Lord, Your Immortal Plant has Slipped Away Again Chpt: 90

Extra (i)

Edited: 01.10.2024

One month after Emperor Jinghe’s death, “Acting Emperor” Gu Yan succeeded to the throne.

After the new Emperor took the throne, he first took care of the ministers in the court who were critical of him and then disposed of the Wen family plotting against him. With all these actions, the country, which was already riddled with holes, suddenly became even more precarious.

However, the new Emperor introduced a new policy in the second year of his reign, and introduced a series of laws to restrain the officials. In less than half a year, the whole world was completely changed from top to bottom.

The new government was implemented in full swing and Gu Yan’s popularity among the people rose rapidly, becoming instantly recognizable.

In addition to the new government, the second thing the new Emperor did was to demobilize the harem.

The original Princess Consort Rui was appointed as the Imperial Consort, in addition, all the palace women were dismissed from the palace and the position of the Empress was left vacant.

Since the founding of the country, there had never been an instance of leaving the Empress’s throne vacant. Gu Yan’s move caused a lot of controversy. Some people spoke out to dissuade him, but all those who were forcing him to marry were repelled by Gu Yan with the words “Acting Emperor,” telling them to tell it to the real Crown Prince.

No matter how anxious the ministers were, it was impossible for them to force the young Prince, who was less than ten years old, to marry. Gradually, no one dared to touch this topic anymore.

After becoming the Imperial Consort, Ye Zi didn’t let himself be idle. Whenever he had something to do, he would go to the Crown Prince’s East Palace to teach Gu Xu about literature and martial arts, and supervise his homework.

Gu Xu had been precocious since he was a child. After experiencing power disputes and dynasty changes, he was more sensible than before. He studied hard every day and became familiar with government affairs. Ye Zi, who taught and supervised him, also became busy.

Emperor Jinghe left behind a crumbling world, with everything in ruins waiting to be revitalized, and wanting to reshape this decayed foundation would take unimaginable effort. Since Gu Yan became the Emperor and was busy with government affairs every day, there were not many things Ye Zi could help with. Gu Yan didn’t want him to work too hard, so Ye Zi could only find things to do by himself.

The sooner he taught Gu Xu to be independent, the sooner he could take over the country from Gu Yan.

Ye Zi thought so, but Gu Yan didn’t think the same.

His own Imperial Consort was more diligent in running around the Crown Prince’s East Palace than running around their own bedroom. As a man, he couldn’t stand it.

That day, Gu Yan finished handling the government affairs early and rushed to his Imperial Consort’s chamber, but saw no one. After asking around, Ye Zi was indeed at the Crown Prince’s place again. Gu Yan endured his anger and made his way to the East Palace.

Before entering the palace gate, the sound of weapons hitting each other could be heard from afar.

Outside the room on a small piece of open space, two figures were coming and going, fighting vigorously.

The eunuch next to him was about to send a message, but Gu Yan waved his hand and stopped him. He folded his arms and stood by the palace wall waiting quietly, his expression calm and showing no emotion.

Gu Xu had made rapid progress under Ye Zi’s personal guidance. He had just turned ten years old, but he could already fight with Ye Zi for several rounds using a real sword.

However, no matter how fast he improved, he was still nothing compared to Ye Zi.

As Ye Zi guided Gu Xu through his moves with ease, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Ye Zi was stunned for a moment and turned his head just in time to meet Gu Yan’s gaze.

To say that Ye Zi didn’t want to stick to Gu Yan’s side at all was completely false.

If it were his way of thinking, he would have wished to be with Gu Yan all the time for twelve hours a day. But Gu Yan had just succeeded the throne and had too many things to deal with. Ye Zi understood that he was busy and did not want to disturb him.

His recent teachings with Gu Xu were more or less done with the idea of diverting his attention.

In the past, Ye Zi forced himself not to think about Gu Yan, hid his thoughts in his heart, and tried not to cause trouble to Gu Yan. But those kinds of thoughts couldn’t be suppressed. Even if it could be stopped, it would only accumulate deeper and deeper.

Therefore, when Ye Zi suddenly saw Gu Yan, his mind immediately went blank, and his eyes couldn’t accommodate anything except the tall and cold figure.

In the middle of the match, the most taboo thing was to lose concentration, even if it was just a beginner in front of him.

