CH 16

The next day was the auspicious day calculated by the Imperial Astrologer. After the Imperial Noble Consort Yun got up, it took her a whole morning just to get dressed.

But it was time well spent; as she was supported by her maids, her beauty could not be overshadowed even by her jewelled crown.

Almost all the consorts and concubines had arrived. The harem of Emperor Qingyuan was really rich. Standing together, the consorts and concubines practically filled the entire hall. Being stared at by so many pairs of eyes, full of envy, jealousy or cynicism hadn’t made the smile on the face of Consort Yun change.

Emperor Qingyuan stood there, with a smile he could not conceal since he saw her enter. She had nothing left but disgust for this man in her heart, but she still had to slowly walk towards him step by step.

She knew very well what supported her through all this. It was the handkerchief embroidered with an ugly little chicken that she held in her palm.

Emperor Qingyuan took her hand and asked her in a voice that only two people could hear: “Yun’er, are you nervous? Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

She shook her head gently, glancing to the right unconsciously.

Fu Zhiyu stood there, wearing formal clothes and a jade crown for the first time after his illness, looking very energetic.

With a soft smile in his eyes, he looked at his mother. As soon as Consort Yun glanced at him, she felt as if she had been given infinite strength.

On this occasion, she was not the only one staring at Fu Zhiyu. The rest of the consorts, as well as the princes and princesses, and even the newly arrived imperial guards standing at the entrance were whispering.

“What! A! Beauty!” The young man standing next to Xie Ke was called Lu Linhai. He had a lively personality, remembering a carrot but not a stick. He was warned by the boss only a few days ago, but now he still couldn’t help but speak up, “No wonder people say that Consort Yun is a long-term favourite in the harem, and Wang Zhao is the most beloved child of the emperor. If it were me, I would also spoil her like a treasure.”

“Say a few words less,“ Du Yin, standing next to him, didn’t know how many times he had warned him. “If the emperor hears this, consider yourself lucky if he just pulls out your tongue.”

Xie Ke, who stood at the front, glanced at Lu Linhai and added gloomily: “I won’t wait for the emperor to come, I’ll pull out your tongue first.”

Lu Linhai touched his nose and closed his mouth, but he knew in his heart that although the boss beat him into a pulp on the martial arts field, he was still a good brother.

“Isn’t the boss staring too?” He muttered, “A few days ago when he got a little free time, he ran to Liuli Palace but didn’t dare to go in…”

Du Yin didn’t dare to answer this either, just secretly looked at Xie Ke’s face.

Advertisements

In fact, he also felt that the boss was a little strange. Not to mention the incident of meeting Wang Zhao soon after entering the palace, as well as his subsequent performance, there was a lot to think about.

Last month, Du Yin told Xie Ke about the selection of the imperial guards, but Xie Ke clearly refused, and then disappeared for several days inexplicably. Who knows where he had been, but after he came back, he suddenly changed his mind for some reason. He relied on the emperor’s special approval to participate in the selection, and later they entered the palace together.

It seemed that he had changed since he saved Wang Zhao from the ice lake.

Du Yin calculated silently that he and Xie Ke had known each other for seven years. Both he and Lu Linhai were the sons of the main wives. Although their families were not as high as General Xie’s, their fathers were also well-known second-rank generals with military achievements. Calling Xie Ke, the son of a concubine, the boss was completely the result of them being convinced by his authority.

It doesn’t matter whose son a hero is. And if one might say something disrespectful, the emperor was also the son of a concubine.

Although Xie Ke was regarded as an unparalleled talent, he was only nineteen years old. His heart was still juvenile and he still needed to grow up.

But now Du Yin had only caught a glimpse of part of Xie Ke’s planning, and he felt shocked. Lu Linhai was carefree and had no idea what kind of plans the boss was making and was already gradually putting into practice.

What made Xie Ke so eager? Even a little desperate?

Du Yin looked at the man standing in the hall.

Lu Linhai was right. With so many people there, Wang Zhao was noticeable at a glance. Even though he was standing a bit aside, with his appearance, had he even stood in a nook or a cranny, one would still look at him, finding him in the sea of people.

No way…

Du Yin took a breath and turned to look at the boss again. Except for occasionally patrolling the surroundings, Xie Ke spent the rest of his time staring at Wang Zhao.

I think he is crazy, and I am crazy too, Du Yin thought. He felt that his mind was shaken, but when he looked at the person standing there, fair like a jade, he felt that Xie Ke’s thoughts were not completely unreasonable.

This was the legendary beauty that destroyed cities, the grave of a hero. Du Yin looked at the sky sadly.

In fact, Fu Zhiyu also felt it. Xie Ke’s eyes were like nails. He didn’t care about anyone’s gaze in this hall, only Xie Ke’s made him feel creepy.

