content warning: animal death, horse.
“I have my suspicions that something might happen,” Li Changyu said to his Brother, “I saw Jin Ai in the party. Hmph, little brat never participated in the Hunt before.” Li Changyu leaned his shoulder against a nearby tree.
“He was always more suited to gambling halls,” Li Guangzhu nodded. “Is he really one of your suspects?”
Li Changyu was reluctant to share exactly what happened the day of his arrest, since he did not need a Li flying into a murderous rage against a Royal Family member. Li Changyu knew that despite their bickering, he could always count on Li Guangzhu to defend him. He just didn’t want an added headache.
“Yes. Him, Jin Qiuye, Qin Yuze, and Third Prince Uncle Zhang Wenru.”
“No possible outsiders? If Huang Guifei is a suspect, should we assume the Sui Kingdom is behind it?”
“I want to say I doubt it, but…”
If he were to put together the Eagle Bearers, his poisoning, the faked attack, his arrest, and his and Jin Xiyan’s deaths, it felt too elaborate a plot just for one person. Though Qin Yuze was a genius monster, that would be too much for him. If it were the Sui Kingdom trying to destabilize Dashan in order for a take over, it would be a fairly clever maneuver, but Qin Yuze would ultimately just be a pawn rather than the mastermind.
Sighing, he shook his head. “I think it is someone close to home. Check this.”
Li Changyu reached into his robe and pulled out the most recent memorial that came across his desk before leaving for the Autumn Hunt. His Brother took it and opened the panels to reveal the words. Li Guangzhu’s eyes scanned the page before looking back at Li Changyu with a frown.
“What does a rebuilding of a dam have anything to do with this?”
Li Changyu reached out and tapped his finger next to the name of the river, “Notice anything familiar?”
“…at the juncture between the river Hei and Yang, near the now flooded village of —” Li Guangzhu cut himself off mid sentence then exclaimed, “Bizhou! That one?!”
“En,” he nodded. “The very one I flooded.”
The attack he defended against, which earned him the promotion to Lieutenant General, was equal parts win and loss. Bizhou was a sleepy little fishing and farming village. The river Hei provided lush black silt that was fertile, but if not managed, could flood. The introduction of the dam was many generations before Li Changyu, but after an enemy group took over Bizhou, it would all come crumbling down at his own hand.
——-
The ground was wet and slick, making him feel like he was sinking in a mud pit rather than on a stakeout. It was hard to see in the dark, but thankfully the spot he was looking for was brightly lit by lanterns. Li Changyu peered through his spyglass towards the opposite side of the river bank where large ships were docked at Bizhou. Enemy soldiers worked by the light with men driven by a man with a whip to continue loading ships with crates that ranged in size.
A soft sloshing sound crept up beside him. Shen Pei knelt down and lowered herself on her stomach in the same position he was in. Glancing at Shen Pei, he whispered, “Did you smuggle as many villagers as you could?”
“We took as many women, children, and omegas as we could,” she blew out a breath that made the long grass in front of them flutter. “The ones behind are those too stubborn to leave, or old people who didn’t want to leave their homes.”
Li Changyu’s heart sank down to the mud. He wanted to minimize as many possible casualties as he could, but he was not able to move mountains. The enemy was creating giant ships that had the ability to blow fire. It was a foreign technology that Li Changyu had never seen before, and if they were allowed to travel down the river, the devastation would be catastrophic. From his observations for the past few weeks, their ships were just about complete, so If they didn’t act soon…
Li Changyu lowered his spyglass. Hardening his resolve, he asked, “Are our people in position?”
“En, Changyu. They just need the sig–unh!”
Shen Pei’s face fell into the mud after Li Changyu struck the back of her neck with his hand. Successfully knocking her out, Li Changyu turned her over and carefully dragged her towards the more solid ground. She was large, and it took some effort, but it was well worth it. He carefully undid his armor and laid it down beside her.
He brushed some mud off her cheeks and whispered his apology, “Sorry, Shen Pei, but it will be easier if I go alone.”
Not to mention, safer for her. With that, he slipped his arm through the strap of a sack, slung it over his shoulder, and went off on his mission.
