CH 7

Chapter 7 Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip

It was nearing noon the next day when Li Jinyu woke up leisurely.

He had been accustomed to sleeping until noon since his time as a hamster, and even after coming here, he yawned all the way to early morning court every day.

Opening his eyes to the bright sunlight, Li Jinyu's first reaction in his drowsy head was, "Why didn't anyone wake him up for early morning court today?"

He sat up suddenly, blinked in confusion, and only then did he realize that he had slept in Huo Caiyu's bedroom last night to avoid the unclean spirit's attack!

At the thought of Huo Caiyu, he couldn't help but turn his head.

Huo Caiyu was still in the same position as the night before, leaning against the head of the bed and holding a book in his hand. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing steadily, indicating that he was sound asleep.

Li Jinyu was a little surprised. Huo Caiyu actually maintained this posture and slept all night? That's amazing!

He had slept on his stomach all night, and his waist and legs were a little sore. How could Huo Caiyu endure this posture?

Standing up and moving his legs, he saw Huo Caiyu frowning and slowly opening his eyes.

Li Jinyu was a little embarrassed. "Are you awake?"

At first, there was still a trace of drowsiness in Huo Caiyu's deep brown eyes when he woke up, but it quickly disappeared without a trace as he regained his usual indifference. However, when he looked up and met Li Jinyu's gaze, there was a slight wavering in his cold demeanor.

Li Jinyu stood with his back to the light, and his handsome face wore a smile tinged with apology. The warm light shining in from the deep-patterned window cast a soft glow over his entire being through his loose-fitting robes.

His smile was innocent and bright, like a child who didn't know much about the world, which was a stark contrast to Huo Caiyu's remembered image of being cruel and malicious.

The flicker of emotion in Huo Caiyu's eyes was fleeting and quickly returned to their usual coldness.

Huo Caiyu reflected on his own naivety, having believed that the Emperor was as innocent and guileless as a child, despite already recognizing the true nature of the Emperor and his court.

Just look at the potent medicine the imperial physician prescribed for him at the beginning. If he didn't know some pharmacology, he would have been long dead by now!

Huo Caiyu stretched and got up to bow to Li Jinyu.

After reclaiming his life in the prison, he did not plan to give it away in vain to this tyrant.

Noticing that Huo Caiyu's movements were somewhat stiff and sluggish, Li Jinyu felt guilty, knowing that he had caused this. He asked, "Are you feeling alright?"

Huo Caiyu's injuries were not yet fully healed! If something were to happen to the future Emperor's health, and the Heaven recorded another crime against him, what would he do?

Huo Caiyu didn't know why Li Jinyu had been so concerned about him these past few days, so he kept his guard up and answered with his head lowered, "This lowly commoner is fine."

Li Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief.

The sky had brightened up. Li Jinyu no longer sense last night's chill, and he began to feel uncomfortable with Huo Caiyu's imperial aura. He took a step back, and found an excuse, "Zhen still have state affairs to attend to, so Zhen will leave first."

As soon as he stepped out of the door, a eunuch who was waiting in advance greeted Li Jinyu and said, "May Your Majesty be blessed. The orchid bath is ready. Please take a bath."

As per usual, after spending time with his consort, the Emperor was expected to take a bath. However, Emperor Jingchang had a bad temper, so the eunuchs wouldn't dare to knock on the door and had to wait outside until they received an order to do so.

When the Emperor came out still wearing his inner clothes from the previous night, the waiting eunuch couldn't help but feel a little suspicious in his heart. Last night, His Majesty hurriedly came to Jinxu Pavillion alone and stayed until noon. Could it be that there wasn't a bestowing of favor upon Young Master Huo?

As a hamster, Li Jinyu hated water the most, so he immediately refused, "Zhen doesn't need it."

He only used sand baths in the modern world and never took water baths.

The eunuch was taken aback for a moment, and his heart was momentarily delighted for Huo Caiyu. It seemed that Young Master Huo had not fallen victim to His Majesty's hand...

