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Chapter 26: Your Highness, Where Do You Think You’re Going?
The third princess made a huge fuss about Yingying’s death by drowning, and she had done so in front of the Emperor and many other witnesses. The Emperor had previously concealed the matter of her attempted lynching of Qi Changyi, but he could no longer hide it at this point.
Several court officials, including Pei Zheng, had been standing in the hall, until the Emperor angrily ordered someone to take the sobbing third princess away. Only then did Pei Zheng lower his head as the corners of his mouth hooked upward.
At the end of the whole fiasco, the initial target Qi Changyi had only received a light sentence of a three-day house arrest, while the Emperor’s beloved third princess was going to be locked up for three months. It was unclear who was favored and who wasn’t.
The servants of Qi Changyi’s palace were overjoyed. Their master had still received a punishment, but they were so happy that it seemed like they had been rewarded instead.
During the three-day period, the only visitor was Imperial Physician Jiang, who came by a few times to deliver more ointment and herbs for internal recovery.
Qi Changyi’s wounds were recovering quickly, and they were beginning to fade. However, there were still traces of pink on his soft white skin, so he still had to apply the ointment daily.
He was almost finished copying the “Thousand Poems”. He hadn’t busied himself at the desk all day for nothing.
When a junior eunuch at the door hurried inside with a report, he found Qi Changyi lying with his head on the desk, sleeping soundly.
“Your Highness, Your Highness, wake up, the fourth prince is here!”
Qi Changyi was so startled that he almost fell out of his chair.
“Fourth brother finally came to see me.” Qi Changyi felt a little happy in his heart. He ran into the courtyard to greet the fourth prince.
Although his fourth brother always treated him with indifference, the two were still brothers from the same mother after all. Qi Changyi always trusted his big brother, and he felt he could rely on him.
“Fourth brother!” Qi Changyi trotted over to meet him, panting slightly.
Upon seeing his carefree appearance, Qi Changfeng frowned. “How many times have I told you that it isn’t appropriate to shout and run in the palace. You need to act with prudence, no matter where you are.”
Qi Changyi nodded obediently. “I understand. I won’t do it again.”
Qi Changfeng stood still and spoke, “I have also heard about the matter regarding the third princess. Royal Father has so many children, and the third princess is his favorite, yet you still want to force a relationship with her.”
Qi Changfeng continued sternly, “I don’t know what to say. You have no power and no support in the palace, you need to be extremely careful when dealing with people. If you make a single misstep, someone with malicious intentions could pull me down with you…”
Seeing that Qi Changyi had his head lowered and was listening intently, Qi Changfeng sighed, “It’s useless to keep talking. Either way, you won’t understand.”
Qi Changyi raised his head, revealing a pair of pure and harmless eyes. “Fourth brother, I understand. You’re telling me this because you’re worried about me, right?”
Qi Changfeng turned his body sideways, glanced at the door, and grunted an impatient “mm”. “It’s good to see that you’re doing fine. I’ll be leaving now, someone else will come to visit you in a little bit.”
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Qi Changyi stood in place, gazing at Qi Changfeng’s receding figure. Fourth brother had left in such a hurry, he didn’t even have time to invite him inside.
Not long after Qi Changfeng left, another figure slipped in from outside the door. Upon seeing Qi Changyi standing in the courtyard, he walked over and hugged his small body.
“Changyi, it’s good that you’re doing well, good that you’re doing well.”
As he spoke, Zhao Litang gently stroked Qi Changyi’s black hair, in the same way he had done when he was a child.
But now, Qi Changyi seemed a little nervous in his arms, trying to avoid his hands, even struggling against his embrace.
Zhao Litang had been fighting on the battlefield all year round, defeating countless enemies. His arms were like a wall of metal; strong and hard. Of course, Qi Changyi couldn’t break free with his thin limbs.
When Qi Changyi thought of Pei Zheng’s warning to him, he was anxious to the point of crying.
