WWC | Chapter 12

After Su Tingyan finished lecturing Qingmian, he had intended to go see whether Li Xun was still alive, only for Qinghai to report that the other man had already slipped away without a trace.

He thought that was for the best. It would save them both from setting the place on fire.

He sat down gracefully, glanced at the empty table, and could not help frowning. “Where are my eggs?”

Qinghai coughed once. “That lord ate them all, and Qingbao is making more for you right now.”

Su Tingyan: “…Both bowls?”

Qinghai: “Both.”

Su Tingyan: “…He didn’t say thank you?”

Qinghai: “No.”

Fine. Very fine!

Su Tingyan snapped the spoon in his hand, seething inwardly.

Next time, even if someone dies right in front of him, only a dog would save you!

Repaying kindness with enmity, and not even being polite about it!

And those were a full twenty eggs. Li Xun, do you have some mortal grudge against chickens too?

May you get cholesterol!!

–

The next day, Su Tingyan had originally planned to visit Zhao Shuyan’s home in person and find out exactly what was going on with this big shot.

But the system told him, [It’s time to follow the Imperial Academy plot, player!]

Su Tingyan said, “Imperial Academy? Don’t tell me I have to go through Yan Che’s route again?”

The system said, [Yep. The Sixth Prince copied books for a whole day and night. Aren’t you going to go have a look?]

Su Tingyan gave a faint laugh. “He actually copied them? He’s that obedient?”

The system said, [The Sixth Prince is probably the most obedient of all your strategy targets.]

Su Tingyan: “…” And yet that kind of obedience was not really what he wanted.

Helpless, Su Tingyan had no choice but to change into his academic robe and take a carriage to the Imperial Academy.

Today was not his teaching day, so the academy was much quieter than usual.

Normally, whenever it happened to be his turn to teach, it was basically no different from modern-day celebrity chasing.

In the hearts of the people of Yujing, the day Su University Scholar gave lectures had already been placed on the same level as major festivals. On ordinary days, the courtyard only heard the rustling pines and birdsong, but once he taught, the inside and outside alike were packed so tightly that not even water could have squeezed through. The crowding was comparable to Line 1 of Beijing-Shanghai-Guangzhou at eight o’clock on a Monday morning.

From fresh-faced newcomers to steady old students, beneath the steps in front of the hall, between the corridor pillars, and even by the latticed windows, there were students standing, crouching, and lying down, all there to hear him teach.

At this moment, the pines and cypresses were lush and green, and from the dormitories drifted the students’ clear, resounding recitation. It truly had a bit of that serene, detached feeling of an ivory tower.

Su Tingyan walked straight toward the study used by the princes. The inner attendant at the door, seeing him, hurriedly bowed.

“Lord Su…”

“Is the Sixth Highness inside?” Su Tingyan asked coolly.

“He is inside, yes,” the attendant said hesitantly, “but His Highness seems to be in a very bad mood. He has already smashed three inkstones.”

Su Tingyan raised a brow and pushed the door open.

Yan Che was sprawled over the desk, beside him a little mountain of copied *Junjian*. The ink strokes were new and old, clearly showing he had truly stayed up for a day and a night.

As for Yan Che himself, his hair was a little disheveled, his eye sockets were bruise-blue, and the arrogant, unrestrained energy he usually carried had gone soft and wilted. He looked just like a dog drenched by rain, wet, pitiful, and begging for sympathy.

Hearing the door open, he did not even turn around before shouting, “Get out! Didn’t I say to have someone invite the teacher over before you come see me!”

Su Tingyan did not stop walking. He went to the desk and casually picked up the top sheet of copied paper to look at it.

The handwriting was neat enough, showing that he had been serious at first. But the further down it went, the more forceful and scrawled the brushstrokes became, carrying a kind of barely suppressed irritability.

“Didn’t the teacher come when he was invited?” Su Tingyan’s voice remained clear and cool, like jade striking jade.

Yan Che jerked his head up. The moment he saw who it was, the irritation in his eyes was instantly replaced by boundless delight, but that delight quickly turned into deeper resentment and grievance.

“Teacher!” His voice was hoarse from staying up all night. “Didn’t you say that if I finished copying by the next day, I should come wait for you at the Imperial Academy?”

“I copied until my head was spinning, and you didn’t even come look once!”

Su Tingyan paused at that. “What I said was that you could just hand in the copied books. When did I say I would definitely come look?”

Yan Che pouted, as if he wanted to complain, but forcibly held back.

The system said, [Yan Che thinks even the way the player comes to inspect homework is so stunning it’s suffocating. Charm value +500!]

Su Tingyan: “…” Kid, you’re beyond help.

