Four Seasons Brocade – CH 152

Chapter 152 ☆、

Ah Wu suddenly realized she had made a mistake. She had not taken the Fifth Prince seriously, but Chu Mao might have. And his act of giving Yuan-Chun to her at this time, while seemingly intended to protect her, certainly had not anticipated her actions would be so ruthless.

Moreover, Ah Wu knew about the future, but Chu Mao could not possibly foresee it. Or rather, Ah Wu overestimated Chu Mao’s fighting prowess. After all, he was still in a phase of biding his time, not yet the all-powerful Emperor Zhengyuan he would later become.

Ultimately, if Ah Wu’s backer were the Imperial Princess, she would not have acted so inconsiderately, because she would have considered the Imperial Princess’s feelings. But now that it was Chu Mao, Ah Wu showed no consideration for him whatsoever; one could say she did not care, or that she believed he should be burdened with more responsibilities.

Although Ah Wu realized her mistake, she did not know if she would change in the future, because she would unconsciously choose to prioritize her own benefit at Chu Mao’s expense when their interests conflicted. And clearly, this time, she had angered Chu Mao.

“Your Highness, I was too impulsive and foolish in this matter. I am sorry for the kindness you showed me,” Ah Wu said, bowing her head in apology. “I’ve also put Your Highness in a difficult position. If there’s any room for maneuver, I will do as Your Highness commands.”

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Ah Wu’s apology was undeniably thorough; she even said, “I will do as you command.”

However, Chu Mao’s focus was not on this. “I want to know what gave you the audacity to depose a prince and reduce him to a eunuch?” This was absolutely inconceivable to most people, and if it came to light, it would not just be Ah Wu losing her head.

Ah Wu looked up at Chu Mao, her eyes filled with the message, “You are my courage,” making Chu Mao feel somewhat embarrassed.

“His Majesty has reigned for so many years, and although he has not expanded the territory, he’s been a wise ruler who maintains the status quo. The Fifth Prince, though the son of Empress Tian, ​​has always behaved erratically and is unfit to be the Crown Prince. He certainly will not meet His Majesty’s standards. If one day…” Ah Wu paused, seeing that Chu Mao did not object, and continued, “If one day the political situation changes, it’s not impossible for a prince to become a commoner in an instant. Rather than letting the Fifth Prince continue to harm other women, I… I just cannot help it…” This was indeed Ah Wu’s thought. In her heart, a pure and innocent woman should not be harmed by such a corrupt man.

Chu Mao looked at Ah Wu with some surprise, not expecting her to say such things. Frankly speaking, the Emperor had always been secretive about the matter of choosing an heir, often making unexpected moves, causing the court officials to live in constant fear and wild speculation. Take this snow disaster relief effort, for example. Although it was arduous, it was clearly a way to win popular support for the prince if done well. No one expected this task to fall to Chu Mao, including Chu Mao himself.

This turn of events shocked those who had always been skeptical of Chu Mao, and they began to have doubts. While the Fifth Prince had his flaws, the Longqing Emperor favored him, so no one was confident in Chu Mao’s chances of becoming Crown Prince.

But Ah Wu bluntly stated that the Fifth Prince, Chu Qin, had absolutely no chance of becoming the heir apparent. Chu Mao was not sure if sometimes simplifying things allowed for a clearer understanding of people’s hearts.

“Your Highness?” Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao with teary eyes, hoping for a clear answer—whether he would forgive her or punish her. At least a clear answer would put her mind at ease. To everyone’s surprise, Chu Mao did not mention the matter again. Instead, he got up, walked to the bedside, said, “I am tired,” and stood still, only looking at Ah Wu.

Ah Wu, naturally understanding his implied meaning, quickly went forward to undo Chu Mao’s belt and unfasten his buttons. She probably did not even realize that this was the first time she had ever been so willing to do this.

Chu Mao stretched out his arms, and Ah Wu naturally helped him loosen his outer robe. However, being inexperienced, she inevitably touched Chu Mao’s body during the process. At this moment, Ah Wu did not care about shyness or discomfort; her mind was only focused on how to please Chu Mao and get a clear answer from him.

Ah Wu turned and put Chu Mao’s clothes away, then asked, “Does Your Highness want to read? I will fetch it for you.”

Chu Mao replied, “No need.”

Ah Wu then reluctantly walked towards the bathing room, turning back every few steps, hoping that Chu Mao would not fall asleep before she came out; otherwise, she would not get a good night’s sleep.

But Ah Wu’s seemingly innocent gaze, under the candlelight and after their brief separation, took on a strangely ambiguous quality, like a hesitant, unspoken hint. Ah Wu possessed a pair of bright, expressive eyes, their shimmering light reflecting the captivating stars, truly alluring.

Seeing that, Chu Mao, annoyed by her gaze, simply turned over and lay down facing inwards; Ah Wu’s heart sank. Dejected, she went to the bathing room. After bathing, she still needed to apply a skin-nourishing lotion. Despite Ah Wu’s constant encouragement, it still took considerable time. When Ah Wu emerged in her slippers, only a small lamp remained lit in the corner of the room.

The bed curtains were still drawn. Chu Mao lay face inwards, motionless, as if asleep—just as Ah Wu had expected.

Ah Wu waved her hand, and Zi-Shan and Zi-Yi quietly withdrew. She walked to the footstool by the bed, carefully lowered the bed curtains from the golden hooks, and then climbed into bed from the very end. Ever since Chu Mao had accidentally kicked her last time, Ah Wu had wanted to crawl along the bed railing whenever she got into bed.

