The next morning, a shrill scream pierced the quietude of the palace. This jarring sound soon reverberated throughout every corner of the grand imperial palace, reaching even the emperor’s ears.
“…He’s gone mad?”
The head eunuch in the main hall bowed deeply, replying truthfully, “Your Majesty, indeed he has. This morning, a palace maid was passing by the Qinfeng Hall only to be unexpectedly attacked and bitten by the young prince who seemed to have lost his sanity.”
A profound darkness passed through the eyes of the emperor lying in the bed of the hall.
Gone mad? He didn’t buy this notion of madness. He was more inclined to believe that this was merely an act.
Contemplating his own suspicions, the emperor, reclining in his bed, sneered coldly. After sending the person away, he whispered to a trusted aide nearby, “Send orders to the secret council, have the royal physician check on him. If they find any anomalies…” A murderous intent gleamed in his eyes.
“Execute him on the spot.”
“…As you command, Your Majesty.”
…
Inside the chaotic Qinfeng Hall, furniture was scattered all over. Not far from the entrance, Jiang Jingyue was tied to a bed, his face contorted with unceasing screams. His bloodshot eyes and the fresh blood smeared across his face were especially terrifying.
Standing around were numerous palace maids and eunuchs. As the royal physician rushed in from afar, everyone in the room respectfully bowed their heads in greeting.
Upon entering, Li Shun immediately saw the person on the bed. Witnessing the fiery red eyes, and the bound hands and feet that had been chafed raw, bleeding profusely without any sign of pain, his heart skipped a beat.
The unease reached its peak when he realized the absence of He Yue in the room.
Could she have…?!
Suppressing his suspicions, he hurriedly approached the bed. After taking a brief look at the madly struggling individual, he called over several eunuchs to help restrain the flailing limbs. Li Shun then checked the patient’s pulse.
However, the pulse felt chaotic and irregular. The blood and qi within the body were stagnant, a drastic contrast from the pulse of a normal person he had observed just the previous day.
As he knitted his brows deep in thought, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an inconspicuous red pill on the bedside.
Driven by curiosity, he picked up the pill with a cloth, carefully sniffing it. It was a familiar scent, reminiscent of… reminiscent of…
Li Shu who was trying to remember the smell of the pill glanced at Jiang Jingyue on the bed, who was acting anything but normal, almost delirious.
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.
Delirious…?
Vevvfcis, jr lo gfjilhlcu rbwfatlcu, Ol Vtec’r tjcv agfwyifv, jcv atf qlii vgbqqfv ab atf oibbg.
…
“…Jlccjyjg?”
Bcffilcu bc atf oibbg, rkfja vglqqlcu ogbw tlr obgftfjv, Ol Vtec tjralis mbcolgwfv, “Tbeg Zjpfras, la lr lcvffv mlccjyjg. Cmmbgvlcu ab wfvlmji afzar, la lr j tlutis abzlm lcugfvlfca. Pc wliv mjrfr, la mjerfr wjvcfrr jcv vfilglew, jcv lc rfnfgf mjrfr, lwwfvljaf vfjat. Pa lr j obgylvvfc vgeu lc atf qjijmf.”
A forbidden drug?
Narrowing his dangerous gaze, Jiang Lianfeng asked, “If it’s a forbidden drug, how did he get hold of it? And why would he consume such a substance?”
Kneeling not far away, Li Shun swallowed hard. He didn’t dare answer. But he had a suspicion. Previously, when He Yue had come to get medicine from him, she had lingered in the medical chamber. It was highly likely that she might have stolen the cinnabar during that time.
And yesterday, the unusual behavior of He Yue was even more evident. Perhaps she poisoned Jiang Jingyue to madness to save his life. But if she poisoned him, where was she now?
Li Shun knew that He Yue had always been grateful for the queen’s rescue years ago and always wanted to protect the naive young master. However, in the grand scheme of things, they were merely pawns in the games of those in power. All they could do was obey; they couldn’t change anything on their own.
Now that Jiang Jingyue was in this state, where was He Yue? Where has she gone? Could…could it be?
Seeing the cold sweat forming more and more on the kneeling person not far away, Jiang Lianfeng scoffed, “…So, you need a taste of the punishment of the secret council before you’re willing to speak?”
At those words, Li Shun’s entire back was soaked in sweat. He exclaimed in horror, “I dare not, I dare not! I just don’t want to make an unfounded claim.”
Seeing the increasingly cold face of the man above, Li Shun quickly said, “I suspect it was He Yue who gave the young prince this medicine.”
“He Yue?” Jiang Lianfeng pondered for a moment, then said, “The personal maidservant assigned to him?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The queen once saved her life. She has always been grateful for that act of kindness. Perhaps… perhaps she couldn’t bring herself to harm him directly, so she stole medicine from the medical chamber and poisoned the young prince into madness.”
Hearing this analysis, Jiang Lianfeng’s entire face darkened. “Such a way to repay a favor,” he remarked, and with a smirk, he looked at the kneeling person and said, “I remember you were once saved by Jiang Lianbi.”
Sweat poured down Li Shun’s forehead, and he stammered without daring to refute, “I… I was indeed saved by… the prince’s grace…”
“So you were planning to deceive me alongside her?”
“Your Majesty, I would never dare. Even if you gave me ten thousand times the courage, I wouldn’t dare. In my heart, you are my only master. The prince could save me only because you granted him the title. In the end, it was you who saved my life. It was you who rescued me.”
Li Shun, terrified and chilled to the bone, spoke frantically, knocking his head on the ground with loud thuds. He was afraid that any hint of doubt would lead to him being dragged away and executed.
