CH 43

October 8, 2022Merchie

Qi Changyi’s face was still bright red when he returned to his tent.

Li Yu waited cautiously until Pei Zheng left before he poked his head out from the corner and walked over. “Your Highness, Lord Pei didn’t do anything mean again, did he?”

Qi Changyi stammered, “He, he didn’t.”

Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t prejudiced against Lord Pei; he just couldn’t trust him due to his…not-so-clean track record in regard to His Highness.

“Your Highness, you should sleep earlier today.”

Qi Changyi cleaned himself up a bit and laid down on the bed.

His mind was still full of Pei Zheng and how gentle he was tonight. He had taken him on horseback to see the moon, kissed him at the edge of a windy cliff, and gazed at him with deep eyes that were filled with inexplicable sweetness.

The more Qi Changyi thought about it, the faster his heart thumped in his little chest. He tossed and turned; it wasn’t until after midnight that he finally fell asleep.

It was almost noon when he woke up.

Li Yu brought him something to eat, “Your Highness, do you want to go outside and take a look? I heard that Lord Pei caught the most prey today. His Majesty was very happy and rewarded him.”

Qi Changyi suddenly felt very proud. His entire body straightened, and he practically strutted out of the tent with Li Yu.

Many people had already gathered in front of the Emperor’s tent. Qi Changyi’s ‘automatic people-searching sensors’ were activated, and he scanned the scene with darting eyes. He spotted Pei Zheng at a glance; he was standing in the center of the crowd.

He was still holding his bow and arrows, and his lips were curved upwards. He listened to the Emperor list all the rewards with a small smile.

Next to him stood A’mu Le, whose face was filled with indignation. However, he could only watch with cold eyes as the Emperor of the Celestial Dynasty and his most favored minister engaged in a ritualistic show of etiquette.

So the hunt really ended up like this. A’mu Le had originally planned to take this opportunity to embarrass those weak, fragile princes and nobles. He didn’t expect that Pei Zheng would steal the spotlight from him and the other barbarians.

Soon after, everybody returned to the palace. Though Qi Changyi was reluctant, he had no choice but to return to his residence, his cage.

On the second day after returning to the palace, a chief eunuch bearing an imperial decree arrived at his doorstep.

Qi Changyi had been sitting in the courtyard, weaving rabbits out of dog-tail grass and straw. He had already woven enough to cover a stone table, and he was busy giving them all names. “Xiaoxiao”, “Baibai”, Tutu”…

The chief eunuch holding the golden silk scroll stood in front of Qi Changyi. He spoke in a high-pitched voice, “Prince Qi Changyi, please accept the imperial decree.”

All of the servants immediately rushed out and knelt down beside their little Highness.

“By the Emperor’s edict, Prince Qi Changyi has been chosen as the candidate for the marriage alliance between the Celestial Dynasty and the southwestern barbarian tribe. He will leave for the borderlands in two days, alongside Envoy A’mu Le. From this day forward, the bond between the Celestial Dynasty and the southwestern barbarian tribe must remain strong; he must work diligently to preserve the peace between our nations. Accept the edict1.”

Wh…What? Marriage alliance?

The candidate for a marriage alliance was merely a bargaining chip for their nation, someone who was sent thousands of miles away to an unfamiliar place and used as a tool for political gains.

Qi Changyi was stupid and couldn’t understand many things, but he understood the meaning of this decree perfectly. His Royal Father wanted to send him far away, and have him marry the barbarians’ clan leader!

“Your Highness, Your Highness! Sending him to the cold and barren borderlands, how is His Highness supposed to survive?!”

“Wuuu…His Majesty is sending His Highness to his death!”

“Gonggong*, could it be that you read the edict wrong? How could it be our Highness, that’s impossible!”

Several eunuchs and maids burst into tears. In their hearts, they felt both disbelief and pity for the little man, who was still kneeling on the ground, motionless.

The chief eunuch’s face softened a little, and he held out the golden scroll to Qi Changyi, “Your Highness, please accept the decree.”

