Chapter 173: So Close That We Can Never Part

August 8, 2023Merchie

Qi Changyi followed Qi Changfeng through the gate of the residence. A maid led them through the main hall, and they arrived in front of the emperor’s bed.

They stopped in front of a bright yellow curtain.

Qi Changfeng called, “Father, are you feeling better?”

Two coughs sounded from inside, “A little.”

The voice sounded very weak.

Qi Changyi stood to one side with his head bowed, clutching his sleeves. He had returned to the palace, but he felt even more nervous. It had been so long since he had seen his father, and he did not know if he still disliked him as he had always done in the past.

Qi Changfeng continued, “Father, I’ve already carried things out in accordance with your instructions. The current state of the court is still stable, and Prime Minister Pei has already returned from the borderlands. You can rest easy and focus on recovering for a little while.”

The voice behind the curtain audibly rose a bit, “Pei-aiqing is back? Then, then cough cough cough-“

Violent coughs sounded. The emperor’s mood was fluctuating.

“Father, were you going to ask about Changyi?” Qi Changfeng glanced at Qi Changyi, who was obediently standing beside him, “He’s right next to me, do you want to talk to him?

Qi Changyi raised his head. When he heard the coughs from inside, he was a little worried. He stared dazedly at that curtain.

“Yi-er, Yi-er…”

Hearing the way he called for him with such gentleness and affection, Qi Changyi’s vision blurred. At a loss, he laced his fingers together, not knowing if he should respond or not.

Qi Changfeng gently patted his shoulder, “Go on, Changyi.”

Qi Changyi remained rooted to the spot.

Qi Changfeng sighed softly, “Father, if there’s nothing else, I will be taking my leave now. I won’t disturb you any longer.”

After he finished, Qi Changfeng turned and left, following a maid out of the gate to the hall.

Pei Zheng was standing relaxedly at the entrance to the residence. When he saw Qi Changfeng come out of the residence, he gave him a fleeting glance, before averting his eyes.

Qi Changfeng had no intention of acknowledging Pei Zheng. He was about to walk straight past him when he was stopped by an arm.

In the past, there had been plenty of times Pei Zheng had stopped him or obstructed his path, or irritate and embarrass him in public. But this time, Qi Changfeng could feel that something was different.

Pei Zheng asked coldly, “Your Highness the Fourth Prince, is the eastern mountain rising again1? Have you become His Majesty’s right-hand man again?”

Qi Changfeng’s gaze did not waver. His posture was a straight as a brush, “Lord Pei, do not worry. I am not your enemy anymore. Right now, I am focused on the Celestial Dynasty as a whole. There aren’t any people left who are fit to be Lord Pei’s match either.”

“This minister doesn’t care about that,” Pei Zheng paused, “This minister cares what kind of feelings you, Your Highness the Fourth Prince, hold toward your younger brother. Is it apathy and indifference, or do you hate him to the bone and want to throw him away like a piece of trash?”

Qi Changfeng’s expression immediately became extremely ugly, “Watch your mouth, Lord Pei! Changyi is my blood brother, how could I hate him? He is the closest person to me in this world, and I am also-“

“I’m afraid I have some news for you, Fourth Prince.” The corners of Pei Zheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a hint of a smile, “He and I are the ones who are closest to each other, a closeness that surpasses any other relationship,”

Pei Zheng paused, “So close that we can never part.”

It was clear what these words were insinuating, but Pei Zheng spoke like it was natural, with such brazen confidence.

Qi Changfeng gritted his teeth, “Sure, but everything you have was a result of robbery. If it were someone else, how do you know that it won’t be the same2?”

“Of course it won’t be the same, because I won’t let him have someone else.”

Pei Zheng lowered his voice and leaned close to Qi Changfeng, “So, I’d trouble you to keep your distance from him, Fourth Prince. It’s best if you don’t see each other.”

Qi Changfeng took a step back, “Lord Pei, you’re so decisive that you don’t even care about Changyi’s thoughts? If he wants to see someone, are you going to stop him too?”

“Fourth Prince, there’s no need for you to worry. Once he finds out that while his life was in danger, not only did his Fourth Brother not come to save him, he even planned on how he could prevent him from returning to the Imperial City,” Pei Zheng laughed coldly, “Do you think he would still want to see you, Your Highness the Fourth Prince?”

