Chapter 4
"drive--"
The driver flicked the whip, the horse neighed loudly, and the carriage swayed and galloped along the official road.
The low couch in the carriage was covered with priceless Roland brocade, and a snow-white kitten was lying on it, dozing with its eyes half closed.
Marquis Changlin secretly raised his eyes to peek at the kitten. Half of the kitten's face was buried between its front paws, revealing only its crescent-shaped eyes and round forehead, and its pointed ears were slightly pressed forward.
When Marquis Changlin's eyes moved to the tip of the kitten's ears, his expression suddenly changed.
The tip of the ear, which showed a little flesh, was abnormally red and extremely gorgeous.
The image of his ear being ravaged by that vicious man involuntarily emerged in Changlin Hou's mind, and he shuddered immediately.
It's over.
Marquis Changlin looked despairing.
Before leaving, the retired emperor and his wife specifically told him to keep an eye on the little emperor.
He hadn't been paying attention and had caused such a huge mess. How was he supposed to explain this to those two people?
Perhaps it was because Marquis Changlin's gaze stayed on Yu Zhi for too long, the kitten on the couch suddenly opened its eyes and looked straight at Marquis Changlin.
"Why is your Majesty staring at me?"
The kitten spoke the voice of a young man, and his voice was still extremely hoarse like gravel rolling across the ground, but it was much better than when Changlin Hou had just seen him.
Marquis Changlin laughed dryly and asked, "Your Majesty, would you like some water?"
Yu Zhi glanced at Marquis Changlin and nodded slightly.
His throat was indeed very uncomfortable, as if a layer of flesh had been scraped by iron sand, dry and painful.
Inevitably thinking of the culprit again, Yu Zhi swung his tail irritably.
"Your Majesty, water." Marquis Changlin held a small porcelain bowl and handed it to the kitten. The half-full water in the bowl swayed as the carriage swayed.
Yu Zhi lowered his head, and his pink little tongue rolled up a curtain of water, and he began to drink it in small sips.
Ever since the young emperor ascended the throne four years ago, Marquis Changlin had rarely seen him in his true form. Seeing the furry creature again, Marquis Changlin's heart melted. He held the bowl tightly with both hands, suppressing the urge to pet the kitten.
As a spiritual beast, Yu Zhi is extremely sensitive to other people's gazes.
Sensing the gazes falling on him, Yu Zhi snorted softly, and a few small bubbles gurgled out of the bowl.
Half a bowl of water slid into his throat and moisturized it for a long time. Yu Zhi's throat was no longer so dry and painful, so he raised his head and lay back on the couch.
Suddenly, the carriage jolted, and Yu Zhi was jerked from behind. He gasped, his body instantly slumping against the blue brocade. His face wrinkled like a kitten, his claws gripping the soft couch tightly.
Marquis Changlin's heart tightened. "Your Majesty, please order the carriage to go slower."
"No!" Yu Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "We must leave Shengguo quickly, otherwise we will have more troubles."
Marquis Changlin glanced at the kitten and asked boldly, "Your Majesty, were you with Luo Tingshi last night?"
Yu Zhi suddenly looked up and his eyes changed slightly.
-
Sheng State Palace.
Luo Tingshi stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, his eyes sweeping over the eunuchs kneeling in the hall.
Everyone felt as if a sharp, bloody sword had slashed across their necks, their heads instantly severing from their necks. A young eunuch kneeling in front of them couldn't help but let out a startled cry, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
The guards immediately stepped forward and dragged him out of the hall.
Luo Tingshi retracted his gaze and spoke slowly, "Who put drugs in my wine?"
"Not a slave!"
"Your Majesty, I have never done this!"
Instantly, cries of injustice echoed throughout the hall, making Luo Tingshi's head ache. He simply waved his hand and said, "Drag them all out..."
Just as he was about to utter the word "chop it off", a pair of misty, tearful eyes suddenly appeared in front of Luo Tingshi.
The two words rolled around on the tip of his tongue before being swallowed back into Luo Tingshi's stomach. He coldly ordered, "Twenty strokes of the cane."
When everyone knew that their death sentence had been forgiven, they wept with joy and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
Wang Man, who was standing aside with his hands hanging down, looked surprised and couldn't believe his ears.
Your Majesty didn't execute them?
He had been with His Majesty for many years, and had never seen His Majesty so merciful. His Majesty had always preferred to kill a thousand innocent people rather than let one go, but today he had truly changed his ways.
Everyone left and silence returned to the hall.
A moment later, in the dead silence, Wang Man heard the emperor's voice.
"Last night, did you see the appearance of the person I carried to Lianchun Palace?"
At this moment, an extremely absurd thought flashed through Wang Man's mind -
Your Majesty, is it not because of that man that you didn't kill them?
No, no, no! That's impossible.
Your Majesty is cold-hearted and has only the country in his heart. He will never indulge in love between men and women.
It's just because that man was the first person favored by Your Majesty that Your Majesty looks at him differently.
Yes, that must be it!
Wang Man thought secretly in his heart, pricked up his ears, and listened carefully to the conversation between the guard and the emperor.
"Your Majesty, his head has been buried in your arms. We have never seen his appearance."
The emperor was silent for a while, then said, "Forget it, all of you leave."
Wang Man knew this meant he should leave as well, so he lowered his head and followed the guards out of the hall. When he reached the hall's entrance, Wang Man turned around and closed the door. As the heavy wooden door closed, he saw the emperor standing before his desk, spreading out a piece of rice paper.
Luo Tingshi picked up a small brush, dipped it in ink, and started writing.
