Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court-Chapter 344: Embarrassment Doesn’t Disappear—It Just Gets Passed Around! New

It was their first time facing down rebels in person! If they took them down, promotions and riches were practically guaranteed!

Minister Bing saw the sides about to erupt into a firefight. His whole body went tense, heart racing, muscles tightening.

“STOP!!”

He shouted while tightening his abdomen—and at the same time, something slipped out. His anal muscles lost control, and the gas that had built up in his intestines and abdomen came swooshing out in a silent but horrifically foul-smelling fart.

A gust of wind spread the long-fermented stench through the crowd.

[Ugh, that reeks.]

Xu Yanmiao’s voice popped into everyone’s mind: [Who farted?! That smell is vicious!]

With that one comment, all the tension on the scene vanished.

The old emperor’s mouth twitched.

He got it now—this was obviously a misunderstanding. Otherwise Xu Yanmiao wouldn’t be hanging around just to watch the commotion.

That little bastard is way too slippery.

The Jinyiwei wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. They could only struggle to suppress it. Their expressions twisted in the effort—which, in the eyes of the patrol officers (who didn’t recognize them), only made them look more fierce and monstrous.

So the patrolmen stepped forward without hesitation, fingers gripping their sword hilts, blades shhht drawn in one unified motion.

Minister Bing’s heart thudded. He took a deep breath and quickly tried to explain:

“This is a misunderstanding—”

[Eh? Did Minister Bing just take a deep breath? Doesn’t he mind the smell? I don’t even dare breathe through my nose right now!]

“Cough, cough, cough—” Minister Bing choked on his own saliva, his face turning bright red.

Xu Yanmiao! Can’t you read the room even a little?! Didn’t you notice how tense things just were?! How are we supposed to stay serious in this confrontation now?!

Did you not realize how dangerous that moment just was?! One wrong move and we were finished!

Xu Yanmiao, in fact, didn’t think it was that bad. This was obviously just a misunderstanding. Besides, hadn’t Minister Bing already realized something was wrong and stepped up to stop it?

[Mhm! I know!]

[Next comes the classic, beloved moment where the old emperor walks out boldly and declares, “It is I, the Emperor!” Then all the patrol officers are shocked and terrified and drop to their knees… a total power fantasy plot point!]

The old emperor ground his teeth.

Yeah, it was supposed to be a cool scene… If only you hadn’t blurted out, “Who farted?!” Everything would’ve gone smoothly!

Now he absolutely refused to reveal his identity in such a humiliating setting. Way too undignified.

[No wonder you dared to speak up—it was you who farted, huh, Minister Bing?]

[A dog doesn’t mind a shabby home, and a man doesn’t mind the stink of his own fart, huh?]

[Seriously, Minister Bing. You’ve been spending days looking for injustice to right. If you really thought that house was being occupied by bad guys and the owner imprisoned, why did you eat so many eggs and fried beans before coming?! Those are prime fart fuel! If we needed to lie in wait and you let one rip, the whole thing would’ve been ruined!]

And with that, everyone on scene who could hear the inner voices now definitely knew where the stink had come from.

Minister Bing curled his toes in his boots, gave an awkward laugh, and resumed speaking before his coughing fit: “A misunderstanding, hahaha, it’s all a misunderstanding. I know these people—they’re all good men. This was just me acting too rashly.”

The old emperor stayed silent. The Jinyiwei also didn’t move, their hands still resting on their fire lances.

Minister Bing said quickly: “Alright! Sheathe your weapons! Fall back eight paces!”

The patrol officers, though a little confused, still obeyed the command. They sheathed their blades and stepped back, leaving a wide open space.

This was intentional on Minister Bing’s part—a deliberate gesture to show the emperor: I really wasn’t trying to commit treason. Look, I’ve made them back off this far. At this distance, even if they made a move, your Jinyiwei could gun them down before they got close. Does this prove my loyalty now?!

Only then did the old emperor finally remove his hand from the fire lance—though the Jinyiwei hadn’t budged. Their hands still gripped their weapons.

The old emperor originally wanted to say something lighthearted to ease the tension. But the lingering memory of that vile smell made him lose all interest in speaking.

Xu Yanmiao, however, very much wanted to speak.

[Why isn’t the old emperor saying anything?]

[Ohh, right. It is a bit embarrassing, considering he actually believed my nonsense about the “hen turning into a rooster” theory and tried it out. He locked two men in a room with only a small hole for food and water—no contact with outsiders—just to see if, in isolation like that, one of them would somehow “turn into a woman.”]

[Seriously, isn’t that idea obviously insane? What was the old emperor thinking, trying to test that?!]

[Humans aren’t chickens!]