Only then did Qi Changyi raise his head. His eyes were red, and his lips were bloodless. “Gonggong, is it, is it really true? Was this…personally written by Royal Father?”

The chief eunuch clapped once, and a long line of maids filed out behind him. They all came forward and presented the exquisite brocade, jades, and gold treasures bestowed by the Emperor.

“Your Highness, look, all of this was bestowed by His Majesty, how can it be fake? Anyone who dares to fake an imperial edict will surely lose his head.”

Qi Changyi reached out and took the golden scroll. He nodded dazedly, “Thank you, gonggong.”

The chief eunuch gazed down at his soulless appearance, sighed, and turned to walk away.

Tears were running down Li Yu’s face as he ran forward to pull Qi Changyi off the ground, but he suddenly couldn’t find the strength to do so.

He called out to the other servants, who were also sobbing. “What are you all doing, quickly, help His Highness up!”

Qi Changyi shifted his body and tried to stand up. But the moment he straightened his back, his legs turned into jelly and he collapsed to the ground. The skin on his palm was scraped into a raw wound, and blood began to flow out of it.

Several servants rushed forward to help him up. Li Yu couldn’t stop crying, “Your Highness, please stand up, the ground is cold.”

It was like he couldn’t even feel the pain from his hand. Qi Changyi reached out and picked up the golden scroll that had fallen to the ground. He hugged it to his chest and buried his head in his knees.

Li Yu dismissed the rest of the servants and knelt down beside Qi Changyi.

The little man’s shoulders began to shake violently. Perhaps he was crying so hard that he couldn’t catch his breath; Li Yu could only hear a few low sobs and whimpers.

He cried until he no longer had the strength to do so. The shaking of his shoulders gradually ceased, but he still didn’t move. He curled into a ball on the ground, like an injured little rabbit that was shivering in pain.

“Xiao Yuzi.” His voice was quiet and a little hoarse.

Li Yu sobbed, “Your Highness.”

“Why would Royal Father do this? Does he not want me anymore? Did I make him angry, or embarrass him because I’m too stupid? That must be why, why he wants to throw me far, far away, and never see me again…”

Crystal tears beaded at the corners of Qi Changyi’s eyes, and the larger ones immediately rolled down.

“I really, I tried really hard, I tried really hard to be better, but Royal Father still doesn’t like me.”

Qi Changyi unconsciously clenched the imperial decree in his hands. Every word written on it was like a sharp, cold blade that stabbed at his heart.

The blood on his palm dyed the golden silk red, and Li Yu hurriedly pried his hand open.

“Your Highness, Your Highness! You can’t, you’re injured!”

But Qi Changyi didn’t seem to hear him; he merely continued to mumble to himself, his incoherent words mixed with desperate sobs.

“Royal Father never liked me because I was too stupid. Fourth brother is much smarter than me, and the rest of my brothers are all very good too. I’m the only one…nobody likes me. Everyone called me stupid, no one ever wanted to play with me.”

“Tang-gege was the first person who was willing to talk to me and play with me. But he left, he went to fight the war at the borderlands, and I was all alone again.”

“But fortunately, I met Pei-gege. He’s really scary, but every time someone tries to bully me, he protects me. Also, sometimes, he can be very sweet and gentle. It’s just that…it seems like he doesn’t like me very much.”

Li Yu tore a piece of cloth off the hem of his robes and hurriedly wiped his tears. He quickly wrapped Qi Changyi’s palm to stop the bleeding, “Your Highness, stop talking, don’t say anymore…”

Qi Changyi’s eyes became distant, and he stared at the ground for a long time. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile. He looked so pained and heartbroken, yet his poignant smile was still filled with warmth.

“Xiao Yuzi, I miss my mother. Everything would be better if she was still here. Every time she blew on my wounds, they wouldn’t hurt anymore.”

“After Mother left, I learned how to be strong and endure the pain. But really, I’m still scared of pain, but I tell myself to endure it. If Mother saw it from the heavens, she would worry about me.”

