CH 54.2

Translator – Xiao He Lian

Chapter 54.2

This afternoon, Xiao Shuanzi decided to go to the Bamboo Flute Residence. If he didn’t send these things out earlier, he was afraid that he wouldn’t be rewarded and would be punished by the Crown Prince or Eunuch Zhu.

Unfortunately, after arriving at Bamboo Flute Residence Residence, Xiao Shuanzi did not see Young Master Wen.

Ruo Fang, the maid of the Bamboo Flute House, said: “My master has gone to meet with the Emperor and will probably not be back until late.”

Xiao Shuanzi was a little lost.

Ruo Fang saw the wooden box tightly grasped by Xiao Shuanzi and said, “Does Eunuch Shuan have something urgent to ask Young Master Wen? Why don’t you tell me first and when the Young Master comes back, I’ll relay your message to him.”

So Xiao Shuanzi handed over the things he had brought to Ruo Fang. Fortunately, he put a small note in the wooden box, on which was written the method of using the jade rods which could be seen as soon as Young Master Wen opened the box.

“Thank you for your hard work.” Xiao Shuanzi smiled, “This is something sent by His Royal Highness and I hope you can personally hand it over to Young Master Wen.”

Ruo Fang said: “Don’t worry, Eunuch Shuan, I will definitely hand this over to Young Master Wen.”

After Xiao Shuanzi left, Ruo Fang remembered the work she had yet to do, so she temporarily left the wooden box in Wen Chi’s bedroom and then walked away.

On the other side….

Wen Chi was led by a eunuch towards the Emperor’s study.

As a rule, Wen Chi could not go past Shi Ye to meet the Emperor directly. Perhaps the Emperor had informed Shi Ye in advance and this time Shi Ye did not bring Wen Chi with him but directly asked the eunuchs around the Emperor to come to the Bamboo Flute Residence to take Wen Chi away.

If Wen Chi’s guess is correct, the emperor must have asked to meet him because of the locust plague in Jinzhou.

Sure enough, when he was led outside the emperor’s study by the eunuch, he saw a familiar figure.

Wen Chi took a closer look——

Isn’t that the Fourth Prince Shi Jin?

Perhaps hearing the footsteps behind him, Shi Jin turned around, revealing his tired face. When he saw that the person coming was Wen Chi, his face showed some rare joy.

“Young Master Wen.” Shi Jin said happily, “I didn’t expect you to come too.”

Wen Chi walked over and exchanged a few pleasantries with Shi Jin.

Taking advantage of the time when the eunuch went in to report, Wen Chi took a look at Shi Jin’s pale yellow face and the dark eyebags.

He didn’t expect that after only a few days, Shi Jin had already become haggard like this.

As the protagonist Gong in the novel, Shi Jin’s appearance is naturally unrivaled. The only prince who could overpower him had been disfigured long ago and was not enough to be feared, while the rest of the male counterparts were only reduced to the supporting roles.

Wen Ji, as a face-controller1(a person who is obsessed with looks), had always thought that Shi Jin was the number one handsome man in the country, but he didn’t know that even the number one handsome man in the country had bad times …….

Shi Jin seemed to be aware of Wen Chi’s thoughts, he smiled a few times and said embarrassingly: “I haven’t slept well these days, I’m afraid I may not look that well. Please forgive me, Young Master Wen.'”

Wen Chi could not resist asking, “Is Prince Xuan still troubled by the locust plague in Jinzhou?”

“That’s not …… true,” Shi Jin said hesitantly and then there was no further comment.

Even he didn’t know what was wrong with him. He was always restless these days. As long as he closed his eyes at night, he could think of General Lin playing the piano.

If that image was beautiful and pleasing to the eye, that would be fine. But the image of General Lin, a rough man playing the guqin in a womanly manner and casting a meaningful glance or two at him, was really unbearable ……

Shi Jin didn’t think he’s in love with General Lin but if he doesn’t have any thoughts about General Lin, how can he miss General Lin day and night?

So down the line, Shi Jin even wondered if General Lin had bewitched him.

He originally wanted to invite Gu2(蛊 [gǔ] 名 a legendary venomous insect;   undead insect;   a poison made with poisonous insect, worm or beetle) masters from the frontier to come over and take a look at him but then thinking about what General Lin has done in recent years, he was unwilling to use such underhanded idea to doubt a general who has repeatedly made military exploits and opened up territories for the country. General.

Shi Jin struggled for a long time, barely closing his eyes. He wanted to find someone to talk to, but he knew he could not reveal a word of this to the public.

Facing Wen Chi’s genuinely worried eyes, Shi Jin still shook his head and said with a smile, “Maybe it’s because I’ve been too busy recently and haven’t had a good rest.”

Wen Chi didn’t know whether Shi Jin’s words were true or not, but he was in no position to ask so many questions, so he didn’t say anything more.

After a while, the eunuch who had just gone in to report came out and asked Wen Chi and Shi Jin to go in together.

The two walked into the study.

The emperor was already waiting there and made a gesture of invitation for the two of them to sit down.

Seeing this Emperor again, Wen Chi’s mood remained as uneasy as last time. He buried his head as much as possible and focused on his own toes, not even daring to look at the Emperor from the corner of his eye.

The emperor seemed to understand Wen Chi’s mood, so he was not in a hurry to talk to Wen Chi but asked the court lady to make tea and set up snacks and then chatted with Shi Jin casually.

Wen Chi sat on the side, listening quietly.

The emperor also noticed Shi Jin’s pale face and asked a few questions with concern, but Shi Jin used the excuse that he hadn’t rested well as a pretext.

“Fourth prince, your frail appearance makes me uneasy about leaving the affairs of Jinzhou in your hands.” The emperor sighed, “I know the situation is pressing and you are under a lot of pressure but am I not helping you ease the pressure?”

Shi Jin lowered his head, “It is this son’s fault.”

“You are my son, you are not bad. The reason why I entrust you with such an important errand is because I believe you have the ability to help me solve my problems.” The emperor patted Shi Jin’s shoulder twice and said in a deep voice, “You will be leaving in two days, go back and rest, I just want to see you in good spirits.”

Shi Jin said gratefully: “I understand, thank you, Father.”

The emperor nodded and laid everything out before turning his gaze to Wen Chi who was acting as a transparent person at the side: “What do you think after listening to my words just now?”

Wen Chi, who was called out suddenly, became nervous instantly. He clenched his palms tightly and quickly recalled the conversation between the emperor and Shi Jin just now in his mind.

After a while, Wen Chi said cautiously: “I wish the Fourth Prince a smooth journey.”

His Majesty: “……”

Shi Jin: “……”

The emperor rubbed his temples with a headache, as if he was blocked by Wen Chi’s words, he said after a while,  “What Zhen3How an emperor addresses himself means is, do you wish to go to Jinzhou with Shi Jin and the others?”