Hence, other than every day coming for the Crown Prince’s classes, Senior Official Song would usually coop up in his house and his movements were completely low-keyed.

The Crown Prince Chu Xun was totally ignorant of it as he answered smoothly, “I have seen it before. Last time we even went to Jie Feng Shop[2] together to try some clothes. He’s already at that age yet still want to try be young. And even before that, he was too lazy to move so he let Mei Qian Deng to collect paintings from the Imperial Art Academy. He is too not honourable as an elder.”

“……”

(Senior Official Song: Aren’t you all discussing about the nation’s issues? Why chat up to laofu?)

Chu Xun had received the Emperor’s secret decree to go to the Ru Nunnery with Senior Official Song to investigate.

Senior Official Song was the one in command. Before they departed, he even pulled along Mei Qian Deng. Di Mu Yang and Zhao Mo Ran sent them all until outside the palace gate. They weren’t sure of Chu Xun’s current motive. Saying the Crown Prince had received the Emperor’s decree to do something outside. The Crown Prince brought only one study partner so the other two really felt it was unfair in their heart.

“Your Highness, bring me along too. The more, the easier to look after.” Di Mu Yang pestered Chu Xun.

“Little Seven, why don’t I follow you all at the back secretly? There are only the old and the young. If you meet any ambush, it’s not easy to fight isn’t it? At least my father is the Martial Arts Alliance Leader. With me around, jianghu people will be respectful of me a bit.” Zhao Mo Ran blindly followed suit at Mei Qian Deng.

Mei Qian Deng and Chu Xun turned their head at the same time and calmly replied in same tone, “No need.”

The three of them were old partners. With the casting of a pervert old man who was raising lots of beautiful young men and Little Deng and Little Long, Senior Official Song sat inside the horse carriage. Grinning, he fished out a paper package. Chu Xun immediately covered his nose. “Senior Official Song, why did you carry stinky tofu?!”

“Come, come, come. On the way from house, laofu came across the tofu stall. They are still warm, freshly cooked from the pot. One piece each. Eat it to block the calamities and send the enemy fleeing helter-skelter.”

Mei Qian Deng was currently having her menstruation and her stomach was cold so she stretched out her hand to grab one and squeezed it inside her mouth but she felt it was not enough. “Crown Prince, are you eating it or not?” If you’re not eating, I’ll eat it then.

The Crown Prince Chu Xun had a huge trauma in his heart regarding Mei Qian Deng snatching his food. When he heard her, with involuntary response he grabbed the whole paper package from Senior Official Song’s hands and hugged it. “Eating, who say not eating?! All of them are mine!”

Such a good progress.

[1] To track something by following the clue. (Original idiom is to follow the vine to get the melon).

[2] Literally, Cutting and Sewing Shop. The shop where they had a fashion show.