I want this person
KEIGHTY: Violent themes ahead. Proceed with caution.
Several arrows were fired in unison, and the luxurious carriage just now instantly turned into a sieve.
“Your Highness, be careful!!!”
The little prince was knocked down by the palace maid. Fortunately, the carpet in the carriage was thick, so he wasn’t hurt.
The carriage window was shot through. Several cold iron arrows were rooted just above his head. The tail feathers were still quivering, and some strange powder was released. A strange smell suddenly filled the air.
“Damn it, it’s actually poisonous!”
Hongdou immediately wet the handkerchief with water and covered the youth’s mouth and nose.
The heavy and strange accent just now made Zhou Huaiyan quickly guess the whereabouts of the assassin.
——Foreigners.
When he entered the imperial palace, his uncle took this group of carriages and horses with him. At this moment, he left alone, leaving the convoy to himself. In other words, those assassins should have thought that he was his uncle inside the carriage.
Zhou Huaiyan sighed, miserable.
Once he comes back after this is settled, he should ask for some good things from his uncle to compensate for his wounded little heart. Looking at a bloody blade could simply make him feel dizzy.
Bang!
An assassin broke open the carriage door and rushed in. Seeing the other party’s unsurprised look, Zhou Huaiyan’s eyebrows furrowed.
——The other party seemed to recognize him.
While the young man was still lost in his thoughts, Hongdou had already started dealing with the assassin. This eldest imperial palace maid was personally selected and sent by his uncle. It is said that she was formerly a secret guard.
Zhou Huaiyan once had doubts, but now he firmly believes them. After all, not every palace maid can crush an assassin’s lower body with her bare hands.
“Ahhhhh——!!!”
For the first time in his whole life, Zhou Huaiyan saw an authentic, bloody scene like this. He could even feel his stomach twitching.
“Hongdou ah…”
The young man’s breath was obviously weak, which frightened the eldest palace maid out of her wits. She hastily kicked the assassin out and came over to check on the Ninth Prince’s condition.
“Your Highness! Your Highness, are you alright?! Are you injured somewhere?”
“A woman’s hands should still… be a little more reserved.”
Zhou Huaiyan handed her a dagger.
Hongdou: “…Thank you, Your Highness.”
Zhou Huaiyan then got out of the carriage. Hongdou gathered a group of government soldiers to protect him in the middle, forming a city wall with their bodies side by side. The cows, horses, and livestock outside were frightened, running away in all directions. It severely limited the space for the soldiers to move, but it is only a limitation.
Not long after, Zhou Huaiyan heard a neigh under the vast sky from a distance.
——It’s indeed his uncle’s horse.
Wu, it looks like the good show is coming to an end.
He began to wonder: should he burst into tears later for the sake of keeping his character as the incompetent little prince, or should he pretend to be calm so as not to worry his uncle too much?
Hmm, this is a little bit confusing.
But Duke Wei didn’t give him much time to be confused.
“Huaiyan!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
A veteran dark horse and a silver cold halberd.
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However, at this moment, the war horse jumped in the air, and the halberd was wielded, causing bright red blood to burst in the air and several heads to throw up before dropping to the ground.
——This is much more exciting than the swordsmen in TV movies.
Tsk, he’s truly a general!
Duke Wei personally led the troops, and in less than half a quarter of an hour, the assassination came to an end.
“Huaiyan!”
Jiang Yi, his armor stained with blood, walked over in large strides, his expression burning with anxiety.
“Uncle!”
Zhou Huaiyan remembered his persona as the incompetent, sickly, and weak little prince. He immediately decided to cry ying ying ying or to faint from fear. However, as soon as he took a step forward, he suddenly felt as if the world was spinning, his vision turning black.
Eh?
The young man fell down.
——This time, he really fainted.
.
Zhou Huaiyan had a high fever all night and was unconscious.
Hongdou also inhaled the powder from the arrow feathers, but she was not affected at all. The imperial physician only found out that it was a poison that only targets men, but he didn’t know what kind of poison it was.
Duke Wei was furious because of this.
That very evening, tens of thousands of imperial guards came out of the barracks and arrested all the foreigners in the capital. There are tens of thousands of foreign slaves in the capital, and some of them are kept by high-ranking officials in their houses.
If some refused, the soldiers would directly break in the door and take them away by force. If anyone dares to escape, they will be killed on the spot.