Without the extra bulk of his armor, he could move with ease. He crept in the darkness with the help of the mental map he created during his stakeouts. He would follow the river towards the large dam’s structure, which he knew was guarded. Their little lanterns looked like moving stars that traveled back and forth along the parapet of the dam. It made it easy to time their movements, so when he reached the rocky structure, he climbed it without being detected.
Li Changyu hung at the edge of the top, his fingers clinging to the worn stone. When the last glow of a lantern passed, he swung himself up and over, rolling onto the semi-flat top. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he moved to a crouch, then rose.
He twisted the sack around to the front and opened it. He took one of the explosive bundles from the bag and attached the end of a spool of wick to one end. After setting it down, he walked a few feet, slowly feeding the length of the wick out until he stopped and did the same to a second bundle. The last one was the fourth bundle, also strategically placed, and he finished off the length of wick. The final piece he removed from the bag was the fire stick. He uncapped the stick and blew on it gently until it ignited.
Holding onto one end of the wick in one hand, and the fire stick in the other, he was ready. He drew in a deep, steadying breath, then whispered to himself.
“Here goes nothing.” He drew his hands together, but a shout stopped them from meeting.
“Hey you!”
Li Changyu whirled around, dropping the wick. Mid-spin, a surge of pain seized his body, emanating from the side of his chest. His eyes caught sight of the guard that was readying another arrow, then he dropped his gaze down at his chest where an arrow stuck out. His hand went to it, clutching at the shaft and slick, warm blood poured out, coating his fingers. Time slowed down when Li Changyu felt his hand go numb and the firestick slipped from his grasp. It was falling straight down to the explosive bundle closest to his feet.
As the firestick slowly spun downward, there could have been any number of thoughts that came to Li Changyu’s mind at that moment. He could have thought about his family, or curse his own stupidity, or hope someone would avenge him. Instead, there was only one thing that rushed to mind at the promise of death.
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.
“I think…If I ever had an omega…I would want them to be just like you.”
Jin Xiyan’s words whispered to him as images of his face flashed before him. Tears welled up in his eyes and the knot of regret that swelled up in his throat prevented him from crying out. Every little frown, creased brow, smile, panic-stricken look, and warm gentle gaze came to mind in milliseconds. Just as the flame licked the set of explosives, Li Changyu rasped;
“I’ll wait for you…in my next life…”
He was close enough to the edge that he let himself fall at the exact moment the first explosive blew. The sound of the guards’ screams were drowned out by the rush of water that made a tidal wave when the dam burst. Li Changyu instinctively gulped down his last bit of air before he was swept away by the water, but not much else he could remember after that.
——-
Li Changyu would be found in the morning washed ashore among the rest of the wreckage and bodies of the enemy. His people were positioned on the high ground, ready to take care of any enemy soldiers that would try to make their escape from the flood. Only two of those under his command were killed, but the lives of the villagers left behind weighed on him. He earned a promotion and time to rest, so it was all history now.
He rubbed at his eyes to will the memories away. Clearing his throat, he continued explaining the memorial.
“This is requesting for more funds for the repair project. Let me ask you, how long does it take to build a dam for a river of this size?”*
Li Guangzhu frowned and folded the memorial back together. He tapped the end of it to his chin. “It’s been almost three years since the incident. Certainly it would not take that long. Have there been reports of floods affecting the area?”
Li Changyu shook his head, “We have been dry the past year, according to grain reports. The irrigation is fine, so we do not need to worry just yet, but so far this dam is one of the bigger expenses. I wanted to ask if you could see if our Cousins know if any of the other branches live that far West?”
“We should. The rest of the families are all farmers, so they would be West and South.” His Brother nodded and handed the memorial over. Li Changyu tucked it back into his robe. “I am sorry that we didn’t warn you ahead of time about them. How involved do you want the Main Branch to be? Should I tell them why we want to know?”
“It’s alright, but why did they make their way down here? It can’t all be just for me.”
“Well…” Li Guangzhu shifted his gaze over to the camp, then back to Li Changyu. A frown etched worry a worry line between his brow. “You will hear about it anyway, so there’s no use keeping it from you. A petition came in to move the military fortress out of Jiangshen and put it closer to the capital.”
The air was sucked out of his lungs, and he rasped, “What?”
