Shu Changyu did not know that he had cried.
His face was numb and cold, unable to sense the existence of his tears.
But he knew that Jing Mu was crying.
That boy held him tightly in his arms, burying his head into the hollow of his shoulder. The place where his shoulder met his neck had become warm from him, and Jing Mu’s tears had soaked through his outer robe, leaving a warm, damp patch.
The boy continued sobbing while holding him. The more he cried, the louder the sobs became, until eventually he was unable to make a sound.
While crying, Jing Mu repeatedly called his name and apologized to him.
Shu Changyu’s chest had originally been filled with frustration and despair, but after being disturbed by this boy, he somehow found the whole thing rather meaningless.
He thought:
What is there to cry about?
In his previous life, he had killed so many good people. He had never cried like this.
Indeed, he was still just a young child, protected too well by himself, never having experienced storms.
“Get up.”
Listening to his muffled sobbing that seemed endless, Shu Changyu gradually became irritated.
He pushed Jing Mu.
“Get up.”
Jing Mu did not move.
“Get up.”
Shu Changyu repeated.
“You are pressing down on me.”
Jing Mu lowered his head, his eyes lowered as well, and slowly stood up, moving to the side.
The light inside the prison cell was dim, and Shu Changyu could not clearly see his expression.
But perhaps it was better that he could not see.
It probably was not a pleasant sight.
“Go back.”
Shu Changyu said.
“Since you know you were wrong, then you should know what you should do afterward.”
Jing Mu gave a quiet hum.
Then he continued:
“But I still cannot let Imperial Tutor leave.”
The anger that had just slightly subsided in Shu Changyu’s heart immediately surged again.
He gritted his teeth.
“Go back.”
“I will handle Fan Yuan’an’s matter properly.”
Jing Mu continued.
Shu Changyu laughed coldly.
“What are you going to handle?”
“The Emperor’s decree has already been issued.”
“We can only blame Governor Fan for having bad luck and encountering me in both lifetimes.”
“It is not Imperial Tutor’s fault.”
Jing Mu said.
Shu Changyu did not want to argue with him about this anymore.
“Get out.”
When Jing Mu came again the next day, it was already late at night.
Shu Changyu had already fallen asleep.
His sleep was shallow. The moment he heard the door open, he was startled awake.
He sat up and saw Jing Mu carefully lowering his movements as he entered.
When Jing Mu saw him wake up, he stopped awkwardly.
“…I woke Imperial Tutor.”
He spoke quietly.
“What is it?”
Shu Changyu picked up the outer garment beside his bed and draped it over himself, frowning.
Jing Mu lowered his eyes.
“Regarding Fan Yuan’an’s matter, I have already handled it.”
“Although Governor Fan was removed from office, but…”
Shu Changyu had been suddenly awakened and was already irritated.
When he heard him mention this matter, the heart that had been hanging in worry finally relaxed.
Then his anger rose again.
He frowned.
“So you deliberately came at this time?”
“Could you not have waited until tomorrow?”
Jing Mu awkwardly stopped speaking.
He looked somewhat helpless.
Only then did Shu Changyu clearly see Jing Mu’s current appearance.
He was dressed neatly in complicated official robes, and there was still a faint smell of alcohol on him.
His face looked somewhat exhausted, and his voice was slightly hoarse.
He looked as if he had rushed here immediately after finishing his work.
Seeing this, Shu Changyu felt that his anger had been rather unreasonable.
He calmed himself and was about to speak when he saw Jing Mu lower his head apologetically.
“It was my fault. I disturbed Imperial Tutor’s pleasant dream.”
As he spoke, he actually turned around and looked as if he wanted to escape.
“Stop.”
Shu Changyu said.
Jing Mu immediately stopped and turned back.
“What did you say just now?”
Shu Changyu rubbed his brows and sat on the edge of the bed.
He asked:
“Governor Fan and Fan Yuan’an were both spared.”
Jing Mu said.
“But they were both stripped of their positions and sent into exile in the north.”
Hearing this, Shu Changyu raised one corner of his lips.
His expression carried a hint of mockery.
“You really do know how to admit your mistake and correct it.”
Jing Mu lowered his voice.
“For Imperial Tutor’s sake, I spared Fan Yuan’an once.”
“But if he ever does anything unfavorable to Imperial Tutor again, I will have him cut into ten thousand pieces.”
“I will never show mercy.”
“Then when will you release me?”
Shu Changyu had no desire to continue discussing Fan Yuan’an.
His voice was cold as he asked instead:
“Since you can distinguish right from wrong, then you should also know that imprisoning me like this is wrong.”
“I’m sorry, Imperial Tutor.”
Jing Mu said.
“But it is not the right time yet.”
Shu Changyu was so angry he wanted to hit him again.
He lowered his voice in warning.
“Jing Mu.”
Jing Mu continued:
“After Father Emperor decides the officials who will go south to control the flooding, I will return Imperial Tutor’s freedom.”
“…The flood control in the south will take at least three to five years.”
“I…”
“I truly cannot bear to let you go.”
Shu Changyu laughed coldly.
“Because of your filthy desires, you intend to lock me by your side?”
“…Imperial Tutor.”
“This time, you used Qian Rubin and the eldest prince’s scheme.”
“What will you do next time to imprison me?”
“Next time, will you personally fabricate a crime and accuse me?”
“Imperial Tutor…”
Shu Changyu said:
“Jing Mu, you cannot imprison me.”
“Unless you kill me.”
“Imperial Tutor.”
Jing Mu interrupted him.
He looked directly into Shu Changyu’s eyes.
