Chapter 45 | Arc 3.
At dinnertime, Su Yu who had already fully recovered and hence, could return to his duties, prepared to serve Gan Qi his meal. In the original plot, Han Shun had stood to the side while he served the emperor, and Su Yu also intended to do the same. However, Gan Qi unexpectedly stopped him.
“You should go and eat too. Let the others take over here.” For Gan Qi, the procedures which had been so normal and matter-of-fact in the past now seemed awkward and difficult to accept.
He couldn’t understand why, but as long as he was sitting while Lil’ Shun was standing and serving him, Gan Qi felt extremely uncomfortable. It was like his heart could not accept this.
Su Yu blinked, and inwardly he laughed in a very carefree manner. Outwardly though, he maintained a serious face and proclaimed, “Your Majesty can rest assured, this servant has already fully recovered and it is no issue to once again serving the Emperor.”
“You have to help Zhen get ready for bed later, so you should go now and eat first.” Gan Qi couldn’t voice his true thoughts, so he could only cover it up under the magnanimous generosity of emperors.
However, Su Yu did not cooperate at all. Instead, putting on a face of sadness, he asked, “Is Your Majesty sick of this servant already? Earlier, this servant had fallen ill to the elements, and Your Majesty had sent me back to my own courtyard. For several days, this servant was not allowed to serve you. And now, even though I am recovered, I’m not allowed to serve Your Majesty your meal…..”
Gan Qi’s eyebrows twitched a few times, He felt very helpless, and also a bit of heartache, and he finally sighed out, “Zhen just didn’t want you to get too tired. Zhen was not rejecting you.”
Right now, his entire heart was captivated by this person, and he was bemoaning the fact that there weren’t more hours in a day to spend with the other… how could he spare even a second to entertain thoughts such as rejecting Lil’ Shun?
“Then please let this servant serve Your Majesty right now.” Su Yu’s expression instantly became bright with anticipation.
Gan Qi could not refuse the other, but he was also very reluctant to have Lil’ Shun stand the entire time he was eating. Therefore, for such a small matter, Gan Qi actually developed a pretty big headache.
“It looks like Your Majesty really is sick of this servant..” Seeing that Gan Qi was still hesitating, Su Yu could only bring out his last trick and resort to emotional manipulation.
Gan Qi did not give in immediately. He stared at Su Yu intently for a while, and then helplessly sighed, “Do as you wish.”
And so Su Yu cheerfully placed three chopsticks’ worth of all the food that Gan Qi detested onto his plate. As for why he knew so much about the other’s taste in food, it was partially due to the original’s memories, but also more drawn from his experiences in the past two worlds.
In every world, his lover would lose his memory. However, his likes and dislikes – especially in regards to food – always remained the same. This world should be no exception.
Gan Qi had adopted a ‘flattered’ mentality when he first began eating, but as he ate mouthful after mouthful of these completely unpalatable dishes, he finally realized that something wasn’t quite right. Why did it feel like…. Lil’ Shun was deliberately giving him the dishes he didn’t like eating?
But his sweetheart was the one to pick these dishes for him, he couldn’t not eat it… Gan Qi felt that his heart was very bitter. He could only put on a clear and bright expression and pretend to enjoy himself – after all, as an emperor, he couldn’t expose his personal preferences and weaknesses in front of others. Furthermore, he also didn’t want Lil’ Shun to form the unfavourable impression of him as a picky eater.
How could Su Yu not know what Gan Qi was thinking? But he thought it was very funny. Hmph, this is what you get for going against me earlier! This is just the beginning, just you wait.
The two were wrapped up in their warm and harmonious atmosphere when a eunuch bowed and came in. “Your Majesty, Consort Yi has come for an audience.”
When Qin Yiran had first entered into the palace, Gan Qi had bestowed upon her the title of ‘Consort Yi’ to demonstrate his love and devotion. However, now, in retrospect, Gan Qi only felt that he was very stupid. [T/N: Receiving a title from the emperor was a big deal.]
In particular, his real sweetheart was currently in front of him. Gan Qi couldn’t help but glance guiltily at Su Yu, but the other was just leisurely sorting through the dishes. In that moment, Gan Qi didn’t know whether he should breathe a sigh of relief, or feel sad that the other seemingly didn’t care.
