Chapter 539: Chapter 506: Poor Beyond Redemption (First Update)
Song Yuanbao hadnāt noticed anything unusual on Zhao Xiās face earlier, thinking this person must have good endurance to withstand Xu Dengke, he even felt a bit of admiration.
Only when Zhao Xi started speaking did he realize something was amiss.
Zhao Xiās tone carried a hint of gritted teeth.
Song Yuanbao had known him for so long, and due to his own impulsiveness, heād caused Zhao Xi to furrow his brows many times, but heād never seen Zhao Xi lose composure like this.
For Zhao Xi, gritting his teeth was already a severe sign of losing composure.
Song Yuanbao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered that Zhao Xi had a slight OCD, evident from his frightening self-discipline, despair-inducing daily schedule, the arrangement of his bedroom and study, and his clean and orderly attire; he couldnāt accept anything imperfect, just like he couldnāt accept his own messy sleeping posture, and at this moment, Zhao Xi couldnāt tolerate an incredibly slow presence in front of him.
Earlier, Song Yuanbao felt that maybe Zhao Xi wasnāt recommending someone to Song Wei, but rather sulking.
Because Zhao Xi had initially recommended a learned scholar from the Cabinet to nurture Jinbao, but Song Wei didnāt want him, yet invited such a person afterwards.
No doubt Zhao Xi had some thoughts about this.
Song Yuanbaoās reason for bringing Xu Dengke was actually simple, young people inevitably get curious about new things, and someone like Xu Dengke is one of a kind; he wanted Zhao Xi to see how vast the world is.
But Song Yuanbao hadnāt expected Zhao Xi to be upset; he felt a bit guilty and secretly signaled to Ah Gui to hurry and take the master away, or else theyād all suffer soon.
Ah Gui swiftly hoisted Xu Dengke onto his back, said goodbye to Zhao Xi, and boarded the carriage, heading back to the Song Mansion.
Once the carriage drove far away, Song Yuanbao dared to speak up, "Your Highness, donāt you want to see the mansion? Weāve been here for quite a while, letās go in."
Zhao Xi raised his hand, pressed two fingers at his temple, rubbed heavily, and didnāt plan to move forward, his voice tinged with coldness, "Iām not feeling well, Iāll head back to the palace first. If you want to look, do it yourself."
Eunuch Sanbao quickly stepped forward to offer a footstool and lift the curtain for his master.
Song Yuanbao pursed his lips and silently followed.
Inside the spacious and luxurious jeweled carriage, Zhao Xi was lightly asleep with his eyes closed.
Song Yuanbao, sitting beside, felt the need to explain a bit, "Your Highness, itās not what you think, my father had no choice in adopting this measure to encourage Jinbao to study, he isnāt ungrateful to you but thought Mr. Xu better suits Jinbaoās personality."
"You donāt need to explain to me." Zhao Xi said, "I donāt have much interest in interfering with your familyās matters."
...
In another carriage returning to the Song family.
Xu Dengke slowly cast an inquisitive glance at Ah Gui, implying whether he had upset the Eldest Prince.
Ah Gui didnāt even look at his master, fiddling with a piece of broken silver heād swiped from his masterās purse, bit it with his teeth, and gruffly said, "Thatās right, young master, you offended His Highness the moment you opened your mouth; if I hadnāt run fast, youād already be dead."
Xu Dengke, noticing Ah Guiās money-grubbing look as he bit the silver, simply smiled, and slowly at that.
Heād been dragged onto the carriage by Song Yuanbao halfway through his lunch, now heās a bit hungry, said to Ah Gui, "Hungry."
Ah Gui stretched his neck to look outside, saw there were folks selling pancakes, got the driver to stop by the roadside, went down to buy two hot pancakes, handed one to Xu Dengke, and kept one for himself.
After taking two bites, he remembered he used his own money to buy the pancakes, reached to take Xu Dengkeās purse from his waist, and fetched a piece of broken silver.
Xu Dengke glanced at it, it was at least a tael.
First time eating such an expensive pancake, he wanted to protest, but considering his painfully slow speaking pace, chose not to, sighed silently, and lowered his head to nibble on the pancake.
One pancake, he nibbled all the way from the street to the Song family, only managing three bites, the third still being chewed in his mouth.
Ah Gui saw his neck lengthening in supplication, lamented, "I shouldāve bought young master a bowl of meat porridge, expensive, sure, but porridge doesnāt need chewing, goes down fast."
Xu Dengke shook his head, indicating he could only afford pancakes worth one tael of silver.
Song Yuanbao quickly came back and took Xu Dengke away, Jinbaoās afternoon class had yet to start, Wen Wan sat in the front hall of the outer courtyard, saw Xu Dengke return while nibbling a pancake, frowned, "That brat Yuanbao, takes people out and doesnāt get them something nice to eat, Yun Cai, quickly get the kitchen to make some dishes."
