From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 136: Just a Child
"It’s Pretty Concubine!"
If anyone had told Yan Zheyun before transmigration that he would one day respond to the dubious moniker ’pretty concubine’, he would have laughed flat in their face. Or, depending on who they were, have taken it as an insult.
He certainly would never have imagined himself smiling gently at the perpetrator of that ridiculous nickname, kneeling on one knee in time to catch the little bundle that flung itself at him, but such was life.
Oof. The little prince was a hefty ball of energy. Yan Zheyun’s slight frame wavered before he managed to regain his balance, patting Liu An on the back because the elaborate hairstyles the rich and noble of ancient times insist upon made hair ruffles unconducive.
"This concubine greets Your Little Highness," he said, his cheery tone a 180-degree difference from the cold rebuke he just issued mere seconds ago. Whatever was going on, the fault didn’t lie with the child who couldn’t know better if he wasn’t taught better.
I guess...this is the child that we’ll be raising together, he thought with a little inward laugh. A surge of protectiveness welled up in him at the thought, the faces of Lixin and Liheng flashing through his mind. He straightened up and wrapped an arm around Liu An’s shoulders before facing the servants that stood scattered before him, still rooted to the spot by his unexpected presence.
The warmth left Yan Zheyun’s smile. He ignored their panicked genuflections in favour of guiding Liu An subtly back towards the reception hall.
"Pretty Concubine, would you like to join us in our game?" A tiny tug on the edges of Yan Zheyun’s sleeves made his heart melt a little. Mini-rascal or not, Liu An was undoubtedly endearing and thinking about the uncomfortable vibes Yan Zheyun was getting from his servants, even just considering that someone out there might be cruel enough to involve a child in their political schemes, made his blood boil.
Trying his best not to let his anger show, he tapped Liu An on the nose in light admonishment, watching fondly as the boy blinked and wrinkled it.
"Your Highness, how should you address this concubine if you do not wish for His Majesty to scold you?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Liu An’s mouth curled into a pout. "But my nursemaid said that Royal Brother won’t have time for me anymore now that he has even more concubines."
From the corner of his eye, Yan Zheyun noticed the nursemaid freezing up.
"Oh?" He kept his voice even, not revealing his true emotions. But there and then, he made up his mind that she had to go. Whoever was behind her wanted to rob Liu Yao of the last, close living family member he had left and Yan Zheyun was not having it.
Liu An’s grip slackened and he gazed up at Yan Zheyun with eyes that were blown wide with worry and uncertainty.
"Pretty—Imperial Concubine Yue..." Liu An bit his lip. "Does Royal Brother not want Liu An anymore?"
Yan Zheyun felt a pang in his heart. "No, that’s definitely not the case," he reassured immediately. Ushering Liu An into a seat, he drew out a handkerchief from the folds of his robes, grateful for once that Xiao De always insisted that he kept one on hand even if he found the elaborate embroidery overly frivolous. He patted the sweat off Liu An’s brow before giving in to the urge to pat him on the head.
"Your Highness, your brother loves you," he said, speaking with quiet, patient conviction. "But your brother is also the Son of Heaven, which makes him the most powerful man in the country but also one of the busiest."
Liu An looked down mutely at his lap. "But Big Brother used to visit me more often and bring me out to play..." The misery on his little face was evident and so consuming that he didn’t notice his lapse back into informal speech.
...Liu Yao had an entire palace of servants at his disposal and enough ’wives’ to host a basketball match with benchwarmers included, and still, he was facing the same problems modern single parents did. Families were complicated, children required nurturing, and Yan Zheyun was happy to provide as much care as Liu An needed as he could but he would never fill in Liu Yao’s shoes perfectly. He would have to have to talk with Liu Yao about this later if they wanted to move away from the dysfunctional family model that seemed part and parcel of royal upbringing in this world.
"Your big brother has had a lot of work to do in recent times," Yan Zheyun said without going into detail. "But you’re still on his mind, Your Little Highness." He pointed at himself. "This is why I’m here today."
Liu An’s face brightened up. "He told you to come play with me?!"
More like spy on you for your own good. Yan Zheyun wisely kept this to himself and gave an affirmative nod. "So this concubine will keep you company today and later in the early evening when it’s not so hot anymore, we’ll walk over together to Tianlu Pavilion to see if your big brother has time for dinner together. How does that sound?"
"Amazing! Thank you, Pretty Concubine!"
...and with the revival of Liu An’s good spirits came the return of his favourite name for Yan Zheyun. It was fine. Harmless. On the spectrum of things that he’d been called ever since entering this world, it was complimentary even. He could live with it.
Now on to the other important matters on hand.
"Has Your Highness had your midday meal yet?" he asked casually. He recalled the servant girl with the familiar voice saying that it was Liu An’s rest time now, which meant that he should have had some food but...
Liu An’s mouth fell into a small ’O’ just as his stomach gave a small rumble. The other servants of Tang Yan Palace had trailed after Yan Zheyun and their prince in a hesitant file and now stood around shifting uneasily on their feet. Their stiff silence meant that the noisy complaints coming from Liu An’s belly were particularly loud.
The nursemaid interjected frantically before Yan Zheyun could ask any further questions.
"In response to Imperial Concubine Yue, His Highness has his midday meals rather early," she said with a pacifying smile. "At the start of the hour of the horse (1), it’s common for him to get hungry around now and after his nap, this servant has prepared some delicacies for him to enjoy—"
"Xiao De," Yan Zheyun interrupted. "What’s the punishment for a servant if they speak out of turn?"