Gan Qi looked back, starting to get a little moody now that Qin Yiran’s uninvited presence had ruined the atmosphere. “Zhen does not want to see her. Tell her to go back to her own palace and stay there.”
This sentence gave Su Yu the perfect opening to add oil to fire. “Since Consort Yi came in person, then shouldn’t Your Majesty greet her?”
“Zhen does not want to see her.” Gan Qi scowled and said sulkily, feeling very wronged that his secret sweetheart was unexpectedly standing up for Qin Yiran. However, he also knew that he was the one who created this whole mess in the first place, so he couldn’t blame anyone else.
Su Yu blinked, and then continued to add chaos to Gan Qi’s heart. “Is it because of this servant that Your Majesty does not wish to see her? Earlier, Consort Yi only punished this servant because this servant had forgotten his manners, and didn’t know how to speak in front of his betters. In short, it was all this servant’s fault – I plead that Your Majesty doesn’t hold this against Consort Yi. Otherwise, this servant will have sinned greatly.”
And thus Su Yu who not only had the dashing heavens-smashing attribute, as well as the aura of a tyrant president, the abuser of all scum and slags, also added the ’innocent White Lotus Flower’ to his collection.
Of course, this White Lotus Flower persona was only a means to an end. Su Yu’s main purpose was to stimulate Gan Qi. That is, to cure him of a disease, since IQ deficiency is serious illness.
In the face of Su Yu’s White Lotus Flower attack, Gan Qi felt immense heartache, some stuffiness, and also intense remorse. If it hadn’t been for his own blindness – thinking that a fish eye was a pearl – then how could he have allowed Qin Yiran to enter the palace? And if Qin Yiran wasn’t here, then Lil’ Shun wouldn’t have been bedridden for so many days, and he wouldn’t be feeling so upset right now. [T/N: Fish eyes are kind of milky I guess? And round. So it could be mistaken as a pearl if one is blind/careless.]
Su Yu saw all of this, but felt that Gan Qi still hadn’t suffered enough. In order to let the other feel more stuffy, he purposefully reddened his eyes, pretending he was about to shed tears out of urgency, and cried out, “Your Majesty, why don’t you let Consort Yi in?” This way, we can become better allies and attack her together!
Gan Qi’s breath hitched. In the face of his sweetheart’s red, teary eyes, what else could he do? Even though his heart was extremely moody, Gan Qi still relented. “Tell Consort Yi to come in.”
Qin Yiran confidently entered, dressed in a breathtaking red dress that flowed like water. Behind her was Yue Lian, carrying a basket of food.
Su Yu lowered his head and stood behind Gan Qi, his eyes sweeping over Qin Yiran and landing on Yue Lian. “Round Ball, who is this?”
Round Ball hurriedly went to check the original plot, and then reported back, “This person is called Yue Lian. She’s someone that the 7th Wangye sent to stay by Qin Yiran’s side. She looks plain and unremarkable, but is very proficient in poisons. She actually is the person who made that poisoned wine which killed the Male Protagonist in the end.”
“So it was her ah.” Su Yu’s eyes surged with obvious malice. Only he can bully his lover – if other people dared to make a move, then they’d better be ready to deal with all the consequences.
The little ball looked at the Yue Lian with sympathy; here was another pitiful woman that was about to be tortured alive by Master Host.
Although Qin Yiran was full of reluctance, she thought of Yue Hong in the Hall of Punishment and steeled herself, putting on a strained smile. “Your Majesty, this Consort has personally prepared a few refreshments and brought them over for you to try.”
Qin Yiran took the basket from Yue Lian and personally began laying out the food in front of Gan Qi. However, Gan Qi didn’t even glance of the items, and instead stated with cold anger, “Bold Consort, you’re in Zhen’s presence and yet you dare to not salute. Do you want to offend your superiors?”
The words came too suddenly, and Qin Yiran’s already strained smile froze even more, her heart instantly becoming greatly irritated. She had already lowered herself to bringing snacks over and personally visit him, this was already extremely benevolent of her! And yet, he actually wanted to pick a fight over such a trivial thing such as giving the proper greetings?
