The Emperor Reads Storybooks Hidden in His Official Reports 28

Chapter 28: Drunk

“Your Majesty…” Li Jianyu said helplessly, “I can eat by myself.”

“Your shoulder is injured,” Zhao Linxu said matter-of-factly, bringing the cooled-down spoon to Li Jianyu’s mouth.

Li Jianyu opened his mouth and swallowed the porridge, feeling utterly pained.

It was just a wound on his shoulder, not like both his hands were broken.

Zhao Linxu watched Li Jianyu eat the porridge, feeling very satisfied in his heart. So, he fed him spoonful after spoonful until Li Jianyu had finished the entire bowl.

Li Jianyu asked, “When are we going back? We have to clean up the mess up there.”

“The Valiant Cavalry Army is already guarding the vicinity. The sedan is ready for us to leave at any time. But there’s no hurry. Let’s go tomorrow. Your body is too weak now.” Zhao Linxu smiled. “Everything on the cliff is settled. Zhao Zhanqi has been taken to the prison, and Yi Miaosuan and the people from the Great Xi have all gone back with their tails between their legs. They can’t stir up any more trouble.”

Li Jianyu nodded, then thought for a moment and added, “My body is fine.”

Zhao Linxu looked at Li Jianyu’s stomach. Li Jianyu was wearing a loose robe now, and it was still early in his pregnancy, so it wasn’t noticeable yet. But they both knew there was indeed a little bun inside.

This was… this was his child.

His and Li Jianyu’s child.

Oh heavens…

What should the child be named? A boy or a girl?

It would definitely be very beautiful when it was born, right? After all, Li Jianyu was so beautiful. Li Jianyu was so thin; he must be properly nourished, so he wouldn’t have such a hard time later, and the child could be fatter and healthier.

Zhao Linxu suppressed the restlessness and excitement in his heart, wiped his face, and said, “It’s always good to be more careful.”

The more Zhao Linxu thought about it, the more excited he became. He had to stand up and leave, saying he was going to prepare dinner.

After only Li Jianyu was left in the room, he touched his stomach and was lost in thought.

Li Jianyu shook his head hard.

Don’t overthink it!

After forcefully pulling Zhao Linxu’s figure out of his mind, Li Jianyu seemed to remember something and got out of bed.

He left the room and found that he and Zhao Linxu were now staying in a commoner’s house. There was still a fire burning in the kitchen, but Zhao Linxu was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing Li Jianyu turn his head as if he were looking for something, a member of the Valiant Cavalry Army guarding the main door said, “His Majesty went out to buy groceries. He said he was going to exchange some meat with a nearby auntie and will be back soon.”

…Buying groceries.

Zhao Linxu rubbed his forehead and turned to go into the kitchen.

Looking at the burning firewood, Li Jianyu paused for a moment, then slowly reached his hand in.

The guards outside didn’t pay any attention to the movements in the kitchen. Li Jianyu blocked their view with his back and grabbed a piece of burning firewood.

Warmth spread from his palm. He could feel the fire slowly burning his hand, but he felt no pain at all.

“Li Jianyu! What are you doing!”

Just as Li Jianyu was slightly dazed, a shout came from behind him.

Zhao Linxu threw the meat he was carrying onto a nearby table and roughly pulled Li Jianyu’s hand out.

“Are you crazy?!”

Zhao Linxu held Li Jianyu’s palm and looked down, but he was stunned.

Li Jianyu’s hand was warm and soft. Not to mention any wounds, his skin looked even smoother.

This…

Li Jianyu came back to his senses. “I’m fine.”

Li Jianyu felt that something was wrong with him. It actually felt so comfortable to have his hand roasted?

Could it be, as the old woman in the mountain had said, that he was also a phoenix? Otherwise, why would this be?

That day, Yi Miaosuan had set fire to the City Lord’s manor. Li Jianyu had been in the raging sea of fire and had thought that his two short lives were over.

At that time, a broken beam had fallen from above. After being hit, Li Jianyu had lost consciousness. In a daze, he had only vaguely felt his body was very hot, not because of the fire around him, but because the blood flowing in his body was clamoring.

When he regained consciousness, Li Jianyu had already left the City Lord’s manor.

“Speaking of which, you still haven’t said how you escaped from the City Lord’s manor that day,” Zhao Linxu said with a frown. “Could it be that you’re not afraid of fire?”

Li Jianyu gets along so well with those three phoenixes and has a phoenix tattoo on his body, Zhao Linxu thought. He must have some connection to phoenixes, or he is one himself. It’s not strange that he’s not afraid of fire.

“I’m not very sure,” Li Jianyu said. “It should be so. But I lost consciousness that day and don’t know what happened.”

“It’s no matter. We’ll find out eventually.”

Zhao Linxu pushed Li Jianyu into the room, telling him to get some more rest, while he himself stayed by the side to review memorials and victory reports. When dusk fell, Li Jianyu woke up and saw Zhao Linxu fiddling in the kitchen.

Li Jianyu raised an eyebrow. “Does Your Majesty know how to cook?”

Such a down-to-earth emperor?

“Of course,” Zhao Linxu said awkwardly. “But I only know how to grill meat, because I often hunted with my brothers in the military camp to have a taste.”

Grilling meat in the wild?

Having only had a bowl of bland and tasteless porridge, Li Jianyu’s mouth watered at this, and his stomach started to growl.

“It’s fine. Grilled meat is delicious,” Li Jianyu said. “And it’s not convenient to cook here anyway.”

