Chapter 45 - 3#

It will be autumn in some time, and they will probably go back. By then, the foreign envoys will also return one by one…

Jingzhe’s mind was full of messy things just to distract his thoughts.

After a long while, his mind finally calmed down a bit.

It was not good to wander around in the camp. As soon as Jingzhe calmed down, he trotted back. Before he could pass the guards and return to the tent, he was suddenly stopped.

Jingzhe was stunned and looked at the two soldiers in front of him.

“Where is your waist token? What are you doing?”

Fortunately, Jingzhe was cautious when he came out and brought everything with him. He naturally took out his waist token and honestly reported the palace servant he followed.

“Why are you out instead of sleeping at night?”

“Came out to relieve myself.”

Jingzhe was seen by people coming and going along the way, so what he said was not false.

The soldier looked him up and down, relaxed slightly, returned the waist token to Jingzhe, and after searching him for any knives, did not let him go back immediately.

He was led to an empty tent.

As soon as he entered, there were seven or eight people inside. Looking closely, a few were familiar, palace servants he had met recently.

“You are temporarily not under suspicion, but you still can’t wander around. Tomorrow, you will be allowed to leave.”

The soldier who led Jingzhe left this sentence and asked him to stay here properly.

Outside the tent, there were several soldiers guarding.

After Jingzhe went in, the few palace servants who recognized him greeted him to sit down.

Perhaps everyone had been told the same thing. Although there was a little anxiety on their faces, they were not too worried.

“Jingzhe, why were you brought here too?”

A palace maid named Cao Min sat not far away and asked curiously.

Jingzhe told his original reason and got responses from others, all for similar reasons. Only Cao Min was unlucky.

She was helping the cook in the camp. She finished cleaning up a bit late tonight and was stopped on the way back.

Cao Min: “Don’t know what happened. On the way here just now, everyone looked very nervous.”

Jingzhe also noticed the attitude of those soldiers. They were very cautious when checking. If there was any mistake, people would be taken away immediately.

Jingzhe had already seen two or three people being taken away. The soldiers’ attitude towards them was completely different from that towards Jingzhe, very rough, obviously to be questioned carefully.

“We should be fine here, right?” Someone hugged their knees tightly, “Didn’t they say they would let us out tomorrow?”

A man who looked like a manager said faintly, “That depends on if nothing big happens. If something really happens, let alone tomorrow, being able to leave alive would be lucky.”

Jingzhe lowered his eyes. The manager was right, just didn’t know what exactly happened.

He lowered his head and rested it on his knees.

Originally, he wasn’t sleepy at all, but now being locked up, he felt a bit drowsy.

Listening to the low voices of others, Jingzhe unknowingly fell asleep.

…

Tap tap—

A finger tapped on Jingzhe’s shoulder. He woke up in a daze, with a bit of lazy weariness.

The faint orchid fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose, a familiar smell.

Jingzhe took deep breaths while half asleep and exhaled slowly.

“Rong Jiu, don’t make trouble.”

His body rose and fell slightly, leaning into Rong Jiu’s arms, lazy as if about to fall asleep again…

…What, rose and fell?

Jingzhe suddenly felt something was wrong and opened his eyes immediately.

The frosty white moonlight covered the boundless wilderness. The deep forest not far away was pitch black, like a monster devouring everything. The wind blew, and the whole wilderness bowed low. For a moment, the world was vast, making Jingzhe a little stunned.

Amidst the vastness, how small humans are.

But the black horse beneath him was fearless, still walking leisurely along the edge under the master’s control, occasionally lowering its head to eat a few mouthfuls of fodder.

Jingzhe looked at this scene blankly, thinking he was still in a dream.

How did this…

Before he slept, he was still locked in the tent. How come when he woke up, he was riding a tall horse in the wild?

That faint orchid fragrance was right beside him. Jingzhe didn’t turn back, just rubbed against him, asking with some doubt, “You brought me out… is it okay?”