“Tang-gege, let go of me, please let go of me first, okay? I’m begging you, hurry and let me go…”
Zhao Litang froze when he heard Qi Changyi’s sobs. He quickly opened his arms, and QI Changyi jumped away like a little hare.
“Changyi, you…you really don’t want to see me?”
Zhao Litang’s eyes were full of grief. He had to waste a lot of effort in negotiating with the fourth prince in order to let him enter the palace; he was desperate to see Qi Changyi.
When he heard that Qi Changyi had been sent to the Office of Careful Punishment, he was so anxious he nearly broke into the palace. However, he was stopped by several subordinates1.
He had exhausted his efforts to visit Qi Changyi, but was met with opposition; the little man would not even let Zhao Litang touch him.
At this moment, the footsteps of patrolling guards echoed thunderously from outside the gate. Zhao Litang grabbed Qi Changyi and retreated into the hall, closing the door behind them. As a provincial official, he was not allowed to enter the palace, so he definitely couldn’t be caught inside the prince’s residence.
“Tang-gege, it’s not that I don’t want to see you, it’s just, isn’t it fine if we just talk like this?” Qi Changyi stood a few paces away from Zhao Litang, his voice soft.
“In the past, Mr. Grand Tutor2 taught me that it isn’t proper to hug and cuddle with others once you grow up.”
Seeing his meek appearance, Zhao Litang couldn’t hold back the anger in his heart, “So I can’t hug you, but Pei Zheng can?”
When he thought about how obedient Qi Changyi was in Pei Zheng’s arms, Zhao Litang was about to go mad from jealousy. He regretted that he didn’t keep Qi Changyi by his side all these years. This little man he had guarded so carefully in youth was actually snatched by that dog thief Pei Zheng.
“That’s…That’s not what I meant.”
Zhao Litang stepped forward and asked, “Then what do you mean? Changyi, you have a simple mind and don’t understand a lot of things. I am fully aware of how Pei Zheng sees you.”
He extended his hand and pulled Qi Changyi closer. “Tell me the truth. Pei Zheng, has he done anything to you?”
Qi Changyi stared at Zhao Litang blankly, “What? What would Pei-gege do to me?”
Zhao Litang frowned; he didn’t know how to explain it. “That is, did he take off all your clothes?”
Qi Changyi thought back, and his ears immediately burned red. He lowered his head and whispered, “He did…”
Zhao Litang clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “Pei Zheng! He actually has the balls to do this!”
He asked again, “Then did he take off his clothes?”
Qi Changyi’s ears had brightened a shade. “Never…”
Zhao Litang breathed a sigh of relief. He stared stoically at the little man in front of him, and asked in a low voice, “Changyi, are you willing to come with me? I will take you to the borderlands, and I won’t ever leave you, okay?”
Qi Changyi’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Tang-gege…”
Zhao Litang continued to press, “Do you want to?”
Qi Changyi’s eyebrows creased as he pondered Zhao Litang’s words, when the roof beam above their heads suddenly began to shake, and roof tiles began to fall with a ‘crack’.
Zhao Litang shouted in a deep voice, “Who’s there?!”
He quickly jumped out of an open window, chasing after the figure standing on the beam above them.
Qi Changyi was scared to death. He rammed his back into the palace door, trying to open it again and again, but he merely crashed into someone’s broad chest instead.
The shadowy figure sneered coldly and said in a low voice, “Your highness, where do you think you’re going?”
Notes
Damn Changfeng you trash gege, I’m lucky that I have a good big brother and he’s nice to me even though sometimes I’m a little like Changyi hahahaha, be grateful for your siblings c:
Also I don’t remember Zhao Litang being jealous oooooooooh
The little Grammarly face in the corner: :c
1: 部下, subordinates. I was going to say ‘underlings’ but it’s not specified whose underlings they are so it sounds clunky af either way.
2: 太傅, Grand Tutor. One of the top three civil official posts, usually teaches the royal children as well. Changyi did call him ‘先生’ which I translated as ‘Mr.’ because it sounded more childish.