Chapter 47
He hadn’t spoken yet when the outer garment draped over his shoulders slipped off, leaving only the thin inner clothing around him.
He hurriedly turned his head to retrieve it. “Your Majesty, why are you here?”
The silk outer garment was half draped over his shoulder, with the other half still fallen behind him.
A shadow moved beside him, and a hand suddenly reached out, lifting the garment from behind and draping it back over his shoulders. He turned to see Li Wuting had somehow arrived in front of him.
Li Wuting adjusted his clothing with one hand and then slightly pulled it—
His upper body was drawn closer, involuntarily leaning toward the other person.
Ning Rushen instinctively clenched the paper, tucking it behind him. “No, nothing like that.”
At such a close distance, Ning Rushen was almost half-leaning within two inches of Li Wuting.
His breathing was slightly chaotic, unsure of what he was flustered about. He quickly turned his gaze and said:
“Out in the front yard, no one followed.”
Li Wuting pursed his lips. “Why, don’t you want to see me alone?”
“No, it’s not that, I…” Ning Rushen was about to speak when he noticed the tightly pressed line of Li Wuting’s lips. It looked like he was in a bad mood, holding back a hidden flame with his refined demeanor.
Ning Rushen licked his lips. He then released his grip on the paper and pulled at Li Wuting’s sleeve. “I was wondering, since there’s no one around, if I could call you by name?”
“……”
The pressure on his shoulder suddenly lessened.
Li Wuting’s breath hitched. Under the lantern’s light, a faint red hue appeared on his ears. After a couple of seconds of silence, his fingers relaxed slightly:
“Don’t think you can fool me like this.”
“……”
He… didn’t fool him.
And how could calling him by name be considered fooling?
Ning Rushen was still pondering when he heard Li Wuting say softly, “First, put on your clothes.” Li Wuting pulled his collar towards the front, covering the delicate collarbone above his inner clothing.
“Then tell me—”
Ning Rushen felt a slight shiver from Li Wuting’s touch. He adjusted his clothing, “What?”
Li Wuting looked at the crumpled paper on the ground:
“Which one is it that you want, Ning Qingxiang?”
Ning Rushen almost ripped his clothes!
Finally snapping out of his flustered state, he looked up in shock, his voice trembling:
“This rumor… has it reached the palace?”
This long journey…
Didn’t anyone doubt it was just a joke!!!
“Rumor? I heard Ning Qingxiang…” Li Wuting paused, seemingly finding the term inappropriate, and repressed his anger, saying instead, “Wants to get married.”
Ning Rushen took a deep breath. “I’m not, I didn’t, I… I meant Jingjing,” he said, his brain momentarily running out of oxygen. He simply covered his ears with his hands. “I meant, Jing, Jing.”
He placed the vividly descriptive “Jingjing” in front of him.
The small courtyard fell into silence.
After a moment, Li Wuting pinched his brow:
……
Ning Rushen kept his ears covered for a while until he finally calmed down. He glanced at Li Wuting’s expression and saw an unclear emotion in the dim night.
It seemed quite wordless but also as if something had relaxed.
He uncovered his ears and peeked, “Your Majesty?”
Li Wuting let go and looked at him.
His gaze reflected the lantern light, shining like black jade in the dark night, and his thin lips parted as he repeated, “Your Majesty?”
“?” What was he supposed to respond with?
Ning Rushen met his gaze for a few seconds, suddenly realizing, “…Your Majesty?”
Li Wuting’s expression softened. “Yes.”
He took a few breaths to compose himself, then picked up the crumpled paper from the ground and tossed it into the lantern.
The flame flared up suddenly.
Li Wuting’s sharply defined profile was illuminated by the light, making him momentarily breathtakingly handsome. “By the time Ning Qingxiang reaches adulthood, there will be no ‘Jingjing,’ nor any ‘Huanhuan,’ ‘Tantian,’ or ‘Fanfan,’ right?”
“……”
How did you know I liked those?
Ning Rushen thought to himself. “Of course not. I haven’t even thought about marriage yet.”
Li Wuting watched him for a few moments, and his lips seemed to curve slightly.
Ning Rushen’s heart skipped a beat: …Why is he smiling?
As he was feeling uneasy, Li Wuting looked away and asked, “When is the coming-of-age ceremony?”
Ning Rushen was taken aback and instinctively gave a date.
Li Wuting nodded and asked, “Have you decided on a name?”
Ning Rushen nodded. “Yes, it’s my own name.”
After a brief silence, Li Wuting seemed to think of something and gave him a half-smile.
“Well, I’ll look forward to it.”
Ning Rushen: Huh?
As the night grew late, Li Wuting soon left.
Ning Rushen and his people watched the carriage leave, wondering what Li Wuting had come for.
In the dead of night, did he come just to ask about “Jingjing”?
He returned to the courtyard and dismissed Yan Min and Shiyi:
“You… have worked hard. Go and rest.”
“Yes, sir.”
Shiyi paused before leaving. “Oh, by the way, the leader praised me for running errands well and said that I won’t need to return to the palace, just focus on running errands for you.”
“……” Ning Rushen said, “You don’t need to run errands anymore.”
To avoid scattering all the way.
“In the future, you’ll…” He looked around. “Take care of those two fat pigeons. No drooling! They need to be alive.”
