Chapter 28 The nausea is caused by the fertility medicine he used
Wen Zheliu said nothing, but gripped the dagger in his sleeve even tighter.
Although he was weak and sickly, unable to even tie a chicken, Emperor Jingming had been sitting in the court for a long time and was already middle-aged. If she really wanted to force herself on him, it might not end well.
In broad daylight, Wen Zheliu's eyes were filled with a cold light, like the light reflected from a knife blade.
The shaking made Emperor Jingming feel uneasy.
Wen Zheliu has been a slave in Princess He Jiuyue's mansion for nearly half a month, but he still hasn't learned his lesson?
His gaze was so sharp that she could see He Jiuyue returning from the battle in military uniform.
The air was filled with the stench of blood crawling out from the pile of dead bodies.
How strange! It is obvious that Wen Zheliu cannot see anything. His blind eyes should not be so sharp.
"Ru, why are you on such guard?"
Emperor Jingming took out a small knife and thrust it directly at Wen Zheliu. She was rude in her actions, but her words were as kind as a spring breeze: "You seem anxious, but that's not what I meant."
"Then what does your majesty mean?"
As the cold air approached, Emperor Jingming smiled with a dagger hidden in his heart, and turned a deaf ear to the willow-breaking call.
He didn't even blink: "I am a dull and stupid person, unable to understand. Please explain clearly, Your Majesty."
"But I wanted to ask if you are still innocent. Who would have thought that you would react so strongly?"
The coldness had not yet subsided, and Wen Zheliu did not dare to relax. His thoughts were too focused, and for a moment, he did not even care about the continuous pain in his abdomen. He was only focused on how to reply to Emperor Jingming.
"As a man, I have been taught by my mother and father since I was young to keep myself clean. Now that I have found a wife, I forgive you for not being able to serve you any longer."
Emperor Jingming was stunned: "...I am not asking you to serve me, but I just want to see if you are still keeping your palace seal."
"Your Majesty, this is biased."
Wen Zheliu said calmly, "People say that men are born to be virtuous men. Since I am already a member of the Princess's Mansion, I should be self-disciplined and follow the rules. The location of the guarding chastity is hidden, how can I show it to outsiders?"
"'Outsider'? You despise me, an outsider, but what about your wife?" Wen Zheliu's coldness, like ice and snow, only provoked Jing Mingdi's fiery harassment. She grabbed his white wrist and said, "He Jiyue abandoned you, and you still want to remain chaste for her?"
Wen Zheliu struggled to break free and protected his wrist with his other hand.
"Yes," he lowered his eyebrows, "as long as I am her slave, I must never violate this rule for the rest of my life."
Emperor Jingming pressed forward again: "What's the point of being with her? She's cold-hearted. If you follow her, you'll eventually be abandoned. Why not just follow me?"
"Following His Majesty, won't I have to endure loneliness even more?" Wen Zheliu rubbed the places she touched with his fingertips again and again, frowning, and dodging to the side without leaving a trace. "With three thousand beauties in the harem, how can His Majesty care about a minister like you?"
Emperor Jingming was covered in ambergris, which should have been refreshing, but perhaps it was because he was too close and the aroma was too strong, or perhaps his posture was too intimidating, but his stomach churned when he smelled Zheliu.
He opened his thin lips slightly, about to say something, but the smell made him feel like vomiting, so he had to close them quickly.
"If you don't want to, I won't force you."
The intoxicating aura of Emperor Jingming faded away. "But I still have something to ask you. Before you had sex with He Jiyue, did she ask you to take the fertility potion?"
"He Jiyue ordered him to take medicine"? That wasn't the case.
It was the medicine he used to have a baby.
It was his own greed that he tried to use his lowly body to leave Wuhuan with offspring, so that the Princess's Mansion would have successors.
"No, Your Majesty."
"Then why did the Princess's Mansion suddenly purchase dozens of kinds of candies and also buy additional clothes? Candies are something children love to eat, and clothes should be purchased for children, right?"
