Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Meng Shuping stared suspiciously at Gao Ran for a long time before finally asking with great confusion, "Isn't it on-duty hours right now? You being here at this time—are you playing hooky?"

Then, he quickly turned to Jiang Cihe and said, "Your Highness, if that's really the case, shouldn’t we dock his pay?"

"Not to criticize him, but if he wants to give gifts, why does he have to do it during work hours? Does he think he can shirk work like this? Well, now he’s fallen right into my hands!"

"What? Dock my pay?" Gao Ran gave Meng Shuping a look that spoke volumes. He never expected the conversation to suddenly shift in a direction he hadn’t anticipated.

Shouldn’t Meng Shuping be hostile toward him and warn him? Why would he care whether he was slacking off? What good would docking his pay do for Meng Shuping?

Seeing Gao Ran’s incredulous expression, Jiang Cihe almost couldn’t hold back his laughter. The only person who could think of something like this at a time like this was probably Meng Shuping.

He tried his best to put on a serious expression and said, suppressing a laugh, "Well said. We really should dock his pay. I’ll send someone to take care of it later."

"Your Highness, wait!" Hearing that Jiang Cihe was actually going to dock his pay, Gao Ran panicked. He said anxiously, "Your Highness, this official only came to thank you. I didn’t think that much about it, and I didn’t mean to slack off. Please investigate this fairly!"

He wasn’t like Meng Shuping, a scion of a noble house who could rely on his family’s support. As a newcomer to the officialdom, his pay was already meager. If it were docked further, wouldn’t it become even less? Moreover, if others found out that Prince Zhao had specifically ordered his pay to be docked, wouldn’t they assume he had offended Jiang Cihe?

He looked at Jiang Cihe anxiously, hoping the other would let him off the hook. But the next moment, he heard Meng Shuping’s voice say, "Who’s to say? Maybe he did it on purpose. Today he comes to thank you, tomorrow he visits the Minister. If he always picks work hours to do this, he could avoid a lot of work. You know what? I never thought of such a slacking-off method!"

Gao Ran’s face darkened. Who would slack off like that? Did Meng Shuping really think everyone was as idle and cunning as him?

He glared at Meng Shuping through gritted teeth and said, "Lord Meng, if it’s because this official came to see Your Highness that you dislike me, then this official will never come again. Please let me off this time."

After saying this, he glanced secretly at Jiang Cihe. If Jiang Cihe thought Meng Shuping was targeting him out of jealousy, wouldn’t Jiang Cihe also feel displeased?

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Jiang Cihe’s expression changed. He looked at Meng Shuping with a slight smile and asked, "Are you unhappy that he came to see me?"

Gao Ran’s smug expression instantly turned to shock. What was wrong with Jiang Cihe? Shouldn’t he be displeased? Why was he smiling?

Meng Shuping felt utterly baffled. "Huh? No, not at all!"

"I’m thrilled to have caught him red-handed! I was just worried about not meeting my performance review as a censor this month, and now here’s my chance. Heh heh, it’s his bad luck to run into me. I’ll impeach him at the morning court audience later!"

Hearing this, Jiang Cihe almost burst out laughing. Gao Ran probably never expected that Meng Shuping hadn’t picked up on the underlying meaning of his words at all. But after a moment, he sighed helplessly. The little moneygrubber was as dense as ever in this regard.

Gao Ran’s face grew even darker. He never imagined that Meng Shuping would actually want to impeach him! Wasn’t it just a brief absence during on-duty hours? As long as it didn’t affect official business, handling a little personal matter was harmless. Hadn’t everyone done something like this at some point?

But this Meng Shuping, pretending not to care on the surface, was actually so malicious—truly hypocritical! If Meng Shuping really impeached him in court, his career would be ruined. After all, Meng Shuping was currently so influential. If he brought this up, wouldn’t the Emperor and all the civil and military officials think he was an idle and cunning person?

At this thought, Gao Ran’s expression darkened momentarily. No, he had to strike first before Meng Shuping impeached him. If others thought Meng Shuping was targeting him due to personal grudges, then Meng Shuping’s impeachment might not harm him but could even earn him more favor from the Emperor and other officials.

So Gao Ran didn’t bother saying much more to Jiang Cihe. He quickly bowed to Jiang Cihe and said in a hurried tone, "Since I’ve already thanked Your Highness, this official will return to handle my official duties now!"

Watching Gao Ran’s fleeing figure, Meng Shuping felt puzzled. "Why did he leave so suddenly?"

"Wasn’t he just trying to sow discord about me in front of Jiang Cihe? Why did he run off halfway through?"

Meng Shuping wondered suspiciously, "Is he afraid I’ll find more evidence against him?"

Jiang Cihe suppressed a laugh and said, "Maybe he’s afraid we’ll dock more of his pay!"

Meng Shuping thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with any other reason, so he stopped caring. "Alright."

