When the Empress hurriedly arrived at Yonghe Palace, the Emperor’s chief eunuch was just carrying the prepared imperial edict out. The Empress stopped him with one hand.
“Where are you going?” the Empress asked with a frown.
The chief eunuch’s hands trembled slightly as he held the imperial edict. He bowed at the waist and looked up at the Empress, then raised the edict in his hands slightly.
The Empress’s gaze fell upon the bright-yellow scroll, staring at it intently.
“His Majesty has already decided…?” the Empress asked in a low voice.
The chief eunuch did not dare speak. He merely gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“Is it Shao’er?!” The Empress grabbed him by the shoulders.
The Empress’s expression was somewhat frantic at this moment. Just now, Jing Shao had been inexplicably dragged away. She had come to Yonghe Palace intending to plead with the Emperor for her child, only to encounter the succession edict the Emperor had prepared.
At this critical juncture… the person named in it was clearly not her child.
“Your Majesty, you…!” How could the chief eunuch dare say anything more? He repeatedly retreated while holding the imperial edict. “Please, Your Majesty, don’t make things difficult for this servant,” he said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, the Empress curled her lips with bloodshot eyes.
“It isn’t Shao’er. Right?” she said with a smile.
Then she suddenly snatched the scroll from him, actually taking the imperial edict into her own hands.
“Your Majesty!” The eunuch was horrified.
The Empress held the imperial edict and straightened her body, giving him a cold smile. “His Majesty is unconscious at this moment. Who gave you, a mere servant, the courage to falsely transmit an imperial edict? I am going in to see His Majesty now. Guards, seize this servant!”
The eunuchs and palace maids around them saw the situation but not a single one dared step forward to stop her. However, the guards surrounding them had long since received Dai Wenliang’s orders. Upon hearing the Empress’s command, not one of them stepped forward.
The Empress swept her gaze around. Then, with reddened eyes, she began to laugh.
“What? His Majesty is now on the verge of death, and you won’t even listen to my words anymore?” she sneered through clenched teeth.
Now, her son had been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison for attempting to assassinate the Emperor, while her husband intended to pass the throne to the son of the consort she herself had killed.
She was already standing on a dead end. If she did not fight for her life now, she would certainly die.
In the next moment, this woman, who did not possess the strength to even truss a chicken, suddenly drew the sword of a nearby guard and thrust it straight into the chief eunuch’s chest.
The imperial edict in her hand fell with a slap to the ground and was instantly dyed red with blood.
The Empress’s pale hand gripped the sword, her entire arm trembling slightly. She stared intently at the eunuch, whose eyes were wide open as he slowly collapsed. Her face held a decisiveness and coldness she had never shown before.
“Since none of you will act,” the Empress said softly, “then I shall do it myself and deal with this servant who falsely transmitted an imperial edict.”
——
Shu Changyu pulled open the drawer beside the bed and carefully took out the handkerchief inside.
Resting upon the handkerchief were none other than the two halves of the broken Lantian jade pendant. One glance was enough to tell that it had been severed by a sharp weapon. The broken edges were razor-sharp, reflecting a faint, cold gleam.
Shu Changyu placed the two pieces of jade in Jing Mu’s hand and said regretfully with a frown, “Just as you said, this jade took a blade for me, and it ended up shattered like this.” As he spoke, he frowned and shook his head. “That’s why I said there was no need to buy something like this for me. In any case, sooner or later…”
Before he could finish, Jing Mu snatched the two pieces of jade away.
“The edges are this sharp, and you’re just carrying them around like this?” Jing Mu scolded Shu Changyu as though they were nothing more than a pair of broken stones. “What if you cut your hand?”
Shu Changyu clicked his tongue. “I’m not as delicate as you make me sound.”
Jing Mu stroked the jade, then suddenly grinned. He leaned forward, following Shu Changyu’s posture as he reclined against the bed while taking the jade, and pushed him down onto the bed.
Jing Mu pinned one of his wrists against the bed with one hand, grinning in his usual roguish manner.
“Since it took a blade for the Grand Tutor…” Jing Mu casually set the jade aside with his other hand, then placed that hand rather improperly over Shu Changyu’s injured area. The wound had already healed seven or eight parts out of ten, and tender new flesh had grown over it. Being touched by Jing Mu like this made it itch faintly. “Then why did the Grand Tutor keep the jade here?”
Shu Changyu froze.
Then he saw Jing Mu lean even closer. One hand pressed against Shu Changyu’s chest, the tip of his nose brushing against Shu Changyu’s face, his lips touching Shu Changyu’s as he asked softly, “Is it because the Grand Tutor put me here too?”
His hand happened to rest over Shu Changyu’s heart. Through the thin clothing and muscle, that heart beat powerfully beneath Jing Mu’s palm, faster and faster, pounding loudly.
Jing Mu chuckled softly.
Shu Changyu pressed his lips tightly together, his face already slightly flushed. In his heart, he was thinking that Jing Mu really was being too mischievous, yet his hands refused to obey him and simply would not push Jing Mu away.
“Grand Tutor…” Jing Mu lightly pecked his lips. “How can you be so lovable?”
As he gently caressed Shu Changyu’s newly healed wound through his clothes, he continued smiling. “Grand Tutor, you’ve never said that you love me. If you never say it, how am I supposed to know what you feel?” As he said this, the spoiled little wolf cub actually sounded somewhat aggrieved.
“Grand Tutor, just say it.” He rubbed his face against Shu Changyu’s. “Do you love me, hmm?”
