Song Jian went to work with a long face for the next ‘n’ days.
After court that day, outside the Golden Throne Hall—
Song Jian had just finished his duty shift and was walking along absentmindedly when he suddenly heard someone call him several times.
“Lord Song!”
“Lord Song!”
He looked up and saw that it was Yi Geren.
Yi Geren jogged over and stuffed a wrapped bundle into his arms.
“Lord Song, my wife made these pastries and insisted I bring them for you to try. I hope you won’t dislike them.”
Holding the pastries, Song Jian’s eyes finally lit up again after several days.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yinghuai walked along the corridor. Seeing the two of them from afar, he casually asked,
“Is that Yi Geren from Honglu Temple?”
Gong Defu looked over and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty, it is Lord Yi.”
Xiao Yinghuai said, “The two of them seem to have grown rather close lately.”
Gong Defu answered, “A few days ago, Lord Song led people to recover the Yi family’s lost pets. Lord Yi and Madam Yi are both extremely grateful to Lord Song, so they’ve naturally become somewhat closer these past few days…”
Halfway through speaking, Gong Defu suddenly froze.
Realizing something, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly added,
“What this old servant means is that Lord Song handled the case under Your Majesty’s orders. Since Lord Yi is grateful to Lord Song, he must also be grateful for Your Majesty’s benevolent kindness.”
Xiao Yinghuai glanced at Gong Defu.
Gong Defu was so frightened he didn’t even dare wipe away his sweat.
After a pause, Xiao Yinghuai let out a mocking laugh.
“I didn’t know I meant that. You certainly know how to interpret things.”
Gong Defu: “…”
That afternoon, Song Jian was standing guard in the Imperial Study.
After going outside to inspect the surroundings and hopping back inside, he met the Emperor’s gaze for the third time.
Unable to hold back any longer, Song Jian carefully asked,
“Your Majesty… is there a flower on my face?”
Xiao Yinghuai said nothing.
Song Jian stood there, completely confused.
After a long while—
“I see you’re in quite a good mood today.”
Song Jian blinked.
The next second—
“Hehe~”
He’d been found out.
Xiao Yinghuai withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes to the memorials.
“What has made you so happy? Tell me as well.”
Song Jian trotted over and stopped beside him.
Then he rummaged around in his robes until he pulled out a small oil-paper package and showed it to him.
“Your Majesty, these are pastries Madam Yi made for this subordinate.”
Xiao Yinghuai glanced at them, waiting for him to continue.
But after waiting quite some time without hearing anything else, Xiao Yinghuai realized…
The person beside him had already finished speaking.
“A single package of pastries makes you this happy?”
Song Jian replied, “Your Majesty, this isn’t an ordinary package of pastries!”
Xiao Yinghuai thought there might be little gold beans hidden inside.
Instead, he heard the young man declare confidently,
“This is Lord Yi’s and Madam Yi’s recognition of this subordinate’s ability to handle cases, and it’s also their reward for this subordinate’s work!”
Song Jian clenched a fist.
“So! These aren’t just pastries! They’re honor!”
Xiao Yinghuai said, “When we solved the river funds embezzlement case, I also rewarded you with little gold beans. Why weren’t you this happy then?”
Song Jian shook his head.
“Your Majesty, that’s different.”
“How is it different?” Xiao Yinghuai asked.
Song Jian’s eyes shone brightly.
“The greatest contribution in the river funds embezzlement case belonged to Huai Yi. This subordinate merely picked up an easy opportunity. This case is the first one this subordinate truly solved.”
Xiao Yinghuai raised a brow.
Everyone else always tried every possible way to claim great achievements for themselves.
Yet the person before him insisted on claiming only the small ones.
How unusual.
Song Jian continued, “Although this subordinate really was rather depressed because of certain things a few days ago, compared to this, those things are insignificant!”
Xiao Yinghuai said, “Even the people at the prefectural office didn’t take the Yi family’s case seriously. Yet you cared so much.”
After hearing those words, Song Jian suddenly fell silent.
Xiao Yinghuai: “?”
After quite a while, the young man pursed his lips and quietly asked,
“Your Majesty… did you also not take it seriously?”
Xiao Yinghuai: “…”
“So that’s why you had this subordinate handle the case, isn’t it?”
Xiao Yinghuai fell silent for a moment before lifting his eyes.
