“You said that I pushed you?”

In the end, Wei Lian went back to Zhongling Palace that night. Ji Yue tried all the methods from the book but failed to make the other stay. 

Late at night, Ji Yue sulked in his empty room, like a new wife being abandoned by her husband in her bedchamber. 

How did things become like this?

It had always been the concubines who tried to think of ways to keep the emperor from leaving her bedchamber. While he was the one coming up with ways to have Wei Lian stay in Yangxin Palace Hall. 

Which he failed to do. 

Completely lost his face as the Emperor. 

But after losing his face left and right, he was used to it. 

* * *

The next day at the horse course... 

Wei Lian changed into a fitted outfit suitable for riding, and his long, black hair was tied up with a jade hair pin. 

Gongzi that was aloof like an immortal, now showed some high-spirited youthfulness in his beautiful outfit. 

“Gongzi, please wait. His Majesty will be here in a moment.” The palace worker informed him respectfully. 

Wei Lian nodded and looked into the distance. 

He didn’t wait long before he heard the sound of a galloping horse. Turning his head to the source, he saw a young man in a riding outfit coming with a horse, both handsome and valiant. 

Riding on a tall and vigorous black horse, the unbound rider was unparalleled. 

It was a different image than the calm and reserved one he showed in front of his ministers. 

“Whoa!” Before they got close to Wei Lian, Ji Yue tugged on the reins to prevent the horse from disturbing the dust and caused Wei Lian to cough. 

Ji Yue did not dismount. He slowly directed his horse to Wei Lian, extended out a hand and said, “Come up.”

Wei Lian glanced at him before accepting the hand. With gentle force, Ji Yue pulled the young man onto the horse’s back. 

With Wei Lian sitting in front of Ji Yue, he fitted perfectly in the older man’s arms. 

“Have you recovered? Any discomfort when sitting on the saddle?” Ji Yue inquired in a low voice. 

Wei Lian answered softly, “No issue at all.”

Once Ji Yue got an answer, he was relieved and shouted, “Forward!” Then they galloped out. 

The wind blew against Wei Lian’s ears. 

The incoming wind was slightly cold against his face, but the body embracing him from behind was steady and warm. Ji Yue held the reins tightly in one hand and wrapped his other hand around Wei Lian’s waist, griping both the reins and his person firmly. 

Wei Lian sat on the horse and watched the scenery from both sides moving backward rapidly. For a moment, he thought he and Ji Yue were on an endless prairie. There, wild geese flew across the sunny blue sky, herds of cattle and sheep grazed. They galloped freely and breathed air that tasted like freedom. 

This was what Wei Lian had always wanted. 

It was just that this palace’s horse course was not as big as the grassland. Before this daydream could go any further, they had completed one lap. Ji Yue dismounted his horse before holding out his hands to help the other man dismount. 

Wei Lian ended his thoughts in time and dismounted the horse using the stirrup. 

“Were you scared?” Ji Yue asked. 

Wei Lian shook his head. “Not scared. It’s very…” He thought for a moment. “Very happy.”

During that moment, he was very happy. 

“That’s good that you are not afraid. If you were, it would be hard to overcome your fear within two days’ time.” Ji Yue then ordered someone to bring Xiao Hong, and A’Meng as well, of course.

At first Xiao Hong came high and mighty. At the sight of A’Meng, it suddenly became dispirited and very anxious. 

In contrast, Ji Yue’s black horse that they had ridden on, was not afraid of A’Meng. It even lowered its head as a greeting to the dog. 

A’Meng licked the black horse’s nose with its tongue. Their attitude towards each other was unexpectedly intimate and gentle. 

Wei Lian watched the two animals strangely. “It appears A’Meng has a good relationship with Xiao Hei小黑 Little black..”

Ji Yue uttered, “...It is not called Xiao Hei.”

“Oh? It is not?”

“Its name is Xiao Bai小白 Little white..”

Wei Lian: “...”

“But it is a black horse?” Wei Lian questioned Ji Yue’s naming ability more and more. 