Shiyi accepted regretfully. “Oh.”
Mentioning the fat pigeons, Ning Rushen suddenly remembered something:
Previously, Prince Xuan had frequently sent him letters, expressing missing him and inquiring about his recent situation—
He must be gathering material for Xiao Huangwen!
No wonder Li Wuting only ever replied with “Haha.”
Ning Rushen immediately regretted it: Does he miss him? He’s trying to make him die!
No, he had to put an end to Prince Xuan’s project.
Ning Rushen thought for a moment and took out some paper and a pen.
Given Li Wuting’s attitude, a casual response would likely be well-received.
He wrote in response to the inquiry about his recent situation:
“After not seeing for a few days, I’m done.”
He finished and tossed the letter into the ash with a clatter—off you go!
After a week of negotiation, the cabinet finally took shape.
In addition to the initial five top officials, many other ministers were brought in to balance various factions. Ultimately, positions were assigned based on their stances and contributions.
With so many ministers in the cabinet, Ning Rushen was no longer as conspicuous.
Currently, he held three positions: in the cabinet, the palace, and the Ministry of Rites, shuttling between them with little time spent in the cabinet.
Seizing an opportunity, he also delivered the “ancient book” he had promised to Ji Taifu: “I completed half of it myself, and had Scholar Fan help with the other half, so the handwriting may be a bit different.”
“No problem, no problem…” Ji Jie cherished it.
He flipped through a few pages, then carefully tucked it away, patting Ning Rushen on the back. “Mr. Ning, you truly have great talent. Not to mention this precious ancient book, but even the establishment of this cabinet—”
Ji Jie stopped, his words trailing off.
Ning Rushen waved his hand, “No, no, it’s not due to me.”
Ji Jie frowned, “How modest!”
Ning Rushen, “…”
Ji Jie scrutinized him for a moment before suddenly saying, “Mr. Ning, you must be approaching the age of majority. Have you had an elder perform the coming-of-age ceremony? If you don’t mind—”
Ning Rushen, realizing the implication, was pleasantly surprised.
Without parents or relatives in this world, he had been worried about finding someone to perform the ceremony. Ji Jie, being a highly respected scholar, performing the ceremony would be an extreme honor.
Ning Rushen agreed, “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Elder Ji!”
Ji Jie, holding the book close, said with a chuckle, “Oh ho ho ho.”
·
By mid-month, it was late June.
The auspicious day for the coming-of-age ceremony was approaching.
Without any family elders, Ning Rushen avoided many of the usual formalities.
He only needed to invite Ji Jie to perform the ceremony and some familiar colleagues to witness it.
The Ning residence was bustling with preparations.
Meanwhile, a fit white pigeon flew into the imperial palace.
At the emperor’s desk, Li Wuting unfolded the letter.
The letter was lengthy, filled with anxious, earnest words, as if one could imagine Prince Xuan leaping and fuming as he wrote—
In summary, it was only four words: Reconcile quickly!
It even included Ning Rushen’s original reply.
‘Not seen for days, broke up.’
“…”
Li Wuting read it twice in silence before pushing the letter towards De Quan. “Is he blaming me?”
The “he” was obviously Prince Xuan.
De Quan glanced at the letter and then at the emperor’s expression.
Although Li Wuting spoke in this manner, his face showed no displeasure, and his tightly pressed lips even curved downward. De Quan, understanding, immediately feigned reproach:
“Mr. Ning really is unreasonable—daring to blame Your Majesty!”
“Does he not know how to come and see the emperor himself?”
Li Wuting, “Enough.”
He habitually crumpled the letter, about to throw it away, but suddenly paused and unfolded it to read twice more.
His gaze fell on the final line of the original reply.
“The coming-of-age ceremony is in three days, right?”
De Quan was delighted, “Yes.”
Li Wuting set the letter aside, “Hmm.”
…
On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, Ning’s residence was busy early in the morning.
The ceremonial vessels and attire were placed in their respective positions, and the venue for the ceremony was properly arranged.
In the main house, Ning Rushen was fixing his hair.
He had dreamt last night of performing acrobatics, flipping to earn a basket of steamed buns. He had flipped eighty times, and his hair was tangled this morning.
Xing Lan combed his hair painfully, so he had sent the servants out and decided to do it himself.
For the ceremony, he needed to wear a plain dark robe and bind his long hair into a bun.
Ning Rushen had spent a great deal of effort smoothing out his disheveled hair.
He then changed into a plain dark robe.
Facing away from the door, his long black hair draped over one shoulder, with a few strands falling on his back, faintly revealing the frosty white nape below.
As he was tying his sash, he heard a knock at the door.
Two knocks, neither heavy nor light.
He thought it was a servant urging him and replied without looking up, “Already dressed, coming right away.”
There was a pause behind him, then the door creaked open.
Ning Rushen turned around to see a tall figure standing at the door: Li Wuting had entered, carrying the thin morning light from outside.
He was momentarily stunned by the early visit.
“Your Majesty, why are you here?”
Li Wuting looked at Ning Rushen.
Ning’s black hair was all wrapped in the plain robe. The delicate Adam’s apple on his pale neck moved slightly.
Li Wuting said calmly, “Aren’t you complaining that you see me too seldom?”
