UCTOOT CH45

In August, it was the height of the summer heat in the Eastern Capital!

The scorching sun baked the earth, and heat waves shimmered up from the ground from time to time. But even in such high temperatures, imperial guards and personal guards of the Emperor rushed about with weapons in hand, kicking up dust. A cloud of political uncertainty hung over the city, and a gloom that involved the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of people lingered.

Shi Shu stood by the melon vines, his fair and clean chin lifted.

The sky was a glaring white, without a single cloud. If he hadn’t transmigrated, wouldn’t he be chilling at home with air conditioning and a coke? But now… even Laifu was lying in the shade, panting with its tongue out.

Crack. Someone stepped into the courtyard. Dressed in a brocade robe embroidered with coiled dragons, it was a servant who preceded the Heir Apparent, Chu Wei.

“Is anyone here? Come out and greet him! The Heir Apparent has arrived!”

Shi Shu kept his head down, focusing on pulling weeds from the field, turning a deaf ear.

“The Heir Apparent has arrived!”

He continued to ignore them.

“Xie Shishu! The Heir Apparent!”

Chu Wei had already entered the courtyard and shoved him aside. “Get out of the way!”

Shi Shu finally turned his head. “Wow, I was so busy with farm work I didn’t see you. Forgive me for not welcoming you from afar. Is there something you need?”

“This rude and insolent commoner, how can Advisor Xie’s younger brother be so ignorant…”

Chu Wei waved his fan, looking annoyed. “I came to tell you something. By His Majesty’s decree: the weather is hot and dry. Your brother is being held for trial in the Censorate. You are to pack some clean clothes and take them to him. In addition, you are permitted to bring him meals daily, and to brew mung bean and pumpkin soup to help him cool down.”

Shi Shu shot to his feet. “Xie Wuchi, is my brother going to be okay?”

The Heir Apparent fanned his sweaty head. “Heh, the ruler’s heart is hard to fathom, who knows? But I can tell you this: His Majesty has sent numerous account books from the inner palace and case files from the Mingfeng Bureau to the Orchid Terrace. He has given your brother a ten-day limit to write a memorial that will force His Majesty to severely punish Feng Lu. Otherwise, in ten days, His Majesty will rescind his order, and your brother will be a dead man.”

Shi Shu froze on the spot.

Shi Shu knew that the struggles in the imperial court were treacherous and that one wrong step could lead to eternal damnation, but he had never imagined that Xie Wuchi was experiencing so many life-or-death moments.

“Can it be done in ten days?” Shi Shu asked.

“That, I don’t know. His Majesty issued the decree in open court. Now, your brother is being called the ‘Crane Controller of the Orchid Terrace’ by all the civil and military officials. Tens of thousands of pairs of eyes are staring at this gamble! If he succeeds, Feng Lu will be defeated. If he fails, it is the ‘pure stream’ faction and us who will suffer!”

Shi Shu sneered. “The Heir Apparent is so anxious, haven’t you thought of a way to help him?”

“Your brother is now all alone. If he fails, he dies alone, and all the court officials still have a way to live. If we help him, countless people will die. The reason this Heir Apparent came to find you is precisely so that you can ask him when you bring him his clean clothes! Ask him if he can win this gamble!”

Shi Shu finally realized the key phrase. “Me?”

“Only you. The ‘Crane Controller of the Orchid Terrace’ has asked for nothing in the prison, except to plead to His Majesty that his ‘younger brother is still young and may be overcome with fear,’ and was granted special permission to see you, and only you!”

Shi Shu’s heart trembled, and strange waves stirred within him. He thought: Xie Wuchi has no one to rely on here. As expected, he and I have become friends who share life and death. When he’s in trouble, the first person he thinks of is me.

Xie Wuchi, I forgive your habit of kissing people…

“I understand. I’ll go cook some cooling soup and dishes now, and bring the clothes over.”