Xu Dengke wanted to say it wasnāt necessary, but just as the word "no" came out, he heard Wen Wan say, "Yuanbao mustāve had his reasons, slighted Mr. Xu, I hope you donāt mind, food will be ready soon, please wait a little longer."
Ah Gui whispered beside him, "Young master, youāre so poor, having something to eat is good enough, why the fuss?"
Xu Dengke sighed silently, he was not originally poor, helpless against a domineering and difficult servant who snatched silver from him every now and then, heād long forgotten when he fell into such unmanageable poverty.
Ah Gui saw through his thoughts, grinned, "Madam said the young master has an eighty percent chance of not marrying or having children in this lifetime, even if you had a lot of silver, you canāt spend it all, better leave it to me, Iāll spend it for you."
Xu Dengke asked with his eyes: Thereās still a 20% chance, right?
Ah Gui said, "One of those chances is that you meet an untimely death before marrying, closing your eyes forever; the other is, I guess, marrying in a dream."
Xu Dengke continued to sigh.
Wen Wan wasnāt sure what the two were muttering about, only felt that the master-servant relationship was truly good.
It seemed no matter how bad the servantās attitude was, the master always maintained a kind and tolerant demeanor.
āā
Zhao Xi said he wasnāt angry, but he ignored Yuanbao for several days after returning until the final exam ended.
Zhao Xi packed his things and stood up, leaving the Study Room.
Yuanbao followed behind him, calling out, "Your Highness!"
Zhao Xi acted as if he didnāt hear him, stepping forward on the bluestone bricks with his Sunrise Boots.
Yuanbao sighed, "Weāre already adults, still playing the silent treatment, how childish?"
Hearing this, Zhao Xi suddenly stopped, turned around, and extended his hand, "Give it to me."
"What?" Yuanbao was a bit bewildered.
"The mechanical beast blueprints," Zhao Xi said coldly.
Yuanbao remembered that, to prevent Zhao Xi from making a fool of himself by submitting the blueprints early to Emperor Guangxi, he once secretly hid the blueprints when Zhao Xi wasnāt paying attention.
Always thought Zhao Xi didnāt know, but now directly caught as a thief, Yuanbao calmly admitted, "Iāll give you the blueprints, but you have to promise not to be mad at me."
"Childish!" Zhao Xi turned his eyes away, "My mother has been busy preparing for Fatherās Longevity Festival recently, Iāve merely been occupied helping her with strategies. How could you see that Iām angry?"
"Really not angry?" Yuanbao still didnāt believe it; no matter how busy one is, canāt be too busy to speak a word for several days, right?
Zhao Xi slightly furrowed his brow, "Blueprints."
"I donāt have them on me, Iāll give them to you when I return to the palace later," Yuanbao remembered the Longevity Festival, which happened to be Emperor Guangxiās birthday, "Do you plan to give the blueprints as a birthday gift to the Emperor?"
"No." Zhao Xi quickly denied it.
"Why not give?" Yuanbao said, "On the day of the Longevity Festival, itās a rare good opportunity. You hand over the blueprints, the achievements of your capabilities will be seen by the entire court, and surely someone will suggest nominating the Crown Prince. Would the Emperor refuse in front of so many people?"
Zhao Xi put his hands behind his back, looking at him, "Did you forget? The Divine Soldier Bureau conceals all information about the mechanical beast. Do you think Father would truly be delighted to crown me as Crown Prince upon seeing the blueprints at the Longevity Festival?"
"Ah, I forgot about that!" Yuanbao slapped his forehead, "If you hadnāt reminded me today, maybe I would have submitted them for you during the Longevity Festival."
Zhao Xi said, "Give me back the blueprints later, theyāre not safe with you."
Yuanbao pressed his lips together, "Then what gift are you preparing for the Emperor?"
"Havenāt thought of one yet."
"Need my help to think of one?"
"No need." Yuanbaoās mind was full of crooked ideas; Zhao Xi couldnāt trust him.
"Give me some face, donāt reject so straightforwardly!" Yuanbao complained, "How could you know I wonāt have a good idea without even trying?"
Zhao Xi: "Then why donāt you tell me, given my current status, what would be an appropriate gift to give?"
Yuanbaoās eyes turned, "Let me ask you, what is the Emperor most concerned about right now?"
"The war with West Yue."
"Isnāt that it!" Yuanbao snapped his fingers, smiling mysteriously, "If there were some auspicious signs from heaven now, indicating that we in Great Chu would win this war, do you think he would be happy?"
Zhao Xi directly frowned, "Do you want me to fabricate auspicious signs to deceive Father?"
"Itās just providing the Emperor with some emotional support, it canāt be considered deceiving the ruler, right?"
"Nonsense!"