Chapter 55 - 3#

Jingzhe called out softly, but there was no reply.

He fumbled his way to the table in the dark, outlining the position of the wardrobe in his mind, and then fumbled his way over there.

Fortunately, Jingzhe really did find one or two pieces of clothing to change into inside. He squatted in front of the wardrobe to change his clothes, and then let out a long breath.

After changing out of his soaked inner clothes, Jingzhe put on all his outer clothes, and only then did he feel a little warmth.

Where did Rong Jiu go in the middle of the night?

Jingzhe casually draped the changed wet clothes on the armrest of a chair and tried to feel for the door.

It was like a blind man touching an elephant.

Jingzhe was not familiar with the layout of the guardhouse. In the lampless night, it was like pure darkness, without even a bit of extra light.

Jingzhe almost fell several times, but fortunately, he managed to grab onto something nearby in time. After a while, he finally felt his way to the door.

He gently opened the door.

The thin starlight was locked outside by the tightly closed doors and windows. No wonder it was so dark inside; it turned out there was no moon tonight.

Jingzhe stepped out of the door. The distant lanterns were like phantoms, swaying in the whistling cold wind. This wind chilled people to the bone.

Rong Jiu said that once he fell asleep, he was not easy to wake up.

He also said that after falling asleep, he couldn’t be easily woken up by noise.

Even if Jingzhe slept like a log, it was impossible for him to sleep soundly if something could wake Rong Jiu up. So… either there was something wrong with what he ate today, making him sleep like a pig, so he couldn’t hear anything; or, Rong Jiu hadn’t slept at all from the beginning.

Jingzhe was more inclined to believe the latter.

If he had been drugged, Jingzhe should have felt it.

But this time he was awakened by a nightmare, just like last time, with no difference, and he didn’t feel drowsy anywhere.

So now the question is, where did Rong Jiu go?

Rong Jiu’s residence was in the depths of this guardhouse. Looking out to other places, there should still be people on night watch. Should he go and ask them?

Although every time Jingzhe came to the guardhouse, he didn’t see many people. But he knew that there were often people here, and Rong Jiu’s overly intimate actions towards him could not be hidden from those with a mind to see.

But no matter how much it couldn’t be hidden, it was still a different matter from actively going up to ask.

Jingzhe wasn’t that shameless yet.

He hesitated for a moment, but still braved the wind and walked towards the light.

Along the way, the thin starlight served as the road. The distant light became closer and closer, but it was not the lantern Jingzhe thought it was, but a burning torch.

Jingzhe stopped in surprise.

Was he sleepwalking?

Jingzhe lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. When he looked up again, it was indeed a torch, and not just one, but many.

Jingzhe was silent. He was indeed still muddle-headed from sleep.

Maybe he was even frozen stupid.

He shouldn’t have come out just now.

Jingzhe decisively turned back.

Unfortunately, before he had taken two steps, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

In the middle of the night, seeing so many torches was definitely not normal. He really didn’t want to see it.

Why did these things always rush towards Jingzhe one after another?

Jingzhe was in pain, great pain.

“Please stay, young master.”

This voice sounded a bit familiar.

Jingzhe paused and looked back. Although there was not much light and it was difficult to see the person’s appearance clearly, the voice sounded like Shi Li’s.

Shi Li had always called him young master.

Even knowing his identity, it was still the same.

Jingzhe didn’t even know how Rong Jiu had introduced him to him in the first place.

Jingzhe: “Are you on duty? Sorry, I almost wandered in just now, I didn’t see anything.”

Shi Li seemed to smile and said to him: “Young master, don’t mind. Originally, Rong, big brother was also going to invite you. Now that you’re awake, please come with me.”

Every time Shi Li spoke, he paused very suspiciously on the words “Big Brother Rong,” as if he were a little scared.

Jingzhe: “You’re on duty, it’s not appropriate for me to go over.” He didn’t know what Rong Jiu was going to do, but he instinctively didn’t want to go.

Since he knew Rong Jiu was fine, he might as well go to sleep.

Jingzhe wanted to leave, but Shi Li had no choice but to block his way and said with a bitter face: “Young master, if you don’t come with me, I’m afraid I’ll be punished later.”

Jingzhe frowned: “You tell him I’m not willing. Rong Jiu is not such an unreasonable person.”

After saying this, Jingzhe himself was a little silent.

In most cases, this was the case. In a small number of cases, he was indeed very unreasonable.

Shi Li smiled bitterly: “He won’t be angry with the young master, but this is also a failure to do things well.” No matter what the reason, if the task cannot be completed, there will always be a punishment.

