I’m Also Waiting for the Male Protagonist to Usurp the Throne Today

“Your Majesty, where should we place this cat?” Chief Kang asked, jolting him back to awareness.

Li Jinyu pondered how to inform Huo Caiyu about the black cat he had adopted. He worried that his previously shown fear towards cats might make Huo Caiyu think he had a few screws loose due to his inconsistent behavior.

Absentmindedly, he carried the basket containing Dumpling, while Chief Kang gripped the cage holding the black cat.

“Where is the Regent?”

Accustomed to His Majesty and the Regent always being together, Chief Kang replied, “Your Majesty, the Regent is currently dining in Taihe Hall and attending to official matters there.”

“Zhen will go to him.” 

As he approached Taihe Hall, he could hear voices coming from inside.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I can only rely on the Regent Prince’s decision.”

Li Jinyu identified the voice in the conversation as belonging to Chi Zhongming. However, unlike his previous cheerful and clear tone, Chi Zhongming now sounded raspy and resentful.

He cast a glance at the black cat in the cage and noticed its discomfort as it scratched its ear with a hind leg.

Stepping into the hall, Li Jinyu spotted Chi Zhongming, who had been absent for half a month. Previously, Chi Zhongming had always been neatly dressed, with meticulously groomed hair, and he would often joke and reprimand while swinging his folding fan.

Now, Chi Zhongming still wore the same attire from half a month ago, with dried blood stains on the collar. His hair was disheveled, his beard unevenly grown, and his eyes wandered aimlessly. He was a complete contrast to his former self, and Li Jinyu felt a twinge of sorrow.

Huo Caiyu noticed Li Jinyu’s arrival and furrowed his brows slightly. “What brings Your Majesty here?”

Taking a step forward, Li Jinyu positioned himself between Chi Zhongming and Huo Caiyu, preventing Chi Zhongming from getting too agitated and causing harm to anyone.

Li Jinyu placed Dumpling on the table and inquired knowingly, “What is happening here?”

Huo Caiyu pursed his lips and responded, “This official is attempting to persuade Chi Zhongming not to resign and instead return to his hometown.”

Li Jinyu attentively observed Chi Zhongming and noted the absence of emotions on his face, as if his soul had departed, leaving behind an empty shell.

This was truly a difficult puzzle to solve.

Li Jinyu scratched his ear and regarded Huo Caiyu with concern.

Just then, Chief Kang entered, carrying a cat cage, and positioned it beside Dumpling. Whether it was the slight jolt from placing down the cage or not, the black cat suddenly let out a meow.

The meow seemed to awaken Chi Zhongming from his detached state, as he raised his head and fixed his gaze in the direction of the cat’s sound.

As he caught sight of the black cat inside the cage, Chi Zhongming visibly froze, his eyes gradually transitioning from numbness to disbelief, ultimately transforming into pure ecstasy.

He instinctively took two steps forward, but Huo Caiyu quickly intervened, halting his progress.

With a frown, Huo Caiyu directed his gaze towards Chi Zhongming and inquired, “What are you doing?”

Snapping out of his daze, Chi Zhongming realized he couldn’t surpass Huo Caiyu’s resolve. He clenched his teeth and looked up at Li Jinyu. “Your Majesty, this cat…”

Li Jinyu observed the shift in Chi Zhongming’s demeanor and discreetly glanced at the black cat, noticing its evident discomfort.

Suddenly, an idea flashed across Li Jinyu’s mind.

Before Chi Zhongming could complete his sentence, Li Jinyu interjected, “Isn’t this cat incredibly adorable?”

Chi Zhongming was momentarily taken aback and involuntarily responded, “Yes.”

Li Jinyu looked up at Huo Caiyu and blinked, “Zhen wants to keep it.”

Huo Caiyu couldn’t comprehend why His Majesty, who had always harbored an extreme fear of black cats, suddenly wanted to keep one. However, in the presence of others, Huo Caiyu naturally refrained from displaying any disrespect towards the Emperor. With compliance, he replied, “If Your Majesty finds it pleasing, then it is indeed good.”

“Zhen is just a little afraid of cats and can’t get close to them… but such a big cat needs someone to stroke it all the time to grow well.” Li Jinyu poked the cat cage with some worry. “Zhen plans to hire a cat caretaker to take care of Zhen’s cat. What do you think, Regent Prince?”

Before the Regent Prince could answer, Chi Zhongming stepped forward and said eagerly, “I…this official can share Your Majesty’s worries!”

“You?” Li Jinyu looked at him disdainfully, covering his nose. “Zhen’s cat hates filth.”

Chi Zhongming stopped awkwardly and clapped his clothes with his hands, not knowing what to do. “This official will go bathe and change clothes.”

“Aren’t you resigning?” Li Jinyu pinched his nose and said, “Zhen’s beloved cat must not be so far away…”

“This official would rather die than abandon his duty! How can this official resign at this time?” Chi Zhongming did not hesitate, and his voice suddenly became loud and clear. He was like a withered tree that had come to life, his eyes shining. “Your Majesty, for the sake of our acquaintance and mutual assistance, Your Majesty must leave the position of cat caretaker to this official!”

Huo Caiyu watched in confusion on the side, not understanding why Chi Zhongming suddenly woke up because of a cat.

