EHW Ch30

The news that Gu Fangzhi had spent another night in the Hall of Mental Cultivation spread among the court officials by the next morning.

Since Pei Xin’s ascension, few ministers had ever spoken more than a few words to him, let alone earned his favor.

Gu Fangzhi was a rare exception.

Thus, the moment he appeared in court, several officials hurried toward him, eager to ask how he had gained the emperor’s favor.

Gu Fangzhi immediately turned toward Song Jingzhou.

Usually, pretending to be deep in conversation with Song Jingzhou was enough to escape such social ambushes.

But today, that trick didn’t work.

The officials had already seen through his act, no matter which way Gu Fangzhi turned to “admire the scenery,” they would circle around to intercept him.

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Looks like there was no escaping this today.

So he reloaded to a save from just before he tried to run to Song Jingzhou and this time chose to stay where he was, waiting for them to approach.

The group surrounded him and asked variations of the same question:

“Lord Gu, what exactly did you do to earn His Majesty’s affection?”

Everyone says honesty is the best policy.

So Gu Fangzhi answered truthfully:“Actually, I didn’t do anything.”

But his honesty only made them more suspicious, thinking he was hiding some secret technique, they pressed him even harder.

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Sigh, these days, no one believes the truth anymore.

So he reloaded again.

This time, facing the curious ministers, he said with utmost sincerity:

“My lords, steel must first be strong itself. Truly, I’ve done nothing special, just worked to improve myself. If each of you can do as I have, one hand mastering strategy, one hand mastering attitude, one hand mastering duty, one hand caring for family, one hand grasping etiquette, one hand managing studies, one hand understanding the affairs of the realm, and one hand, keeping an eye on His Majesty’s preferences, then you too shall be dearly loved by the emperor!”

The officials: “…………?”

Walk away, walk away, no one has that many hands.

After finally shaking them off, Gu Fangzhi let out a breath of relief, only to feel a gaze fixed on him.

He looked up and met Qin Xuan’s eyes.

Their gazes met across the hall.

Gu Fangzhi politely nodded; Qin Xuan returned the nod but quickly looked away, eyes shadowed with thought.

Last time, he’d suspected the red mark on Gu Fangzhi’s neck was a love bite, but it had only been a guess.

Now, as Gu Fangzhi turned, Qin Xuan’s sharp eyes caught sight of the fading mark again.

It had grown lighter, but it was still long, too long.

Unless Pei Xin’s mouth was as big as a crocodile’s, or unless he’d sucked all the way around Gu Fangzhi’s neck, it couldn’t have been a kiss mark.

So he must have been mistaken before.

A flicker of guilt passed through Qin Xuan’s heart.

Gu Fangzhi, meanwhile, was yawning one after another, looking far more tired than usual.

When court began, Pei Xin also seemed weary.

A minister asked with concern, “Your Majesty, are you unwell?”

Pei Xin closed his eyes briefly.

“Just tired.”

Before court, he had been reading a secret report from Yanmen.

The plan he’d mentioned earlier, sending spies disguised as enemy soldiers into the opposing camp, had gone smoothly, and the tone of his subordinate’s handwriting even looked lighter than before.

For once, Pei Xin had felt a trace of ease.

But at the end of the message, it mentioned something else, 

that remnants of the Cangsheng Sect were spreading rumors near the military camp, claiming that Great Qi had lost the people’s faith and that Emperor Pei Xin was cruel and tyrannical.

Pei Xin: “……”

Me?

Tyrannical?

A month ago, he might have accepted that without blinking.

But now…

The most “cruel” thing he’d done recently was call a monk a “bald donkey” and order ten lashes for a corrupt official.

Pei Xin lowered his gaze, the frustration that had been simmering in his chest suddenly surging to his lips.

He gave a short, humorless laugh.

Then, abruptly, the laughter stopped.

His face hardened, and he slammed the report onto the table.

The sudden sound startled all the attendants, who dropped to their knees in terror.

Pei Xin exhaled sharply.

“Get up.”

The moment he spoke, his vision darkened.

His palm slammed against the table again.

Everyone fell back to their knees in a panic.

Pei Xin: “……”

His face remained composed, eerily calm, almost as if he’d expected this.

“…Get up.”

The servants hesitantly rose again.

A second later, bang! Pei Xin’s hand hit the table once more.

Pei Xin: “…………”

His hand hurt.

But more than pain, he just felt… tired.

Utterly, soul-deep tired.

