Chapter 41.2
Editor: SimoB
The two continued: “Really? That’s still a princess, His Majesty’s daughter. Her temper can’t be that tame, right? ”
“Would I lie to you about this? My mother makes her behave at home every day. She doesn’t even dare to fart. Last time, when I took a prost.i.tute back, she said that she didn’t want to serve her husband with a prost.i.tute. I slapped her and she cried for a few days. But in the end, she still had to serve me.” The Chen family’s young master sounded quite disgusted: “Let me tell you something. Even princesses have different standings. The fifth princess’s birth mother is a n.o.ble consort. The one in my family is from the deposed empress. She doesn’t even have the waist token to go in and out of the palace gate. What qualifications does she have to quarrel with me?”
Shi Qing turned his head to look at Yu Chennian beside him.
His head was lowered. His expression was obscured as well, but his whole body was clearly tense. His hands on the railing became fists. His arms began to tremble with the amount of strength he was using.
He didn’t want to endure it.
But he had no choice.
Before he gained power, he couldn’t afford to offend even the son of a third grade official.
The young man let out a deep breath. “Let’s go back to the house,” he said lightly to Shi Qing.
“Wait a minute.” Shi Qing left the railing and followed the two men until they were at the stairs. Then he stood behind them and kicked at Young Master Chen’s bottom.
It all took only a moment. Young Master Chen, who was just chatting casually a second earlier, was now rolling down the stairs.
The little master pitter-pattered down the stairs after him.
“Who!! Who was it ah?! Who doesn’t want to live anymore!” Young Master Chen struggled to make sense of the situation as he crawled to his feet. Before he had finished two repugnant sentences, he was once again flat on his back as Shi Qing pounced on him, like a little leopard, to deliver a sound beating.
Those nearby initially wanted to stop them, but they immediately hesitated after seeing who the a.s.sailant was. Recognizing Shi Qing, they could only issue verbal dissuasion from the sidelines: “Little Master Shi, why start a fight all of a sudden? Let’s stop already.”
“No! I’m going to beat him up!” Shi Qing took a moment to retort. Then he landed a blow almost directly on Young Master Chen’s face, taking no notice of his shrill screams.
Yu Chennian also came down the stairs and grabbed the little master, who was very actively beating someone up: “That’s enough. Stop fighting.”
Even if this incident caused a big enough commotion that his father became involved; if he found out that Shi Qing beat this guy up for the sake of the second princess, according to the emperor’s temper and character, he would only scold the Chen family at most.
At that time, Young Master Chen, who would have lost both reputation and the fight, would take his frustrations out on the second princess.
“Fine, someone’s looking out for you today. I’ll let you go for the time being.” Shi Qing did not resist Yu Chennian lifting him up. But he was still not satisfied, so he kicked the green and blue faced Young Master Chen viciously as he pa.s.sed by.
Young Master Chen cried out in pain. He was held up by others. He shouted furiously: “Shi Qing!! Don’t think that this is over! I’m not resting until His Majesty hears about this today!”
The young man, who had previously claimed that he wasn’t arrogant at all, was held back by the young man behind him, but still wanted to rush up and scratch people with his teeth and claws: “Go then! I dare you! This Shi Qing is the son of the prime minister! How could I be afraid of some third-rate minister’s son like you!!”
It was a very provocative sentence.
Young Master Chen was so angry his whole body began to shake. He pointed a finger at Shi Qing’s arrogant face: “Fine!! Fine!!! Just you wait!”
After he left, the madam hurriedly came down to say her part: “Oh my. Guests, please don’t crowd around. Little Master Shi should calm down as well. What’s the matter? Why start fighting all of a sudden?”
“No reason in particular.” Yu Chennian was holding onto Shi Qing’s waist. He sniffed cooly: “Let’s go. We’ll drink some more upstairs.”
Yu Chennian: “He’s going to report this to Father.”
“Whatever! I’m not afraid of that guy. Besides, I have my own way to deal with him if he does.” the little master muttered. “Now let me go. Why are you still holding me when he’s left already.”
Yu Chennian released his grip obediently. “There was no reason for you to fight. His father is from the imperial court. You beat his eldest legitimate son and insulted him so. Even if there was a reason for your actions, it would still be considered unreasonable.”
Shi Qing was not afraid at all. He was still raising his little chin proudly: “I know all of that already. I also know that the second princess is your sister, and you’re one of my people. If he humiliates the second princess, he’s insulting me. The people who dare to humiliate this Little Master will never get away with it!”
Yu Chennian’s gaze towards him was dark enough to be frightening.
Even though he knew that the little master was such an unreasonable and proud character, his heart still softened after seeing how Shi Qing acted just to defend him and his family.
The young man said in a sombre tone: “It’s all because I’m not good enough. If I could support my imperial sister, the Chen family would not bully her like this.”
“Humph!” Shi Qing shoved him: “You’re a man so act like one. You’ve been around me for so long. How hasn’t even a bit of my smarts rubbed off on you? When you enter the court in the future, you’ll be way better than those cowards who can’t even catch snakes.”
