“Ah!”
Startled, Hua Chun instinctively straightened up, but having just woken, her sense of balance wasn’t great, and she nearly fell off the roof beam.
Yuwen Jie reached out and impatiently grabbed her. “You’re supposed to be the Prime Minister — can’t you act a little more like a man?!”
Hua Chun: “…”
She wanted to act like a man too! The problem was, first she’d have to actually be a man!
Pulling herself together, Hua Chun cleared her throat and cupped her hands toward the Emperor, about to offer a greeting, when she lowered her head and saw a room full of people kneeling below in a great rustling wave.
Eunuch Qin’s whole body was trembling; he didn’t dare say a word. Kneeling beside him was the Captain of the Guard, Huo Zichong.
Having let the Emperor stay stranded on a roof beam all night without being able to get down — this was not a crime that could be smoothed over with a few words.
Pushing her hand away, Yuwen Jie leapt down from the roof beam with effortless grace, landing lightly on the open floor, and looked down at them.
“This lowly servant deserves death!” Huo Zichong cupped his hands and bowed his head. “I was too late in coming to protect Your Majesty!”
This was more than just “too late” — it was already the next day. If the Emperor hadn’t known some martial arts, he might well have died last night. Hua Chun shook her head, thinking that knowing Yuwen Jie’s temperament, this Captain of the Guard would probably be dragged out and beheaded.
The result surprised her. The Emperor stood below and blamed no one — didn’t even say a harsh word — only saying, “Eunuch Qin, go prepare breakfast. Have someone come to attend to my washing and dressing. Court will convene soon.”
What? He wasn’t going to hold anyone accountable? Hua Chun looked down at him, somewhat shocked. This was such a double standard — why was he so harsh on Hua Jinghua but so lenient with everyone else?
“Yes!” Eunuch Qin acknowledged, and, trembling, raised his hand to order the preparations.
Yuwen Jie lifted his foot to leave. Hua Chun hurriedly called out, “Your Majesty!”
She was still stuck up there, hadn’t gotten down yet — it was so high, surely he wasn’t just going to leave her here?
His footsteps paused. Without even looking up, the Emperor said flatly, “There’s still an hour before morning court. The Prime Minister can figure out how to get down on your own. Don’t be late for court.”
Everyone froze for a moment. Huo Zichong, still kneeling on the ground, couldn’t help but glance up at her.
How miserable! Hua Chun clung to the roof beam, trembling, watching helplessly as the Emperor left with his entourage, her mind filled with a thousand curses galloping past.
She had at least offered up half a bag of dried fish yesterday — did he really have to turn on her so coldly? One night passed and he’d already forgotten the favor?
She glanced down — her backside still hadn’t healed, and jumping down again might shatter her into pieces. After careful consideration, Hua Chun decided to keep clinging to the beam and wait for someone to rescue her. After all, she had so many people at court keeping an eye on her — surely someone would notice she was missing.
“Your Majesty.”
Walking along the palace path, Huo Zichong reported with a grave expression: “Yesterday the Zichen Hall was sealed off. This lowly servant led men in a breakout, with ten casualties. The enemy was well prepared — no wounded or bodies were left behind. This morning, all the guards from Zichen Hall have been taken into custody.”
“Use torture,” Yuwen Jie said flatly. “Investigate thoroughly for me — find out who had the audacity to let them switch shifts and slack off on guard duty without authorization.”
“Yes.” Huo Zichong acknowledged.
Eunuch Qin had been studying the Emperor’s expression the whole way, and seeing his calm face, his eyes even bright and clear, couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
Was he… in a good mood?
Trapped all night like that — how could he possibly be in a good mood? Even the Prime Minister had been punished and left stuck on a roof beam. Last night the wind and rain had been fierce; after such a miserable night, he’d guessed the Emperor’s face would be dark for quite a while.
Was he just getting old? Lately he could never quite read the Emperor’s thoughts. Shaking his head, Eunuch Qin continued following alongside the imperial procession.
After returning to the rear hall to eat and tidy up, Yuwen Jie went straight to the Xuanzheng Hall. Seeing the first seat on the lower right empty, he inexplicably felt his mood improve.
Grand Tutor Tang and Li Zhongtang and the others were anxious beyond measure. They had been waiting for the Prime Minister to return yesterday to re-discuss the disaster relief matter, but they’d waited all night without seeing him, and now at court, there was still no sign of Prime Minister Hua.
Could something have happened?
The several elderly officials were deeply worried, but seeing the Emperor arrive, they still knelt together in salute.
Yuwen Jie calmly had everyone rise, and without asking where Hua Jinghua had gone, went straight ahead with the morning court session.
Since the Emperor hadn’t asked, the other officials naturally didn’t dare bring it up either, holding their questions until after court to go inquire.
“Prime Minister Hua has gone missing?”
After court, as Marquis Gongyu, He Chang’an, was about to head toward the rear hall, he was suddenly stopped by several senior officials who murmured to him at length. He raised an eyebrow, glanced over the group, and said with a smile, “Understood. If I happen to see him later, I’ll be sure to let you gentlemen know.”
“Much obliged, my lord.” Grand Tutor Tang cupped his hands in a bow, and with a furrowed brow, sighing, led the others away.
“My lord?” The palace attendant beside him watched the elderly officials walk off and said in a low voice, “You needn’t bother with them.”
“It’s no trouble,” He Chang’an said, turning with a smile. “Just a small favor, nothing more.”
The attendant stared foolishly at his face, momentarily stunned.
The stones from other mountains can polish jade. As a child, Marquis Gongyu hadn’t been especially striking in appearance, but now that he’d grown up, his features were handsome enough to startle anyone. This smile, set against the palace still damp everywhere after the rain had stopped, was like a rich ink-wash painting slowly unfurling — refined and elegant in every detail. Truly worthy of his title.
With looks like that, no wonder the young ladies of Yanjing had all lost their hearts to him.
Composing herself, the attendant led him onward toward the rear hall.
“Still up on the beam?” Yuwen Jie asked from within his palanquin.
Though there was no stated subject, Eunuch Qin still reacted instantly. “Yes.”
“What a fine specimen,” the Emperor scoffed. “Have Chang’an come to Zichen Hall to see me.”
“As you command.”
Hua Chun had dozed off again on the beam, and by the time she was startled awake by the voices, her face was covered in beam dust.
“Jump down,” Yuwen Jie said without preamble, not even lifting his head.
It was almost laughable. Hua Chun gritted her teeth. “Your Majesty, this humble servant knows no martial arts — jumping like this would surely injure me.”
Hearing the voice coming from above, He Chang’an was a bit surprised. He glanced at the Emperor, walked a few steps in, and looked up at the roof beam.
“Pfft—” Unable to hold it back, He Chang’an burst out laughing at the sight of Hua Jinghua’s ridiculous sprawled pose, not even minding that the Emperor was present. Looking up at her, he asked, “Whatever is the Prime Minister doing up there?”
The clear, pleasant voice made Hua Chun’s ears twitch, and she scooted to the edge of the beam to look down.
A handsome man! Her eyes went wide, and she clicked her tongue — truly, this was a drama; even the side characters all had top-tier faces. Except, this one wasn’t a familiar face at all. This was downright bizarre — with looks this good, he should have been famous across the entertainment industry already, since fans of pretty faces are the same the world over. Was this drama really supposed to be pure fiction?
The words “purely fictional” seemed remarkably apt right about now.