The Emperor Reads Storybooks Hidden in His Official Reports 4

Chapter 4: Let’s Go Riding Together

“How are things?”

Early the next morning, as soon as Meng Qingshu returned to the manor, he saw Li Jianyu lounging languidly on a bench in the courtyard, an account book resting casually on his chest like a cat basking in the sun.

“Is there any news from the Emperor or General Chen?”

Yesterday, after Li Jianyu had taken Zhao Linxu on a tour of the farmlands and had dinner with him, Zhao Linxu had returned to Luoye Garden. The most scenic courtyard in the city was none other than Luoye Garden, right next to the City Lord’s manor. It was said to have been built by Zhao Linxu’s great-grandfather, the late emperor, when he had stopped to rest in Luoye. Naturally, Zhao Linxu would stay there during his visit.

“They’re busy over at Luoye Garden.” Meng Qingshu handed the groceries he had purchased to the cook and dutifully reported, “General Chen asked me for your seal, my lord. He said he wants to seal the city gates, and that all citizens will be searched when entering or leaving from now on. He also ordered his subordinates to conduct a house-to-house search of all adult males.”

“Why would he do that?” Li Jianyu grew alert.

“Ah, apparently…” Meng Qingshu’s ears turned red, and he giggled. “Although the Emperor doesn’t know what the man from that night looked like, he remembers that the man had a particularly beautiful golden tattoo on his upper body, stretching from his neck to his waist. This is a secret! General Chen told me quietly.”

“…”

That moronic scum. You can’t remember a face, but you remember the markings on a body perfectly clearly?

Meng Qingshu said excitedly, “I also heard from General Chen that the tattoos are of a phoenix! That man must truly be the empress chosen by heaven itself. He might have descended from the heavens, bringing good fortune, a perfect match for the Nine-Dragon Son of Heaven!”

Li Jianyu raised an eyebrow in disdain. “You actually believe such superstitious nonsense? And you call yourself a scholar.”

“It may be a bit superstitious, but…” Meng Qingshu said, looking aggrieved. “How many ordinary people would have such a special tattoo?”

As they were talking, they heard a knock on the door.

Meng Qingshu went to open it.

“Ge-General Chen?”

Meng Qingshu came face-to-face with Chen Zhishu and was so startled that he stumbled back a few steps in a fluster.

Li Jianyu secretly rolled his eyes.

It was no secret in the City Lord’s manor that Meng Qingshu was Chen Zhishu’s little fanboy. For a while, Li Jianyu had to listen to the scholar drone on and on about how brave and skilled General Chen was in battle, how loyal he was to his country, how handsome and dashing he was. It had gotten to the point where now, whenever Li Jianyu saw Chen Zhishu, he could almost see a row of large, gleaming golden words floating across his face.

“This general pays his respects to the Lord City Lord.” Chen Zhishu and the few soldiers he brought with him greeted Li Jianyu.

Chen Zhishu was a bit awkward when facing Li Jianyu. After all, he had tied the man up and escorted him back to the city without asking any questions, which was highly disrespectful.

Li Jianyu nodded slightly. “What business brings the General here?”

“A routine body search. I hope the City Lord won’t take offense.”

Li Jianyu was not an ordinary citizen, so Chen Zhishu naturally couldn’t let his subordinates handle it.

“Please, go ahead, General.”

Chen Zhishu’s subordinates dispersed to search the household servants, while Li Jianyu led Chen Zhishu back into the house, slowly unfastened his buttons, and took off his upper garment.

Li Jianyu was, after all, devastatingly beautiful. As Chen Zhishu’s eyes fell upon that fair chest and back, he quickly averted his gaze.

“Pardon the offense.”

“It’s no matter.” Li Jianyu buttoned his clothes back up, sighing in relief internally.

Fortunately, the pattern on his body usually didn’t appear. It was strange, but the tattoo would only surface when he was injured, in pain, or felt threatened.

Next, Chen Zhishu walked over to Meng Qingshu.

“You… you… will the General do it?” Meng Qingshu clutched his collar tightly, his face flushing crimson with a poof.

“Is there a problem?” Chen Zhishu still wore a righteous expression, a hint of confusion in his tone.

“Yes-yes, there is a problem!”

Watching Meng Qingshu clutch his chest like an unmarried maiden in her boudoir, Li Jianyu clicked his tongue in amazement.

“Why is there a problem?”

Chen Zhishu looked at Meng Qingshu, frowning slightly.

Could it be that Meng Qingshu was the person the Emperor was looking for?

Li Jianyu patted Meng Qingshu’s shoulder. “Advisor, don’t be shy. You wouldn’t want General Chen to misunderstand.”

“It’s not… I’m not shy…” Meng Qingshu looked like he was about to cry.

“If the Advisor is unwilling to cooperate, then this general can only follow orders.” Looking at Meng Qingshu, who had shrunk into a small white ball, Chen Zhishu felt a sense of shock, followed by a faint sense of disappointment. So, Meng Qingshu was the mysterious man…?

