After all, you have to pay for your life
(The timeline here is between the second and third quarters of Chapter 22: The Storm is Cold)
…
He half-knelt in front of the couch and leaned over to place a kiss on His Majesty's cool fingertips.
Long and tender.
This is the last time, Cheng Tianfeng said silently in his heart.
Just as he was about to withdraw, his thin wrist was suddenly grasped and a familiar voice came from behind him, which made him feel completely chilled.
"What are you doing?"
Cheng Tianfeng turned around in panic and saw that the emperor, who should have been sleeping peacefully, was looking at him with burning eyes, with a smile in his eyes that he could not understand.
It seems like a mockery, but also like a joke.
But there is no doubt.
His Majesty……
Your Majesty has known about this for a long time, and knows his identity.
There was a deathly silence, and Cheng Tianfeng's heart was filled with helplessness and desolation. He did not dare to raise his head and could only kneel in front of the couch in panic, with his head hung and not saying a word.
"Why aren't you talking? Weren't you very brave just now?"
Ji Mingxiu sat up slowly, looked down at him, and chuckled. He pinched Cheng Tianfeng's chin, and the little guard raised his head obediently, but his eyes were still lowered and he dared not look at him, his eyelashes trembling constantly.
"What are you afraid of? I won't eat you. Tell me, where are you going, my personal guard?"
Ji Mingxiu's tone was teasing, but to Cheng Tianfeng's ears it sounded like blatant mockery and sarcasm.
"Go to... the Prime Minister's Mansion."
He did not dare to look into His Majesty's eyes, fearing that he would see a sharp and harsh look in them. He hesitated for a moment with trembling lips before squeezing out a few words from his dry and hoarse throat.
Although he could not get the emperor's response for a long time, Cheng Tianfeng seemed to have finally struggled out the answer in his heart and slowly stopped his slightly trembling body.
He was going to die today. What a blessing it was for him to die at the hands of His Majesty instead of in the cold execution hall.
"I... am ashamed of your majesty's grace and deserve death."
He resolutely closed his eyes and exposed his fragile neck as if as a sacrifice.
"Your Majesty, please do as you wish."
I'm afraid Your Majesty will dislike his bloody and dirty body.
"well."
Ji Mingxiu shook his head helplessly, reached out and gently stroked the corners of his eyes, wiping away the tears hidden in his eyes.
"I haven't said anything yet, what are you thinking about?"
"His Majesty?"
Cheng Tianfeng was gradually soothed by Ji Mingxiu's gentle fingertips. He finally dared to open his eyes tremblingly and met His Majesty's deep eyes.
"You silly guy, I... don't know what to say."
Ji Mingxiu tapped his forehead, thinking of the repeated tests and entanglements, and suddenly felt angry and amused.
Since he transferred Cheng Tianfeng to serve by his side, he asked Qiu Ling to carefully investigate his background. It can't be said that he was suspicious, it was just a routine procedure. However, the result was really unbelievable.
His life story seemed perfect but was actually full of loopholes. He would leave the imperial city on the fifth day of every month, and he would always smell of blood when he came back.
But it was these glaring flaws that were almost right in front of them that made him and Qiu Ling fall into deep worry. Looking at Cheng Tianfeng's silly eyes, they even preferred to suspect that this was a bait deliberately released by the Prime Minister, rather than believe that this was a spy sent by the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Until tonight when the young guard wanted to leave again, he sensed the farewell hidden in it, and then he reached out and held him back, finally laying everything out in the open.
However, there was one thing that he still couldn't figure out, so he couldn't help but ask.
"Why would Li Qingyun send you to be with me?"
He and Qiu Ling pondered over it for several months but still couldn't figure it out.
"I was not sent to be with your majesty."
Cheng Tianfeng pursed his lips, and Ji Mingxiu could see a hint of grievance in his wet eyes.
"The Prime Minister has ordered the commander to send many secret guards to the imperial city. I am only good at light work and am not responsible for gathering intelligence."
It turns out that I was wrong.
Ji Mingxiu had never expected the truth of the matter to be like this. He was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say.
As for betrayal?
When he came, he was deliberately on guard against Cheng Tianfeng and would not let him come into contact with too important information, not to mention that Cheng Tianfeng himself was stupid.
Thinking of how the little guard always came back from the Prime Minister's Mansion covered in blood, Ji Mingxiu felt pity and pity in his heart.
"Then do you blame me for keeping you by my side?"
"How could it be!"