Although his name for Xiao Hong was very generic, at least Xiao Hong was indeed a reddish brown horse that was worthy of its name. 

As for Ji Yue? He named a fierce dog A’Meng and a black horse Xiao Bai. 

It was simply talking drivel in the highest degree. 

Ji Yue justified, “Its hour hooves are white.”

Xiao Bai’s whole body is black, only its four hooves are whiteSahl here. As someone who has owned and ridden horses my whole life, I think the author means the horse has white socks or stockings, as they are referred to. Images below.. It was a hundred percent an elegant black horse walking on the snow. 

Wei Lian said, “You might as well call it Ta Xue踏雪 To go for a walk in the snow. A combination of the word for step and snow. .”

“That name is too common. Nine out of ten horses are called Ta Xue.” Ji Yue disagreed, “This is our horse, so it deserves a unique name.”

Wei Lian’s face was void of emotion. 

Then excuse me, where is the uniqueness in a name such as Xiao Bai?

This was the same as every village must have a dog called Da Huang大黃 Big yellow. Can confirm, a lot of Tugou or Chinese native dogs are in the colour yellow. So calling them big yellow or little yellow is very common..

If it was true that it was a unique name, since it was a name given to a black horse. Wei Lian doubted he would find a second one in the world. 

“Then you might as well call it Wu Xun烏雲 Black cloud. then.” Wei Lian said.

A back cloud walking on snow, it was a fine name. 

Ji Yue pointed to Xiao Hong. “Then why don’t you call it Huo Shao Yun火燒雲 Hot cloud of volcanic ash, or burning sunset sky, where the clouds are mostly orange or red from the setting sun.?”

“...”

Wei Lian gave up his fight on the logic of naming with Ji Yue. 

“Xiao Bai is a war horse. It has accompanied us on the battlefield for many years.” Ji Yue patted Xiao Bai’s head and said, “It is a close companion of A’Meng.”

A’Meng immediately nodded. 

“But from now on, Xiao Hong will also be your partner.” Ji Yue added. 

He had already made up his mind. Once Wei Lian learned how to raise a horse, he would give the tamed Xiao Hong to Wei Lian as a mount. 

A’Meng looked at Xiao Hong with disdain and loudly barked once. 

Xiao Hong was angry, but it had no choice but to gloomily paw the earth.

Xiao Bai gently walked to Xiao Hong, rubbed its head against the other, telling its new companion not to be afraid. A’Meng was just acting intimidating. 

Subduing a horse requires both a carrot and a stick. Forceful means alone could not truly make a fierce horse obedient. It would still act out at times and hurt its owner. 

Since he decided to have Xiao Hong as Wei Lian’s mount, Ji Yue would certainly not leave this hidden danger to Wei Lian. 

First step: Find Xiao Hong a friendly companion. 

Xiao Hong received sympathy from its own kind and was moved to tears. 

The two horses immediately established a good friendship. 

Ji Yue was very pleased. 

Next, he could personally teach Wei Lian about riding a horse. 

At first, Wei Lian wanted Ji Yue to see what it meant to be a genius that could do it after watching once. 

But found it was not necessary. 

Ji Yue’s insight was very sharp and he kept his thoughts meticulously. If he exposed a flaw, it would not be good for him if the other found out his real skill. 

If Ji Yue was to follow the breadcrumbs and discover his hidden talents…

The risk was too great, so it was better to keep a low profile. 

During this critical moment, Wei Lian ended up choosing to hide. 

If Ji Yue did not give him the antidote, then he would not take the initiative to ask for it. For each day without the antidote, Wei Lian would hold everything back another day. 

This appeared to be an unsolved problem between the two. 

Right now, Wei Lian could only act like he was not knowledgeable. 

But it was also difficult for someone to make a mistake on something he had been very good at for a long time.

If he was not careful, he would exert too much force. 

For the rest of the day, Ji Yue witnessed how bad someone could be at something. 

