Chapter 175

Chapter 175

After the morning court session, Emperor Qianyou turned to Jiang Cihe, "Seventh, come with me."

Jiang Cihe promptly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Meng Shuping was about to make a swift exit, hoping to avoid further scrutiny from the other officials, when Eunuch Yang, the Emperor's attendant, quickly approached him. "Lord Meng, His Majesty has also summoned you."

Immediately, the court officials' curious gazes once again fell upon Meng Shuping. His face flushed, and feeling utterly resigned, he had no choice but to follow Eunuch Yang to the rear hall.

Soon, he and Jiang Cihe stood before Emperor Qianyou. The Emperor, seated in his chair, looked at them with a hint of displeasure. "You two are utterly outrageous!"

Jiang Cihe, with a good attitude, admitted his fault, "Father, please forgive me."

Meng Shuping was startled by Emperor Qianyou's stern demeanor and couldn't help but think anxiously, "Oh no, oh no, he must want to break us up, right? I knew it! His son has become involved in a homosexual relationship—how could he not be angry? He's here to settle accounts!"

"Hiss... I get it! No wonder he refused to dismiss me earlier and even cut short my vacation. He must be planning to bury me in work so I'll be too busy to see Jiang Cihe. That way, over time, our feelings will fade, and maybe we'll break up without him even having to say anything!"

"If that's the case, then he's truly despicable! Why assign it all to me? He should assign it to his son instead—make his son too busy to see me. Wouldn't that achieve the same effect? He just knows how to exploit me, doesn't he?"

At this thought, Meng Shuping sighed again. "Ah, why is my life so difficult? Not letting me have a relationship is one thing, but he also has to pile on so much work. Being involved with a prince has its downsides—his father's status is too high; he can do whatever he wants to me. If I had known, I wouldn't have gotten involved with him."

Jiang Cihe looked at Meng Shuping with a helpless expression. He was quite quick to sell him out, but this little money-lover actually thought about backing out? Not a chance.

Emperor Qianyou almost couldn't maintain his stern expression. He cast a sympathetic glance at Jiang Cihe. It seemed their relationship wasn't that deep after all. Even if they were together, wouldn't he just sell him out at the drop of a hat?

He put on an angry face again. "Meng Shuping, didn't you hear me? Why aren't you answering?"

Meng Shuping grew slightly nervous. He lifted his head. "Replying to Your Majesty, I was just reflecting on my mistakes. If you are truly angry, perhaps you should dismiss me from my post, or even confine me to my residence."

"Honestly, even if he doesn't approve of us being together, he could try a different approach, like offering me five thousand taels to leave his son. But since he's the Emperor, shouldn't it be at least fifty thousand taels? If that were the case, I might actually consider it."

Jiang Cihe looked at Meng Shuping with an amused smirk. Fifty thousand taels, and he'd consider breaking up? Did he not look rich enough?

Emperor Qianyou was both angry and amused. This Meng Shuping was always finding ways to avoid work, wasn't he? And now he was trying to extort money from him again—fifty thousand taels to leave his son? Dream on.

He said displeasedly, "In your eyes, am I such a narrow-minded person?"

Meng Shuping was taken aback. "Pardon?"

"What does he mean by that? He doesn't oppose us? But why? Isn't Jiang Cihe his son? How could he not care at all? Does that mean there's still hope for my vacation?"

Emperor Qianyou snorted coldly, "I will not unduly interfere with your relationship with Seventh, but if you neglect your official duties because of it, then I will have to reprimand you. Don't think that just because you're with Seventh, you can slack off. I will supervise you closely!"

So after condemning him inwardly for so long, it was still about the vacation. This kid was hopeless.

Meng Shuping was even more confused. "You don't oppose it?"

Emperor Qianyou raised an eyebrow. "Why would I oppose it? Whom he chooses to be with is his business. How could I force him?"

Besides, although Meng Shuping could be infuriating at times, he was also quite likable. It was natural for his son to like him.

Meng Shuping could only say, "Oh."

"But doesn't his family have a throne to inherit? Even though the Emperor has many sons and isn't short of heirs, there must be some old-fashioned folks who'd say it's improper for a prince to act this way, right?"

Emperor Qianyou waved a hand. "Enough, stop lingering here. Go back and rest well today. Once you're rested, return soon to serve the empire."

Their family matters were no concern of outsiders.

Meng Shuping immediately stopped thinking about other things and said expressionlessly, "Yes."

"Can't go three sentences without urging me to work. How heartless is he? Well, I might as well go back and rest first."

After leaving Emperor Qianyou’s presence, Meng Shuping remained bewildered. Why was Emperor Qianyou’s reaction so different from what he had expected?

Even after getting into the carriage, he still hadn’t figured it out. Seeing Meng Shuping like this, Jiang Cihe waved a hand in front of his eyes and said with a smile, "Are you curious why Father doesn’t oppose it?"

Meng Shuping asked doubtfully, "Why?"

