Song Pu did not doubt Tantai Yi’s words. Tantai Yi was born with immense strength and possessed extraordinary martial skills. Tearing apart a tiger with his bare hands was not impossible for him. Besides, a proud man like Tantai Yi would not bother lying about such a thing.
Because of this, Song Pu once again gained a very clear understanding of Tantai Yi. If Tantai Yi wanted to, he could probably kill him with one hand.
Perhaps because Song Pu’s words had pleased him, Tantai Yi appeared to be in a very good mood.
“Minister Song, how is the cat I gave you?” he asked.
Song Pu answered solemnly, “Your Majesty may rest assured. I treat it like my own child and would never mistreat it.”
Tantai Yi laughed. “Your own child? Minister Song exaggerates. That cat is precious, but in the end it is still an animal. There is no need to spoil it too much.”
Song Pu complained inwardly. Last time he said if even a single hair was missing he would hold me responsible. Now it is just an animal that should not be spoiled.
Of course, none of these thoughts appeared on his face. He spoke carefully.
“Forgive my ignorance, Your Majesty. I have never seen such a charming little kitten before. It is difficult not to become completely captivated and wish to present it with the finest things. Moreover, since it was a gift from Your Majesty, every time I see it I feel both joy and honour. With so many reasons combined, I cannot help myself and treat it like my own child. I even gave it the nickname Doufu. When it grows up, I plan to find it a wife. One will not be enough. I will also give it several cat concubines.”
The smile at Tantai Yi’s lips deepened. His light golden eyes sparkled with amusement. “Minister Song is so attentive. I feel much more at ease.”
He continued, “That Persian cat is completely snow white, with soft and fluffy fur. The name Doufu suits it perfectly. Minister Song chose well. As for its formal name, how about I give Doufu one?”
Song Pu immediately put on a deeply honoured expression, his voice tinged with excitement.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. If Your Majesty names Doufu, I might even persuade my family to include its official name in our clan genealogy.”
Tantai Yi laughed again. It was the first time he had met someone who spoke so amusingly. “If you did that, Duke Song would probably break your legs.”
Song Pu’s shoulders trembled slightly, his tone turning somewhat pitiful. “My excitement got the better of me. I let my imagination run wild.”
Tantai Yi said, “Even your wild imagination is likeable. I enjoy it.”
Song Pu could not help raising his eyes to look at him. Their gazes met in the air. Tantai Yi looked back at him with smiling eyes, as if he found nothing strange in what he had just said.
Song Pu’s face reddened, and he even began to stammer. “Your Majesty… thank you, Your Majesty.”
Tantai Yi had always seen Song Pu talking nonstop. This was the first time he had heard him stutter. Seeing the blush on his cheeks, he assumed the man was simply overly excited. After a brief pause, he changed the subject.
“For the formal name… how about Liuli?”
At first Song Pu felt slightly disappointed. The name was not as nice as Doufu. Still, he immediately put on an enthusiastic expression.
“Thank you for bestowing the name, Your Majesty. Liuli, Liuli. Like flowing clouds and shimmering colours. What a beautiful name. Your Majesty truly has excellent taste.”
Tantai Yi coughed lightly. “If you like it, then Liuli it is.”
He reached into his sleeve and felt around, pulling out a piece of jade-coloured glass. He glanced at it, then placed it back and searched again. This time he took out another piece, much smaller than the first. It was about the size of a fingertip, but the colour was extremely pure, a delicate pinkish violet that shone with crystal clarity.
Holding the thin cord, Tantai Yi handed the glass stone to Song Pu. “This is my gift to Liuli. Minister Song, keep it safe.”
Song Pu did not notice his small movements. However, he remembered that this era had no glass industry at all. Such glass stones were priceless. Whenever one appeared somewhere, it would immediately be sent to the palace. No one dared keep it privately for fear of execution.
A piece this small could probably be exchanged for a large amount of gold outside the palace.
Thinking of this, Song Pu became even more flattered and overwhelmed.
“I am deeply honoured. Thank you for Your Majesty’s reward. I will make sure Liuli carries it with her at all times. With Your Majesty’s protection, Liuli will surely live a long life and have generations of descendants.”
“Very good,” Tantai Yi said.
His golden eyes sparkled with fragments of light, carrying a bright smile like spring sunshine. He had never personally given someone a gift before. Even the rewards granted to officials came from the national treasury. No one could take a single coin from his personal reserves.
Yet now he had made an exception and given Song Pu a small piece of glass.
Strangely, this exception did not bother him at all. Seeing the tips of Song Pu’s ears turn pink, his face filled with excitement and even his fingers trembling slightly, Tantai Yi felt a swelling sensation in his chest. Perhaps it was pleasure, perhaps satisfaction. The emotion was difficult to describe, but it felt good.
The servants in the study watched this scene with astonishment. Chang Jiangming and the others had never seen Song Pu speak with Tantai Yi so casually before. The emperor even laughed repeatedly, seemingly unable to restrain himself. It was completely different from his usual stiff, cold smile.
All of this change was because of Song Pu.
