Ch63 - Frustrating matters

In the first year of Jianyuan, Great Jing’s dead trees came back with the spring.

The emperor relocated the capital city, changed theera name,and adjusted the complicated bureaucracy at the local and central levels, improved the law and penal systems, and helped court affairs get back on track.

Xie Huaian passed the new year at Xindu.

In the past, the Heavenly Master would host a New Year’s banquet for the ministers at Eternal Peace Palace with extremely lavish dishes. First came over a hundred dishes of honey-fried fruits, followed by delicacies of the mountains and seas to encourage drinking. The kitchens would decorate the fruits with all sorts of embellishments that took months to learn in order to prepare the finest dishes.

When Hong Yao took the reins of power, the emperor kept the ministers behind to eat a meal after the court session. Then he gave himself a half-day break to return to the State Preceptor’s Residence and set up a lively family banquet.

At Xie Huaian’s suggestion, today they were eating lamb hotpot.

For this “family banquet” Xie Huaian invited Kong Qing, Lou He, all the FlyingLuanGuards that were part of the convoy escort, and the various famous bachelors of Xindu:

Xiao Weishen, who had dedicated body and soul to work at the Ministry of Works; Pei Xiuyi, who didn’t have a chance to go home after taking on his government post; the Grand Minister of Agriculture Pei Wenzheng, and the two talented boys who had no adults to look after them.

Xie Huaian originally wanted to invite General Zhong too, since the man had taken such cares for him, but when he heard Hong Yao say the man had been sent off to the north for other matters, he gave up regretfully.

Before the fogged-up glazed windows, Xindu’s officials gathered around the bubbling pot and toasted each other success in the coming year. At first everyone remained reserved while eating beneath Hong Yao’s gaze, but soon let loose once they drank some liquor. The three members of the Pei Clan began to spontaneously play thexun,drums, and sing. Taking advantage of the music, Hong Yao lifted Xie Huaian up to dance by gently spinning in circles with him. Xie Huaian laughed heartily until his brain caught up around bedtime.

His hands had felt restless after seeing others play thexun,so he wanted to ask Hong Yao for an instrument. But as soon as he finished, Hong Yao pulled him out to dance.

Cough,did Hong Yao think he was going to saw wood with the erhu again?

On the other side, Xiao Weishen finished his meal and brazenly asked Kong Qing for the leftover meat to bring home as takeaway. Beforehand, he’d politely declined the emperor’s invitation to live at a larger residence and squeezed in with his colleagues in one of the alleyway houses. Soon enough, he’d become familiar with the children of the artisans nearby.

Tonight he had made an appointment with them to stay up for New Year’s. Xiao Weishen brought the leftover meat to give to the neighborhood children, as well as a certain thief who disliked coming through the front doors.

Pei Wenzheng pulled Pei Junbao aside to whisper about Pei Xiuyi. In the past, Pei Xiuyi was the only one between them that never got drunk. But tonight his 30-some year old face was inexplicably flushed, making him suspect the man had gotten intoxicated for the first time in his life.

“Move aside, you’re so annoying,” Pei Junbao felt that he and Pei Wenzheng weren’t from the same generation and heartlessly refused his little uncle’s desire to gossip. Instead, he hugged the abacus that never left his side to his chest and went off to find Zhou Yin.

Just then, Zhou Yin had been whispering to him at the table, saying that the State Preceptor gave him too much spending money. He felt uneasy about accepting it and wanted to combine their monthly salaries to buy the State Preceptor a New Year’s present.

Once the new year passed, it was never-ending construction again.

Xie Huaian completely downplayed his status as Son of God and became Great Jing’s state preceptor instead. During the bitter winter, he woke up early once to attend the court session with difficulty. But his eyes were already sliding shut before he ever reached the Hall of Diligence and the tip of his nose turned red from cold. He had to warm up by the stove for ages in the side rooms of the palace before recovering.

Seeing this, Hong Yao would rather set up a screen and let Xie Huaian lie directly on the dragon throne to sleep. But Xie Huaian was thin-skinned and said he shouldn’t be too blatant with his favoritism.

In response, Hong Yao simply waved a hand and said all members of the court session could sit today while the state preceptor bowed out of his day job to sit on a soft cushion with an extra heater.

All of the ministers said thank you, smiling as they sat. They knew they were benefiting from the state preceptor’s own treatment.

