Half a Year

When Jiang Xun got up the next day, Shen Que had already gone to attend to official duties.

The emperor lay in a daze on the bed for a moment. The residual warmth in the quilt had not yet dissipated, and the traces of another person having slept there were faintly visible.

Wang An wrung the towel dry and carefully dabbed the corners of Jiang Xun's eyes. "Is Your Majesty getting up?"

Jiang Xun: "When did he leave?"

Wang An smiled apologetically, "...He left about an hour ago. Yesterday I reminded Lord Shen, but Lord Shen was worried about you and stayed to watch over you for a little longer."

He quietly cleared himself of any responsibility.

Jiang Xun, however, let out a chuckle. "Worried about me?"

Given what he had done to Shen Que, it was impossible for Shen Que to be worried about him. It was just that today was a rather special day, so he had no choice but to put on an act.

Today was the day of Xue Jin's final trial.

Although the Emperor had issued a verbal decree not to pursue the matter, until Xue Jin walked out of the prison, the dust could not be considered settled. Now, the Marquis of Zhenbei's faction had geared up completely, waiting for the results of today's trial.

System 55 poked its host: "There's the sedan chair plot."

Jiang Xun said, "I know."

This day was equally a major event in his previous life. Back then, Jiang Xun had long been displeased with Xue Jin. Although he had relented under Shen Que's mediation, he was always thinking about stirring up some trouble.

Thus, he also attended this trial.

Not only did he attend, but he also brought Shen Que along. In the sedan chair on the way, the Imperial Tutor furrowed his brows tightly, implicitly worried. Jiang Xun then asked, "Grand Tutor Shen should know how to please me if he wants to absolve Xue Jin of his crimes, right?"

He hadn't actually thought about how Shen Que should please him—for instance, begging softly for a bit, or something else. But at that time, he and Shen Que had already rolled around on the dragon bed time and time again. Shen Que immediately raised his eyes, revealing an expression of disbelief.

Just beyond the thin curtain was the noisy and bustling main street of the Capital City.

The royal curtain was light and elegant, made from the best silk from Shu. A mere breeze could lift it, and anyone looking from the teahouses and taverns on both sides of the street would be able to see inside.

Asking Shen Que to do anything in the sedan chair, given his refinement, would be impossible even if it killed him.

But for Xue Jin's sake, Shen Que still knelt.

Using the carriage to conceal his face, he reached out to touch Jiang Xun's sash. Jiang Xun was instantly infuriated. He sulked all the way to the site of the joint trial, and amid everyone's trembling expressions, released Xue Jin with a foul look on his face.

What he needed to replicate now was exactly this segment of the plot.

To say it was difficult wouldn't be accurate, but to say it was simple wasn't quite right either. Jiang Xun checked the time. "Wang An, prepare the sedan chair. We'll go to the Wenyuan Pavilion first."

At this hour, Shen Que should be in the pavilion, racking his brains over memorials.

Thus, the Emperor's sedan chair leisurely passed by Wenyuan Pavilion. The head eunuch, Wang An, entered with a bitter face and whispered in Shen Que's ear in front of everyone.

The colleagues all strained their ears to listen.

Grand Tutor Shen's current position was awkward. He was a court official, yet he resembled an imperial concubine. The crowd looking at him always carried a hint of schadenfreude, ready to kick him while he was down. Wang An was also afraid that Shen Que wouldn't be able to maintain his composure and might offend the Emperor.

But Shen Que's expression remained as usual. "Understood."

He immediately pushed the memorials aside and got into the sedan chair with Wang An.

The moment he lifted the curtain, he was momentarily stunned.

The Emperor was sitting alone in the corner.

The sedan chair was over two meters wide; it had more than enough room for two people. Yet, Jiang Xun only occupied a small spot in the corner. He was currently lifting the curtain to look outside, holding a piece of pastry in his hand. However, he wasn't eating it, merely holding it in a daze.

He seemed to be deliberately avoiding contact with Shen Que.

Shen Que recalled how the emperor had also chased him away last night. He hesitated for a moment before probing, "May this subject sit next to Your Majesty?"

"..."

He had deliberately left a space for Shen Que, afraid that he would be uncomfortable if they sat too close, but Shen Que didn't appreciate the gesture.

Jiang Xun continued to look out the window and said dryly, "You may."

Thus, Shen Que sat down next to him.

Wang An ordered the sedan chair to be lifted. Because the two of them happened to be sitting on the same side of the sedan chair, the center of gravity was lopsided. Who knew how many times the sedan bearers cursed under their breath. The sedan chair smoothly passed through the palace gates and entered the bustling street market.

System 55 poked its host: "Host?"

Jiang Xun replied listlessly, "Mhm."