Soon, a pair of eyes appeared on the paper.
Those were a pair of eyes filled with tears, so touching.
Luo Tingshi's gaze lingered on the painting for a long time, his brows knitted together, and his face showed a hint of doubt.
Where had he seen these eyes before?
-
In the carriage at the other end, Marquis Changlin was almost worried to death.
He made a bitter face and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please tell me the truth. Otherwise, when the Emperor returns, I won't even know how I died."
"Don't tell my father!" Yu Zhi said angrily.
"Okay, okay, I swear, as long as Your Majesty doesn't tell me, I will keep my mouth shut." Marquis Changlin raised his hand and swore, patiently coaxing the little emperor, "Please tell me, and I will give you some advice."
Yu Zhi hesitated for a while and made up his mind: "Okay, I'll tell you." He briefly told Marquis Changlin the whole story.
"So, His Majesty is in heat?"
Yu Zhi nodded.
Marquis Changlin slapped his thigh and said, "Oh no! Once in heat, she can conceive. What if..."
Marquis Changlin shuddered and asked in a trembling voice, "What should we do if Your Majesty is pregnant with Luo Tingshi's child?"
"Absolutely not!"
Yu Zhi subconsciously objected, shaking his head and muttering, "The Bai Ling clan has had difficulty conceiving since ancient times, leading to their demise. To continue our lineage, our clan gradually adapted to allow both men and women to conceive, and men could also conceive children with other men. Despite this, the Bai Ling clan gradually died out, and now only the royal family of Yu remains. Luo Tingshi and I only spent one night together, so it's impossible for me to get pregnant easily."
Marquis Changlin shook his head: "Your Majesty, don't forget that you are the product of a love affair between the Emperor and the Queen Mother..."
"Alright!" Yu Zhi interrupted Marquis Changlin and said firmly, "My Lord, please stop worrying about nothing."
Marquis Changlin caught a glimpse of the fragility that flashed across the kitten's round, black eyes. His heart faltered, and he couldn't bear to provoke him any further. He reached out and stroked the kitten's head: "Your Majesty is right, you can't be pregnant."
Yu Zhi grumbled "hmm" in a depressed tone, and lay on the couch, feeling vaguely worried.
Cat paws are not human hands, so they are quite inconvenient to move. He was unable to get all the stuff out in the morning, and there is still a lot of it left in his body.
...I'm afraid it's not good.
Yu Zhi raised his eyes and ordered the Marquis of Changlin: "Tell the driver to go faster."
-
At dusk, the carriage arrived at an inn and the group dismounted to rest.
Yu Zhi's depleted spiritual energy recovered a little, enough to support him in transforming into a human form. He followed the others into the inn, and the first thing he did after settling into the inn was to ask the waiter to bring water into the house.
There is always hot water in the store, and the waiter quickly came in carrying a bucket.
After everyone left, Yu Zhi bolted the door, took off his clothes, and stepped into the bathtub.
…More shameful than the morning.
Yu Zhi's entire body was covered in a thin layer of powder, his teeth sunk into his lower lip. Like a dying crane, his slender neck was raised high. The protrusion in his throat slid continuously, and traces of water snaked from his neck into the water.
This time, he was covered in sweat.
Suffering a double humiliation both physically and mentally, Yu Zhi hated Luo Tingshi even more.
After drying himself hastily, Yu Zhi ate a few mouthfuls of the meal sent by Marquis Changlin, then turned off the lights and went to bed.
Although he rested in the carriage all day, he was unable to really rest due to the bumpy ride.
At this moment, as soon as he touched the pillow, Yu Zhi fell into sleep instantly.
Dark and confused.
A sudden, tearing pain shot through Yu Zhi's back and reached the top of his head. Yu Zhi trembled with pain, wanting to escape but unable to, pinned to the spot. He clutched the thin blanket tightly under his palms and sobbed in pain.
After a while, the sobbing gradually changed.
That was a feeling Yu Zhi had never experienced before.
He felt as if he were thrown into the clouds, floating in the air without knowing why, and a completely unfamiliar joy engulfed him. At the same time, a huge panic quietly surged in his heart.
You may fall into the clouds and into the bottomless abyss at any time.
Yu Zhi was extremely scared and helplessly hugged the only piece of driftwood in front of him, using all four limbs to wrap around it tightly.
The next moment, the floating wood chuckled: "Be good, I will satisfy you."
Yu Zhi was immediately startled and broke out in a cold sweat, sitting up abruptly.
All he saw was pitch black, and the strange feeling he had just had disappeared without a trace. Yu Zhi supported his forehead and let out a gnashing roar in the dark night.
"asshole!"
-
Shengguo, the emperor's bedroom.
In the dark night, the man lying on the dragon bed suddenly opened his eyes.
He also had a dream.
In the dream, the boy's beautiful butterfly bones kept trembling, just like a swallowtail butterfly spreading its wings to fly.
Her slender white fingers gripped the bed railing, leveraging it to push forward. She had taken half a step when she was suddenly dragged back into the darkness.
A large hand reached forward, enveloping the slender fingers gripping the railing, cruelly prying them apart one by one. Without support, the young man's hand clenched weakly in the air before falling into a palm much larger than his own.
The big hand with blue veins imprisoned the slender jade-like hand, slowly penetrated into the gap, and intertwined with each other.
The dream was frozen in a pair of hands clasped together.
Luo Tingshi looked down at himself. Before last night, he had never had any desire for anyone, but now...
He chuckled softly.
"Little thing, when I catch you, I will take back everything you owe me."
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