The two of them entered the prince’s residence together. Meng Shuping had been running around outside for a long time and had gotten up early for the morning court audience. He hadn’t had a chance to rest yet, so as soon as he relaxed, he felt tired and sleepy. When he saw the bed in the room, he couldn’t help but yawn.

Seeing this, Jiang Cihe chuckled softly and said, "If you’re tired, take a nap first."

Meng Shuping didn’t plan to stand on ceremony with Jiang Cihe. He nodded, squinted his eyes, and walked toward the bed. "Then I’ll sleep for a while. If you have things to do, go ahead."

Then, he found the most comfortable position on the bed and curled up. Soon, his steady breathing could be heard.

Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, Jiang Cihe left the room and went to his study. Meng Shuping was on leave, but he wasn’t—there were still many matters waiting for him to handle.

Meng Shuping slept very comfortably. By the time he woke up, it was already lunchtime. After eating, he had his belongings brought over and organized them. Some were his clothes and daily necessities, while others were local specialties he had brought back from his travels. When traveling, it was customary to bring back token gifts.

He prepared gifts for his elders and siblings as a gesture, and also set aside some for his colleagues in the court. After all, it was a matter of courtesy, and it didn’t cost much. Besides, he had received gifts from others too. By the time he finished, it was already dark outside.

After washing up in the side room, Meng Shuping came out and noticed that only Jiang Cihe was left in the room. When he looked up, his eyes met Jiang Cihe’s.

Thinking about what might happen next, his ears turned red, and his heartbeat quickened. He instinctively avoided Jiang Cihe’s gaze and looked elsewhere, then said quickly, "I’m done washing. It’s your turn!"

Jiang Cihe’s Adam’s apple moved, and he stood up. "Alright."

But as soon as he stood up, he heard Meng Shuping’s exaggerated tone, "I knew it! He wants to do intimate things with me! Look at that predatory gaze of his!"

Jiang Cihe was glad he wasn’t drinking tea at that moment, or he would have choked. He coughed lightly as if nothing was wrong and walked calmly toward the side room.

He did want to bring Meng Shuping back, but not specifically for *that* kind of thing. Still, with such beauty before him, was it wrong to appreciate it?

After Jiang Cihe entered the side room, Meng Shuping let out a soft sigh of relief. He hopped onto the bed and wrapped himself in the blanket.

From the side room, the faint sound of splashing water could be heard. Lying on the bed, Meng Shuping couldn’t help but picture Jiang Cihe’s firm, well-built upper body in his mind.

He quickly shook his head, trying to dispel the image.

Just as Jiang Cihe was washing himself, he heard a voice from the bedroom, "Darn it! Why am I imagining him bathing?"

Jiang Cihe paused. A moment later, Meng Shuping’s voice sounded again, "I wonder how it would feel to touch him."

Jiang Cihe’s breath hitched. It took him a while to resume washing. He never expected Meng Shuping to have such thoughts. But if Meng Shuping wanted to know, he could certainly satisfy his curiosity.

After a while, Meng Shuping noticed the sounds from the side room had stopped. He instinctively looked over and saw Jiang Cihe’s figure reappear.

Having just bathed, Jiang Cihe was still covered in moisture. Some water droplets slid down his cheeks to his chin, then dripped onto his abdomen, making the contours of his body clearly visible through his damp clothes.

Seeing this, Meng Shuping joked inwardly, "Wow, is this what they call alluring?"

Jiang Cihe raised an eyebrow. Alluring?

He walked forward calmly and noticed Meng Shuping’s gaze quickly dart downward before shifting away. "Whoa! I never noticed before, but he’s quite well-equipped!"

Although Jiang Cihe had never heard this phrase before, based on Meng Shuping’s gaze and the context, it wasn’t hard to figure out what he meant.

Jiang Cihe’s breathing grew erratic, and his body felt increasingly warm. He took a deep breath to prevent a certain part of him from reacting noticeably under Meng Shuping’s gaze. But if Meng Shuping continued to unwittingly tease him like this, he might not be able to hold back any longer.

Completely unaware of the unintentional mischief he was causing, Meng Shuping saw Jiang Cihe approaching the bed and moved aside slightly. Soon, Jiang Cihe lay down beside him.

They were so close that Jiang Cihe could clearly hear Meng Shuping’s quickened heartbeat in their mingled breaths. He wrapped an arm around Meng Shuping’s nape and was about to say, "Sleep—"

Before he could finish, Meng Shuping’s voice sounded in his ear, "I bet he’s not very experienced, right? Does he even have any theoretical knowledge? Wait, did he just say ‘sleep’? With the mood like this, how can he still think about sleeping? Is he even capable?"

Jiang Cihe paused. Then, gripping the back of Meng Shuping’s neck, he said in a low voice, "...If you can’t sleep, we could find something else to do."