Tian Qi is currently regretting her decision. She calculated everything, but forgot to think about the Emperorâs feelings. If he gets angry once he finds out she has chickenpox and drives her out of Gan Qing Palace, all the measures she took will be useless.
She decided she must see the Emperor in order to butter him up and show him how loyal she is, so he can give her some time to right her wrongs rather than abandon her.
Sitting all alone in a small room was boring. Tian Qi shrank on the wooden bed, holding a wooden stick, muttered with her eyes closed âThe spirit of the heavens is efficient, and the emperor sent me on this trip to change!â She opened her eyes and that was when she saw the man standing outside the window.
âAiya!!!â Tian Qi was so scared she fell off the bed.
Ji Hengâs face was full of black lines. He asked the physician who led the way to his chamber âDid his brain get burned?â
The physician took this opportunity to complain âAnswering Your Majesty,do not let the servant get close to you, he is not taking medicine.â
Ji Heng turned his head and looked at Tian Qi inside her room âWhatâs wrong with you? Donât die.â
Tian Qi got up from the floor and she excitedly got to the window. âYour Majesty, the Emperor, it really is you! Iâm not dreaming. I must be dreaming since I also dreamt about you yesterday.â
Ji Hengâs face eased. He looked at the person in front of him. The usual white and tender skin grew a lot of spots from the chickenpox. It was terrible. All those spots couldnât cover his surprise. Ji Heng looked at the stupid look on Tian Qiâs face and frowned. âHow come youâre not taking your medicine?â
âBecause I am not sickâ, Tian Qi thought. She squeezed a few drops of tears and complained âEmperor, this servant does not want the medicine provided, does not dare to eat it⌠Someone intends to harm me!â In any case, it happened before.
âWho dares to hurt you?â Ji Hengâs words lack his usual confidence.
âThis servant does not know. This servant only knows they are saying bad things about me and also wanted to poison me. This servant is not afraid of death, but this servant is afraid I will not be able to serve the Emperor anymore. This servant canât bear to leave you. This servant wants to serve you all his life!â
Even Sheng AnHuai couldnât listen to her flamboyant and affectionate speech. Of course, the main reason being that they are said from an ugly mouth. Sheng AnHuai thought the Emperor would be as disgusted as he was, but he looked like his usual.
âItâs tough being the Emperorâ, Sheng AnHuai sincerely laments.
âIf youâre pretending, then just pretend.â Ji Heng put his hands behind his back indifferently.
âIâm telling the truth, Your Majesty. Please donât drive me awayâŚâ Tian Qi cried loudly. Tears streaked her cheeks and she wiped them with her sleeves.
âStop!â Ji Heng shouted
Tian Qiâs mind went blank. âWhat happened?â
Ji Heng frowned looking at her sleeves. The fabric was too rough and it scratched her cheeks and her face. He was afraid it would leave scars. This person is too violent with her face, really ignorant.
Without thinking, Ji Heng took out a handkerchief and threw it at Tian Qi. âIf you scar your face, I donât want to see you.â
Tian Qi heard the meaning behind his sentence: as long as she doesnât have any scarring, she can go back. She was pleasantly surprised. âThe Emperor is wise and kind! This slave thanks Your Majesty for your grace!â
Ji Heng seemed to see her shaking her tail again. He looked at her for a bit then told her âRemember to take your medicine. Not taking it will mean you wonât be getting better to serve me.â
Tian Qi looked like she bit something bitter. âThis servant shall obey the Emperorâs decree.â
Ji Heng smiled, then turned and left.
âIf I have to take medicine, then I shall take medicine.â Tian Qi thought. As long as Wang Meng is the one preparing it, she has nothing to fear. She is so smart.
If he want to save Tian Qi, how will he achieve it? That is the problem.
Although Ji Heng does not believe in fate and gods, it doesnât mean he will not use these to fool others when necessary. But he does not want to disobey his mother, and he knows that discussing the matter with her is useless.
However, he does not want to see Tian Qi dying. Yes, he is very reluctant to let that happen. Ji Heng canât say this person is good, but he thinks that he is very lively. Besides, RuYi also likes him. If Tian Qi dies, the little guy would be very upset.
Itâs impossible for a servant to go against the Empress Dowager. Ji Heng doesnât even want to think of the result of such action. At the moment, Tian Qi is in An Le Tang and it is best he lives there for a while. He sent one of his servants from Gan Qing Palace to look after him. In the meantime, no danger should befall him.
The next day was a rest day. Originally, nobody had to work. Even the officials could enjoy their day at home. However, in the afternoon, Ji Heng was surprised to receive some reports. He thought the officials must be dedicated to their jobs.
Looking over the content, the reports were very similar to each other. Yu ShiTai expressed his concern towards the incidents occurring in recent days, where two men ran naked on the streets. If the culprit was simply a madman, no one would care much about it. At most, the people on the street would be talking and laughing at it. But the culprits were bureaucratic children, their parents occupying high positions. This incidents needed investigated.