Li Jinyu maintained his composure for a while before coughing. “Let’s see how you perform.”

“What about this cat…” Chi Zhongming eagerly looked at the cage.

Li Jinyu pulled his hand back. “Go bathe first.”

“Then this official will take his leave for now.” Chi Zhongming reluctantly bowed and left, his gaze lingering on the black cat for a while before running out of Taihe Hall. Li Jinyu and Huo Caiyu inside the hall could hear his uncontrollable laughter outside.

Li Jinyu: “…”

Huo Caiyu: “…”

The black cat lay in the cage, covering its head with its two little paws.

Huo Caiyu’s gaze unconsciously swept over the blacl cat that had made Chi Zhongming change his attitude, and he frowned slightly.

He had only seen a black cat once before, and at that time it was extremely large, completely different from the small kitten in front of him. He did not make the connection until now.

This cat’s eyes were full of ferocity and it still looked fierce. It might hurt His Majesty…

Huo Caiyu tactfully said, “Where did Your Majesty find this cat? Why not let the imperial physician check it out to prevent any diseases?”

“No need. Zhen has already checked,” Li Jinyu knocked on the cat cage and said to the little black cat inside, “Chonky is very healthy.”

The little black cat widened its eyes and glared at Li Jinyu with anger.

Playing with the “enemy” who had left a deep psychological shadow on oneself and keeping it in a cage, Li Jinyu gained great pleasure.

“Chonky, Chonky, Chonky.”

“Meow! Meow! Meow!”

Huo Caiyu looked at Li Jinyu and the cat in the cage playing around, and couldn’t help but laugh.

His Majesty was really adorable.

“How is Your Majesty sure that this cat can cheer up Chi Zhongming?”

This question made Li Jinyu and the little black cat both stiffen.

The little black cat pretended to be an innocent kitten, licking its paws as if nothing had happened.

Li Jinyu nervously wracked his brain and reluctantly came up with a not-too-unreasonable reason, “Every time we met before, he kept talking about his cat. Zhen just thought that Chi Zhongming might be a true cat lover. Seeing such a delicate little cat, maybe he would cheer up.”

Huo Caiyu frowned tightly, unable to believe such a reason.

But there was no other explanation.

Huo Caiyu had planned to let Chi Zhongming go if he was really hopeless. Chi Zhongming was attached to Prime Minister Ye, but the Prime Minister attempted to control the court and harm His Majesty. He had no regrets about killing Prime Minister Ye, but he still felt some guilt towards Chi Zhongming.

If someone hurt his Majesty, regardless of how close their relationship was in the past, or whether His Majesty had done something wrong, he could not accept it.

In this situation, it was not good for both sides to force Chi Zhongming to stay in the court.

He just didn’t expect that His Majesty had such a way, and could easily influence Chi Zhongming’s thoughts.

With this in mind, Huo Caiyu’s heart felt sour again. When would His Majesty be able to perceive his feelings?

On the other hand, Li Jinyu seemed to have relieved himself upon seeing Huo Caiyu accepting this reason.

He lowered his head and looked at the little black cat, thinking about how to remind the cat not to reveal its identity. After all, he was now sharing a room with Huo Caiyu and constantly interacting with each other, which was really…

Wait a minute?

Li Jinyu suddenly realized a problem. Initially, he insisted on having Huo Caiyu stay in the palace to withstand the cat’s attacks. Now that the cat had returned to its original form, why did he still risk being discovered to keep Huo Caiyu in the palace?

And that kiss…

He momentarily felt flustered when he saw Huo Caiyu.

Li Jinyu tentatively looked at Huo Caiyu, “Huo Aiqing, do you want to move back to your own home?”

Huo Caiyu was stunned, and his facial expression suddenly froze.

Clearly, the Prime Minister had been executed, and the court was about to usher in a brand new spring. These days, he had been working hard to deal with various problems caused by the Prime Minister’s downfall, just to free up time to spend with His Majesty as soon as possible.

He had already reached this position.

If possible, he wanted to ask His Majesty, ask what he really thought of him, ask if there was any possibility between them.

Just now, when His Majesty successfully persuaded Chi Zhongming and solved their last trouble, Huo Caiyu was still fantasizing about a beautiful life between him and His Majesty.

However, just after they achieved victory, His Majesty asked him to move out of the palace?

Huo Caiyu’s gaze changed several times, and his heart felt unusually sour.

“Does Your Majesty think that this official… has overstepped his bounds?”

“No.” Li Jinyu tried to appear normal and avoided looking directly at Huo Caiyu. “Zhen was just thinking that it would be inconvenient for Huo Aiqing to stay in the palace, now that he has built his own mansion.”

Huo Caiyu stared at His Majesty, who kept avoiding eye contact. His lips moved, but he ultimately swallowed the words he wanted to say and pursed his lips. “This official will follow Your Majesty’s orders.”

Prime Minister Ye had fallen, so was he worthless now?

Does His Majesty no longer wanted to be close to me and wanted to drive me away from his side?

Huo Caiyu lowered his eyes and pursed his lips.

He had promised His Majesty before that he would fetch whatever His Majesty wanted and clear whatever His Majesty didn’t want, even if it meant himself.