Jing Yi keenly realized that his words had affected Lu Pianpian's emotions, and was about to make a few sarcastic remarks when Lu Pianpian pointed at him and asked, "Where did the blood on your clothes come from?"
Jing Yi glanced down at the blood on his clothes, a malicious glint in his eyes. "Naturally, it's the blood that splattered on me when I was watching Huan Juntian's execution..."
After asking the question, Lu Pianpian swayed and almost fell off the bed.
While he was unconscious, he did hear someone report that the prisoners were causing trouble, and Huan Changming went to check the situation.
Who else could be the prisoners in Huan Changming's group besides his senior sister and junior brother? He had pleaded with Huan Changming so much before, but Huan Changming still said he would kill his junior brother. Huan Changming rushed over now, and his junior brother just happened to be in the line of fire. In a fit of rage, Huan Changming killed his junior brother...
"I don't believe it..."
Lu Pianpian pulled back the covers and got out of bed, forgetting that her feet were still tied with rope. She fell face down hard on the ground, and a gash appeared on her forehead, from which blood gushed out and flowed into her eyes.
Seeing this, Jingyi panicked. Hearing footsteps approaching, he knew Huan Changming had turned back. Given Lu Pianpian's current state, he knew he would be implicated. So he quickly changed to another route and hurriedly left.
As soon as Huan Changming returned to the room, he saw Lu Pianpian crawling on the ground, her forehead covered with blood that smeared most of her face, and her white undergarments were speckled with blood.
He scooped Lu Pianpian up from the ground and was about to ask her a question when Lu Pianpian grabbed his collar again and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't touch my junior brother..."
"If he dies, I will never live on alone..."
Huan Changming misunderstood the wound on Lu Pianpian's forehead as proof that Lu Pianpian was trying to kill herself for Huan Juntian.
The pity he felt for Lu Pianpian was quickly overshadowed by anger. "Fine, if you want to be a pair of star-crossed lovers with Huan Juntian, then so be it!"
Lu Pianpian opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but then turned her head and fainted again in Huan Changming's arms.
A note from the author:
Huan Changming: Huan Juntian must die!
Chapter 43
Qu Surou caused a scene in the prison van, and on the way back, Mu Lingzi kept a close watch on her, not giving her any chance to cause trouble.
Sitting beside the prison cart, Mu Lingzi saw Qu Surou staring at him with resentment and said with a smile, "Young girls get old easily when they're angry."
Qu Surou's limbs were tightly bound, and her mouth was gagged, so she could only glare at him fiercely.
Mu Lingzi felt uncomfortable being stared at. "Sigh... you're only focused on me. With your second junior brother here, you and Huan Juntian definitely won't die."
Qu Surou's eyes showed confusion, as if she wanted to know why.
Mu Lingzi said mysteriously, "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed..."
He simply understood the concept of "emotion" better than those directly involved.
When Huan Changming returned to the capital, the ministers waited respectfully at the city gate, and the people of the capital lined the streets to welcome him.
For ordinary people, it doesn't matter who the new emperor is; they only care whether the newly enthroned emperor can bring them a prosperous and peaceful life.
The young emperor, who defeated the rebels who had started the war and returned victorious, spared them the suffering of endless warfare and had now established a towering figure in their hearts.
An egg was thrown from the crowd onto the prison cart, hitting Huan Juntian squarely in the body. He opened his eyes in a daze, and the shouts of the crowd seemed to come from near and far around him.
"Stop starting another war! We ordinary people can't afford your constant turmoil..."
"That damned traitor deserves to be executed!"
"Take him away and behead him! Stop endangering our country!"
Huan Juntian's eyes slowly moved in their sockets. His once bright eyes now seemed to be covered with dust, becoming dull and lifeless.
Did he really do something wrong?
Rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs began to be thrown at Huan Juntian incessantly, as the people vented their dissatisfaction and anger in a straightforward and brutal manner.
It was also as if this twisted way was a way of convincing him that he had really made a mistake.
