With a fluid shift of her position, the Female Emperor effortlessly dodged the madam’s wandering, overly familiar hand.
Realizing she had missed her mark, the madam simply gave up with an awkward smile.
“Arrange a private room for the two of us.”
“Right away, coming up!”
Meanwhile!
Ying Zheng had arrived at the Prince’s Residence, intending to check up on Ying Qingye’s injuries.
After all, having performed a meritorious service only to be flogged anyway felt a bit unjustified, especially since the culprit was his own flesh and blood. Failing to drop by and check on him would make him look entirely too heartless as a father.
“Greetings, Your Majesty!”
“May the Emperor live for ten thousand years!”
“How is Qingye recovering?”
The moment Ying Zheng stepped through the main gates, Old Huang led the entire household staff out to bow and welcome him.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the Young Master is in stable condition!”
“Take me to see him!”
As Ying Zheng strode forward into the courtyard, the color drained entirely from Old Huang’s face, turning several shades paler than if he had just swallowed a mouthful of dirt.
Wasn’t this an absolute disaster?!
The young master had left just moments ago, and now the emperor had shown up right on his heels.
How on earth was he supposed to explain this to His Majesty?
“Hm?”
“Keep moving!”
“What are you standing there frozen for?”
Ying Zheng glanced back at Old Huang, looking slightly perplexed.
“Y-Y-Your Majesty!”
“The Young Master, he…”
“What’s wrong with Qingye?”
Ying Zheng stared at Old Huang with a suspicious frown.
“Your Majesty, the Young Master… he isn’t currently at the estate!”
“Not at the estate?”
“Instead of properly resting his injuries at home, where on earth could he have gone?”
Ying Zheng grew thoroughly baffled. The boy’s backside was practically torn to shreds, yet he couldn’t even manage to stay put inside his own home.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the Young Master… he…”
“Out with it!”
Ying Zheng barked a sharp command, scaring Old Huang into a violent shudder.
“The Young Master went to the Zuiyue Pavilion!”
With that confession, Old Huang pressed his forehead nearly all the way down into the paving stones.
Oh, Young Master!
Please don’t blame this old servant!
His Majesty forced it out of me!
“With injuries like that, he’s still thinking about heading to the Zuiyue Pavilion?”
“When did this brat become so utterly consumed by lust?”
“Insolent wretch!”
Ying Zheng’s fury flared up instantly. His backside was still covered in open wounds, yet he was already out chasing after earthly pleasures!
As a prince of Great Qin, running off to linger in brothels day in and day out—what kind of scandalous precedent was this setting?!
“Meng Yi!”
“Present, Your Majesty!”
“Go! Drag that reckless brat back here immediately!”
Ying Zheng was seething with rage. It was simply too absurd—a complete good-for-nothing through and through.
“Understood!”
Acknowledging the order with a cupped-hand salute, Meng Yi spun around and strode out.
Back at the Zuiyue Pavilion!
“Esteemed patron, Ziying pours this cup to toast you.”
“Splendid, splendid, haha…”
Ying Qingye happily raised his cup, clinked glasses with Ziying, and downed the wine in a single gulp.
“Esteemed guest, why are you refusing to drink with me?”
Beside the Female Emperor, a young courtesan raised her wine cup with an inviting smile, only to be flatly refused.
The Female Emperor’s brow remained tightly furrowed throughout.
“Patron, during your last visit, your piece Jialuo and your theories on melody left me completely mystified.”
“I wonder if the patron might be willing to offer some guidance?”
Ziying purred coquettishly, her voice sounding sweet and honeyed.
“Haha…”
“Very well, very well!”
“No problem at all!”
“Wherever you’re struggling, I’ll teach you!”
Ying Qingye gave a grand wave of his hand, projecting an air of supreme confidence.
“You actually understand musical theory?”
The Female Emperor looked over at him with a flicker of genuine surprise.
“A little bit here and there!”
Ying Qingye waved his hand dismissively with a grin.
Hearing that, the Female Emperor watched him with growing curiosity. As the supreme master of the Huanyin Pavilion, she was naturally deeply versed in the arts of melody and tone.
“Come, let me show you!”
“Alright!”
“First of all…”
Just as Ying Qingye was about to demonstrate proper zither-playing technique to the young lady and show off a bit, the door to the private room was violently kicked open with a loud crash.
Meng Yi strode in at the head of several imperial guards.
“Which son of a turtle is interrupting us now?!”
Ying Qingye cursed angrily. Was it really this difficult to show off a little in front of the ladies?