Jiang Cihe patted Meng Shuping’s head. "Because I’ve long since discussed it with Father—I don’t want to enter a marriage of convenience. Otherwise, why would I still be unmarried at this age?"

Meng Shuping suddenly understood. "So that’s how it is."

"Then the Emperor was just putting on a furious act to scare me, huh? Made me worry so much!"

Jiang Cihe smiled. He hadn’t noticed Meng Shuping being all that worried—always thinking about vacation or money.

As soon as Meng Shuping finished that thought, he noticed Jiang Cihe looking at him strangely. He couldn’t help but glance down at himself. "What’s wrong?"

Jiang Cihe looked into his eyes and said, "If Father offered you a lot of silver to leave me, would you agree?"

Meng Shuping avoided Jiang Cihe’s gaze guiltily. "Of course not. I’m not stupid. Being with you, I could get even more silver!"

"Strange, why is he asking me this? It’s almost like he knows what I was thinking earlier. That can’t be, right?"

Jiang Cihe took Meng Shuping’s face in his hands, making him look at him. "Really?"

Meng Shuping was forced to meet Jiang Cihe’s gaze. His eyes darted away for a moment before he looked back at Jiang Cihe and said firmly, "Really!"

Jiang Cihe held his gaze for a long time. "Then how about you move in with me? Now that everyone in the court knows about our relationship anyway."

Meng Shuping instinctively replied, "Why don’t you move into my place instead?"

But as soon as he said it, he realized something was wrong. "Wait, that might not work. His house is his, but my house isn’t mine—I don’t actually own a home!"

Jiang Cihe couldn’t help but laugh. "If you want me to live at your place, that’s fine too."

Meng Shuping quickly shook his head. "No, no need."

"If he really moved into my place, would the Earl’s household even survive it?"

Jiang Cihe asked him again, "So, will you come live at my place?"

Meng Shuping hesitated. "I’ll consider it."

Jiang Cihe nodded. "Alright."

Since there was nothing else to do, Meng Shuping returned directly to the Earl’s residence. However, by evening, someone came to his courtyard to find him, saying that the Earl of Anyang wanted to see him.

Meng Shuping sighed in resignation. He’d just dealt with Emperor Qianyou in the morning, and now in the afternoon, he had to deal with Meng Houliang too? What a nuisance! But since the Earl of Anyang had summoned him, he had no choice. So he made himself presentable and went to Meng Houliang’s quarters.

Seeing him arrive, Meng Houliang said kindly, "Have a seat."

Meng Shuping obediently sat down and peeked furtively at Meng Houliang. "Grandfather, what did you need me for?"

Meng Houliang asked Meng Shuping, "What did the Emperor say to you today?"

Meng Shuping answered honestly, "He told me to apply myself to my duties, not to slack off, and that he would supervise me."

Meng Houliang was stunned. "What? Just this? Nothing else?"

Why didn't it match what he'd expected? He had been prepared to comfort Meng Shuping if Emperor Qianyou had indeed said something harsh to him, but now it seemed he had overthought things?

Meng Shuping nodded. "Nothing else."

"Just this one thing is enough to keep me busy. If there were more, wouldn’t I be worked to death?"

Meng Houliang asked again, "Then what about you and Prince Zhao? Did he say anything about that?"

Meng Shuping shook his head. "He said even if Jiang Cihe and I have this kind of relationship, I must not neglect my duties for him."

Meng Houliang was almost questioning his understanding—was it really that simple? The Emperor didn’t object? Not only did he not object, but he even urged Ping Geer to work? How was he supposed to proceed with what he had planned to say next?

He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Ping Geer, you’re still young. Some things don’t need to be decided in a hurry. Sometimes, giving it more thought isn’t a bad idea."

Meng Shuping asked blankly, "What do you mean?"

Meng Houliang had no choice but to explain, "I think you should reconsider your relationship with Prince Zhao. Right now, he’s head over heels for you and naturally gives you everything you want, but how can you guarantee he’ll always be like this?"

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jiang Cihe’s character, but Jiang Cihe’s status was simply too special. If anything were to happen in the future, the one most affected would undoubtedly be Meng Shuping.

Meng Shuping wasn’t worried in the slightest. "There’s no need for Grandfather to worry about that."

Just as Meng Houliang was about to persuade him further, Meng Shuping continued, "I can’t guarantee that I’ll always feel this way either!"

"Who knows? After a while, I might realize it’s not a good fit and decide to break up. Honestly, I do like him a lot right now, but what if, after some time, I don’t want anything to do with him anymore?"

Meng Houliang was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "Alright."

He was almost starting to feel sorry for Jiang Cihe. If Jiang Cihe truly liked his grandson that much, it seemed he had a tough road ahead. Even if he objected, it would be useless—Meng Shuping hadn’t grown up in the Earl’s household, so their bond was limited, and he couldn’t forcefully separate them.

Moreover, given Jiang Cihe’s status, there was even less he could do. Well, every generation finds its own way—he might as well let it be.