Exhibit: As soon as Ji Yue released his hand, Wei Lian would freeze at the stirrup, too afraid to get on the horse, forcing Ji Yue to carry the younger man up on the horse. Once Wei Lian was on the horse, instead of grabbing the reins, he chose to put his arms around the horse’s neck. Ji Yue caught the falling youth at least three times.

Once Wei Lian finally summoned the courage to grip the reins, no courage was left for him to wave the whip. The young man’s reason was that he did not want to cause the horse too much pain, it was too cruel. After long psychological counselling from Ji Yue, Wei Lian at last waved the whip as it gently smacked Xiao Hong, who did not make a single jot from the neither painful or tickling hit. Ji Yue was so angry that he roared on the sideline to vent, just like a midwife…

In conclusion, Ji Yue was exhausted both mentally and physically. 

At the end of their lesson, Wei Lian finally ‘learned’ to pull the rein and let the horse walk slowly. When he got off the horse, he proudly asked, “Are I not amazing?!”

Ji Yue went against his heart and praised, “...Yes, amazing. Wei Lian is truly a genius.”

Wei Lian was shocked by Ji Yue’s standard. 

You consider this as genius?

Did he not act bad enough?

Actually, this degree of progress was pretty amazing. A man who could not ride a horse at all only spent half a day riding along. This progress was already at an incredible pace. 

So how did Ji Yue learn horsemanship in the first place?

Because he learned without a teacher. 

Ji Yue gave up all hope after half of today had gone by. 

But no matter what, there was no way that he could ask something like ‘How could you be this stupid’ to Wei Lian. 

He had already given out praise. What’s done is done. 

At this time, Li Fuquan suddenly hurried over and whispered to Ji Yue. 

Ji Yue’s face remained the same. He simply looked up and told Wei Lian, “There is a matter that requires our attention. We will be at the imperial study and come to find Wei Lang once we are done.”

Wei Lian’s smile faded as he bowed to salute. 

Ji Yue hurried away with a group of palace workers. 

As Ji Yue went farther and farther away, Wei Lian straightened up, his eyes sharp. 

Li Fuquan spoke everything in a whisper, but with his internal energy, he cleared it loud and clear. 

The message was—General Xie was back. 

Ji Yue naturally did not sweep through the six empires by himself. After the eradication of the relative party in the palace, Ji Yue abolished the hereditary system, revamped the imperial examination, and widely recruited talents from all over the Qin Empire. There were many capable people in his Empire. All of them were promoted personally by Ji Yue, and they were Ji Yue’s only confidants. 

Xie Chen was a fierce general of the Qin Empire. At the young age of fifteen, he scored the highest rank in the military palace examination. Now he had reached his coming of age this year, he had fought alongside the Qin Empire for many years and made countless heroic contributions. He was nicknamed the ‘Executioner萬人斬 The actual raw is something like to chop ten thousand people..’

How the Qin Emperor broke through the Chu Empire’s three protection barriers was all Xie Chen and his soldiers’ doing under Ji Yue’s order. 

Although the Chu Empire sent a hostage prince to end the war, they could not retake the three cities that they lost. Xie Chen had spent these days in the newly stable cities to arrange defence and eliminate lingering pests. Now it had stabilised, he finally returned home. 

It was no wonder that Ji Yue went to meet the general immediately. 

Wei Lian was not ignorant. It was understandable for Ji Yue to attend to important business, but selfishly, he was not happy to be left in the middle of his lesson. The relaxing and pleasureable feeling from today had faded away, becoming dull in an instant. 

Since Wei Lian was bored, he walked away, leaving his horse to roam about. 

On his way back, he passed Qinyuan Lake. Now it was early spring, the lake’s ice surface had melted, exposing the flowing body of water as blue waves rippled. 

Wei Lian stood by the lake for a while and remembered that just this winter, he joked that Ji Yue should lie on the ice to break it with his body heat. Instead, Ji Yue grabbed his hand and took him to catch fish on the ice.  

The thick ice was slashed open by the older man’s internal force. He almost fell into the water but a hand caught him, protecting him in a warm embrace. 

During that cold winter, the wind grazed his face as his heart beat rapidly. 