Although Meng Qingshu’s looks were average, he was fair and clean, and had a cute and pleasant appearance. It was no wonder someone would be so captivated…

Li Jianyu watched the two of them, raising an eyebrow slightly.

What was wrong with Meng Qingshu? Even if he had a crush on the general, it was just an inspection. It shouldn’t make him this shy, right?

“Advisor…”

“Fi-fine!”

Meng Qingshu took a deep breath, looking as if he were a warrior heading to the battlefield, ready to face death as he ripped open his shirt.

Li Jianyu leaned over curiously to take a look.

“…”

There on Meng Qingshu’s left chest was a tattoo. And on that tattoo were three distinct characters: Chen Zhi Shu.

“…” Li Jianyu crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He remembered now. A while back, when Chen Zhishu was heading south to suppress pirates, getting tattoos for good luck had inexplicably become a trend in the Great Gong Dynasty. Meng Qingshu had eagerly gone to get one too.

But after Chen Zhishu returned triumphantly, everyone else had their tattoos removed. Why did this little fool still have his??

How many years had it been?

“S-so I told you!” Seeing Chen Zhishu’s blank expression slowly turn red, Meng Qingshu covered his face and ran back into his room in a complete meltdown.

“What’s going on here?”

When Zhao Linxu, dressed in practical riding gear, stepped into the courtyard, he was greeted by the sight of Chen Zhishu’s rarely seen bashful expression and Li Jianyu’s look of schadenfreude.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, General Chen has encountered the spring of his life.”

“Oh?” Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow.

And so, Chen Zhishu hastily bid them farewell and fled.

Zhao Linxu shook his head with a smile and said to Li Jianyu, “According to Ah Xue, if the City Lord can walk out of the Misty Forest with ease, then the nearby mountains and forests should be no problem for you, right?”

Li Jianyu was still pondering how to answer when Zhao Linxu tossed him a saddle.

“Let’s go. Accompany Us for a ride. The forests outside Luoye are pristine. It’s bound to be more exhilarating than the imperial hunting grounds.”

One of the reasons Luoye City was called Luoye (“Fallen Leaf”) was because it was surrounded on all four sides by lush greenery, with both forests and high mountains.

Inside the forest, Li Jianyu rode on horseback behind Zhao Linxu. “Your Majesty, are you not bringing any guards?”

“What’s the fun in having a whole crowd following us?” Zhao Linxu smiled. If I were more familiar with these forests and mountain paths, he thought, I’d prefer to come alone.

With that, Zhao Linxu cracked his whip, and the horse beneath him, Yuefeng (“Joyful Wind”), broke into a full gallop. The spirited horse chased the wind, snapping the branches on the ground with a crisp crackling sound.

Startled, Li Jianyu spurred his horse to follow.

“Huh?”

When they reached a small valley, Zhao Linxu looked up at the sky in slight confusion.

“Beauty, did you see something fly by just now?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, I saw nothing.”

Zhao Linxu scratched his chin.

He had clearly caught a glimpse of brilliant gold in the corner of his eye.

Li Jianyu’s heart was pounding like a war drum.

Why would the phoenix be here!

This Water God Mountain was a great distance from the Mountain God Forest where the phoenixes rested. Plus, people often came here, so the phoenixes usually stayed away.

“Perhaps it was a signal flare from someone else. As Your Majesty knows, the spirit mushroom in Water God Mountain is about to bloom. The spirit mushroom is priceless and only appears once a decade, so naturally, many people covet it. Many martial arts masters and mercenaries hired by nobles have come for it. They may have been scouting the mountain in advance.”

“That’s right. Luoye City will be quite chaotic then. A spirit mushroom in the mountains, and a festival in the city.” Zhao Linxu chuckled lightly.

He wondered if that person would take this opportunity to appear…

“This subject will ensure Your Majesty’s safety and comfort within the city. The festival will also be presided over by Your Majesty.”

Luoye City’s harvest festival was extremely grand. In previous years, it had attracted many outside guests to broaden their horizons, from common folk to princes and nobles, and even monarchs from other nations. It was one of the ways to display the strength of the Great Gong Dynasty to the outside world.

Li Jianyu’s words came out in breathy pants. Zhao Linxu turned his head and saw that Li Jianyu’s cheeks were flushed red, and the hair at his temples and by his ears was damp with sweat.

“Tired?”

Li Jianyu was naturally no match for Zhao Linxu. After frolicking around like this for an entire afternoon, he felt like his bones were about to fall apart.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, would it really hurt to rest for a bit? It wasn’t that he was weak, but that this was simply beyond the physical capabilities of a normal person. So, Li Jianyu swallowed his pride and nodded lightly.

“It was Our oversight. You can dismount.”

A flicker of joy lit up in Li Jianyu’s heart, and he leaped down from his horse.

Whoosh—

The next moment, Li Jianyu was pulled up onto Zhao Linxu’s horse, riding with him.

“Beauty, just lead the way. We’ll come back for your horse later.” With that, Yuefeng charged forward again.

…

…

????

Li Jianyu’s eyes widened.

I’LL FUCK YOUR GRANDFATHER!