He disliked Shen Que talking about Xue Jin, and he disliked it even more when Shen Que hurt himself to plead for Xue Jin. But the plot had to progress, so he dryly recited his lines again, "Grand Tutor Shen knows how to please me, right?"

Then he retracted his gaze, not wanting to see Shen Que's expression go from shock and disbelief to a deadened heart, before finally looking as if he were going to his death, kneeling and begging.

But a moment later, his wrist was caught.

Shen Que wasn't shocked, nor did he look at him in disbelief. He certainly didn't have the deadened look of someone going to his death. He simply leaned completely over, bumping his calf against Jiang Xun's leg, letting the heat transmit through the fabric. Then he took Jiang Xun's hand, grasping his wrist and pulling it over, placing it perfectly on the fleshiest part of his thigh.

His thigh rubbed against the palm, as if inviting him to play with it.

These legs hadn't been ruined by kneeling yet. They were well-proportioned and beautiful, not the atrophied state they would become in the future. The muscle lines were perfectly smooth and round, warm to the touch. Gently caressing them felt like playing with a piece of ancient jade.

The Imperial Tutor cleared his throat and replied properly, "Answering Your Majesty, this subject knows."

He used the tone he typically reserved for answering the Emperor in court.

Jiang Xun: "..."

"???"

System 55: "?!?!"

'What do you know? How come I don't know anything?'

'The host has done every single thing and said every single line, so how the fuck has the plot deviated again, ahhh!!!'

Jiang Xun was stunned at first, then pulled his hand back as if frightened. He looked up at Shen Que, his eyes suddenly going round.

Anyone who was squatting in a corner pretending to be a mushroom and isolating themselves, only to have the culprit who caused their isolation suddenly pull their hand over and force their thigh onto them to touch, would be frightened.

"..."

Jiang Xun's eyes were somewhat long and narrow, with drooping corners. His eyelids were always lowered, and no matter what expression he wore, it always carried a sense of alienation and world-weariness.

But now, these beautiful golden-brown eyes were wide and round. That world-weary coldness completely dissipated, revealing the vibrant energy of a youth. He stared blankly at Shen Que. The pastry in his hand fell with a plop and rolled down, making him look like a dumbfounded cat.

Shen Que then smiled.

When he smiled, Jiang Xun became even more dumbfounded.

In his past life, Shen Que rarely smiled. What he carried on his shoulders was far too heavy: a country tottering like a falling building in the wind and rain, a capricious and ignorant emperor, and the fierce barbarian tribes glaring covetously at the empire's borders.

At that time, the relationship between the two of them was very poor. Jiang Xun was incompetent and tyrannical, and Shen Que walked on thin ice. They had spent so much time together, yet Jiang Xun had never seen Shen Que smile.

His impression of Shen Que remained that of a gaunt civilian official, the Blue-robed Chancellor of history who worried for the country and the people. His brows should always be deeply furrowed, yet now, he was smiling.

Shen Que was good-looking. When his brows and eyes relaxed, he was truly as clear as the moon and as fresh as the breeze, a top-tier distinguished figure.

This smile wasn't one of flattery, but purely of happiness, as if he had seen something that brought him joy.

...Something that brought him joy?

Jiang Xun looked around suspiciously.

The carriage was only so big, and the curtains were securely fastened. In the direction Shen Que was looking, apart from the carriage walls, there was only him, Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun frowned, thinking to himself, 'It couldn't be me, could it?'

'Was his expression just now, throwing his hand away and not daring to touch further, very funny?'

As this thought flashed past, Jiang Xun felt a bit irritated, thinking, 'Smile, smile, smile, what's so funny.'

So he turned his face away, once again refusing to look at Shen Que.

Shen Que picked the dropped pastry back up and placed it on the small table. Looking at the emperor's awkward expression, he felt a bit troubled, but still probed, "If you don't like it here, would you like somewhere else?"

Jiang Xun: "?"

He turned his head again, frowning and staring at Shen Que. It was practically a glare.

However, the Imperial Tutor's skill points were all allocated to pacifying the state and governing the country. His skill in reading people's expressions could only be considered barely passable. Faced with someone like Jiang Xun, who kept everything hidden in his heart, his skill points were simply insufficient. Thus, he said, "...Shall we go back? In broad daylight with everyone watching, this subject would be fine, but I fear it would damage Your Majesty's wise reputation."

Jiang Xun: "?"

Go back to do what? What did he mean he would be fine? What damage to his wise reputation?

If it were his past life, Shen Que wouldn't have dared to bargain with Jiang Xun. Because of this, Jiang Xun had absolutely no experience in dealing with it. He maintained his cold, world-weary expression. "...Thank you, I don't need to."

The reason he said "thank you" was because he was used to saying it in the twenty-first century. Caught in a moment of shock, Jiang Xun failed to maintain his character setting and blurted it out.

