The palace maids nodded and agreed repeatedly.
Jingyi pushed open the palace door and went inside. After calling "Your Majesty" several times without receiving a response, he quietly walked to the dragon bed and carefully drew back the gauze curtains. "Your Majesty, it's time..."
Jing Yi fell silent instantly, and his face turned deathly pale after seeing the scene before him.
Lu Pianpian nestled close to Huan Changming, who put his arm around her. The two were not only disheveled, but also sharing a pillow and a blanket, their posture intimate as if they were the most intimate people in the world.
Jingyi's hand trembled uncontrollably, and the gauze curtain slipped from his grasp, covering the scene that stung his heart.
He walked out dejectedly. When the palace servants asked him about the emperor's condition, he simply shook his head and said, "Don't go in and disturb him."
Inside the hall, Lu Pianpian was the first to wake up.
He saw Huan Changming sleeping beside him, paused for a moment, then frowned and kicked him off the bed. Immediately afterwards, he also applied a pull to his wrist, pulling him off the bed and causing him to fall onto Huan Changming.
"Lu, Pian, Pian—"
With a gloomy expression, Huan Changming became Lu Pianpian's human cushion. Lu Pianpian sat up, supporting herself on Huan Changming's chest, and found that her hands were tied, with the other end of the rope tied to Huan Changming's wrist.
"Get up!"
Lu Pianpian glanced down at him, and was about to stand up when her foot slipped on Huan Changming's clothes, causing her to fall back onto his lap.
The foreign object beneath him made Lu Pianpian shift uncomfortably, and then he saw Huan Changming's face turn red. "You—"
Lu Pianpian belatedly realized what she had sat on, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. She couldn't wait to sit up from Huan Changming, but Huan Changming pressed her waist down and made her sit back down.
"What kind of look is that?" Huan Changming sat up. He didn't miss the fleeting disgust in Lu Pianpian's eyes. "Lu Pianpian, we're both men, why are you pretending to be so high and mighty?"
The disgust Lu Pianpian expressed seemed to sting Huan Changming, who was always vengeful, and immediately retaliated with even harsher words.
"That day at the bottom of the cliff, it wasn't me begging to be fucked like a slave." He watched as Lu Pianpian's face slowly turned pale under his explicit words, then smiled and placed Lu Pianpian's bound hands under his lower garment. "The principle of repaying kindness is something Immortal Lord Lu understands better than I do. I helped Immortal Lord Lu without minding the filth, so it's time for Immortal Lord Lu to repay the favor..."
Lu Pianpian felt the burning sensation from the foreign object on his hand and tried to pull back. He panicked and tried to dodge backward, shouting, "I don't want to... Get away!"
Huan Changming's eyes darkened slightly, and with Lu Pianpian's irresistible force, he pulled his hand down, saying, "This is not up to you."
The palace servants heard His Majesty's voice outside the palace, but it didn't last long before disappearing. They waited quietly outside for another half an hour before they heard His Majesty calling them to wash up.
Lu Pianpian lay on the bed, her clothes disheveled. Through a gauze curtain, she could hear the sounds of palace servants attending to Huan Changming as he washed and changed.
Lu Pianpian stared intently at her bound hands. Her once fair fingers were now rubbed red by something, and just moments before, they had been covered in Huan Changming's things.
Although it had been wiped away, Lu Pianpian could still seem to smell that Dongxi scent in his nose. His fingertips trembled uncontrollably, and then he clenched his fists tightly, trying to suppress his trembling.
Huan Changming deliberately humiliated him, causing him pain and fear, thus achieving his goal.
But what benefit could humiliating him bring to Huan Changming? Lu Pianpian couldn't understand it. She couldn't comprehend the actions of this madman, Huan Changming.
The gauze curtain was pulled back by the palace servants, and the young emperor, who had changed into an imperial robe, returned to his well-dressed appearance, seemingly a completely different person from the madman who had forced Lu Pianpian just moments before.
He looked down at Lu Pianpian's expression and sneered, "What are you pretending to be so virtuous and chaste for?"
Lu Pianpian pursed her lips tightly, ignoring his words.
Huan Changming was in a good mood, and he wasn't angry that Lu Pianpian didn't reply. "Lu Zhong, the Prince of Fuxi, has been imprisoned for disrespecting me. I wonder if Lord Lu, being a weak scholar, can withstand the torture in prison."
Lu Pianpian's eyes sharpened instantly as she swept them over Huan Changming, "What exactly do you want to do..."
"I only thought of the father-son relationship between Immortal Lord Lu and Lord Lu, and before sending Lord Lu to the execution ground, I should let Immortal Lord Lu see Lord Lu one last time." Huan Changming said with a smile, "Someone, help Immortal Lord Lu change his clothes."
Lu Pianpian was taken to prison by Huan Changming's men and met Lu Zhong.
However, after several months apart, Lu Zhong looked much older.
Through the prison door, Lu Pianpian choked back tears as she called out, "Father."
Lu Zhong ran over disheveled, and seeing that Lu Pianpian was unharmed from head to toe, he burst into tears of joy, "Seeing that you are still alive and well, your father is relieved..."
