Forcibly Snatched by the Tyrant After Transmigrating into a Book 91

Chapter 91: Extra 3 – Side CP (Part 4)

Chu Rui stood in the Royal Consort’s hall for a long time, carefully looking at Nianci’s portrait and touching it.
In just a year, he had already forgotten Nianci’s appearance. He didn’t dare to close his eyes, wanting to look a few more times.
“Nianci, most men are heartless, and Gu is no exception. Although Gu was disturbed by the Passion Tide Period, in the end, my mind was not firm…”

Suifeng had been a hidden guard for many years and had long since mastered the skill of eavesdropping without being noticed, but today he had made a lot of noise.

Chu Rui followed the sound and looked at the window. The moment he pushed it open, he saw Suifeng, whom he hadn’t seen in several days.

He pressed his lips together slightly, wanting to close the window, but he was stopped by Suifeng.
He didn’t know when Suifeng had come, or how much of his words he had heard…

He only felt a wave of heat rise on his cheeks. After clearing his throat, Chu Rui said, “What are you still here for?”

Suifeng was puzzled. Had Chu Rui not seen the note he had left? He had thought that even if Chu Rui had no feelings for him, since they had already performed the rites of the Duke of Zhou, they should treat each other with courtesy.
He looked into Chu Rui’s eyes and asked, “King, are you well?”

Suifeng let out a cold laugh and glanced at him. “Thanks to you, I’ve been recuperating for several days and am now healthy.”

Suifeng’s brows furrowed. Chu Rui was not like this last night. He climbed in through the window, pinched Chu Rui’s wrist, and sniffed the scent on him. “King, have you seen the note this subject left?”

Mentioning the note, Chu Rui was furious. He glared at Suifeng and couldn’t help but sneer, “I saw it. You were insubordinate and violated me, and you still hope I can forgive you?”

Suifeng forcefully pulled Chu Rui into his embrace, pinched his cheek, and asked, “King, this subject has never had any intention of violating the King. That night, this subject was indeed impolite, but in the end, I did relieve the King’s Passion Tide Period, didn’t I?
This subject thought that the King should have had a little bit of affection for this subject…”

Chu Rui couldn’t break free from Suifeng, but the palm on his lower back made him uncomfortable.
He looked at the bloodshot in Suifeng’s eyes and was slightly moved, but he still said viciously, “Hah~ How could Gu fall for a man? A fool’s dream… Besides, my Qianlin can’t possibly have a male Royal Consort.”

Suifeng had rushed back to Qianlin on a fast horse these two days just to see Chu Rui.
But he had never expected to only hear Chu Rui confessing and repenting before his late Royal Consort’s flower portrait. It seemed that to Chu Rui, he was just a stain to be quickly eliminated.

He released his grip, took several steps back, and looked at Chu Rui’s face, which was much rosier than the day he had left. “In that case, it was this subject who was being sentimental. Today, the palace has already been locked. This subject will leave tomorrow and will not disturb the King again…”

Chu Rui rubbed his wrist. He saw that Suifeng’s eyes had suddenly turned red and couldn’t help but soften. But he had only hesitated for a moment before that person had climbed out the window and disappeared into the boundless night with his lightness skill.

He stood alone in the Royal Consort’s hall, not moving for a long time. The cold wind was biting, invading from outside the hall, blowing on his hands until they gradually lost their warmth and became numb. His legs also seemed to be frozen by the frost, unable to move.

He looked back at Nianci’s portrait and suddenly asked, “Nianci, you see, he will have no more connection with Gu…”

Tears slid down the corners of Chu Rui’s eyes without him noticing, but no one noticed.

He closed the window, like an empty shell that had lost its soul, and returned to his bedchamber.
The maid serving him saw Chu Rui in such a daze and asked, “King, why are you like this?”
Chu Yi was in a daze for a long time and said coldly, “This year’s winter is very cold…”

The maid looked at the goose-feather-like snow outside and nodded. “That’s right. If you wear less, you’ll probably freeze and faint.”

Chu Rui unconsciously thought of Suifeng, who seemed to be wearing thin clothes. He didn’t know where he was hiding now and if he would be cold.
But in a moment, he felt that he had lost his mind. Why was he always thinking of that hidden guard, Suifeng?

That person had clearly violated him. Why was he still thinking of him?