As soon as this movement came out, cries of discontent rose all around the court. Everyone repeatedly asked to impeach the official in front of the emperor based on his accounts. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it would be a serious crime for Duke Wei to use the imperial guards in the capital without the emperor’s permission.
However, the usually dignified emperor never reprimanded him in the slightest. Yet Duke Wei’s heart was still very anxious and indignant. That poison was clearly directed at him, so how could Huaiyan’s body be able to withstand it?
Fortunately, three days later, Zhou Huaiyan’s high fever subsided, regaining his consciousness.
He felt like he had been roasted on the fire for three days, and now he felt terribly cold.
“Where’s Uncle?”
“The Grand Duke is still looking for the assassin, His Highness need not worry.”
After learning everything that had happened in the past few days from Hongdou, Zhou Huaiyan suddenly felt his head start to ache again.
“After all, no matter what, they could only hide themselves.”
Hongdou was already used to her master occasionally talking oddly by himself. She simply fed him the medicine.
“Your Highness, what could only hide?”
Zhou Huaiyan’s face crumpled in bitterness, but he did not answer her question directly.
“Wu, it’s so bitter…… Uncle is too impulsive.”
Duke Wei is upright and bold. He does not bother with trivial matters either. He might be extraordinarily brave and invincible on the battlefield, and he might be capable of deploying troops in a battle formation with just his fingertips. However, in this imperial city, his uncle still couldn’t see through it.
Zhou Huaiyan knew that, from the day he was transmigrated as a baby, the emperor did not like him. Perhaps it can be said that he did not like Duke Wei as well. Even his younger sister, the woman who risked her life to give birth to the child, was not liked.
Zhou Huaiyan never told his uncle that his beloved younger sister,
——Jiang Min’s death, was not an accident.
She committed suicide by imperial order.
After transmigrating as a baby, he heard his mother, who had just given birth, weeping aggrievedly as she asked the emperor why he was so heartless.
Zhou Huaiyan hid this secret for a very long time.
For so many years, he deliberately ruined his body and pretended to be sick and sullen. He became incompetent and greedy for money and sex, just to appease the emperor’s heart.
As for now, it seems that the emperor is still not at ease ah…
Zhou Huaiyan wanted to sigh again.
He once thought about persuading his uncle to hand over the military power, but after the emperor killed Jiang Min, it was impossible for him to let Jiang Yi go. For several days in a row, Zhou Huaiyan was still thinking about this matter.
When Duke Wei learned that he was awake, he hurriedly came to see him and then left in a rush. It was simply impossible for him to have a proper chat with his uncle.
Zhou Huaiyan felt depressed.
“Hongdou, get my cloak. I’ll go out for a walk.”
“Yes.”
Today’s weather was good, so the old woman did not stop him, which was very rare.
The Grand Duke’s Mansion was bestowed by the previous emperor. He heard that it used to be the residence of a certain prince. The mansion’s scope was very large and has been nicely renovated. There are also many rare and exotic plants.
Zhou Huaiyan rarely felt so much better.
Suddenly, a noise came through from the front. It seemed as though many people were moving something.
Zhou Huaiyan’s eyebrows furrowed as he strode over.
“I’ll go and take a look.”
These people all recognized the Ninth Prince. After all, Zhou Huaiyan was the Grand Duke’s favorite, and no one dared to offend him. When Zhou Huaiyan walked over, everyone immediately knelt on the ground.
“What are you doing?”
The leader immediately stepped forward and knelt down again.
“Replying to His Highness, the Grand Duke has ordered a full search for foreigners. His subordinates have captured a few strange ones and are about to send them for interrogation.”
“Foreigners?”
Zhou Huaiyan looked at the large cage covered with black cloth from a distance.
“Lift the cloth, Dianxia wants to take a look!”
He raised his chin slightly, looking extremely arrogant.
“This……”
The man was a little embarrassed. They all knew that this Ninth Prince was weak. If he suffers from fright and it offends him later on, they might lose their heads.
“What, are my words not heeded anymore?!”
Zhou Huaiyan furrowed his eyebrows and imitated his uncle, trying hard to be fierce. Hongdou, who was standing behind the young man, glanced at the leading imperial guard with a sinister look,
“Are you deaf?!”
“Yes! Yes! This subordinate will lift it now for His Highness to see.”