“Looking at Consort Yi’s reluctant appearance, it can’t be that you actually want to offend Zhen?” Gan Qi was sitting while Qin Yiran was standing, so he was looking up at her, but the pressure he exerted directly drowned the other.
The weight of these words were too heavy, Qin Yiran wouldn’t be able to bear the implications of rebellion, and so she could only lower her haughty head and kneel on the floor with a pale face. “Your Majesty is angered, this consort would never dare to have such thoughts.”
With this, Gan Qi was now looking down on Qin Yiran instead of up. “No, not at all. But Consort Yi must have a better memory and remember this in the future, that it is very important to have the proper manners and correct decorum. Otherwise, if Zhenmisunderstands, then the outcome will probably not be too good.”
Qin Yiran clenched her teeth, her face coloured with resentment and disdain, but still bowed her head and said, “This Consort will remember the Emperor’s teachings.”
Gan Qi nodded, but didn’t gesture for Qin Yiran to stand up. His eyes finally landed on the snacks that she had brought with her. “Consort Yi personally made all of this?”
“That’s correct. Please give them a try, Your Majesty.” Having never been treated like this before, Qin Yiran’s knees began to hurt in less than a few moments. However, she could tell that Gan Qi was truly angered this time and so she could only silently endure. Nevertheless, bitter resentment began to gather in her heart.
Gan Qi deliberately stared at the snacks for a long moment, and then asked, “What was Consort Yi’s purpose in coming here today, with this food?”
By all accounts, in these circumstances, one should never reveal their true intentions. Otherwise, it would become very apparent that the gift was not out of pure intentions to please the Emperor, but rather so that one can achieve some means.
But Qin Yiran – in addition to being prideful and conceited – was also filled with stupidity. Coupled with her current physical discomfort, she unexpectedly directly revealed the truth. “This Consort’s trusted maid – Yue Hong – has been with me since childhood and she has great value to me. This Consort heard that Your Majesty has sent her to the Hall of Punishment and so I came to inquire about this.”
Su Yu had thought before that the Female Protagonist was stupid like a pig, but he did not expect her to be stupid to this extent, it was very eye-opening.
Yue Lian, who had accompanied Qin Yiran over, desperately wished she could directly seal Qin Yiran’s mouth. She had specifically told Qin Yiran how to act on their walk over, and yet she was acting so brainlessly!
Gan Qi was so angry he began to laugh. How was he so blind before! “So you brought these refreshments today to persuade Zhen to let your maid go free?”
Qin Yiran did not have a clue as to how foolish her actions were, and instead of thinking hard as to how to remedy the situation, she nodded resolutely. “That’s correct, this Consort came specifically for this. This Consort asks that Your Majesty release Yue Hong immediately.”
“Qin Yiran, aren’t you a little too self-righteous?” Gan Qi really began smiling. “Yue Hong barged into Zhen’s royal study, interrupting the ongoing affairs. Not only did she not realize her wrongdoings, she continued to make a fuss and sprout lies and exaggerations. Zhenputting her in the Hall of Punishment was already letting her off lightly. What makes you think that just because you brought over some refreshments, Zhen will release her?”
“Because Yue Hong is this Consort’s aid ah,” Qin Yiran completely disregarded the people around her, single mindedly determined to demonstrate her stupidity till the very end. “Didn’t Your Majesty only punish Yue Hong because earlier, this Consort had lightly punished your own aid, Lil’ Shun?”
The reason Gan Qi had spoken so long with Qin Yiran in the first place was probably to prove to himself how blind and stupid he had been in the past. Now that Qin Yiran had fully demonstrated her stupid and self-righteous personality, Gan Qi naturally didn’t want to see or talk with her anymore.
However, just as he was about to order the guards to escort Qin Yiran out, Su Yu suddenly walked forwards two steps and bowed humbly. “This servant knows he has a low status, and is not befitting to speak without being spoken to in-front of the esteemed consort. However, there are some words that I must say. No matter how the esteemed consort treats or humiliates this servant, this servant has no complaints. Naturally, you are the master and I am the servant. However, this servant won’t stand to see you treat His Majesty with such blatant disrespect!”
Translator: Lone Wolf Translations