Shu Changyu saw emotions surging within Jing Mu’s eyes, almost turning them crimson.
“Do not force me.”
He said.
But Shu Changyu refused to back down.
His voice was cold.
“Jing Mu, look carefully.”
“Who is forcing whom?”
Jing Mu said nothing.
After a while, he spoke softly.
“Then… when Imperial Tutor leaves, we will discuss it later.”
“You…”
After saying that, Jing Mu closed the door and left.
Only Shu Changyu remained sitting beside the bed.
He looked at the closed door in front of him.
After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh.
Then he turned his head and looked outside the window at the bamboo leaves rustling softly.
From that day onward, Jing Mu came to see Shu Changyu every evening after dinner.
After their unpleasant parting that day, Shu Changyu deliberately treated him coldly.
He never paid attention to him.
He only lowered his head and read, pretending there was no such person beside him.
Fortunately, Jing Mu also did not commit that bastard act of forcing a kiss on him again.
When Shu Changyu read, Jing Mu simply sat to the side and watched him.
Regardless of whether Shu Changyu listened or not, he would tell him about the people he met that day and the matters he handled.
Sometimes Shu Changyu moved slightly or turned a page.
Jing Mu would immediately stop, thinking Shu Changyu wanted to speak.
But when he saw Shu Changyu had no intention of saying anything, he continued.
Although it was no different from talking to himself, even if Shu Changyu were deaf, he could still hear the gentle warmth and affection hidden between Jing Mu’s words.
Shu Changyu was not very good at resisting this.
Especially when the other person was Jing Mu.
Every day, he appeared to keep his head lowered and focus only on his own matters.
But everything Jing Mu said entered his ears.
This boy…
was indeed different from the person he knew in his previous life.
He did not know whether it was because of the hardships of his previous life, or because he himself had never noticed it before.
This boy’s ability to survive in the imperial court was not inferior to his own. Sometimes, his methods of handling matters were even more careful and thorough than his.
Every day, Jing Mu was like someone reporting his work. He would calmly and patiently tell Shu Changyu many things.
Shu Changyu did not know who he was competing with, or who he was throwing a tantrum at.
In any case, although he remembered every single word Jing Mu said, he still treated him like a ball of air on the surface, completely ignoring him.
Like this, the weather gradually became warmer day by day.
The bamboo leaves outside the window grew thicker and thicker.
Shu Changyu continued refusing to speak to Jing Mu every day.
And whenever he finished reading a book, Jing Mu would bring him a new one the next day.
When May arrived, the Yellow River in the south was approaching the season when it would become restless.
On this day, Jing Mu was halfway through speaking when he unexpectedly heard Shu Changyu speak.
“Has the Emperor decided on the person to go south and control the river?”
Shu Changyu asked while looking down at his book.
It had been a very long time since Jing Mu had heard Shu Changyu speak to him.
The moment he heard him speak, Jing Mu felt as if he was hallucinating.
His thoughts instantly became a chaotic mess.
“Hmm?”
Shu Changyu frowned.
“Still—still not yet.”
Jing Mu was overwhelmed by surprise and answered somewhat incoherently.
“But previously, the Guan Liangchi whom Imperial Tutor arranged was quite good. I think this time…”
“Guan Liangchi still has two years before becoming a palace examination graduate.”
Shu Changyu said.
“Oh…”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Jing Mu suddenly seemed to recover and hurriedly replied.
“He still has two years…”
After that, he had nothing else to say.
“The flooding this year will be especially severe. I remember it clearly.”
Shu Changyu calmly continued.
“On top of that, there will also be a severe drought in Shandong.”
“Jing Mu, do not treat the livelihood of the common people as a joke.”
“But in the previous life, we still survived it.”
Jing Mu argued back.
“Someone will always go.”
“How many people died in the south during the previous life?”
Shu Changyu raised his eyes and asked.
“Jing Mu, even the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works who was sent there to control the flooding died.”
Jing Mu showed no sign of compromise.
“Then that is even more reason why I cannot let you go.”
“Only I can go.”
Shu Changyu said.
“This year’s flooding can only be handled properly by me.”
Jing Mu lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Shu Changyu gave a cold laugh.
“No matter what I say, you will not change your mind, will you, Jing Mu?”
“You cannot go control the flooding.”
Jing Mu repeated.
“Jing Mu.”
Shu Changyu raised his eyes and looked at him.
That gaze was sharp.
The moment Jing Mu met his eyes, he felt as if a needle had stabbed directly into his chest.
“In my previous life, I only saw that you were useless.”
“I never thought that looking at you now, you truly have the talent to become a disaster to the world.”
“As expected of my disciple, Shu Changyu.”
“Imperial Tutor, I…”
“I can handle this matter for you.”
“Do not come again.”
Shu Changyu lowered his eyes and returned to his book.
“You may imprison me for the rest of my life, or kill me here.”
“But regardless…”
“I do not want to see you anymore.”
Jing Mu stood there, looking at him.
“When I see you, I feel unbearable pain in my heart.”
Shu Changyu’s eyes remained on the book as he spoke slowly.
“I thought that although I had committed countless acts against heaven and morality in my previous life, at least I had done one thing right.”
“That was sincerely teaching you.”
“But now, when I look at you…”
“I feel that my kindness only created something wrong.”
He raised his head and looked at Jing Mu.
“I do not want to see you anymore.”
Author’s Note: Jing Mu’s little tricks for coaxing his wife — adapting to the situation:
When the other person becomes unreasonable and starts crying for no reason, you must act even more wronged than him and cry even harder.