Jiangshen held the gate at the border, and was their first line of defense against an attack from the North. Though a city in its own right, with ample trade back and forth, it contained one of the few large scale military fortresses in the Empire.
“That’s…that’s preposterous!” Li Changyu stated the obvious. He began to pace back and forth between two trees, pushing a hand through his bangs that came down around his face. “That is like conceding the entire city! It opens them up for attack, and there is no way the Elder will want to move with them. That will–” He stopped in front of one of the trees, staring at it when it dawned on him. “We won’t be the ones with the military power.”
Li Guangzhu sighed heavily, his footsteps audible from the crunch of leaves underneath his boots. He came up beside Li Changyu and put a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, Li Changyu offhandedly thought how strange it was to be eye-level with his Brother for once.
“I think whoever planned to frame you for the Emperor’s murder is also behind this.”
This, the dam, and the frame up all seemed to be connected, but Li Changyu had trouble figuring out exactly how at the moment. A headache came on then, still feeling the effects of Qin Yuze’s drugs. He had first hand experience of what it was like now, and he’d been foggy headed ever since. Jin Xiyan’s behavior and hands off nature with regards to the Harem made a bit more sense now. How could he manage affairs of state plus the Inner Court while dealing with what was thought to be a chronic condition? Of course he would have to delegate it all to his Mother, even if Jin Qiuye was incompetant.
He could tell that the side effects also made him more jittery and agitated, because he was angrier than what he should be about all this. After reminding himself to keep a level head, Li Changyu turned to his Brother.
“We can talk to Papa about this later, but for now—”
Screams that were loud enough to be heard pierced through the quiet of the treeline. Both men turned back to the camp, where people rushed about. Without needing to say anything to one another, the Brothers sprinted towards the commotion. Li Changyu skidded to a halt and did a double take when he saw his own body bolt past him. He wanted to call out to Jin Xiyan, but like this he either wouldn’t hear him, and others would be suspicious about the “Emperor” calling out his own name.
Horses scattered around them, knocking over supplies and half-pitched tents. Men and women were scrambling to grab a hold of the un-tethered animals by crowding them. Some just looked frightened, while others were frothing at the mouth and glassy eyed. They reared up and kicked their front legs, and one person was caught under them.
“Bowen!” Jin Xiyan cried, drawing Li Changyu’s attention to the person on a bucking horse. Li Changyu’s blood went cold when he saw Bowen on the horse, reins tight in one hand while the other helplessly clung to the animal’s neck to try and not fall off.
He rushed forward, but was caught by the arm and yanked back. It was his Father, with a dead serious look in his eye.
“Your Majesty, you should seek cover!”
Li Changyu darted a look between his Father and Bowen. The horse bucked and pitched forward, throwing his back legs high into the air, and it was the final straw for the young boy. He slid off the saddle, his ankle caught in one of the stirrups, and the beast kicked off into a fierce gallop. Bowen was dragged along, helplessly flailing his arms as he cried.
He jerked out of his Father’s grasp, yelling, “He’s going to get killed!”
He reached for his Father’s belt and stole the knife out from the small sheath at his hip. Just when he spun around to run after the horse and trapped rider, Li Changyu caught sight of Jin Xiyan with a bow in hand heading towards the same direction.
“Bowen, hang on!” Jin Xiyan cried out.
It was strange, seeing his own body in action, as Jin Xiyan drew back the string and lifted the bow while running. Now, Li Changyu was loath to admit this, but he himself was a horrible shot with a bow. Throwing a spear was one thing, but his Brothers were far better at archery than he was.
Jin Xiyan pulled back a little tighter, then moved the arrow off center, and let it loose. It flew straight and true, and it lined up perfectly in time when the horse would run past. It struck the strap of the saddle, slicing it cleanly, and the saddle toppled to the ground. The momentum made Bowen tumble, and when he stopped he lifted his knee and hugged his leg. Jin Xiyan ran up to Bowen, spared him a glance, then ran after the horse. Li Changyu caught up to Bowen and dropped to his knees to inspect him.
Bowen was covered in dirt, and a particularly nasty cut on his cheek was caked with debris. His pants were torn, and he could not see any bones sticking out from his leg. Relieved, Li Changyu took a breath.