Lu Pianpian knelt down and kowtowed deeply to her father, saying, "It is I who have dragged you down, Father. I am unfilial and have caused you to suffer for me!"
Lu Zhong tried to help him up, but with the wooden stake between them, he could only touch his son's shoulder. He said to him, "How can this be blamed on you? I was the one who guarded the Imperial Seal and Military Tally for the Li Kingdom. Both of these items were stolen by thieves. It was my negligence in guarding them that led to the death of the late emperor and the ruin of the Li Kingdom..."
Lu Zhongsheng aspired to be a loyal and virtuous minister who served the country. However, due to his mistake, the country was thrown into chaos, and he felt deeply ashamed, blaming all the trouble on his negligence.
Lu Pianpian shook her head and said, "Father, Huan Changming is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Even if he didn't steal your jade token, he would have found other ways to force you to abdicate and usurp the throne. Besides, I brought him into the family. He has nothing to do with you. Even if future generations want to curse him, I should bear the infamy for all time."
Lu Zhong sighed. When Huan Changming moved into the Lu residence, he, as the father, had seen Lu Pianpian's feelings for him. Putting aside the fact that Huan Changming was a man, his use and deception of Lu Pianpian must have broken her heart.
"Pianpian, you've come to see your father now, were you captured by that scoundrel?"
Lu Pianpian, afraid that her father would worry, said, "No, I bribed someone in the jail to get in."
Lu Zhong was somewhat relieved, but knowing his son's temperament, he instructed him, "I am relieved that you are still alive, but remember, you must never surrender to that traitor Huan Changming in order to get me out of prison!"
"Although I, Lu Zhong, am not as much a pillar of the Li Kingdom as Prime Minister Jing, I can still distinguish right from wrong. Even if I die in this prison, I will never bow down to him!"
At this point, Lu Zhong's emotions became intense. He repeatedly instructed Lu Pianpian, "Now that your marriage with him is over, you must not have any further involvement. The Crown Prince's vast army has not yet returned to the city. They await Your Highness's return to restore order and restore order to our Li Kingdom!"
Lu Pianpian was deeply moved by what she heard. "Father, don't worry. The eldest prince will definitely return to the court to set things right. You will definitely be able to witness that time with your own eyes."
Lu Zhong nodded with satisfaction, "Okay..."
"Your Majesty, scouts report that Huan Juntian's army has entered the territory of Li Kingdom. The guards along the way have opened the city gates wide for him. He has not lost a single soldier and will soon reach Jianghuai County."
After the court officials finished reporting the battle situation in the court, the entire hall fell silent. What did the general's surrender without a fight mean? It simply meant that he was dissatisfied with the emperor who had seized the throne through treason, and thus turned against the eldest prince.
The new emperor's temperament was unpredictable, and everyone was afraid of being implicated in his anger. So, they didn't dare to even breathe loudly in his silence.
Unexpectedly, the new emperor reacted calmly and did not get angry as they had imagined. "General, listen to my command: gather 10,000 elite troops and set off in three days. I will personally lead the expedition and execute the traitor in Jianghuai County."
"Your Majesty, it is absolutely unacceptable for the emperor to personally lead the army!"
"That traitor commands a large army, and Your Majesty is only leading 10,000 elite troops. This move is far too risky!"
Just as there are rebellious ministers dissatisfied with Huan Changming, there are also loyal ministers who care about Huan Changming.
"My ministers need not persuade me any further; my mind is made up," Huan Changming declared. "Let the court assembly adjourn for today."
After he left, the remaining officials surrounded Jingyi, hoping that this favorite of the emperor could speak to the emperor again and persuade him to change his mind.
Jingyi was somewhat absent-minded during the morning court session. Upon hearing the words, he responded to each of them without saying much to the ministers.
Huan Changming returned to the Imperial Study to handle official business. From afar, he saw Lu Pianpian standing at the entrance of the Imperial Study, her face pale and her expression dazed. If it weren't for the otherworldly and refined air about her, she would have looked like a destitute puppy unwanted in the cold palace.
The palanquin stopped precisely at the entrance of the Imperial Study. Huan Changming alighted from the palanquin and walked in as if he hadn't seen Lu Pianpian at all.
Lu Pianpian needed his help, so she quickly followed him closely. When he arrived at the desk, a palace servant presented him with today's memorials.
He picked up a memorial and carefully examined it, seemingly determined not to pay any attention to Lu Pianpian in front of him.
Lu Pianpian had no choice but to wait until he finished reviewing one memorial and before picking up another, she hurriedly asked, "What do you want in return for letting my father go?"
Huan Changming, without even looking up, asked the palace servant beside him, "I ask you, how should one ask for help?"
The palace maid, being quick-witted, realized that His Majesty wanted to temper this young master's temperament. "Your Majesty," she replied, "of course, we must speak humbly and sincerely to show our sincerity."
Lu Pianpian pursed her lips, walked to Huan Changming's side, took the work from the palace maid, and ground ink for Huan Changming. "Is this alright?"
