Chapter 10: Cheering Up the Crown Prince
Upon seeing the Crown Prince, Xiao Xiangzi hurriedly moved to pay his respects. Xuan Qiao raised a hand, signaling him to keep quiet, and walked slowly inside. The dim, yellow candlelight flickered gently, illuminating Yuan Jiabai's face and making it look like a piece of fine, warm jade.
Thinking it was still Xiao Xiangzi, Yuan Jiabai bit the end of his brush and said without even lifting his head, "I don't need waiting on here. You can go rest. Once I finish calculating this bit, I'll go straight to bed."
A voice, laced with a smile, sounded right beside his ear. "And what if I simply want to wait on you?"
Yuan Jiabai's face lit up. "Your Highness! It's so late, what brings you here?"
Xuan Qiao swept aside the hem of his robe and sat down on an embroidered stool facing Yuan Jiabai. Stretching his long legs slightly forward, the tips of his shoes almost touched Yuan Jiabai's. Warm laughter swam in his dark eyes. "I just went to pay my respects to the Empress. On my way back, I saw your lamp was still lit, so I came in to take a look."
Yuan Jiabai nodded in sudden understanding.
"There is plenty of time, so there's no need to rush. You are still young, you absolutely must not stay up this late. Don't let this happen again, understand?"
Yuan Jiabai obediently accepted the lecture. "Understood."
Having said his piece, Xuan Qiao still didn't really want to leave. He sat in silence for a while before finally preparing to get up and go.
But Yuan Jiabai suddenly spoke up, "Your Highness, are you in a bad mood?"
Xuan Qiao paused, taken aback. He saw the concern in Yuan Jiabai's eyes as the younger boy looked at him with a worried expression.
He hesitated for a moment, his brows furrowing as he asked, "Is it that obvious?"
Were his emotions leaking out to such an extent? That wasn't a good thing at all.
Yuan Jiabai shook his head. "Not obvious. I just guessed. I can feel that you're a little unhappy, Your Highness."
He was relatively sensitive to other people's emotions. Growing up, he hadn't had many friends because he could always pick up on the subtle malice in others. It wasn't that they were committing some heinous crime, but it made it impossible for him to open his heart to people easily.
This was also the reason why, after only a few short days, he wanted to become sworn brothers with Xuan Qiao. He couldn't sense a single drop of malice from the Crown Prince. He even felt that if he were to actually voice this request, the Crown Prince would agree.
Returning a favor with a favor, His Highness treated him well, so he wanted to treat His Highness well in return.
So that was it. Xuan Qiao instinctively wanted to brush it off and say it was nothing, but when the words reached his lips, they inexplicably turned into, "There is something troubling me a little."
Yuan Jiabai didn't pry into what exactly the trouble was. Instead, he thought for a moment and offered, "Hmm... how about I tell you a joke, Your Highness?"
Xuan Qiao raised a brow, adopting a posture of attentive listening.
Yuan Jiabai cleared his throat and said formally, "There was a little sheep that went to get its wool sheared. But after the shearing, it couldn't fall asleep ever again. Do you know why, Your Highness?"
"Why?" Xuan Qiao asked.
"Because it suffered from... shear insomnia! Hahahaha.."
Xuan Qiao: "..."
Why does it suddenly feel a bit chilly in here?
Yuan Jiabai scratched his cheek. "Not funny?"
Just as he asked, a sudden pfft of laughter broke out, only to be stifled immediately. Yuan Jiabai turned his head to see Xiao Xiangzi, whose cheeks were flushed red from trying so hard to hold in his laughter.
Chief Eunuch Qi Guangde looked at his disciple with a complicated expression. He never knew his apprentice had such a low threshold for amusement!
Finding himself the center of attention, Xiao Xiangzi grew terrified and hastily begged for forgiveness. "This servant has lost his manners. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Xuan Qiao waved his hand dismissively.
Encouraged by Xiao Xiangzi's reaction, Yuan Jiabai tapped his cheek with a finger and thought of another one. "Your Highness, Your Highness! I have one more. Do you want to hear it?"
Xuan Qiao had never imagined a day would come when he'd waste time listening to jokes. In his mind, this was a complete squander of time and a frivolous distraction that sapped one's ambitions. Hearing it once should have been enough, he thought. But looking into Yuan Jiabai's expectant, watery eyes, Xuan Qiao relented, "Go ahead."
