Chapter 248：Cavalier

Zhou Yun Sheng clearly knew that the previous Zhao Xuan and the current Zhao Xuan were not the same person, but he still felt bitter resentment. Had this man already teamed up with the Gong Prince, and was now secretly helping him seize the throne? The man had no memories, for him, everything in this life was real, his family, his friends, and maybe even a wife and child.

Zhao Bi Xuan gave birth to the Second Prince for the Gong Prince, if this incident was found out, everyone in Wen Yuan March would be executed. In order to survive, in order to secure their glorious family status and provide for their future generations, they had no choice but to ally with the Second Prince and Zhao Bi Xuan.

And now, Zhou Yun Sheng was carrying great humiliation and hatred, a deep rooted enmity with the Wen Yuan March and the Gong Prince, he would not give up until they were both destroyed. Troubled, Zhou Yun Sheng had never felt so troubled, just as he calculated his plans to eradicate this person, he immediately found out that the other man was his lover, truly, fate must be mocking him!

Massaging his tensed eyebrows, Zhou Yun Sheng no longer wanted to see his lover's handsome, stiff sculpture-like face, he waved him away once again, urging "Go see Bi Xuan."

Zhao Xuan lowered his eyes and respectfully promised, from start to finish, his line of sight never strayed from the Emperor's lapel, never looking directly at his holy face. Of course, he was not being cowardly, he just wasn't interested in the Emperor's appearance.

After Zhao Xuan left, Zhou Yun Sheng led the teenager and slowly walked back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The boy's name was Meng Kang, 18 years old this year. He's had an amazing appetite since childhood, and grew up as strong as an ox, because of this, the Wu Chang March's masters and servants ridiculed and bullied him, especially Marquess Wu Chang's Madame. He was a thorn in her flesh, and she deeply desired to get rid of him. Marquess Wu Chang rarely paid attention to the common born children, so after the boy's mother passed away, the first wife got her wish and quickly sent him off to the barracks, anticipating his death. Meng Kang had his fill of beatings and humiliations since childhood, he'd clearly experienced the world's hypocrisy, but his heart hadn't grown crooked, on the contrary, he learned how to greater appreciate and repay kindness. Because Zhou Yun Sheng granted his mother a title today, and even allowed her to move into the ancestral graves, he felt lifelong gratefulness to him.

In the last life, when the An Prince instigated a rebellion, he saved Zhou Yun Sheng and forcefully broke out of the encirclement, then acted as his shield, dying by a barrage of arrows. Zhou Yun Sheng had repeatedly tried to send him away, but he refused, bluntly vowing to die for the Emperor. Already used to seeing only the dark side of humanity, Zhou Yun Sheng's heart was colder than anyone else's, but also warmer than anyone else's. If someone treated him badly, he would pay them back a thousand fold, but if they were good to him, he would always remember them.

He'd thought, if his lover was here, he would definitely be the silly boy who'd sacrificed himself for him, but the reality was exactly the opposite of his expectations. But either way, it didn't affect his determination to repay this silly boy.

Zhou Yun Sheng motioned Meng Kang to sit by his side, and sensibly asked him about his experience in the army, naturally inquiring about his life experience. In the last life, Meng Kang also exchanged his reward for a title, but when he returned home, the Marchioness secretly suppressed him from the dark, and even married him off to her niece in order to control him. That woman was the Marchioness' puppet, she secretly reported all of Meng Kang's political moves to the Marchioness, who had her spy and push Meng Kang into precarious situations several times, making him lose assignments, his good future almost destroyed.

In this life, Zhou Yun Sheng would never let those demons and monsters once again plot against this boy.

"An eight foot tall [Ancient Measurements used here] strong man, why are you crying? Where did this gigantic young lady come from, quickly wipe your tears." Zhou Yun Sheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he tossed over his bright yellow handkerchief. He still remembered when he was unjustly imprisoned in the dungeon with Meng Kang, he was also like now, lying in front of him and weeping, the smooth marble floor turned slimy, making Zhou Yun Sheng almost slip and fall. This guy's rough exterior and teddy bear heart remained unchanged, how nostalgic.

Watching Meng Kang puff and puff as he blew his nose, Zhou Yun Sheng supported his forehead on his hand and laughed out loud.

Zhao Xuan was the son of the first wife, Zhao Bi Xuan was a concubine's daughter, although the two were siblings, they were separated by different wombs, so their feelings were not deep. When they met, they greeted each other mutually, visited the Second Prince, then said their goodbyes. Before Zhou Xuan could walk into the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he heard a burst of bright laughter flow along the house beams and fly outside, intense like the collision of an army, but also calming like a breeze sweeping over grasslands.

His ear tips unable to stop trembling at the sound, he stood at the door, awaiting a summons.

Liu He politely greeted him then walked inside, announcing that Duke Yu Gou was seeking an audience. This was Zhao Xuan's newly granted title, which made him an even higher ranked official than his father, Marquess Wen Yuan. This title was granted to him as early as when he was returning to the imperial capital in triumph, it was already recorded and couldn't be altered. Zhou Yun Sheng could only blame himself for arriving too late, he was too late to hold back Zhao Jia's growth.

"Let him come in." Zhou Yun Sheng put away his smile, his heart depressed.

Zhao Xuan's ear tips were still trembling, so he immediately noticed the displeasure hidden in the man's gloomy voice. He quickly scoured his memories for any times he had slighted the Emperor, but could only conclude that it was a case of 'The boss is uneasy at the subordinate's promotion'. He couldn't hold back a secret sneer, since ancient times, has any enormously powerful General gotten a good ending? Even the fierce General who helped found Da Qi was thrown away after he was used up, this showed that receiving the Emperor's suspicion and jealousy was a common occurrence.