“Are you asking me?”
If Gong Defu had been the one standing here, hearing that tone would have been enough to know the Emperor was displeased.
He would never have dared say another word and would already have knelt down to kowtow and beg His Majesty to calm his anger.
But Song Jian didn’t pick up on it at all. Instead, he nodded earnestly. “Mm!”
Xiao Yinghuai dipped his brush in vermilion ink, intending not to pay him any more attention.
Yet after writing only a few characters, he inexplicably spoke.
“No.”
The young man immediately smiled, “I knew it.”
Xiao Yinghuai replied evenly, “So now you know everything, do you?”
Song Jian straightened proudly, as though praising himself.
“Of course! This subordinate already said Your Majesty is a very good person. Your Majesty is different from everyone else.”
Xiao Yinghuai’s hand paused for a brief instant.
It lasted only for an instant before he continued writing.
His voice remained calm.
“Song Jian, that should not become your sole basis for distinguishing right from wrong, or good from evil.”
“Two years ago, in the Qin faction case, I ordered the execution of over ten thousand people. In the river funds embezzlement case, Cheng Yujin’s entire clan was exiled. Dozens of officials involved in Changning were imprisoned. Even earlier than that, I killed countless people on the battlefield. You simply never saw it.”
“I have never claimed to be a good person.”
Silence once again settled beside him.
Not long afterward, Xiao Yinghuai finished reviewing the memorial before him and set down his brush.
“I’m going to take a walk to the lakeside pavilion.”
The doors of the Imperial Study opened.
The man walked outside.
Gong Defu hurried after him carrying a cloak.
“Your Majesty, it’s cold outside. Please be careful not to catch a chill.”
Xiao Yinghuai fastened his cloak and had only taken two steps when the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind.
“Your Majesty! Wait for me!”
Xiao Yinghuai glanced back.
The young man jogged after him.
“Your Majesty, you’re being stubborn!”
Gong Defu almost thought he had misheard.
His eyes widened as he reached out to stop him.
“Oh, my dear ancestor! How can you be so disrespectful to His Majesty? How could you say something like that…”
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Yinghuai said,
“Let him speak.”
“You always say this subordinate’s standards for judging right and wrong, good and evil, are too shallow.”
“But the truth is, everyone ignored Lord Yi’s case. Everyone thought it was insignificant. Everyone thought it wasn’t worth the time or manpower. Only Your Majesty ordered this subordinate to take men and search.”
“You could have let the prefectural office drag it out and close the case carelessly.”
“But you didn’t.”
Gong Defu looked as frightened as a startled donkey.
“Oh my… oh my, oh my, oh my!”
Xiao Yinghuai said nothing.
He simply continued walking forward.
Song Jian remained standing where he was.
Gong Defu walked over and whispered, “Lord Song, when serving at His Majesty’s side, you must learn to speak and act with caution. Some things can be said, and some things cannot…”
Before he could finish, the man’s deep voice came from ahead.
“Why are you standing back there instead of following?”
Song Jian’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Hehe~”
He hurried after him.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…”
Gong Defu stood behind them, somewhat dumbfounded.
He listened to the conversation between the Emperor and the young man.
“For a case that no one else cared about, why did you care so much? Was it also because you wanted those who do good to receive good in return?”
The young man smiled shyly.
“Not exactly. This subordinate memorized another saying too.”
“Oh?”
The young man declared loudly,
“Do not refrain from doing good because it is small!”
A faint smile appeared in the Emperor’s eyes.
Gong Defu: “uhh… uh…”
Good heavens…
How many years had it been since His Majesty smiled like this?
—
The lakeside pavilion.
Song Jian had been to this pavilion on Lingyan Lake once before.
That was when he had just been released from the imperial prison.
Back then, he had been too frightened to properly admire the scenery around Lingyan Lake.
Now that he looked again, there was a small view every three steps and a grand one every five. Even in winter, it possessed its own unique charm.
Xu Xian had once again been summoned from the Ministry of Rites, and was now in the pavilion, brewing tea and playing chess with the emperor.
“Your Majesty’s style of chess… seems gentler now.”
Xiao Yinghuai had heard the same remark from Wuwei before.
His slender fingers rested lightly on the edge of the chess container.
“The state of one’s mind has changed. Naturally, so has one’s game.”