Bowen grimaced in pain and stammered, “Y-Y-Your Majesty?”
“Quiet, save your strength,” he said, perhaps in a harsher tone than he intended. His heart hadn’t calmed down just yet, his nerves fraught.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty!”
Li Jiuxing suddenly arrived with a pull stretcher, with Li Beidou following close behind. Li Changyu tucked the knife into his own belt and reached out to help, but his Father stopped him once again.
“Let us take care of this, Your Majes–”
“CHANGYU!” Li Jiuxing suddenly screamed, his voice reaching several pitches higher than he’d ever heard it before.
Looking in the direction Li Jiuxing was, Jin Xiyan was standing in a readied position as the crazed horse barrelled towards him. Li Changyu’s previous calm ramped back up to panic, his heart leaping to his throat. He was immediately on his feet and ran towards Jin Xiyan. The horse lowered its head in a charge, heading straight at Jin Xiyan. Even with his now longer stride, Li Changyu knew he wouldn’t make it in time. It didn’t stop himself from exerting all his strength and pray that he was wrong.
“MOVE!” he bellowed.
Before the horse could collide with him, at the very last second Jin Xiyan swept right and grabbed a hold of the reins. He leapt up and over, swinging his leg across the back of the horse. Almost immediately did the horse start to buck in protest. Its whinnies were like screeches, his head whipping from side to side. Jin Xiyan’s eyes widened as he held on, pulling at the reins and shouting the command to stop, but the horse would not.
A short burst of second wind helped Li Changyu finish the rest of the distance and he jumped on top of the horse in the same way Jin Xiyan did. He sat behind Jin Xiyan, grabbed the reins as well, and tugged hard. They see-sawed back and forth, and the horse spun around hard enough that Li Changyu felt dizzy.
“This isn’t working!” Jin Xiyan yelled at him over the noise. “I think the horse is crazed!”
Li Changyu swallowed down his nausea and examined the horse as best as he could. Bloody foam clung to the horse’s cheeks and jowls, its wide eyes had pupils so large they looked all black.
“I think the horses have been poisoned!” he shouted back as he let go of the reins. He pulled the knife out from his belt with one hand and wrapped his other arm around Jin Xiyan’s waist.
“Hold onto me!”
“What?!”
Li Changyu yelled even louder, “Hold onto me!”
Jin Xiyan dropped the reins and did what he asked. He clung to Li Changyu’s arm and twisted his body to fling one of his own around Li Changyu’s neck. Li Changyu squeezed tight and raised his arm as high as he could while maintaining balance and stabbed the horse in the neck. It reared back with a cry, and Li Changyu used that to help him launch them off the horse. He held tightly onto Jin Xiyan, tucking him close as they slammed into the ground and rolled.
Their spinning ended with Li Changyu on top of a huddled up Jin Xiyan. Li Changyu blinked his eyes open and coughed from the cloud of dust they kicked up. The horse twisted and writhed, stumbling over its own legs until it fell with a heavy thud a few yards away.
Finally able to catch his breath, Li Changyu’s sore back heaved with each inhale. Pain that didn’t register before flooded his entire body, but he did not feel anything broken.
What in the heavens was that? Before he could dwell on it any further, a small cough and wheeze came from under him.
“Changyu…” Jin Xiyan wheezed, ”You’re…on my stomach…”
Li Changyu looked back down, his face mere inches from Jin Xiyan’s. He blinked, momentarily lost in the sense of deja vu, but another cough from Jin Xiyan knocked him out of it. He scrambled off of him and pulled on a strain in his leg in the process. He hissed when he stood, rubbing at the aching spot.
“What were you thinking?!” He whisper-yelled at Jin Xiyan while he got onto his knees. “You could have gotten yourself killed! Since when did you know how to shoot a bow?! You better hope my Brother didn’t spot you! He knows I am horrible at archery!”
Jin Xiyan just stared at him during his rant, but when Li Changyu finished to catch his breath, a slow smile spread across Jin Xiyan’s lips. A burst of laughter came out, bringing Jin Xiyan back down to his knees mid-way from getting ready to stand. Jin Xiyan pushed a dirty hand through his hair, brushing it away from his face. He laughed so hard that tears welled in the corners. Li Changyu fumed.