Qi Changfeng immediately froze.

How… how did Pei Zheng know about this?

What else did he know? Could it be that he knew about all of the terrible, despicable things he had done in secret?

But once Qi Changfeng returned to his senses, Pei Zheng was already gone.

***

That bright yellow curtain swayed slightly, and was lifted by a frail hand with difficulty.

Only the two of them remained in the hall. The rest of the maids and eunuchs had long since left the room.

“Cough cough cough cough,” Another burst of violent coughs; it seemed as though he was about to cough his lungs out.

Qi Changyi finally lifted his head and looked over, unable to bear it. He saw the once dignified, high and mighty emperor, who was now bent over, awkwardly holding onto the headboard and coughing, his body racked with tremors.

Qi Changyi took a step forward and supported the emperor by the arm. The emperor slowly lifted his head. His eyes squinted, and he finally realized who the small man in front of him was. It was his youngest son, whom he had worried about for so long.

“Yi-er, you’re back, when did you come back? The journey was very long, was it smooth?”

Qi Changyi nodded silently. He was afraid that if he made a sound, he would not be able to stop himself from bursting into tears. He remembered that his father did not like to see him cry, so he held it in.

The emperor was very excited. He thought that Qi Changyi had died a long time ago. He never expected that one day he would receive the news that Qi Changyi was still alive. At that time, the emperor had almost cried with joy. He quickly gave the order to bring Qi Changyi back at any cost, but then war broke out in the borderlands, and the news was delayed in reaching the distant Imperial City.

When he did not receive any further news regarding Qi Changyi, the emperor fell ill. His body already had some problems, but this caused all sorts of symptoms to appear at once.

Qi Changyi gazed at his father who lay before him, whose head was full of white hairs, who seemed to have aged 10 years, and he felt terribly sad and miserable.

The emperor took a few breaths to calm down and finally stopped coughing. He pulled Qi Changyi over and had him sit beside him.

He knew in his heart that he owed too much to his Yi-er. No matter what this goal had been before, whether it was to protect him or divert others’ attention away from him, it all made him unceasingly regretful. He was not hoping for his Yi-er‘s little brain to understand why he had done those things. He just felt that he could not face his Yi-er‘s mother.

Fortunately, his Yi-er had returned safely, and he could give him a chance to make it up to him. He would definitely have to make up for all the affection he had not given his Yi-er. If his Yi-er had already put up a barrier against him, he would have to tear it down before he died.

“Yi-er, Yi-er,” The emperor’s eyes were filled with affection and care that had not been there before. He stroked Qi Changyi’s hair, his fingers trembling slightly.

“You’ve gotten thinner, did you not have enough to eat out there?”

These words made tears immediately flood out of Qi Changyi’s eyes. They dripped down onto the back of his hand.

In his memories, this gentle, kind, caring Father had died alongside his mother. Countless times, he had hoped that his father would once again be able to speak to him with such gentleness, and stroke his hair, but it never happened.

Seeing Qi Changyi with his head bowed in silence, bean-sized tears began to spill down the emperor’s face. His heart ached terribly, so he lifted his silk handkerchief to wipe his son’s face.

He said as he wiped, “All right, Yi-er, don’t cry. Father will have them make Yi-er more tasty things. If you can’t find anything good to eat out there, just ask Father. Whatever you want to eat, Father will have someone get it for you.”

Unexpectedly, after he finished speaking Qi Chaangyi started crying even harder, lifting his red, swollen eyes to look at him.

“F-Father…”

This soft call carried suppressed sobs and a heart full of aggrievement.

The emperor’s eyes instantly reddened. He nodded and replied, “Ai, Father’s here, Father’s here. Was our Yi-er wronged a lot? You’ve been wronged at the borderlands. Now that you’re back, Father will vouch for you, and no one will dare to bully you.”

The emperor said as he hugged Qi Changyi. Qi Changyi leaned his head against the emperor’s shoulder.

“Father, I-I thought you didn’t like me and that you didn’t want me anymore, I thought you ignored me because I’m stupid, because I’m inconsiderate, and that you would never want me again…”

When the emperor heard these words, his heart ached even more.

His youngest son had always a bit dull, but because of this, he had become more obedient and considerate, and he was very lovable. How could he make such a pure, kind boy become so sensitive and weak?

