Am I Not a Male Emperor? - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I know how to climb trees too.

But I’ve never raided a bird’s nest.

Those birds are raising their chicks perfectly well. Why insist on tearing a mother and child apart?

I was going to be emperor one day. I had to keep a benevolent heart.

Still, I gave a gentle smile. “Xue-what was your name again?”

They all whipped around as if their backsides were on fire, stared at me, then hurriedly dropped to their knees in salute. “May the Crown Prince enjoy eternal peace! This lowly one is Xue Lingxiao.”

Xue Lingxiao looked up at me. “Crown Prince, want to try? It’s great fun.”

I smiled faintly. “All right.”

One of the boys, the eldest grandson of the Xiao Clan who had been standing off to the side the entire time, looked at me with cool eyes. “Crown Prince, in your noble position, it is improper for you to partake in such childish games.”

I asked amiably, “And how should I address you?”

He bowed slightly. “This humble subject is Xiao Shanyu.”

I nodded. “Then you come along as well.”

He was unwilling, but since I had spoken, he did not dare refuse.

And so, our grand procession marched off to Shanglin Park. Smiling, I watched as Xue Lingxiao took off his outer robe and scrambled up the tree as nimbly as a monkey. I heard him shout in excitement, and then he simply brought the whole nest down with him. Inside was a tiny fledgling. “Crown Prince, I’ll give this one to you.”

I smiled. “And what would I do with it?”

His mouth moved faster than his mind. “You could roast it and eat it, or keep it around to play with.”

I nodded. “Very well.”

Xiao Shanyu watched coldly without saying a word.

I turned and instructed the attendants beside me, “Since Young General Xue has put it that way, don’t let him return home for the next few days. Have him stay in the livestock stables. He can feed horses or raise chickens, whichever he prefers.”

Xue Lingxiao was dumbfounded. “Crown Prince, why-”

I said sternly, “Young General Xue, if we measured this little bird’s life by the span of a human’s, it would be roughly your age. Since you can make it part from its parents and kin from this day forward, why can’t I let you experience a taste of the same?”

I sighed. “General Xue is strict in governing his men. Even when they were welcomed into a surrendered enemy city, they did not disturb the common people. That is because our dynasty has always loved its people as its own children. So tell me, Young General Xue, what wrong has this fledgling committed?”

Xue Lingxiao had already knelt. Xiao Shanyu’s expression softened, and he stared at me in a daze.

I said, “All right. Take Young General Xue away.”

After the others had withdrawn, Xiao Shanyu suddenly gave me a solemn salute.

“Changning did not understand the Crown Prince’s painstaking intentions before and dared to speak so recklessly. The Crown Prince is wise and compassionate toward those beneath him. It was this humble subject who overstepped and acted arrogantly-”

I personally helped him up. “It is only because Changning offered admonishment that my own heart can remain clear as a mirror.”

Xiao Shanyu, courtesy name Changning, was the eldest grandson of the Xiao Clan. Gifted from childhood, he stood out even among his peers in the Xiao Clan. Grand Tutor Xiao brought him along wherever he went, which showed just how highly he valued him.

The Xiao Clan was the voice of the scholars under heaven. If I wanted them to serve my purposes, I needed their next clan head to be utterly loyal to me.

In the end, all affairs under heaven came down to people.

Everything that happened today had been a performance for Xiao Shanyu’s sake.