Huan Changming achieved a resounding victory, securing his throne through the most direct means of warfare.
For a time, there were no more voices of doubt, both inside and outside the court, and everyone followed the new emperor's lead.
Back at the palace, Mu Lingzi handed a medicine bottle to Huan Changming, saying, "Your Majesty."
Huan Changming shook the bottle, and the pills inside made a crisp clinking sound. "Step down."
Mu Lingzi took a few steps back, but Huan Changming called out to her again, "Wait."
"Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"
"Mu Lingzi, you have done a lot for my ascension to the throne these past few days. Is there anything you wish for?"
Mu Lingzi paused for a moment, then replied, "I'm afraid what I want is something Your Majesty cannot give me."
"You want Lan Jun?"
"yes."
“What’s so difficult about that?” Huan Changming nodded in agreement. “Go back now. I’ll have someone bring Lan Jun to your residence shortly.”
Mu Lingzi looked at Huan Changming in surprise. The other party had taken Lan Jun away in order to restrain him, so why would he return Lan Jun to him so easily now? Considering Huan Changming's usual behavior, Mu Lingzi couldn't help but think more about it.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll take Lan Jun and leave, no longer working for you?"
Huan Changming said calmly, "Whether you stay or leave is none of my business."
Mu Lingzi's thoughts shifted slightly. Huan Changming's throne was now secure, and his greatest threat, Huan Juntian, was practically fish on his chopping block. Mu Lingzi's usefulness was greatly diminished. If Huan Changming offered to let him leave, he could do him a favor and allow their master-servant relationship to end peacefully.
Mu Lingzi was a clever person. After understanding Huan Changming's intention, she bowed to Huan Changming and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Mu Lingzi left, Huan Changming went to the inner palace and saw from afar that a group of palace servants were gathered at the entrance of his palace, blocking Lu Pianpian who was trying to escape.
"Young Master Lu, His Majesty has ordered that you are not allowed to step out of here!"
"Young Master Lu, please don't make things difficult for us servants. We're just following orders..."
Huan Changming's palanquin stopped at the palace gate. He stepped down and waved away the palace servants, "Let him go!"
The palace servants hurriedly retreated, knelt on the ground, and bowed to Huan Changming, "Greetings, Your Majesty..."
Lu Pianpian's forehead wound hadn't healed yet, and it was wrapped in bandages, making her look emaciated. Her eyes, however, were as cold as frost when she looked at Huan Changming; she only glanced at him before looking away.
Despite his serious illness, he passed by Huan Changming without saying a word.
Huan Changming, surprisingly, did not get angry. He said lightly, "Have you thought this through? If you go now, all you'll see is Huan Juntian's corpse, poisoned to death."
Lu Pianpian paused, turned around, and faced Huan Changming. "What exactly do you want me to do to let my junior brother go?"
Huan Changming took out a medicine bottle from his sleeve, took Lu Pianpian's hand, and placed the medicine bottle in Lu Pianpian's palm. "Take it."
Lu Pianpian poured two white pills from the medicine bottle, and Huan Changming said softly, "As long as you persuade Huan Juntian to stop disobeying me, this antidote will be a reward from me. I don't want his life."
"real?"
Lu Pianpian looked at Huan Changming with a hesitant gaze. Huan Changming gently stroked the white cloth on her forehead with his fingers. "You've already threatened to kill yourself. Do you really think I can just watch you die with him?"
Without hesitation, Lu Pianpian picked up one of the pills, opened her mouth, and swallowed it. Huan Changming lowered his eyelashes, making it impossible to discern the emotion in his eyes. "You don't believe me?"
Lu Pianpian remained silent, quietly waiting for the effects of the medicine to take hold.
Huan Changming pressed further: "You tested the medicine on yourself for Huan Juntian. If what I gave you was really poison, are you really willing to die for Huan Juntian?"
Lu Pianpian said slowly, "We grew up together. If we can't be born together, we can at least look after each other on the road to the Yellow Springs."
A crack appeared on Huan Changming's composed expression, and he sneered, "Since that's the case, then you can die with Huan Juntian!"