In short the situation was very serious and had a bad impact.
Ji Heng couldnât understand why the three guys had to choose the most prosperous LongChang Street, two of them specially selecting to go on the weekend. There is a limit to how stupid one can be and breaking that limit makes people want to kill you. The three ministers perform their job very well, and their children are taught by them.
Ji Hengâs mood was sour. He just finished reading the first report, when the second one was just as bad. This time it was about a rumour and he needed to find a way to punish the crime soon.
The contents of the three reports are almost the same, and Ji Heng suspects that the three people worked together. They all say their sons are innocent are are asking him to punish the culprit. It all seems to suggest this matter has something to do with Zheng YuanFuâs youngest son, who is also involved with Ning Wang and the man he keeps.
Ji Heng was completely shocked by the words âNing Wangâ and âkept manâ. A kept man? He looked at the reports for a long time.
Currently, there are a lot of homosexual men, so nobody thinks itâs unusual for Ning Wang to raise a beautiful little boy. However, Ji Zheng is Ji Hengâs little brother and is only sixteen(16) years old, and doesnât even have a wife. What happens if he goes further down this road? This problem is a headache.
And, if he were to be honest, Ji Heng is fisgusted by the idea of men sleeping with men. No, extremely disgusting.
Ji Heng decides to talk to Ah Zheng. Oneâs older brother is like a father figure. Although the relationship between the two brothers was once in a crisis because of traitors within the palace, he feels he still has a say in his younger brotherâs private life. Theyâre related by blood, he canât watch him as he blindly follows this road.
Taking the initiative to breach the subject, Ji Heng sends him two beautiful women. Ning WangFuâs butler took both women to Ji Zhengâs bed, smiling and saying âRebelling is useless; this is the Emperorâs decree.â
Ji Zheng exhibited a non-violent and uncooperative attitude. In the evening, the two beauties slept in one room, whilst he slept in his own room. The very next day, he returned them to the palace.
Sheng AnHuai was amazed seeing this. Even if youâre the Emperorâs younger brother, you shouldnât dare to return the things he sent.
Ji Heng udnerstood that, since he dared to return the beauties, it must mean he wasnât moved by them. This knowledge only made him sad.
Whilst the Emperor was worrying about his younger brother, the Empress Dowager couldnât hold back anymore, and suggested that Ji Heng deals with Tian Qi. She also appeared to have made a major discovery â she asked him to go to a Taoist priest to explain that, although she is very distressed over this, the eunuch has to go.
Ji Zheng looked at the Taoist priest as if looking at a swindler, thinking that, since the Empress Dowager tried to scam him, zhen can do the same.
The next day he invited to the palace the most famous Taoist priest in the Capital and they talked for a long time. In fact, Taoism covers a broad area of discussion, and Ji Heng doesnât like people trying to deceive others with ghosts. Hence he only talked to the white-bearded man about theory.
Recently, the Empress Dowager has been obsessed with the supernatural. Hearing that a famous Taoist priest was in the palace, she really wanted to meet him so Ji Heng led the priest to the Ci Ning Palace.
The Empress Dowager confessed her sorrows to the priest and even provided Tian Qiâs ba zi (her date and time of birth). The old priest said âOne aspect of her fate brings the end to ordinary people, whilst the other side brings advantages.â
âWhat advantages?â
âThis personâs character is gold, gold water. Provided that she meets a master whoâs character is the running, clear water, she may be able to turn disadvantages in profits. It all depends on the masterâs ba zi.â
As soon as she heard this, the Empress Dowager came back to god, precisely because Ji Heng is his master and his character is clear water. She immediately gave the priest his ba zi and asked him to calculate their fate.
The old priest analysed the characters for a long time, and finally heaved a long sigh.
âWhat are the results?â the Empress Dowager asked nervously.
âI have lived for many years, but this is the first time I have seen characters that are thid compatible.â
The Empress Dowager was very happy to hear this. As she turned to face her son, she advised Ji Heng to use the servant and never drive him away.
Meanwhile, Ji Heng was speechless. He never expected that such troublesome matter can be settled this easily. Sure enough, using a Taoist priest was the best solution to scam his mother.
The Taoist priest realised that Ji Heng took his words as nonsense and was a bit dissatisfied. âYour Majesty, everything this poor Taoist has said is true.â
âEn, you will be rewarded.â Ji Heng was indifferent, clearly nor trusting him.
Understanding this, the old Taoist priest was hurt. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager rewarded him handsomely, so he left the palace with a small sack. As he walked out of the palace, the Taoist thought âI will not discuss the issue of predestined fate since you donât believe me.â
On the second day of the crisis, Tian Qiâs chickenpox was healed and she returned to work. As soon as she arrived to Gan Qing Palace she shed tears of gratitude, and said a lot of sweet words to Ji Heng. Since he was in a good mood, Ji Heng forgave all her noise and listened to her tell her story anew.
This mess has finally been solved. Ji Heng can finally breath a sigh of relief.
Next, he has to personally interfere with his brotherâs love life.\n