Chapter 15

When Ye Shu heard those words from Jin Wang, his first thought was of his own origins.

If there was a secret about himself that absolutely no one else could know, it was surely only the fact that he had transmigrated into this book.

But he didn't dare say it.

Setting aside the fact that Jin Wang would never believe it, the more important issue was…

Jin Wang treated him the way he did entirely because of the old feelings he'd had for the original host. If he found out he was an impostor, would Ye Shu have any chance of survival?

But besides that — what else could he say?

Jin Wang noticed his hesitation and asked: "You don't want to tell me?"

He hadn't asked whether there was a secret or not. He'd asked whether he wanted to or didn't want to.

Jin Wang was sharp in his reading of people — lying in front of him was never a wise move.

The carriage continued its gentle swaying. A long silence filled the interior.

Ye Shu asked quietly: "…Can this subject hold off for now?"

Jin Wang arched a brow. "For now?"

"Right… I'll owe it for the moment." Ye Shu pressed his lips together and made a pledge: "One day in the future, I will surely tell Your Majesty."

Jin Wang looked steadily at Ye Shu. The young man's eyes were clear and sincere, without the slightest trace of impurity.

Something soft in Jin Wang's heart moved quietly.

Seeing that he didn't reply, Ye Shu sidled up next to him, bowed his head, and ducked under the arm Jin Wang was using to hold his tea. "Your Majesty — I don't want to say it right now. Just let me owe it for a few days."

The posture brought them suddenly very close together. Jin Wang's expression shifted. "Get off!"

Ye Shu didn't move.

After more than half a month of living alongside this man, he had long since figured out Jin Wang's attitude toward him.

This person was tough on the outside and soft inside — seemingly unapproachable on the surface, but in reality completely susceptible to Ye Shu's wheedling and flattery. He was utterly unable to resist Ye Shu acting spoiled and yielding toward him.

A person like this in the real ancient world would probably have been a besotted emperor undone by a charming consort.

Fortunately, Ye Shu had no desire to ruin the country — he only wanted to survive.

Ye Shu wrapped both arms around Jin Wang's neck and acted thoroughly spoiled. "Your Majesty, just say yes."

Jin Wang naturally saw through the man's intentions. He let out a quiet laugh and set down his tea, pulling Ye Shu into his arms in the same motion. "It's not entirely out of the question for beloved subject to owe it — but let Us have Our way with you once in this carriage, and We will agree."

Ye Shu's body went rigid.

…This dog emperor was quite the player.

Of course no one dared board the sovereign's carriage, but not only did the carriage have zero soundproofing — both side curtains were also loose-fitting, and parted with a gap every time the carriage jolted.

With so many skilled guards outside, being undetected would be virtually impossible.

Ye Shu inconspicuously began inching away. Jin Wang held him tighter. "What — you won't?"

"I… I've been feeling unwell these past few days…"

Jin Wang lowered his gaze with a veiled smile. "Unwell where? Shall We examine you?"

"…"

Ye Shu held Jin Wang's gaze for a moment, then suddenly shoved him aside and flung back the curtain: "Urgh——"

Jin Wang: "…"

Ye Shu retched until his vision swam, yet didn't forget to turn back and explain: "Your Majesty, please hear me out — I didn't do that on purpose, I wasn't trying to urgh——"

Jin Wang: "…………"

The nausea had come without any warning. Ye Shu felt his stomach heaving and churning, his acid rising in waves.

He'd had no appetite at all when he woke up this morning — only been half-forced by Jin Wang to drink a few mouthfuls of plain congee, which was now entirely expelled.

A moment later, a pair of hands reached out and steadied him by the shoulders.

A cup of clear tea was brought to his lips.

"Drink some water." Jin Wang rubbed Ye Shu's back in slow, even strokes, helped him drink the water, then took out a silk cloth to wipe him clean. He said with distaste: "Fainting at blood and carsick besides — what a hopeless constitution…"

That was what his mouth said. But his arm curved around Ye Shu and let him lean into his chest.