As soon as the dirty black cloth was lifted, the imperial guards immediately aimed their spears at the cage and swung their whips down ruthlessly. They firmly tugged on the chains under the slaves’ feet so as to avoid hitting the little prince.
The slaves screamed in pain. The scene was reeking of blood and chaos.
Hongdou stood guard in front of Zhou Huaiyan with a disapproving look on her face.
“Your Highness, these are all filthy things. I will escort you to go back.”
However, the young man did not respond to her. Instead, he walked towards the cage.
Among the numerous blood-curdling screams of the foreigners, Zhou Huaiyan found a little guy huddled in the corner. His thin body was lying on the ground, his back covered with scars. He was trembling.
Zhou Huaiyan sized him up.
Curly black hair, pale green eyes, and the corner of his eyes slanted upwards, much like a cat’s eyes.
The little slave was very dirty and terrifyingly thin. But those pair of eyes sparkled beautifully in the sunlight.
Seeing the young man approaching, the little slave was undoubtedly trembling in fear. Yet he still bared his fangs and tore his throat with great effort, making out a thin and hoarse sound.
This reminded Zhou Huaiyan of the long-haired cat he had raised when he was a child.
It also has curly black hair, and the cat’s eyes were a beautiful pale green color, which was more beautiful than any piece of jade given by his uncle.
He stared into the little slave’s eyes, feeling distracted for a moment.
Nobles always have special hobbies. Some people love calligraphy and painting, some like jade and stone, and some are fond of beautiful women. However, most of them were still shady.
But Zhou Huaiyan is very odd. He likes cats.
Hongdou knew that the Ninth Prince had a cat when he was a child. He liked it so much that he would embrace it in his arms every day. He would even eat and sleep with it.
Later on, the cat died. The little prince fell seriously ill, almost dying. Since then, the Grand Duke has not allowed His Little Highness to keep cats or any other living animals.
As a result, His Little Highness has developed the habit of collecting all kinds of beautiful jadeite, especially the cat's eye. Every time he sees it, he will always stop walking.
Hongdou looked into the foreigner’s eyes and knew in her heart that she couldn’t stop him anymore.
Zhou Huaiyan took out a plum candy.
“Little one, do you want to come with me?”
That tone was very much like coaxing a little wild cat.
The Imperial Guards were almost frightened to death. They didn’t dare to loosen their grip on the chains in their hands, even just a little bit. They wondered what was wrong with His Little Highness. How could he take a fancy to such a lowly foreigner?
The little slave was stunned. He stared at the candy in Zhou Huaiyan’s palm and then raised his head to look up at his face, seemingly somewhat at a loss.
The young man was wearing a glamorous cloak, with half of his loose embroidered hood lifted. He had a gentle smile on his face, rather like the god in the foreign legends.
This man is really… very good-looking.
For the first time, the little slave stared at him in a trance, seemingly enchanted.
Zhou Huaiyan waited for a long time and suddenly thought that maybe this foreigner could not understand the Zhou language. So he simply moved by force, reached out, and stuffed the plum candy into the little slave’s mouth.
“If you won’t refuse, I’ll treat it as if you agreed.”
He moved swiftly, just like when he once stuffed the little dried fish into Cuicui‘s mouth. His soft fingertips entered the mouth along with the candy. The little slave’s eyes widened all at once.
Shock, fear, and bewilderment.
He seemed to be greatly frightened. He insanely wanted to retreat, but the chain around his neck locked him in place.
“Your Highness!!!”
Hongdou was panic-stricken when she saw it. She rushed over and pulled the young man’s hand back, fearing that the foreigner would suddenly bite him.
Zhou Huaiyan was not frightened at all. He looked at the panicked little slave. His beautiful pale green eyes were filled with tears, glistening under the light.
It was very similar to the way Cuicui looked when he embraced it in his arms for the first time.
A lot of people knew that the Ninth Prince, when he was a child, loved a long-haired cat so much that he even fell seriously ill because of the cat’s death.
But only Zhou Huaiyan knew that the cat named Cuicui died because of him.
The young man subconsciously clenched the fabric on his chest, clearly feeling his pounding heartbeat.
“Hongdou.”
Zhou Huaiyan heard his own dazed voice,
“You go and tell Uncle that I want this little one.”
Thanks for updating!
Oh, no. This remind of my cat. It’s been around a week or two since he disappeared. I only hope he’s in a good place now, a nice, a better place.