Chapter 42 - 042 The Late Emperor

Wan Zhang never did make things clear.

He closed his eyes, and no one knew whether he had passed out from drunkenness or had fainted.

He Ying saw this and was so angry he wanted to kick the man again.

“Don’t!”

Sang Yan stopped him, “He just fell. He might have fainted from the fall. Hurry, find an Imperial Physician to look at him.”

He Ying frowned, withdrew his foot, and gestured to someone in the distance, “Carry him to the Observatory. Summon the Imperial Physician there.”

A great procession then made its way to the Observatory.

Observatory

The official on duty learned that the Emperor was coming and went out to meet him from afar, “This humble official, Chu Jun, greets the Emperor.”

Chu Jun was Wan Zhang’s half-disciple.

He was in the prime of his youth, and his eyes and brows were full of righteous brightness, not at all decrepit and disheartened like Wan Zhang, but rather like a rising sun bursting forth.

When He Ying Pei saw him, he felt somewhat relieved.

After his ascension, unlike the late Emperor, he did not believe in divination or astrology, nor did he value it, letting it naturally thrive or decline. He had thought such practices would have faded away by now but was surprised to find someone worth seeing.

At that moment, this person worth seeing was casting sideways glances at Sang Yan, his brow furrowed the entire time.

Sang Yan noticed and asked, “My lord, is there something unusual about my facial features?”

Chu Jun met her beautiful eyes, blushed, and lowered his head, “No.”

Sang Yan didn’t believe him and looked to He Ying, hoping he would help inquire.

Actually, she wasn’t one to believe in ghosts and fate, but having traveled through time, she knew the world was full of wonders, and had thus developed a sense of reverence.

The people in the Observatory were enigmatic, and the way they looked at her, as if there were words on the tip of their tongues, was incredibly tantalizing.

Of course, beyond the curiosity, there was also unease—was the unusual aspect due to the original owner of the body, or was it her who was the anomaly? Could she return to her original world?

He Ying caught Sang Yan’s glance and responded with a reassuring smile, then entered the Starlight Hall.

Inside the hall were various astronomical instruments and rows of bookshelves holding records and archives.

In the center of the hall stood an enormous bronze cauldron.

Inside it burned thick incense.

The scent was not overpowering, rather its subtle tranquility was quite comforting.

Sang Yan took in her surroundings, her gaze finally resting on a bed.

The man who had fainted was lying there.

The Imperial Physician arrived.

After examining him, he reported shakily, “Director Wan… has passed out from drunkenness.”

He Ying had already suspected that Wan Zhang was drunk.

Now, with new anger mixing with the old, he lost his temper, “Someone, splash water on him to wake him up!”

“Your Majesty—”

Chu Jun stepped forward to plead, “Director Wan… is weak-bodied. I hope the Emperor will show mercy.”

The last time Wan Zhang was splashed with cold water by the Bodhi maid in the Empress Dowager’s palace, he developed a fever the next day and couldn’t leave his bed for days.

He Ying sneered, “Weak-bodied, yet so fond of wine he can’t live without it. I’m starting to think he’s tired of living.”

He showed no mercy and turned to Pei Muyang, raising his voice, “Well? What are you waiting for?”

“Yes.”

Pei Muyang did not dare to delay and immediately instructed the eunuchs to fetch water.@@novelbin@@

Sang Yan had a rather good impression of Wan Zhang and intervened, “Your Majesty, just wake him up. You just kicked him without cause. He has a wound on his forehead.”

The mention of this aggravated He Ying; he hadn’t touched her yet, but a drunk had taken advantage.

“He got what he deserved! Why did he touch your face?”

“He was reading my face.”

“Perhaps he was using divination as a pretext for lewd—”

“Why must Your Majesty think so poorly of him? Are you angry with him, or with me?”

Sang Yan reasoned for a while, but quickly lost patience, finding the Emperor trivial and overly focused on such minor matters.

“Your Majesty, what’s important now is the divination. I want to know what they’ve seen.”