Gu Xu wasn’t yet proficient in swordsmanship. Even if he noticed that Ye Zi was distracted, he couldn’t stop the movements of his hands in the spur of the moment.

The sharp sword aimed at Ye Zi uncontrollably. Before Ye Zi had time to react, Gu Yan stepped forward first, gently grabbed his waist, took him a few steps back, and dodged the sword.

Ye Zi fell into a familiar embrace and his heart was beating fiercely in his chest. He was wrapped in Gu Yan’s arms, and before he could say anything, he heard Gu Yan sigh in a low voice: “When can you let me worry less?”

Ye Zi knew he was at a disadvantage, but he didn’t want to give in, and argued: “It’s obviously your fault for coming over suddenly and distracting me.”

In the whole world, he was the only one who dared to talk to Gu Yan like this.

The current Son of Heaven was not angry at that time, but looked disinterested and said calmly: “If that’s the case, then I’ll leave?”

With that said, he pretended to turn around and leave.

“Don’t.” Ye Zi hurriedly pulled on the sleeve of his dragon robe. However, he felt that he shouldn’t behave like this in front of his junior so he loosened his grip and said softly: “Don’t leave.”

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Gu Yan’s heart softened as soon as he heard his voice. He shook his head and said nothing more.

He turned his head and looked at Gu Xu.

The two people didn’t think anything about the incident just now and they were still talking calmly, but the others present were frightened to death. People inside and outside the palace knelt down. Gu Xu stood in front of the crowd and also knelt down to salute.

Noticing that Gu Yan was looking at him, Gu Xu stammered: “Your Majesty, forgive me. This…..this….”

Gu Xu had been somewhat afraid of this cousin of his ever since he was a child and now that Gu Yan had become Emperor, the relationship between them was even more strained. However, if he knew that Gu Yan had always been extremely harsh on him because he was angry that he spent more time alone with his Imperial Consort than he did, he might not be so nervous around Gu Yan anymore.

Gu Yan had a complicated expression when he saw Gu Xu, but he couldn’t really teach him a lesson and decided to let the matter go: “No harm. However, a sword has no eyes so be more careful in the future.”

Gu Xu: “Yes.”

After Gu Yan finished speaking, he pulled Ye Zi and started to walk out. Ye Zi didn’t react to what he was going to do for a moment and said blankly: “I’m still teaching A Xu swordsmanship.”

Gu Yan held back his anger, turned his head, and calmly said, “Then do you want to continue teaching, or go with me?”

Ye Zi gave in immediately and said without thinking: “Go with you.”

The two of them left the Crown Prince’s East Palace.

Gu Yan sent away the eunuchs and didn’t bother with a carriage. He pulled Ye Zi into the pavilion in the Imperial garden, pressed him onto a chair, and kissed him without any explanation, teaching him a “lesson.”

The kiss lasted for a long time. Ye Zi felt out of breath and turned red from his face to his neck.

But even so, when Gu Yan let go, Ye Zi was still unsatisfied. He pulled on the other person’s lapel and brought him closer.

Gu Yan added some distance between them and laughed: “Why are you so anxious, did you miss me that much?”

“Yes.” Ye Zi leaned against Gu Yan’s chest, listening to the other party’s powerful heartbeat. His voice was warm and soft, and permeated with deep attachment, “I missed you so much.”

Gu Yan stroked his hair and deliberately said, “If you missed me, why didn’t you come find me? Instead, you went to find Gu Xu.”

Ye Zi raised his eyes to look at him and was surprised: “Why are you still jealous of A Xu?”

Gu Yan looked at him and said nothing. Ye Zi pouted and had to tell the truth: “I didn’t want to disturb you…..”

Gu Yan said warmly: “You won’t be disturbing me at all. On the other hand, I would be really happy if I saw you.”

“Really?”

Gu Yan nodded: “Naturally.”

Having been coaxed, Ye Zi’s heart felt as sweet as honey and he couldn’t help but move close to kiss him again.

Gu Yan dodged this time.

Ye Zi frowned in dissatisfaction, but before he could speak, Gu Yan took the lead: “It’s almost dark. If we continue to delay here, we won’t be able to go out of the palace for some fun.”

Ye Zi froze: “Go out of the palace?”

Gu Yan pinched his face: “Otherwise, why do you think I finished all my affairs early today and went looking around for you? Just to watch you teach the Crown Prince swordsmanship?”

Ye Zi still didn’t react: “But why so suddenly, is today a special day?”