Below the throne, Qin Xuan frowned.

Gu Fangzhi looked exhausted. Pei Xin, too, was drained.

Just what had they done last night to be this tired?

Wait, could it be he hadn’t been mistaken after all?

Qin Xuan closed his eyes briefly.

He wasn’t the type to pry into others’ private affairs.

But Pei Xin’s position was too important, every action of his could affect the very fate of Great Qi.

And Gu Fangzhi… his motives were still unclear.

Sigh.

Why had things become so complicated?

By evening, after finishing his work, the modern-day transmigrator and overworked civil servant Gu Fangzhi rushed home to the Gu residence.

He’d returned late the night before, and little Manman had stayed up waiting for him, sleeping fitfully until dawn.

Feeling guilty, Gu Fangzhi had asked Pei Xin earlier if he could go home first to put Manman to bed before coming back to the palace to stand night watch.

Pei Xin had replied with a single word:

“Granted.”

When Gu Fangzhi entered Manman’s room, he froze at the sight.

A few days ago, the boy had been so weak he couldn’t even sit up, yet today he was standing at the table, brush in hand, practicing calligraphy, while Gu Yunchuan watched beside him.

At the sound of the door, both turned.

Manman dropped the brush and ran toward him.

“Fangfang-ge!”

Gu Fangzhi’s face lit up.

“Manman, how are you feeling?”

Gu Yunchuan said, “His Majesty sent an imperial physician today. He prescribed two sets of medicine, after taking them, he’s much better.”

“Hmm?”

Pei Xin had sent someone to treat Manman?

That was the last thing Gu Fangzhi had expected.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled softly, a touch of warmth in his expression.

Perhaps Pei Xin truly had grown more mature,  even learned to show gratitude.

Gu Yunchuan motioned for Manman to continue copying characters and turned to Gu Fangzhi.

“Why does the emperor keep calling you to stay the night?”

“His Majesty can’t sleep. I give him massages.”

Gu Fangzhi said it casually, then offered with a grin,

“Want to try, big brother?”

Gu Yunchuan chuckled. “I didn’t know you had such skills.”
Seeing Gu Fangzhi so eager, he nodded. “All right.”

Gu Fangzhi guided him into position.

Compared to Pei Xin, Gu Yunchuan’s shoulders were much stiffer.

Gu Fangzhi put real effort into it, massaging the back of his neck, left shoulder, right shoulder, left arm, right, actually, skip the right arm.

After the time it took for one stick of incense to burn, Gu Fangzhi finally stopped, panting slightly.

“Well, big brother, how was it?”

Gu Yunchuan: “……?”

It was… utterly ordinary.

The strength wasn’t great, the acupoints were all wrong, nothing remarkable whatsoever.

Faced with his brother’s expectant gaze, Gu Yunchuan chose the kindest response: silence.

From that expressionless face, Gu Fangzhi instantly read a single word,  “Awful.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……Ouch.”

For the sake of his dignity, he reloaded again.

This time, he used every ounce of skill he had.

After another stick of incense, he stopped, out of breath.

“Well, big brother, how was it this time?”

Gu Yunchuan, maintaining the same polite silence, said nothing at all.

This time, from his elder brother’s perfectly calm expression, Gu Fangzhi sharply read three silent words: “Utterly terrible.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Gu Yunchuan awkwardly tried to comfort him:

“Well… maybe… maybe His Majesty just… likes this kind of back-alley, barefoot-doctor style.”

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

‘Wonderful comfort. Let’s never do that again.’

After telling Manman a bedtime story and putting him to sleep, Gu Fangzhi hurried back to the palace.

Ah-Qi, long used to the original Gu Fangzhi’s habit of shirking work and complaining, found it strange to see him so calm and uncomplaining, tired, yes, but composed.

He lifted the carriage curtain and handed over a packet of candied tangerines.

“Second Master, if you’re tired, you must take care of yourself.”

“I’m not tired,” Gu Fangzhi replied.

And indeed, he was telling the truth, just earlier, he’d seen the small chest of golden melon seeds Pei Xin had sent to his residence, and he was very pleased about it.

The more he thought about it, the happier he became.

“Hehehehe… hahaha… hehehehehe.”

Outside the carriage, Ah-Qi: “???”

When he’d finally laughed enough, Gu Fangzhi reloaded the scene, sat up straight, and solemnly said,

“It’s my greatest joy to help His Majesty relieve his worries.”

