Chapter 32 Suffocation

The fireworks have burned out and everything is quiet.

Sui Yan didn't want to leave so soon, and dragged Duan Mingchong to sit and finish a small bag of pine nuts, and then he went home leisurely.

The street lanterns have almost all been taken down, and from a distance the long street looks like the road to the underworld.

Sui Yan tilted his head to look at Duan Mingchong's handsome profile, stepped forward and whispered: "Your Highness, if the palace gates are locked, can you still go in?"

Duan Mingchong thought for a moment and said, "It should be possible. I have never been home so late before."

Sui Yan immediately said, "What if the guards guarding the palace gate are not here? If no one opens the palace gate for you, won't you have to sleep outside all night?"

He was talking nonsense again. Since ancient times, it has never been heard that a prince would sleep outside because he could not enter the palace.

Duan Mingchong looked at him strangely: "What do you want to say?"

Sui Yan's thoughts were exposed, but he didn't blush: "I'm just worried about Your Highness. It's still so cold now. If Your Highness really can't enter the palace and freezes and gets sick, I'll be heartbroken."

Duan Mingchong was stunned for a moment, and blushed at his last sentence.

Sui Yan forced himself to suppress his expression and whispered, "Besides, didn't His Highness say before that he wanted to go to my house to eat Yuanxiao? Are you still going?"

Duan Mingchong thought for a long time but couldn't remember what he said. However, seeing Sui Yan's eager look, he softened his heart. He thought about whether he had anything important to do. After confirming that he didn't, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll bother you, young master."

Sui Yan was so happy that he almost jumped up.

"Well, well, it's settled. Let's go!"

As he spoke, he was about to pull Duan Mingchong back to his house with a smile on his face. However, before they could take two steps, the secret guard from before descended from the sky and knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness."

Sui Yan immediately covered his chest and said weakly, "Your Highness!"

Duan Mingchong quickly comforted him.

The secret guard seemed to have something urgent to do, and without waiting for Duan Mingchong to ask, he directly said, "Your Highness, the fifth prince was assassinated and seriously injured."

Duan Mingchong was shocked, and Sui Yan was also stunned.

Duan Xichen was assassinated, and it was inconvenient for Duan Mingchong to stay outside the palace. He said a few words to Sui Yan and left in a hurry.

Sui Yan watched his figure disappear around the corner, stood there for a long time, and then returned to Sui Anhou Mansion alone.

Li Zhao was waiting at the gate of the mansion early in the morning. When he saw Sui Yan coming back alone, he hurried to greet him.

"Master, you are finally back."

Sui Yan entered the mansion, his whole body exuding a coldness. He untied his cloak and said expressionlessly: "Where is Jun Jingxing?"

Li Zhao picked up his cloak and put it on his arm, then followed him to the side yard: "Just after you left today, Master Jun went out alone and hasn't come back yet."

Sui Yan rubbed his brows and slapped the door open: "Light the light and call Wu Shi over."

Li Zhao lit the lamp and answered, then asked, "What about the matter you asked someone to investigate before?"

Sui Yan: "Let's talk about it later."

Li Zhao responded quickly, ordered someone to bring a charcoal basin, and went to look for someone.

Soon, nothing happened, wrapped in the night wind.

"Young Master."

"Who did Jun Jingxing meet these days?"

Sui Yan could confide in Yue Jianke from his previous life, but he did not dare to trust Jun Jingxing in this life wholeheartedly. Even though he knew that Jun Jingxing would not do anything that could implicate him, Sui Yan was still worried and asked someone to keep an eye on him all the time.

Wu Shi said, "Mr. Jun has only been to the back street of the City God Temple once recently. He bought some herbs and came back. He didn't stay there for long."

Sui Yan sat on the couch, feeling a terrible headache.

He recalled what Jun Jingxing had said to him before about the desperate criminals in the back street of the City God Temple who would do anything for money, including murder and arson, and what Jun Jingxing had said before he left the house today: "I'm going out to do something. If I'm not back by midnight, don't wait for me."

This "not coming back" does not just refer to tonight, but to never coming back again.

Sui Yan tightly grasped the soft pad under his palm, his nails turning blue and white. He took a deep breath and tried his best to stay awake: "Go... go check where he is now? If he's alive, I want to see him. If he's dead... I want to see his body."

There is nothing to do but accept the order and leave.

Sui Yan was so angry that his head was dizzy. He was already frightened today. After drinking the medicine, he fell into a deep sleep on the couch not long after. Because he was worried about Jun Jingxing, he did not sleep well the whole night. His dreams were full of bad things from his past life.

In the second year after Duan Zhisu was convicted, and also the second year after Sui Yan was crowned king and imprisoned in disguised form, in the hot summer, Sui Wanggui, whose edges had been worn away by all kinds of hardships, was taken to the Fifth Prince's mansion in a daze.

His health was already very poor at that time. After being drugged, he slept for a whole day before he barely woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw Duan Xichen sitting next to him.

Sui Wanggui felt powerless all over, looked at him in confusion, and said vaguely: "Fifth, Fifth Prince..."

Duan Xichen held his chin and smiled at him: "You finally woke up."

Sui Wanggui struggled to get up, but fell down again after his elbow touched the ground.