No, that wasn’t what he wanted to ask.

“Did no one see us along the way?”

This latter part was important.

“It’s okay. No one saw.”

The cold and clear voice answered Jingzhe’s two questions.

As long as Jingzhe lowered his head, he could see one of the man’s hands holding the reins casually, and the other hand around his waist, presumably afraid that he would fall.

Jingzhe: “Are you lying to me?”

In this boundless place, the two of them riding a horse out, how could they not be discovered?

Thinking of this, he turned his head hard to look, but there was no camp behind, and naturally, none in front either.

Jingzhe was stunned, murmuring, “Did I sleep… for that long?”

The camp was brightly lit. No matter how far they went, in the dark night, they could see that bright place.

How could it be seen nowhere?

Rong Jiu said lightly, “Just walked a bit far, nothing will happen.”

…How can this person be so calm? Nothing will happen even like this? How capable must he be?

“Why did you get up at night again today?”

Rong Jiu completely ignored Jingzhe’s worries, instead pinching his face and asking coldly, “Can’t sleep?”

This carried a bit of a lecturing tone.

Jingzhe: “How did you know I was locked up?”

Rong Jiu: “Because in the list reported by subordinates, there was exactly you, this fool.”

Jingzhe pouted, “Just a normal night trip, who would have thought it would be so unlucky?”

He didn’t ask what happened, but asked about something else instead.

“The camp is under martial law now, don’t you need to stay and guard?” Jingzhe asked, “If…”

Before he could finish his words, Rong Jiu pinched his mouth into a chick’s beak and said somewhat impatiently, “You won’t die yet, why worry about me?” The cold voice carried a bit of groundless irritability.

Jingzhe was sanctioned, whined twice, and struggled to say, “…Then I, won’t die either, can go back tomorrow… no need to come…”

Rong Jiu: “You?”

Fingers loosened, moved to the back of Jingzhe’s neck, and pinched suggestively, “Pinched to death in an instant.”

Jingzhe shrunk his neck from the cold of Rong Jiu’s fingers, muttering, “My neck isn’t that thin either.”

The strength pinching the neck wasn’t small.

Rong Jiu sneered, “Strangling you doesn’t take a breath.”

Jingzhe: “Why are you always thinking about how I will die?”

“Without being extra cautious, you could die in any way.” Rong Jiu had no pity, his voice soaked with malice, “Then it’s better to die early in my hands.”

Jingzhe struggled a few times on the horse’s back, finally managing to turn sideways, looking at Rong Jiu’s face suspiciously.

The man’s face looked expressionless under the moonlight.

But the words he said could scare people into fainting.

“I don’t want to die in your hands.” Jingzhe frowned. Before Rong Jiu could speak, he added, “I want to die of old age naturally in my dream.”

Lying in bed, sleeping, holding the beautiful hope that he might wake up tomorrow, and then sleeping forever like this.

This is also a way to die.

Since death is inevitable, why can’t one hope for a more comfortable one?

Rong Jiu said coldly, “Before you die naturally of old age, you will first die of illness, die of pain. Then you will find that when people get old, the fastest and most comfortable way to die is to be strangled to death.”

…What kind of persistence is this of Rong Jiu!

Jingzhe didn’t want to be strangled!

He reached out and fumbled around, finally touching Rong Jiu’s mouth, covering it at once, and said somewhat annoyed, “You’d better stop talking.”

Rong Jiu was good. Being covered, he didn’t resist, but instead caught Jingzhe’s hand and pecked it repeatedly, causing him to dodge a bit from being kissed.

Just as Jingzhe lowered his head, seeing the empty reins, he almost couldn’t catch his breath.

“You, why did you let go of the reins!”

This horse was very tall. Its robust and smooth muscles were enough for Jingzhe, who knew nothing, to feel that it was a good horse.