Li Yu couldn’t bear to listen anymore, he stood up and spoke, “Your Highness, please wait here, I’ll go inside and get the ointment, once I apply some on your wound, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Li Yu rushed into the inner room and rummaged through all the boxes that Imperial Physician Jiang had left behind. He finally found the ointment and ran back outside, only to discover that Qi Changyi, who had just been kneeling on the ground, was nowhere to be seen.

Qi Changyi hugged the golden scroll, his destiny, close to his chest. He wove through the red and yellow walls, walking with heavy steps.

He had reached a certain hall, the Emperor’s daytime study.

He wanted to go in and ask his Royal Father if he really didn’t want him anymore, but he was stopped by the guard at the door.

“Your Highness, His Majesty has already issued the decree. He doesn’t want to see you. Please go back.”

Qi Changyi’s eyes were burning, but he tried to hold back his tears. He nodded silently and walked a little farther away before he knelt on the ground in front of the door.

If Royal Father didn’t want to see him, he would simply kneel outside and wait for him to come out.

But the little man knelt for the entire day. Night had fallen, but there was still no sign of the Emperor.

His knees were aching, and the blood on his palm had already dried. But none of this could compare to the pain in his heart.

This whole time, the Emperor had known that Qi Changyi was outside. He had spent all day reading the court officials’ reports, and one of them was a criticism of the marriage alliance.

The decree had been issued, but the marriage alliance would not be publicized. However, the ministers of the court still disagreed with the decision and were clamoring to have Pei Zheng impeached for this ridiculous idea.

A chief eunuch brought out a cup of tea and spoke respectfully, “Your Majesty, he’s been kneeling outside all day, and it’s going to rain soon.”

The Emperor put down his brush, pinched his eyebrows, and sighed. “He’s just like his mother, albeit a bit stupid.”

Just as he spoke, rain began to pour from the sky; it was like a thick velvet curtain, nothing could be seen through it.

The little figure kneeling outside was soaked to the bone by the freezing cold rain. He could hardly even kneel properly anymore, but he still refused to leave.

An umbrella suddenly appeared over his head. A white-clad figure stood beside him; the hem of his robe was splattered with rain and mud.

“Go back.” Qi Changfeng held the umbrella over Qi Changyi and stared at the door for a while. Royal Father was truly determined not to see him.

“You’re going to catch a cold if you stay out here. Two, two days from now, you’ll be leaving with A’mu Le and the others. The journey will be long and difficult, you must take good care of yourself.”

Qi Changyi’s nose was clogged. He sniffled, “Fourth brother, I won’t leave. I must see Royal Father, only for a little bit. I need him to take his decree back.”

When Qi Changfeng heard his repressed sobs, he could no longer bear to keep the truth from him. “Royal Father won’t see you, and it’s impossible to take back an imperial decree. Besides, this wasn’t Royal Father’s decision.”

“It wasn’t Royal Father? Then who was it?”

The grief in Qi Changyi’s heart lessened slightly. So Royal Father didn’t completely despise him after all.

“It was Pei Zheng.”

Those words were like an earth-shattering stroke of lightning.

Qi Changyi’s entire body froze, and his eyes widened.

Impossible.

Impossible.

That’s impossible!

It had to be someone else, anyone but Pei-gege.

Notes

Hey! If you got to the end, I’m very proud of you. I’ll reward you with this shameless self plug:

So I recently joined a danmei audio drama subbing group, we’re working on a bunch of cool projects like 2ha, qianqiu, copper coins and more! Check out the tumblr here: https://treasurechestsubs.tumblr.com/

There’s a link to apply to join the discord in there, so if you do join, say hi c;

Okay we’re done with that jesus christ these chapters are long, I hope the author didn’t get too many tickets but I already know for a fact there’s a 6k chapter later hnngh, sorry this title is also a bit ridiculous, the phrase was actually ‘the ninth prince is being sent away for marriage’

Anyway thanks for reading~

1: 钦此: It means like uh be grateful for this basically, but that sounds even worse especially in this context. I’m sure there’s a better translation for it but I can’t find it in my brain at the moment.

2. 公公: like 姑姑, except this is what higher-ranking eunuchs are called.