Chapter 101: Palace Walls

Chapter 101: Palace Walls

Xiao Shao’s prediction was correct—the very next day, the emperor summoned him to the palace with an oral decree.

At the same time, *System 66* updated its mission.

Its emotionless electronic voice intoned, "Su Zhu, focus. The 'Palace Guidance' segment is a crucial plot point. Do not deviate."

Xiao Shao stroked his chin. "Palace Guidance?"

The one being "guided" certainly couldn’t be Xiao Shao—it had to be Qi Yan.

At that moment, Xiao Shao had just finished reading Qi Yan’s flood control strategy. The proposal bore Xiao Tanhu’s trademark style—no flowery, hollow fluff. Instead, it was concise, and every word counted.

Drawing from his experience accompanying his father on inspections of Hedong, Qi Yan laid out the locations and designs for canal construction, how they’d prevent disasters, and even the costs down to the last penny.

Qi Yan had burned the midnight oil. Once he began drafting the strategy, he couldn’t stop until it was complete. It was nearly midnight when he finally set down his brush and handed the document to Xiao Shao.

Xiao Shao shooed him off to rest in the side chamber while he himself pored over the proposal, liking it more by the minute. Had he had someone like this assisting him in his past life, he wouldn’t have dropped dead from overwork.

Just as he was about to extinguish the lamp and sleep around the fourth watch, he caught the faintest rustle from the side chamber.

The night was silent, amplifying even the slightest sound. Setting the strategy aside, he rose and went to check.

Qi Yan was sleeping restlessly.

He was clinging to the blanket, burying his nose in it as if searching for a familiar scent. When he couldn’t find it, his brows furrowed, his eyelids trembling along with the teardrop mole beneath his eye—like a teardrop about to fall. He looked pitiful.

...A nightmare?

Qi Yan had once mentioned dreaming every night. Xiao Shao had thought it an exaggeration, but now it seemed true. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gave Qi Yan’s cheek a light poke. "Wake up?"

"Qi Yan? Attendant Qi? Qi Xiao Tanhu? Hey, Grand Councilor?"

No response.

So Grinning, he went for Qi Yan’s nose.

Latching onto Xiao Shao’s arm, Qi Yan stirred. The scent hit him, dispelling the nightmare. Like a shipwreck survivor washing ashore, his body relaxed before his mind could catch up.

Xiao Shao raised an eyebrow. "Not afraid of me anymore?"

"..."

The sudden voice snapped Qi Yan back to reality. He released Xiao Shao’s arm like he’d been scalded. He wanted to rise and bow, but Xiao Shao blocked the bed, leaving him no choice but to sit there, flustered. "Your Highness."

His voice was hoarse and strained.

Xiao Shao ‘hmm’d’, then narrowed his eyes and pressed, "What did you dream about? Tell me."

Qi Yan replied, "...Nothing."

Xiao Shao hummed, then narrowed his eyes and pressed, "Your sister’s house is under my name, you know."

In truth, even if Qi Yan refused to answer, Xiao Shao wouldn’t have evicted Madam Qi. He simply found Qi Yan’s reactions amusing and couldn’t resist teasing him.

Qi Yan bit his lip. "I dreamed of the palace."

Doing laundry in the dead of winter was considered an easy task, yet within the towering palace walls, lives were cheaper than grass. The whims of nobles—whether they were hurt, ill, or simply in a mood—inevitably led to torment, and torment often meant a life lost.

For those serving closely within the palace, the rules were even more stringent, dictating everything from sitting posture to kneeling. Qi Yan spent two months learning these rules, enduring seven or eight, maybe even ten, punishments. If Xiao Shao hadn’t shown up when he did, he wasn’t sure he would have survived.

Xiao Shao: "Dreaming of the palace? You’re not even in the palace anymore—what’s there to fear?"

Qi Yan: "It still feels like I’m trapped there."

Night after night, the nightmares came—crimson and gold glazed tiles, endless palace walls stretching in every direction, ensnaring him as if his whole life was buried there.

