Chapter 67 Comfortable "It was clearly your water, but you expect me to clean it up?..."

"Surround the palace and capture Shan Mingyuan alive."

After giving his instructions, Xie Lanzhou rode away with Su Panyue.

Having been exhausted from a night of running around, Su Panyue was completely drained. He held her in his arms, and she leaned lazily against his chest, inhaling the familiar ambergris scent emanating from the man.

Her tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and she actually fell asleep on the bumpy horse.

When Su Panyue woke up again, she found herself lying on the bed in the mansion where Shan Mingyuan had kept her locked up.

She was startled and sat up abruptly. Could all her desperate attempts to escape have just been a dream?

Then a pair of warm, large hands touched her shoulders.

"woke up."

A familiar voice came from behind her. Turning her head, she saw Xie Lanzhou sitting by the bed and suddenly threw herself into his arms.

"I miss you so much." Su Panyue hugged him tightly, her voice muffled as it came from her chest.

Xie Lanzhou hugged her even tighter, remaining silent for a moment, but Su Panyue heard his inner thoughts:

I miss you more; I really can't live without you.

The two embraced quietly for a long, long time.

Su Panyue's heart gradually calmed down. Suddenly remembering something, she looked up and asked, "You won, right? What about Shan Mingyuan?"

Xie Lanzhou didn't answer her question, but instead lowered his head and kissed her.

Like a traveler in the desert encountering a sudden downpour, he gently licked Su Panyue's lips, then gradually moved deeper, ruthlessly prying open her pearly teeth, hooking her soft little tongue to dance with it, entwined endlessly.

Su Panyue gradually succumbed to this onslaught, and as she drifted into a daze from the kisses, she heard his thoughts again:

[While with me, she was thinking about other men.]

She gave a muffled hum, trying to defend herself, but the man leaned over and pinned her down completely.

The familiar large hand soothed her emotions inch by inch, making her forget everything else and immerse herself completely in it, sending shivers down her spine.

"I haven't showered yet..." Su Panyue's voice changed slightly as she grabbed his hand that was approaching her and whispered.

"I washed you while you were asleep," the man said in a deep voice, his warm breath brushing against her ear.

Su Panyue's face turned even redder. After all, it had been more than a month since they last met, and she felt somewhat awkward doing this again after such a long separation.

Xie Lanzhou rubbed her slightly flushed face, easily grasped her soft wrist, placed it on top of her head, and then leaned down to continue downwards.

Su Panyue's face turned so red it could drip blood. She was both ashamed and angry, and she raised her leg to kick him, muttering incoherent words like "get lost, you hooligan."

He grabbed her ankle, held it in his hand, and gently rubbed it with his calloused fingers.

Su Panyue's insteps arched involuntarily, and one of her freed hands grabbed his hair, the black silk thread passing through his fingers. She was reluctant to use force, so her act of resistance turned into a half-pull and half-pull.

When it came time to get down to business, Su Panyue was already as if she had been pulled out of the water, angrily leaving three scratch marks on his back.

"You, you, you shameless scoundrel!" she shouted, tears welling in her eyes, looking utterly pitiful.

"Fine, I'll let you off this time."

As the man's inner voice came through, he let out a soft breath and slowly rose, still feeling unsatisfied.

Xie Lanzhou tenderly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

He then reached out and scooped the person up, holding them steadily in his arms as he walked towards the nearby washroom.

Su Panyue instinctively hooked her arm around his neck and asked hesitantly, "Where are we going?"

"I'll wash you up." Xie Lanzhou said as she stepped into the bathroom.

Su Panyue gave a soft "oh" and murmured, "Aren't we going to do it anymore?"

Xie Lanzhou filled the bathtub with water, tested the temperature, and gently placed her inside, asking in a low voice:

"Aren't you tired anymore?"

After a whole night of running around and being under a lot of stress, it's not something that can be recovered with just a good night's sleep; she was naturally exhausted.

However, Xie Lanzhou hadn't put on her clothes yet. She glanced down at him hesitantly, then looked away as if she had been burned.