“Everything in the past was Father’s fault, Father didn’t know how to truly express his feelings. It won’t happen anymore. Father likes Yi-er, and Father cherishes Yi-er the most, and will never not want Yi-er.”

Qi Changyi nodded as he cried and returned the emperor’s embrace. Since his father had promised him, he was willing to believe him.

Moreover, his father’s current condition was quite worrisome.

“Father, hold out your arm. I’m going to take your pulse.”

Qi Changyi wiped his tears. His tear tracks had not yet been completely wiped away, but he became a little adult, furrowing his brow as he placed his fingers on the emperor’s wrist.

It was due to overworking that his body had weakened. This condition was not easy to treat. One could only take care of oneself, but it would still be difficult to see improvement.

“Father, have you had your medicine yet?”

“Not yet. Imperial Physician Jiang will bring it to me in a bit.”

Jiang Yubai had been summoned to the palace temporarily as an imperial physician in order to take care of the emperor.

As he spoke, a eunuch arrived with a report.

“Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Imperial Physician Jiang has come to deliver the medicine.”

“Let him in.”

Jiang Yubai came in carrying a bowl of medicine. After bowing, he held the bowl out to the emperor before blinking at Qi Changyi. He had just run into Pei Zheng and knew that the two of them had come to the palace, so he was not shocked to see Qi Changyi.

After the emperor had finished his medicine, he wanted to rest for a while, so Qi Changyi and Jiang Yubai prepared to leave.

Before they left, the emperor said to Qi Changyi, “Yi-er, do you want to live in the palace again? Live with me. That way, I can see you more often.”

Qi Changyi was silent for a while, “Father, I, I don’t want to live in the palace. I’m really happy at the Prime Minister’s Manor. I can come to the palace every day to see you, okay?”

The emperor smiled and nodded. Since his Yi-er was happy, he could be wherever he wanted. Besides, he was at Pei Zheng’s place, so there was no need to worry.

After the exited the residence, Jiang Yubai put on a serious expression and pulled Qi Changyi into a hug.

“Good, good, you’re all back safe and sound. Do you know how scared I was after I heard that Anli City had been taken over? I was scared that you had–thank goodness, thank goodness, how are you guys? Are you all right?”

Qi Changyi extricated himself from Jiang Yubai’s embrace with difficulty., “Yubai-gege, don’t worry, we’re all fine now.”

He added on, “A-Feng’s fine too.”

Jiang Yubai could not tell that anything was amiss. He walked forward as he said, “His Majesty is in critical condition. It isn’t easy to treat, argh, and I don’t know when I can leave the palace. You all weren’t here, so I was really lonely by myself in the palace-“

He noticed that there was not anyone following him. He looked back aand saw that Qi Changyi was still standing at the steps to the residence.

“Your Highness, come on, do you want to come with me to the Imperial Hospital to sit for a bit?”

Qi Changyi looked around but did not see the person he was expecting to see. He shook his head, “I’m not going, Yubai-gege. You go on, I’m waiting for someone.”

“You’re waiting for Pei Zheng?” Jiang Yubai asked, “But I already saw him leave earlier.”

Qi Changyi pouted. The lonely little figure standing amidst the night wind really looked quite pitiful.

Notes

I actually don’t like how Qi Changfeng is being turned into a super-mega gaping asshole, at least right now. Maybe it’s explained later. He’s doing all this evil shit, but why? There’s no point. He’s never going to be involved in the government, and as much as the emperor loves him, he probably won’t pass the throne to him ever.

A bit off-topic, sorry I disappeared for so long! The entire month of July, I was away at a summer thing, and I just got back three days ago. I was trying to get this done the other day, but I was too lethargic lol. When I first started this, I estimated that I would be completely done by now, so we are a little off-track haha. Anyway, these disappearances may become more frequent as this year is a very important one for me academically (and classes actually start up for me again tomorrow lol)! But I definitely won’t lose sight of any of these projects, I promise!

Thanks for reading!

东山再起 (dōng shān zài qǐ): Basically ‘to make a comeback’.Personally, I was confused by what he meant here until I really thought about it. I think he’s asking how Pei Zheng knows that someone else won’t be able to achieve that degree of closeness with Qi Changyi.