Qi Yan was the last remnant of a disgraced family, marked by imperial decree. With no one left outside to protect him, his life in the palace was harsher than that of ordinary eunuchs, more unbearable.

Lowering his gaze, he asked Xiao Shao, "Did the policy essay meet Your Highness’s approval?"

The abrupt shift from nightmares to policy discussions struck Xiao Shao as odd, but he replied, "Not bad. You write well."

Seemingly drawing courage from his approval, Qi Yan ventured, "Then… might I ask a boon of Your Highness?"

"...Go on."

Qi Yan closed his eyes. "...Please don’t send me back."

He was truly afraid.

Xiao Shao was momentarily stunned, then laughed. "Relax. I picked you—that makes you mine. No one’s ever taken what’s mine, and no one will. You’re out now—no one can send you back. That much I can guarantee."

Only then did Qi Yan relax, murmuring softly, "Mm."

Xiao Shao: "Can you sleep now?"

"...Mm."

With the lamp extinguished, Qi Yan pulled the blanket over himself. The sheets still smelled like Xiao Shao, and as the familiar fragrance enveloped him, he finally drifted into deep sleep.

On the other side of the wall, Xiao Shao mused, *"Don’t send you back?"*

Though he had agreed, he thought to himself, *"When I’m emperor, won’t you have to enter the palace with me? No arguments there."*

After all, the imperial memorials would be waiting for his Xiao Tanhu to review.

*

The next morning, Xiao Shao rode through the palace gates.

In the imperial study, his father, Emperor Jianning, sat at the head, while his elder brother sat to the side. The two were discussing a memorial when the emperor spotted him and beckoned, "Shao’er, come sit."

Xiao Shao gave a half-hearted bow, his knee barely grazing the floor before rising. The chief eunuch, Li Quande, had already prepared a chair for him, which Xiao Shao took without hesitation. "What does Father need me for?"

Emperor Jianning said, "Nothing urgent. I heard you’ve taken in that Qi family leftover?"

As the emperor’s ink ran low, Xiao Shao took an inkstick from Li Quande and began grinding it smoothly. "Yes. I just grabbed one randomly. Why?"

At that moment, Crown Prince Xiao Yi glanced up, meeting Xiao Shao’s eyes briefly before looking away.

Emperor Jianning sighed. "Out of all people, why him?"

He continued, "The silver case rocked the court. Three million taels vanished right under my nose. I initially wanted to wipe out his whole lineage as a warning. But Qi Yan had earned scholarly honors and won the favor of the old ministers in the Six Boards, who petitioned jointly for clemency. I planned to toss him in some backwater department—to let him rot. Yet you picked him."

Such trivial matters wouldn’t normally reach the emperor’s attention. That it had been brought up now meant someone had deliberately mentioned it.

Xiao Shao’s gaze lingered briefly on the crown prince’s gentle facade, and he understood immediately.

In his previous life, the Crown Prince chose Qi Yan to win over Senior Tutor Song and others, gaining the support of the upright scholar-officials—it was a deliberate pick.

Now that Xiao Shao had stepped in and taken the man first, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but overthink: Was Xiao Shao also trying to win over the civil officials and compete for the throne? That’s why he subtly brought it up to Emperor Jianning, using the emperor’s hand to test Xiao Shao.

Xiao Shao scoffed, growing even more indifferent. “No, Father, how would I know all these scheming? You know I hate court trivialities—I can’t even match names to the heads of the Six Ministries. I picked Qi Yan because he’s handsome.”

He played up his spoiled playboy act. “Xiao Tanhua is really handsome. I had my eye on him during the Qujiang Banquet, but back then, he had his official rank—I couldn’t touch him. Now that he’s fallen from grace, shouldn’t I be able to pick him for something nice to look at?”

Emperor Jianning shook his head. “Completely inappropriate.” But he didn’t press further.

A son doted on wanting a pretty attendant was no big deal.