“How much have you copied?” Su Tingyan looked away, so he would not be tempted to kick him again.

“Finished,” Yan Che said in a muffled voice. “My hand is almost broken.”

Su Tingyan was genuinely a little surprised. He had originally thought that with someone born a prince and grandson of nobility, there was no way he would really write it himself. Having someone else do it would already count as obedient.

But he had not expected this little pervert to actually endure it and complete the punishment himself.

He flipped through a few more pages. Although the handwriting had grown sloppy toward the end, the length was sufficient and there were no missing errors in the content. He had truly put in a lot of hard work.

“Mm,” Su Tingyan responded noncommittally, putting the papers back in place. “Since you’ve finished copying, go back and rest. Standing around looking like this only damages the imperial family’s dignity.”

His tone was flat, carrying little praise, as though this were nothing more than an insignificant matter.

But it really was just a small matter.

For Yan Che, however, it was not. He was the dignified Sixth Highness, born of gold and jade, arrogant and unruly. He would have gladly stayed up for a day and a night, even if he did not close his eyes and even if his wrist hurt, as long as he obediently listened to the teacher and personally copied every single word.

What he wanted was only a soft word from the other man, or even just one approving glance.

And yet the other man was being so casual about it!

“You only ever do this!” Yan Che suddenly stood up, knocking over the chair behind him.

The fire in his reddened eyes burned bright. “You never show mercy when you lecture me, scold me, or kick me! But once I behave, you don’t care at all!”

To be fair, it was not strange that Yan Che was clingy. After his birth mother, Concubine Rou, died, he became the most undeserved prince in the glorious imperial palace.

Emperor Jingwu had many children. Yan Che was ranked sixth, his mother’s status had been low and she had died early, and his maternal family was far away in the south with no support to rely on. As a result, he was quickly forgotten in a corner of the deep palace.

Being shorted on his allowances was routine. There was not enough charcoal in winter, not enough ice in summer, and the servants assigned to him were mostly the frustrated kind, while those with some ambition had already found themselves a better branch to cling to.

Before the Crown Prince went to Yuzhou to govern the army, the Crown Prince’s faction had also been targeting him everywhere in the palace. It was Su Tingyan, then newly entered into the Grand Secretariat, who had repeatedly helped him out and even offended the Crown Prince on his behalf.

He remembered asking Su Tingyan then why he was so good to him.

The other man had said, We’re all people in the mud. We’re different from those who are born in the clouds. You want to climb up, and so do I. I’ll pave you a proper road, and you’ll carry me on your way up.

From then on, he chose him. He was willing to help him, and willing to teach him.

He also wanted to grow up faster, to become smarter and more mature, but the other man moved too quickly, and in just a few years had already left him far behind. He was afraid Su Tingyan would no longer help him, and even more afraid the other man would not want him anymore.

Su Tingyan watched him explode in silence. Only after he had ranted to his heart’s content did he suddenly raise a hand and call Qinghai, who was waiting outside, in. “Go, buy a few hundred strings of firecrackers and set them off. Then hire a troupe to perform a dragon and lion dance. Best of all, go back to the palace and report to His Majesty that the Sixth Highness has finished copying his books, so the entire nation should celebrate. Drums and gongs should shake the heavens, a general amnesty should be declared, and a banquet should be set for three days and three nights!”

Yan Che: “…”

After saying that, Su Tingyan even tilted his head slightly, smiling yet not smiling. “Do you need this minister to write you a *Rhapsody on Congratulating the Sixth Highness for Copying Books*, have it engraved on a stele, and let it be passed down for all eternity?”

He folded his arms and leaned by the desk. Tall and upright, graceful as snow-bred jade and plum bone, he looked like a moon seen from the depths of the sea, or like a flower glimpsed at the foot of a cliff.

Yan Che stared at him, dazed. “N-no need, Teacher…”

“I just wanted you to praise me…”

At that, Su Tingyan suddenly understood, as if remembering something. “Surely the Sixth Highness has not forgotten why you were made to copy books?”

Praise him? Not kicking him dozens of times in anger already counted as teaching virtue!

Yan Che was now completely speechless. He stared blankly at the imperial tutor across from him. After a long while, he weakly raised a hand and pleaded pitifully, “But Teacher, my hand really hurts from all this copying.”

Two thousand copies of *Junjian*, completed by him alone, in just one day and one night.

The golden hand that had usually never suffered such labor was now sore and aching, and truly trembled faintly.

Seeing that, Su Tingyan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said to the system, “Exchange the cheapest tube of ointment for me.”

The system said, [One bottle of the lowest-grade ‘work strain anti-inflammatory ointment,’ consumes 1 charm point, and has been placed in the player’s sleeve pouch.]