After his bath, Chu Rui lay on the bed for a long time but couldn’t fall asleep. A faint worry rose in his heart.
He recalled how Sheng Qianheng had suffered from frostbite in order to ask for his younger brother’s forgiveness. He didn’t know if that person was alright now.

All the maids in the room had long been dismissed by Chu Rui. He draped on a fox fur cloak and pushed the door open. He looked at all the rooftops one by one but couldn’t find a single figure.

In the end, he returned in disappointment, thinking that Suifeng should have left long ago.

When he returned to his bedchamber again, he couldn’t help but shiver. Fortunately, the floor brazier in the room was burning brightly. He warmed himself for a moment and felt much more comfortable.

There was not a single candlelight in the room. Chu Rui didn’t even notice that there was another person in the room when he got on the bed.

————
Suifeng had rushed back to Da Mo on a fast horse these two days to report, and after getting the antidote, he had rushed back to Qianlin.

He had barely closed his eyes, only dozing off for a moment.

He had thought that Chu Rui would at most be angry with him and abandon him afterward, but he had left a note. Just as he had returned to the Qianlin royal palace with the token given to him by the Empress, Chu Yi, he had asked a maid about Chu Rui’s whereabouts.

After he had found him, he had heard Chu Rui’s words clearly. He was so similar to that late Royal Consort of Qianlin.
He had thought that even if it was because of this similar face, Chu Rui might have some feelings for him. But Chu Rui had been so merciless, his words piercing his heart.

He had left in a fit of anger, but it was inevitably freezing in Qianlin at night. In the end, no matter how angry he was, he had to think for his own survival.

He saw that Chu Rui had actually left his bedchamber in the middle of the night. In that case, he would just go into the room and warm up.

By the time Chu Rui returned to his room, Suifeng was already unable to fight against the fatigue of several days of travel. He sat by the bed and took a short nap.

Just as Chu Rui was about to get back on the bed, he was tripped by something in front of it.

Suifeng had always been alert. In a moment, he had pulled Chu Rui into his embrace.

Chu Rui’s whole body instantly stiffened. “Who is it?”
Suifeng: “Me, Suifeng.”

Chu Rui immediately raised a hand to pinch Suifeng’s neck and pressed, “Didn’t you leave? What are you doing sneaking into Gu’s bedchamber? Are you trying to violate Gu again!”

Suifeng immediately released the hand that was on Suifeng’s lower back and said, “It’s freezing. This subject came into the room to get warm. Since the King is suspicious, this subject will go out.”

Just as Suifeng was pushing the door open, Chu Rui stopped him. “Ai… you stay. Don’t freeze to death in my Qianlin royal palace. Gu won’t be able to explain it to Sheng Qianheng.”

Suifeng pinched the antidote hidden in his sleeve. The day he had left the Da Mo imperial palace, Sheng Qianheng had given him the antidote to the poison that controlled the hidden guards, giving him his freedom three years early.

He had thought that since he and Chu Rui had performed the rites of the Duke of Zhou, they were already a married couple, but it was all just his wishful thinking. Although Chu Rui had been disturbed by his Passion Tide Period that night, his feelings were not fake. In the end, he had been the one who was sentimental.
“Since the King does not like this subject, then you’d better not do things that will cause misunderstandings.”

Chu Rui didn’t dare to look up at Suifeng. Seeing that he didn’t seem to understand, he had no choice but to change his method. “Gu means you stay. Gu will go out…”

Suifeng looked back into Chu Rui’s eyes but found that he was not willing to look at him at all.

In the vast bedchamber, apart from the faint crackling of the burning floor brazier, there was only the sound of their breathing, one after another.
Chu Rui only felt his eyes sting. What on earth was wrong with him? He was unwilling to betray Nianci, but…

Suifeng asked coldly, “Is Nianci your wife?”
Chu Rui: “She is my Royal Consort.”

Suifeng slowly walked in front of Chu Rui and squatted down, looking at his already tear-filled eyes. “But she’s already dead! The deceased has passed. Shouldn’t you look forward?”

Chu Rui shook his head. Their Qianlin royal family had always only married one person. He could not violate the ancestral teachings…
“She will always be my Royal Consort.”

The ancestral teachings were formless, invisible, and intangible, but they were like shackles that bound a person, tightly strangling their neck. The slightest rash move could take a person’s life.