Duan Xichen did not help him, but just smiled softly: "Yuejian, bring a bowl of water."

"yes."

It was not until that person spoke that Sui Wanggui realized there was another person here. Maybe it was because the effect of the drug had not worn off or he had slept for too long, but his mind was in a mess and he could not figure out what was going on. He could only look at Duan Xichen blankly.

When Duan Xichen saw his weak appearance, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He leaned down and gently stroked Sui Wanggui's pale lips, stroking them twice in an extremely ambiguous manner.

Sui Wanggui suddenly opened his eyes wide, and seemed to have reacted in a trance. He struggled to hide to the side and said hesitantly: "Fifth Prince...respect yourself."

Duan Xichen was not angry, and no longer lingered on Sui Wanggui's lips, but moved all the way down to his somewhat disheveled collar.

Sui Wanggui took a few quick breaths. Even though he was confused, he understood what Duan Xichen meant. He struggled to reach out and grab Duan Xichen's hand, saying with difficulty: "Stop, stop..."

The strength of his struggle was not even as strong as that of a kitten. Duan Xichen took it as a hobby and lightly held Sui Wanggui's hands and pressed them on his head.

Sui Wanggui looked at him with eyes wide open in horror.

Duan Xichen stared at his lips for a long time, then suddenly leaned down.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the side: "Your Highness, water, water is coming."

Duan Xichen was suddenly interrupted, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.

Yue Jian was wearing a red singlet. She knelt on the ground with her head bowed. She held a bowl of water in her hands and passed it over timidly.

Duan Xichen looked down and saw Sui Wangui’s white and cracked lips, so he took the water and fed it to him personally.

Sui Wanggui didn't know what was mixed in the water, but he instinctively knew that he couldn't drink it. He turned his head with great effort, but Duan Xichen pinched his chin and pulled him to the edge of the bowl, forcing him to drink half a cup of water.

Sui Wangui lay on the ground, coughing hard, with water pouring down half his body, soaking his already thin clothes and sticking tightly to his body.

Duan Xichen lifted his chin and said softly, "Adding some aphrodisiacs will make you feel better."

Sui Wanggui was terrified and tried to crawl out in a daze, but was dragged back by Duan Xichen by the ankle.

During the struggle, the ink-black headband was pulled off. Duan Xichen, perhaps impatient, tied one of his hands directly to the leg of the table with the headband.

At this moment, Sui Wanggui could see the scene around him clearly - he was actually standing in a small pavilion by the water, surrounded by sparkling water. Bamboo curtains were hung on all four sides of the pavilion, but they could not hide the fact that this was happening in broad daylight.

Sui Wanggui looked at Duan Xichen above him in shock and fear. When he saw the desire surging in his eyes, his pupils shrank sharply and he trembled and said in difficulty: "Fifth Prince, are you crazy? I... I am a prince bestowed by the emperor, aren't you afraid..."

Duan Xichen seemed to know what he wanted to say, and laughed: "Why, Prince Jing still wants to go to the palace to report me to my father? Tell him how I brought you to the palace and played with you at will?"

As a man, being pinned down by a man and treated like a woman was reported to the emperor. Even if Sui Wanggui was forced to do so, he would still be ridiculed and mocked by the whole world.

After all, no one cares how he was forced. All people care about is the fact that he shamelessly submitted to the man's pleasure.

Duan Xichen gently stroked the side of his face and said, "But little prince, can you do it?"

Sui Wanggui bit her lip and stared at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

Duan Xichen laughed even more happily when he saw his pitiful yet ferocious look.

"Prince Jing is indeed a virtuous man, but I wonder how much your virtuousness is worth at this moment?" Duan Xichen smiled, "Without Duan Zhisu protecting you, will you be able to survive in this royal city? It's a pity, my third brother is now at the border, and he can't protect you even if he wants to."

Sui Wanggui's eyes, which were staring at Duan Xichen, suddenly became blurred, and a feeling of heat began to surge up in his body.

Duan Xichen knew the drug had taken effect when he saw his red cheeks. He pinched Sui Wanggui's chin and said, "As long as you are willing to let me play with you for a few days, I will protect you like Duan Zhisu and let you die peacefully in this capital. How about that?"

Sui Wanggui glared at him with gritted teeth: "You... let go..."

Duan Xichen said: "Then I will give you another choice. Either you die here today, or you stay here. You choose one."

Sui Wanggui's mind was already filled with a heat, but he still bit his lips tightly and said nothing.

In a trance, he felt Duan Xichen seemed to sneer, and then his warm hand gently stroked his slender neck. Before Sui Wanggui could react, he felt the hand on his neck tightening and exerting force a little bit.

He had already been drugged and was gasping for breath. Suddenly his neck was grabbed and after a few breaths he felt his vision go dark and the pain of suffocation rose from his chest.

Duan Xichen leaned close to his ear and whispered, "If you beg me, I will let you go."

Sui Wanggui's face turned pale. He weakly grabbed Duan Xichen's hand and tried to pull it apart, but he couldn't exert any strength. He could only feel that his breathing was becoming more and more difficult, and there was a buzzing sound in his ears.

If this continues...

will die.

Soon, Sui Wanggui's knuckles, which had been tightly grasping Duan Xichen, turned blue and white, and slowly dropped down.