Chapter 194 This King Destroys You
The originally excited court suddenly became quiet because of the blood of King Jingyang. Everyone stared at the corpse with its eyes open and retreated to make way for a vacuum circle. They were somewhat shocked:
This regent prince has always been at odds with Your Majesty. He usually doesn't come to court eight out of ten times, and stirs up trouble the other two times. How could he be willing to help today? The monarch is weak and incompetent, and the ministers are strong and presumptuous. I'm afraid that the Zhao family's kingdom will sooner or later fall into the hands of others.
When Madam Wei saw that Zhao Qin was dead, she did not stay in the court for long. She looked at Huo Lang deeply, ordered people to carry the body away, and left the hall with an indifferent expression.
The reputation of loyalty and righteousness can mold a person's spine, but it can also trap people's hearts. The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion is full of loyal and brave people, but it ended up like this. Even if Madam Wei wanted to rebel ninety-nine times out of a hundred, she was suppressed by the remaining hesitation:
Since ancient times, rebellion would bring eternal damnation, and the Wei family's clean reputation could not be tarnished in the slightest.
Zhao Kang sat on the ground in a daze, looking as if he had not yet come to his senses. In the end, Wumei and the others coaxed him away, and he ordered all the ministers to leave the court on the grounds of illness.
Zhao Kang rarely appears in public. Even though he sits in a high position, he has an indifferent expression. At first glance, he is similar to Lu Yan in his indifference. Few people can notice that he is neither sad nor happy. Today, he was rarely emotional, so it was inevitable that he revealed his flaws.
Huo Lang stood still, his eyes slightly narrowed, staring at Zhao Kang's departing back with a dark gaze, feeling a little weird in his heart.
Huo Bi saw that he was lost in thought, so he walked up to him and asked, "Brother, what are you thinking about?"
Huo Lang suddenly asked, "Is Zhao Qin so important to him?"
Huo Lang just felt somewhat annoyed that his uncle could not make up for his shortcomings. On one side was the country and the people, and on the other side was the useless uncle who was just waiting to die. Even a fool would know what to choose, but he did not expect that the emperor would be so stupid at this moment and hesitated to kill someone.
Huo Lang himself found it strange, sometimes when he saw the emperor he just felt that he was the best in the world, and sometimes when he saw him he inexplicably hated him so much that his teeth itched and he just wanted to slap him. Could this be the legendary love and hate?
Huo Bi was sympathetic and said, "After all, it's your uncle who died. It's normal to feel sad."
Huo Lang sneered in his heart, what's the big deal about the death of a close uncle? He didn't cry so much when his own father died. But to be honest, seeing the emperor crying so sadly, he thought about it and changed his clothes after returning home from court. In the afternoon, he still went to the palace to meet the emperor, holding a food box in his hand, which showed his sincere intention to visit the emperor.
After Zhao Kang returned to his bedroom, he was like a fool. He lay on the bed with a pale face, muttering to himself: "Uncle Emperor...it's all my fault...it's all my fault..."
Wu Mei gave him a few sips of tranquilizer, but he vomited it all out, sighing anxiously, "What should I do?"
Lu Yan happened to walk into the dark room. He glanced at Zhao Kang, who was lying half-dead on the bed, and casually dropped a thunderbolt: "Just now, the palace maid reported that the Regent Prince is outside the Shenkang Palace asking to see the emperor. When will Your Majesty be ready to meet him?"
Zhao Kang was still awake, but when he heard this, his eyes rolled up and he fainted. Wu Mei knew that Lu Yan did it on purpose, so he turned around and glared at him: "What do you mean by this?!"
Lu Yan chuckled upon hearing this, which seemed particularly abrupt in the quiet dark room. His gentle face fell into shadow, making people feel like the snow on the Tianshan Mountain that never melts all year round, inexplicably exuding a sense of coldness: "What can I mean? He showed his true colors today, don't you know?"
Facing Lu Yan's piercing gaze, Wu Mei was silent and browless.
In his previous life, Huo Lang had not participated in this court meeting, so he naturally had not noticed it. But today, Lu Yan was hiding behind the screen, and just by looking at the other party's inquiring and thoughtful expression, he knew that Huo Lang must have become suspicious.
