After the winter hunt, Shang Yinyu returned to the emperor’s life of holding court every day.
He lengthened the time of his daily martial lessons, took Qiao Beiji to practice with the new weapons of the Firearms Battalion, had him attend military strategy lessons together with him, and the content of touch therapy could not be left out either.
Shang Yinyu considered that few of the rulers in those ruler-and-minister tales in the histories had his kind of sincerity.
Even An Dezhong, who served him, several times urged him to take care of his dragon body and not expend too much energy on Qiao Beiji, and afterward would say some things about dragon seed and imperial heirs.
Qiao Beiji rarely went on missions now and followed His Majesty every day.
He sensed that His Majesty was grooming him. Perhaps His Majesty had a very important mission to give him, and he needed to be ready and must never let His Majesty down.
After days like this had gone on for several months, Qiao Beiji slowly sensed that something was off.
His Majesty was still very good to him, would attend martial class with him, and would hold and touch him. But His Majesty never again took him in his mouth, and even when there was touching, it only brushed across his skin without the slightest lingering.
Qiao Beiji faintly sensed that it was because of this very important mission that His Majesty no longer treated him that way.
Since the winter hunt, Qiao Beiji often dreamed of His Majesty. In the dreams, His Majesty touched him in all sorts of scenes, touching many places on him.
Qiao Beiji did not know the reason he dreamed of His Majesty, and each time he woke, his body’s reaction made him ashamed. He was probably sick.
He did not reject seeing a physician, but he did not want his difference to be seen by anyone other than His Majesty, nor did he want others to know he was different from ordinary people.
With a body like his, probably only Master would not think him an oddity.
Qiao Beiji thought that when the mission His Majesty was to give him was over, he would tell Master about his illness, and Master would surely know how to treat it.
·
Each with his own thoughts, the two soon reached the new year’s martial examination.
Before the martial examination, Shang Yinyu left the palace in disguise and took Qiao Beiji to a newly purchased house.
He had had Qiao Beiji buy this house a few days earlier, and the deed was in the other’s name. The house was not big; standing in the courtyard one could take in the whole layout at a glance.
“Beiji, you will live here first. After today you don’t need to go on duty in the Imperial Guard, and set the shadow guard side aside for the time being, and concentrate on preparing for the martial examination.”
In the past, Shang Yinyu had given Qiao Beiji a house too. At that time his relationship with Qiao Beiji was very good, so what he gave was the residence he had had built after taking the throne as a retreat for himself.
That residence had a tunnel leading straight to Ganlu Palace, and he often met Qiao Beiji through the tunnel. In the residence, in Ganlu Palace, and in the secret room within the tunnel, there were intimate memories of him and Qiao Beiji.
Later, when Qiao Beiji turned against him completely, before Qiao Beiji returned to the capital he had had craftsmen seal the tunnel.
Hearing the emperor’s instruction, Qiao Beiji answered: “Yes.”
His Majesty had never mentioned the mission in advance, so Qiao Beiji had not asked what exactly it was and just followed His Majesty’s instructions in everything.
He could not ask about the specific mission, but he needed to know the direction, so Qiao Beiji asked: “Master, do you wish me to take top place in the martial examination?”
Of course Shang Yinyu wanted Qiao Beiji to take top place, but in letters there is no first and in martial arts no second; in the civil examinations Shang Yinyu could still divide the top three according to his own ideas at the palace examination, but with the martial examination there was no way; who was better was known with one fight.
Shang Yinyu also trusted Qiao Beiji’s strength and just did not want him under pressure, so he said: “Just do your best. The ranking is not important.”
Qiao Beiji was very straightforward in handling Shang Yinyu’s instructions: if Master said do your best, then he had to give his all.
So in the eleventh year of Tianxi, every examinee who had shared an examination ground with a martial artist named Qiao Beiji faced the interrogation of life head on: Who am I? What am I doing? Why am I so weak?
Before the martial examination results were even posted, everyone had a good idea who the top candidate would be.
In the next few days, Qiao Beiji was surrounded by crowds. His name was called out at Taihe Hall, the list was hung at the Western Chang’an Gate, and His Majesty personally bestowed armor on him.
After the “metropolitan examination banquet” was held at the Ministry of Military Affairs and he was granted an official post, Qiao Beiji leapt to become a Staff General of the third rank.
Afterward an imperial edict came down from the emperor: this year’s martial examination top graduate, second place, third place, and all the other graduates were to go to the frontier to gain experience.
The court officials were not surprised by this edict. After the winter hunt, His Majesty had sent not a few martial officers in the capital to the frontier posts. Obviously, unless they accumulated military merit enough to satisfy His Majesty, they should not expect to come back.