The little master very perfunctorily stood on tiptoe to pat Yu Chennian on the head: “I believe in you. You can definitely be better than them. You’ll make me proud.”
Then he turned and went up the stairs again: “Okay, let’s continue to watch the performance”
Yu Chennian watched his figure ascend from the ground floor.
The youth’s steps were light and carefree.
Shi Qing said that he believed in him.
[Ding! Yu Chennian’s animosity value: 50/100]
[Ding! Yu Chennian’s animosity value: 49/100]
[Ding! Yu Chennian’s animosity value: 48/100]
The system busted a fuse from excitement again. It was ecstatic that it couldn’t speak nimbly anymore!
[OMG Host!! OMG!!]
Shi Qing’s eyes crinkled as he smiled: [I told you before: First hold, then raise.]
The system looks at the animosity value’s history: …Today was almost too stimulating.
In other words, its Host really was a BOSS!
***
In less than two hours, Big BOSS Shi Qing was summoned to the palace.
He swaggered onto the sedan without the slightest hint of anxiety.
Yu Chennian, of course, followed him.
When they arrived at the hall, the emperor was seated on his customary seat at the front. Young Master Chen was busy crying below. Beside him was an old man in an official’s uniform, kneeling with a face filled with indignation. He even glared at Shi Qing when he saw him come in.
Shi Qing returned the glare without any pretense of politeness. He ignored Young Master Chen outright as he knelt in front of the emperor: “Shi Qing greets the emperor.”
Yu Chennian also kneeled by his side: “This son greets Father.”
“En.”The Emperor didn’t tell them to rise this time. It was obvious that Young Master Chen and his father had already made their complaints beforehand.
He asked: “Shi Qing, do you know why I asked you to come?”
“This subject can guess.” The little boy was not afraid at all. He even looked back at Young Master Chen with a smile: “I agreed to wrestle with Young Master Chen. Based on his appearance, he must’ve come to complain to Your Majesty because he’s a sore loser.”
“Nonsense!” Young Master Chen suddenly knelt down with a straight back: “I’m nearly ten years your elder and we don’t hang out together at all. Why would I wrestle with you?! You started trouble with me for no reason. You pushed me down the stairs and beat me up without hesitation…”
He shuffled two steps forward and kowtowed to the emperor: “Your Majesty, this subject heard with his own ears that Shi Qing bragged about his father being the prime minister. He said he wasn’t afraid of the son of a third grade official! Your Majesty, Shi Qing is arrogant because of his father’s position!! His conduct is abhorrent!”
To his side, Official Chen also kowtowed: “Your Majesty!! Although this old minister is only a third grade official, I have always been wholeheartedly devoted to Your Majesty. How can I tolerate this child’s verbal abuse, ah!!”
The situation seemed very unfavorable for Shi Qing.
But the emperor was not in a hurry to make a judgement. He asked: “Shi Qing, do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“I sure do.” The youth’s back was very straight. His expression was also very self-righteous: “Young Master Chen conveniently left some things out. This subject will repeat what I said then.”
“I said that no matter if you are the son of the prime minister or the heir of a third-rate official, you should serve the country loyally and offer the utmost respect towards His Majesty. On the subject of respect for the emperor, I, the son of the prime minister, naturally consider myself to be better than Young Master Chen.
I think of Your Majesty as one of my role models. Your Majesty likes to drink hot and sour soup, so I also like to drink it. Since taking the throne, Your Majesty has been diligent and hardworking from dusk to dawn. I also get up early in the morning every day to study in the palace. Your Majesty is broad-minded, so I try to be tolerant towards others as well and avoid talking behind their backs. Your Majesty treats people with integrity, and I am also a man of my word.”
Based on his words, Shi Qing seemed to respect the emperor a lot.
In truth, he was just making it up as he went.
But the emperor just happened to be eating it all up.
He had always known that he was diligent and tolerant, but no one had ever praised him for it. They just expected it from him as an emperor.
Shi Qing’s praises made him feel warm all over. His face softened slightly.
Young Master Chen: “What a load of bull!! You clearly said that you weren’t afraid of me!”
“Why should I be afraid of you?”
Young Master Chen: “You beat me for no reason, so you’re afraid of being punished by His Majesty!”
Shi Qing scoffed: “You’re being so unreasonable. We agreed to wrestle, so how can you just ignore that fact now? Have you forgotten why we were wrestling? Let me remind you. I had said already that I respect His Majesty, and I value the same things he does, including his children. I hold genuine respect for all of them, but you had to argue with me about that.”
Young Master Chen suddenly stiffened.
He directed an incredulous look towards Shi Qing, who was still weaving a plausible web of lies: “I said that we are all subjects. No matter how important our fathers are, our status won’t change. Subjects should respect the imperial family. If a subject didn’t care about His Majesty’s children, isn’t that implying they don’t care about His Majesty either? If this person treats His Majesty’s children like a commoner, isn’t that like treating His Majesty like a commoner?”