Having said that, he angrily flung his sleeves and turned back to the palace.
Lu Pianpian waited for a long time. After swallowing the antidote, which did not cause him any discomfort, he hurriedly ran to the place where Huan Juntian was imprisoned.
Huan Juntian was imprisoned in solitary confinement, guarded by the demonic dragon that had accompanied Huan Changming.
The dragon was curled up in the shadows, its thick, long body coiled up like a small mountain, and it was currently dozing off.
Lu Pianpian took the key from the guard, opened the cage door, went inside, lifted the unconscious Huan Juntian, and fed him the antidote.
"Junior brother, this is the antidote. Take it and the poison in your body will be cured..."
Huan Juntian coughed violently, and Lu Pianpian patted his back. Huan Juntian coughed up a mouthful of black blood, his consciousness slowly returning. He recognized who it was and said, "Senior brother, you've come."
Seeing that he was awake, Lu Pianpian quickly asked, "Junior brother, how are you feeling?"
Huan Juntian coughed up several more mouthfuls of black blood. He reached up and clutched his dantian, his brows furrowing in discomfort. "I feel like there's fire burning inside my dantian, like it's going to burn it up..."
Lu Pianpian was taken aback upon hearing this, "Then... then besides your dantian, are you alright anywhere else?"
"Only the dantian..."
It was as if a curtain of fire had risen in Huan Juntian's dantian. He tried to use his spiritual power to mobilize his dantian, but the curtain of fire suddenly rose up, blocking his spiritual power and preventing him from getting any closer to his dantian.
"Senior brother, where did you get the medicine you gave me?"
"Huan Changming gave it to me." Lu Pianpian's voice trembled slightly. "I ate it too, but my dantian didn't change at all."
Huan Juntian immediately guessed that Lu Pianpian had probably been deceived by Huan Changming. He suppressed his discomfort and comforted Lu Pianpian, "Senior brother, you must have suffered a lot to get the antidote for me. Don't worry... I'm fine. No matter what happens, you'll always be my senior brother..."
Lu Pianpian hugged Huan Juntian, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
"You haven't wronged me. I know you've been trying to find a way to save me and my senior sister."
Huan Juntian's face was as white as paper, the blood at the corner of his lips glaringly red. He leaned weakly against Lu Pianpian's chest, a faint smile remaining in his eyes. "I've let you all down. I lost... I lost to Huan Changming..."
“You didn’t lose!” Lu Pianpian choked up. “In my heart, you are the one who won.”
Huan Juntian chuckled softly. The people's curses and doubts seemed insignificant to him at this moment.
He closed his eyes peacefully and fell into a deep sleep in his senior brother's arms.
Lu Pianpian stayed with Huan Juntian in the cage until sunset. The demonic dragon woke up, brought its massive head to the cage, sniffed Lu Pianpian's scent, but did not attack. It yawned and curled up in the shadows to sleep again.
Huan Changming had a table of dishes prepared in the hall. He remembered that when he was in the sect, Qu Fuyi loved to eat, but Lu Pianpian did not have any particular favorite food. The only thing he praised as delicious was a dessert that he made to please Lu Pianpian in order to gain a foothold in the sect.
He grew up in the cold palace and often went hungry as a child. He ate anything to survive.
Later, when I got a little older, I learned what food was for human consumption. I would sneak away to the place where palace maids prepared special meals for the concubines and try to imitate them to make food for myself.
However, now that he is the emperor, how could he possibly lower himself to cook for Lu Pianpian? He specially instructed the imperial chef to make a few desserts, which was already a great honor for Lu Pianpian.
He sat in front of the food, thinking and waiting, until the smile that had involuntarily appeared on his lips disappeared, but Lu Pianpian still hadn't returned.
This should not be the case.
According to his plan, Lu Pianpian would personally feed Huan Juntian the medicine that sealed his dantian. Although this would cure Huan Juntian of the poison, it would also render Huan Juntian's previously formidable cultivation power worthless, leaving him as a cripple.