The next day, Emperor Zhou went to court early in the morning. The little Crown Prince on the bed was sleeping in a sprawled-out shape, curled up in a small corner—a short, chubby, adorable little lump.
Anyone who saw him would feel their heart soften, but not Emperor Zhou.
He insisted on pulling the child to the center of the bed, arranging his little hands and feet into a neat, funeral-like posture.
Satisfied, he nodded. Now it looked proper.
As soon as he turned away, the little Crown Prince resumed his ‘curled up’ shape.
Emperor Zhou resisted the urge to rearrange him again and snorted lightly at the stubborn little thing on the bed.
“If your Imperial Grandfather sees you sleeping like this, he’ll have you beaten with the board.”
The little one on the bed sat up with his eyes closed, flopped forward to kowtow to him, and mumbled in a dreamy, low voice:
“Father, save me~”
The rising little tail of his voice tugged at the heartstrings, making Emperor Zhou feel as if a feather had brushed against his heart.
Emperor Zhou couldn’t help but chuckle softly and muttered:
“Little… rascal.”
When Wu Junji woke up and finished his meal, he noticed many officials in court robes outside, repairing tiles, sweeping, and taking measurements.
Puzzled, he asked the nanny beside him:
“What’s going on?”
Nanny Wang replied affectionately: “His Majesty is preparing to welcome the Imperial Noble Consort.”
Wu Junji suddenly understood.
A year ago, not long after he became Crown Prince, the old man had issued an edict for Chen Jin, the younger sister of Minister Chen, to enter the palace as Imperial Noble Consort.
The Imperial Noble Consort and the Emperor would also hold a wedding ceremony, but it would be much simpler in scale and ritual compared to an empress’s.
Nanny Wang and Eunuch Qian beside him often wore expressions as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.
The little Crown Prince asked curiously: “What do you want to say?”
Nanny Wang whispered: “Your Highness, when the Imperial Noble Consort enters the palace, according to ritual, His Majesty must stay with her for three days.”
During these three days, Taiji Palace would be the home of the Imperial Noble Consort and the Emperor—the place where they would sleep at night.
It would be inappropriate for Wu Junji to remain there.
When Emperor Zhou was Crown Prince, he lived in Tiangan Palace, but it was demolished as soon as he ascended the throne and had not yet been rebuilt. If the Crown Prince were to move out, he wouldn’t even have a proper palace to stay in.
Stay in the east or west wing of Taiji Palace? With the newlyweds there, he would be no different from a glaringly obvious third wheel right under their noses.
Go stay with the Empress Dowager and the Retired Emperor for a few days?
What about this time and the next?
This time it was the Imperial Noble Consort entering the palace; next time it might be the Empress. In the future, the old man might summon other consorts. It simply wouldn’t work for him to stay in Taiji Palace all the time.
He needed his own palace.
For other princes, their birth mothers would handle such matters, but Wu Junji had to figure it out himself.
Eunuch Qian thought he was upset and bent down to coax him softly: “It’s only for a few days. Your Highness can visit His Majesty during the day. But at night, His Majesty might be… busy. Your Highness must sleep early to grow up strong.”
Wu Junji glanced up at him but said nothing.
Nanny Wang wanted to say more but was stopped by a look from Eunuch Qian.
Regarding having his own palace, he had mentioned it to his father before. The Emperor had looked displeased, thinking he was being willful, and hadn’t taken the matter seriously.
Wu Junji thought for a moment and decided to visit the Empress Dowager and the Retired Emperor. Since the Imperial Noble Consort was being installed, these two would surely have a say, right?
Using this opportunity, he could ask them to help him request a palace from the old man so he could move out. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
Wu Junji wasn’t close to the Retired Emperor and Empress Dowager, maintaining only superficial respect.
The two elders preferred Wu Junzheng and often had Noble Consort Dong bring Wu Junzheng over to spend time with them.
Wu Junji had taken the initiative to visit them twice—paying his respects and having some snacks—but each time, the Empress Dowager and Retired Emperor had used fatigue as an excuse to send him away.
Wu Junji decided not to press further against their cold indifference.
The facts proved that he had still overestimated Emperor Zhou and their familial bonds.
The nanny by the Empress Dowager’s side came out and respectfully replied, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is feeling unwell today and fears she might pass her illness to you.”
Wu Junji wasn’t sure if the Empress Dowager knew his purpose for coming.
“Grandmother is ill? Has the imperial physician been summoned? I am concerned and wish to see her for a moment. In a few days, the Imperial Noble Consort will be entering the palace and may need to trouble Grandmother for a few days.”
The nanny replied politely yet distantly, “Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. She has already been examined and is not seriously ill—it’s just her age catching up with her, leaving her fatigued.”
“All matters in the palace are to be arranged according to His Majesty’s orders. The Empress Dowager and the Retired Emperor no longer have the energy to involve themselves further. Your Highness, please return.”
Wu Junji did not insist further. “Very well. In that case, may Grandmother rest well. I shall not disturb her.”
He descended the steps one by one on his short legs and began walking back.
Nanny Wang, feeling sorry for him, wanted to carry him, but Wu Junji lowered his head and refused.
“I’ll walk on my own.”
Wu Junji had originally thought that the old tyrant, being so domineering and willful, must have been spoiled rotten by the Empress Dowager and the Retired Emperor.
Over the past two years, based on what he had observed, he had changed his mind.
The Retired Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the old tyrant—they treated each other with respect.
But it was truly the respect of “guests.”
No matter what the old tyrant did, the two of them neither interfered, corrected, nor commented.
This wasn’t indulgence; it was indifference.