Advertisements

He glanced over there, and sure enough, he saw three familiar faces.

In addition to Xie Ke, Lu Linhai and Du Yin were also good acquaintances from his previous lives. He recognised them in the imperial garden at that time.

The roles of these two in the original book were much bigger than that of his, a cannon fodder who lived for one-fifth of the book. They were Xie Ke’s right-hand men and had followed Xie Ke since he was still young. Although the protagonist gathered a lot of younger brothers when he was fighting his battles, the status of these two generals was still unshakable, and their final ending was also very good. Their whole life could be regarded as glorious.

The world was rebooted but some things still hadn’t changed.

Fu Zhiyu looked away. He seemed to be submerged in memories, his mind wandering off for a while, and he didn’t regain his senses until the ceremonial music started.

The ceremony of conferring the title continued for almost the whole day. At night, the emperor naturally stayed in Liuli Palace. Fu Zhiyu stayed in his house. In front of him was the pot of flowers that he had doused with his blood.

The flower was now growing better and better, and the little rice-grain buds were all blooming. In the middle of winter the flower bloomed excitedly with its little pink flowers all day, and only at night did it reluctantly lose some of its petals.

Fu Zhiyu wrapped his fingers around its leaves and played with them, while planning to leave the palace tomorrow. Tonight, some of the servants in his place were transferred to his mother’s side to help; after all, there were many things to be cleaned up after the ceremony. So there were fewer people around.

Liuli Palace was very big, but it couldn’t hide the fact that it was a cage.

Fu Zhiyu sighed and looked up at the sky, only to feel sleepy. He stretched out and was ready to go to bed.

But in the middle of the night he woke up with a start, as if he suddenly felt something was wrong. He half opened his eyes and listened to the slightest rattle in the room.

It was the sound of the window being opened.

Perhaps because of his mutation, Fu Zhiyu felt that he was also much more sensitive lately. He didn’t like to have people waiting at his bedside when he slept at night, so his servants were all outside. But they weren’t far from his bed, just a few steps away, and the sound of the window opening was very obvious, yet no one had come over.

Fu Zhiyu’s nose twitched and he caught a strange smell in the air.

Was it incense?

This thing probably had little effect on his mutated body. Fu Zhiyu remained awake, feeling that the window was closed again, and the sound of footsteps slowly got closer and closer to his bed.

Of course he could call someone, but Fu Zhiyu was also wondering who on earth dared to do this. The Crown Prince? The Third Prince? There was no need for them to do this, besides, the emperor was staying in Liuli Palace tonight and there were so many guards. Even if one of them  wanted to do something, they wouldn’t pick this time.

The room was very dark, with only a faint bit of moonlight coming in. Fu Zhiyu pretended to continue sleeping, feeling that the man was getting closer and closer and then lifted the curtain of his bed.

Fu Zhiyu heard the man’s breathing change to a gasp, as if he was short of breath all of a sudden. Then he got closer and closer, and finally hugged Fu Zhiyu through the quilt.

Fu Zhiyu: “……”

Although he was very reluctant to admit it, he did recognise who the man was by this intimate gesture.

Xie Ke.

No wonder he was able to enter under such a guard. He was the imperial guard himself, so it was equivalent to stealing from himself.

Fu Zhiyu hesitated for a while. If he got up and called for someone, if the protagonist was caught on the spot, would this result in a grudge? He just wanted to stay as far away from Xie Ke as possible. Why did this man have to come?

Most importantly, what was he doing here?

While Fu Zhiyu was struggling with his doubts, Xie Ke had already rolled onto the bed and hugged him tighter. Fu Zhiyu was sleeping facing the wall, with his back to Xie Ke, so he could only feel Xie Ke’s breath brushing over his ear, and then he felt a cool lick on his earlobe.

Fu Zhiyu heard Xie Ke’s low voice; it was as if a demon was talking. “Zhiyu was so beautiful today, but it was a pity that I could only stand there and look at you.”

“But you don’t have to wait too long,” Xie Ke paused for a while, smiled softly, and whispered, “The baby will be mine sooner or later, mine alone.”

Fu Zhiyu: “???” What was he doing?

Xie Ke didn’t actually stay for long and didn’t have time to do anything. He just hugged Fu Zhiyu for a while and kissed his earlobe and the side of his face. After all, as an imperial guard, he couldn’t disappear for too long.

But after he left, Fu Zhiyu didn’t fall asleep for the rest of the night, keeping his eyes open until dawn.

No one could have fallen asleep under such circumstances.

It was just that Fu Zhiyu didn’t have a trace of romantic thoughts in his heart now. He only remembered that the last time he was so close to Xie Ke at night, this man sent someone to kill him the next morning.