But he soon heard the Emperor add, "Give that bath... to Huo Caiyu."

The eunuch instinctively said, "According to ancestral rules, only Your Majesty is qualified to enjoy the orchid bath..."

Li Jinyu looked at him in surprise.

The eunuch suddenly understood something. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he quickly lowered his head. "This slave will arrange it immediately!"

What ancestral rules? Since when did His Majesty care about rules?

It was really surprising that Young Master Huo, a man, could easily win the favor of His Majesty. Even the most favored Consort Xian had never spent a night in the palace, let alone enjoyed the imperial orchid bath...

Actually, Li Jinyu was surprised when he saw the eunuch earlier. He couldn't believe that people in ancient times had such complicated rules even for taking a bath.

He wanted to let it go, but he didn't expect the eunuch's attitude to change so quickly.

Li Jinyu didn't think much about it and left Jinxu Pavilion feeling relieved.

.........

In the magnificent Hexin Palace, Consort Xian sat in front of a green jade table, allowing a palace maid apply polish on her nails.

At this time of year, the camellias were particularly beautiful. Fresh, tender and intact camellias were mashed, their juice mixed with some spices, and applied on the nails, making them stunningly beautiful.

After a while, a little palace maid hurriedly came in and knelt in front of Consort Xian. "Your Highness, His Majesty has already left the Jinxiu Pavilion."

Consort Xian raised her eyes and frowned slightly. "His Majesty is just leaving at this hour?"

In the past, His Majesty would stay in various palaces and halls, but would always leave before the morning court.

"Before leaving, His Majesty also instructed to arrange orchid bath for Young Master Huo."

This was even more unusual.

Even Consort Xian never enjoyed this kind of treatment.

Especially last night, His Majesty was supposed to turn to her for affection, but she unexpectedly fell asleep halfway through. When she woke up, she found out that His Majesty had gone to the Jinxiu Pavilion and stayed there overnight.

This kind of "affection robbing" incident happened from time to time in the palace, but it was the first time that Consort Xian had experienced it despite her long-standing favor.

A hint of resentment flashed in her eyes. She had previously bribed the imperial physician to use some heavy medicine in treating Huo Caiyu's injuries, hoping to cause that man surnamed Huo to suffer. She thought that Huo Caiyu would get punished and sent to the inner prison, but unexpectedly, he gradually recovered!

And now he dared to snatch away her prey!

There were a few lower-ranked concubines sitting below in the Hexin Palace. One of them was anxiously whispered, "His Majesty is so infatuated with Huo Caiyu. Your Highness..."

Consort Xian was still calm, slightly raising her head and showing a hint of disdain on her face, "Huo Caiyu is just a male pet who can't even enter the front door. If His Majesty just wants to try something new, it's fine. How could he pose a threat to this mistress?"

Seeing that the other concubines still looked uneasy, Consort Xian deliberately smiled and said, "His Majesty promised me last night that he would send Huo Caiyu away from the palace today."

The other concubines immediately breathed a sigh of relief and congratulated, "Your Highness is really able to handle things well. These lowly concubines are really inexperienced."

"His Majesty naturally will not be willing to disappoint Your Highness."

The Supreme Emperor would certainly not make grand promises, and besides, how could a stiff man compare to the concubines in the harem?

Consort Xian was the niece of the current Prime Minister and with his power and influence, how could the Emperor not take her into consideration!

Consort Xian's face brightened, pretending to be reserved, and said, "Let's wait and see."

.........

Li Jinyu was unaware that his stay with Huo Caiyu the previous night had caused a discussion among the imperial concubines.

He didn't attend the morning court today. According to the eunuchs, the Prime Minister sent someone to inquire about his absence, but stopped asking once he found out that Li Jinyu stayed in the Jinxiu Pavilion.

