TRM Chapter 3

After confirming his work plan, the diligent worker Qiao Guanxing began to dutifully follow His Highness, the Crown Prince, trying his best to secure his life for the future.

While Zhou Jingyuan knelt in prayer at the Astrology Tower pavilion, Qiao Guanxing also took a cushion and knelt beside him, occasionally idly watching the faint mountain views and the misty windflowers drifting across the bright blue sky beyond the palace walls.

Every so often, he would glance at the time, open the food box he had brought, and sincerely ask, “Your Highness, would you like some snacks?”

Zhou Jingyuan didn’t even glance at him, simply coldly replying, “No.”

Alright.

Qiao Guanxing quietly took a couple of bites, and after a while, asked again, “Your Highness, would you like a shoulder massage?”

Zhou Jingyuan furrowed his brows, starting to show signs of impatience, “No need.”

But Qiao Guanxing didn’t pick up on it and kept pondering how to provide impeccable service for the Crown Prince in these 81 days.

With great expectation, he asked again, “Then, Your Highness, are you cold? Shall I put on a cloak for you?”

After being disturbed repeatedly, Zhou Jingyuan took a deep breath, “You may leave now.”

Originally, Zhou Jingyuan didn’t want anyone around while he was kneeling in prayer, but this little trickster clung to him. He couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. He thought that as long as the person was quiet, he could just ignore him.

But it turned out, the quietness was all for show. Qiao Guanxing was more bothersome than his 3-year-old younger brother.

After being reprimanded, Qiao Guanxing stopped speaking, froze for a moment, and then began packing up, slowly walking toward the stairs, clutching the snacks and cloak.

Zhou Jingyuan couldn’t help but glance over and saw Qiao Guanxing looking dejected, his round apricot eyes downcast, like a disappointed little puppy—so different from just moments ago.

…Why did he look so pitiful? Did he really say something too harsh?

Forget it. Though he chose to come to the palace as a trickster at a young age, there was no need to hold it against him. Though annoying, he probably just wanted to be kind.

“You—”

Just as Qiao Guanxing was about to disappear down the stairs, Zhou Jingyuan spoke, intending to say, “If you want to stay, at least be quiet and don’t disturb me.”

But before he could finish, Qiao Guanxing’s head suddenly popped up from the stairs.

After some internal struggle over office dynamics, Qiao Guanxing still didn’t understand where he went wrong, so he firmly believed the issue was that he hadn’t been enthusiastic enough.

With that thought, he immediately adjusted his mood, greeting his difficult superior with the most positive, energetic attitude. His large eyes curved into deep dimples as he beamed.

Zhou Jingyuan thought he was coming back to apologize, but instead, he heard Qiao Guanxing stubbornly continue asking, “Your Highness, would you like some tea?”

“….”

Zhou Jingyuan tightened his grip on the statecraft strategy in his hand, looking at Qiao Guanxing’s sparkling eyes, suddenly feeling a headache.

This person can actually enter the palace as a trickster? It seems like my father is really near his end. His mind is clearly confused.

The Crown Prince sighed, turned his head away, not looking at the shining eyes, “…Just bring it over.”

Finally receiving approval for his services, Qiao Guanxing was overjoyed, feeling he had taken a big step in his workplace relationship. He dashed over to the small stove in the pavilion to pour tea.

The tea set was a gift from the Emperor when he first arrived at the Immortal Garden, made of transparent jade, specially brought up from below.

The clear tea was poured, becoming a vibrant green, with the slanted afternoon sun reflecting off it, gleaming with golden highlights.

“This cup must be worth a lot,” he murmured while pouring the tea, “I can’t afford to break it. I could always pawn it for some silver if I leave the palace.”

And so, Zhou Jingyuan watched as the little trickster carefully and nervously handed him the tea, his joy once again completely unmasked in his eyes.

The Crown Prince couldn’t help but soften his attitude slightly, “It’s just a cup of tea. Is it really that serious?”

