Jeune Premier ministre, un ermite

Chapitre 116

"What wouldn't I dare—Guards—go immediately to the Left General's residence and bring Wei Shulan here bound—"

Seeing that the guard was about to leave as instructed, Wei Zijun finally couldn't withstand the coercion and stopped him, saying, "Don't go—tell him not to go—"

He raised an eyebrow at Li Tianqi, "Twenty battles? You can fight them. Finish them quickly, and my whole family will resign from our official posts and stay far away from you, so we'll never have to offend you again, how about it?"

"Want to leave? I'll beat you until you can't leave!" Li Tianqi roared, completely lacking the composure expected of an emperor.

Several guards surrounded her again, but Wei Zijun only glared at Li Tianqi without resisting. Worried that she would attack again, the guards preemptively struck her pressure points.

Seeing that the man was about to be dragged out, Zhang Shi knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty, please calm down and spare the Prince of Feng."

His kneeling only fueled Li Tianqi's anger. Such tender affection, and he couldn't even bear it? He turned to the guards and shouted, "Wait—punish him in court! No one is allowed to plead for him!"

Wei Zijun was immediately pinned to the ground.

"Li Tianqi—kill me!" To be flogged in court was utterly humiliating.

Zhang Shi rushed forward to stop him, but was restrained by the guards.

When her robes were lifted and the guards reached for her underpants, Wei Zijun could no longer bear the humiliation. "Don't take them off—don't take them off—" she cried out in a sob.

Li Tianqi's body trembled as he watched the quilt being pulled down. The man lay on the ground, whimpering, and finally roared, "Stop—!"

Completely abandoning his imperial demeanor, he rushed down from the dragon throne, pulled up the trousers that exposed half of his buttocks, and dragged the person into his arms.

All the ministers stared wide-eyed. Was this a punishment, or just a lovers' quarrel?

Note: ① The Fubing system. This military system was still in use at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. Fubing soldiers were farmers who cultivated the land in peacetime, trained during the off-season, and served in the army in wartime. When participating in war, they brought their own weapons and horses, as well as iron horse chests, tents, rice, dry rations, mortars, axes, pliers, saws, and many other miscellaneous items. Armor was provided by the state. In reality, it was very tedious, not like what is shown on TV. So, if farmers were not well-fed, how could they have the mind to fight?

Volume 3, Dayu Chapter 103: Farewell

It's been three days, three whole days, and she hasn't come to the palace, but he doesn't dare to see her or go to fetch her.

He was afraid that she would never speak to him again.

But why did he do such a thing to his own sister and then irresponsibly run away? She was his beloved little sister. He shouldn't have hurt her.

Thinking about it calmly, something still seemed off; given his personality, he shouldn't act this way. Had I wronged him? Would Si Yi lie? Sigh, why is it that whenever it involves him, I always lose my ability to think clearly? And thus, I can't deal with it calmly, nor can I control my emotions.

This was the grave mistake he had made. Remembering his whimpering on the ground, his heart ached. Ziju was the most proud person, the most afraid of being humiliated. Now, after such harm, would he forgive him?

The thought of him being hurt shattered his heart into pieces. Why did he always hurt him unintentionally? He didn't want to hurt him. He would do whatever he wanted as long as he wasn't hurt. He never wanted to hurt him again.

Lost in thought, a drop of ink from the tip of the pen fell with a thud, spreading across the paper.

"Your Majesty, the painting has been soiled," a thin man dressed as a servant whispered a reminder. Judging from his attire, he did not appear to be from the palace.

"Oh." Li Tianqi snapped out of his reverie. "Go on, what time did he get up?"

“Your Majesty, the Wind King didn’t get up until 3:45 AM,” the servant replied.

"Still the same as always, you love to sleep in. What do you do when you get up?" A gentle smile appeared on her face.

"After His Highness got up and washed, he went to the garden to practice his sword for a while. Today he was wearing a light pink long robe, which was very... beautiful..."

Li Tianqi coldly glanced at the servants. Was his daughter Zijun someone that others could even peek at?

The servant realized his slip of the tongue and hurriedly knelt down. Although he didn't know what taboo he had committed by praising his master's good looks, it was not hard to tell from His Majesty's expression that the Wind King belonged only to His Majesty and that others were not allowed to comment on him. He, as a servant, should have just told the story, but he had momentarily forgotten and displeased His Majesty.

Li Tianqi glanced at the kneeling servant, and while continuing to draw, gestured for him to continue, "Go on."

The servant continued tremblingly, "After the Wind King practiced his swordsmanship, he dined with the General and his wife. He ate..."

It's osmanthus porridge, a dessert.

"Hmm, how much did you eat?"

"He ate two small bowls of osmanthus porridge and half a steamed bun. His Highness doesn't like desserts in the morning, so he didn't touch any desserts."

"That's all you're eating?"

"yes."

“Still the same, eating cat food. Even after being in the Turkic Khaganate for so long, living with those rough men, I haven’t been able to increase my food intake or change my habits.” Li Tianqi looked up and gestured for the servant to continue.

"After breakfast, His Highness took the General and his wife hunting."

"Hunting!" Li Tianqi paused, his hand still moving. He actually had the mind to go hunting? Meanwhile, he was here enduring the torment of heartache. But perhaps this was for the best. Hadn't he always worried that his son might do something rash? In that case, shouldn't he bring him to the palace?

Just as he was frowning, a guard outside announced, "Your Majesty, an urgent dispatch from the border."

"Bring it in quickly." Gently unfolding the letter, his brows furrowed. "Summon all officials immediately; I have matters to discuss."

...

The dream was long, chaotic, and fragmented, with several faces in the darkness constantly overlapping each other.

Beneath the tall peach tree, He Lu, like a wounded child, lowered his eyelashes and leaned quietly against the trunk. She walked up to him and gently took his hand. "He Lu, what's wrong?"

He Lu looked up and said, "I will defend Shu County for you, even if it costs me my life."

She stroked his hand and said softly, "He Lu, you're so silly."

Suddenly, the man transformed into Liu Yunde, whose deep, handsome eyes looked at her. "I will always watch over you, always protect you, and always be by your side." He then handed her a snow-white jade pendant, but the pendant was covered in dripping blood.

"Yun De—" She looked down at the jade pendant, then looked up, but there was no one around. "Yun De, where are you? Have you returned to Juyun Tower?" Her voice echoed in the air, and a handsome young man walked from the clouds in the distance. The young man just kept smiling at her without saying a word.

"Dieyun—don't come up so high, be careful not to fall. Listen to me, come down quickly." The boy didn't answer, he just kept laughing and laughing until his figure faded into the void.