Thus, Emperor Zhou came to believe that everything he did was right, acting on whims and emotions, whether laughing, joking, or raging.
Sometimes, he was so unreasonable it gave Wu Junji a headache.
Since the Empress Dowager and the Retired Emperor had no intention of intervening, he would have to broach the matter with the old tyrant himself.
Emperor Zhou’s possessiveness was intense. What seemed like a simple issue of a palace was, in reality, a matter of challenging the old tyrant’s perceptions and principles.
Given the current situation, if he ever argued with his father and was told to get out, he wouldn’t even have a place to sleep.
If he could use the Imperial Noble Consort’s entry into the palace as an opportunity to secure his own palace, it would be a good thing.
“Ding—! Host! Do you miss 88?!”
The sudden electronic voice in his mind startled Wu Junji, making him jump.
The System was back!
“You’ve woken up?”
88 exclaimed in surprise, “Host, how are you already walking? I remember you were just born!”
Wu Junji rolled his eyes—this thing was unreliable.
He walked all the way back to Taiji Palace, his feet aching from the effort. Moving a small stool and clutching his cloth tiger, he sat by the palace entrance, watching the craftsmen renovate the green tiles of the corridor in the courtyard.
As he daydreamed, he conversed with the System in his mind.
He felt as though the System had set up a room in his head. Whenever he wanted to see it, 88’s round, chubby body would appear in his mind’s eye.
Baijiu, cola, a large screen, cigars, sunglasses, bubble gum, and colorful lights.
Wu Junji hesitated.
He watched as the System cracked open two bottles of baijiu, gulped them down in a few swigs, and flashed a set of data-simulated gold-inlaid teeth.
“Refreshing!”
The background music played:
“Life has tormented me”
“My descendants have ruined me”
Wu Junji: “…”
“Son, your dad can’t help you much. I can only tell you with tears in my eyes—Chen Yu has been reborn! Your nemesis, your archrival! Aren’t you happy? Isn’t this a surprise?”
Wu Junji’s first thought was how fortunate Chen Yu was. Then, he earnestly corrected its wording.
“Not a nemesis, nor an archrival. He’s a defeated opponent.”
“A mediocre talent with a narrow vision—don’t overestimate him.”
88 clicked its tongue twice. In any case, he was clearly very bothered.
In his previous life, Wu Junji’s teacher, senior brother, and all the officials of the Crown Prince’s residence had left him for Chen Yu.
Thus, Wu Junji held a grudge and wrote the Taiping Civil Code, wanting to tell his teacher, those who had left him, and the entire world that the Crown Prince of Great Zhou was not some worthless mediocrity unfit for the stage.
Burning the midnight oil and rising at dawn, he toiled tirelessly for ten years, pouring his heart and soul into writing until his eyes grew dim, forcing him to craft a pair of thick crystal glasses.
That volume of the Taiping Civil Code, into which he had poured all his heart and soul, was reduced to ashes on the eve of its release. The raging flames dried up his spirit.
The crystal glasses that had witnessed those ten years seemed like fate’s mockery of him.
Thinking of this always put Wu Junji in a foul mood, and when he was in a foul mood, he didn’t want Chen Yu to feel any better either:
“I must go find Chen Yu.”
88 was utterly baffled: “Why are you going to find him?”
It offered a suggestion based on experience: “Right now, you should pretend you know nothing, lie low behind the scenes, scheme against him, guard against him, and suppress him!”
“I refuse.”
Wu Junji was most adept at wearing the skin of a gentleman while doing the deeds of a petty man:
He said aloud: “I am not a narrow-minded person. Since we’ve both been reborn, I’ll go greet an old friend and honor our past ties.”
“When we compete in the future, we’ll know each other’s roots, and victory or defeat will be fair and square.”
“I hope this visit of mine will help Chen Yu prepare for the calamity of his family’s extermination next year, so as not to waste the loyalty he showed by attending my funeral in his previous life.”
After listening for a long time, even though 88 was a mature system, it still didn’t quite grasp the artistry of human language.
“In simple terms?”
Wu Junji’s gaze drifted:
“I want to make Chen Yu live in constant fear and unease.”
88, having seen its fair share of grand scenes, took this in stride.
“How will the host leave the palace?”
Wu Junji spotted Emperor Zhou returning from court in the distance:
“The person to send me out of the palace is here.”
He trotted over and raised his hands, only to be picked up by Emperor Zhou under the armpits. The people of Taiji Palace bowed and said,
“Long live Your Majesty.”
“Rise.”
Emperor Zhou carried his son toward the palace:
“Aren’t you afraid of the cold? It’s freezing today. Why were you sitting outside the hall? Did you freeze your brain?”
Every time he returned from court, he could see the little one happily running over to greet him.
Sometimes with a ring of rice paste around his mouth, sometimes dragging a cloth tiger in his hand, sometimes barefoot.
Though he never said it aloud, Emperor Zhou was quite pleased.
But, perhaps inherited from someone, Emperor Zhou had a sharp tongue without bounds, and words of concern rolled off his lips as harsh insults.
Fortunately, Wu Junji only listened to what he wanted to hear. Resting his chin on Emperor Zhou’s shoulder, he didn’t mention his visit to the Empress Dowager:
“There’s sun outside. Basking in the sun helps me grow.”
Emperor Zhou found this amusing. After a moment’s thought, he said: “You and Junzheng are about the same age. If you’re bored, I’ll have Changchun Palace send your younger brother over to keep you company.”
Wu Junji straightened up: “Why don’t I go to Changchun Palace to find my brother instead?”
Without thinking, Emperor Zhou blurted out:
“He’s not worthy.”