Such a punishment was not too difficult for Shi Li to bear. He said this matter, but it was another way of showing weakness.

Young Master Jingzhe was not the kind of person who enjoyed seeing others suffer.

Sure enough, after hearing Shi Li’s words, Jingzhe shook his head helplessly, tightened the clothes on his body, and then said to Shi Li: “Then please lead the way.”

This road was not long. After bypassing a large bush, the light in front became more obvious. The reason why Jingzhe had mistaken the torch for a lantern was entirely due to the cover of the trees.

Outside a remote courtyard, a dozen guards knelt outside the door. Even when Shi Li led Jingzhe over, they remained motionless.

The torches they held in their hands illuminated the road ahead.

For a moment, Jingzhe’s footsteps hesitated.

The courtyard door was wide open. Standing at the door, one could see the open door of the house. Rong Jiu was indeed sitting inside.

And at his feet, a person was almost tied into a meat dumpling, prostrate on the side.

A bizarre feeling made Jingzhe’s footsteps hesitate a little, as if taking another step forward would lead to some strange purgatory.

Shi Li: “Please.”

He led the way respectfully in front.

Jingzhe was silent for a moment before following Shi Li’s footsteps and entering the house with him.

The meat dumpling on the ground heard the footsteps and struggled twice, just enough to reveal his appearance.

Jingzhe looked at him in surprise. This person was actually Kangman.

Shi Li silently retreated to the door. In this room, for a moment, only Rong Jiu and Jingzhe were left.

And Kangman on the ground.

A draft passed through the hall, and Jingzhe shivered inexplicably, feeling even colder.

Rong Jiu’s frosty face finally showed some expression: “When you came out, why didn’t you put on your cloak?”

Jingzhe was slightly stunned: “What cloak?”

Rong Jiu: “It was right by the bed.”

Jingzhe tried hard to recall, but could only remember that there seemed to be a large, bulging thing by the bed. It was just that his inner clothes were soaked at that time, so naturally he didn’t pay attention to it.

Jingzhe said a little embarrassedly: “I really didn’t see it.”

Rong Jiu looked at him sharply: “Shi Li didn’t pick you up in the room. Why did you wake up?”

This cold voice sounded very certain.

If Shi Li had gone to the room to pick up Jingzhe, then with the lamp lit, it would be impossible not to see the cloak by the bed.

It could only be that Jingzhe woke up on his own.

Jingzhe touched his nose embarrassedly again: “I didn’t sleep well, so I woke up.”

Rong Jiu stared at Jingzhe for a long time, then sighed: “Coward.”

Jingzhe pouted: “Nonsense.”

“After that time in the afternoon, you had a dream at night. If that’s not being a coward, what is?”

Jingzhe: “…” Hmph, so what if you’re smart.

Rong Jiu stood up and walked towards Jingzhe. At this time, he discovered that the man’s clothes were much more luxurious than before. But before he could see the material clearly, the man took off his cloak and pressed it heavily on Jingzhe’s shoulders.

Jingzhe didn’t feel warm at all.

This cloak had a dry coolness. When it fell on his head, there was not even a trace of extra warmth.

Jingzhe reflexively went to grab Rong Jiu’s fingers. Sure enough, he was already cool enough, but the man’s fingers were even colder than his.

Jingzhe looked at this icy room and subconsciously called out: “Shi Li?”

Rong Jiu’s eyes suddenly became terrible. Jingzhe quickly grabbed his fingers and patted them twice, saying in a low voice: “I have something to ask him.”

Behind him, Shi Li’s figure appeared again, bowing his head respectfully at the door: “What are your orders, young master?”

“Go prepare some charcoal fire, it’s too cold in the room.”

Rong Jiu said coldly, obviously knowing what Jingzhe wanted to say.

After Shi Li took his leave, Jingzhe grabbed his hand and said with some annoyance: “You also know it’s too cold in this room. How long have you been wearing this cloak? There’s no warmth left at all. It’s almost freezing me to death… and you’re still talking about me.” He muttered these words, then breathed on Rong Jiu’s fingers and rubbed them.

Is this really a block of ice?

Jingzhe’s eyebrows carried a little annoyance.

After charcoal basins were placed in the corners of the room, the temperature finally rose. The coolness that had been constantly eroding his toes and knees finally got better.

In fact, Jingzhe was very used to this kind of coldness.

Especially at night, it was the coldest time, but this time was often spent in the quilt, and in the morning, the warmth of the sun was enough to disperse the accumulated cold.

Anyway, Jingzhe’s body was never too cold.

But Rong Jiu was different. Most of the time, he was an ice man.