His heart was jumping not because of the blowing wind.不是風動,是心動 Part of ‘it is not about the wind blowing, it is not about the banner moving, it is your own heart that is jumping’ (不是風動,不是幡動,仁者心動). I think it’s simply, not let yourself be perturbed by worldly matters to find deliverance.

“Is Wei Gongzi admiring the lake as well?” Princess Chonghua uttered in surprise.

Today, she was wearing a beautiful and colourful yellow dress. 

Wei Lian furrowed his eyebrows. 

Why was she everywhere?

He who had just been abandoned by Ji Yue was in a bad mood, so he was not as polite. 

He said gently, “This subject is just passing by. But the Princess, you were admiring the flowers yesterday and late today, why are you so…”

Princess Chonghua thought that what the young man was going to say was ‘Why are you so refined and elegant’. Wei Lian, after all, seemed to be very knowledgeable and polite. 

But what came out of Wei Lian’s mouth was, “Why are you so ignorant of the world as a whole.”

Admiring this and that every day, what good was it?

Princess Chonghua: “...”

At first, she had a slightly positive impression of Wei Lian. When the younger man appeared on the stage, the graceful Gongzi stunned the entire crowd. He was so beautiful that it was hard for a woman not to be moved. 

But Wei Lian did not possess the same power as the Qin Emperor. As soon as he appeared, he barged in on her moment, repeatedly put her in an awkward position, and was her love rival on top of that. 

Princess Chonghua was feeling more hateful towards Wei Lian now. 

No matter how divine he appeared, she felt a fit of nausea at the thought that he was just a pet on the Qin Emperor’s bed. 

And vice versa, Wei Lian also did not like Princess Chonghua. 

His keen mind could sense the kindness and malicious feeling others had towards him. Chonghua was not being kind to him, therefore, it was natural for him to reply to evil not with good. 

“Why is Wei Gongzi so mean to Chonghua?” Princess Chonghua said in grievance, “Why aren’t you treating this one in the style of a gentleman?”

Wei Lian wanted to say that he could be meaner, but was not for the fear that she would jump into the lake and kill herself from the humiliation. 

However, before he could say anything, Princess Chonghua acted as if she saw something and suddenly took a big step forward. Wei Lian was about to step back and warn ‘stay away from me’, but instead, Princess Chonghua fell into the lake. 

Wei Lian: “...?”

He hadn’t said anything yet. Why did she jump into the lake to end her life?

When he turned back and saw Ji Yue and another young man standing behind him, he immediately understood. 

This was to frame him, accusing him of pushing her into the water. 

Wei Lian witnessed this method a million times in the Chu Empire’s palace. Why was this method still in style? Has nobody got tired of using the same old method?

Couldn’t anyone come up with a new means to scheme in the palace? Even just a little?

“Help—!” Princess Chonghua fluttered in the water.  

The young man beside Ji Yue frowned and ordered, “Save her.” A bodyguard immediately jumped into the water and saved Princess Chonghua. 

Once Princess Chonghua was rescued and lay on the shore, taking a long time to catch her breath. Because of her natural beauty, her tearful face was like raindrops on a pear blossom, a beautiful sight that earned everyone’s pity. 

When she saw Ji Yue, she changed into a kneeling posture and cried, “Your Majesty! You have to bring justice to Chonghua! Wei Gongzi, Chonghua knew of her mistake and should not have fought you for his Majesty’s affection, but how could you push Chonghua into the water to take Chonghua’s life because of jealousy!” 

Wei Lian watched her performance with great interest. 

The one at fault is always the one who asks for justice first. 

“If it hadn’t been for his Majesty’s order saving me, Chonghua would have drowned at the bottom of the lake today!” Princess Chonghua cried harder and sadder. She knelt in front of Ji Yue and cried, kowtowing. “Chonghua is a princess of Yan Empire, although my Empire is small, it will not tolerate its Princess being bullied by others! Your Majesty, please bring justice.”

