After having sex with a fake eunuch, I became the queen

Recently, the little emperor Ji Ning found that his "mother" was a little "playful" and always liked to run outside. She would get up early to collect morning dew, or run out to pick berries, or go out to pick flowers and plants. Ji Ning asked, what is the use of collecting morning dew? She said, to make tea for your majesty; what is the use of picking berries? She said, to squeeze into juice for your majesty to drink; what is the use of picking flowers and plants? She said, to put them in a vase for your majesty to enjoy.

Ji Ning said that these things could be asked to be done by other people instead of being done personally, but she said that she would not feel safe if others did it.

Ji Ning himself was a playful child, and it was easy for people of the same kind to recognize one another. In his opinion, collecting dew, picking fruits, and gathering flowers were all just a cover, and the real purpose of his "mother" was just to go out and play.

On the contrary, I, the little kid who should be going out to play every day, have to be busy with state affairs all day long. Apart from state affairs, I also have to study in Shangshu Hall. Recently, I have to prepare for the examinations of the Taifu and ministers, and I have to do cram schoolwork until late at night every day. I am exhausted both physically and mentally. How can I have the time to go out and play?

His "mother" was so fond of playing that he, as her "son", couldn't stand it anymore, so he decided to let her experience the pain of studying.

In recent days, Lord Fan Mingchu often came to the Imperial Study to tutor students. Every time he came, he would "ask" "mother" to stay in the Imperial Study. In addition to doing some serving, she also had to accompany and listen to Lord Fan's lectures - so that this "mother" who did not study all day but always wanted to go out and play could experience the hardship of studying.

“I have heard that the duty of an emperor is nothing greater than propriety, propriety is nothing greater than division, and division is nothing greater than name. Your Majesty, please tell me, what is propriety? What is division? What is name?” Note [1] In the imperial study, Fan Mingchu asked Ji Ning this question with a book in hand, but did not hear any response. He looked up at the opposite side of the table and found that the little emperor, who had just been sitting upright in a chair and listening attentively, was now sleeping on the table. The little guy had his eyes closed, half of his face was pressed against the table, and there was a slight snoring sound coming from his nostrils.

This scene happened to be seen by Qiao Wan'er who came in with a teapot. She walked quickly towards Ji Ning, put the tray in her hand on the side of the table, then leaned over to the sleepy little head. Just as she was about to speak to wake him up, she heard Fan Mingchu beside her whisper, "No need, let's stop here today! His Majesty may be tired, let him rest early."

Qiao Wan'er bowed to Fan Mingchu and said "yes". She was about to walk out of the study and call someone in to help send the sleeping little emperor back to the bedroom.

Just after taking two steps, Fan Mingchu suddenly spoke again: "Gong Lady Qiao, may I have a word with you?"

Qiao Wan'er didn't dare to neglect hearing this, and quickly walked to Fan Mingchu who had just stood up, bowed and said, "I wonder what you want, sir?"

Fan Mingchu first looked at her with a puzzled look, then reached out from his sleeve pocket and took something out and handed it to Qiao Wan'er: "Is this handkerchief from Qiao Gongren?"

Qiao Wan'er took the white silk handkerchief from Fan Mingchu's hand with a puzzled look on her face. When she saw the whole picture of the handkerchief, her face suddenly changed - there was a pair of very small mandarin ducks embroidered on one corner of the handkerchief. This was the mandarin duck handkerchief she had just embroidered a few days ago and prepared to give to "Fuzhi".

But how did this handkerchief end up in Fan Mingchu's hands? She had clearly hidden it in her pillow after embroidering it.

"Fan... Lord Fan, this handkerchief was indeed embroidered by me. I shouldn't have embroidered such a thing and polluted Lord Fan's eyes. I am guilty! Please punish me, Lord Fan!" Qiao Wan'er knelt down with a plop.

Fan Mingchu stood straight in place, with an expression on his face as if the young master couldn't answer a question in front of him, and he wanted to get angry but couldn't: "Gong Ren Qiao, who did you embroider this handkerchief for?"

"Reply... Reply Sir, this handkerchief is not embroidered for anyone. I just embroidered it for fun. When I was in the clothing department, some girls liked to embroider patterns such as mandarin ducks in pairs, twin flowers, and flying swallows. I learned some bad habits from them. I don't know why I got the idea to embroider a handkerchief like this a few days ago."

"Even if it was embroidered for me, I have to put it aside. If someone with ulterior motives takes it away and causes trouble, then embroidering such a precious thing will only bring trouble to myself!"

"Your Excellency is right. I was too careless and failed the grace of Your Majesty and Master Fan for saving my life!"

"Palace Lady Qiao must always remember that you are the one that His Majesty rescued from the sword with great difficulty. How can you be so careless in doing things?"

"Slave...slave knows that I was wrong!"

"Fortunately, this handkerchief was given to me by His Majesty, so I was able to escape danger this time." Seeing that Qiao Wan'er had a good attitude in admitting her mistake, Fan Mingchu softened his tone a little.

When Qiao Wan'er heard that it was Ji Ning who did it, she subconsciously glanced quickly at the little person sleeping on the table, with an expression that she couldn't tell whether it was surprise or realization.