Xiao Weishen’s seat was a little behind and to the side of Xie Huaian, so he could clearly see him creasing his brows and resisting the urge to nod off from drowsiness from time to time. He had the mistaken assumption that the state preceptor had dragged himself to court while ill. When Xiao Weishen told this to his cohorts upon his return, the rest of the Ministry of Works all paled from shock. One by one, they all hid away the queries they intended to send him and replaced them with supplements and medicinal ingredients instead.

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Whatever he could manage, he’d do. Otherwise he couldn’t sleep with a clear conscience, Xie Huaian thought.

He just had to move his lips to get things done. Those officials with dark circles beneath their eyes and the others galloping through the countryside were the real hard workers.

In his spare time, Xie Huaian would also check on the location of the star fragment in the northern desert.

It was still the same: a black screen with flashes of color.

Such easygoing days lasted for two to three months.

During thespring festival, officials from the Ministry of Rites submitted a memorial to invite the state preceptor to preside over the ceremony and prepare offerings to ask for a year of good winds and rain.

“There’s no need to discuss this any further. You should all keep everything simple and follow the rites,” the Son of Heaven’s expression was gloomy.

When Xie Huaian heard about this, he coaxed him by the pillow. “Don’t be angry. It’s no big deal to preside over the ritual. If I practice a few times beforehand, there won’t be any mistakes.”

Hong Yao hugged his little scholar as a human heater to warm him up. “Zhen’sstate preceptor doesn’t need to worry about sacrificial ceremonies. Those people…it’s fine if the winds and rains are favorable, but what if they’re not after the ceremony? Will they have Teacher go pray for rain again?”

Xie Huaian didn’t think of that and felt nervous. “I can only calculate when it’ll rain, not summon rainstorms.”

Hong Yao gritted his teeth. “You even want to summon rainstorms? You nearly lost your life calculating crop types before moving to the new capital. Even if you can, you’re prohibited.”

“I really don’t have that ability,” Xie Huaian said meekly.

“Zhensaid before to let Teacher become Great Jing’s new god. This wasn’t accurate. Just be a state preceptor without peer.” Hong Yao touched Xie Huaian’s slightly cool face and said solemnly, “Teacher said before that crops come from being planted, not prayed for.Zhenis deeply convinced that we cannot tie the fate of a nation to a single person. If winds and rain are bound to be stormy, then we’ll repair the dykes in advance, store food, train troops, and build more machinery to weather through natural disasters.”

Xie Huaian nodded before curling up under the covers against Hong Yao and falling asleep.

The more he thought about Hong Yao’s earnest appearance, the more moved he felt, until his eyelashes fluttered and his face flushed.

**

Hong Yao rarely spoke to Xie Huaian about frustrating matters.

After dinner one day, Hong Yao was sharing amusing stories with Xie Huaian on the soft cushions in front of the low table before he dozed off while holding him. In the past, it was always Xie Huaian who fell asleep first in Hong Yao’s arms, so this was his first time seeing Hong Yao’s sleeping face.

Perhaps the combination of a familiar environment and his own exhaustion had tired Hong Yao out. Even when Xie Huaian carefully lowered the man to rest on his legs and pulled a blanket over him, Hong Yao didn’t stir.

A little distressed by the sight, Xie Huaian secretly traced Hong Yao’s face with his fingers.

Afterwards, his legs went numb and he made all sorts of strange cries when Hong Yao helped him massage them. Perhaps it was his own misconception, but they still felt numb the second day so he kept wanting to rub them.

Kong Qing wanted to say something multiple times but stopped herself, helping Xie Huaian walk to the official meeting hall instead.

Zhou Yin had been waiting for him for a while. Seeing Xie Huaian being supported inside, he revealed the same pale, shocked expressions as his cohorts in the past.

“Teacher! Are you all right! Do you feel unwell again, how about resting for today?”

They couldn’t be blamed for worrying.

Hong Yao had been furious over Xie Huaian pushing his body to calculate crop varieties. After reviewing Xie Huaian’s results, he sent them onto the Ministry of Works without a single correction and a stern description with it.

He mentioned how the state preceptor was seriously ill and couldn’t hold a brush, so he used a hard pencil instead; that he didn’t have the strength to write much characters, so they were simplified. These pagesZhenhad looked through already, and if their contents could be realized then the people would be clothed, the grain coffers filled, and even the population doubled if possible. They were to do according to its instructions and not bother the State Preceptor’s Residence with constant requests if it wasn’t important.

Zhou Yin had soon copied those few sheets countless times before putting up an altar to the original drafts.

“I’m fine, are there any blueprints that need adjusting today?” Xie Huaian smiled lightly.