Su Tingyan held the rough little bottle that had suddenly appeared in his sleeve.

1 point… somehow that was a little too cheap, wasn’t it…

Would he die if he used it…?

It should be fine. It was external medicine. No, not die.

Hardening his heart, Su Tingyan casually tossed the bottle to Yan Che.

“Take it and apply it.” He was not actually the sort who did not understand gentleness, but with a lovestruck youth like Yan Che, he was truly afraid that if he gave too much warmth, this little dog would start pushing his luck.

So he could only say coldly, “As a prince, you ought to study, understand reason, and respect your teachers and the Way.”

“Your behavior before was unruly. Being punished was only right. Now that you have finished the copying punishment, that is also only right. You’re a dignified noble of the imperial house, yet you keep relying on your age to act spoiled and seek pity. When will you ever become a little more mature?”

Yan Che caught the bottle and froze slightly.

The medicine bottle was crudely made and obviously cheap. If it were dropped on the floor of the palace, no one would probably even bother picking it up.

But because it was a gift from the teacher, he could not bear to let go at all.

Though he had been scolded, when he looked up and met his teacher’s eyes, calm as autumn water, he could see the fatigue hidden deep in those depths. It was obvious the man had also not rested well for several days.

Thinking of the recent upheavals in the court, he had heard a bit about them too. Every single matter was tied to the person in front of him.

Not only did he have to mediate between factional struggles and anti-corruption efforts, he also had to deal with this mess of his…

He must be stretched thin and exhausted, right?

Besides, today was not even Su Tingyan’s teaching day, and yet he still came…

The system said, [Yan Che has detected the player’s exhausted state and developed intense pity. Favorability +50, charm value +100!]

Listening to the system prompt, Su Tingyan felt a little comforted.

Of course he did not know the twisted self-courting logic Yan Che had gone through in his head, and only thought his own cold words had worked.

“Since you know your hand hurts, think more carefully before you act next time.”

Su Tingyan’s tone was still flat, but the iceberg had finally melted a little, spilling out the gentleness that was usually his own. “Go back and have the servants apply a hot towel to it. If this medicine feels no good, have the Imperial Medical Bureau send over some better ones.”

After saying that, he turned to leave, thinking that enough time had already been wasted here today.

“Teacher!” Yan Che shouted again in a hurry. This time it was no longer accusation or acting spoiled, but a bit of pleading.

Su Tingyan paused mid-step and looked back at him.

Yan Che swiftly pulled a sheet of paper from the pile of copied pages, folded it neatly, and stuffed it into his hand. His movements were so fast they seemed to stir the air, and even the tips of his ears turned red, blooming like the most radiant vermilion peony.

“Take this.” His voice was a little unsteady, his eyes darting away and not daring to look at Su Tingyan. “This student takes his leave!”

After saying that, as if afraid of hearing any answer at all, he clutched the cheap bottle of medicine and fled in panic without looking back, rushing out of the study.

In the process, he even knocked over the vase by the door, the desk, and nearly tore down the curtain at the entrance, leaving only a roomful of chaos and stunned inner attendants behind.

Su Tingyan: “…” Don’t start some innocent prince falls in love with me act here!

He lowered his head and unfolded the paper that had been forcibly stuffed into his hand.

It was not some love poem or anything like that. Instead, it was a brush-and-ink drawing whose shape could barely be made out.

Su Tingyan said, “Why did he draw me a monkey?”

The system said, [That’s you, player!]

Su Tingyan: “……..”

Amid crooked pine trees stood a being that was faintly recognizable as human.

Those scattered, messy lines had obviously been drawn secretly in the gaps between copying books late at night, perhaps a figure he had unconsciously sketched to help himself calm down when he was unbearably tired and frustrated.

For a moment, Su Tingyan did not even know what expression to make. All he could do was marvel, “If someone like that can become emperor, then I think I can too.”

The system said, [Danger! Danger! Danger! Dangerous thoughts! Don’t go down the path of rebellion, player!]

Su Tingyan pinched the wrinkled paper and looked at it over and over again. In the end, he still could not hold back. He lightly shook his head and laughed.

“You little brat.”

He folded the abstract-ink painting back up and tucked it into his sleeve, his face still showing no expression as he stepped out.

“Qinghai.”

“This servant is here.”

“Go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and get some of the best blood-activating and stasis-dispersing ointment. Send it to the Sixth Prince’s palace.”

He paused, then added, “Don’t say it came from this minister.”

Qinghai lowered his head. “Yes, my lord.”

Author’s Note:

———————-

Sixth Prince: Teacher, I really, really like you!!! (royal big dog wagging tail version)

Su Tingyan: I really want to send you to Pan Hong to get fixed up…