Gu Yan didn’t bother explaining to him: “Are you going or not?”

“Of course I’m going!”

The two of them changed into commoner clothes and left the palace gates before dark.

The long street was decorated with lanterns and streamers, making it a lively and festive atmosphere.

Only at this point did Ye Zi realize that today was the Qixi Festival.

Most of the people on the street were in groups. Gu Yan pulled Ye Zi through the crowd. When there were many people, he was careful to protect him in his arms to avoid being bumped into by others.

Suddenly, a hawking voice reached their ears: “This gentleman, do you want to buy a flower crown?”

Ye Zi’s eyes were quickly drawn to it. The flower seller was a gray-haired old lady holding a flower crown braided with a bouquet of flowers.

That flower crown was deftly woven and a few small flowers dotted the crown, making it extraordinarily pretty.

If Gu Yan wore it……

Ye Zi thought about it for a moment and the little thought in his heart became more and more excited. His heart itched and the desperation of wanting to see it on Gu Yan made him stop in his tracks.

Seeing him stop, Gu Yan followed his gaze and asked: “You want things meant for girls?”

“Who said those are only for girls?……” Ye Zi didn’t dare to say outright that he wanted to buy it for Gu Yan and only muttered evasively.

Gu Yan shook his head helplessly and pulled him towards the stall.

The woman’s business was excellent. As soon as the flower crowns were put out, many people came to buy them, and the stall was crowded. When the two people squeezed in front of the stall, only the last one was left.

Just as Gu Yan was about to speak, a loud voice suddenly came in from the side: “Wrap this flower crown for me.”

Gu Yan: “……”

Ye Zi: “……”

My lord, in broad daylight, someone actually dared to convert something the current Emperor set his eyes on?

But……how come this voice sounded so familiar?

The two of them looked in that direction at the same time. A tall man squeezed through the crowd with his height advantage, blocking most of the people behind. The man had a handsome face and heroic brows, but his expression was a bit sinister. He didn’t look like he was here to buy anything, but rather like he was here to rob someone’s house.

It turned out to be Wen Yi.

Since Gu Yan succeeded the throne, the Wen family’s influence had been uprooted. He punished the Wen family accordingly and those who deserved to be killed were killed, those who deserved to be exiled were exiled, and those who deserved to be dismissed from their posts were dismissed. However, Gu Yan always treated those who had no rebellious intentions generously.

Wen Yi had meritorious service in guarding the frontier and was loyal and benevolent. Not only was he not implicated, but he was officially promoted to General by Gu Yan.

Ye Zi couldn’t help but smile bitterly, but Gu Yan was not polite at all. He walked forward and said elegantly: “Shopkeeper, I want this flower crown.”

Once Wen Yi heard this voice, he subconsciously looked over towards Gu Yan and instantly froze in place.

“Your Hol-……Hol-……” Wen Yi opened his mouth in shock but did not dare to shout out the title.

The old woman looked at Wen Yi and then at Gu Yan with difficulty: “There is only one left, who is it going to?”

Wen Yi had a complicated look on his face and didn’t dare to speak.

Gu Yan lifted his eyes towards him and faintly said, “This gentleman, my wife is extremely fond of this flower crown, please allow me to have it.”

Wen Yi’s lips moved, as if he was a bit unwilling, but he didn’t dare to compete with the current Emperor.

Before he could open his mouth, a female voice from outside the crowd came in: “Mr. Wen, can you or can’t you? If you can’t buy it, I’m leaving!”

That voice was very familiar to Ye Zi and Gu Yan.

“Don’t, wait——” Wen Yi responded hurriedly and turned to Gu Yan with difficulty: “That, Your Holi-……no, sir……my friend also likes this very much, can you please let me have it?”

Seeing him like this, Ye Zi suddenly became interested and said deliberately: “This gentleman, everything must be done on a first-come, first-served basis. Just now you jumped in line. According to the order, this flower crown should be ours, right?”

Wen Yi’s expression changed and he was in a dilemma for a while.

Just when the three were in a stalemate, a hand stretched out from the side, placing a silver ingot on the stall: “Shopkeeper, I’ll buy this flower crown.”

After he said this, he reached out his hand and lightly took the flower crown from in front of the three.

“……”

The three people didn’t expect this turn of events and turned their heads in that direction. Pei Ge smoothly placed the flower crown on Pei Wan’er’s head: “Are you happy now?”

