I'm Scattering IQ to the Protagonist

As soon as these words came out, two nearby eunuchs came to both sides of Su Yu. Round ball flitted about anxiously on the side, but Su Yu appeared to remain very calm, the epitome of ‘the eunuch is not worried, but his system is worried to death’! [T/N: this is a play on words. There’s a famous Chinese saying that goes ‘The Emperor is not worried, while his eunuchs are worried to death’ – meaning the observers are more anxious than the person actually involved.]

“The Empress is angry, but before the Empress disposes of this servant, can you allow this servant a few words?” Su Yu slowly began to speak, completely disregarding the two men holding onto him.

Qin Yiran was so angry that her chest was heaving up and down, and she definitely did not want to hear Su Yu say anything else. However, just as she was about to call the guards to gag Su Yu and drag him out, her sleeve was lightly tugged on by her personal handmaid, Yue Hong.

This tug finally brought back a little of Qin Yiran’s senses. Although she was very certain of Gan Qi’s affections towards herself, she also knew that Lil’ Shun had been with Gan Qi since childhood. If she were to get rid of him right now, then even if she had ample reason to do so, Gan Qi would still probably be unhappy with her.

Thinking to here, Qin Yiran felt very annoyed but she temporarily repressed the anger in her heart. Glaring viciously at Su Yu, she announced, “In consideration of your service to the Emperor since childhood, this Empress will give you this one chance to speak.”

Su Yu scoffed internally. He knew exactly how much Qin Yiran despised Gan Qi, but now that she needed a step to back down with, she remembered Gan Qi again.

His precious lover was so disliked by another, and even though his lover clearly knew this, he kept trying to get into her good graces. Just thinking about this made Su Yu’s hand feel itchy.

Su Yu lowered his head, though his tone was coloured with malicious intent, “This servant was just thinking that even if the Empress wants to dispose of this servant, the Empress should allow this servant to report back to the Emperor one last time. As you’ve said, I’ve followed the Emperor since childhood, my every move is dictated by him. In the future, if this servant is no longer able to serve him, the Emperor should at least know.”

These words sounded pleasant on the outside, but to Qin Yiran, they were a blatant threat. However, since she had indeed just arrived at the palace, she realized that this wasn’t a good time to directly go against the Emperor and kill one of his personal servants. Therefore, she could only reluctantly back down, but she silently made a note of this servant’s guilt in her black book, to be dealt with at a later time.

Clearly she was backing down because she had no other choice, but on the outside, Qin Yiran still decided to put on a show of being in charge. Looking down at Su Yu with a haughty face, she replied, “Humph, since you’ve brought up the Emperor, this Empress really should call the Emperor over and inform him of how disobedient you’ve been to this Empress, so that he can personally punish you.”

Knowing of Gan Qi’s infatuation with herself, then as long as she says so, she’s sure he’ll personally execute this despicable dog of a slave!

“Then this servant shall wait for the Emperor to deliver the punishment.” Su Yu clenched his fists – if Gan Qi truly did anything to him, if he is confused to this extent, then he wouldn’t mind directly trying the other to a bed and giving him some good □□ as punishment, even though he was technically a eunuch now.

“Didn’t you say earlier you wanted to go out into the rain? Then go out and kneel!” Qin Yiran lifted her chin and looked scornfully at Su Yu. Even if I can’t execute you right now, you’re still at my mercy!

Su Yu gave a mocking smile, “It seems the Empress’ memory is not too good. Just now, this servant had said I would go outside and stand for an hour, not kneel. Well, since the Empress has agreed, then this servant will head outside now to carry out the punishment.”

Having said that, Su Yu shook off the two men holding him and turned away, walking into the storm.

Qin Yiran endured and endured, and finally managed to restrain herself from calling upon more people to hold Su Yu down again. Seeing this, Yue Hong rushed up to appease her. “Esteemed Empress, try to calm down. That dog of a slave thinks that by virtue of being with the Emperor since childhood, he has the ability to do as he pleases. Just wait until the Emperor comes and you tell him of the truth, then the Emperor will knock that arrogant behaviour out of that slave.”

But Qin Yiran only tiredly massaged at her temples. “This Empress does not want to see that person.”

Yue Hong couldn’t help but sigh in her heart, and tried to softly persuade, “What’s in the Empress’ heart, naturally no one can hope to understand. But now that you’re already in the Inner Palace, perhaps you should spend some time with the Emperor…”

Qin Yiran did not even wait for her to finish her words before interrupting, coldly saying, “This Empress’ affairs, you don’t need to be concerned with.”

Yue Hong hurriedly knelt down to apologize for her mistake, and Qin Yiran sighed before lifting a hand and waving her up. With a bittersweet tone, she continued, “This Empress knows that you are saying this out of concern for this Empress. But that kind of despicable man, how can he even be worthy of a smile from this Empress?”

Yue Hong hung her head, not daring to speak anymore.

On the other side, as soon as Su Yu had stepped into the rain, Round Ball had begun incessantly nagging, “Master Host, although standing in the rain is a much lighter punishment than many others, an hour outside is still not a joke! Are you sure you want to torture yourself like this? I still think that you’d better purchase a penalty-free prop from the mall, so that you can directly skip into the next scene. This way, your body won’t suffer from discomfort and damage. Have you considered that?”

Outside, the rainstorm really was too strong. In a flash, Su Yu was thoroughly drenched, a few strands of his hair stuck pasted to his face, unexpectedly making his persona appear rather fragile.

At this moment, he had his head tilted slightly and his eyes closed, appearing as if he were thinking quietly about something. He was also completely ignoring the little ball’s ruckus, which was quite rare.

