Fresh blood, the pungent smell of rust, painful cries...
This was the first time in Long Yinyu's seventeen years of life that he had experienced such a shock. It was as if a giant hand was tightly gripping him, squeezing his chest, making him unable to make a sound, and causing his brain to suffer from oxygen deprivation.
When he walked out of the crowd, looking lost and dejected, he was trembling all over and his pupils were dilated.
Finally unable to hold back any longer, he leaned against the wall and vomited up everything he had eaten during the day. Then his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
In his dream, he was in an endless hell, with sticky river water gradually rising to his chest. There was nothing to rely on, and all he could see was darkness.
Just when he thought he was about to suffocate, a beam of light suddenly broke through the boundless darkness, and a powerful force pulled him out of the darkness.
bass--
It felt as if a ball of fire was approaching his eyeballs, and he opened his eyes instantly.
A candlelight illuminated his cheek.
His pupils contracted, and he gasped for breath.
Wu Yunzhi held up a lamp in one hand and grabbed his collar with the other. "I saw you were in so much pain just now. You must have been having a nightmare. I had no choice but to do this to wake you up. I'm sorry."
Wu Yunzhi placed the lamp by the bed, then sat down at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from him, propped her legs up, and rested her cheek on her hand as she looked at him.
Long Yinyu gradually calmed down and looked around. "Where...is this place?"
"What do you think?" Wu Yunzhi asked in return.
Long Yinyu tightened the brocade quilt in his hands.
Sister Zhiyun is the current emperor, and the room he is in is extremely luxurious, which means...
"Is this...the palace?" he asked cautiously, his voice low.
“That’s right,” Wu Yunzhi answered readily.
Long Yinyu fell silent, head down, lost in thought.
"When I saw you collapse by the roadside, I brought you to the palace to take care of you," Wu Yunzhi explained.
"Thank you..." Long Yinyu's throat tightened.
Wu Yunzhi said, "Since you have nowhere else to go, you might as well stay in the palace!"
Long Yinyu remained silent for a long time before shaking his head. "No, this isn't a place I should be." With that, he started to get out of bed.
Wu Yunzhi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean it's not a place you should be?"
"Long Yu is but a commoner, while His Majesty is the Emperor. I fear I may defile His Majesty's imperial bed!"
Wu Yunzhi sneered, "You're quite clever!" She continued, "Do you know that with what you just did, you'd be lucky to die two or three times over!"
Long Yinyu's stubbornness flared up as well. "Die two or three times? That's not enough! If you ask me, not only should I die, but all my relatives, friends, and neighbors should be dragged over and beheaded together before His Majesty can be appeased!"
With a loud "smack," Wu Yunzhi slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "What do you mean by that? Are you implying something about me? What? I killed a few members of the Xu family, and that makes you unhappy?"
Wu Yunzhi looked at him with a sinister gaze, making his hair stand on end.
But he refused to back down, saying, "Your Majesty is the master of the world, and naturally you can kill whomever you want! They are just members of the Xu family, nothing more than ants to Your Majesty! What kind of pillar of the state are they? Whether they live or die is entirely up to Your Majesty!"
Wu Yunzhi laughed in exasperation, pinching his chin. "What? Do you think selling smuggled salt is a trivial matter? Have you never been to school? Don't you even know the laws of Da Ye?"
"Of course I've read books! And I know the laws of Da Ye!" Long Yinyu hurriedly retorted, "But... but..."
"Just what?"
Long Yinyu opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.
He only thought of Xu Mengchun, who had bought him honey cakes and lent him money.
He was discouraged.
Wu Yunzhi did not press the issue further.
"Alright, you're young and naive. It's okay if you don't understand these things." She pressed him back onto the bed. "You can stay in the palace. Whatever you want to eat or play, someone will get it for you."
Long Yinyu wanted to play in Jiangtian, not in the palace. Moreover, he always had a feeling that once he entered the palace, he would never be able to leave.
"No, I want to wander around the neighborhood." With that, he struggled to slip under Wu Yunzhi's arm. He didn't even have time to put on his shoes before heading outside. He walked quickly, as if a wolf was chasing her.
But as soon as he opened the door, a line of armored guards blocked his way.
He was both surprised and angry, and turned to ask Wu Yunzhi, "I haven't done anything wrong, why won't you let me leave the palace?"
In stark contrast to Long Yinyu, Wu Yunzhi seemed to be in a good mood, strolling leisurely to him. "You certainly didn't make any mistakes, but..." she patted his shoulder, "...who told you to have the surname Long Yin?"
"Right? Long Yinyu?"
Long Yinyu took a deep breath.
"Don't be so surprised!" Wu Yunzhi shrugged. "Like you said, I am the master of the world. What is there that I don't know?"
She reassured him, "Didn't I say last time that I would tell you my real name when we meet again?"
"My name is Wu Yunzhi, the first daughter of the late emperor, and now the ruler of the world."
She leaned closer to him, and Long Yinyu even felt her lips were about to touch his ear.
"My empress's position is vacant. How about I marry you and make you my empress?"
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