While Xiao Shao spoke, the Crown Prince’s gaze lingered on his face, only withdrawing after he finished. The Crown Prince then said slowly, “I heard he hasn’t been fully trained yet—still quite proud and arrogant. He’s only learned about seventy to eighty percent of palace etiquette and even insulted the son of Marquis Yongyi in the Imperial Study. I wonder if Shao’er can handle him?”

The Crown Prince was a full twelve years older than Xiao Shao, cold by nature and suspicious. Hearing him call him “Shao’er” made Xiao Shao’s skin crawl. Before he could respond, Emperor Jianning sneered, “The son of a disgraced official dares to act proud in front of a prince? Who taught him such manners?”

Chief Eunuch Li Dequan immediately fell to his knees. As the overseer, all palace eunuchs fell under his jurisdiction. “The young lord arrived in haste and hasn’t been fully trained yet… How about Your Highness returns him, and once we’ve properly instructed him, we’ll send him back?”

Just as Xiao Shao was about to speak, his vision blurred—66 floated out with a small screen, coldly announcing, “Host, please note: the protagonist [Qi Yan] undergoing training is a required story element. You must—”

The screen stuttered slightly before continuing flatly, “You must stick exactly to the 60-point passing line.”

The system’s tone was stern, devoid of any warmth. But in a place Xiao Shao couldn’t see, 66 shed thick tears.

—It didn’t want to talk to its host like this either, but since Xiao Shao was mean to the system, the system had to retaliate!

Xiao Shao raised a brow. “Fine.”

At the same time, Emperor Jianning nodded. “That works.”

Li Dequan bowed in acknowledgment and was about to leave to arrange it when Xiao Shao added, “Hey, hey, hey—I just got him and haven’t had enough time yet. Where exactly are you taking him?”

66, having just vanished, nearly tumbled in midair. It had to reappear, putting on an even colder act. “Host, severe warning! Severe warning! 60 points is the contractual baseline! 60 points is the contractual baseline!”

“Ugh, stop warning me, I get it.”

Xiao Shao waved it away irritably, rubbing his temples. “Fine, have your people come to my residence to teach him. I’ll use him while you train him—no problem.”

Emperor Jianning naturally agreed.

The matter was quickly set aside as the emperor and Crown Prince resumed discussing flood control. Xiao Shao absentmindedly ground ink beside them, only interjecting when the Crown Prince mentioned the need for a supervisor to oversee dike repairs in Hedong.

“I’ve heard Hedong is a rich land, with the Yellow River flowing through it—magnificent and grand. Father, I’ve been stuck in the capital for too long. I’d like to ride through Hedong.”

He made it sound like an offhand remark, but Emperor Jianning’s gaze settled on him thoughtfully.

Supervising dike repairs wasn’t a critical task—anyone could do it as long as they kept an eye on corruption. But after the Qi Censor’s embezzlement scandal, Emperor Jianning trusted no one. Now, his own son Xiao Shao seemed like a decent choice.

The emperor quizzed him on basic water conservancy knowledge. Xiao Shao feigned ignorance, only mentioning things he’d heard from Old Man Song—nothing outstanding, but enough to qualify as a supervisor.

And so, he was appointed as the Imperial Commissioner of Hedong, scheduled to leave the following week with the imperial edict in hand.

Accompanying him was a supervisor from the Directorate of Ceremonial, surnamed He—assigned by Li Dequan to oversee Qi Yan’s training.

The moment the supervisor arrived at the residence, he bowed slightly to Xiao Shao. “I won’t disturb Your Highness. Where is Attendant Qi now? This humble servant will go find him directly.”

66 reappeared. “Host, please adhere to the 60-point baseline and cooperate with the supervisor’s actions.”

Xiao Shao: “Of course I’ll cooperate.”

He glanced at Supervisor He and said casually, “You’re asking where Qi Yan is? Oh, he’s in my room. Go ahead and find him.”

—Truly the picture of cooperation.

Author’s Note:

Supervisor He: *Who understands the pain of dealing with a lunatic?*