After delivering the message, the Heir Apparent turned and left. Shi Shu quickly picked cucumbers, bitter melons, and pumpkins from the vines and went to the kitchen, where a clatter of chopping and cooking ensued. However, Shi Shu’s cooking skills were truly terrible. The bitter melon was cut into uneven thicknesses, the cucumber skin wasn’t peeled properly, and the pumpkin was chopped into messy clumps. Amidst the smoke, Shi Shu stir-fried, steamed, and deep-fried, managing to produce a few somewhat complex dishes. He then washed his hands, packed Xie Wuchi’s clothes, locked the courtyard gate, and headed towards the Censorate.

The Censorate, also known as the Orchid Terrace or the Crow Terrace. In the courtyard of the Censorate grew a huge cypress tree, where over a thousand crows roosted. Shi Shu walked through the hot weather, drenched in sweat, until he finally reached the main gate of the Censorate.

After showing his permit to the guards, Shi Shu was allowed inside. The gates were grand, the walls towering, and officials in green and red robes bustled about.

“Follow closely,” the guiding clerk said.

“Coming.”

Shi Shu walked through a long corridor and arrived at a hot side courtyard. He first saw a dozen or so scribes by the walkway, sleeves rolled up to their elbows, poring over books and copying texts with sweat beading on their foreheads. Papers were passed around so quickly they seemed to fly overhead, creating a scene of extreme busyness.

“Where is the account book for the inner palace treasury from the sixth year of the Taikang era? Hand it over!”

“Who wrote off the accounts for the Ministry of Works in the ninth year? A deficit of five million taels was approved!”

“Where is the case file for the murder committed by the Mingfeng Bureau last June?”

“Pour some tea!”

“…”

Shi Shu looked closely and realized that not only were these scribes bare-chested, they were wearing only a pair of snow-white trousers, revealing their hairy legs as they worked, drenched in sweat. The clerk said, “Quickly, walk on.”

Shi Shu went further in and saw another seven or eight clerks in official robes, frantically checking and transcribing amidst mountain-high stacks of case files. They too were constantly wiping sweat in the stuffy weather, their official hats placed aside, collars unbuttoned to expose their chests, all the while grumbling.

“We’ve been investigating for three days straight, without going home at night!”

“When will this end? Is this heat going to kill us?”

“Such bad luck! To be stuck with this drudgery!”

“…”

Shi Shu walked to the innermost area, which turned out to be a deep and spacious prison cell, clearly used for high-ranking criminals. Sunlight fell into the snow-white prison. Before him was a large table piled with account books and documents, among which a figure in a snow-white shirt was writing furiously.

Xie Wuchi.

Xie Wuchi’s long, black hair was tied up high. He looked down, examining the documents before him. Beads of sweat trickled down due to the unbearable heat. There were bluish circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and extreme mental exertion. He had taken off his outer robe and was wearing only one layer. The thin muscles under his broad shoulders were faintly visible beneath the sweat-soaked shirt.

Shi Shu hadn’t seen him in a long time, but his first words couldn’t help but be, “Xie Wuchi, why aren’t you even dressed properly!”

Xie Wuchi looked up. “You’re here?”

Shi Shu placed the food and clothes on a small table to the side. “They told me to bring you food and clothes. I just saw many people outside so hot they weren’t even wearing pants. Your work must be really tough.”

“Others not wearing pants, is it a good look?”

“…”

The attending guard stood at the door. Although he was silent, he was clearly monitoring the activity inside.

Shi Shu: “Since it’s come to this, let’s eat first. I’ll warn you, my cooking is not very good.”

Xie Wuchi put down his pen and stood up. He took out the dishes. He drank the mung bean soup, then looked at the plates of food that lacked color, aroma, and flavor, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Then he picked up his chopsticks and put the overcooked bitter melon into his mouth, followed by the watery smashed cucumbers and the burnt stir-fried pork. Perhaps because time was short, he ate very quickly. He then drank the cooling mung bean and pumpkin soup Shi Shu had made. “I’m finished.”