Huan Changming laid a memorial out on the table. "My eyes are tired today. I need someone knowledgeable to read the contents of the memorial to me."
Lu Pianpian had no choice but to put down the ink in her hand, pick up the memorial, scan the text at a glance, close it and put it back in its original place. "A minister said that your harem is empty and asked you to select concubines to enter the palace so that the royal family can have offspring."
Upon hearing this, Huan Changming discreetly observed Lu Pianpian's expression and found that she did not show the slightest dissatisfaction, as if it were none of her business.
Huan Changming deliberately found fault with Lu Pianpian, "Lu Pianpian, since I ascended the throne, you have neither addressed me with honorifics nor knelt before me. Have you never truly acknowledged me as the emperor?"
The previously harmonious atmosphere between the two was disrupted by Huan Changming's words, leading to a stalemate.
Both of them knew perfectly well who the Prince Li was in Lu Pianpian's heart.
But Lu Pianpian wasn't foolish enough to say anything that would anger Huan Changming at this moment. She dipped the brush in ink for Huan Changming, handed it to him, and then changed the subject, "Let's review the memorials."
Huan Changming could naturally see that he was deliberately avoiding answering, but Lu Pianpian was unusually obedient in front of him, and he didn't want to break the atmosphere. He snorted, took Lu Pianpian's brush, and began to review the memorials.
Lu Pianpian stood next to Huan Changming and inadvertently saw that Huan Changming had written five words in a flamboyant style on the memorial that advised him to choose a concubine: "Mind your own business."
That's truly the height of arrogance.
Jingyi finally calmed down and went to the Imperial Study to see His Majesty, but he caught a glimpse of Lu Pianpian grinding ink for Huan Changming through the crack in the window.
Reviewing memorials was an extremely important matter, yet Huan Changming allowed Lu Pianpian to stay by his side without any regard for appearances.
Jingyi's hands, hidden beneath his sleeves, clenched into fists in suppressed anger. When the palace servants saw him and tried to bow, he shook his head, indicating that they should pretend he had never been there.
As the sun set, the palace servants brought in the evening meal, and Huan Changming finally closed the memorial in his hand.
Lu Pianpian served him by grinding ink and reading memorials, standing all afternoon until her calves were numb. But before she could even speak of her request, she eagerly followed Huan Changming to the dining table, "Could you…?"
Huan Changming handed him a bowl of soup. He was stunned for a moment, thinking that Huan Changming was giving it to him to drink. But Huan Changming's next words were, "I'm blowing on it to cool it down for me."
Even with her gentle nature, Lu Pianpian began to get a little irritated by his constant nagging. She blew on the soup bowl haphazardly for a while, then slammed it down in front of Huan Changming. The splashed soup made Huan Changming frown in displeasure. "I think you don't want to save Lu Zhong anymore."
"What do you want from me to let my father go?"
"Feed me." Huan Changming said firmly, pushing the soup bowl back in front of Lu Pianpian.
Lu Pianpian took a deep breath, cursing him inwardly for not having hands, but she still had to obey him for her father's sake.
Lu Pianpian picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful without even blowing on it, and casually brought it to Huan Changming's lips. Huan Changming opened his mouth and drank it, but then spat it out the next moment.
Lu Pianpian noticed his tongue, which was burning red from the heat. She stirred the soup bowl in her hand; a layer of oil floated on top, blocking the rising steam, so she couldn't tell if it was hot or cold.
Huan Changming turned around and glared at Lu Pianpian, only to find that she remained calm and composed, showing no sympathy or pity whatsoever for his injury.
He suppressed his anger and demanded, "Did you do this on purpose?"
Lu Pianpian picked up the remaining soup in the bowl without expression and drank it down. Huan Changming, having drunk the soup, naturally knew how hot it was. Without thinking, he waved his hand and knocked the bowl over. Then he saw that Lu Pianpian's lips were red from the heat.
Huan Changming laughed out of anger, "You'd rather get burned than explain yourself to me?"
She preferred to resort to self-harm rather than explain to him that scalding him with soup was not his intention.
Lu Pianpian casually wiped the soup off her lips. "If I told you, would you believe me?"
Huan Changming heard that his voice was trembling, which must be because his tongue was burning painfully. He gritted his teeth and said, "How do you know I don't believe you if you don't tell me?"
Lu Pianpian was taken aback, a strange feeling rising in his heart. He said, "I did this only in the hope that you would release my father. You and I both know that he is the most innocent in this matter."
Huan Changming hated this about Lu Pianpian the most: he could consider Qu Surou, Huan Juntian, Lu Zhong, and even a spirit butterfly on Huamian Island. Lu Pianpian could consider them.
Why is it that when it's Huan Changming, Lu Pianpian won't even offer a single explanation?
Why are they so stingy with him, Huan Changming?
Lu Pianpian never treated him like this before!
“He doesn’t acknowledge me as the new emperor, and in his memorial to the throne, he wrote a lengthy three-thousand-word denunciation of me as a traitor. If I don’t imprison him, others will think that I, the new emperor, am weak and incompetent!”