THE EMPEROR IS EXPECTING (BL)

TRANSLATED BY MYPEN_22

"Have you heard? Xu Laosan has disappeared." In the imperial city, on the street where people came and went, two acquaintances walked across the street, one of them calling out to the other to whisper about the strange story he had just learned.

    "Disappeared? What does that mean?" The man's brow furrowed and his voice was even more puzzled, "But disappeared?"

    "Alas! I don't know what to say," the man tugged the man towards the corner so as not to block the way of others, "I only heard that last night Xu Laosan's family was sitting together for dinner, but the meal was eaten and then the person disappeared."

    The man's eyebrows knitted tighter: "Why am I getting more and more confused, did Xu Laosan leave home halfway through the meal? Or did he suddenly fall ill halfway through the meal?"

    The man also frowned: "It's not that he left home, nor did he suddenly get sick and die. I heard that Xu Laosan was chatting with his family while eating with his rice bowl in his hand, and before he could finish his sentence, the man suddenly disappeared into thin air before everyone's eyes, and the bowl he was holding fell to the ground and shattered."

    "Are you serious? You're not joking with me?" The man asked with some disbelief.

    "Of course it's true. Even if I were unreliable, I couldn't make a joke out of such things." The man said with certainty, "Our four neighbours searched for Xu Laosan's daughter-in-law for half the night yesterday, but they didn't even see any ghosts, and early this morning Xu Laosan's daughter-in-law went to the police. It's not my fault, but I'm afraid this is the end of Xu Laosan."

    "How could a living person suddenly disappear under the noses of so many people?" The man clasped his arms, looking a bit scared, and asked in a lowered voice, "Do you think it could be that Xu Laosan is haunted by something unclean, otherwise how could this man disappear for no reason?"

    The man opposite him was about to speak when a voice that did not belong to them interjected, "Are you two brothers saying that someone else has disappeared for no reason?"

    The two men looked at each other, and hearing the word "again" in his words, one of them said, "Brother, have you also heard about this?"

    Then the man nodded, "Two days ago, a relative of mine disappeared in the same way. The family searched for several days, but alas!" When he said this, the man shook his head.

    The two of them were busy comforting each other, and then they said, "This is really strange.

    The three of them were talking at the corner of the street, not to mention the three of them, but there was a restaurant called "Drunken Sky House" diagonally across the street from here. It was not even noon yet, and the restaurant was already getting customers one after another.

    If you look upstairs, you will see that all the elegant rooms on the first floor have open windows, and in front of the window in the middle stands a young gentleman with a long, jade body and a very handsome face.

    The young gentleman was looking out of the window, his hands behind his back, looking both beautiful and elegant, and his body exuding a heavenly aura of nobility.

    "Your Highness, have a cup of tea." A pair of beautiful hands carried a cup of tea from the side to this man, who spoke with a voice like the tinkling of stones from a spring, and was also a handsome young gentleman.

    "Thank you." The man called Your Highness spoke in a clear voice, like the sound of jade striking against stone, clear and translucent, and a pair of bony hands that were also excessively beautiful.

    "Tomorrow is Your Highness's wedding day, why is Your Highness still drinking with me here? You should return to your home and prepare as soon as possible." There was a light smile in his voice.

    I am afraid that no one in the city knows that tomorrow is King Ruiying's wedding day. King Ruiying, named Yangshi, is 21 years old and is the firstborn son of the Great Yuan Dynasty, born to Queen Yuan and Emperor Chongzhuan.

    Although he is the eldest son, he has not yet been crowned prince and is now only a county prince. The reason for this is that the three remaining sons of Emperor Chongzhuan had already been crowned princes, a case that had shocked the palace fifteen years ago.

    Fifteen years ago, the son, who was still in his infancy, died suddenly and violently. At the end of the investigation, all evidence pointed to the death of Empress Wei, but when further investigation was needed, Empress Wei killed herself in Zhengyang Palace, and the case was concluded that Empress Wei had committed suicide in fear of sin. At that time, the Wei family was fighting against the enemy at the border. In order to appease the Wei family, the Emperor did not pursue the case and closed the case, burying Wei in the rites of the Empress.

    Even though the emperor later appointed another empress, Yan Shi was still the eldest son, but only the person concerned knew what kind of life he had been leading in the palace for more than ten years.

    Yan Shi smiled and shook his head, "Qing Yue, Qing Yue, I never thought you would tease me."

    Jiang Qingyue smiled back, "Qing Yue wouldn't dare."

    Feasting on the fragrance of the tea, the aroma of the tea curled around her lips.

