Watching him storm past purposefully, all the palace attendants, servants, and consorts were stunned by his actions. They wondered what had happened for His Majesty to appear so furious and panicked? Ever since His Majesty took the throne, such a look had never appeared on his face.
They saw him being followed by a group of guards as they hurried past the gates of various palaces. The chilling and violent murderous intent emanated by him made everyone avoid him like the plague, his expression made the people who came across him alarmed and apprehensive enough to immediately kneel down. As he passed by, the attendants and harem concubines along the road knelt on the ground.
Looking at the figure of His Majesty far away, everyone shared a look. Wasn't that the direction of the Empress' residence? Thus, some people started speculating that, perhaps, the Empress' position might change soon.
The mesmerizing Luotong flowers outside Ranxin Pavilion still showed off their gorgeous colour and beauty, it was especially eye-catching in front of the quiet pavilion. Qi Xutian walked inside hastily and Chief Liu, who stood on the side, blocked what the maid wanted to report. His face showed a rare expression of worry as he shook his head slightly at her, then followed behind Qi Xutian.
There was a casual yet disorderly arrangement of various things inside the room, whether these items were ordinary or expensive, all were thrown around indiscriminately. The invaluable calligraphy scrolls, paintings, ink brushes and the guqin books were placed around casually; this room obviously wasn't treated as a hall for receiving guests, instead, it was arranged according to the preferences of the owner. But what actually attracted everyone's attention was not the furnishings in this room, but a bamboo couch by the window.
On the bamboo couch next to the window, the gentle breeze carrying the aroma of flowers blew inside. The figure of a sleeping young man was momentarily covered by a gauze curtain dancing in the wind, it was hazy and beautiful. A few strands of the young man's dark hair slid down due to the wind and fell on a woman wearing an apricot yellow-coloured dress.
At this moment, she was sitting on the side of the bamboo couch, leaning forward, and reaching for his neck while holding his robe open with her other hand. The sun shone through the folds of the gauze curtain and fell on the two people, creating an effect of mottled lights and shadows. The messy clothes of the teenager and the loose, long hair of the woman formed a moment of silent beauty on the bamboo couch.
Everyone held their breaths and looked at the teenager and the woman in the yellow dress. That should be His Second Highness and the Empress. Why do they seem so close and even a bit... They secretly glanced at His Majesty's ugly face and eased those offensive associations from their minds and shook their heads. His Second Highness had not reached adulthood yet and was just a child. Although he was tall and handsome, he would never have these strange ideas. But His Majesty... They shuddered and quickly bowed their heads, not daring to think any further.
Qi Xutian's entry into the room took an instant. Jiang Yao was looking into Qi Mingyue's undershirt with a strange look on her face, but before she could touch his white skin, there was a sudden pain in her wrist. She jerked away and fell on the ground, only to hear a dangerously cold voice speak, "I thought you were a smart person, Jiang Yao." She looked up and saw a pair of cold eyes as he glared at her with bloodlust, "Don't let me have a reason to kill you." Even though there was a soft smile on his face, the hidden crazy violence raging through him convinced her that he had deliberately restrained his actions just now. If he hadn't, she would be dead.
Holding her hurt wrist, she looked at the man in front of her, "I don't know what I did wrong that angered Your Majesty. Your Majesty treated me this way, it was because of Ming---," As she said this, her eyes changed and she instantly switched, "---because of His Second Highness. I can assure you that he is safe and sound, he just felt tired and took a rest on my couch for a while. Is Your Majesty going to punish me for this?"
"Jiang Yao, I warn you, put away that extra curiosity of yours. In this palace, you only need to do what you should do and remember that there are some things that you can’t explore. I told you long ago, did you forget?"
The teenager on the couch was still asleep and seemed unaware of everything around him.
Jiang Yao watched the figure of the teenager under his eyes and sighed submissively, "I only learned today that, besides that matter, His Highness is also untouchable." Her wrist, that had been squeezed by him, was broken. She really wasn't spared despite being his person, it seems that Qi Mingyue did have an unusual position in his heart, then what she saw before...
Suddenly stunned, she kneeled on the ground and bowed her head to admit her sin. "Jiang Yao already knows that she did wrong. Begging Your Majesty for punishment."