Jingzhe wanted to take off the cloak and return it to him, but Rong Jiu didn’t want it. He grabbed Jingzhe’s hand and walked to the front, then pressed him down to sit on the chair.

Jingzhe almost jumped up, especially when he met Kangman’s incredulous eyes.

Why were his eyes so wide? Was it because of the eunuch uniform on Jingzhe? Even with the cloak wrapped around him, the edge of the hem was easy to recognize… Or was it that Kangman had heard from the conversation between Rong Jiu and Jingzhe just now that he was the one who had beaten him up?

None of Jingzhe’s guesses were wrong.

Kangman did recognize that Jingzhe was a eunuch, and also heard that he was the damn bastard who had knocked him out. But what terrified him the most and made him most incredulous was—

Emperor Jingyuan pressed this little eunuch down to sit, while he himself stood beside him.

How absurd!

Kangman almost thought he was dreaming. Had he walked into some absurd story?

Although he was brutally dragged from his warm bed in the middle of the night, tied into a meat dumpling, and pressed to the ground, shivering from the cold… this half-night’s experience was not as absurd and illusory as this moment.

Was this man in front of him really Emperor Jingyuan?

If Kangman’s mouth hadn’t been gagged, he would probably have hysterically exposed this man’s fake mask… It’s fake… This must be fake!

How could the emperor be so gentle to someone?

Even with a cold face, it was already a gentleness that had never been seen before.

He heard the little eunuch sitting on the chair ask the man beside him in a low voice: “Why did you bring him here? Didn’t you say… you were investigating?”

Yes, not only was Kangman confused about this question, Jingzhe also found it very strange.

Rong Jiu said that this matter had been handed over to the Prudent Punishment Department for investigation, so it was no longer related to him. Especially in the afternoon, he had even mentioned Kangman’s name, which more or less showed that Rong Jiu was not happy to see Jingzhe take risks.

If so, why bring Kangman to Jingzhe, let him see his appearance, and hear his voice?

Jingzhe only felt it was strange and absurd.

The nerves in his body were screaming sharply, a silent, terrible warning, far more terrifying than when he was outside.

Kangman on the ground could feel that terrible pressure invisibly enveloping him, like his throat being tightly clasped, the suffocating feeling of imminent death, making him tremble uncontrollably.

It was clearly early winter, very cold.

But Kangman was sweating profusely.

He was not a person who was easily flustered. He was greedy enough and smart enough, which also made him almost unobstructed and very smooth.

But the more so, the more accustomed to controlling countless things, the easier it was to be frustrated, and the more greedy for life and afraid of death. He could feel that the death that had always befallen others was approaching him, so clearly and terribly.

All the crazy thoughts just now disappeared in an instant.

…This person is indeed Emperor Jingyuan.

“Mmm, mmm, mmm—”

Kangman struggled desperately. He wanted to speak, to beg for mercy, to beg for his life, especially to that little eunuch.

After all, His Majesty… His Majesty didn’t seem to have revealed his identity. He looked like he didn’t know anything!

The emperor was completely different to him than to anyone else.

And this person also had a purity that could be seen at a glance.

Even if they had had conflicts before, this conflict had not reached the point of taking a life. If he could get his forgiveness, maybe he could still live.

“I brought him over because I suddenly thought of something.” Kangman heard Emperor Jingyuan say carelessly, “You should, dislike him very much.”

His heart turned cold little by little.

But his body struggled more and more, mumbling, trying to spit out the cloth strip gagging his mouth.

Just give him a chance…

Of course Jingzhe didn’t like Kangman.

This person was very cruel. For his own selfish desires, he had harmed many people and was full of malice towards him. How could he possibly like him?

“His crimes have been investigated one by one, and the final judgment of the Prudent Punishment Department will also be a death sentence.” Rong Jiu lowered his voice, right in Jingzhe’s ear, like a poisonous snake flicking its tongue. “He will die sooner or later.”

“…So?”

A cold and hard dagger was stuffed into Jingzhe’s palm. The fingers that had just recovered a little warmth were frozen stiff by this cold thing, almost unable to hold it.

A large hand wrapped around Jingzhe’s hand, helping him to hold the dagger tightly.

The hard hilt hurt his palm.

“Do you like this dagger, or do you prefer a knife?”

That voice was as silky and cold as satin. The voice that should have made Jingzhe like it very much, but it froze his flesh, blood, and bones.

It was Rong Jiu who had almost forgotten that the most important thing to do was to suppress his soft heart.

With slaughter, with death, with sticky blood.

Rong Jiu’s cold lips pressed against Jingzhe’s ear, murmuring: “Choose one, and then, kill him.”