Chu Yi is willing to become the Emperor’s consort. He cannot conceive.
Chu Yi was still pondering the meaning behind Sheng Qianheng’s words when his entire field of vision was suddenly invaded by him.
Tipping his head slightly backward, Chu Yi remained dazed for a moment before speaking. “Your Majesty, please do not joke around. I am a man; how could I possibly become a seductive consort who ruins the state?”
Sheng Qianheng raised an eyebrow, lifting a hand to stroke Chu Yi’s lips as he lowered his head to close the distance between them. “I never joke around.”
Chu Yi unconsciously grew tense, sticking out the tip of his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth, only to unexpectedly brush against Sheng Qianheng’s thumbpad.
For a single instant, both of them froze.
Looking away, Chu Yi did not dare meet Sheng Qianheng’s gaze at all, deeply afraid of being captivated by the tyrant’s allure.
Sheng Qianheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The Chu Yi before him was the very first Kunze he had marked since his own differentiation into a Qianyuan. Although they had not formally bonded, to a Qianyuan, the Kunze before him was already viewed as his own personal possession.
Taking advantage of Sheng Qianheng’s momentary distraction, Chu Yi swiftly broke free from his grasp and retreated a few steps. “I am tired. May I be excused?”
“Since your body has recovered, it is time for you to share some of my burdens.” Sheng Qianheng placed his hands behind his back, rubbing them together thoughtfully.
Chu Yi nodded. Anything was fine as long as he wasn’t killed; he could agree to anything. “Your subject obeys the decree.”
Noticing that Chu Yi had been spacing out frequently over the past few days, Sheng Qianheng asked with lingering confusion, “What are you thinking about again?”
“Over the past few days, I have been sleeping in Your Majesty’s bedchamber alongside Your Majesty. I have not taken a wife, and Your Majesty has taken no concubines; this is not proper according to ritual.” Hoping to test the tyrant’s attitude, Chu Yi probed, “I wish to return to my own residence to live.”
Sheng Qianheng had just picked up his bow and arrow again. Hearing Chu Yi’s words, he abruptly spun around and drew his bow directly at Chu Yi. “Are you speaking from the heart?”
Staring at the arrowhead, Chu Yi’s pupils trembled uncontrollably, though he tried to remain as calm as possible when he replied, “It is indeed from the heart. But if Your Majesty is unwilling, I am willing to stay by Your Majesty’s side at all times to share your worries.”
Sheng Qianheng also wished to trust every single word Chu Yi said, but ever since he ascended the throne, Chu Yi seemed like a completely different person.
The two of them had known each other for seventeen years, having first met when Chu Yi was twelve years old. At that time, Chu Yi served as the study companion to the former crown prince and accidentally bumped into Sheng Qianheng, who had snuck out from the Cold Palace.
The former crown prince, born of the Empress, held himself in high self-esteem. He directly shoved Sheng Qianheng down to the ground and ordered his attending servants, “Take him back to the Cold Palace! Do not let him run out again! How utterly unlucky!”
Watching Sheng Qianheng sprawled out on the ground with a dusty face and a thoroughly grimy appearance, Chu Yi found it truly unbearable.
Taking advantage of the moment before the former crown prince noticed, he squatted down and reached out to wipe the dirt from Sheng Qianheng’s face.
Being very young, Sheng Qianheng only knew that the older boy before him was a good person, unlike the people in the Cold Palace who all despised him.
Reaching out, he grabbed Chu Yi’s finger and smiled.
Seeing this, the former crown prince yanked Chu Yi up by the arm and warned, “Do not pay attention to him. He is merely the son of a palace maid and has not even started his formal education yet.”
Chu Yi stared as the servants lifted the little ball of a child and carried him off in the direction of the Cold Palace.
Chu Yi thought to himself, “He hasn’t even started his education yet, and he looks to be about four or five years old.”
Sheng Qianheng released the bowstring, and the arrow shot swiftly toward Chu Yi.
Chu Yi stood frozen as he stared at Sheng Qianheng, completely unable to move his feet. The arrowhead grazed past his temple, and a sharp whoosh echoed by his ear as a few strands of hair were caught by the wind of the arrow, drifting gently down to the ground.
Chu Yi’s heart was already beating in disarray. Was the tyrant testing him?
Sheng Qianheng’s archery was virtually unerring; if he truly intended to kill him, this arrow would not have missed its mark.
Sheng Qianheng spoke coldly, “Not afraid?”
Taking a deep breath, Chu Yi replied, “I am not afraid. If Your Majesty wishes to kill me, there is no need to go through such great trouble. A single command is all it takes.”
“You certainly see things clearly, fully betting that I cannot bear to kill you.” Lowering his bow, Sheng Qianheng removed his protective gear. “Yet I have no choice but to kill you!”