Round Ball blabbed on for a long time, but seeing that Su Yu wasn’t paying any attention, it could only helplessly close its mouth. However, it was still pretty worried about Su Yu’s situation. Just as it was thinking about whether it should take initiative to exchange a prop for its host, it saw in the distance a group of people approaching.

The little ball looked intently, and then exclaimed, “Master Host, the Male Protagonist is coming over!”

Su Yu’s eyelashes quivered slightly, but he did not open his eyes, nor did he make any other movement, as if he had heard nothing.

Gan Qi was sent for by Qin Yiran, and from far away he saw the solitary figure standing alone in the storm. Under the heavy rain, the figure appeared extraordinarily thin, as if in the next moment, he would topple over under the impact of the storm.

For just a moment, his mind trembled inexplicably and there was a feeling heart-wrenching concern.

But it was only for a moment, and then Gan Qi regained his senses. He moved his gaze away from the the servant who had followed him for so many years – the reason he had come here was to see Qin Yiran, not Lil’ Shun.

However, as the distance closed between them, Gan Qi felt his heartbeat uncontrollably speed up. This was a kind of feeling that he had never experienced before, as if something was about to erupt from his chest, but was forcibly repressed.

The feeling was a little pressing, a little throbbing, and a little flustering all at the same time.

How could he have such emotion for Lil’ Shun? Gan Qi was startled, regaining his senses, and he hurriedly shook his head to rid himself of the various thoughts and emotions, subconsciously clenching his fist as he passed by beside Su Yu.

However, in the moment that the two men passed by, Su Yu suddenly opened his eyes, quickly stepping sideways to stand in front of Gan Qi. “Your Majesty, this servant boldly request for an audience in front of the Emperor.”

Gan Qi eyes held a certain profoundness as he swept a circle around the rain-soaked Su Yu, eventually landing on his pale face. “Speak.”

“This servant just wants to ask, are some things really worthy of this degree of self-deception?” Su Yu looked with sad eyes straight at Gan Qi, staring into his deep, dark eyes, and then immediately lowered his gaze, head down. “This servant is finished speaking, please do with my words as you wish, your Majesty.”

Gan Qi’s mood immediately became complicated. He had thought that Lil’ Shun was stopping him in order to complain about his treatment, but never did he expect that the other would say such a thing.

Su Yu words seemed to have come out of no where, but Gan Qi intimately understood what his implications were. Unexpectedly, the other seemed to have such a clear understanding of himself??

This remark was clearly insubordinate, but Gan Qi found that he didn’t mind. Rather, his heart developed a rather sour taste. Taking a deep look at Su Yu who was standing straight and proud under the torrential rain, he steeled his heart and lifted his feet, continuing to walk towards Joyful Palace.

His earlier emotions only became more complicated after this little exchange.

Gan Qi’s face remained unchanged, but his heart fluctuated wildly, trying to adjust his mood. This was the first time that someone had so easily influenced his emotions, and that person was actually Lil’ Shun, who had been following by his side for most of his life.

All the way up until he stepped into Joyful Palace, his complicated mood remained. Even seeing Qin Yiran did nothing to make him feel better.

“Greeting to the Emperor.” Qin Yiran got up and halfheartedly saluted, before sitting back down again.

Gan Qi did not care, and just sat down next to Qin Yiran. “Why did you call Zhen over here?”

Qin Yiran had naturally called Gan Qi over to punish Su Yu, but she didn’t wanted to seem narrow-minded like she was fighting with a servant, so she gave her maidservant – Yue Hong – a look.

Yue Hong stepped forward and was about to kneel when Gan Qi waived his hand, “If there’s something then just say it, why do you need a servant to speak for you?”

Yue Hong’s actions stiffened, and Qin Yiran also looked at Gan Qi with surprise, her face turning somewhat unpleasant.

However, since Gan Qi had said so, Qin Yiran could only wave Yue Hong back and speak herself. “Your Majesty, this concubine knows that her status was born low, and had just entered into the palace. However, is this one expected to just take when others treat her unfairly? I know that Lil’ Shun has been by your side since his youth, but did your Majesty send him over here just to humiliate me?”

With that, Qin Yiran sat back poised, ready for Gan Qi to start appeasing her and promising punished for that wretched servant. However, even after waiting a moment, the words she wanted to hear still didn’t come. Lifting her head, she saw that the other was staring at her with deep and penetrating eyes.

Qin Yiran’s heart couldn’t help but stutter a little, and she felt even more annoyance. With a bite to her words, she asked, “Does your Majesty not believe this concubine’s words? If the Emperor truly does not believe this concubine, then why promise to let this concubine enter into the Inner Palace? Why not just send this concubine out of the palace and be done with it!”

Saying that, Qin Yiran appeared to have suffered a great grievance and resolutely turned her head, refusing to look at his face.

Although Gan Qi seemed outwardly unaffected, his mood on the inside was extremely turbulent. He actually already knew that Qin Yiran’s heart was not with him, but since she herself had asked to enter into his harem, Gan Qi had wanted to believe that everything could work out and hence, he hadn’t looked into the matter carefully.

He had thought that since Qin Yiran had willingly entered into the palace, then maybe after a while and frequent interactions, he could slowly win Qin Yiran’s heart. But, it seemed, he was perhaps wrong from the very beginning.

Since Qin Yiran was not prepared to open her heart to him, then no matter how caring or tolerant he was with her, it would still not matter in the end.

Having straightened his thoughts, the first thing that came to mind afterwards was actually the pale face of Lil’ Shun as he stood desolately in the pouring rain, hair matted to his forehead, staring at him with sad eyes.

Once again, that throbbing heartache appeared, causing Gan Qi to feel like he had fallen under some sort of spell.

Translator: Lone Wolf Translations