Shenkang Hall, East Warm Pavilion.
Huo Lang walked into the hall and saw Lu Yan leaning on the couch without saying a word. He closed his eyes and held his forehead. His face was pale and he looked weak and tired, as if he had lost his soul due to what happened today.
Wu Mei Shiqu dismissed his attendants and waited outside as well. The palace door was closed, and the peacock incense burner in the middle emitted a wisp of smoke, trying to cover up the bloody smell floating in the air.
"Why, are you scared?"
Huo Lang could not hear the emotional voices echoing above his head, which brought a sense of oppression for no reason. He did not like to see Lu Yan cry, especially for others. It was an eyesore.
Lu Yan lowered his eyes in silence, not looking at him, and unconsciously shed a tear. His eyes were slightly red, and he looked no different from the way he looked in the court today: "It was me who killed the emperor's uncle..."
He had imitated Zhao Kang's half-dead, sick chicken-like appearance to a great extent. When he looked up at Huo Lang, he even had a bit of just the right amount of resentment, and he asked word by word, "He is my uncle...how could you...how could you force me to kill him..."
Huo Lang's eyes darkened upon hearing this, and a surge of anger rose in his heart. He stretched out his hand to grab Lu Yan's throat, forcing him to look at him, and sneered: "The king forced you? Did the king force you?!"
He gritted his teeth, feeling that all his good intentions had gone to waste, and his expression was sinister: "If you have the ability to get angry, why didn't you vent it on the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion in the court just now, but instead showed off in front of me?"
"If you don't execute Zhao Qin today, even if the Wei family endures it, you will chill the hearts of all officials. Their family has been in the court for many years. Are all those old soldiers in the army vegetarians?!"
"When the palace mutinied, everyone was terrified. I was worried about your safety and led my troops to quell the rebellion at the risk of my life. I was shot by three arrows and seven knives. Is that worse than a piece of pancake given to you by the King of Jingyang?!"
The more Huo Lang spoke, the more he felt like a turtle bastard. He angrily waved his sleeves and said sarcastically, "Whether you live or die in the future has nothing to do with me. Next time, don't send me those messy soups and medicines. It's just fake mercy!"
He shook Lu Yan off heavily after he finished speaking, turned around and walked out of the hall, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed and pulled hard, and he fell backwards into a familiar embrace. The person's low voice rang in his ears, and the warm afterglow aroused an inexplicable itching:
"In that case, I am wrong to blame the Regent..."
Lu Yan was just acting to make up for the broken ribbon in the court, but he never thought Huo Lang would be like a firecracker that would explode at any time. He held the person in his arms tightly, with a faint smile in his eyes, without any self-blame or sadness: "It's all my fault just now, please don't be angry, my lord. In my heart, you are naturally thousands of times more important than the emperor's uncle."
Huo Lang didn't expect Lu Yan to admit it so quickly. He was stunned for a moment. Then he realized that this man was just talking nonsense again. He warned him in a deep voice, "Let go!"
Lu Yan naturally would not let go. He rested his chin on Huo Lang's shoulder and embraced his slender waist. He was a gentle person to begin with, so he softened his tone and apologized. Few people in the world could be so hard-hearted as this:
"Your Highness is still blaming me. I have never killed anyone before. I just couldn't help but do what happened today. I don't mean to be mad at you."
He let go of Huo Lang after he finished speaking and turned him around to face him. His smile disappeared and returned to a faint expression of self-blame.
Huo Lang was about to say something when a gentle kiss fell silently between his brows. Lu Yan kissed his cold lips, rolling and grinding them softly, swallowing all the unfinished words into his stomach. He really grasped Huo Lang's sore spot.
Huo Lang was furious. The dog emperor always used this trick every time they quarreled. It was obvious that he was treating him like a fool. He turned his head to avoid the kiss, but Lu Yan had expected it and held the back of his head tightly, making it impossible for him to avoid it.
The kiss became deeper and deeper until she couldn't even breathe and finally she fell on the couch in a daze.
Huo Lang was obviously afraid of cold, but now he felt hot all over after being kissed. His vision was blurry and he tried to push Lu Yan away, but he was caught off guard and his belt and coat were untied by the other party.