"...Your Majesty has misunderstood."
The disgusting breath of Emperor Jingming faded away, and Wen Zheliu was finally able to breathe. He reached out and stroked his stuffy chest, explaining in a low voice.
"Your humble servant loves sweets. I had just moved into the Princess's residence and was short of clothes. The Princess doted on me, so she bought them for me."
Whenever he mentioned the days when He Jiuyue doted on him, and thought of her resolute back as she left, Wen Zheliu's heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife. Explaining to Emperor Jing Ming was like scratching a scabbed wound, causing new blood to ooze out.
He was vague, his heart still aching.
"Is this really prepared for you alone?"
Emperor Jingming did not believe what Wen Zheliu said, so he sent Chen Sanxi to verify it to make sure it was true. Then he took a sip of tea and asked him the next question.
"Then, do you want to have He Jiyue's child?"
Emperor Jingming asked a strange question. Wen Zheliu had a hunch that something was wrong and his heart started beating wildly.
"...What do you mean, Your Majesty?" He pretended to be calm.
Emperor Jingming continued, "Your family isn't all dead, but he's in my hands. If you want him, you can exchange your child with He Jiyue for mine. Do you understand?"
The eldest brother is in her hands?
These words came like thunder out of the blue.
Wen Zheliu was blown to pieces.
No wonder no one responded to the letter he buried under the stone pond. It turned out that his elder brother Wen Liuqing fell into the hands of Emperor Jingming?
"Your Majesty, are you trying to trick me?" Wen Zheliu could control his breathing, but he couldn't hide his increasingly rapid gasps. "The dead cannot be brought back to life. My family...died before my eyes."
“Sometimes what you see is not what you think.”
There was a soft "rustle" sound, as if Emperor Jingming stood up from the wooden chair. She did not rush to produce evidence to dispel Wen Zheliu's suspicion, but just set a time limit for him.
"I'll give you three days to think it over. Once you've made up your mind, tell me."
Wen Zheliu thought she was about to leave, and was about to say "Your Majesty, take care", but was suddenly suppressed by Emperor Jingming.
"He Jiyue abandoned you for her family. Why can't you abandon her for your family?"
The breath she sprayed on him was colorless and slightly fragrant, but it was more suffocating than a poisonous snake wrapped around the neck. The smell of Zhe Liu made his stomach, which was already aching, cramp violently.
"Ugh!" He endured it to the extreme, but still let out a dry retching sound.
"Do you dislike contact with outsiders, or do you dislike contact with me?" Emperor Jingming pulled his fleshless cheek.
Wen Zheliu pursed his lips and said nothing.
His stomach was churning, and he wasn't surprised that the moment he opened his mouth, he would vomit all over Emperor Jingming's face.
But they had just mentioned children, and he felt sick now. It was hard to guarantee that Emperor Jingming would not think too much.
Moreover, not everyone is like He Jiuyue, who can tolerate being vomited on by him. If Emperor Jingming happens to hate this, wouldn't he be seeking his own death?
"What does shaking your head mean?"
Emperor Jingming asked for a long time but couldn't get the answer. Finally, he felt disappointed and turned away.
Hearing the sound of her stepping out of the door, Wen Zheliu could no longer bear it. He groped for the spittoon beside the bed and vomited with a "wow". His waist was arched and his delicate facial features were wrinkled, as if he wanted to squeeze all his internal organs out of his throat.
Unfortunately, his stomach was empty. He searched his stomach and only vomited a little bitter water. It did not relieve the pain in his stomach, but instead made his throat sore.
"Mr. Wen, are you okay?"
Xiaobai's anxious voice sounded in his ears.
Then came the warm, wet handkerchief that wiped the corner of his mouth. "Why are you vomiting so early in the morning? You clearly haven't eaten anything... Are you feeling okay? Do you need to call the doctor?"