    "Your Highness, I still can't understand why the Duke of Hongle would betroth his son to you?" Jiang Qingyue took the cup of tea handed over by Yangshi and put it on the table, "And the one who married over is the future son. The Duke of Kang Le is a member of King Zhaoge's family, if he marries his son to King Zhaoge, it would be reasonable, but if he marries you ..., I have already sent someone to inquire, and the Duke of Kang Le has asked for this marriage himself."

    The Great Abyss dynasty allowed men to marry men, but not to take male concubines. If a man took a male wife, he could not take another concubine, and he could not divorce. Except, of course, for the Emperor. After the marriage, the family status of the married parties in the family remained the same. In other words, even if the eldest son is married to a male wife, the title or family property that he inherits is still his.

    "I can't guess what kind of game this old fox is playing now." Yan Shi laughed bitterly and sat down at the table to pour himself a cup of tea.

    Jiang Qingyue also followed him and sat down: "Then what does Your Highness intend to do?"

    "Naturally, I'll marry him, doesn't he want me to?" Yan Shi put the cup of tea under his nose and sniffed it, his eyes showing a glint of light and a hint of viciousness, "I want to see what kind of medicine he is selling in his gourd. If he wants to send a son over to pinch me, he's really wrong!"

    "By the way, another person disappeared last night," Yan Shi raised his head again, his gaze had returned to gentle, "a carpenter named Xu Laosan."

    He was now the Secretary of the Da Lisi, in charge of all cases in the imperial city. As the wedding was approaching, the Emperor had asked him to prepare for the wedding in his residence.

    "I have ordered someone to check Xu Laosan's home," Jiang Qingyue said and frowned, "but I still found nothing."

    Yan Shi suddenly asked, "Do you believe this is the work of a ghost?"

    Jiang Qingyue shook his head, "There are no ghosts and monsters in this world, but some people have ghosts and monsters in their hearts."

    Yan Shi laughed out loud, "Interesting, really interesting. Let's go, we should go back to the royal residence, the Ministry of Rites and the palace should be here by now."

    The Ministry of Rites and the Palace were already here.

    "What took you so long to return, Your Majesty? We have been waiting for you for half a day, and thought you were not happy with the marriage and had gone into hiding." The man who spoke was a eunuch in his fifties, with a thin voice and a somewhat rich figure. He didn't even salute when he saw Yangshi, but just stood there looking at him. The man's face was smiling, but the smile looked extremely uncomfortable, with a touch of coldness and cunning.

    He was the personal eunuch of Emperor Chongzheng, and also the head eunuch, Eunuch Lian Gui.

    Jiang Qingyue, who was standing beside Yangshi, was about to say something when he felt his sleeve being gently tugged by someone.

    The four great joys of life are: 'A long drought meets a sweet rain, an acquaintance in another country, a night in the bridal chamber, and a golden ranking. The night of the wedding is one of the four great joys, and I am a layman, so how can I not want it? I hope you won't blame me for being delayed in some matters. You must be tired after coming here for so long, so I would like to invite you to have a cup of tea, what do you think?"

    "Your Majesty, please do." Although Eunuch Lian Gui said this, he walked ahead of Yan Shi. As he watched his back, Yan Shi's face dimmed a little, and his gaze was filled with gloom.

    "Your Majesty, I have been waiting here for a long time." This voice came from behind him, and when he turned his head, he saw that it was the Minister of Rites, Zhang Da Ren. He did not care whether or not Yan Shi, the prince, was favoured or not, as long as he was a prince, he was all the same in his eyes.

    He turned around and smiled, "Master Zhang, I am really sorry for keeping you waiting here. Please, let's go and have a cup of tea together."

    Grand Master Zhang refused somewhat, "Your Highness, I just want to talk to you about the wedding, I can finish in a few words." Sitting with the prince and having tea together, this was a bit of a folding of the arms.

    "Lord Zhang, let's sit down and talk about it in detail," said Yangshi in an inviting gesture.

    Master Zhang could not refuse any further, so he bowed even lower and also sat in an inviting gesture: "Then, Your Majesty, please go ahead."

    "Qing Yue, stay here and wait for your orders." As Yan Shi left, he instructed Jiang Qingyue.

    When they entered the lobby, Eunuch Lian Gui was already sitting on a chair with a cup of tea. When he saw the two of them coming, he did not stand up from his chair, but only raised his eyes and said, "Lord Zhang is here too."

    A mere eunuch dared to act so rudely in front of the prince, but he did not want to contradict him. He had been an official in the imperial court for many years and naturally knew what kind of virtue this Eunuch Lian Gui had. This man was narrow-minded and vengeful. It was not that he was afraid of him, but he was afraid that if he offended him here, he would hold a grudge against Yan Shi as well.