She had just been trying to figure out how this handkerchief ended up in Fan Mingchu's hands. It turned out that the person with ulterior motives was actually the young master. Yes, the little fellow Ji Ning would occasionally come to her room to see if her "mother" had made any new and interesting things recently... He must have found the handkerchief and saw that the two "ducks" on it were particularly cute, so he took it to show off to Master Fan.

"Lady Qiao, please deal with the handkerchief yourselves. Just pretend I never saw it." Fan Mingchu waved at Qiao Wan'er, indicating that she could leave.

"Thank you for your forgiveness, sir!" Qiao Wan'er bowed deeply and stood up to leave.

Unexpectedly, Fan Mingchu seemed to be unsatisfied and stopped her again: "Please wait a moment, Lady Qiao. I have something else to ask you."

Qiao Wan'er retracted her steps and continued to be respectful in front of Fan Mingchu. "Just now I asked your Majesty about the duties of the emperor. Did Palace Lady Qiao hear it?"

"Your Excellency, I just heard it when I entered the room."

"Gong Ren Qiao has also accompanied His Majesty to listen to his lectures for some time. Can she answer them?"

Qiao Wan'er nodded: "I still remember some."

"Let's talk and listen."

“Ritual is about rules and regulations; distinction is about ruler and minister; title is about duke, marquis, minister, and senior official!”[Note 2]
"Does Palace Lady Qiao know why the distinction between the ruler and the minister is made?"

"I remember when you were teaching me, you said that the so-called monarch and ministers are to be separated, which means that the monarch is the monarch and the minister is the minister, and each should abide by their own duties and should not overstep their boundaries."

"Mr. Qiao has a very good memory. I wonder if she can use this to wake herself up, stick to her duties, and not cross the line?"

Qiao Wan'er was stunned by the question and didn't know how to respond for a moment. Then she realized what Fan Mingchu meant. He should be reminding her to maintain a boundary between herself and Ji Ning.

Before she could figure out how to respond, Fan Mingchu continued, "You can go down now. Leave this problem for later when you get back to figure it out."

"I will always be alert to your teachings." She responded sincerely, but she didn't agree in her heart - why don't you tell the old queen mother about this? If she really understood this, she wouldn't have monopolized the imperial power for more than a decade.

Of course, Master Fan must have had good intentions in giving such a reminder - getting too close to the little emperor would definitely lead to his own death. But Qiao Wan'er had already figured this out. Ji Ning was her lifesaver, and she would not hesitate to die in order to repay him.

As the ancients said, “One who lives less than a hundred years old will always worry about a thousand years to come” [Note 3]. Little Ji Ning was born less than ten years old, but he always worried about a hundred years to come.

He had ulterior motives in stealing Qiao Wan'er's mandarin duck handkerchief and giving it to Fan Mingchu. Although he had a "mother" as he wished, he still lacked a "father", right?
He had a very good impression of Fan Mingchu, who was the perfect image of a father in his mind - upright, well-educated, well-read, methodical in doing things, and loyal to him as a king.

Although Ji Ning is young, he has seen countless people. The people he sees around him are either ministers with ulterior motives or eunuchs and palace maids who are submissive. Only Fan Mingchu is different. He is a clear stream that is independent of the world.

Since he wanted Fan Mingchu to be his father, he had to pair his parents together to make the whole thing perfect. So the cunning Ji Ning decided to bring this pair of "parents" together.

Every time Fan Mingchu came to the imperial study, he would make sure Qiao Wan'er was present as well to increase the chances of the two meeting.

She also told her "mother" that if Lord Fan felt thirsty during the lecture, she must remember to serve him tea, if he felt tired, she must remind him to have some snacks and fruits, and when he picked up the pen to write, she must go up to grind the ink for him.

After a few days, Ji Ning felt the joy of the "family of three". It would be even more perfect if this strict father and kind mother could have more love and affection between them!
In order to further develop their relationship, Ji Ning stole the mandarin duck handkerchief embroidered by Qiao Wan'er and brought it to Fan Mingchu: "General Manager Fan, this is what my mother...Qiao Gongren asked me to give to you. She spent many days embroidering it."

"What is this?" Fan Mingchu took the handkerchief and examined it carefully. "Your Majesty, the two ducks embroidered on this handkerchief are very unique. Why did Palace Lady Qiao give me this?"

"Ducks? Master Fan, you said these are ducks? Take a closer look at what these two are."

"Your Majesty, please forgive my stupidity. What I saw were clearly two ducks."

"Master Fan, this is obviously not a duck, why do you insist that it is two ducks?" Ji Ning was very surprised and widened his eyes. He couldn't understand how such a knowledgeable and talented man like Fan Mingchu could not even recognize a mandarin duck?

"Oh? Your Majesty said that these are not ducks. Then let me take a closer look." Fan Mingchu took out a magnifying glass from his pocket and looked at the pair of "ducks" carefully again and again. "My eyes are short, it seems that they are really not ducks."

"Of course it's not a duck, it's a mandarin duck, that's a mandarin duck!" It was the first time that Ji Ning saw Fan Mingchu being so stupid, and he was so anxious that he almost beat his chest and stamped his feet, "A woman gave a man a handkerchief embroidered with mandarin ducks, Lord Fan, do you know what it means?"

(End of this chapter)