“Thank you, elder brother.”

Pei Wan’er smiled and dragged Wen Zhi forward. Wen Zhi subconsciously looked back at Pei Ge and disappeared into the crowd along with Pei Wan’er.

Wen Yi didn’t care about anything else and hurriedly turned around and chased after her: “Wan’er, Wan’er, wait for me——”

Gu Yan and Ye Zi walked to Pei Ge. Gu Yan smiled half-heartedly: “Dr. Pei, you sure are brave for stealing something from me.”

Pei Ge bowed to Gu Yan: “Pardon me, Your Holiness.”

He paused and said calmly: “In this market, even if His Holiness and the General came, they must follow the rules. Since this commoner paid first, then the thing will naturally be mine.”

“Fallacious reasoning……” Gu Yan shook his head but didn’t say anything more.

It was just a flower crown, neither he nor Ye Zi was serious enough to take it seriously. The two said goodbye to Pei Ge and continued forward.

Ye Zi no longer cared about the flower crown, but was still thinking about Wen Yi. He couldn’t help but laugh: “What’s going on with Wen Yi? Why hasn’t he wooed her over yet even after so many years?”

Gu Yan glanced at him: “The two have feelings for each other, they just haven’t taken it to the next step yet. Don’t worry about them.”

Ye Zi tilted his head and thought: “In my opinion, you could simply be a good person and give a decree to grant their marriage. While Wen Yi is still in Chang’an during this period, get the marriage done early to avoid having to go back northwest and making the lady wait in vain.”

Gu Yan nodded: “Okay.”

The two gradually walked out of the crowd and came to the riverbank.

There was a row of willows planted along the river bank and the long willow branches hung down to the river surface, gently swaying with the wind.

Ye Zi looked towards the row of willows and said to Gu Yan: “Wait for me.”

Gu Yan nodded and Ye Zi took three or two steps to the riverbank and casually found a few willow branches.

The two of them sat down on the stone bridge. Ye Zi’s fingers were dexterous and he quickly wove the willow strips in his hands into a simple crown.

Gu Yan was a bit surprised: “You even know how to do this?”

Ye Zi proudly said: “This is nothing, I know a lot of things.”

After Ye Zi finished the crown, he placed it on Gu Yan’s head and smiled with satisfaction: “Although it’s not as good-looking as the one made by that old woman, it’s okay. Who made my husband this good-looking?”

As he said that, he also reached out his hand and lightly pinched Gu Yan’s face.

Gu Yan’s eyes darkened slightly. He grabbed his wrist and said in a low voice: “Say that again.”

Before Ye Zi could reply, fireworks were suddenly set off in the distance. The brilliant fireworks exploded in the night sky, making the darkness look like day.

Ye Zi’s eyes moved as he got up and left: “I’m going to go watch the fireworks.”

Gu Yan stepped forward to block his way. Trapping him in his arms, he coaxed in a gentle voice: “A Zi, be good. Say it again.”

Ye Zi didn’t fall for it this time: “Get out of the way, if you stop me again, the fireworks will be over.”

Gu Yan said: “If you want to watch the fireworks, I will find someone to buy some tomorrow and set it off all night back in the Imperial city.”

Ye Zi cried and laughed: “Your Holiness, aren’t you afraid that others will say you are indulging in debauchery?”

“Not afraid.” Gu Yan looked down at him tenderly: “My beloved consort, what did you call me just now, say it again.”

Ye Zi was shaken by his look and he shook his head: “It won’t be interesting if I say those words now…..Of course, I have to……”

Ye Zi came forward and whispered a few words in his ear.

Gu Yan was stunned. Just as Ye Zi wanted to break free from his arms, Gu Yan backhandedly clasped him. He wrapped the person in his arms and thoughtfully said: “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

“……Once we go back to bed, we’ll have a nice chat.”

As the two walked away together, fireworks exploded in brilliance, and in Chang’an City, there was song and dance.

……

Ever since Gu Yan told Ye Zi that he could go to him at any time, Ye Zi no longer had any worries and would go to Gu Yan’s palace, Imperial study room, and Council Pavilion whenever he had something to do. In the earliest days, he could still go there shamelessly, but as time went by, Ye Zi was afraid that the palace servants would gossip, so he always forced himself to find a reason to see Gu Yan.

Most of the reasons he came up with were that he had learned a new dish and wanted Gu Yan to taste it.