“Then were you looking at my face and thinking of your Royal Consort?” Suifeng pinched Chu Rui’s shoulder, leaned in close, and reprimanded, “I am not anyone’s substitute. Do you understand?”

Chu Rui was so shocked that his body trembled unconsciously. He looked at Suifeng in a daze. Although there were some similarities, they were ultimately different people.
He lowered his head and no longer looked at Suifeng. “In Gu’s eyes, you were just a substitute for the Royal Consort before. It’s just that you overstepped your bounds!”

Suifeng was so angry that he trembled. His chest heaved violently. He pushed Chu Rui away and stood up.
“King, every word of the note Suifeng left that day was from the heart. Since the King is unwilling, then this subject has nothing more to say…”

He stood up and pushed the door open. “No need to worry about this subject freezing to death. Even if I die, I will not die in the Qianlin royal palace and dirty the King’s eyes.”

Chu Rui was so shocked by the heavy slam of the door that his body trembled slightly. He stood up and couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
He was already this old, yet he would still be so embarrassed by a person who had nothing to do with him…

Suifeng left Qianlin the next day. Now that he was no longer bound by anything, he only needed to take the antidote to be free.

But after being a hidden guard for several years, he was not used to suddenly having nothing to do.
He ultimately returned to Da Mo and picked up the business of a hidden guard again.

Seeing that Suifeng had actually returned to Da Mo in just three days, Sheng Qianheng couldn’t help but be suspicious. “Why are you back? Didn’t you go back to find Chu Rui?”

Suifeng knelt and bowed. “This subject was derelict in my duty for a moment. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me. This subject is still willing to serve Your Majesty.”

Sheng Qianheng was extremely curious but ultimately did not speak. “Alright, then you can continue to protect Chu Yi.”

Suifeng hesitated for a moment before replying, “This subject accepts the order.”

Chu Yi was not surprised that Suifeng had returned to his post. It was just that when he and Sheng Qianheng returned to the Qianlin royal palace, he saw that Chu Rui and Suifeng seemed to be as hostile as sworn enemies and felt that something was strange.

He found a chance to be alone with Chu Rui and pressed, “Older brother, did something happen between you and Suifeng?”

Chu Rui sipped his tea and did not speak.

Chu Rui was certain that there was something strange. After he had explained Suifeng’s whereabouts in detail for those few days, he saw that Chu Rui’s pupils seemed to be trembling slightly.

Chu Rui pinched the teacup and asked, “You said that he requested to resign from his post as a hidden guard that day, even if he had to have his arm cut off with a spatula?”

Chu Yi nodded. He added a little fuel to the fire. “That’s right. For some reason, Suifeng was very resolute that day and said that he had an important person waiting for him.”

“An important person?” Chu Rui repeated unconsciously. “An important person? An important person?”

Only now did Chu Yi know that there was something fishy between his older brother and Suifeng! From Suifeng’s appearance, he must have been hurt by his older brother.

What on earth had happened? He carefully inquired about the news and asked, “Older brother, have you ever considered remarrying? To find a reliable stepmother for Zhao’er and little An’er?”

Chu Rui shook his head. “My Qianlin’s ancestral teachings have never had a precedent for remarrying. I must not violate the ancestral teachings privately.”

Chu Yi supported his forehead and smiled bitterly. “Ancestral teachings, how many years has this bad habit been? How many of our Qianlin’s royal family have had no heirs because their wives died early? Remarrying does not mean violating the vow with the late Royal Consort. I believe that sister-in-law would not want to see you like this either…”

Chu Rui had not slept well for these few days. He raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. “Yi’er need not persuade me. Since the ancestral teachings can be passed down, they must be a good thing.”

Chu Yi stood up and caressed his older brother’s shoulder. “It’s also an ancestral teaching. Sheng Qianheng changed the rule of three palaces and six courtyards and a group of wives and concubines for me. Why can’t older brother change Qianlin’s ancestral teachings? I’m not asking older brother to marry several people, just to remarry and find a person you like to spend the rest of your life with. What’s wrong with that? Our Qianlin’s royal family’s heirs are few. In the end, it was delayed by this ancestral teaching!”

Chu Rui smiled faintly, as if he were a little shaken…