The person outside was still standing and watching. Xie Wuchi said, “I’m going to take a bath. Did you bring all the clothes? Shi Shu, help me.”

Shi Shu knew Xie Wuchi wanted to send the man away, but helping him bathe was a bit complicated. Still, he couldn’t think of a reason to refuse and agreed. A servant brought water and placed it behind a screen in a partitioned section of the cell.

Shi Shu thought of the tattoo in the box, and his heart stirred with turbulent waves. It was clearly Xie Wuchi’s secret way of letting him know he was safe, but it was just so characteristic of Xie Wuchi’s perverted style.

The person at the door retreated. Shi Shu helped Xie Wuchi untie his clothes. His vision darkened. Xie Wuchi’s back muscles were crisscrossed with red marks, the skin swollen, and flecked with scabbed blood. They were several solid whip marks!

“Huh?”

Before transmigrating, Xie Wuchi had been the heir of an elite family, the center of attention. Even after coming to ancient times, he had been respected everywhere, even called the ‘Crane Controller of the Orchid Terrace’ by the ‘pure stream’ officials, showing he had gained a lofty reputation. He never expected to be whipped.

Shi Shu looked at his chest. There were also whip marks that hadn’t faded in the summer heat, stretching from his chest to his Adam’s apple, rising and falling with the movement of his skin, the red marks stark against his wheat-colored skin.

Anger rose in Shi Shu’s heart. “They tortured you?”

Xie Wuchi’s gaze shifted, seemingly still in thought. “The Emperor’s decree hadn’t arrived yet. A few minor officials acted hastily and used torture instruments first. When wolves are in power, why question the foxes?”

Shi Shu: “That’s too much. Tell me who it was, I’ll throw bricks into his courtyard at night.”

Xie Wuchi looked at Shi Shu with a half-smile, and with a flick of his fingers, he untied the towel wrapped around his waist.

“…………”

Xie Wuchi, how can you still be so provocative at a time like this?

Shi Shu’s handsome face took on the serious expression of a straight man. He averted his gaze downwards and, holding a ladle, poured the cool well water down his neck. The glistening sweat on his skin was washed away by the water.

Shi Shu deliberately controlled his gaze, looking away, and ladled another scoop of cold water. “So what’s been happening these past few days? Why didn’t the Emperor kill you—is the water too cold?”

“Not cold, it’s like ice.”

Xie Wuchi grabbed his wrist with one hand, letting the cold water run over his skin and bones, turning the simple act into something lingering and playful.

Shi Shu: “…………”

“Just presenting the evidence of Feng Lu’s crimes was not enough to make His Majesty angry enough to eliminate the traitor. People in the palace are mostly selfish. The only things they can’t tolerate are betrayal and having their own interests challenged.”

Shi Shu’s wrist was held by a scorching hand. He wanted to pull away, but as soon as he moved, the cold ladle pressed against Xie Wuchi’s waist, the ripples transmitting even the rise and fall of his abdomen.

Shi Shu’s face screamed ‘don’t even think about disturbing my righteous dao heart.’ “So did you convince His Majesty? How did you save your life?”

“Ten years ago, His Majesty was personally brought from the Liang Wangfu to the imperial palace by Feng Lu. He is special, but His Majesty and the Empress Dowager have a blood feud. Letting him know that this sycophantic dog, Feng Lu, who bends with the wind, was outwardly respectful but actually put the Empress Dowager first—of course he couldn’t stand it.”

The words “couldn’t stand it” were tinged with a sexy final note. Only then did Shi Shu realize that Xie Wuchi’s voice was also very sultry, impossible to avoid.

Why!…

Am I sick too? Why do I think his voice is sultry…

Shi Shu acted nonchalant. “And then?”

“And then, His Majesty is a spiritless, lazy good-for-nothing who would rather watch coldly from the sidelines. So a few days ago, I had Pei Wenqing write another letter, a reform memorial that was a culmination of all the ideas of the New Learning Party. Only by placing the correct answer clearly in front of him would he deign to lift a finger to copy it.”