In just half a month, Ye Zi’s cooking skills improved rapidly, but he almost ended up overfeeding Gu Yan.

Gu Yan couldn’t bear it anymore and forbade Ye Zi from entering the Imperial kitchen again.

With the cooking reason gone, Ye Zi couldn’t think of any other way and had to find other ideas.

In the late afternoon, the scorching sun baked the ground. The eunuch guarding outside the Imperial study room was drowsy from the sun and when he shook his eyes, he saw a green thing flying past in front of him in a trance.

The little eunuch looked around but found nothing and could only pretend nothing happened.

Above his head, a small green plant climbed the carved beams and let out a long breath.

This was the wonderful idea Ye Zi had come up with.

Since he couldn’t look for Gu Yan in his human form, it should be fine to change back to his original form as long as he wasn’t noticed. The little green plant climbed into the Imperial study along the cracks of the beams. Gu Yan was sitting in front of the desk, concentrating on approving reports, and didn’t notice Ye Zi’s arrival.

When Ye Zi saw that he was busy, he didn’t dare to disturb him. He climbed behind Gu Yan, slid down the wall silently, and made his way under Gu Yan’s dragon chair. Squatting on the ground, he looked up at him without making a sound.

About an hour or so, Gu Yan finished reading the reports at hand. He pressed against his temple and leaned back against the chair to rest.

Just as he relaxed, he felt something tugging at his pant leg.

Gu Yan’s brow furrowed and when he looked down, there was nothing.

Gu Yan didn’t think too much about it and poured himself a cup of tea. He then called the eunuch outside the door and asked him to bring some refreshments. Several eunuchs quickly entered the Imperial study with refreshments, Gu Yan leaned against the chair and waited for them to place the exquisite refreshments on the table when he suddenly felt another tug underneath his body.

This time the feeling was a little clearer.

Ye Zi pressed his body close to the bottom of the table, retracted his desperate tendrils, and carefully listened to the movements on the table. Seeing that Gu Yan had no reaction, Ye Zi stretched his stem forward again.

The slender stem drilled down Gu Yan’s pant leg, clinging to the fabric and slowly climbing up until they were about to touch a certain place.

Gu Yan suddenly spoke: “What is the Imperial Consort doing today?”

The eunuch replied: “The Imperial Consort seems to be resting in the palace today and has not gone anywhere else.”

Gu Yan’s voice paused for a moment: “I see, you may leave now.”

“Yes.”

There were some footsteps, the eunuch walked out, and the door to the Imperial study was closed again.

Gu Yan looked as if he didn’t notice anything and sipped his tea with a calm demeanor.

Ye Zi snickered in his heart and once again stretched out his stem towards Gu Yan. Only this time, before he could touch Gu Yan, a hand reached out and grabbed his stem impartially.

The little green plant trembled lightly in fear and was yanked out of the bottom of the table by a strong force.

Gu Yan placed the shivering green plant on the table with slightly darker eyes: “What are you trying to pull this time?”

Ye Zi curled up into a ball sheepishly, not daring to look at him: “I……came to look for you.”

Gu Yan wanted to laugh in anger as he said helplessly: “If you came looking for me, why couldn’t you have done it openly? Why are you hiding under the table and taking advantage of me?”

“I wasn’t.” Ye Zi retorted quickly, regretting in his heart: “I……..you were still busy when I came in just now, so I hid below and waited for you. But……I couldn’t hold back for a moment.”

After he finished speaking, he felt that his words sounded a bit too wild, so he quickly added: “It’s not because I couldn’t hold back, it’s because I saw that you were too tired and wanted to help you relax.”

Relax.

When Gu Yan heard his words, instead of feeling relaxed, his heart was on fire. His eyes darkened and his voice muffled: “How did you want to help me relax?”

Ye Zi curled himself up tighter and didn’t answer anymore.

Gu Yan stepped forward, opened his branches, and brushed over his leaves gently: “A Zi, you won’t be able to help me like this.”

His voice was shockingly hoarse and the tips of his small leaves trembled slightly, subconsciously wanting to hide.

Gu Yan didn’t let him escape and spoke softly, his voice almost bewitching: “A Zi, change back and I’ll teach you what to do.”

……

After that day, Ye Zi didn’t want to set foot in the Imperial study for a long time. He especially didn’t want to look at the dragon chair anymore as his legs felt weak at the sight of it.

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