Chapter 38 - 2#

Xiao Cuan turned back to look at him, amused: “Finally deigning to open your golden mouth and talk to me?”

Since he had come in, Yan Zhi hadn’t said a single word to him from start to finish.

Xiao Cuan grabbed him, and he didn’t scream.

Xiao Cuan asked questions, and he didn’t answer.

Until now, when Chu Yu came in, he finally spoke.

Yan Zhi ignored his sarcasm and said again: “He’s just my neighbor, he…”

“Get lost.”

Xiao Cuan looked down at him, his eyes on Yan Zhi, but his words were for Chu Yu.

Chu Yu was stunned for a moment, not yet reacting.

Xiao Cuan raised his voice and repeated: “Get lost.”

“Yan Zhi isn’t going with you, so stop trying to drive a wedge here.”

“Get lost!”

The moonlight was bright, and Chu Yu gave Yan Zhi a worried look.

Yan Zhi didn’t want to involve him, so he shook his head with a firm gaze.

Chu Yu hesitated for a moment, then finally went out with the stick.

He backed out into the courtyard, saw the long wooden bench sitting there, and quickly threw down the stick and shouldered the bench.

Surely it was because the stick was too thin; if it were replaced with a bench, it would surely work.

But as soon as he shouldered the bench, the Emperor’s cold voice came from inside—

“It won’t work even if you hack with a knife. Since Yan Zhi is pleading for you, get out.”

Immediately following, a soft sound came from the bedroom window.

Yan Zhi tapped on the window pane, urging him to leave.

Chu Yu had no choice but to put down the bench and retreat indignantly.

In the bedroom, Xiao Cuan put his arm around Yan Zhi’s waist, picked him up, and threw him onto the couch.

Yan Zhi scrambled up from the couch, holding the dagger in both hands, pointing it at Xiao Cuan.

He was afraid, afraid that His Majesty would…

But Xiao Cuan only gave him a glance and finally pulled out a cream puff from somewhere and threw it into his arms.

He ordered: “Eat it.”

The cream puff hit Yan Zhi’s lap and landed on his hem.

Seeing that he didn’t move, Xiao Cuan assumed he was dazed, turned around, and was about to leave.

The Huben Battalion was still sealing the mountain and searching outside, and the personal guards were still looking for him; he had to let them know.

Seeing him about to leave, Yan Zhi quickly prepared to get off the couch, ready to flee at any moment.

Just as he turned around, Xiao Cuan heard the rustling sound behind him and knew Yan Zhi was restless, so he suddenly turned back.

Yan Zhi stood by the couch, like a kitten, but more like a leopard cub, watching him warily.

Xiao Cuan’s brow twitched. Thinking of the several times Yan Zhi had slipped away right under his nose, he simply didn’t go out.

He directly turned back, walked to Yan Zhi, wrapped his arm around his waist, leaned in, and pressed him onto the couch.

Yan Zhi still held the dagger, its point pressed against his chest, slicing through his cloak once more.

Xiao Cuan didn’t care, only lowering his head, grabbing Yan Zhi’s hem, and tying it together with his belt.

He ground his teeth and said hatefully: “Still want to run? I should just hang you from my belt.”

Having done this, he continued to lean in, completely ignoring the dagger sinking into his chest again.

Yan Zhi lowered his eyes, not looking at him, only focusing intently on the point of the knife.

Xiao Cuan pressed against Yan Zhi, continuing forward until he forced him into a corner.

He held Yan Zhi with one hand and pushed open the window with the other, taking out a signal flare from his sleeve and firing it towards the sky.

With a “whoosh,” the signal flare soared into the sky, exploding in a burst of red light in the night sky.

Done.

Xiao Cuan looked down at Yan Zhi: “Why aren’t you watching your favorite fireworks?”

Yan Zhi didn’t speak, only earnestly pushing the dagger forward.

