CMWKSD -Chapter 145 Amusing Oneself

Li Feng truthfully reported what Jiu Yue had said, and Emperor Fengyuan pondered for a long time.

The young imperial uncle’s health had long been at its end. To put it bluntly, any extra day he lived was a gift.

Emperor Fengyuan, unless absolutely necessary, would only ask a question or two and didn’t even dare to look at him. It wasn’t because he lacked affection for the young imperial uncle—it was precisely because his feelings were too deep that he couldn’t bear to look.

The last days of the Chu family members had been unbearable—sunken cheeks, skin stretched over bones, like living corpses… completely without dignity. Painful, yet utterly devoid of any honor.

There were times, in the dead of night, when Emperor Fengyuan recalled the image of the Chu family members in their final moments. He even thought that if he ever reached such a state himself, he might as well end it all.

But when he looked at the young imperial uncle, he realized that at that point, even ending one’s own life would be impossible. By then, one would be too weak to even lift a knife.

“Bring Jiu Yue here!”

Li Feng bowed and said, “Yes!”

…

Jiu Yue obediently knelt on the ground, sitting perfectly straight, as if not daring to look directly at the emperor. So she fixed her gaze on the desk in front of him, counting the tassels on the deskcloth.

Emperor Fengyuan didn’t speak, and naturally, Jiu Yue remained silent.

The two of them sat in silence for a long time.

At first, Jiu Yue knelt calmly, but as time passed, she began silently grumbling in her head. Kneeling for so long was really uncomfortable! She resolved that one day she must earn a reward from the emperor so she wouldn’t have to kneel for anyone! Her knees were nearly giving out.

Emperor Fengyuan held the cinnabar brush, waiting for Jiu Yue to speak, but today she was unusually quiet. She really never followed the usual rules.

He held the brush tighter. “Do you know, if you’ve spoken so boldly, what fate would await you if Prince Fu were harmed?”

Jiu Yue opened her mouth slightly, not yet able to answer.

The emperor continued, “You are clever, and now you know many palace secrets. Logically, I should have you executed secretly!”

Good heavens, where did this come from?

Jiu Yue glanced cautiously at the emperor—he didn’t seem angry. She racked her brain. In that case, flattery was the safest option.

“Your Majesty is wise and mighty, unparalleled in skill, admired by all…”

Emperor Fengyuan was about to annotate a memorial when Jiu Yue suddenly started lavishly praising him. One had to admit, her idiom vocabulary was impressive.

But as she continued, something felt off.

Furrowing his brows, Emperor Fengyuan wondered—was she really trying to flatter him? Some people really couldn’t even flatter properly—they just made a mess of it.

He couldn’t even continue reading the memorial, and focused on listening to her, curious to see just how absurd she would get.

Somewhere along the way, Jiu Yue had finished a string of idioms and suddenly burst into laughter.

She had amused herself!

Emperor Fengyuan was left both exasperated and amused. He didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh. His hand trembled so much he could barely hold the brush.

Looking up, he saw Jiu Yue covering her mouth with a small movement, shoulders shaking slightly—she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

“What’s so funny?”

Seeing her smile, eyes curved in joy, a faint smile crept onto the emperor’s own face.

Jiu Yue still knelt obediently, though after so long she had shifted her weight onto her calves. Her demure, self-amusing demeanor made it impossible for the emperor to feel any irritation. No one had ever relaxed like this in his presence.

Though Jiu Yue’s actions were unconventional, overall she caused no real trouble.

Jiu Yue pressed her lips together, trying to stifle her laughter, but soon couldn’t contain herself and bit her lip. After spending a few days with Emperor Fengyuan, it was nothing like she had imagined.

He gave off the air of a slightly stern elder—not the type to roar in anger:

“You all shall accompany me in death! Cut them down! Kill!”

Emperor Fengyuan was not that type of person, so occasionally, Jiu Yue forgot he was the emperor—ruler of life and death in this dynasty.

Having lived nearly twenty years in the modern world, and only a year or two in the Qi dynasty, she hadn’t been fully assimilated yet.

“Why? You praised me so much, then got amused yourself—is it because I’m unworthy of your words?”

Jiu Yue hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no…”

Emperor Fengyuan stood and walked to her, looking down from above. “Then what is this?”

Jiu Yue craned her neck uncomfortably and chuckled. “Your Majesty, as you know, I was born in the countryside and haven’t studied much. I racked my brains to come up with a few idioms to praise you. I worried I wouldn’t speak them well, so I tried connecting them like a chain: the last character of one idiom sounds like the first character of the next.”

She started laughing again. “See? I ended up saying do as one pleases. The first and last characters are the same, so I can keep saying ‘do as one pleases,’ do as one pleases!”

“Ha ha ha ha…”

Just like that, she burst into a goose-like laugh, making Emperor Fengyuan laugh as well.

“‘Do as one pleases’? Listen to yourself—how is that flattering?”

Jiu Yue blinked, kneeling there looking pitiful and fragile, which, when paired with her bright and bold little face, almost did make her look endearingly helpless.

But remembering how she had beaten Ling Mo and calmly treated Shen Zongsheng’s mangled leg, the emperor realized appearances could be deceiving—especially for this girl.

“How long will it take to detoxify him?”

Even a matter as serious as detoxifying a royal became lighter with Jiu Yue’s humor.

“I haven’t examined Prince Fu yet. Once I do, I’ll confirm, but it shouldn’t take more than a month. Detoxification, then two months of recuperation, and he should be fine.”

Emperor Fengyuan nodded. There was another matter he had been pondering for days. With the crown prince heirless, the stability of the dynasty was at stake. The second prince’s condition affected everything. It couldn’t be handled casually. The best solution was for the crown prince to have an heir soon, shutting people up.

“Can the crown prince… still have children?”

Jiu Yue’s face scrunched in concentration. Normally, she only enjoyed amusing herself, reading texts calmly. But this question seemed to trigger some automatic reaction in her brain. Without thinking, she blurted, “The crown prince can still have children? Wow, he’s amazing!”

She almost raised her hands to clap.

Emperor Fengyuan and Li Feng exchanged glances, both feeling something was odd. But judging by Jiu Yue, it seemed the Chu family would indeed end with no heirs.

Emperor Fengyuan felt uneasy in his chest.

Jiu Yue noticed the flicker in the emperor’s expression and suddenly realized she might have said something odd just now.