Just as Ah Wu lay down, preparing to count sheep to see if she could fall asleep, she heard Chu Mao speak, a slight chuckle in his voice: “You are ruthless, are you not? With one move, you made the Fifth Prince the Minister of the Imperial Household Department. Do you even know what castration is?”

Ah Wu could not help but laugh. So Chu Mao was mischievous too. The Minister of the Imperial Household Department in the Great Xia Dynasty was traditionally a member of the imperial family, such as Chu Mao’s uncle, Prince Ping, who currently held the position. But the Imperial Household Department inevitably brought to mind eunuchs, and now that the Fifth Prince’s legitimacy was gone, he was perfectly suited to manage the household affairs.

Ah Wu sensed a softening in Chu Mao’s tone, and her tension eased. She began to think along the lines of Chu Mao’s words, realizing she probably knew what castration for eunuchs entailed. In the booklet Lady Cui had prepared for her before her marriage, there was a page that clearly depicted such an ugly thing; Ah Wu felt it would be cleaner to destroy it.

However, she had heard that it was also where men urinated. Ah Wu wondered where the Fifth Prince urinated now. Of the four basic necessities of life—eating, drinking, and defecating—this was of paramount importance. Thinking of this, Ah Wu felt she might have been a bit too harsh.

Actually, this question had been buried deep in Ah Wu’s heart for many years. When she was with the Imperial Princess, she had seen many eunuchs since childhood. As a child, she was naturally curious about these men who were neither male nor female—what was going on? The Imperial Princess could not explain this to Ah Wu, and even Ah Wu’s wet nurse dared not tell her, only saying that they were men without roots.

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Now that Ah Wu was married and knew what “root” meant, she was even more curious about how men without “roots” urinated. Of course, Ah Wu rarely thought about such a boring and embarrassing question unless Chu Mao brought it up.

“Do you know?” Chu Mao asks again.

Ah Wu initially tried to pretend she did not hear, but seeing Chu Mao persist, she stammered, “Of course, of course I know, they are…” Ah Wu’s voice trails off, “…they are men who have lost their ‘roots.'” She barely utters the word “roots.”

“Lost what?” Chu Mao did not hear clearly.

Ah Wu was now completely flustered, her face burning red as she suddenly realized that Chu Mao seemed to be joking with her, or perhaps hinting at something.

“Lost what?” Chu Mao moves closer to Ah Wu, his breath almost hitting her face. Ah Wu watched helplessly as Chu Mao raised his hand, as if to stroke her hair.

Without thinking, Ah Wu grabbed Chu Mao’s hand, forcibly placing it back at his side. By the time she realized what she had done, she had already done it. She could only stammer out a sentence to distract Chu Mao.

However, the sentence that popped into Ah Wu’s mind was not a nice one, but in her haste, without thinking, she blurted out, “Then how do those eunuchs urinate?”

Ah Wu’s words startled even Chu Mao, who was already slightly displeased. He had actually been distracted by Ah Wu.

At this moment, Ah Wu wished she could bite her tongue off.

Chu Mao paused for a few moments before realizing that Ah Wu did not understand these things at all. Of course, he quickly understood that it was normal for Ah Wu not to understand.

“Ah Wu, castration for eunuchs does not remove the root, but rather…” Chu Mao chuckled softly.

“Stop talking!” Ah Wu suddenly covered her face with her hands, pleading in a tearful voice. At this point, Chu Mao had not even heard what she was saying, yet he kept pressing her, clearly wanting her to speak. Even if Ah Wu was naive, she probably understood what Chu Mao meant by this.

But Chu Mao kept saying something, which Ah Wu did not want to hear and which she had not understood anyway. She simply covered her ears, buried her head in the blanket, and cried out, “Stop talking, stop talking. I do not want to hear it. I do not want to hear it.”

For some reason, Ah Wu’s mind flashed back to that night when she hid under the wall behind Concubine Wang’s room, listening to her and Master Rong… This was Ah Wu’s lifelong nightmare. Just thinking about it made her tremble uncontrollably, and she was ill for a long time because of it. Ah Wu’s reaction was so intense because, firstly, it was sudden; she had not expected it to be like that at all. Secondly, the person involved was her own father, so Ah Wu naturally could not bear it. Even now, she had not gotten past this hurdle.

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When Chu Mao lifted Ah Wu’s blanket, he saw her pale face and trembling lips. Instead of the blushing shyness he expected, she looked terrified.

What terrified Ah Wu was not Chu Mao’s words about eunuchs, but rather her awareness of what Chu Mao was about to do.

“Ah Wu…”

Author’s Note:
Don’t ask why Ah Wu reacted so strongly. Generally speaking, if a child saw their parents… well, you know, it leaves a shadow in their heart, though the degree varies from person to person.
Mom: Master Ming, excuse me, wasn’t it a bit strange that Si-Mao suddenly blurted out, “Do you know about castration?” in bed?
Master Ming: No, not strange, but it is indeed a bit disjointed. Let’s analyze Si-Mao’s thought process. Bed—sexual intercourse—organs—topic—the untold story of eunuchs and roots. So, Brother Si-Mao started the conversation by mentioning eunuchs.
Mom: Is this how you think?
Master Ming: ∩( )∩ If you keep this up, I will have to charge an appearance fee next time!
Thank you all so much for your support. No matter what, even though I’m a mother now, I still have a fragile heart. Please grant me some positive energy, even just a single word.

T/N: Si-Mao = Four-Mao = Fourth Prince + Chu Mao