The smile in Shen Que's eyes deepened. He leaned over to properly arrange the pastries prepared in the sedan chair and asked, "Your Majesty, it's a long journey, would you like some pastries?"

Jiang Xun: "I'm not eating, and don't..."

He wanted to say, 'Don't talk to me.' But feeling that it was too polite and didn't fit his identity as an incompetent ruler, he forcibly changed it to, "Shut up, I don't want to hear you speak."

Shen Que then remained silent.

The sedan chair quieted down.

The atmosphere inside the sedan chair was bizarre. Wang An, outside the sedan, kept wiping his sweat, not knowing what the two ancestors inside were fussing about. Fortunately, the journey wasn't long, and before much time passed, they stopped at the entrance of the joint trial.

Jiang Xun was the first to exit the sedan chair.

He passed through the public court and walked toward the high seat, brushing past Xue Jin, who was kneeling on the ground.

Heir Xue had suffered quite a bit in prison in his past life. Back then, the jailers, trying to figure out the Emperor's intentions, intentionally tortured him until he was a bloody mess.

Feeling guilty, Jiang Xun had specifically instructed Wang An to look after him a little. Therefore, even though Xue Jin was covered in dirt and dust, he was still perfectly fine and hadn't suffered any physical torture.

Once the emperor took his seat, the Imperial Tutor also sat down. With a slap of the gavel, the joint trial began.

The outcome of this matter was already decided, and the joint trial was just a formality. Jiang Xun didn't listen and merely stared absentmindedly at Xue Jin.

So this was what the founding emperor of Great Liang, who cleansed the universe and was praised for ten thousand generations in later ages, looked like.

He looked nothing like him.

Jiang Xun had poor health and was rather frail, looking as if he could die from being blown by a slightly stronger gust of wind. Xue Jin, however, was handsome and sturdy, a scion of a military family capable of drawing a seven-stone bow.

He had suffered an unprovoked disaster, yet he didn't dare to blame the emperor. He knelt down there like a timid little wife, squirming and fidgeting.

The trial was important, so the Marquis of Zhenbei also came. The old man was in his sixties, with completely white hair and beard. When the verdict pardoning Xue Jin and declaring him innocent was announced, he still knelt down tremblingly and kowtowed to Jiang Xun.

Coming from the twenty-first century, Jiang Xun couldn't bear to watch this. He simply coughed and said, "Please rise."

Seemingly unintentionally, he exchanged pleasantries, "Beloved Subject Xue has suffered this time. You have traveled thousands of miles to the Capital City; do you have a place to stay?"

The Marquis of Zhenbei hurriedly replied, "Thank you for Your Majesty's concern. We are staying at the West City Guild Hall."

Jiang Xun nodded.

He casually absolved Xue Jin of all his crimes and gave him some compensation before leaving.

The sedan chair carried him back to the Imperial Palace and sent Shen Que back to Wenyuan Pavilion. However, that afternoon, Jiang Xun left the Imperial Palace once again.

He still used the excuse of going to the red-light district to see songstresses, but wearing a veiled hat, he turned into the West City Guild Hall. He handed the guard a silver ingot from the palace and asked to see Xue Jin by name.

In his fiefdom, Xue Jin was a high-status heir, but in the Capital City, he was nothing of consequence. Hearing that the visitor had a token from the palace, he immediately came out to receive him.

Jiang Xun didn't stand on ceremony with him. He still used the identity of Master Xun, and then, based on the terrain of Xue Jin's defensive territory, began to discuss military affairs with him.

Jiang Xun had never served in the military in either of his lives. What he saw was all literature on paper, some of which were even summaries that Xue Jin himself had made in the future, including how to change the promotion mechanism to boost morale, how to improve weapons to resist cavalry, and so on.

However, historical books recorded very few military details. What he said wasn't profound, merely superficial, but for this era, it was already a precious wealth of knowledge.

Xue Jin took notes earnestly. He was well-acquainted with Shen Xiu and Shen Que, and knew of the existence of Master Xun. But as he continued taking notes, Xue Jin let out a bitter smile, "Thank you for valuing me so highly, sir. It's just that I am currently detained in the Capital City, and the day I can return to the army is far in the unforeseeable future."

Jiang Xun, however, said, "It's not far off."

In his past life, he had detained Xue Jin in the Capital City for a very long time, but not anymore.

Because the battle that led to the fall of the Divine Land was only half a year away.

Upon hearing this, Xue Jin's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Jiang Xun: "Really. In three months at the latest, the Emperor will release you back to the Northern Frontier."

Behind the veiled hat, Jiang Xun lowered his eyes.

To this day, he had contacted the three most important figures of Great Liang—the Emperor Xue Jin, the Chancellor Shen Que, and the Investigating Censor Shen Xiu—using the identity of Master Xun.

There was still half a year left for Jiang Xun to deal with the impending crisis.