Zhou Yin shook his head like a rattle drum before taking out a pile of paperwork to report. “The previous firearms, cranes, and transporter designs broke through their bottlenecks with Teacher’s guidance to move on to the next stage of development. The craftsmen followed Teacher’s pointers and gained experience from it each time. They will try to get something down in writing instead of just through word-of-mouth.”

“Very good.” Xie Huaian carefully flipped through the report. “Boluan, let’s have a chat. Has there been anything troublesome at court recently? Or any annoyances?”

“Urk…” Zhou Yin hesitated.

“No need to hide it from me. Even if it’s just a rumor you’ve heard, tell me directly.”

“Therehavebeen some things. They’re not exactly thorny issues, but Teacher, don’t get mad after you hear it…” Zhou Yin was troubled. He wasn’t good at hiding things from others.

“I won’t, don’t worry,” Xie Huaian replied. “I’ll only get mad if you hide it from me.”

Zhou Yin thus broke the ice.

“These are all rumors flying about. Lord Xiao didn’t say anything, but people from the Ministry of War brought it up when we were going over the weapon blueprints. Yesterday at court someone implied that Prime Minister Pei was just someone who accompanied guests at banquets, that he presided over trade just to line his own pockets and transported a large amount of material goods during the relocation of the capital, thus he should be thoroughly investigated.”

Xie Huaian knitted his brows and instantly got angry. “What nasty words. Prime Minister Pei did used to attend lots of banquets, but that was for the sake of reviving Xuanji Pavilion. He was secretly saving Great Jing from the shadows and transporting all the stone tablets of Thousand Monuments Cave during the relocation…wait, haven’t those tablets been set out yet?”

An anxious Zhou Yin quickly helped pour tea for Xie Huaian. “Teacher, Teacher, don’t get mad. I have a bad mouth at explaining things. Prime Minister Peiisin charge of the Academy, but he might have delayed things there because he was busy, so none of the tablets have been brought out. I don’t know the rest of the details.”

“It’s all right,” Xie Huaian paused before settling his nerves. “There must be a reason someone suddenly targeted him. Prime Minister Pei isn’t afraid of shady rumors, so he’ll deal with it just fine.”

“Yes,” Zhou Yin replied. He didn’t dare meet Xie Huaian’s eyes directly as his eyebrows twitched nonstop. This expression was all too easy to read, so Xie Huaian lifted a cup to hide his smile.

“Boluan, you haven’t finished speaking yet. You’re still hiding something from me.”

“Indeed,” Zhou Yin clenched his fists. “But this isn’t something troublesome or frustrating, just a bit…”

“Speak.”

“Someone hit Zhaoge’sadmonishment drumto curse Teacher and the emperor’s male concubine.”

“Cough, cough…!”Xie Huaian choked on water and started coughing nonstop.Isn’t that both me?

“Teacher!” Zhou Yin exclaimed in alarm. He wanted to pat Xie Huaian’sback and help, but was afraid to touch him.

Xie Huaian waved a hand at him. “Talk about it.”

The admonishment drum was a drum set up by the emperor to listen to civil grievances.

Hong Yao had restored their use, then set up one in Zhaoge and Xindu each with dedicated guards. It was used for shouting grievances and giving counsel, which was equivalent to being impeached.

Zhou Yin suppressed his temper with difficulty and explained. “I’m not afraid of Teacher laughing at me, but I’ve heard of that man who cried injustice since my time at theNational Academy. He’s a mediocre talent who only speculates and seeks profits; he’ll never amount to anything in his life. In the past he even thought Teacher was part of the Heavenly Saint Church and publishedA Collection of Manifestations. I don’t know where he got the guts to make his claims this time… He says the lessons of the past are still there, that the state preceptor has received holy favor and should avoid suspicion by keeping his distance from political affairs, that Xieshijunbehaves abominably and should be abolished in favor of someone more virtuous.”

When Xie Huaian thought it over in detail, he wasn’t angry at all. On the contrary, it was even a little funny. “It doesn’t seem like a big deal.”

“It’s ahugedeal!” Zhou Yin blurted out before falling to his knees to ask forgiveness for his impudence.

He first heaped a bunch of compliments on Xie Huaian, then complained about how the man might want to abolish the male concubine, but to dare accuse the state preceptor of being the next Heavenly Master showed how blind he really was.

—

The author has something to say:=3= [The novel] will be finished next week. It’s hard work keeping up updates, mwah

The Chinese commenters:

Translator’s Note:Additional side note from my chapter comments: by the way,The Doubleis a Chinese drama adapted from another webnovel,Marriage of the Di Daughter.It’s BG instead of BL, but I heard it’s a pretty fun read!