But a good horse was good, also tall and strong. For Jingzhe who had never ridden a horse, being able to sit like this was all thanks to Rong Jiu being there.

As a result, he looked and found that Rong Jiu had long let go of the reins.

True, one arm around Jingzhe’s waist, the other holding his hand, where would the third hand come from to hold the reins?

…Ahhh help!

Startled, his body couldn’t help but move. The arm across his waist exerted more force, showing its presence.

“Won’t let you fall.”

Rong Jiu said lightly, “Tonight, an envoy was killed, so the camp is under martial law.”

The man’s sudden sentence distracted Jingzhe’s tense nerves a bit.

An envoy was killed… why?

Rong Jiu leaned close to Jingzhe’s ear, his voice gloomy and cold, like an evil ghost from hell, carrying a bit of icy murderous aura.

“Died right outside the imperial tent.”

Jingzhe’s eyes widened. Was this the reason for the camp’s martial law?

He murmured, “Could someone be so frenzied as to want to assassinate His Majesty?”

Crazy?

The camp was heavily guarded. Any normal person could think that assassination would inevitably fail. Why do it in Shangyu Garden?

Rong Jiu: “Who knows? Maybe some frenzied person is going crazy randomly.” His words sounded somewhat casual, giving the illusion that he didn’t take this matter to heart at all.

Jingzhe: “This sounds even crazier than you.”

Slowly, he really ignored the issue of reins and leaned back into Rong Jiu’s arms.

Rong Jiu raised his eyebrows, “Am I crazy?”

Jingzhe whispered, “…Need to ask? Don’t you have any self-knowledge?”

Where is Rong Jiu not crazy?

Rong Jiu said漫不经心地, “Not as crazy as before.”

He lowered his eyes. The person in his arms… Jingzhe’s heartbeat was steady, living in this thin body, yet fragile enough to be easily crushed.

Just listening to that breathing was somewhat interesting.

Living, living better, and then, before everything collapsed, taking him to die together.

Now, this replaced those violent desires for destruction, more or less suppressing the crazy thoughts.

In the camp, increasingly strict inspections were proceeding one by one. The originally somewhat quiet camp had completely come alive, with fully equipped soldiers patrolling everywhere.

Wei Haidong was so busy that he couldn’t even drink a sip of water. Rushing back near the imperial tent, before he could request entry, he was stopped by Ning Hongru.

Although Wei Haidong was a close minister of Emperor Jingyuan, this camp in Shangyu Garden was guarded by the capital army. During this martial law, naturally, they also took the lead.

Wei Haidong only assisted from the side, but was also very busy.

Coming back now was to request an audience with the Emperor for something.

Ning Hongru put his hands behind his back and said faintly, “His Majesty is not in the imperial tent.”

It was quiet, only the two of them here.

Hearing this, Wei Haidong first closed his eyes, then pinched the bridge of his nose, pacing in front of Ning Hongru. Suddenly turning around, he squeezed a few words through his teeth.

“Has His Majesty gone mad?”

With such a big incident, he could still run out. Was Emperor Jingyuan afraid that there were not enough people trying to assassinate him?

Ning Hongru slowly looked at Wei Haidong.

After a moment, Wei Haidong lost his strength. True, when was His Majesty not going mad?

Speaking of which, recently, he has been mad less often.

If it were in the past, maybe Emperor Jingyuan would have let the assassin in with interest.

Those who failed mostly died directly at Emperor Jingyuan’s hands. If successful… until today, no one has succeeded, but judging from His Majesty’s madness… maybe he would be very, very happy.

Even his own life was an interesting toy.

That dark madness, that violence wishing to tear everything apart, was just dormant in Emperor Jingyuan’s marrow and flesh and blood, seeming to have all gone to sleep.

The current Emperor Jingyuan looked much more like a normal person than before.

But perhaps being normal for a period made Wei Haidong slack off, actually panicking over such a small matter.

…No matter how crazy Emperor Jingyuan acted, it was possible.