Yuan Jiabai presented a joke adapted to suit local customs: "A soybean was divorced by his wife. He kept crying and crying, and eventually, he turned into... a soybean sprout!"
The Crown Prince remained silent for a moment, then the corners of his lips quirked up. "I see." He courteously chuckled twice to give face.
Yuan Jiabai pouted. Remembering Xiao Xiangzi, he turned his head for a look and found the young eunuch suppressing his laughter once again, which immediately made him feel comforted.
At least someone was amused by him.
Following his gaze, Xuan Qiao glanced at Xiao Xiangzi. He didn't say anything, merely withdrawing his eyes after a single look.
Yuan Jiabai slumped over the table, looking utterly drained of energy. He sighed, "Your Highness, your standards for humor are way too high."
Xuan Qiao lowered his eyes to look at him and replied, "They are not high. I did laugh."
Yuan Jiabai tilted his head, looking up at him from below, and beamed. "Are you in a better mood now, Your Highness?"
Xuan Qiao nodded. Thanks to this little interruption, he really did feel much better.
"That's good." Yuan Jiabai let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and patted his chest. "Thank goodness your mood improved, Your Highness. Otherwise, my only option left would have been to dance for you."
Intrigued, Xuan Qiao asked, "You know how to dance?"
"Nope."
"Then why did you say..."
"I'd just jump around blindly," Yuan Jiabai said, brimming with confidence. "I'm good-looking, so even my blind jumping would look beautiful."
Xuan Qiao couldn't help but laugh out loud, agreeing, "That makes perfect sense."
This time, the Crown Prince's smile seemed much more genuine and joyful. Yuan Jiabai's eyes curved into crescents.
Xuan Qiao's heart gave a sudden flutter, though the feeling vanished in a flash.
---
The moon had reached its zenith; it was time to rest.
Qi Guangde stepped forward and murmured, "Your Highness, it is getting late. You should rest. You still have to attend morning court tomorrow."
During the reign of Emperor Jingyuan of the Great Yong Dynasty, Grand Court Assemblies were held on the first and fifteenth of every month, while minor sessions convened every two days. After Emperor Xiande ascended the throne, he changed the schedule to holding court once every five days to parade his diligence.
Looking at it again in this life, Xuan Qiao realized Emperor Xiande's so-called diligence was complete nonsense. The frequency of court sessions had increased, yet the efficiency had plummeted compared to his imperial grandfather's era by an immeasurable degree.
Xuan Qiao had been deeply favored by Emperor Jingyuan and began attending court to observe governance at the age of twelve. Having participated in the assemblies during Emperor Jingyuan's reign, he profoundly felt that the two administrations were worlds apart. Emperor Xiande was simply incompetent.
Though reluctant to leave, Xuan Qiao had no choice but to stand up. "I'm heading back. You hurry and rest as well. Leave the rest of those calculations for tomorrow, do you hear me?"
"I hear you," Yuan Jiabai replied. "You must rest well too, Your Highness. Good night. See you tomorrow."
Yuan Jiabai walked Xuan Qiao to the door. After returning, Xiao Xiangzi attended to him as he washed up. With a toothbrush in his mouth, Yuan Jiabai listened to Xiao Xiangzi marveling at how amazing he was, asking how he could possibly come up with such hilarious jokes.
Thoroughly blinded by the flurry of flattery, Yuan Jiabai fell asleep with a smile plastered on his face.
---
On the day before his scheduled days of rest, Yuan Jiabai successfully finished all the ledgers. However, it was too late by then, so he didn't go bother the Crown Prince, figuring he'd hand them over the following morning.
As it turned out, the Crown Prince had gone to Changchun Palace to pay his respects. Missing him, Yuan Jiabai simply left the books on the desk and asked Xiao Xiangzi to pass a message to Chief Eunuch Qi later.
At the palace gates, Yuan Jiabai handed his waist token to the guards for inspection.
In the distance, the Second Prince, Xuan Wen, caught a glimpse of the unfamiliar face. Tipping his chin up, he asked his attendant, "Who is that? I haven't seen him before."
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