Instantly plunging into darkness, Chu Yi dropped straight to his knees. “I. Your subject does not know how I have displeased Your Majesty.”
Sheng Qianheng sat down beneath the pavilion of the martial arts training ground, picked up a cup of already brewed tea, and took a sip. “Minister Chu has not angered me, yet the whole world demands that I put you to death. I must give the world an explanation.”
With both knees on the ground, Chu Yi shifted forward while trembling slightly, mentally rehearsing all sorts of arguments, but when he finally spoke, only a single plea remained: “Your Majesty, I want to live.”
Having lived in this palace for twenty-two years, Sheng Qianheng had endured the cold gazes of others to the utmost. Now, sitting upon the supreme imperial throne, he felt no joy in his heart.
He dismissed everyone present. “Chu Yi, come here.”
Lifting his gaze, Chu Yi crawled forward on his knees inch by inch until he reached Sheng Qianheng’s feet.
Sheng Qianheng asked, “You want to live?”
Chu Yi nodded. “The world holds myriad wonders, and I have yet to experience them all. I am unwilling to throw away my life just like this.”
That was not the answer Sheng Qianheng wanted to hear. Tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table, he asked, “And it has nothing to do with me?”
“Long ago, your subject promised Your Majesty that I would witness a prosperous era alongside you.” Chu Yi desperately tried to recall the details from the book, though the text contained far too few records. “I hope Your Majesty will grant this.”
Sheng Qianheng pressed on, “Did you not say you were willing to share my burdens?”
Unable to care about anything else at that moment, Chu Yi immediately acknowledged, “I am naturally willing.”
Using a folding fan, Sheng Qianheng lifted Chu Yi’s chin, then gently patted his cheek. “During this morning’s court session, I encountered two major dilemmas.”
Naturally catching the stepping stone handed to him by Sheng Qianheng, Chu Yi smoothly picked up the conversation, “Your subject is willing to listen in detail.”
“First, the ministers submitted memorials urging me to execute the traitorous former Regent Chu Yi to eliminate future troubles.” Sheng Qianheng picked up two pre-prepared memorials from the desk and flipped through them with a theatrical air. “Second, the veteran ministers of the former court, out of consideration for the state and the dynasty, repeatedly urged me to take a consort. What does Minister Chu think of these two matters?”
Wearing a forced smile, Chu Yi answered, “I believe that taking a consort is intended for the sake of imperial heirs. Since ancient times, emperors have widely recruited consorts to multiply the imperial lineage. By Your Majesty’s age, the late Emperor already had three princes and a princess. Yet Your Majesty’s inner court remains entirely empty.”
Sheng Qianheng smiled calmly. “You only analyzed the matter of taking a consort. What about the matter of taking your life?”
Stammering, Chu Yi fumbled for words. “This. Please, Your Majesty, do not tease me anymore.”
“It seems Minister Chu still does not understand my heart.” Sheng Qianheng stood up. “Tomorrow at the noon hour, the executioner will be fully prepared.”
Thinking it over from every angle, the tyrant clearly just wanted him to willingly enter his inner court.
As long as he could stay alive, what did it matter if he became a consort?
He could worry about escaping later.
Immediately calling out to stop Sheng Qianheng from leaving, Chu Yi said, “Your Majesty, Chu Yi is willing to become Your Majesty’s consort.”
Turning back around, Sheng Qianheng locked eyes with Chu Yi. “I do not take a consort whose heart is insincere.”
Taking a deep breath, Chu Yi declared, “I am entirely willing.”
A flash of understanding crossed Sheng Qianheng’s eyes as he walked back to Chu Yi’s side and helped him to his feet. “Since that is the case, the identity of Chu Yi can no longer be used. The Regent Chu Yi will simply die at the hour of noon tomorrow.”
Chu Yi fell silent. If this damn emperor insisted on taking him as a consort, he could have just said so directly instead of beating around the bush and nearly giving him a heart attack.
“Your Majesty, what name shall your subject use then?”
Pulling Chu Yi abruptly into his arms, Sheng Qianheng leaned down and buried his face in the crook of Chu Yi’s neck, inhaling deeply. “I have my own plans.”
The next day, the Regent Chu Yi was executed at the palace gates at the hour of noon for attempted treason.
Ever since Chu Yi agreed to enter the palace as a consort, Sheng Qianheng had quietly informed the court ministers who frequently petitioned for him to take a consort, leaving the old officials beaming with joy.
Chu Yi thought to himself that they shouldn’t be celebrating too early; as a male consort, he couldn’t possibly produce imperial heirs.
Sooner or later, those memorials would change back to urging Sheng Qianheng to take someone else who could actually bear children.