[Chickens can lay eggs, but humans give birth to babies. Chickens can pop out an egg every day with the right care—humans can’t have a baby every day! There are so many differences. How did the emperor even come up with something like that?!]

[Senile dementia? But no, that doesn’t seem like the right symptom profile…]

The Jinyiwei all shuddered in unison.

Xu Lang, please stop! Stop talking! Just because it’s your inner voice doesn’t mean you can be this reckless!

Our lives matter too!

Can’t you just imagine—what if His Majesty really did learn some ancient technique and knows how to read minds now?

Sure, it sounds ridiculous—but not completely impossible, right? Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger; better safe than sorry!

The old emperor’s expression was… not easy to look at.

After being emperor for so long, even when officials criticized him, they would never directly say things like: “Your Majesty, you’ve got dementia!”

Instead, they’d sugarcoat it: praising his virtues and achievements, then carefully tacking on, “Although Your Majesty has done splendidly, if XYZ could also be considered, it would be even more perfect.”

Xu Yanmiao’s style? Totally unfiltered. Absolutely not a qualified subject. He needed to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch!

Minister Bing curled his toes again upon hearing those thoughts. For a moment, he was so stiff he didn’t know what to say.

And maybe due to that long silence, a new misunderstanding arose—

One of the Five City Constabulary officers who had been standing behind him suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He quickly clutched his belly and said, in a voice not too loud but very audible: “Minister… I… I’ve got a bit of a stomachache. I may have eaten too many soybeans. I couldn’t hold it in…”

Minister Bing: “……”

I know you’re trying to take the blame for the fart, but the more people that try to cover for it, the more awkward this gets. There’s really no need.

Besides, at this point, the issue isn’t even the smell anymore!

To prevent things from getting even more embarrassing—like the Five City Constabulary suddenly discovering a certain someone named Xu sneakily watching nearby—what would His Majesty even say when confronted with Xu Yanmiao?

Minister Bing, sensing the emperor’s intent, said a few words and swiftly dismissed the men from the Five City Constabulary. Then he exchanged a glance with the old emperor, and the two of them pretended not to see Xu Yanmiao at all. Instead, they began… taking a walk and making small talk to ease the awkwardness.

“Taibo,” the old emperor casually addressed Minister Bing by his courtesy name. “I heard there’s a child prodigy in your family? Will he be participating in the first Prodigy Examination of the Great Xia?”

Minister Bing chuckled. “Well… I’m not so sure myself. That boy’s had a mind of his own ever since he was little.”

—And since they were outside the court, he didn’t refer to himself as “this minister.”

[Like how, except when he was really little, once he became a bit more aware, he never called you ‘father’ again?]

The old emperor’s ears perked up. He was thoroughly impressed by Xu Yanmiao’s spontaneous gossiping instincts.

For that alone, he decided, I shall reluctantly forgive his previous disrespect toward me as his sovereign!

But seriously—why didn’t he call him father? Did the mother have an affair, and the father wasn’t really the father? Or was he adopted by the Bing family and just felt awkward calling him “father”?

[Or maybe he just very seriously chose to call you “Sir” because calling you ‘Father’ felt too soft, too sentimental, too awkward?]

Minister Bing: “?”

Your Majesty, what is that disappointed look supposed to mean?! Where is your imagination even going right now?!

But… he didn’t dare ask.

—The humility of a subject.jpg

The old emperor quickly smoothed his disappointed expression, acting like he hadn’t just been thoroughly entertained by his minister’s personal life.

“It’s no matter if he doesn’t participate this time,” the emperor said lightly. “He’s only thirteen—still within the eligible age for the next Prodigy Examination.”

Then he asked, “Has he been admitted to the Imperial Academy yet?”

Minister Bing paused for a moment, then gently replied, “I’ve only recently been promoted to Minister. The workload has been heavy, and I haven’t arranged for my son to enroll in the Imperial Academy. That was my oversight.”

The old emperor replied, “Oh…”

He remembered now—only officials of third-rank and above were eligible to send their children to the Imperial Academy. Minister Bing had only recently attained that rank; before, he had been a Director in the Ministry of Revenue—a fifth-rank position.

—Officials of the fifth rank could only send their children to the National College, not the Imperial Academy.

An awkward silence settled in.

[It’s fine, it’s fine. Your son knew you were unreliable, so when you got promoted, he looked into the transfer process himself and submitted the paperwork to move to the Imperial Academy.]

[He’s already made friends with a few sons of the noble families there.]

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The old emperor was taken aback, even feeling a little pleasantly surprised.

This rascal Xu Yanmiao… actually tried to help him save face?!

Excellent! Truly, people do mature!

Meanwhile, Minister Bing, who had just found out his son had already enrolled himself in the Imperial Academy: “… …”

Well then, Your Majesty… care to guess whose face that awkwardness has landed on now?

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