"No, no problem."
Wen Zheliu vomited so hard that he couldn't straighten his back. His Adam's apple kept rolling and he finally managed to suppress the surging feeling of nausea.
"No need to trouble Wu Yang."
Xiaobai looked at his bleak face and wanted to advise him to stop hiding his illness and avoid seeing a doctor, but then he shut his mouth awkwardly. Wen Zheliu didn't like outsiders making decisions for him, so why should he say more? The less you say, the less mistakes you make.
"……good."
"Princess, the situation has changed!"
He Jiuyue was sitting in the main tent studying the situation when Chen Jin suddenly rushed in without him even having time to ask for instructions.
"What happened?"
She barged in, but He Jiuyue was not annoyed.
"The sisters who infiltrated the gang have discovered the situation inside!" Chen Jin grabbed the kettle on the table, tilted her head back, and gulped down several mouthfuls of water before continuing, "But the situation is somewhat... beyond your expectations."
"What do you mean?" He Jiuyue put down the scroll in his hand.
"According to your original assumption, the bandits robbed innocent people on the street and imprisoned them in the mountains, but that's not the case."
Chen Jin scratched his head, his voice a little hoarse, "Those good people are working for the bandits, and they're doing it voluntarily. They get food and drink from the gang, and all they have to do is go to town and rob with the bandits from time to time... 'This is much better than farming and paying rent to grandma,' they say."
"There's such a thing."
He Jiuyue has always been detached from personal feelings when handling official business. Instead of denouncing the culprit, she prefers to analyze the situation first and then solve the problem from easy to difficult.
"Though the innocent people who were tricked into coming here are pitiful, the villagers who were robbed are even more innocent. If everyone finds out they can get something for nothing, then no one will work anymore... Using inducements instead of coercion is really tricky."
"That's right!"
Chen Jin paced back and forth. "Now, the villagers within a few hundred miles all know that joining the gang means they can have a worry-free life. They are as determined as moths to a flame. We who are guarding the mountain have talked our mouths off, but we still can't stop them."
"Just persuasion?" He Jiuyue folded her hands, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."
"This... I don't dare to take any other measures." Chen Jin sighed. "These people just want to get something for nothing, but they haven't really done anything serious. We can't do anything to them, ah!"
He Jiuyue lowered his eyes.
"Is this only true for the largest gang, the Black Dragon Gang, or is it true for every gang?"
Chen Jin had a lot of grievances but nowhere to vent them. He was finally able to find He Jiuyue, who was willing to listen patiently and had the power to make decisions, instead of someone who kept crying and complaining, "Adjutant Chen, what should we do?" He was so grateful that he burst into tears.
“You really hit the nail on the head!
"This tactic was originally used by the largest Black Dragon Gang, but now, every gang has discovered the effectiveness of this method and has started using it one after another. To be honest, there are now more bandits than innocent people in the entire mountain. Being a bandit is hard to come by!
"Whoever came up with this plan really understands human nature and has a vicious mind!"
He Jiyue frowned: "You just said that this strategy was originally used by the Black Dragon Gang, but was it their leader who came up with it?"
"Exactly!" Chen Jin nodded repeatedly. "I originally thought the Black Dragon Gang had a brain trust, but after sending someone to investigate, I discovered that these schemes were all the brainchild of their leader, Shan Zhi."
"Shan Zhi, good at knowledge, a good name."
He Jiuyue stood up and walked out of the tent: "In that case, it's time for me to meet her!"
She jumped onto the cloud cleanly and swiftly, flying towards the mountains like an arrow.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Wen Zheliu had just vomited a few times and was feeling lazy and had an upset stomach. He was just about to tell Xiaobai not to serve breakfast today and to make a lighter lunch when he suddenly heard the sound of sticks hitting a wooden door outside.
"Hear the willow branches!"
He was familiar with this voice; it was Li Shijun.
"Get out here!"
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