She asked softly, "Aren't you uncomfortable like this?"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance at it a couple more times. Su Panyue swallowed hard; that thing was truly both cute and terrifying.

Seeing Su Panyue's conflicted expression, Xie Lanzhou chuckled softly and said casually:

"Compared to losing you, what is this pain?"

As he splashed warm water on her shoulders, he whispered in her ear, "There's plenty of time, I'm not in a hurry."

Su Panyue relaxed, soaking in the warm water. The man massaged her shoulders with just the right amount of pressure, making her squint her eyes in comfort.

She laughed and said, "Your Majesty is doing this servant's job again."

"Whatever makes you comfortable."

These words had a double meaning, and Su Panyue gave him a coquettish look.

Then he asked, "Did you miss me while I was gone?"

Xie Lanzhou turned her face towards him: "If you leave without saying goodbye again, I..."

"What will you do?" Su Panyue asked curiously.

"Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king. I will find you wherever you go," Xie Lanzhou said confidently.

Su Panyue pondered it for a moment, and it was indeed true. Now that he had brought both the Yan and Lu kingdoms under his control, he was truly an emperor for all ages.

The next second, we heard the heartfelt words of this emperor who would be remembered for all time: "Please, don't leave me."

“You know I can hear you,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

Xie Lanzhou nodded calmly, slightly bent his knees and knelt beside the bathtub, pressing his forehead against hers, and whispered, "I can give up anything, but I can't live without you."

"Me too," Su Panyue replied, enunciating each word clearly.

Xie Lanzhou carefully washed and dried her, then carried her back to bed.

The servants had already changed the sheets. Remembering something, Su Panyue pulled the blanket over half her face and whispered, "If this happens again, you'll have to change the sheets. I'll be too ashamed to face anyone if others find out."

Xie Lanzhou had just finished taking a cold shower, dried himself off quickly, and got into bed with her. He stroked her hair and said, "It was clearly your water, but you expect me to clean it up?"

These words angered Su Panyue so much that she pinched his waist, but the man's strong waist had not an ounce of fat.

Su Panyue checked again carefully, "Have you lost a lot of weight? Have you been eating properly?"

Xie Lanzhou didn't answer her question, but just smiled and said, "If you touch me again, I won't let you off the hook."

Su Panyue pouted, placed her hand back on his chest muscle, stopped moving around, and began to talk about her experiences during this period.

"Shan Mingyuan first locked me in this courtyard, and then when you broke in, he took me and fled back to the palace. Then he had the idea of ​​using me to blackmail you, so I tried every means to escape."

“I had heard Prince Chang Le mention that there was a secret passage in Huaqing Palace, and that’s how I escaped.”

Xie Lanzhou mentally estimated the distance from Huaqing Palace to where she was found, and secretly clenched her fist. "You've suffered, and I will make him pay a thousand times over."

"Actually, Shan Mingyuan didn't make things difficult for me..." On the contrary, he was quite nice to me. As Su Panyue spoke, she saw the man's increasingly gloomy face and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

"He wants to marry you, and you agreed?" Xie Lanzhou asked softly.

Su Panyue quickly denied it, "Of course not, I'm not the kind of person who starts something and then abandons it."

"Would you be willing to marry me?" Xie Lanzhou stared intently at her with his dark eyes, his thin lips slightly pursed, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"I'm willing, but aren't I already your imperial concubine?" Su Panyue asked, somewhat puzzled.

"not enough."

"I have already ordered the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the empress's investiture ceremony. We will choose an auspicious day to get married."

Su Panyue blinked and responded.

After resting for a while, Xie Lanzhou had to go to handle official business. The Qi army had just moved in, and there were still many things that required his decision. Su Panyue had been in a coma for a day, and he had stayed by her bedside all day. Shouxi outside was already pacing around anxiously.

Xie Lanzhou tucked the blanket around Su Panyue before coming out.

"What is it?"