Shi Shu’s heart chilled. He remembered what Pei Wenqing had said and finally understood.

Xie Wuchi held the ladle with one hand and placed it on his waist. Touching the scorching heat, Xie Wuchi’s voice was very soft. The softer it was, the more it sounded like he was whispering in his ear.

“Your face has gotten pale after not seeing me for a few days. Worried about me?”

Shi Shu spoke with utmost righteousness, turning a deaf ear to his provocations. “I should be worried about you. Let’s talk business first—so the Emperor gave you a chance? To collect evidence of Feng Lu’s crimes within ten days?”

“Mmm,” Xie Wuchi said, looking down, his eyelashes damp with a light mist. “These ten days are also time for him to consider. Consort Yu will no longer speak up for Feng Lu. With the popular uprising and the court flooded with memorials, it will be difficult for His Majesty to spare him again.”

A ladle of water went down. The cold water on his back irritated the wounds, and Xie Wuchi frowned slightly. “It hurts.”

“…Should I go ask for some medicine for you?”

“No need. Touch my wound.”

“Wouldn’t touching your wound hurt more?”

“Ha.”

Xie Wuchi let out a low laugh. He rarely smiled, but now he seemed to be in a good mood. He rested one hand on the rack where towels were hung, trapping Shi Shu in his embrace.

Shi Shu’s vision was blocked. All he could see was bare skin and the marks of his wounds. Shi Shu could almost smell the heat coming off his body, a very ambiguous scent.

Shi Shu had no choice but to be even more of a righteous angel, not letting his eyes stray. “How did you provoke Consort Yu?”

“The same way I convinced the Princess Consort. Everyone in a position of power wants glory and honor. Only self-interest can move people’s hearts. Consort Yu wants to be the Empress, but her association with the treacherous eunuch Feng Lu as his goddaughter would never be approved by the Empress Dowager and the entire court. I had the maids she played cards with spread gossip, magnifying her desires to swallow her reason—kick Feng Lu aside and have the Emperor govern diligently, and she would be the Empress.”

Shi Shu: “I remember now. The girl I saw you talking to in the pavilion that day, was that her?”

“Mmm, she could be bought with money.” Xie Wuchi pressed the back of Shi Shu’s hand against the wound on his abdomen. “His Majesty is impotent and cannot produce an heir. The Heir Apparent casually provoked the Princess Consort by suggesting that Feng Lu was in charge of the palace and deliberately made His Majesty take contraceptive soup. With the succession of power about to shift to another family, how could the Princess Consort be willing to let go of the wealth of the world? So she agreed to add virility-boosting tonics to the soup. She had her calculations, the Heir Apparent had his, all just to bring up the political matter of the ‘Shukang Prefecture rebellion.'”

Shi Shu suddenly understood. “So that’s how it was. Brilliant, truly brilliant.”

Shi Shu pushed Xie Wuchi’s shoulder back, touching the warm skin. “You people are quite remarkable~ To achieve your goals, you’ve covered all your bases.”

Xie Wuchi’s cold eyes looked at him. “But your expression is indifferent.”

A chill ran down Shi Shu’s back, hooked by the final tone of his voice. Silence. Xie Wuchi said in a deep voice, “Speak.”

“Fine, I’ll speak. Then didn’t you deceive Consort Yu, the Princess Consort, and the Emperor? Deceiving them doesn’t matter. But you also deceived Pei Wenqing. In his eyes, you are a good person who can right the wrongs of the state.”

“Him? No wonder you look so disapproving.”

Shi Shu: “He didn’t say anything. I thought of it myself.”

Xie Wuchi fell silent.

He stared at Shi Shu. An invisible undercurrent seemed to flow through the prison. The sunlight was snow-white, illuminating the dust in the dim room.

“Oh—?”

