Chapter 123 The Sickly and Tyrannical Crown Prince 21
But he was, after all, her nephew, and no matter what, he was more important than a slave from the northern frontier used to warm her bed.
"So what do you want?"
Xue Feibai said, "He was able to collude with the remnants of the northern tribes to kill the late emperor, and he may use the same methods to kill Your Majesty in the future."
“Aunt, now that His Majesty has ascended the throne, the remnants of the northern tribes can no longer be allowed to live. We must use torture to force him to reveal their hiding place.”
Whenever Xie Rong's safety is involved, his aunt, the Empress Dowager, will never let him off lightly again.
Xue Feibai stared at the man in the cell.
He never imagined that he would one day be so ruthless as to want a man dead.
...
After the enthronement ceremony, Xie Rong returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
He's in poor health and may not live for many more years.
Even if they live longer and the plot falls apart, Heaven will not let it go.
So once he ascended the throne and became emperor, he wanted to play around to his heart's content, not caring about any consequences; he only cared about himself.
No matter how important the official's memorial was, Xie Rong would scribble it into a mess of characters.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the commander of the Imperial Guards was lying on the ground, serving as a little horse for the young emperor.
Ye Fengyao was covered in sweat and looked extremely tired, but that wasn't actually the case.
The person on his back was very light and soft, and the hem of the dragon robe covering his head was fragrant. Ye Fengyao only stole a sniff before feeling unbearably hot all over.
[Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!] The system suddenly shouted, [The protagonist's life is in danger!]
Xie Rong can play as he pleases, provided that the world supported by the protagonist does not collapse prematurely due to the protagonist's death.
Xie Rong was not happy. "What happened?"
He clearly instructed the Ministry of Justice to spare Ah Chou's life.
How dare these people disobey him!
Even if Ah Chou dies, he should die at Ah Chou's hands. What does it matter if he dies at the hands of someone else?
Xie Rong got off Ye Fengyao and walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation with a gloomy face.
The eunuch Gao, who was guarding outside the door, hurriedly called out in a high-pitched voice, "Your Majesty, you are about to depart!"
...
The Ministry of Justice prison.
As Xie Rong dismounted from the imperial carriage, Empress Dowager Xue and Xue Feibai happened to be walking out of the prison and bumped into him.
"My son, what are you doing here?" Empress Dowager Xue looked at his pale face and felt sorry for him. "You are not well. You should come back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation with me to rest. Don't let yourself be tainted by bad luck."
"Mother, I am the Emperor, and no one can interfere with the affairs of the Emperor," Xie Rong said, before stepping past the two of them into the prison gate of the Ministry of Justice.
Before Empress Dowager Xue could even call out to him, he turned into the dark prison corridor and disappeared.
"Feibai, if my son harbors resentment towards me because of this matter, don't blame me for being ruthless," Empress Dowager Xue glared at the person beside her, then left with her personal maid's help.
"..." Xue Feibai pursed his lips and remained silent, standing in place without following.
Inside the prison.
Xie Rong stopped in front of the last cell.
A pungent, acrid smell of blood wafted from the cell. Xie Rong held a handkerchief to his nose, his dark purple heterochromatic eyes under the twelve tassels coldly sweeping over the jailer.
The jailer rushed forward and opened the cell door for him.
Xie Rong slightly lifted the hem of his newly made dragon robe and went inside.
In the corner of the cell lay a muscular, tall man. His white prison uniform was now completely stained with blood, and the marks left by torture instruments covered every inch of his flesh. The only finger that was still intact slowly curled up as he sensed someone approaching.
He seemed to try to sit up, but it was in vain.
The jailer knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, and said, "The Empress Dowager and General Xue wanted to interrogate the whereabouts of the remnants of the northern tribes. I was unable to stop them. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Although Xie Rong was very unhappy, he wouldn't embarrass his mother in front of others, so he simply waved for him to leave.
[Host, the protagonist is still breathing.]
Xie Rong stepped forward and used the tip of her shoe to lift the man's chin.
He met her gaze across the twelve tassels.
"Your Highness..." Lu Yuanju's voice was hoarse like broken stones, and it was never going to sound pleasant.
Xie Rong earnestly corrected him: "You should address me as Your Majesty."
Lu Yuanju twitched the corner of his lips. "This servant congratulates Your Majesty on achieving your wish."
"I am very curious," Xie Rong looked at him, his doubts clear, "why don't you feel any pain when my mother and cousin used such severe torture on you?"
The system even showed that his pain level hadn't increased at all, not even as much as the pain he had caused when he slapped Lu Yuanju.
Xie Rong was completely baffled.
Especially after he asked the question, Lu Yuanju even curled the corners of his lips slightly.
The man lay in a pool of blood, his head bowed, slowly and dully rubbing the tips of his shoes.
“Because I felt… jealousy,” Lu Yuanju smiled slightly, his tone even a little smug, and said, “Xue Feibai, he is jealous of me.”
He was jealous that he climbed into Xie Rong's bed, and jealous that Xie Rong couldn't bear to see him die.
"You lied to me," Xie Rong kicked his face away, his thin eyebrows lowered, his expression cold. "I used you to kill my father, and then threw you into prison as my scapegoat. You clearly hate me to death!"
"Yesterday, the remnants of the northern tribes infiltrated the palace to try to rescue you, but you refused to leave because you wanted to stay and take revenge on me."
Lu Yuanju raised his hand and circled his ankle through the dragon boots.
"Your Majesty," the man said in a hoarse voice, "do you truly not understand why I would rather die than leave this place?"
"How could I understand?" Xie Rong squatted down and grabbed his chin. "If you return to the north, you might one day come back with a vengeance, but you fool, you actually won't leave—"
Xie Rong couldn't help but laugh out loud at this point.
This is truly a godsend!
If that old bastard Tiandao saw his protagonist willingly abandon his future, he'd probably be furious.
If Lu Yuanju stays here, he will never have a chance to rise above his circumstances and will only be a lowly slave!
But Xie Rong also really liked Lu Yuanju's self-degrading manner.
Xie Rong's fingers, which were gripping Lu Yuanju's chin, trembled with excitement, as if he had been pleased to the extreme. "You have been abandoned by the Northern Frontier. From now on, you can only be my slave."
Blood trickled from the man's lips. As he looked up at him, his pupils were somewhat unfocused. He then repeated, "To be His Majesty's slave."
So pitiful, yet so endearing, just like the little dog he once adopted.
A puppy abandoned by everyone, no one but him would take in a dirty dog.
The puppy he once knew had become a despicable enemy, but now he has found another one that looks exactly like him.
Xie Rong didn't mind the blood on the man's face at all, and gently stroked Lu Yuanju's head, "Touching your head will make it stop hurting. I will take you in."
Lu Yuanju was carried to the Hall of Mental Cultivation for treatment.
Before treating the injuries, Xie Rong gave the dirty man a bath, just like when Xi Feng bathed him.
The man sat in the large wooden tub that once bathed the west wind, staring intently at Xie Rong's fair face, his body excitedly greeting her.
Beside him stood a mastiff baring its teeth and howling at him, but it dared not actually bite him because Xie Rong was there.
The west wind howled angrily, the dog pawed at the ground, and kept panting.
The dog's bowl was stolen by some despicable person!
The dog's owner is also being robbed by despicable people!
The dog is going to die!
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