Chapter 10 (1/2)

【10】

After enduring until the later half of the night, I also could not resist anymore as I leaned on a pillar and began to fall asleep. Prince Wumin probably had already slept for more than half the day, so he wasn’t sleepy. He only instructed: “You sleep first. When it’s time, I’ll be leaving and will wake you up. You must be kneeling when you do, or else it wouldn’t look like you were doing it.

I nodded: “Okay.”

I actually slept really peacefully this time, probably because I felt that Prince Wumin could ward off evil spirits, so I was especially at ease. When he woke me up, I slightly opened my eyes, but it was still dark out.

“How long did I sleep for?” I rub my eyes with a bit of dissatisfaction.

“Not even four hours.” Prince Wumin said, “I need to go now, you should go kneel now.”

I nodded: “Okay.”

He sneakily went out over the window without making the smallest of sound. This scene reminded me of the previous me who had infiltrated the West Yang imperial palace, it was the same…

I sat on the ground for most of the night, so my legs were a bit numb. I knelt until the Grand Adviser and them came to get me, and I indeed was unable to stand. When they saw me like that, I’d reckon that they really believed that I had kneeled for the entire night. They were all moved to tears and said that I was very loyal.

Even though the Emperor’s official inner and outer coffins were quickly being made overnight, they were still not done yet, so the Grand Adviser and them told me to go rest first. This was exactly my intention. I returned to the Heaven Palming Palace and soaked in the basin for a while, and then called for some palace maids to help me hammer my leg. Slowly after that, the soreness and ache in my leg gradually faded. Prince Wumin had also come over and quietly sat to the side while watching me. He didn’t say a single thing.

After everyone had left, before I even had time to say something to Prince Wumin, the Grand Adviser and them came back, saying that I had to go look at the funeral items that would be buried with the emperor. I brought Prince Wumin along with me to do so, and it took until the event to almost finish the preparations. The official inner and outer coffins were also finished, so I had to change into the Emperor’s distinctive funeral clothes and sat in a palanquin going towards the Emperor’s tomb with a large stack of funeral items and stone figures.

After a bunch of messes later, my head felt like it was going to split open, but it ended up to be quite relaxing for Prince Wumin. When I returned to the Heaven Palming Palace, he wasn’t in that little room, rather, he was sitting quite comfortably in the Heaven Palming Palace’s first wife’s large bed while contently cracking melon seeds between his teeth.

I seriously couldn’t vent out my anger. Not caring that he was on the bed, I threw myself directly on the bed and said: “You’re looking quite comfortable…”

Prince Wumin shot me a smile: “I am indeed comfortable.”

I glared at him: “Don’t think that I don’t hit women!”

Prince Wumin moved his face over: “Hit me then.”

I looked at my own face and was unable to do it. Barely suppressing the fire in my heart and not able to restrain it any longer, I could only bury my head into the blanket to cool down.

Prince Wumin laughed: “If one saw the prince of a country throw such a childish tantrum, wouldn’t it cause them laugh their head off?”

After speakng, he used his hand to pick up a melon seed kernel and put it near my mouth: “Eat it.”

I looked at him with suspicion: “You shouldn’t have poisoned this, right?”

He laughed weirdly, and then tossed the melon seed kernel in his mouth. He said while chewing on the side: “I can’t bear to poison my own body to death, just like how you can’t bear to hit your own body.”

I said: “That may not be the case, what if you suddenly go crazy?”

Prince Wumin yawned: “Did you finish everything?”

“Mn.” I nodded, “Today is the first day, tomorrow is the official ascension.”

Prince Wumin said: “The first thing you should do after ascending the throne is to demote the King of Xiuyi’s entire family into commoners.”

“Mn.” I understood what it meant to establish one’s authority.

Prince Wumin glanced at me: “Then let’s sleep.”

“…Ah?” It took me a while to react, “Together?”

Prince Wumin yawned again: “It’s not like we have those kinds of intentions with each other.”

“That’s true, but it wouldn’t look too good.”

Prince Wumin was difficult: “Then that’s not my problem. I’m not used to the bed in the little lodge outside, it’s too hard.”

I expressed my understanding: “Then I’ll tell some servants to help you add an additional ten blankets.”

“That’s just too hot.”