“What is so funny?!”
Jin Xiyan choked on the first set of words, but calmed down enough to manage, “Th-there’s…ha-something you cannot do!”
Not finding this funny, Li Changyu scowled, which only made Jin Xiyan laugh harder until he clutched his side with a half-groan, half-laugh. Li Changyu bent forward and helped Jin Xiyan onto his feet, brushing the grass from him. He cupped Jin Xiyan’s face and inspected it carefully – his eyes, nose, and even teeth. Jin Xiyan chuckled and covered Li Changyu’s hands with his and pulled them down.
“I am fine.”
Li Changyu, however, still wasn’t pleased. He pinched Jin Xiyan’s earlobe. “How could you do something so reckless?!”
“Ow!” He winced and answered Li Changyu with a frown, “I saw Bowen and…well…I thought what would be something you would do and just…did it.”
Li Changyu’s mouth fell open, aghast. “That is certainly not–” He cut himself off, knowing deep down that if he finished that sentence he would be lying. He held a finger to Jin Xiyan. “Of all people, you should not risk your neck–WAH!”
Li Changyu was struck by something huge, knocking him to the side. He groaned when he made contact with the ground again.
“Changyu! Changyu, are you alright? Damnit, you made us worried!”
It was Li Jiuxing that knocked him over. Growling, Li Changyu propped himself up on his elbows and glared at Jin Xiyan. He wasn’t any help, and just kept on smiling. Li Jiuxing fussed over Jin Xiyan, patting him down to inspect him. Li Changyu lifted himself up and brushed the dirt off his knees, and now Li Jiuxing acknowledged him. He did a double take and a flush took over his wide, rounded face. His idiot for a Brother hastily started to do the same to Li Changyu, brushing off dirt and grass off him.
“Y-Your Majesty! I did not see you there! Uhh–this subject, uhh…”
Li Changyu held up a hand, “No need. Zhen would–”
“You alright there, young man?” Li Yunxi popped out of nowhere from behind Li Changyu. He thought he was addressing him, but Li Yunxi walked right past him and stepped up to Jin Xiyan.
Clearing his throat, Li Changyu interrupted Jin Xiyan before he could open his mouth. “Zhen would like to take His Highness to his tent and ensure he is uninjured. We will–”
“YOUR MAJESTY!”
The small crowd of them turned to the high pitched, wailing cry. Su Ao ran to them, his gangly limbs flailing like rubbery stalks of bamboo. Fat tears streamed down his reddened face, and he choked on a sob when he cried out again.
“YOUR MAJEEESSTTYY!”
Su Ao nearly collapsed onto his knees when he stopped in front of Li Changyu. He took the now tattered edge of Li Changyu’s robe and bowed three times.
“Your Majesty! This subject begs you, you cannot do something like that again! What would this subject do if you were mortally wounded?! How could I face Her Highness–”
“Su Ao,” said Li Changyu, stopping the eunuch from continuing his tirade. “Please assist His Highness in a bath. Since their servant is injured, you should take care of them.”
Su Ao’s head popped up, blinking up at him. He sniffled and wiped the back of his sleeve across his nose.
“M-me, Your Majesty?”
“We can take care of our own, Your Majesty.” Li Yunxi hoisted up the belt around his armor and puffed out his chest with a harrumph. “Leave the Empress to us.”
Li Changyu appreciated how much his Family was looking out for him, but he had to pretend to be the Emperor. He lowered his brow in what he hoped was a stern enough expression and spoke clearly. “It is perfectly alright to help Our Empress, but it is agreed that for His Highness to be alone with another Alpha while bathing, even family, is improper.”
For once, Li Jiuxing had the presence of mind to do the smart thing. He quickly stepped in before Li Yunxi could get a word in and bowed towards Li Changyu.
“Of course, Your Majesty! How about my Brother and I escort you to your tent and fetch a physician, and the eunuch can help His Highness?”
Li Changyu glanced at Jin Xiyan, who nodded his head. Li Changyu did the same.
“Zhen agrees to this plan,” then to Jin Xiyan, he added, “You may receive visitors after you are checked by the physician.”