The atmosphere suddenly turned strange.

Xie Wuchi grabbed the ‘double happiness’ towel from the wash rack, wet it, and buried his face in the dripping cloth. When he lowered his hands, Xie Wuchi’s sharp nose was covered in cold water droplets, his long eyelashes were stuck together in clumps, and his lips were pressed into a straight line.

Xie Wuchi lowered his gaze and calmly scrutinized Shi Shu. The emotionless appraisal in his eyes instantly reminded Shi Shu of their first meeting, when Xie Wuchi had walked out of the bamboo sea in the fine rain, dressed in a sea-green monk’s robe, a Buddhist prayer bead bracelet on his wrist, his gaze as cold and restrained as a sharp blade in its sheath.

Xie Wuchi’s eyes, which looked down on the world, were a constant reminder that he was a person full of self-respect, self-love, and self-pride, who only acted for himself, was firm in his goals, and would never yield for others.

Shi Shu didn’t like this kind of look; it was very distant. “Don’t look at me like that. Can’t I speak up for others?”

To be honest, being stared at by Xie Wuchi like this was quite creepy. When he wasn’t smiling, his presence was very oppressive. Not only did it feel punishing, but his gaze screamed ‘I’ll deal with you sooner or later.’

Several emotions flickered in Xie Wuchi’s eyes, like an undercurrent crashing beneath a layer of ice. After an unknown period of thought, he smiled. “Don’t worry, I didn’t deceive Pei Wenqing.”

The strange atmosphere was sealed away. Shi Shu said, “What do you mean? Are you planning to fulfill the pursuits of the New Learning school?”

“Of course. I act first; great scholars will naturally come to justify my actions.”

Xie Wuchi reached into the bucket, grabbed the towel, and dried the moisture from his body inch by inch. He picked up his pants and shirt, his wolf-like shoulders and waist once again contained within a righteous and elegant bearing.

Xie Wuchi’s brow furrowed in thought again, but his movements as he dressed were very composed, putting on his clothes right in front of Shi Shu.

This was precisely why Shi Shu felt Xie Wuchi had high self-esteem and self-love. He was not insecure about any part of his body and believed that whoever he undressed for would be awestruck and even infatuated with him. However, Shi Shu didn’t dislike narcissistic people. Everyone had their own personality. As long as they didn’t do anything utterly unconscionable, Shi Shu would not easily dislike someone.

Xie Wuchi’s collar was neatly crossed. He returned to the chair where he checked the account books and sat down, dipping the dry brush in ink. The jailer came to collect the bucket and clothes, urging, “Are you done talking? If you’re done, then leave. Advisor Xie, your time is limited. It would be best not to delay important matters!”

Shi Shu had the same intention. “I don’t want to delay your life-saving important matter. I’m leaving then! I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Xie Wuchi paid him no mind, repeatedly scraping the tip of the brush against the edge of the inkstone, flicking it back and forth until a drop of ink fell onto the paper.

“Brother?” Shi Shu called out.

Xie Wuchi looked up and said with a smile, “I will come back. Take care of yourself.”

“I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”

Shi Shu left the Censorate prison.

Shi Shu had never thought about why Xie Wuchi was so good to him right from the beginning. At first, he thought Xie Wuchi was just kind-hearted. But after these three months, the impression of Xie Wuchi as someone who “never gets up early unless there’s a profit” was deeply ingrained in him.

At the gate under the green shade of the cypress tree, sunlight spilled into his eyes. Shi Shu thought to himself, “He’s so good to me just because we both transmigrated from the modern world? Or is it that, like that account book, or the Princess Consort, or Consort Yu, I also have some use?”

A flash of insight made Shi Shu jump. “It can’t be that he saw I was handsome and decided from the beginning that he wanted to sleep with me, and that’s why he’s nice to me, right?” Another voice said, “Xie Wuchi is genuinely good to you! How can you speculate about him so despicably?!”