Ye Shu listlessly draped himself over Jin Wang, too drained to bicker. He only lifted his watery, red-rimmed eyes to look at Jin Wang with an expression of pure innocence.

Was this something he'd asked for???

Not to mention he'd never had carsickness before!

…No matter how he thought about it, this was the original host's fault.

By the time the carriage passed through the gates of the imperial city, it was nearly sundown.

The imperial palanquin for the sovereign had long been readied. Attendants on both sides of the road bowed down to the ground.

The carriage drew to a stop at the roadside, but no one stepped out.

A court maid in the crowd dared to raise her head for a look.

At that moment the carriage curtain was drawn back from inside, and His Majesty walked out with a young man cradled in his arms.

The young man in His Majesty's arms appeared slight and frail, his features unclear from a distance. From where the court maid stood, only half a fine, pale profile was visible. He lay quietly in His Majesty's arms, as though… asleep.

Jin Wang looked straight ahead and, without a sideways glance, carried the young man down from the carriage and onto the imperial palanquin.

The gauze curtains of the palanquin fell, hiding both figures completely from view.

The palanquin moved away slowly. Only then did the attendants begin whispering among themselves.

"Is that the imperial consort His Majesty is about to take into the palace?"

"To be personally carried onto the imperial palanquin by His Majesty — we've never seen His Majesty show such affection toward anyone before."

"Only we don't know how long this favor will last. Didn't His Majesty treat Chancellor Ye exceptionally well too, in the past — and in the end, didn't that come to…"

The sentence went unfinished. The several attendants looked at each other uneasily, not daring to continue.

Ever since Left Chancellor Ye Shu had been publicly executed, that name had become taboo. Inside and outside the palace walls, anyone who spoke of the matter too openly either quietly disappeared or suffered some sudden disaster.

There were whispered rumors in the palace that Chancellor Ye had died with eyes wide open and returned as a wronged spirit seeking vengeance.

The attendants dared not discuss it further, and soon dispersed in different directions.

Among them, only the court maid who had raised her head just now remained, gazing in the direction the imperial palanquin had gone, lost in thought.

Inside the imperial palanquin, Jin Wang looked down at the pale face of the person in his arms and pulled the blanket up around him.

Ye Shu's carsickness had been severe today — he'd retched every half hour, and neither clear tea nor plum juice had helped. The journey from the traveling palace to the capital, which should have taken only two hours, had somehow stretched to twice that.

The imperial palanquin was always reserved exclusively for the sovereign, and its interior was smaller than the carriage — not particularly comfortable for carrying someone either.

Ye Shu's brow was tightly furrowed. He let out a low groan, and woke up.

Jin Wang murmured soothingly: "We're almost at the bedchamber. Hold on a little longer."

"Mm…" Ye Shu raised his hand and pressed his fingers to his brow, saying weakly: "I'm never getting in a carriage again."

Jin Wang said with disdain: "It's all because your physical constitution is poor. Who else gets like this?"

Ye Shu was silent for a moment, then explained: "…Your Majesty, carsickness and fainting at blood are both innate — they have nothing to do with physical strength…"

Jin Wang arched a brow.

Ye Shu instantly changed his tune: "…Mm. Your Majesty is entirely right."

The palanquin reached the bedchamber not long after. Jin Wang didn't let Ye Shu walk on his own — he carried him directly into the inner chamber.

Having been tortured by the carriage all day, the moment Ye Shu touched the bed he swiftly stripped off his shoes, socks, and outer robe, rolled to the far side, and wrapped himself up in the blanket like a cocoon.

Jin Wang was still removing his own outer robe when he turned to find the young man had already arranged himself with complete efficiency. He shook his head with a laugh. "We are going to the Imperial Study to summon some ministers for a discussion. Sleep a bit more — if you get hungry, have them prepare food. Don't wait for Us."

Ye Shu was buried under the blanket from head to toe. The exposed head gave a small nod. "Mm, mm."