"Reflect on your actions while staying inside. You aren't allowed to step out of Ranxin Pavilion for half a year."
"This one understands. Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty."
One confession and one punishment were over, but those who heard the words were perplexed. How could the Empress be wrong? What did she do wrong and why admit it? It sounded like it was for His Second Highness, but His Highness' rest at the Empress' hall was not a big deal, could it be... His Majesty felt that they were too close and lost their manners?
The more they thought about it, the more they felt that they were right. It seems that when His Highness wakes up, he would inevitably be punished. Even if His Majesty loved this prince again, every Emperor would be displeased with this kind of situation and inevitably lose favour towards the prince. He was young, but after all, he was still close to adulthood; his actions must be more cautious and polite.
A bodyguard who stood by the side kept making random guesses about the situation on the inside and thought he was really good. He even thought about these secrets a lot and must walk cautiously in the future. Not like the Second Prince who was still sleeping and hadn't yet realized that he had angered His Majesty.
On the couch, the teenager frowned slightly, murmured something vaguely through his pursed lips, and seemed to sleep uneasily. Everyone was wondering how His Majesty would reprimand him but were left surprised when they saw His Majesty actually leaned down and fix the Second Prince's messy clothes personally. After he finished with that, he took off Qi Mingyue's hairband, straightened his hair by running his fingers through them gently, as if fearing that his actions would wake the teenager up. He carefully lifted him up in his arms and hugged him to his chest with great care. The surroundings had unknowingly calmed down and there was no longer the previous suffocating sensation gripping them which made them feel surprised and emotional. It seems that His Majesty won't be disappointed with any behaviour of the Second Prince. However, it was also because of the Second Prince that they didn't have to face such a terrifying Emperor anymore.
Qi Xutian hugged him in his arms and saw that he was still asleep, even frowning. His head had a cold sweat, his hands clenched and unclenched involuntarily, and he was trembling with great intensity. Qi Xutian's heart tightened and his freezing eyes immediately turned to the woman kneeling on the ground, "You played the guqin for him?"
Jiang Yao quivered, "Please forgive my sin, Your Majesty. I did play the guqin for His Second Highness."
His lips curved into a soft smile but it was full of bloodthirstiness. Qi Xutian lowered his voice and asked softly, "Tell me, which song was it?"
The softer and gentler he behaved, the more frightened Jiang Yao felt. She naturally knew that the seemingly calm monarch in front of her might take her life the next moment. According to his usual means and character, it wasn't impossible even if he still had some use for her. In order to alleviate the anger in his heart, he would rather spend more manpower and material resources than keep a usable person. For him, everyone was dispensible no matter how useful they seemed if they offended him.
Thus, while holding her breath, she spoke a few words hesitatingly, "It was... Nian Chen."
"Nian Chen." Qi Xutian repeated as if recalling the rhythm of this musical piece. He thoughtfully withdrew his gaze and chuckled, and with a little regret on his face, he said, "I have said many times that there are things you can't explore, why don’t you listen? Now that you have seen it, why do you still use Nian Chen? What else do you want to know? You have gone too far!”
Without even seeing him move, Jiang Yao's figure kneeling on the ground seemed to be hit hard as she spurted blood and hit the wall. Everyone was frightened by this horrifying scene. Although they did not know the reason, they all knew that this time His Majesty was truly furious. He personally gave a heavy hand to the Empress and it was the same when Consort Hua was discarded, both times for the Second Prince.
Looking at the Second Prince who was held in the arms of His Majesty, everyone's eyes changed. If one day, anyone offended the His Highness, it was as good as offending His Majesty and incurring his wrath.
Jiang Yao wiped the blood from her lips. She thought that she had the situation under control but that wasn't so, and once again, she lamented about her unwise behaviour today. She should have accepted long ago that Qi Mingyue was different. Why didn't she want to believe it? What does it mean to be self-righteous? Everything was self-inflicted. It just resulted in bitterness. Tasting the blood in her mouth, she laughed bitterly and said to Qi Xutian's departing figure: "Your Majesty, your graciousness of not killing Jiang Yao today will be remembered. I would not dare explore the things I shouldn't. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
Qi Xutian's footsteps ceased and he said coldly, "I can tell you that you are not wrong. Everything is as you guessed."