Huo Lang panted and begged, not quite believing that the other party would dare to do such a thing here, so he lowered his voice and warned: "What are you crazy about? This is Shenkang Temple!"
Lu Yan glanced at him with an inexplicable smile: "I know."
With a flick of his fingertips, Huo Lang's last layer of snow-white underwear came loose, revealing his smooth figure. He used to be a top-notch soldier in the army, but he had been bedridden for the past few years and had lost a lot of weight.
Lu Yan asked without any context, "Why didn't you tell me that you were shot with three arrows and seven knives that year?"
He could not remember clearly what happened in the past year. He only remembered that Huo Lang led the troops to quell the rebellion and knelt silently in the hall to receive the reward from the late emperor. He looked neither happy nor sad, like the stone statue enshrined in the temple, only with a bit more hostility.
Huo Lang said calmly: "He's not dead yet, what's there to say?"
His father doesn't care, so why should Lu Yan care?
Lu Yan sometimes said something weird and annoying: "If you don't tell me, how can I feel sorry for you? You deserve it by yourself."
"you!"
Huo Lang was a little upset by this. He didn't say it because he didn't want to repay the favor. He wouldn't tell Lu Yan even if it was ten thousand arrows and ten thousand knives, let alone three arrows and seven knives. How did he get the evaluation of "deserving it"? ! His face was gloomy: "Say it again?!"
Lu Yan: "The crying child gets the milk. Since you, the prince, are silent, you have to endure it yourself."
He really dares to say it again? ! !
Huo Lang was so angry that he sneered repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I deserve to be stabbed! I was blinded by my own greed and wanted to kill the enemy and suppress the rebellion for you... I will go back and mobilize troops to destroy you!"
The last sentence is obviously mad.
As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed Lu Yan away and stood up from the couch, intending to go back and depose this heartless emperor. The other party did not stop him, but tilted his head and looked at him with a smile. Seeing that Huo Lang put on his coat and was really about to leave, he reached out and pulled him back, and he fell right into his arms.
There were no candles in the hall. The light from the stained glass windows fell on Lu Yan. The sunlight was coated with a layer of emptiness. Although it was winter, it somehow reminded people of the warm spring breeze. He put his index finger to his lips and said:
"Tsk... who said I don't feel sorry for you? Be quiet, don't let them hear you."
Lu Yan brushed off Huo Lang's coat, and his skin was instantly exposed to the air, causing the man to shiver slightly because of the cold, and then he fell into the man's warm embrace.
Lu Yan's slender fingertips slowly brushed over Huo Lang's gloomy brows, and finally his shoulders, and then he silently lowered his head and kissed those old wounds piled up together. Huo Lang really couldn't help but groaned this time, his voice hoarse: "You...what are you crazy about..."
He felt that the Dog Emperor seemed to be mentally unstable these past two days.
Lu Yan said nothing. He lowered his eyes and kissed the scars earnestly. The overlapping wounds from swords and knives represented the bitter cold that Huo Lang had endured at the border for several years. They were countless and indescribable, but they were far less gentle and heartbreaking than his whisper: "Even if your Highness doesn't cry, I will still feel distressed..."
Upon hearing this, Huo Lang closed his eyes, frowned, pursed his lips, and said nothing. His face was pale, and only his Adam's apple rolling up and down revealed some of his emotions.
He felt pitiful again.
Every time Lu Yan said something nice, he felt really pitiful. He was willing to risk his life for the other person with just a few words, but from childhood to adulthood, no one really cared about him this much...
When he closed his eyes, the warm touch on his body became more and more obvious. Lu Yan kissed all those old wounds inch by inch without any impatience or disgust, and finally hugged him tighter again.
"What is this?"
Lu Yanrao's interested voice made Huo Lang open his eyes, and he saw a food box on the step. The lid was opened, and inside was a stack of sesame-sprinkled cakes.
Huo Lang raised his eyebrows lightly: "Of course it's Hu Bing."
Didn’t Zhao Qin just give the emperor a piece of broken Hu cake? What’s the big deal? He directly brought a stack of them, at least more than twenty pieces, let’s see who can beat who!
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