Chapter 24: Discussion
Although Tian Qi managed to dispel his suspicions for a moment, once back at the palace, Ji Heng recalled Ji Zheng's reaction when he saw him at the theater. He obviously looked guilty. Ji Heng was worried about this, but if people insisted that something happens between his brother and Tian Qi, he would not believe it.
Whatever the identity of Tian Qi and Ji Zheng, Ji Heng trusted his manhood. Tian Qi having already admitted to love men, he must love men with a masculine aspect. His younger brother is more beautiful than a woman and has a warm temperament, so he can not be considered very masculine.
... what was it with those thoughts? Ji Heng was shocked for a moment as he found his thoughts messy. He looked up at Tian Qi. This little pervert was calm, but his lips were straight, revealing that he felt wronged. His step seemed too fast for the little pervert, his brow covered with sweat. Part of the sweat had accumulated in the corner of his eyes. Because he did not wipe it in time, his eyes became irritating. As he rubbed his eyes at last, drops of sweat slid down his lashes, scattering tiny tiny pearls of water, like crystal dew hanging from thick pine branches. While her eyelids were shaking, the drops of dew reflected the sunlight, making them look like tears. This sight made him think of drops of rain on a pear flower, betraying his desire to wipe them.
drops of rain on a pear flower - idiom = face tinged with a tear
While being distracted by his thoughts, Ji Heng raised his finger at Tian Qi's face. Realizing what he was about to do, he quickly retracted his hand, uncomfortable, and complained, "What's going on again? Am I so terrible? You're so scared of me and you do not even dare to wipe your sweat?
Tian Qi hastily grabbed his handkerchief and wiped his face, not daring to get up to look at Ji Heng.
Ji Heng looked at the handkerchief she was using and suddenly remembered another problem "What about the handkerchief I gave you the other day?
"Eh?" Tian Qi's spirit was empty.
Ji Heng stared at him as his eyes narrowed. "Do not think I do not know what you're trying to do. I lent you my handkerchief a few days ago and you did not return it. It's an imperial object and you always dare to hide it. "
Tian Qi knew she could not get away, so she replied with a bitter face, "To answer your Majesty, your handkerchief was soiled by this servant. This servant did not dare to turn over such a tarnished object to defile the body of the emperor. "What a stingy emperor, not even forgetting a little handkerchief. When he gave her the handkerchief, it was natural to assume that the object had been rewarded, and he now has the nerve to ask to be returned. In addition, she actually lost the handkerchief. She could not find him even after a long search. She was really upset by the fact that it was a good quality item that she could sell at a good price.
Tian Qi, however, did not know that the reason the emperor had asked for the object to be returned was because Ji Heng thought that Tian Qi wanted to keep his handkerchief, a personal property. Thinking of the little pervert holding his handkerchief while having obscene thoughts made him a little uncomfortable. If it was a beautiful woman, it was good, but it was a eunuch. In the end, the eunuch always decided to act shamelessly before his eyes. Ji Heng snorted and decided that it was better for him to stop worrying about the issue. He must keep in mind his identity as emperor and not rush on a handkerchief with a eunuch. It would be extremely outrageous.
Ji Heng spent his afternoon in stupor. He seemed to have glimpsed a mysterious emotion in him, but as soon as he thought he was about to understand her, he could not grasp the meaning.
The next day, Ji Heng called Ji Zheng to Yang Xin Palace. Although the rumors are false, his younger brother was already sixteen (16) years old and it was time for him to have a wife. There were women in the family who saved her from conflict by advising her to lead a life without doing anything without creating problems. Ji Heng knew about it. An older brother looked like a father, and even though he was only twenty-three (23) years old, his mind was thirty-two (32) years old.
It was easy to entrust a wife to Ji Zheng, but it was difficult to convince him to accept it. Xiao WangYe was a handsome man with a good family.
Last year, a person from Beijing compiled a list of the most beautiful men and Ji Zheng placed first. That made him famous, so many girls wanted to take a look at him. The DaQi dynasty was more open than the previous dynasties. Since the founding emperor was a woman, customs have allowed women to become more alive and bold. Some officials who were happy to choose Ji Zheng as their son-in-law would let their daughters dress up and try to get close to him to see if they were attracted to each other. According to unofficial statistics, its popularity would be a little less than 100%.
However, the royal family had many concerns about marriage. It goes without saying that the family history of the bride must be worthy of the son-in-law, but they could not be too powerful either. In this way, he could not use the house of the woman's parents to accumulate too much power. Even if Ji Heng does not believe that Ji Zheng would do that. They must also consider the girl's reputation, her temperament. Once he has examined all aspects, there will be only 2 or 3 people left. Another issue to consider was the motive of the other party. It would be better if the girl likes Ji Zheng rather than using it for her wealth.
In fact, the biggest problem was that Ji Zheng did not want to be married.
Ji Heng was quick to discover that. For example, he told her about the daughter of a certain civil servant, beautiful, talented and with a good personality. A good choice. Ji Zheng followed and praised the beauty, finding her very fit to be next to a king. However, he can not bear to let other people suffer. Another example, Ji Heng told Ji Zheng that it was time for him to get married. Ji Zheng asked why he had left the Central Palace (Zhong-Gong - Empress's Palace) empty for so many years. The emperor could not remain without an empress.
The emperor began to wonder if it might be true that Ah Zheng does not like women. The teens were hot, how could they be without a woman, even for a day? How could they control their desire when they offered themselves to them? Therefore, he measured his younger brother slightly and asked him: "The two beauties that you were granted a few days ago did not suit you?