Hearing his words, Jiang Yao watched the still asleep teenager's long hair sway in the air. Her body went soft as she leaned against the wall behind her.
If that was so, then those red traces revealed underneath Qi Mingyue's inner shirt were indeed...
But they were father and son! She wondered whether Qi Mingyue knew that His Majesty had those kinds of thoughts towards him, but His Majesty was able to leave those traces then he should know... She didn't know what Qi Mingyue thought. There was such intimacy between father and son and he was only twelve years old. Did he really understand his father's heart?
His Majesty said that it was as she had guessed, then... he really fell in love with a person and this person was his son, the Second Prince, Qi Mingyue.
•×•×•×•
Qi Xutian held Qi Mingyue who was immersed in a nightmare and returned all the way to Xuantian Palace with a calm face. The attendants and concubines on the way saw how His Majesty had gone away in anger, and now, they saw how he returned while carrying the Second Prince. They heard what happened at Ranxin Pavilion and concluded that Empress Jiang Yao was too close to the Second Prince which displeased His Majesty but he did not punish the Second Prince, instead, he punished the Empress hard enough that she spurt blood. It seemed that His Majesty's indulgence towards the Second Prince had reached an unbelievable level. Apart from His Majesty, the Second Prince seemed to be the most invincible in the palace.
Within the palace, Ying Ran immediately lit up the soul jade sandalwood incense in the censer. There was already some inside but she put in even more and its strong aroma spread throughout the room. The figure on the dragon bed grew just a bit quieter, his face didn't appear as sweaty and his struggling lessened by a minor degree.
Soul Jade Sandalwood had the effect of calming and cleansing the mind. It was most effective for those who were under the influence of Nian Chen but it could only relieve it. It needed the power of the sleeping person to shorten the effect of the guqin sound to wake up sooner.
It was a pity that everything in the dream can only be faced by the dreamer alone. After all, the dream was all about their own past and it was also the past that the person was most reluctant to face and wished to forget entirely.
Jiang Yao's guqin sounds were capable of capturing the mind and it made people recall their past. No matter how unbearable or long-forgotten the past was, as long as a desire to forget it existed in the heart, they would continue to repeat the dream endlessly and the dreamer would spill all of their secrets while sleeping until all their dark feelings were vented from the bottom of their heart. Then, the person would be freed and gradually wake up.
Caressing Qi Mingyue's damp hair and holding his pale hands in his own, Qi Xutian couldn't help but nuzzling him who was struggling in his dream. Jiang Yao only wanted to know the relationship between them and expected it to be a brief ordeal, after all, she thought MingEr was only twelve years old. If he didn’t have the memories of his past, how could the dreams torment him to such an extent? He was clenching his teeth and murmuring vaguely - he didn’t want his secrets to be known. Was he different or had he been specially trained like a shadow guard and won't divulge any secret until his death?
Only those who had experienced all sorts of setbacks and trials and always maintained their strong willpower would be like this. Even if they lose consciousness, they would still persist and refuse to compromise with everything in their dreams.
He planned to untie his clothes for him and let him sleep more comfortably, but when he let go of MingEr's hand, he started struggling again, clenched his fists, and groaned in pain. Qi Xutian hurriedly unclenched his fists, lest he hurt himself. Seeing that his MingEr was in so much pain, he couldn't bear it, but there was no other way. He let Hong Qui wet a piece of cloth and started to wipe away the sweat for him. He then shook his head at Hong Qui and Ying Ran who were worried and ordered them to step out.
When Qi Mingyue loosened his hold, Qi Xutian was finally able to untie his clothes and remove his outer and inner robes, leaving only the silk underpants on. His face was full of pain and Qi Xutian couldn't help but wonder how much his MingEr had experienced in the past? Full of heartache and anger, he also untied his own robe and lay down on the bed.
Even when he was suffering through a nightmare, he still snuggled into his arms unconsciously. Seeing this, Qi Xutian's heart could not help but fill with sweetness. He hugged him tighter and appeared as if he wished to infuse Qi Mingyue into his own body in order to spoil him, protect him, and no longer let him suffer even a bit of pain.
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