He rubbed the ornamental thumb ring on his left hand and walked in to greet the Emperor.

"Stand up. This West expedition has been very exhausting for you, and the time is not early, why don't you stay here tonight and accompany me to dinner? Tomorrow I will make arrangements for another feast to reward the soldiers, you can eat and drink to your heart's content." Zhou Yun Sheng endured and endured, but in the end he couldn't help but grip the other man's hand and pull him up, covertly caressing the back of his hand in the process.

Zhao Xuan thanked him for his favor and tucked his hand into his sleeves, clenching a fist. For some reason, the slice of skin the Emperor touched felt scalding hot.

At the mention of dinner, Meng Kang felt an oncoming headache. He was very afraid of banquets, because he needed to put on a refined appearance while facing a table full of delicacies, holding back his drooling, and naturally, he could never eat enough to feel satisfied, it was simply torture! Seeing his face turning red and white, Zhou Yun Sheng couldn't stop snickering. This boy was always the same, his thoughts all written on his face, others could read him at a glance.

"Liu He, don't give him a bowl, directly bring young General Meng the rice tub." Zhou Yun Sheng couldn't help but speak up when he saw the palace maid lay out small sized wine cups and bowls on the table. He gestured to the two people seated at his side, his mood light.

Liu He stood up at a loss, thinking that he had misheard.

Zhao Xuan's pupils flashed. He hadn't expected the Emperor and Meng Kang to become so intimate in such a short time, even amiably taking care of this awkward dining table event. He couldn't help but glance over, surprised to see the Emperor smiling brightly at Meng Kang's flushed red face, his beautiful jade-like face shimmering, gorgeous like spring flowers. He stared fixatedly, barely managing to drag his eyes away.

"Your majesty the Emperor, this small official will use these bowls, they're very big, more than enough to eat." Meng Kang wasn't very eloquent, after fumbling around he could only choke out this sentence.

"Yes, enough to fill you up at your fourth or fifth bowl." Zhou Yun Sheng tapped the edge of his bowl with his silver chopsticks, inadvertently glancing in Zhao Xuan's direction. But from start to finish, the other man kept his head down, seemingly deferential, so his heart felt even more depressed.

Meng Kang didn't think the Emperor would find out about his large appetite so quickly, embarrassed, he glanced at the Grand General with a request for help in his eyes.

Zhao Xuan opened his mouth to help him out, but the Emperor unexpectedly waved, "Liu He, bring the rice tub over, on imperial orders young General Meng must eat till he's full today. If he doesn't finish eating, he is not allowed to leave the palace."

Liu He held back a smile and promised, ordering the palace maid to directly fetch a small rice tub and place it in front of Meng Kang.

Meng Kang glanced at General Zhao then glanced at the Emperor, his heart tangled. In the end, who gossiped about him having an appetite as big as an ox? It actually ended up spreading all the way to royalty! Ba, since it's an imperial order to eat, he could only obey it. Moreover, the imperial chef's craftsmanship had a fully justified reputation, even with just a slight whiff of the dishes, he couldn't stop drooling, if he didn't use the tub to catch it, he feared that it would flow to the ground. Holding fast to a do or die mentality, Meng Kang thanked the Emperor for his favor and pulled the rice tub closer.

Zhou Yun Sheng had meticulously instructed the imperial kitchen to cook a few of the boy's favorite dishes, picking up a dish, he directly poured it into his tub and warmly said, "Eat slowly, don't choke." In the last life, when the boy died in his arms, his last words were: "We've been on the run for three days and three nights without a full meal, I fear that I'll become a starved ghost. Your Majesty, please don't forget to roast a suckling pig for this small official someday."

Such a ridiculous statement, but it concealed a desolate helplessness, making Zhou Yun Sheng break out in tears, unable to wipe them all away. After reincarnating so many times, at that time, Meng Kang was the only one who had willingly given up his life for him. Although the boy was motivated by a mixture of feudalistic ethics and loyalty to the Emperor, there was also deep, sincere feelings, so Zhou Yun Sheng was never able to forget about him.

Recalling the past, Zhou Yun Sheng waved to Liu He, "Have the imperial kitchen bring out the roast suckling pig."

The silent Zhao Xuan suddenly looked up at him. Zhao Xuan was well aware of each of his subordinates' preferences, which naturally included Meng Kang. Among the dishes spread over the table, nine out of ten of them were Meng Kang's favorite dishes, even odder, the boy always rambled about how he dreamt of eating a roast suckling pig when he returned from the border. Why did the Emperor know so much about this nameless young General, to the point of seeming like they're old friends? What was he planning to do, cultivate Meng Kang and use him against him?

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan's eyes clouded, but he quickly covered it up. Meng Kang was courageous, but he wasn't very astute, he was incapable of supporting and commanding a whole army, how could he rebel against him? The Emperor ascended the throne at 11, and was skillful enough to take over the government by the time he turned 14, he would never rely on such an unrealistic scheme. Ba, no matter what he's scheming, my calm will not break.

Zhou Yun Sheng's line of sight frequently touched upon the other man's face, so he immediately read his worries, and couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart. His lover had amnesia, so he had never expected lighting to fall and the ground to quake as soon as they met, falling madly in love at first sight. The other man came to this world a long time ago, while his consciousness was assimilating with the world, his subconscious slowly went into hibernation, it would probably be very difficult to wake him up.

Looks like this life needs some grinding. At this thought, Zhou Yun Sheng raised his glass and warmly said, "Duke Yu Gou, have a toast with me."

Zhao Xuan raised his glass respectfully, his face full of reverence, but his heart was still. He couldn't afford to reveal the slightest bit of fear of imperial power.