She asserted her position firmly.

He Ying thought for a moment, decided it was indeed important, nodded his head, and dismissed everyone around him except for Chu Jun, “Do not hide anything. Tell the truth. What did you see in her face?”

Chu Jun’s face turned red again as he bowed and said, “Emperor, please forgive me. It seems my study has been inadequate. I really can’t make out the young lady’s facial features.”

As he spoke, his face grew even redder as if it were about to drip blood.

It was truly embarrassing.

Despite his belief that he had learned eighty percent from Wan Zhang, it turned out he could discern nothing.

He Ying and Sang Yan: “…”

They had not expected this explanation.

After a pause, He Ying finally asked, “Is that true?”

Chu Jun bowed once more and respectfully said, “I wouldn’t dare deceive the Emperor.”

Convinced, He Ying turned his head to look at Wan Zhang on the bed: “Wake him up.”

Obeying the order, Chu Jun immediately stepped forward and pushed Wan Zhang: “Director Wan, Director Wan, wake up, the Emperor is here.”

However, Wan Zhang was sleeping so soundly that his snoring shook the heavens.

He Ying was once again tempted to throw cold water on him.

Sang Yan spoke before he could get angry: “Let’s wait for him to wake up before we ask him to read the facial features.”

She wasn’t in a hurry anymore.

After all this commotion, the night had grown very deep.

“Emperor, you should go back and rest. There is the early court tomorrow.”

“… Yes.”

He Ying was always one to give her face.

The group then left the Observatory with grandeur once again.

The two of them walked side by side as usual.

However, this time they were not silent.

Mostly it was He Ying speaking.

“You are always soft-hearted towards others but hard-hearted towards me.”

“No matter if it’s the concubines, or those victimized women, or even Wan Zhang, whom you met today, your heart softens for them, but you are as hard as steel toward me.”

His words sounded lonely and mournful.

Sang Yan was somewhat moved, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what she could say.

She was a person full of contradictions, even somewhat coy, always spouting disdain while being upright in heart; sometimes, she also detested this aspect of herself.

Maybe another person who had traveled through time would have been braver than she?

Seeing her remain silent, He Ying continued to murmur to himself: “Perhaps this is what Pei Muyang referred to as ‘domineering at home’?”

As he spoke, he actually laughed: “That’s fine. Domineering at home, domineering at home; at least it means we are from the same home.”

He seemed to be finding joy amidst sorrow, still looking at her with an indulgent gaze: “If you want to be domineering, then be it. I will indulge you.”

At that moment, all was silent.

Sang Yan met his tender and affectionate eyes, and for a moment, she really wanted to say: I am not hard-hearted, I like you too.

But she didn’t say it.

Instead, she changed the topic: “Emperor, what kind of person was the late Emperor?”

This was a serious and weighty topic.

He Ying composed himself and slowly said: “The late Emperor ascended the throne at ten and passed away from illness at twenty. His short life was lived under the shadow of the Regent King Pei Zhen, without ever having ruled personally.”

So he was a puppet Emperor.

This is what Sang Yan thought to herself, but aloud she said, “Emperor, please accept my condolences.”

He Ying shook his head slightly with a smile that carried a hint of helplessness: “There’s not much to mourn. He was just like you, too soft-hearted. Even without the Regent King, he wouldn’t have accomplished much as an Emperor.”

Sang Yan: “…”

Is it really okay to speak of the late Emperor like this?

“However—”

He Ying shifted the topic, his voice cooling: “If he’d been a little more ruthless, I would not exist.”

Sang Yan was taken aback: “Ah? What do you mean?”

“It’s simple. When the late Emperor reached the age of ruling personally, in order not to relinquish power, the Regent King had to support me instead. At that time, I was seven or eight years old, and I could have served as a puppet Emperor for a few more years.”

“But if the late Emperor had killed you, he could have bided his time.”

Sang Yan had guessed the rest of the story; the late Emperor cared for brotherly affection, preferring to die himself rather than kill his younger brother.