Qiao Guanxing widened his eyes, speaking with sincerity, “Of course it is. It’s certainly that serious.”

The cup does look really expensive.

He muttered softly, “It’s important, of course, it should be treated with care.”

Zhou Jingyuan paused for a moment while drinking tea. Did the little trickster just say he was important? Was he perhaps admiring him?

Having completed his first service to his superior, Qiao Guanxing felt in good spirits, sitting on the cushion and gazing out toward the pavilion’s railing.

There was a flagpole next to the railing, with a feather he had tied up a few days ago to catch the wind. The five-liang feather hung there, shimmering with light, swaying slightly with the breeze.

The clouds on the horizon were feather-like rolling clouds, layered and stretching out, but the lower parts of such clouds often heralded the arrival of rain. Qiao Guanxing watched for a while, concerned that it might rain, so he gently tugged at Zhou Jingyuan’s sleeve.

“Your Highness, Your Highness.”

Zhou Jingyuan frowned and set down his book. “Not gonna eat snacks, nor drink tea.”

Qiao Guanxing shook his head. “No, it’s just that it might rain soon. We should head down, perhaps?”

The stairs of the pavilion spiraled outward, and if they got wet from the rain, they would become slippery, posing a danger when descending.

The Crown Prince didn’t pay much attention and picked up his book again. “Autumn is dry and arid, with little rain. How could it rain?”

“If you want to leave, then leave. I never said you couldn’t.”

Qiao Guanxing sighed and resumed kneeling on the cushion. “If Your Highness doesn’t leave, then I won’t leave either.”

If it really did start to rain, he couldn’t just leave the Crown Prince alone here. Once this Crown Prince ascended to the throne, wouldn’t he be able to issue a decree to kill him and all those other of his celestial-level colleagues?

As a diligent worker of the Great Zhou, Qiao Guanxing thought, there was no way he’d take that risk. At most, they’d both end up in the rain.

Qiao Guanxing was spot on in his prediction. Before long, the feather on the flagpole outside began to sway erratically in the cold wind. The clouds quickly gathered, and large raindrops began falling, splattering on the pavilion’s edge and forming dark water stains that merged into a sheet of rain.

The pavilion was only supported by four pillars and had curtains. The cold, damp air seeped in, causing an involuntary shiver. Qiao Guanxing hurriedly loosened the curtains around them, but it didn’t help much. Only getting wet, they became heavier and offered some wind protection.

Turning around to check on Zhou Jingyuan, Qiao Guanxing noticed that his superior’s expression was not good. He was staring at the autumn rain, his brows furrowed, and his expression dark.

Maybe he was cold?

Qiao Guanxing remembered there was a cloak here. His eyes lit up, and he rushed to grab it and asked Zhou Jingyuan, “Your Highness, are you cold? How about putting this on?”

Zhou Jingyuan finally tore his gaze from the curtain and the distant rain. He looked at Qiao Guanxing seriously, subconsciously attributing the rain to coincidence.

The rainwater had slightly dampened his hairline, sticking to his skin, and his eyelashes were wet, giving him a somewhat pitiful look, like a drowned puppy.

“I’m not cold.”

Zhou Jingyuan turned his face away and paused before adding, “If you’re cold, put it on yourself.”

Qiao Guanxing shook his head, stubbornly rising to his toes to try to fasten the cloak on him. “Who knows how long this rain will last?”

As he spoke, the damp, cold wind blew the curtain again, and a few low rumbles of thunder sounded outside the railing.

While fastening the cloak’s ties, Qiao Guanxing’s cold fingers brushed against Zhou Jingyuan’s jaw. The Crown Prince’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but glance down at him.

The dark, cold emotions in his heart seemed to ease, even if just a little.

Zhou Jingyuan hated autumn, especially the deep autumn rains.

Because they reminded him of how his mother, the late Empress, died on such a day.