When he arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Pei Xin was speaking with someone.

Pei Xin glanced up at him.

“Teacher, make yourself comfortable.”

Gu Fangzhi bowed and sat down on the small couch outside, taking out the tangerines Ah-Qii had given him.

He loved tangerines, but hated the white pith.

He would always peel every strand of it clean before eating.

As he worked, the rich, bright fragrance of citrus drifted into the inner hall.

Pei Xin’s eyes flicked outward.

Gu Fangzhi was slowly peeling the tangerine, long fingers pinching each thread of white pith and carefully pulling it away, the same light, deliberate motion as when those fingers had pressed gently against his shoulders.

“…Your Majesty?”

The man sitting before Pei Xin had called him twice before he came back to himself.

He realized with a start that he’d been staring at Gu Fangzhi’s hands.

Pei Xin lifted his gaze to the man before him.

The visitor was a man in his early forties, slightly plump, with a resemblance to Pei Xin, though far less sharp in the eyes.

This was Pei Ji’An, Pei Xin’s cousin, a royal kinsman with the title Prince of Ning.

Pei Ji’an was mild-mannered and fond of calligraphy and landscapes, disliking conflict.

He’d never approved of the ruthless warfare of the late emperor and Pei Xin, and so had stayed quietly on his fief, rarely visiting the capital.

They were not close.

This time, he had come to ask for a favor—

His only son, twenty-eight this year, still had no wife.

Recently the boy had fallen for a cousin, but that cousin loved someone else.

Now the son could neither eat nor sleep, and in desperation, Pei Ji’An had come to beg Pei Xin to grant an imperial marriage.

Pei Xin: “……”

‘I didn’t realize being emperor also meant part-time matchmaker.’

He sneered, “Today you come to me over your son’s marriage. Tomorrow someone will come because their vegetables had two leaves missing. Tell me—am I an emperor or a village elder settling squabbles at the crossroads?”

Pei Ji’An flushed crimson.

“But, Your Majesty—”

Pei Xin raised a hand.

“The girl already has someone she loves. If I grant the marriage, I’d only be breaking one apart. Enough, don’t bring this up again.”

Pei Ji’an opened his mouth to protest, but at that moment, a strange sound came from the outer hall.

Gu Fangzhi was doubled over, one hand over his mouth, face scrunched up.

Pei Xin’s heart leapt into his throat.

He gripped the armrest, about to rise—

Then Gu Fangzhi groaned,

“So sour—!”

【Congratulations, player! You have unlocked the Bad Ending: “You ate the tangerine you yourself cursed.”】

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Fine.

He’d been planning to reload anyway.

He pinched and tested each tangerine carefully, finally picking one that looked safe, and started peeling again.

Meanwhile, inside the hall—

Pei Ji’An began again,

“Your Majesty, I have one more matter I beg you to judge.”

Pei Xin: “……”

He just finished saying it, and now he’s saying it again?

Resting his chin on his knuckles, Pei Xin sighed wearily.

“Speak.”

After a long, winding plea, Pei Ji’An finally reached his point. Pei Xin answered concisely,

“Denied.”

He wasn’t about to repeat himself.
Without even glancing at Pei Ji’an’s reaction, he was about to summon Yang Luhai to escort him out—

When suddenly—

“So sour!!”

Pei Xin’s vision went dark again.

Pei Ji’An: “Your Majesty, I have one more matter I beg you to judge.”

Pei Xin: “…………”

Everyone begged him to make decisions, but who could ever make one for him?

He turned his gaze sharply toward Gu Fangzhi, now on his third tangerine.

But this time, Pei Xin wasn’t watching the man’s hands, he was watching the fruit itself.

Small, still tinged with green at the base, almost certainly another sour one.

Knowing full well that Gu Fangzhi would just rewind time, Pei Xin decided to let go of restraint entirely.

“No marriage. Don’t ever mention this again.”

He arched a brow, adding maliciously,

“And if you do, I’ll tell your cat-hating wife all about that little house you keep filled with pet cats.”

Pei Xin’s eyes glinted with amusement as he watched Pei Ji’An’s face crumble.

At the same time, he quietly waited for Gu Fangzhi’s next outburst of “so sour.”

But…

Time passed, and nothing happened.

Pei Xin looked out again.

Gu Fangzhi was calmly finishing the last slice of the tangerine.

Pei Xin: “…………”

So now he’d gone from a benevolent ruler… to an evil villain who threatened people with their cats.