Cheng Tianfeng raised his head and denied it eagerly, even forgetting the etiquette. However, he was tongue-tied and not good at speaking, and he stammered and couldn't express what was in his heart.
"Your Majesty, I am very happy! I am the one who has failed to live up to your Majesty's trust..."
The days he spent with His Majesty were the happiest days of his life. He suddenly thought that he was really just a personal guard of His Majesty, Cheng Tianfeng with a happy family and a bright future, and not the cold Tianfeng in the Prime Minister's Mansion who could be abandoned at any time.
Tianzihao, wind group.
This is his code name.
This means that he is the most powerful person in this group of secret guards. If one day he dies, or someone more powerful replaces him, then this number will no longer belong to him.
He has never been the ambitious little guard that His Majesty has described; he is just a weapon that will wear out.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty..."
"well."
Ji Mingxiu couldn't count how many times he sighed tonight, but how could anyone bear to punish such a pitiful little dog?
"Do you want to be Li Qingyun's secret guard, or do you want to be my personal guard?" He emphasized in a slightly serious tone, "Think carefully, you only have one chance."
"His Majesty!"
Cheng Tianfeng suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with disbelief.
He actually... still has the opportunity to serve His Majesty, after doing so many inappropriate and unforgivable things.
Cheng Tianfeng could hardly believe what he heard. Almost without thinking, he immediately knelt deeply at the feet of His Majesty and respectfully raised the dagger he carried with him.
"I swear to be loyal to Your Majesty until death!"
It means giving away everything of yourself, leaving nothing behind, including your life and the meaning of living.
Ji Mingxiu said nothing, but solemnly took the dagger handed to him, and also accepted the heavy sincerity.
"Okay, my little guard."
Ji Mingxiu touched his little head and signaled him to stop kneeling. The Prime Minister couldn't be alarmed yet, and some things needed his careful instructions.
"Be careful and try not to hurt yourself. Don't lie when someone asks you. If you can't tell the answer, just say you don't know. Remember that?"
"Yes, I understand."
Cheng Tianfeng nodded obediently. He knew that His Majesty did this for his own good, fearing that he would lie and be discovered by the commander.
Ji Mingxiu silently looked at his shining eyes with a complicated look in them. Perhaps it was really like what Qiu Ling said, that only sincerity can be exchanged for sincerity.
The bright moon outside the window rose a few points quietly. Cheng Tianfeng knew it was time to leave. If he was any later, he would miss his job report this month.
"etc."
He turned around and saw His Majesty sitting in front of the couch, looking at him with his head tilted, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
"That time in the West Hunting Ground, that deer, was it you?"
He nodded hesitantly. That was certainly not a guard's job, but he noticed the emperor's trembling hand at that time, and somehow he had already taken action before he could react, without even considering whether his identity would be exposed.
But he didn't regret it, it was the best decision he had ever made in his life.
Sure enough, Ji Mingxiu lowered his brows slightly with a resentful look, as if he had thought that his archery skills had improved.
"His Majesty……"
Cheng Tianfeng quietly reached out and touched his chest. When he was still in the training camp, the commander said that he was stubborn. He also knew that he was stupid and didn't know how to read people's expressions. But now looking at His Majesty, he felt his heart beating violently, and inexplicable emotions were about to burst out.
"Your Majesty is the king, and a king does not need to hold a sword."
The taciturn puppy said words of comfort for the first time, stumbling but firmly. With red ears, he secretly supplemented himself in his heart.
It is enough to hold your subordinates.
*
Everything went as His Majesty planned, until Li Qingyun tore off the disguise and became His Majesty's last trump card.
At least, the military power of Tiandu is still in the hands of Your Majesty.
In the Yu Garden, he made imperceptible gestures to ask His Majesty's wishes whether to take action, but he was ordered to stay put.
He couldn't understand His Majesty's thoughts. Setting up such a big show was naturally to make Li Qingyun and his cronies surface. Moreover, the final decision of the battle situation had already fallen into Gu Zi'an's hands. If Tiandu's weak military force was to compete with Gu Zi'an's army, it would be a drop in the bucket. It would be better to keep the troops in place and wait for this good show to end before deciding the winner.
He only knew that watching the red marks gradually appearing on His Majesty's body during these days, every humiliation he suffered and the black eyes filled with tears, was more painful than hanging him up and stabbing him with a knife.
He could say nothing and do nothing. He could only lower his head even lower to hide his bloodshot scarlet eyes.
Your Majesty cannot be alone, he understands this fact faster than anyone else.
Even if he was torn apart by this, he would still...
Never regret even if you die.