Young Master Chen’s forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
Shi Qing added: “What kind of person doesn’t respect His Majesty? Only those with intentions to rebel would feel that way! If I had to deal with such a person, I would cut off their hands and feet before sending them to be executed.”
Young Master Chen’s legs began to soften. His entire body was soaked with sweat.
The emperor sitting above them was nearsighted and could not clearly see the look on Young Master Chen’s face from such a distance. He agreed and nodded, “Your words have merit.”
Take Yu Chennian as an example. He disliked this son of his and turned a blind eye to his other sons insulting Yu Chennian.
But if he caught a servant in the palace humiliating the prince, he would make an example of them.
After the emperor spoke, Young Master Chen was sweating even more.
Shi Qing smiled cutely: “I had a dispute with Young Master Chen about the way to deal with this kind of person, so we decided to wrestle to settle this matter.”
The little boy turned to look at Young Master Chen, who was suddenly relieved after hearing what sounded like a conclusion to the topic: “But Young Master Chen turned out to be a sore loser who came to Your Majesty to complain when he lost. He even dragged Official Chen over.”
He sighed a long sigh, as if he was very regretful: “Sigh. Before we wrestled, we also agreed that if anyone tried to go back on their word, they would have to be beaten 20 times with a board.”
Official Chen was infuriated by his boldfaced lies.
“Nonsense! My son was obviously beaten by you for no reason. Your Majesty, we must investigate this matter thoroughly. Otherwise… ”
“No! Shi Qing is right!”
Young Master Chen had suddenly interrupted his father’s words.
Official Chen looked at his son incredulously: “What did you just say?!”
Young Master Chen’s heart was very bitter.
He didn’t want to say that either, but if he didn’t, what would he do if the matter of him taking prost.i.tutes as concubines and disrespecting the emperor’s daughter came out.
Breaking his hands, breaking his feet, going to the execution grounds. There was no way he could withstand that kind of torment.
“Um, um Shi Qing was speaking the truth. It was…me who agreed to wrestle with him. The injuries on my face are all from wrestling.”
Official Chen was stunned.
Shi Qing turned his head: “It doesn’t matter. I forgive you. There’s no need to be hit 20 times with a board as punishment either if you don’t want to.”
Young Master Chen was really going to start crying. Shi Qing just said that His Majesty was a man of integrity, ah.
His legs softened as he desperately nodded: “Hit me!! I want to be hit!!”
The young boy turned away as if he couldn’t bear to look at him: “Are you sure? Twenty hits with a board is no laughing matter. Besides, this is the palace. You might be beaten to the point of bleeding.”
The emperor could sense something between the two. Although he was partial towards Shi Qing, he could not be too harsh on Official Chen’s son either: “Since it was just a joke, you don’t have to treat it so seriously.”
Shi Qing: “Yes, yes. Your Majesty is right. We were just having fun. See? The hand I used to hit you is all red now, but I didn’t say a word about it.”
Young Master Chen: “…”
“By the way, when we leave the palace, why don’t I pay a visit to Madame Chen? I heard that she was a gentle and amiable lady.” As he spoke, the little master looked up and smiled softly at the emperor: “My mother is very strict with me, so I like to be close to ladies with good temperaments. Young Master Chen just happened to be a princess consort. Your Majesty once told me to treat the princes as my brothers, so the princesses are my sisters. I heard that Madame Chen had always treated the second princess better than even her own daughter, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone and see the second princess as well.”
Young Master Chen was sweating profusely again.
With Shi Qing’s temper, if he came to his house, he would dig out all of his concubines.
Shi Qing could already spew nonsense without proof.
Armed with evidence, Shi Qing would definitely not stop until he had taken his head.
Shi Qing ignored his sweaty face. He tilted his head and asked cutely: “Young Master Chen, should you be beaten? It would be inconvenient for me to visit if you were indisposed, so I’ll visit another time. If you decide not to, then I’ll go back with you later.”
“No!”
Young Master Chen took a deep breath and quickly looked up at the emperor: “Your Majesty! A man’s word is his bond. Please grant your subject 20 hits with a board!”
The emperor really wanted to hit him as well.
He was in the middle of a nap when he was suddenly called to preside over this case. The details were muddled as well.
But he was a merciful emperor after all, so he said: “No need, it was just a bet.”
Shi Qing also followed with the expression of a saint: “Yes, it was just a bet. Let’s not disturb His Majesty anymore and go to your house to talk.”
This was a clear threat.
Young Master Chen forcefully squeezed out a smile that was even worse than crying:
“I want it! Please! Hit me!! Your Majesty, I’m begging you, please order them to hit me!”
“Tut tut tut.” Shi Qing tutted and talked to Yu Chennian in a quiet voice just loud enough for the two Chens to overhear: “I’ve never heard such a terrifying request. I’ve always been faint-hearted, so I’m a little scared of him now.”
Young Master Chen: “…”
He was almost at the point of spitting blood, but could only watch as Shi Qing huddled towards Yu Chennian with an ‘I’m scwared’ expression.
The spoiled little boy: “He’s so scary.”