Shouxi replied, "Your Majesty, the soldiers of Lu have been brought under control, but many are dissatisfied and cause trouble every day."

"There are also many royal relatives in Lu who we don't know how to deal with. Shan Mingyuan has also been saying that he has something to tell you."

"There are also some nomadic people in the north who are still unwilling to submit to the Great Qi."

"In addition, that ghost doctor asked you when you would go to Beiling to collect blood-clotting flowers."

Xie Lanzhou listened with a furrowed brow, looking somewhat impatient. Only after Shouxi finished speaking tremblingly did he begin to speak:

"Hand over all the troublemaking soldiers to Ji Hongxi. As for the royal family of Lu, kill those who should be killed and exile those who should be exiled. Let the nomadic people go as they please. Tell Gui Bo to wait a few more days."

"Where is Shanmingyuan Pass? I'll go see him first."

Xie Lanzhou's tone was extremely cold, which gave Shouxi goosebumps. He quickly agreed and led him over.

The dungeon was heavily guarded. As you descended the dark, damp steps, you unlocked the layers of doors, and at the very end, you found Shan Mingyuan locked up.

His usual white clothes were so dirty that their color was no longer discernible, his hair was disheveled, and his hands and feet were chained together with long iron chains. He leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.

Xie Lanzhou approached and looked down at him.

Shan Mingyuan seemed to sense something, opened his eyes and looked at him. In just one glance, he confirmed that this was the tyrant.

He opened his mouth to speak, but coughed up blood first.

He stopped and caught his breath for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice: "How is Yue'er? Don't make things difficult for her. It's not her fault. I forced her."

"Kill me if you want, but set her free."

Xie Lanzhou scoffed coldly, picked up a long whip from the side, and lashed it across his mouth. "How dare you call me Yue'er?"

Shan Mingyuan bent over again and spat out another mouthful of blood, panting with his head down.

Xie Lanzhou said in a deep voice, "Of course she did nothing wrong. You were the one who locked her up as a bargaining chip. How dare you say such things to me now?"

Shan Mingyuan wiped the blood from his face, his eyes fixed on him with resentment, and suddenly laughed:

"Do you know that she and I grew up together, and during this time we were practically husband and wife?"

Xie Lanzhou lashed his back again with the whip, "Do you really think I would believe this? If you dare mention her again, I'll make you regret it."

Shan Mingyuan lay on the ground, his back ripped and bleeding from the whip, but he still smiled and said, "Did she tell you where the secret passage is? It's in the bathroom of my bedroom."

After saying that, he struggled to look up at Xie Lanzhou, but he couldn't see any change in his expression.

"It's all your fault that she ran so far away. I think your legs are no longer needed." As Xie Lanzhou spoke, he raised his foot and stomped on the back of Xie Lanzhou's knee, making a crisp sound of bones breaking.

Shan Mingyuan's jaw clenched in pain, but he still roared, "I've waited for her all alone for three years. You have so many women, how can you be worthy of her?!"

"Who said I have other women?" Xie Lanzhou said coldly.

"She told me herself, she can't stand you being like this!"

Shan Mingyuan's temples bulged with veins, and he fainted after saying those words.

Xie Lanzhou clicked his tongue, kicked him, and turned to call Imperial Physician Gao in: "Take care of him, make sure he doesn't die."

The imperial physician was speechless: "How many times have you hit him already? Just let him die."

"We can't let him die so easily," Xie Lanzhou said in a somber tone.

"Then you must understand how difficult it is for me, Your Majesty. Please be gentle, I'm begging you." Imperial Physician Gao carried his medicine chest inside.

Xie Lanzhou didn't reply. He took the handkerchief that Shouxi had prepared, wiped his hands clean, and went straight back to the courtyard.

Su Panyue was eating when she saw him return and greeted him, "You're back, come and eat."

Xie Lanzhou obediently sat down at the table, then suddenly asked, "Have you told others that I have many women?"

-----------------------

Author's Note: The young couple has started their shameless daily antics again. [doge emoji with rose in hand]