Hearing these words, Jiang Lianfeng felt a rush of satisfaction. Yes, he was the one who conferred the title on Jiang Lianbi, making him the King. Without his grace, Jiang Lianbi was nothing.
Seeing the loyal display, with Li Shun’s forehead even bloodied from the knocks, Jiang Lianfeng said, “Enough. It was just a casual remark. Look how frightened you are. After all, you’ve been with me for so many years. I never mistreat my own people.”
“Thank… thank you, Your Majesty, for trusting me,” Li Shun, feeling as if he had just escaped death, almost collapsed in relief.
Seeing Li Shun’s disheveled state, Jiang Lianfeng thought of another person and coldly sneered, “But I never spare any traitors. She’d better be truly dead, or she’ll regret being found by me.”
Upon hearing that chilling threat, Li Shun, not far away, shivered in pure terror.
Soon after, the servants dispatched to find He Yue returned with news.
The chief eunuch, upon entering the hall, glanced at the emperor and cautiously reported, “… She was found in a well, completely dead.”
Hearing this, Li Shun felt his heart freeze. He and He Yue were from the same hometown, entering the palace together, secretly supporting each other for years. He hadn’t expected…
Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he reminded himself of the perilous situation he was in, suppressing the final shred of pity in his heart.
“Completely dead?” Jiang Lianfeng mused, then coldly ordered, “Chop her up and feed her to the dogs.” He would not spare any who betrayed him.
As the servant departed, Jiang Lianfeng looked at Li Shun below and said, “Do you find me cruel for treating those in the secret council this way?”
Li Shun who was now as pale as a ghost, didn’t dare to utter a word of dissent. “This servant… this servant wouldn’t dare.”
“Remember, this is the fate of those who betray me.”
“In this life, I am loyal to Your Majesty, serving only as your dog.”
“Heh, well said. I need obedient dogs like you.”
Although by now he had suspicions, reasons, a corpse, and even evidence, Jiang Lianfeng’s expression was still somewhat cloudy and uncertain.
He always felt that if he just let Jiang Jingyue go, there might be trouble someday. However, if he ordered the death of such an idiot at this moment, to the eyes of the world, wouldn’t he become a man who goes back on his word, a ruthless executioner?
He had finally regained some favor with the people; he absolutely could not allow all his efforts to be wasted at this crucial juncture.
Suppressing the murderous intent in his eyes, he raised his head and said, “Since you are so loyal, I will give you an opportunity to atone for your mistakes…”
…
In the desolate Qinfeng Hall, the once-high and mighty Jiang Jingyue was chained by a long iron chain around his neck. Snarling, he tried to pounce on the guards standing in front of the hall multiple times. However, besides getting pelted with rocks they picked up, which left his head bloody, and occasionally darting about while eliciting bursts of laughter, his attempts were futile.
Just as a few guards were amusing themselves by pelting him as if teasing a monkey, they suddenly noticed a person walking towards them in a daze. When they recognized the newcomer’s face, they immediately saluted.
“This humble servant greets Physician Li.”
Hearing the voice next to him, Li Shun who was in a trance stopped and realized he had unknowingly reached the entrance of Qinfeng Hall. Facing the saluting guards, he opened his mouth but found himself unable to say a word.
The kneeling guards, seeing the person enter Qinfeng Hall, immediately felt cold sweat on their foreheads. The person inside was covered in blood.
Li Shun’s eyes settled on Jiang Jingyue not far away, with his head drenched in fresh blood, eyes red and filled with rage, snarling with the long iron chain around his neck. Li Shun whispered, “Young… Young Master.”
To his call, Jiang Jingyue showed no sign of recognition. Sensing a living being approaching, he immediately shifted his focus, growling and pouncing towards Li Shun.
Those blood-red eyes were filled with brutal bloodlust.
However, because of the chain’s restraint, even if the skin on his neck had been completely rubbed off, even if his clothes were soaked in fresh blood, he still didn’t stop his aggressive movements.
Seeing this, Li Shun gave a pained smile and said, “Stop pulling, you’ll hurt yourself…” After saying that he cautiously approached the person in front of him.
“Young Master, sometimes I truly despise myself for being such a coward, valuing life over dignity. But then again, who isn’t afraid of death? I, for one, fear it the most…”
Suddenly tackled to the ground, an intense pain surged from his arm. Li Shun’s face became pale, but he didn’t struggle and continued to mutter, “I really envy He Yue, for having such courage. If I were asked to willingly die, I definitely wouldn’t. Life is so precious…”
His clothes were now mingled with large patches of blood, as his skin was bitten off. Sweat covered Li Shun’s forehead. Panting, he tried to calm himself, “I always thought that in a few more years, just a few more years, I would leave the palace, and then… I would be free…”
The sharp teeth gnawing on bone made a chilling sound.
“Young Master, I secretly married a woman. She’s very gentle, just an ordinary girl. She… she gave birth to a chubby little boy for me…”
“I’m afraid to die… but… I fear their deaths even more… my child… he’s only a month old… just… a month…”
Outside the door, the guards, who had been kneeling for a long time, sensed the prolonged silence. One of them, mustering his courage, raised his head to look inside. Not seeing anyone, he stretched his head further into the hall. And the very next second:
“Ah——!!!”
This got really dark and gory…
He treats those loyal to him so well that he tricked his most loyal brother into dying. I want the emperor to suffer most of all in this arc.
My hypocrite self doesn’t care anymore and just want the ML to be safe and participate in the mc’s vulgar love. I prefer mental/emotional scum abuse rather than physical abuse.
ya…its getting a bit too much for me..