When he spotted Meng Yi standing at the front, Ying Qingye immediately understood what was going on.
Meng Yi was one of Ying Zheng’s most trusted confidants; whenever Meng Yi showed up in person, it meant Ying Zheng had already caught wind of his escapades.
“Young Master, His Majesty commands you to return home at once!”
Meng Yi said with a respectful, cupped-hand salute.
“People are always so full of trouble!”
“Let’s go, then.”
Muttering under his breath, Ying Qingye had no choice but to stand up and follow Meng Yi out, with the Female Emperor trailing closely behind him.
Meanwhile, at the Prince’s Residence!
The moment Ying Qingye stepped back through the gates, he found Ying Zheng waiting for him right in the courtyard, wearing a completely expressionless face.
“Qingye, where have you been?”
Ying Zheng fixed his gaze tightly upon him.
“Guess!”
??????
What on earth?
Everyone present froze in sheer astonishment. Was the Fifth Prince’s mind actually broken? How could he dare speak to Ying Zheng like that?
“What did you say?”
Ying Zheng demanded in a stern, sharp voice.
“Father, please calm your anger!”
“Anger hurts the body! If you let yourself get so mad that you fall ill, that wouldn’t be good at all—Great Qin still needs you!”
“Don’t you dare stand there flashing a cheeky smile at me!”
Ying Zheng glared at him fiercely.
Ying Qingye shrank his neck back a fraction. Whether it was due to the residual instincts of the original body or simply the sheer, crushing pressure of Ying Zheng’s imposing aura, it was hard to tell—though it was probably a mix of both.
“Is your injury healed?”
Seeing Ying Qingye bouncing around as good as new, Ying Zheng couldn’t help but ask out of pure curiosity.
Just a short while ago when he was being hauled out of the palace, he had looked like he was at death’s door. How long had it been, and now he was jumping around like nothing had happened?
“All better!”
“How on earth did you manage that?”
Ying Zheng stared at Ying Qingye in absolute amazement; his recovery speed was simply inhuman.
“A wise man always has his own methods!”
Ying Qingye offered a breezy, carefree smile.
“I advise you to mind your tone and speak properly!”
“I’ll give you one more chance.”
Ying Zheng offered a faint smile.
The Smile of Death!
Ying Qingye’s body gave a slight shiver as a wave of cold air crept straight up his spine.
“Uh…”
“It’s all thanks to this!”
Hastily retrieving a Rejuvenation Pill, Ying Qingye handed it over directly into Ying Zheng’s palm.
“What is this?”
“A Rejuvenation Pill!”
“A Rejuvenation Pill?”
Ying Zheng scrutinized the pill in his hand closely, his eyes filled with intense curiosity.
“This is what allowed your injuries to heal instantly?”
“That’s right!”
Ying Qingye nodded, making sure to give his backside a casual pat just to emphasize the point. Ying Zheng watched him, completely unharmed as he was, and felt a profound sense of shock.
He never imagined that such a miraculous medicine could possibly exist in this world.
“A divine treasure!”
“Where on earth did you acquire such a divine treasure?”
Ying Zheng grew rather excited. If such miraculous medicine existed in the world, then the elixir of eternal life might not be entirely out of reach either.
“Well…”
“An old man gave it to me!”
Ying Qingye casually tossed out an excuse to brush him off.
There was no way he could tell the truth and say it came from a system, right?
(System: “Who’s an old man?! Your entire family are old men!”)
(Ying Qingye: “…”)
“An old man?”
“Where is that old man now?”
Ying Zheng stared fixedly at Ying Qingye. If he could track down that old man, perhaps his dreams of attaining immortality finally had a lead.
“He died!”
Everyone: (ﾟOﾟ)
“He died?”
Ying Zheng’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Yep! Dead as a doornail!”
(System: “You’re the one who’s dead!”)
(Ying Qingye: “…”)
“How on earth did he just up and die?”
“Someone capable of refining medicine like this shouldn’t have been someone whose life was cut short so easily, should he?”
Ying Zheng refused to give up—that was his ticket to immortality they were talking about!
Just like that, it was gone?
He wasn’t ready to accept this!
“Father, by the time your son encountered him, he was already at his last gasp.”
“Then why didn’t you use this pill to save him?”
Ying Zheng grew a bit impatient.
“I offered it to him, but he wouldn’t eat it!”
“So he just… bam, kicked the bucket!”
Ying Zheng: “…”
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Ying Zheng asked, “How many pills like this do you have left in your possession?”
“Not many, just a few left!”
“That old man didn’t have much skill to begin with, so he only handed over a couple!”
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