Jin Xiyan dipped his head, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Su Ao had yet to stand, still awkwardly kneeling by Li Changyu’s feet like an expectant puppy. Li Changyu reached down and gave a tiny pat on the top of the eunuch’s hat and waved him off in a shooing motion.
“Go help His Highness now.”
“En,” Su Ao did what he was told now and stood up to help Jin Xiyan walk along. He looked fine, but Su Ao went above and beyond by taking one of Jin Xiyan’s arms and guided him away. Li Yunxi gave Li Changyu a once over then turned on his heel to follow after them. Li Changyu caught a glimpse of Li Guangzhu hovering a few yards away.
Li Jiuxing sidled up beside Li Changyu and tried to take his arm the same way Su Ao did with Jin Xiyan, but Li Changyu yanked his arm away and glared at his Brother. If he were in his own body, he probably would have told his Brother to fuck off, but he searched for a more…diplomatic way to say that.
“Do not worry too much on Zhen’s account. Just tell the physician to come to Zhen’s tent.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Of course, Your Majesty.”
Li Jiuxing backed away with a series of bows until he almost tripped over his own feet in the process. After quickly steadying himself, he offered a goofy grin and ran off. As Li Jiuxing departed, Li Guangzhu approached.
“That was pretty dumb,” he said. Li Changyu shrugged, but winced from the effort. Li Guangzhu’s droll stare turned to that of concern, but Li Changyu waved him off too.
“Spare me the lecture.” He turned to look at the fallen horse and the dark stain of blood that pooled around it. “What happened back there?”
“From what I could gather, there was poison amongst the hay. Papa is already questioning the stablehand, and Julong’s Cousins that joined us are collecting the horses that were scared during the commotion.”
“Poison?” Li Changyu’s eyes narrowed. “But we just arrived. Either the person who did this was very stupid and desperate, or…”
“…this won’t be the only incident, and there are plenty of people here to pin this on.”
The two Brothers met one another’s gaze, and without words Li Changyu understood his Brother’s meaning.
Someone could be trying to frame the Li Family once again.
——
author’s note: yes it actually would take a really long time to build a dam in ancient times, but let us suspend some reality for the sake of narrative.
Suspending reality is one of my favorite things! But Jin Xiyan and Li Changyu, they’re real, right? Li Changyu’s memory inside a memory, and how the two are taking care of each other, that feels like a reality I like to hang out in.
Oh they are quite real to me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and prepare for some major vinegar for the next one!
Thanks for the chapter ❤️❤️
Thank you! I hope you liked it <3
Thanks for the chapter 🥰🥰..
I hope everything goes well (●´⌓`●)
looks at the villain, then at you
Uhhhh sure everything is fine!!
Damn ..Don’t scare me(~_~;)
This author cannot make any promises
Jin Xiyan severing the saddle with arrow and saving Bowen is his true self in my eyes. So fearless ❤️
Which asshat is ruining the opportunity to have a flirtatious hunt with this petty intrigue??? Shoot this person with arrow !
Thank you for Shen Pei and chapter too
Jin Xiyan is actually a very competent person! Sometimes! Yeah!
Also, you are very welcome for Shen Pei
There are lots of things going on here and too many suspects… I really like how the Li family care for LCY.
Thank you for the chapter! It is wonderful as usual
…..my expressions on this chapter alone is magnificent that I scared myself.. LEMME EXPLAIN-
“Dayyum the plot is THICC here”
“HOLY WHAT!!! THT TIS THE SCAR COME FROM!!?? KEJENDJDKKSJDHDJDHD MUMMA!!!!!! ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽”
“sighhhhhh..feels bad for JXY dor hving all this shit in his harem…”
“UMM-WTF!!??? 👀”
“Aww theyre laughing hnngg (･ัω･ั)”
“HAGSGHSHSHSJS SU AO IS SO FUNNEHH U^ｪ^U ”
“LMAO BRO JUIXING HAGHAAHGHAGSG-”
“its nearly here…the mystery…👀🛐”
So there you go~ tis a rollercoaster indeed👌
now, this is getting a lot frustrating. how the hell is going the wrong way…
Nevertheless, It is as addicting as always 😍 😍
keep up with good work authornim. 😍