In these three months, he had laid himself bare, but Xie Wuchi hadn’t even revealed his age. The difference in their cunning and intelligence was more than just a little, so he couldn’t see through him.

“You’re something else, Xie Wuchi. So you can navigate the corridors of power so smoothly because you lie?”

Shi Shu muttered to himself all the way. It was too hot, and he was thirsty, so he casually stepped into a tea stall.

The owner bowed and came over to ask, “What kind of tea would this young master like?”

Shi Shu: “Just a cup of something to clear the heat. And an extra bowl of plain boiled water.”

“You got it!”

Shi Shu sat down. To his surprise, the teahouse was filled with idle scholars, waving folding fans to appear elegant, discussing the current political situation. One of them, after taking a sip of tea, spoke with spittle flying, “Speaking of the hottest newcomer in the Eastern Capital recently, it’s the ‘Crane Controller of the Orchid Terrace’ currently imprisoned in the Censorate! He appeared out of nowhere, shocking the court and the country! For such a formidable character to suddenly emerge… according to a friend from the same year’s examinations, this Lord Crane Controller is also exceptionally handsome and noble, with a dashing and dazzling appearance.”

Shi Shu: “Xie Wuchi, you’ve really made it big.”

Shi Shu pricked up his ears while drinking water. Another one said, “He dared to impeach His Majesty as a commoner. One could say he has both courage and strategy. If he could enter the court as an official, perhaps it would be a good thing?”

“But there’s no precedent in our dynasty for a commoner to become a prime minister, is there?”

“If he can win this high-stakes gamble and bring down that great treacherous minister, what’s to stop him from entering the court?”

“…No! If he enters the court, what does that make us who entered officialdom through the imperial examinations?”

These two men, rolling up their sleeves, debated heatedly, looking like they were about to fight. The owner at the side quickly came forward to make peace. “Alright, alright, you two, rest a bit. Place your bets! Let’s just bet on these ten days—oh no, three days have already passed. Let’s just bet on whether the head of this ‘Crane Controller of the Orchid Terrace,’ who has caused such a sensation in the Eastern Capital, will fall in seven days, how about it?”

“Alright, alright! A bet’s a bet!”

“Who’s afraid to bet? He offended the Grand Councilor, who has Consort Yu’s backing. How can a powerful eunuch who has been dominant for ten years be so easily brought down? I think you all have had too much to drink. I bet his head will roll!”

“…………”

I’ll bet your head will roll. How dare you bet on Xie Wuchi’s head rolling?

Shi Shu slammed his teacup down and walked to their table in two or three steps. “Stop! Is someone else’s life something for you to gamble on? And you’re betting that he will definitely die? You look like a refined scholar, I didn’t expect your heart to be so black!”

The scholar was stunned. “You, who are you? How can you insult people on the street?”

“So what if I insulted you? It’s none of your business who I am.”

Shi Shu kicked the table, shaking the tea. He took out some money from his pocket and threw it on the counter. “Making a mockery of human life, you’ll never get rich in your life, and you’ll never become the top scholar!”

“You! You! You! How outrageous!” The scholar’s face turned red with indignation.

Shi Shu vented his frustration and turned to leave the teahouse in large strides.

The weather was as stuffy as a steamer. Dark clouds suddenly appeared overhead, hanging oppressively low. After walking for a while, large, bean-sized wet spots hit the ground. What started as one or two drops turned into a wave of moisture. In the sweltering heat of the Eastern Capital, it actually looked like it was about to rain.

Shi Shu covered his head and ran.

“It’s raining, it’s raining!”

During these seven days, Shi Shu frequently traveled between the courtyard and the Censorate to exchange a few words with Xie Wuchi.

On the tenth day, when his figure appeared at the Censorate again, he was stopped. “Your brother is no longer here.”

Shi Shu: “Where did he go?”

“He was sent to the imperial palace, along with his memorial. He is currently having an audience with the Emperor.”

“You’ll have to wait.”

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