It was a good question. As the only witness, Tian Qi felt speechless for Ji Zheng.
Ji Zheng's response was very slow "The favor of the emperor, elder brother, did not dare to decline Chen Di is only rotten grass in the mud, dare not soil the jade ZhaoYang."
Chen Di - chen = subject; di = younger brother
Although the words were polite, Tian Qi could hear the meaning behind them. Ji Zheng was unhappy: you may not have been ashamed to give me your wives, but I could not help but panic.
Tian Qi secretly watched Ji Heng and, as expected, found that the Emperor was not in a good mood. She worried for Ji Zheng. Xiao WangYe was a good person and treated her well. But even if she wanted to help, she was helpless.
Ji Heng's gaze subsided. He did not say anything, he instead let Tian Qi give him several reports to read.
Holding the reports, Tian Qi saw the signature at the top of the front page was "Director of the Minister of Rights, Sun CongRui" and felt the corner of his lips rise.
Suddenly, Ji Zheng looked rough. He put the reports on the table and when he looked up, his face was no longer calm, but rather a little impatient. He stood up: "The elder brother Emperor, Chen Di has been wronged!
Ji Heng looked at him without saying a word.
Tian Qi saw the situation worsen and assumed that Sun CongRui had tarnished WangYe's reputation. She just did not know what bad things he could have accused her of.
Ji Zheng had already guessed the cause of the problem and tried to explain: "That day, it was Zheng ShaoFeng who opened his mouth without thinking and tried to make a joke. Surprisingly, Sun Fan interpreted his words as words without realizing that it was wrong. After that, he even went back and spread that nonsense, causing endless trouble. Although Chen Di is generally inactive, I have always lived clean and honest. I am not in the bad business of raising men as pets. "
Ji Heng knew a little about Zheng ShaoFeng's behavior so he could put two (2) and two (2) together. It's just that Sun Fan's reputation has always been good. How is it that it was so badly managed that it made him lose face? We could clearly see that he was not up to the rumors.
Although the joke was not true, Tian Qi clearly understood that they had to mix lies with the truth.
Ji Heng thought about it, then looked at Tian Qi and saw that he was unperturbed, as if nothing had happened.
So Ji Heng did not say anything to Ji Zheng, but he asked Tian Qi, "What do you think of that?
Unexpectedly, Tian Qi did not answer her question, she rather stupidly asked, "What does the emperor mean?"
Ji Heng glanced at Ji Zheng, openly pointed the reports and said, "You heard the discussion earlier between zhen and Ning Wang. What do you think the daughter of which family is fit to become WangFei?
... huh? How was this one of his things?
Tian Qi felt that the emperor was shedding light on this. WangYe's wedding was a major event (politically and socially), how could he ask for the opinion of a eunuch? Did not that scorn people? The Emperor must have felt animosity towards WangYe, but why would the fight of the two brothers involve a little eunuch like this? She can not afford to offend any of these great masters.
Tian Qi raised his head to look at Ji Heng, then Ji Zheng, and found that he was looking at her with a sincere expression, as if she was the one who decided whom to marry.
Tian Qi was not stupid enough to really participate in the discussion between these two brothers. So she smiled and said, "WangYe is an unrivaled talent, just like the Emperor. After thinking for a moment, this slave can not say who is fit to stand beside WangYe. "To flatter the two men with a sentence was not a crime." It was important to try to smooth things out. "The flattering skills of Tian Qi did not escape those of the first assistant of the government.
Ji Zheng was stunned for a moment, then he rolled his lips in a soft smile and looked at Ji Heng. "The elder brother Emperor has won such a good servant. The house of Chen Di has only clumsy and slow servants. If there were even a half less intelligent, I would have been happy. When he finished speaking, he turned to Tian Qi and deliberately winked at him.
If it was someone else, so much praised by Ji Zheng, Ji Heng would have granted it to Ji Zheng. However, Tian Qi was out of the question.
Ji Heng found that there was nothing to be done about Tian Qi, and that Ji Zheng would not change his mind about it. He found that the two bastards were very slippery and it was irritating to bother them, so he fired them.
After thinking for a moment, he felt disgusted and sent someone to call back Tian Qi.
On the other side, as Tian Qi and Ji Zheng went out together from Yang Xin Palace, she glanced left and right to make sure no one was around, then said softly, "WangYe n do not need to think too much about that. "
Ji Zheng laughed. "Thank you for your concern, I have indeed thought too much."
Tian Qi comforted him "Actually, the Emperor did not target you, he was content" to have thought about it, she said darkly: "He thinks that I want to seduce you ..."
"Cough, cough, cough" Ji Zheng covered his mouth and coughed, yet his smile was brighter. Laughing, he noticed that Tian Qi's face had turned red. He was also a little embarrassed, his earlobes stained with a hint of red. Ji Zheng pinched his lips and hesitated a moment, then finally said, "Tian Qi, in fact, there is one thing I have always wanted to ask you.
"What does WangYe want to ask? This little one must certainly try to answer WangYe's question.
"You -"
Ji Zheng only managed to say a word, when a little eunuch rushed to them and interrupted "Tian Qi, the emperor reminds you."
Tian Qi stopped. "I understand, thank you." Then she turned her head to look at Ji Zheng "WangYe, please ask quickly."
Ji Zheng shook his head "Forget it, just go back, ba?
ba - modal particle indicating a suggestion or hypothesis = ok? / right?
As Tian Qi returned to Yang Xin Palace, Ji Zheng froze and watched as his figure slowly disappeared away. Then he turned around and left the palace.