My Emperor Father Can Read Minds
Chapter 16

Ever since returning from the Emperor Dad’s sleeping quarters, Wei Yu had gone back to his salted-fish life.

Life at his own residence was both carefree and cramped.

Wei Yu was a Prince without his own household. His only daily responsibility was to go to the study hall and read with the Grand Tutor.

Even when he had free time, he didn’t wander around—he just holed up in his bedchamber, relying on his tablet to eat and drink. He absolutely wouldn’t go out and provoke anyone with even a shred of influence in the palace.

So really, for someone like Wei Yu, living like a salted fish and practically invisible, the fact that he had spent a few days with the Emperor and was seen by others as “the Emperor’s favorite” was already a totally unbelievable thing!

Returning to his previous life—well, it wasn’t really that different.

Everyone else’s speculation was just baseless nonsense. Wei Yu never believed he’d won the old man’s favor, nor did he think he could actually become some pampered Prince with a shot at competing for the position of Crown Prince.

At most, maybe his Eighth Brother had some hope?

—

Wei Yu kept up this salted-fish lifestyle for nearly half a month. Life didn’t really change… well, no, there was one difference.

More gossip.

Wei Yu spent more time munching on sunflower seeds!

Squatting at the gates of his own residence, Wei Yu was cracking sunflower seeds while listening to two young eunuchs gossiping about the latest palace news.

Eunuch A: “Wow, Your Highness, you didn’t see it—His Majesty scolded the Minister of Rites so badly, it was like raining blood and guts! The Minister kept trying to claim he was innocent, but the Gray Guards dug up proof he’d visited a brothel just yesterday. His Majesty reviewed the evidence right there in court!”

Wei Yu’s eyes lit up. “Huh? A brothel visit? In broad daylight?”

Eunuch B: “Exactly, Your Highness! If it weren’t broad daylight, how could the Gray Guards have gone to arrest him? Oh, and that Assistant Minister of Justice—Lord Huo said the two of them were together yesterday!”

Wei Yu kept munching. “So exciting—officials visiting brothels in the daytime? Totally deserved the punishment… hey, go on, what happened next?”

Eunuch A: “After that? Lord Huo named names! Everyone who’d been to the brothel got called out right there in court! More than a dozen of them! His Majesty was furious—he cut some of their salaries, grounded others, and two were dismissed outright!”

Wei Yu clicked his tongue in amazement. “Wow, that’s wild… any more?”

Eunuch B: “Of course, Your Highness! I heard the Eldest and Second Princes were summoned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation after court today. They were in there for over an hour, came out looking awful—word is, His Majesty beat them!”

Eunuch A objected: “Who said that? They were made to kneel, not beaten!”

Eunuch B protested: “What do you mean? It was a beating—I heard it from the eunuch near the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Definitely reliable!”

Eunuch A stood firm: “You totally heard wrong! I saw the two of them rubbing their legs with my own eyes—they were clearly punished by kneeling!”

“You’re wrong!”

“No, you are!”

“…”

Wei Yu: “…”

Wei Yu cracked his seeds even more enthusiastically.

As the longtime consumer of gossip, the two young eunuchs—Wei Yu’s prime source—argued for quite a while about whether the Eldest and Second Princes had been beaten or just made to kneel.

Who won the argument?

Ah, good question.

Wei Yu believed that when you carry water, you must carry it evenly. It was important to preserve diversity in answers—this way, he could hear even more juicy gossip next time.

“Aiya, aiya, don’t fight anymore. You two are the backbone of my intelligence network—without your tireless daily efforts, I wouldn’t be where I am today!”

Having finished his sunflower seeds, Wei Yu clapped his hands and said earnestly, “You’re both valued talents under my wing—don’t let something so trivial come between you. If the two of you end up with bad blood, what’s poor little me supposed to do caught in the middle?”

The two young eunuchs blushed and bashfully pledged their loyalty.

“Ahem… Your Highness, don’t worry! Xiao Chenzi would never betray you!”

“Same here, Your Highness—this servant lives for Your Highness, and even in death will remain Your Highness’s ghost!”

Wei Yu looked at the two with approval and warmth. “Good, good, I know your hearts. Just so happens I’ve got some pastries here—take them with you later. Look at how skinny you both are, makes my heart ache…”

After all, these were his hard-won gossip suppliers—they had to be well cared for!

Sustainable development was key.

The two young eunuchs lit up with joy at his words and repeatedly thanked him.

“Many thanks for Your Highness’s reward!”

It was a small matter. Wei Yu waved at Hong Zhong, who was standing to the side. “Hong Zhong, go bring out that plate of jade dew sculpted pastries for these two brothers.”

Hong Zhong glanced at him silently, then turned around and went into the hall.

The “gatekeeper” had left, and no one was keeping watch around them.

Xiao Chenzi glanced around. Seeing no one else nearby, he leaned closer to Wei Yu and lowered his voice. “Your Highness, this humble servant has a friend on duty at Taihe Gate, and he heard that in a few days, some foreign envoys will be coming.”

Foreign envoys?

Wei Yu paused slightly. “Which foreign land? Great Liang? The northern nomads? Or the Miao people from the south?”

Wei Yu had been the Ninth Prince of Great Wei since childhood. Back when he was trying to understand this era, he’d asked the Grand Tutor or looked through books himself.

And the conclusion he got—well, you could tell from the name of this dynasty.

Great Wei.

The history he learned never mentioned any country called “Great Wei”! At most, there was a state called Wei among the Seven Warring States.

But in this era, there weren’t any feudal states at all!

Even the history was different.

Great Wei had occupied the Central Plains for over two hundred years and regarded itself as the legitimate power, vast in territory and rich in resources.

But to the west was Great Liang, eyeing them hungrily; in the north, a horde of fierce nomadic raiders; in the south, steep mountains filled with poisonous insects, snakes, and the Miao people; and the east—worse still, despite being by the sea, coastal regions were often harassed by pirate raids!

Wei Yu knew he had arrived in an unfamiliar era.

Even though he couldn’t use his historical knowledge to pose as some “sage-like figure,” fortunately, he had never had great ambitions to begin with and didn’t care about making a name for himself or being remembered for eternity.

So what if he was a salted fish? As long as it wasn’t some cannibalistic chaos of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, he’d accept living in a backward ancient time!

Wei Yu had no involvement in politics, so naturally he didn’t know which “foreign land” Great Wei meant. He had just guessed.

Xiao Chenzi shook his head repeatedly at his guesses.

“No, Your Highness, this humble servant heard that these foreigners are coming by sea! They supposedly sailed all the way south from the north and brought loads of rare treasures.”

Ah, by sea?

Wei Yu blinked. In that moment, all kinds of thoughts popped into his mind—foreigners, maritime trade…

He quickly asked, “What do those people look like? Do they have blond hair and green eyes? Do they look kinda like the northern nomads?”