"In response to Little Master, the lightest punishment would be slapping."
Yan Zheyun’s gaze was frosty as it landed on the nursemaid, who now hemmed and hawed out her protests and apologies. The palace walls were the thinnest he had ever seen in his life and come tomorrow, there would indubitably be fresh news about how Imperial Concubine Yue was taken advantage of the emperor’s pampering to throw his weight around in the inner palace, even going so far as to bully the servants of the helpless young prince. But it didn’t matter as long as Liu Yao understood him.
"Imperial Concubine Yue, it’s Liu An’s fault for being hungry, Liu An...only had dessert earlier." The boy’s cheeks flushed with uncharacteristic sheepishness. Even the most mischievous of princes was raised to understand the importance of decorum after all. A growling tummy was embarrassingly unrefined but he brought it upon himself. "Sorry, Imperial Concubine Yue, I should have eaten properly and not been too greedy to return to play..."
Yan Zheyun reached out to give Liu An’s hand a comforting squeeze. "It’s good that you know the importance of regular meals, Your Highness, and are willing to be accountable for your mistakes. But in this case, the blame does not fall solely on your shoulders." A ten-year-old might have impulse control difficulties but what about the adults who were tasked with his care?
He glanced around at the other servants until he found the one he was looking for. Although her head was bowed and he didn’t have a full view of her face, Yan Zheyun was more and more certain that she was who he thought she was and he had to clamp down on his mounting excitement.
Big Sister Mingyue, supposedly perished in a fire in the Wu Household. The news had been devastating for Yan Zheyun when he’d first heard about it on the rumour mill but Liu Yao had comforted him with a single liner:
All is not as it seems.
Liu Yao hadn’t elaborated and Yan Zheyun, not confident in his place in Liu Yao’s heart back then, hadn’t asked. Whatever arrangements had been made for Mingyue, in whatever way Liu Yao had engineered her freedom, Yan Zheyun had blindly chosen to believe that he had put his faith in a good man.
But seeing Mingyue here now by Liu An’s side, looking healthier than she had since the last time Yan Zheyun saw her in the Wu Household despite the bullying from the nursemaid, Yan Zheyun felt overwhelmed by the sudden wave of gratitude that welled up in him. Knowing was one thing but seeing Mingyue alive and well was the comfort he hadn’t known he needed.
Liu Yao didn’t need to give a damn. But he had.
Yan Zheyun called out to her. "The girl on the left, what’s your name?"
She curtsied. "In response to Imperial Concubine Yue, this servant has been bestowed the name ’Yun En’. ’Yun’ as in ’clouds’ and ’En’ as in ’kindness’."
He had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. His Yun, his kindness. Whoever had done the renaming had intended for her name to send a message to him. It was her.
Outwardly, he didn’t show any recognition. They were out in the open with their enemies watching them from the shadows and whatever the reason Mingyue had been sent to serve Liu An, Yan Zheyun had the suspicion that it was Liu Yao’s intention. They both had jobs to do and foolishly letting on that they were acquainted would give their opponents another weakness to potentially exploit.
And Yan Zheyun already had a vague inkling he knew who they were defending against here in Liu An’s palace. He didn’t have solid proof yet but few people had both the motive and enough influence in the inner palace to have the capacity to do so.
Giving Mingyue a perfunctory nod, he signalled for her to take Liu An to an antechamber and send word to the Imperial Buttery to prepare another meal. Desserts alone were not nutritious enough and Yan Zheyun was not having any child under his watch suffer from neglect.
"Be a good boy, Your Highness, this concubine will review your homework in the meantime and after your meal, walk, and a nap I can help you with the parts you find difficult."
Liu An’s lips pulled into a tiny moue. "Must we do work?" he asked plaintively. "I rarely get to spend time with you, can’t we have fun?"
Yan Zheyun’s eyes crinkled. "If we do work earlier, then we can have fun with your big brother later. How does that sound?"
Apparently, someone had a bit of an idol complex when it came to Liu Yao because Liu An agreed to the proposal enthusiastically. Satisfied with that response and once Liu An was safely out of earshot, his animated chirping at Mingyue fading away, Yan Zheyun turned his attention back to the other servants, who hadn’t dared to move an inch or speak up after his warning to the nursemaid earlier. He was reminded of those company meetings where his subordinates waited with bated breath for him to evaluate their presentations. It would have been funny except the well-being of a child was at stake here.
"Now what to do with the lot of you," he murmured.
Even as CEO, his preferred tactics were always as powerful as a thunderbolt (2). Quick, efficient, and aggressive was how he liked things executed and although he no longer had the resting bitch face and intimidating aura to back it up he chose to stick to his old methods since they were tried and tested. By nightfall, Tang Yan Palace would have a new set of servants carefully chosen, the old ones too tied up with their new ’roles’ in the Department of Careful Punishment to adequately care for the little prince anymore.
This was only the beginning though. For as long as Liu Yao didn’t produce an heir of his own, young impressionable Liu An, growing up under the shelter of his formidable big brother’s vast wings, would be a thorn in the sides of anyone eyeing the inheritance of the throne.
And when Yan Zheyun walked into the study and realised that on top of the usual Four Books and Five Classics, Liu An was now also learning from the writings of ’Lao Tzu’ which taught the importance of balance in the art of ruling (3), he knew that they were in for a long ride.