Shu Changyu’s expression changed slightly. He gave an almost inaudible hum, then immediately tried to push Jing Mu away with all his strength.
Jing Mu froze, then burst out laughing.
His Grand Tutor had actually reacted to Jing Mu’s caressing of his wound, and that part of him had gradually… pressed against Jing Mu’s waist.
Jing Mu immediately wrapped an arm around Shu Changyu’s waist, making that heated part press firmly against his own body. The next moment, he rolled over, placing Shu Changyu on top of himself.
“Grand Tutor hasn’t said it yet.” Jing Mu lay there, one arm around Shu Changyu’s waist and the other touching his cheek. In his deep, magnetic voice, he softened his tone and pleaded playfully, “Grand Tutor, just say it. Does Grand Tutor love me?”
Shu Changyu clenched his teeth.
This little rascal…
Seeing that he would not speak, Jing Mu actually became even more persistent. He held Shu Changyu close, his fingers slipping improperly beneath his clothes. Summer clothing was already thin, and after only two or three movements, Jing Mu’s hand had pressed against Shu Changyu’s waist, rubbing back and forth.
Seeing that the little rascal’s actions were about to become even more excessive—
“I love you,” Shu Changyu said vaguely.
His skin was not nearly as thick as Jing Mu’s. Perhaps because he had been steeped in Confucian teachings for so long, he had always buried his feelings deep within his heart and was ashamed to express them easily. Jing Mu, however, had absolutely no shame. Not only did he want to proclaim his feelings every day, he also insisted on forcing Shu Changyu to say them.
Jing Mu had heard those words, but he was still dissatisfied.
“Who loves me?” Jing Mu continued coaxing him.
“…I do.”
“You what?” Jing Mu grinned as he teased him. “The Grand Tutor now even needs his student to teach him how to speak.”
Seeing that he was about to tease Shu Changyu into anger, Jing Mu quickly stopped. He smiled and embraced Shu Changyu, kissing him with a grin. At the same time, his other hand deftly moved to the place Shu Changyu was shy about revealing, then attentively helped him find relief.
Shu Changyu had originally been glaring fiercely at him, but under these actions, he became like a soft cat whose fur had been smoothed down. He nestled into Jing Mu’s embrace, breathing softly and allowing Jing Mu to take care of him.
Both his hands rested on Jing Mu’s shoulders, unconsciously tightening their grip as he lay against his chest in an extremely dependent posture.
Jing Mu’s heart was filled with warm, overflowing contentment. One hand continued moving while he intermittently kissed Shu Changyu, the other arm wrapped around his waist.
“Grand Tutor, do you still want to stay in Huzhou for a few more days?”
Shu Changyu’s thoughts were already hazy. Whether he heard Jing Mu clearly or not, he merely gave a vague hum.
Jing Mu continued, “It wasn’t easy for us to come here. I don’t want Grand Tutor to hurry here only to hurry back.”
“How about, when we return to the capital, we take a detour and go to Jiangnan? The white embankment and drooping willows in Jiangnan are at their most beautiful this season. I want to take Grand Tutor there to see them. Grand Tutor will definitely like it…”
Amid Jing Mu’s voice and movements, Shu Changyu sank into a sweet, hazy reverie.
——
Not long after releasing, Shu Changyu fell into a deep sleep.
Jing Mu tucked him beneath the covers, carefully adjusted his pillow, then propped up his head and lay on his side beside him, watching his sleeping face. He raised a hand to stroke Shu Changyu’s cheek, then leaned over and kissed his temple before breaking into a smile on his own.
He thought that this man really was heartless. He had enjoyed himself and then simply gone to sleep, completely ignoring him.
Yet although Jing Mu complained inwardly, his face was filled with happiness and satisfaction that could not be melted away. He wrapped one arm around Shu Changyu and watched this person sleep deeply and defenselessly beside him, which filled him with incomparable contentment.
Just then, there were two knocks on the door.
Jing Mu glanced toward it and saw a shadowy figure standing outside.
He frowned, turned over, got up, and walked over to open the door. When he went outside, he did not forget to close the door behind him, afraid that he would wake Shu Changyu.
The person outside was one of his subordinates. Upon seeing him, the man hurriedly knelt and saluted before handing him a letter.
“Your Highness, an urgent letter has arrived from the capital. It says something has happened.”
Jing Mu took the letter and opened it. After reading two lines, the corners of his lips curled into a smile.
“He really does have some ability,” Jing Mu said with a laugh. “At this rate, even if Jing Shao is dead, he can still be counted as the late Emperor.”
The subordinate trembled at his words and looked up at Jing Mu. “Your Highness…?”
“Before long, news of the new Emperor’s accession will arrive,” Jing Mu said with a laugh. “After doing so many things, they still dare to ascend the throne openly. This mother and daughter really are audacious.”
He then ordered, “Send word back. Those alchemists must be kept alive no matter what. The imperial edict stolen from the Empress must also be kept safe. The chief eunuch killed by the Empress—his family is still in our hands, right? Give them a chance to make a commotion first. Regardless of whether they live or die, make sure the ministers know about it first.”
After giving his orders, he slowly tore the letter in his hand to pieces and threw them into the nearby lamp.
“Go.”
The man acknowledged him and disappeared into the night within a few breaths.
“What a pity.” Jing Mu stood beneath the corridor with his hands behind his back and muttered to himself, “The drooping willows along Su Causeway… I wonder when I’ll finally be able to take Grand Tutor there to see them.”