At least she was not completely acting out brainlessly. She knew that Wei Lian was favoured, so she did not directly beg the Qin Empire to punish Wei Lian. She also brought out the Yan Empire to escalate the issue to empire level. It did not take a genius to figure out she wanted Wei Lian to be held accountable between the lines. 

She was confident that she accurately acted in the perfect angle. In Qin Emperor’s eyes, it was clearly Wei Lian who pushed her into the lake, there was no way for Wei Lian to talk his way out

In full view of the public, the Yan Empire’s envoys were present, how would the Qin Emperor protect his pet?

Besides, what the Qin Emperor liked was Wei Lian’s weak and innocent appearance. If he learned what a snake and just how black-hearted Wei Lian was, how would he still spoil the jealous and vicious person who was willing to take a life?

Yes, this was an overused scheme, but an effective one.

At such a critical juncture, Wei Lian was not in a hurry to defend himself. Instead, he corrected her, “The order to rescue you was not from his Majesty, the one who placed the order was this general.”

Because Ji Yue would have watched Princess Chonghua sink to the bottom of the lake on the shore with him. 

The person next to Ji Yue, who was still wearing his armour, was a young and handsome man with a powerful aura. The man must be General Xie.

Xie Chen did not know what was going on. He just saw someone fall into the water and ordered someone to save the drowning person. He could not just stand by and let his Majesty watch someone die.

Since his Majesty had not said anything yet, he would not make a comment. 

Ji Yue lowered his gaze and glanced at the woman kneeling by his feet. Princess Chonghua reached out and pulled on his clothes, this made him frown. 

Don’t dirty our shoes with your dirty wet hand. 

But before he stepped back, another shoe kicked her hand away. 

Wei Lian squatted down and firmly asked, “You said that I pushed you?”

Princess Chonghua gazed up at him with hatred. “What else?”

Wei Lian studied her for a moment before chuckling. “Indeed.”

Then he got up and ungentlemanly dragged Princess Chonghua by her hand to the shore. 

No matter how ‘weak’ he was, he was still a man, which was more than enough to drag a feeble woman. 

Princess Chonghua said in horror, “What do you think you are doing? How dare you be presumptuous in front of his Majesty, you—Ah!”

Princess Chonghua screamed. 

Plop!

She was pushed back into the lake by Wei Lian. 

Xie Chen watching from the side up to now could not hold back any longer. “Your Majesty, this—”

This man deserved to be punished for acting so disgracefully in front of his Majesty. 

Who knew that Ji Yue would chuckle instead. “No need to be concerned.”

Xie Chen uttered, “...Understood.”

The general was completely dumbfounded. 

What happened to his Majesty during the few months that he was absent? How could someone act so presumptuous and so freely in front of him? 

Princess Chonghua choked on the water and was still struggling. She shouted bitterly. Several bodyguards on the shore were restless and ready to move, but Wei Lian said coldly, “No one is to save her.”

He would never plead guilty to a baseless crime. 

Since the other dared to frame him, why should he just sit by and take it?

The bodyguards restrained themselves. 

Xie Chen just learned the identity of the drowning woman from another. At the moment, his face was serious. “Your Majesty, if you let the Princess from the Yan Empire die in the Qin Empire, I am afraid that…”

“There is no need to worry, she won’t die.” Wei Lian turned back and nodded politely at him. “Does the general really think that a princess from an empire surrounded by water can’t swim?”

Huyan Yuya, who grew up on the grassland, could ride a horse at seven years old. 

So could a seventeen-year-old Princess Chonghua, who grew up on a nation surrounded by ocean, drown like just that?

Editor's Corner

Sahl has something to say: Again, thank you to readers for understanding and lovely messages. A double chapter this week for Empire too. <3

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2 Comments

  1. Muggelschmuggel

    »She was pushed back into the lake By Wei Lian.« by

    I love it how WL reacts to those kind of situations >D And how JY just stands by and watches the fun xD

    Thx for the ch ٩(。˃ ᵕ ˂ )و

  2. clozed

    she really thought she was clever huh… but she underestimate wei lian and his place in the emperor’s hear way too much

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