Hearing this, Xu Xian lifted his gaze and glanced at the person squatting behind the Emperor, drawing circles on the ground.
He chuckled softly.
He understood.
At this moment, Song Jian had already yawned several times.
Xiao Yinghuai had clearly said they were coming out for a walk.
So why had he started playing chess?
Is playing chess considered taking a walk?
Liar.
He squatted behind them for a while until his legs went numb.
Then he stood up and wandered around the pavilion.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Listening to the sounds behind him, Xiao Yinghuai: “…”
Fortunately, before long, the wandering person grew tired and flopped down onto the cushion beside him.
Song Jian yawned.
“Ahhh—haaah—”
He wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes and watched the silent battle between ruler and minister across the chessboard.
“…”
Why is there no phone? He also wants to play too—he wants to go to King’s Canyon1王者峽谷 “King’s Canyon” refers to the main battlefield/map in the mobile game Honor of Kings (王者荣耀) (similar to a MOBA battlefield) and ‘All troops, attack!’2全軍出擊 “All troops, attack!” is the game’s start/battle command voice line
Song Jian yawned again and lowered his head to pick at his fingers.
As he absentmindedly did so, his gaze suddenly landed on the Emperor’s cloak.
He sniffed lightly, looked away as though nothing had happened.
While concentrating on the chess game, Xiao Yinghuai clearly felt someone gently poke a spot on his back with a finger.
One poke wasn’t enough.
The finger even moved to different spots.
Heh.
Sometimes having overly profound internal energy wasn’t such a good thing.
Song Jian remained completely unaware.
His touch was as light as it could be.
He merely wanted to feel the exquisite embroidered dragon pattern on the cloak.
Xiao Yinghuai ignored the little movements and continued focusing on the game.
Half a quarter of an hour later—
Thunk.
The person curled up beside him had already fallen asleep, his head landing squarely against Xiao Yinghuai’s arm.
At the very same moment—
Clatter…
The chess piece in Xiao Yinghuai’s hand went flying.
Song Jian had no idea he had accidentally triggered his “100% chance of knocking whatever his boss was holding out of their hand” skill.
By then, he was already sound asleep, meeting the Duke of Zhou in his dreams.3“Meeting the Duke of Zhou” (会周公) is a traditional Chinese expression for falling asleep or dreaming. It originates from Confucius, who was said to have dreamed of the Duke of Zhou, a revered historical figure of the early Zhou dynasty.
“Miamiamiamia~”
A smile lingered at Xu Xian’s lips as he silently picked up the chess piece for the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, it’s your move.”
Song Jian slept exceptionally well.
When he opened his eyes, the sky had just begun to darken.
Several braziers burned inside the pavilion, making even the open-air space pleasantly warm.
Still groggy, it took him quite a while to realize he was covered with a cloak.
Oh crap.
Song Jian shot upright.
A bright red crease was imprinted across one cheek.
Xu Xian and the Emperor were no longer inside the pavilion.
They were standing outside in the covered walkway, apparently discussing something.
The moment Song Jian got to his feet, he hurried outside.
“Your Majesty! This subordinate knows he was wrong!”
Hearing the voice, Xiao Yinghuai glanced over.
“How so?”
“As for the list of this year’s examination candidates, nothing unusual stands out…”
“This subordinate shouldn’t have fallen asleep without permission!”
Only after shouting did Song Jian realize…
Xiao Yinghuai hadn’t been talking to him at all!
He quietly shrank back a little and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Only after Xu Xian withdrew did the man’s gaze fall upon him.
Song Jian immediately assumed a repentant expression.
Xiao Yinghuai said, “Since you’re awake, accompany me on another walk.”
Song Jian looked up.
“…?”
He hurried after him.
As they walked, light snow suddenly began drifting from the sky.
The tiny white flakes, like grains of rice, vanished the moment they touched the lake.
Song Jian was from the south.
He had never seen such a sight.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! It’s snowing! It’s snowing!”
“I’m not blind.”
“It’s snow, Your Majesty! Snow! Look at the snow!”
“…”
“Woo!!”
“Wow!!!”
“Snow!!!”
Xiao Yinghuai thought the look of amazement on the person before him was somehow even more interesting than the season’s first snowfall itself.
You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨
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Barry On QG Chapter22