“Good! When we get back up, I’ll take you to the tavern to eat every day,” Zhao Linxu said with a grin.

Li Jianyu shook his head. “I’ll help you.”

“No need. Your body is not well.” Zhao Linxu pressed Li Jianyu down on a chair. “Just wait obediently. And it’s not hard to make. I’ll just cut the meat, set up a rack, and grill it outside.”

Although this scene looked very strange, since there was meat to eat, Li Jianyu let it be. He couldn’t help much anyway.

Zhao Linxu quickly cut the pork into pieces, put them in a basin, and then pulled Li Jianyu outside.

It was already night, and the sky was full of twinkling stars.

Zhao Linxu set up a rack in the courtyard and was piling up firewood.

The Valiant Cavalry guards tactfully retreated to the side, leaving the two of them some private space.

After grilling the meat over the fire for a while, the aroma wafted out. Zhao Linxu cut a small piece for Li Jianyu.

Seeing Li Jianyu eat with relish, Zhao Linxu was also happy.

Under the flowers and the moon, with wine, it was truly a romantic scene. Zhao Linxu was feeling very pleased with himself.

Li Jianyu took a bite of the fragrant meat and saw Zhao Linxu pouring wine into the fire to make it burn more brightly, and he himself had drunk a few cups. Li Jianyu smacked his lips. “What kind of wine is that?”

Zhao Linxu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He poured a small cup for Li Jianyu. “This was a gift from Auntie Qiu when I exchanged meat with her. It’s a natural rice wine made by farmers. It won’t get you drunk.”

Li Jianyu eagerly took a sip. He was a bad drinker, but he loved to drink, so he especially liked fruit wine and rice wine.

It was very quiet at night, with only the crackling sound of the firewood.

After eating for a while, Li Jianyu said, “Your Majesty, you haven’t eaten.”

Only then did he realize that Zhao Linxu had been turning the meat and cutting it for him, and hadn’t eaten much himself.

“It’s no matter.”

“Open your mouth—” Li Jianyu leaned forward and stuffed a piece of meat into Zhao Linxu’s mouth.

Zhao Linxu blinked and blankly swallowed the piece of grilled meat.

“Oh, good boy—” Li Jianyu said, and then he himself giggled.

“Little Carp, you’re drunk.” Zhao Linxu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Worried that Li Jianyu would fall or pull on his shoulder wound, he immediately reached out and gently held him.

Zhao Linxu couldn’t help but glance at the wine cup beside Li Jianyu.

No way…?

Such a small cup, and it was rice wine, and he was drunk?

“Not—drunk—” Li Jianyu wrapped his arms around Zhao Linxu’s neck, hanging on him and shouting, “You are a big—king—bastard—toad—king—”

Zhao Linxu: “…”

Zhao Linxu loosely held Li Jianyu’s waist, his lips twitching. “Don’t fool around. Let’s go back to the room and rest. It’s very late. Let’s sleep.”

“Sleep your ass—get up and party!”

“…”

“You are the most—beautiful cloud in my sky—let me keep you with my heart—”

“Lalalalala… let love roll away all the dust—”

Zhao Linxu held Li Jianyu without moving, feeling as if his ears were being pierced by a demonic sound.

That meaningless “lalalala” in the middle… was it because he had forgotten the lyrics?

Usually such a cold person, today he had softened a little because of his injury, which had flattered Zhao Linxu. But this kind of enthusiasm, Zhao Linxu felt he was a little… unworthy of.

“Little Carp…”

“You are the most beautiful cloud in my heart—”

“…”

Li Jianyu’s shouting even attracted the Valiant Cavalry guards from the side. They thought something had happened, but when they saw the City Lord leaning on His Majesty, shouting, they lowered their heads and quickly left.

“Little Carp, be good. Stop singing.” Zhao Linxu pressed Li Jianyu’s head against his chest, smiled, and kissed his ear. “No more singing.”

“You—big pig’s trotter! Topped me—and ran—and won’t even let me sing—shameless.” Li Jianyu seemed to be tired too. He simply lay on Zhao Linxu, his head resting on his shoulder.

Zhao Linxu’s eyes widened. He felt extremely wronged.

You were the one who ran after that night. I had to search so hard for you. Doesn’t your face hurt saying that?

“I didn’t run,” Zhao Linxu said. “Where did I run?”

“You’ll… leave in the future too.”

Zhao Linxu was stunned.

“They all… left…” Li Jianyu mumbled in a low voice.

“Who?” Zhao Linxu gently adjusted Li Jianyu’s posture, letting him lean against his chest.

But Li Jianyu didn’t answer. He snuggled in Zhao Linxu’s arms and slowly fell asleep.

Zhao Linxu stared fixedly at the person before him. At this moment, Li Jianyu’s cheeks were flushed red from the alcohol. His watery, almond-shaped eyes were slightly closed, and his long eyelashes flickered like a butterfly’s wings.

“I won’t leave you,” Zhao Linxu said in a low, hoarse voice.

Author’s Note:

Note: There is some information that suggests that in ancient times, pregnant women would deliberately drink large amounts of alcohol to calm the fetus, so the Emperor would not stop Little Carp from drinking. Of course, this claim has not been confirmed to this day, and I’m not sure if the source is correct. But regardless of whether it’s right or wrong, Little Carp wouldn’t do that. After all, he’s a modern person who transmigrated, so he just had a little rice wine out of craving. In ancient times, wine was like water, with a low alcohol content. Patients could drink rice wine and fruit wine.