Without him, the political affairs of the court officials would not be affected in the slightest. Li Jinyu felt like he was unnecessary. But anyway, he didn't want to stare at the ministers who couldn't recognize him. The ministers looked nervous and scared, not realizing that he was also afraid in his heart.

Even in his human form, he couldn't resist his natural fear.

Compared with politics, Li Jinyu was more worried about the inexplicable cold air that came last night.

The source of that thing was unknown. Li Jinyu guessed that it might be the resentment left by Emperor Jingchang's excessive killing and lingering grievances.

He had never come into contact with this dark force before, so he didn't know how to deal with them. With not much spiritual power to begin with, he had even less left after being struck by Heavenly Thunder. He couldn't fly even if he wanted to, let alone fight that kind of force!

Moreover, that force gave him a bone-deep sense of fear, making it impossible for him to summon any fighting spirit.

Did the original Emperor often encounter these things as well? Was he not afraid?

Li Jinyu remembered that despite being a cruel and incompetent ruler, Emperor Jingchang had at least been a legitimate ruler, as he was protected by the imperial Ziwei aura that kept undesirable forces at bay. However, after Li Jinyu had transmigrated into his body, the essence of the original Emperor had changed, and he no longer possessed the Ziwei aura, which he had lost as a result.

At this thought, Li Jinyu's heart was filled with grievances. He had never done any evil, but he was still punished for the sins of the original Emperor...

But what could he do if Heaven wouldn't let him escape?

Back in the bedroom, Li Jinyu paced back and forth, feeling a little uneasy. He had managed to escape the evil force this time by running to Huo Caiyu's side in time, relying on the protagonist's halo to avoid the danger. But what about after Huo Caiyu left the palace? How would he face those things?

How about keeping Huo Caiyu here for a few more days?

Li Jinyu's heart skipped a beat.

Although there was still a long plot ahead for Huo Caiyu, his injury had not yet fully healed! If anything were to happen to Huo Caiyu after leaving the palace, causing the future Emperor to die prematurely, wouldn't that be Li Jinyu's fault!

Moreover, Huo Caiyu's injury was caused by Emperor Jingchang!

Having found a reason to convince himself, Li Jinyu sat down comfortably and called a eunuch in. "Which is the nearest palace to Zhen's sleeping quarters?"

The eunuch was confused and could only answer, "The nearest one to Your Majesty's quarters is the Jiaolan Palace."

Li Jinyu nodded and ordered, "Arrange for Huo Caiyu to stay there."

The eunuch widened his eyes and stuttered for a moment.

The Jiaolan Palace was not a place where any imperial concubine could live.

In the court of the Emperor, it was the exclusive palace of the Empress!

In the previous dynasties, even the most favored consorts could not live in the Jiaolan Palace before the ceremony of bestowal of a noble title.

During the reign of the Late Emperor, before his Empress was named, there was a bold and arrogant Consort who, relying on the Late Emperor's favor, wanted to stay in the Jiaolan Palace for one night to to try to gain some of the happiness of the future Empress. The Late Emperor, in a moment of confusion, agreed to her request. However, that same night, the former Empress Dowager, having heard the news, came with her cane and scolded the Late Emperor for more than an hour. In the end, he had no choice but to send the favored Consort directly to the cold palace to calm the anger in the harem.

Now, His Majesty was even more ruthless, actually allowing an unknown and insignificant man like Huo Caiyu to live there?!

The Empress Dowager would probably come and scold His Majesty herself!

The eunuch's forehead broke out in cold sweat. He wanted to say something, but he didn't dare open his mouth.

Li Jinyu couldn't help but feel strange when he saw that the eunuch didn't follow the order as usual. "Why aren't you going yet?"

The eunuch was hesitating whether to advise against it, but now he immediately shut his mouth.

Naturally, His Majesty wouldn't be unaware of the significance of the Jiaolan Palace. Why would he take the risk of provoking His Majesty by making such a request?

As the eunuch left with his head down, he shrank his neck slightly.

How much turmoil would this decree from His Majesty would cause...