Jin Wang changed into a black and gold dragon robe with the help of the attendants, then walked to the bedside and removed the jade pin from the back of Ye Shu's head. "You've been sick many times these past few days — it might be related to a stomach ailment. Remember to have Imperial Physician Feng come to take a look sometime."

Ye Shu was too drowsy to open his eyes and murmured vaguely: "Got it."

Jin Wang smiled despite himself, and set the jade pin on the bedside.

He had the windows closed and the palace lamps extinguished before leaving the bedchamber with his attendants.

When Ye Shu woke again, the sky was fully dark. The bedchamber was quiet, the only light the moonlight slanting through the window lattice, casting a cool pale glow across the hall.

He lay on his back staring at the gauze canopy above him, and for a long moment couldn't figure out where he was.

After a moment, Ye Shu sat up and called quietly: "Changyuan?"

The half-latched window moved briefly, and a figure was already kneeling before him. "Young Master."

Ye Shu glanced out the window. Changyuan understood without being told. "Young Master need not worry — His Majesty feared you might be disturbed, and has moved the palace staff further away. They cannot hear us speak."

"Good." Ye Shu nodded, then said: "I called you here to ask — what did Jin Wang say to you?"

Changyuan was the original host's trusted aide, absolutely devoted to him. The original host had never concealed his secret plotting from Changyuan.

Changyuan immediately recounted his earlier conversation with Jin Wang in the traveling palace, word for word.

The more Ye Shu listened, the more unsettled he felt. When Changyuan had finished, Ye Shu said slowly: "He… is still suspicious of me."

Changyuan lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Ye Shu asked: "What about you — do you suspect me?"

"This subordinate has never doubted." Changyuan said. "This subordinate follows Young Master. Whatever Young Master does, whatever decision Young Master makes, this subordinate will obey. What I told His Majesty earlier was only to discover what he thinks of Young Master."

Ye Shu nodded. "You did well."

Changyuan asked: "What does Young Master plan to do next?"

Ye Shu paused slightly.

All these days spent at Jin Wang's side, he'd been thinking every day about how to placate the tyrant — how to survive in his hands.

He had nearly forgotten that his original intention had been to escape.

"I…" Ye Shu's voice came out oddly dry. "Of course I intend to leave here as soon as possible."

Changyuan: "This subordinate understands."

Ye Shu said: "But there's no rush. His Majesty is watching me closely right now — we'll need to plan carefully."

"Yes."

The dark hall fell silent again. An inexplicable restlessness stirred in Ye Shu's chest.

He fell back onto the bed, lifted a hand — and touched the jade pin lying against the pillow.

When he'd first transmigrated into this world, Ye Shu hadn't known how to do his hair up, and always forgot to take out his hair ornaments. In the first few days after arriving, he'd even been jabbed in his sleep by them more than once.

Jin Wang was afraid he'd get hurt by the pins and had taken to removing his hairpins by hand every night before bed — and through repetition it had become habit.

The jade pin was clear and translucent, cool to the touch. But the restlessness in Ye Shu's chest slowly settled.

There was no point thinking too much — never mind it all. The most urgent matter right now was still keeping the dog emperor happy!

Ye Shu sat up and asked: "Where is His Majesty right now?"

"Probably in the Imperial Study."

"Have them prepare a meal. I'm going to see him."

One incense-stick's time later, Ye Shu arrived at the Imperial Study carrying a food box.

The Imperial Study was brightly lit. Chief Attendant Gaojin was keeping watch at the door. Seeing Ye Shu arrive, he was about to announce him — but Ye Shu gestured for him not to bother.

Gaojin understood and stepped aside from the hall door.

Ye Shu pushed the door open and entered.

Jin Wang didn't look up. "Didn't We say not to come in and disturb Us unless there's something important?"

The newcomer said nothing.

Jin Wang raised his eyes — and froze.

The young man dressed in plain white robes stepped into the hall on moonlit feet, his long hair loose down his back, gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

The hall door closed behind him. Ye Shu smiled and met Jin Wang's eyes. "Eating alone is so dull — this subject has come to dine with Your Majesty."