Xiao Cuan frowned and wiped the blood splattered on Yan Zhi’s face: “Stop stabbing; you’re not hitting anything vital. A hole here, a hole there, it’s like you’re giving me acupuncture.”

Yan Zhi remained silent and turned his head away.

He should have known.

Xiao Cuan picked up the cream puff that had fallen onto the couch and threw it back at him: “Eat.”

Immediately after, he stood up, not knowing what he was going to do.

Their hems and belts were still tied together, and as he rose, Yan Zhi was also pulled forward.

Yan Zhi wrinkled his small face and lowered his head, trying to untie his clothes.

Xiao Cuan’s face darkened, and he said sharply: “Try untying it if you dare.”

Yan Zhi still ignored him, directly gripping the dagger and, with a “rip,” slicing through his own hem.

I’ll untie it!

Xiao Cuan choked for a moment, suddenly finding himself at a loss with him.

In the past, whatever he wanted Yan Zhi to do or not do, a simple scolding and Yan Zhi would be obedient.

But tonight, Yan Zhi seemed to have spent a few months outside, and his heart had gone wild; he was exceptionally disobedient.

No matter.

The kiss earlier had temporarily extinguished all the fire in his heart.

He could tolerate Yan Zhi’s small temper. Once Yan Zhi ate the cream puff and returned to the Daliang Palace, it would be fine.

Xiao Cuan walked to Yan Zhi’s wardrobe, opened it, and rummaged through it familiarly, taking out Yan Zhi’s underclothes.

Seeing him with his back turned, Yan Zhi gestured to Tang Gao on the floor, wanting to flee again.

But soon, Xiao Cuan returned with his underclothes.

“Go back.”

Yan Zhi knew his strength was not as great as His Majesty’s. Since he hadn’t succeeded in one strike, he had to conserve his strength for now.

He gestured to Tang Gao, and the wolf leaped onto the couch.

Yan Zhi hugged it and retreated into the corner of the bed.

Xiao Cuan picked up the cream puff Yan Zhi had discarded and threw it at him for the third time: “I told you to eat it!”

Yan Zhi held the cream puff and moved it towards his mouth.

Seeing that he was going to eat, Xiao Cuan finally sat on the couch, untied his cloak and outer robe, revealing his shoulder and chest wounded by the dagger.

This was the first time Yan Zhi had ever swung a knife at someone, and he had stabbed quite deeply.

Xiao Cuan glanced at the wounds, then picked up Yan Zhi’s clean underclothes, about to wrap them around the wounds.

Seeing things were not right, Yan Zhi instinctively tried to snatch his clothes back.

How could he? He couldn’t!

Xiao Cuan turned his head and gave him a sidelong glance.

The fire of anger in Yan Zhi’s heart grew, but he could only retreat into the corner.

Xiao Cuan asked as if casually: “Did you really want to stab me to death just now?”

“Your courage has grown quite a bit. Someone who didn’t even dare to carve meat before now dares to stab me?”

“Who taught you? Or did you learn it yourself?”

Yan Zhi pressed his lips tight, saying nothing.

“What else have I done to wrong you?”

Xiao Cuan pulled Yan Zhi’s underclothes with both hands, pulling hard to wrap the wounds.

The clothes tightened with a “rip,” and at the same time, Xiao Cuan raised his voice: “Huh?!”

Xiao Cuan turned his head and looked at him coldly: “I had already made Empress’s clothes for you and written the decree to make you Empress, telling you to wait and attend the coronation ceremony. You were just stupid and didn’t realize it.”

“Then thinking you didn’t understand, you ran away, so I specifically announced it to the whole world, making you Empress. Did you not see it, or are you refusing to come back?”

Yan Zhi didn’t answer.

Xiao Cuan continued: “For you, I stopped the selection of concubines, stopped managing state affairs, and even the coronation ceremony is gone. All the civil and military officials are laughing at me.”