Qiao Beiji also received the edict to go to the frontier for experience.
The frontier, so far from His Majesty…
Qiao Beiji’s shadow guard token was still there, and he could enter the palace directly to see His Majesty. But he could not go in the daytime. His present identity was the martial examination top graduate Qiao Beiji, and countless people were watching him.
Qiao Beiji waited for dark, waited for deep night.
He knew the mission His Majesty had given him was officially starting, and he was not sure how long it would be before he could come back; at the very least… at the very least let him see Master one more time.
At dusk, Qiao Beiji was still waiting patiently when he received a visiting card from the young master of Treasure Pavilion.
Treasure Pavilion was a silver emporium that had risen over ten years earlier, selling all kinds of top gold and silver jewelry and vessels. Its owner behind the scenes was of mysterious origin and never showed his face, and Treasure Pavilion’s shops now spread across the country.
Qiao Beiji had learned that the owner behind Treasure Pavilion was His Majesty only after becoming His Majesty’s shadow guard commander. As for the young master… His Majesty had no thought of grooming an heir, so the young master was naturally also His Majesty.
This visiting card made him put aside for the moment the idea of entering the palace, and he waited until the appointed time.
A knock came at the courtyard door. Qiao Beiji was not used to being served, and there was not even a gatekeeper in the whole house. Hearing the sound, he flashed straight to the door and pulled it open.
The knocker was dressed as an ordinary page boy. Qiao Beiji had sensed his presence from inside the house; it was Shadow Thirty-Three.
Qiao Beiji glanced at him and looked outside. A very imposing carriage stood outside the door. Another shadow guard dressed as a page boy drew back the carriage curtain, and the person who stepped out of the carriage was the Master he thought of day and night.
Master…
Qiao Beiji restrained the habitual instinct to salute and led His Majesty inside.
Shang Yinyu was now dressed as a dandy young gentleman. He followed Qiao Beiji into the house, and before long someone dressed like him walked out of Qiao Beiji’s courtyard and boarded the carriage.
The shadow guards were people he had brought up himself. Qiao Beiji could tell from slight sounds what they were doing; Master’s carriage was leaving, so Master…
“Will Master be staying here tonight?” Qiao Beiji asked, a little nervously.
Shang Yinyu did not know where Qiao Beiji had gotten that guess, and answered: “Someone will come to swap me back later.”
“Yes.” Qiao Beiji lowered his eyes slightly.
“By the way, you’re a Staff General now. Don’t call me Master anymore,” Shang Yinyu said, looking around the room, “Don’t call me that in private either. You need to change how you address me.”
Best if you never have to call me that again. After tonight, I am the emperor and you are the general.
Qiao Beiji understood this was for the needs of the mission to avoid exposing identities, but being told this by Master for the first time gave him an indescribable flutter of unease. “Yes, Your Maj—”
Master had come as the young master of Treasure Pavilion, so it seemed he should not be called Your Majesty either, and Qiao Beiji looked at Shang Yinyu helplessly.
Seeing Qiao Beiji’s loss, Shang Yinyu said offhandedly: “Call me Young Master for now.”
Qiao Beiji called softly: “Young Master.”
“Mm.”
Shang Yinyu sat down on a chair and said: “Soon the Ministry of Military Affairs will send people to escort you all to the frontier. There is nothing I can instruct. When you get to the frontier you will know what to do.”
“I don’t know how long it will be before you come back from leaving the capital this time. Does Beiji have any concerns? Tell me and I’ll take care of them for you.”
For example… that woman in the Cold Palace.
Qiao Beiji was still not quite used to their present identities. Several ways of referring to himself flashed through his mind, and in the end he only said: “I have no concerns.”
All he thought of in his heart was Master. Master was a sovereign above ten thousand people, with countless people attending him; what need was there for him to say more?
Shang Yinyu: “?”
I made a special trip, and it was to hear this?
“There’s nothing you want?” Shang Yinyu asked.
This time he had not given any notice and had just sent Beiji to the frontier, and Shang Yinyu felt a little sorry in his heart. He wanted to do something for Qiao Beiji as compensation, or… a benefit for serving him.
Qiao Beiji was silent for a while and said in a low voice: “Could you hold me one more time?”
The request left Shang Yinyu slightly stunned.
After coming back from the winter hunt, the number of times Shang Yinyu had intimate contact with Qiao Beiji had been gradually decreasing.
This time, because of the martial examination, he had not embraced or touched Beiji for quite some days, and the other had never said anything, so he had thought Beiji’s illness had greatly improved.
Shang Yinyu thought for a while and said: “Go to the bedroom. I’ll hold you one last time.”