Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Weiqing Song had clearly thought of the same possibility.
He was not worried, though. The grave grass of the last person who tried to force himself on Fusheng Duan had probably grown three feet high from all the tears shed over it.
Xunlan Liu was courting death.
Shengsheng Zhou, however, was concerned about something else.
How exactly would Xunlan force himself on Fusheng? Jump up and yank down his trousers?
“Pfft…” Weiqing truly could not hold it in.
Only then did A-Si, who had yet to leave, notice someone else in the room. She asked timidly, “What are you laughing at?”
Shengsheng looked at him too, wondering what on earth had gotten into the man.
Weiqing suppressed his smile. Without answering, he lowered his head and silently resumed playing the quail.
Shengsheng told A-Si, “Send someone to summon the Empress Dowager.”
A-Si said anxiously, “His Majesty has even sealed the palace gates. Our people can’t get out.”
Shengsheng frowned. Xunlan’s pig brain had unexpectedly worked for once.
Weiqing spoke up. “This servant will go.”
*Why hasn’t anyone invented video cameras yet? I desperately want to record this glorious moment of Weiqing calling himself a servant and play it on a loop every night before bed. When he finally ascends the throne, I’ll play it before all his ministers as my coronation gift.*
The image filled Shengsheng with a peculiar sense of satisfaction.
Her mind might have been running wild, but outwardly she agreed almost the instant he finished speaking.
“Off you go, Little Qing.” The rare, treasonous joke made Weiqing raise an eyebrow.
He gave her a look that promised to settle accounts later, then left.
The moment he stepped through the door, A-Si followed.
“Little Qing, how do you plan to get out?”
Weiqing fell silent. Damned Little Qing.
He ignored her and walked away without answering.
A-Si remained where she was, thinking that this young eunuch had appalling manners.
— Interlude Makes a Dazzling Entrance–and Blinds Whom, Exactly? —
“Does Your Majesty intend to force yourself on me?”
Too lazy even to use the formal self-address of a consort, Fusheng gave an inelegant yawn. He lounged against the couch and regarded the bound figure on the floor without a trace of emotion.
Xunlan’s mouth twisted in rage. “Insolence! How dare you treat us this way!”
He was furious. Before he had so much as touched Fusheng’s sleeve, he had somehow been punched to the ground and lost two teeth. By the time he recovered, he had been tied up as well.
Worse, after doing all that, the culprit had gone to wash his hands, treating Xunlan as though he were something filthy!
Was this still his delicate Noble Consort, too frail to carry anything and able to survive only by depending on him?
How could she treat him this way?
Xunlan’s eyes nearly spat fire, and the gaps where his two teeth had been still burned with pain.
He was so angry he wanted to cry!
Fusheng ignored him completely.
He simply reclined on the couch, head propped in one hand, his thoughts unknown.
He had not tied up his hair today. Silky black locks fell beside his face, concealing nearly half of it. From Xunlan’s position, he could clearly see Fusheng’s nearly bewitching, flawless profile. Even the tremble of those long lashes seemed infinitely alluring, stirring the imagination.
What an exquisite creature.
Ensnared by beauty, Xunlan gazed in besotted fascination.
The door was suddenly kicked open, yet the world outside remained silent.
Fusheng showed no surprise. He sat calmly in the same place without moving.
Xunlan, however, could not resist looking toward the door.
Had one of his people guessed he was in danger and come to rescue him?
But the instant Xunlan Liu saw a pair of shoes studded with eastern pearls cross the threshold, his heart filled with despair.
Only one person in the entire palace enjoyed piling her whole body with pearls and jade.
Xunlan buried his face against the floor and attempted to play dead.
Yan Yu strode in radiating murderous fury. When she saw Xunlan sprawled on the ground, she released a sharp breath of relief.
The feigning-death Xunlan heard footsteps approach and stop not far away.
Then came that familiar, mocking voice. “Emperor, enjoying the taste of dirt?”
Xunlan fell silent. He had known it.
His imperial mother never passed up an opportunity to ridicule her son.
“This son greets the Empress Dowager.” Left with no choice, Xunlan finally spoke.
He knew the Empress Dowager would not release him.
Sure enough, at the sound of his voice, Yan Yu merely gave a cool hum. Then she hurried to Noble Consort Fusheng Duan and asked with concern, “Noble Consort, are you all right?”
Fusheng glanced at her. “Thank you for Your Highness’s concern. I am unharmed.”
Yan Yu glared fiercely at Xunlan on the floor. If this idiot had not been her own son, she would dearly have loved to kill him for her sovereign’s amusement.
“Affairs of state permit no delay. Your Highness should take His Majesty away at once,” Fusheng said.
Yan Yu knew he was angry. He was dismissing them outright.
What a joke. Since when did Xunlan care about affairs of state? He shirked whatever he could.
It was a wonder the country had not already collapsed under him.
Yan Yu evacuated with him at top speed, but not before severely punishing everyone involved in today’s affair.
She had considered punishing the servants of Qianyi Palace for negligence as well. Then she remembered how fiercely Fusheng protected his own and decided not to provoke him. In the end, she left without touching them.
Peace finally returned to Qianyi Palace. After examining Shengsheng Zhou’s hip, the imperial physician prescribed medicine for internal use and an ointment for external application, then prepared to leave.
Shengsheng stopped him.
“Imperial Physician, may I trouble you to examine this?”
She took the small bottle from her robes and handed it over. Hearing her request, the physician accepted it from the Noble Consort’s most favored maid, opened it, and leaned in for a sniff.
Surprise appeared on his face. “Miss Shengsheng, this is excellent medicine. Its effect on improving circulation and dispersing bruising is exceptional.”
Shengsheng nodded and calmly took it back. “Thank you, Imperial Physician. I cannot see you out myself.”
He waved a hand. “Rest well, miss.”
Then he left.
Looking at the little bottle, Shengsheng wore a complicated expression. It really had come from Fusheng.
Just as the thought occurred to her, the door opened. Shengsheng hurriedly stuffed the bottle beneath her quilt.
The newcomer wore red robes. Black hair spilled down around an exquisitely beautiful face.
Shengsheng started struggling upright to bow, but the person stopped her with a gesture.
She leaned back again.
It had only been for show anyway.
“Why has Your Highness come in person?”
It seemed Weiqing Song had successfully summoned the Empress Dowager.
Fusheng did not answer. Instead, he sat beside her bed and fixed her with his deep, black eyes.
The stare made Shengsheng uncomfortable all over.
The excessive closeness even made her shrink backward.
Displeased by the movement, Fusheng reached out and caught her by the chin. Then he leaned down and, under her astonished gaze, caught her lips in his and began to bite.