“What else do you want from me? Do you want me to die? I’m the Emperor and your man. If you stab me to death, won’t you be sent to prison? You couldn’t even think of that? Are you that stupid?”

Yan Zhi still didn’t speak.

No matter what Xiao Cuan said, he just hugged Tang Gao and hid in the corner, stroking Tang Gao’s fur bit by bit, without a word.

Anyway… he couldn’t beat him, and he couldn’t stab him to death.

His Majesty always had so many crooked arguments; he didn’t want to listen, much less answer.

Yan Zhi looked up slightly, observing the surroundings through Tang Gao’s fur.

He was thinking about the probability of successfully escaping if he climbed out the window now.

Seeing that he wasn’t listening at all and even had the heart to think about other things, Xiao Cuan felt as though all his heavy words had been spoken to a block of wood.

What on earth is Yan Zhi doing?

Why is he not reacting at all?

If His Majesty scolds him, his eyes should be red, he should be on the verge of tears, he should be crying!

Why… does it seem like he doesn’t care about him at all?

Xiao Cuan took a deep breath and finally asked: “Weren’t you asleep just now?”

This time Yan Zhi reacted, nodded, and softly responded: “Mm.”

Right, he wasn’t asleep.

While in the courtyard of Chu Yu’s house, he had faintly sensed something was wrong.

The scent of a wild beast permeated the wind, and he felt a familiar pressure.

He originally thought His Majesty was just nearby, but he hadn’t expected him to be so close.

He had planned to go up the mountain to hide before dawn, but before he could fall asleep, he heard movement outside.

He thought it was soldiers or officials, so he lay in bed, gave Tang Gao the command to stay silent, and gripped the dagger he had hidden under his pillow, waiting quietly.

If not for his command, Tang Gao would have barked long ago.

But he knew that if Tang Gao barked, the people outside would definitely be on guard, and then it would be even harder to escape.

Soldiers wouldn’t act alone; they’d surely be many in number. He only had a chance to escape if he acted unexpectedly.

He just hadn’t expected the person to be His Majesty.

No matter, it was better that it was His Majesty.

Yan Zhi had been hesitant, not wanting to harm innocent soldiers, but now it was fine; he could harm His Majesty.

So when His Majesty rushed over, he pulled out the dagger with trembling hands.

That’s how it was.

On the small couch, Yan Zhi and Xiao Cuan sat facing each other, neither speaking further.

One didn’t dare ask more, and the other didn’t want to say more.

Xiao Cuan looked down and saw the untouched cream puff in front of Yan Zhi, and the fire of anger in his heart flared up again.

“Normally when you see a cream puff, you’re like a puppy seeing meat, your eyes lighting up. Today I called you three times, why won’t you eat it? Weren’t you about to eat it just now? Why did you put it down again?”

Yan Zhi still kept his mouth shut, refusing to speak.

The same sense of powerlessness hit him again.

Xiao Cuan clenched his fists, feeling his powerful palms, but didn’t know what to do with Yan Zhi.

Could it be that besides stabbing and pleading for Chu Yu, there was nothing else he could do with him?

Xiao Cuan ground his teeth and squeezed his name out of his throat as if in threat: “Yan Zhi!”

Yan Zhi remained unmoved.

The fire of anger in Xiao Cuan’s heart grew even hotter, and he really couldn’t hold back anymore: “Speak! Have you gone mute?”

Yan Zhi was unperturbed; he’d just be mute then.

“Yan. Zhi!”

Since he wouldn’t open his mouth, Xiao Cuan didn’t care about anything else and suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the cream puff and pushing it in front of Yan Zhi.

Just as the cream puff was about to be pressed against Yan Zhi’s face and the cream was about to cover it.

Yan Zhi smelled the familiar scent, and his face suddenly changed. He pushed Xiao Cuan away with both hands, turned his head away, lunged to the edge of the couch, and began to retch towards the floor.

“Ugh—”