Cao Xi also realised again how powerful Song Pu’s mouth was. He himself would never dare speak so freely before the emperor. Yet when such flattery came from Song Pu, it somehow sounded sincere. Even listening from the side made one feel relaxed and pleased. Naturally the emperor must feel even better.
Cao Xi sighed inwardly and withdrew his gaze. The wound on his forehead had not yet healed. He did not dare risk making another mistake before the emperor.
The attendants had a place in the palace where they could rest. They could take a short nap and eat lunch there. The meal was quite generous, and they did not have to strictly follow palace etiquette. There was fish and meat, enough for the young men to eat their fill.
Song Pu held the glass stone under the sunlight and examined it. Anything Tantai Yi approved of had to be of excellent quality. The stone was exceptionally pure, with dreamy colours. It had been polished smooth, cool in the palm, and refracted beautiful light in the sun.
Chang Jiangming and the others came over.
“Song Pu,” he asked quietly, “how dare you talk to His Majesty like that?”
Song Pu returned to his senses. “Why wouldn’t I dare? His Majesty does not seem that frightening.”
Chang Jiangming was naturally lively. At home he had been spoiled, and only in the palace did he act cautious and quiet. Now that the emperor was not present, he became more animated. He poked Song Pu’s arm.
“You were scared into illness before, yet you say he is not frightening?”
Song Pu coughed awkwardly. “Let’s not talk about that. I can already picture it again.”
Chang Jiangming frowned, still uneasy. “I remember clearly. The punishment happened outside the Chunhe Hall. The blood dyed the ground red. Even after the rain washed it away, the stone tiles still looked pink and carried the faint smell of blood.”
He continued, “Those servants were people too. His Majesty had one of them skinned alive just because he poured the tea incorrectly. That is really…”
Before he could finish, Song Pu cut him off sharply. “Watch your words.”
Chang Jiangming was startled and immediately fell silent. Seeing that he had frightened him, Song Pu softened his tone.
“I do not think His Majesty is that cruel. There must have been another reason. We cannot judge everything only from appearances.”
Song Pu knew his words sounded harsh, but when dealing with the dog emperor one could not harbour resentment, doubt, or disloyal thoughts. That was the secret to staying alive.
In short, flattering the dog emperor was always the correct strategy.
Duke Song had such high expectations of him, but Song Pu had no choice. If there were a way to safely disappear from the emperor’s side, he would gladly take it. Unfortunately there was none. Even Duke Song had no solution and dared not intervene.
If he angered the emperor and received a whip across the face, he might be disfigured. Perhaps then he would no longer have to serve in the palace. But he was afraid of pain.
Extreme pain could even cause shock or death. The risk might be even greater than continuing to serve the emperor.
So it was better to capture the emperor’s favour and make him unwilling to hurt him.
That was Song Pu’s current plan. Since he was already here, he might as well become the emperor’s favourite person, someone the emperor could not bear to beat or kill.
This change in thinking made him pay even more attention to Tantai Yi. Any dissatisfaction in his heart could never be spoken aloud. There were no walls without ears. He needed to convince even himself of his loyalty so that Tantai Yi would believe it too.
With that thought, Song Pu continued persuading them. “Really, His Majesty must have his own difficulties. Think about it. Has he ever made things difficult for you? Jiangming, when you played with the dancers, he even allowed it without punishment.”
“Besides, none of us except Zongyi-ge are particularly capable. I am bad at studying. You only like eating and having fun. Nuoyu studies well but failed the imperial examinations many times. In our families we are practically insignificant.”
“Yet serving beside His Majesty gave us the rank of third-grade guard. That sounds respectable when people hear it, does it not?”
Chang Jiangming hesitated. “You make sense, but Shen Yonghe was beaten and disfigured by His Majesty…”
None of them knew why Shen Yonghe had angered the emperor. They only remembered that Tantai Yi had been extremely angry, whipping Shen Yonghe with a thick whip. After only about ten lashes, Shen Yonghe had collapsed in a bloody heap.
Even then, the emperor seemed unsatisfied and struck him again. That final lash tore the skin from his handsome face.
Later they visited the Shen residence to ask what had happened, but Shen Yonghe refused to say anything. So even now they still did not know why he had angered the emperor.
If they did not know, Song Pu certainly did not either. Hearing this story, he fell silent for a long time. In his memory, Shen Yonghe had been very intelligent and was also the only son of his family. The Shen family had no other heirs, so they had reluctantly sent him to the palace.
If Li Zongyi was the reliable elder brother figure, then Shen Yonghe was the calm, motherly type.
Li Zongyi handled martial activities with the emperor, while Shen Yonghe could match him in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
It was these two pillars who had managed to keep the emperor satisfied, allowing the rest of them to survive more comfortably.
Even Song Pu himself had benefited from Shen Yonghe’s care. He could not possibly speak ungrateful words now.
After a long pause, Song Pu said awkwardly, “In this matter… His Majesty really did go too far.”
Even when flattering someone, one could not ignore basic principles. When something was wrong, he could not praise it against his conscience.
But the moment the words left his mouth, a sudden sense of dread rose in his heart. Then a magnificent voice sounded from behind him, confirming his fear.
“Where exactly did I go too far?”
Author’s Note:
Ah-Gou: Whipping punishment warning.
