Chapter 33

Wei Huai staggered back several steps, gripping the back of a wooden chair to support his entire weight and barely managed not to collapse.

Over the past half month, he had been imprisoned in the water dungeon, with most of his body submerged in cold water. He hadn’t eaten a single bite of food or gotten much rest, enduring endless torment. Even the strongest body would have reached its limit by now.

Just moments ago, he had held on solely due to his desire to find Qixue. Now, with his anger surging to his heart, he spat out blood. His vision blackened in waves, and his whole body swayed unsteadily, on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness at any moment.

Qixue hadn’t expected Wei Huai to be so provoked that he vomited blood. He panicked a little and regretted his harsh words. He immediately turned toward the door. “I’ll go call for an imperial physician right now…”

Unexpectedly, Helan Ji gripped his waist and held him in place. “No need. He won’t die.”

His tone was calm to the point of cruelty. He repeated, “Wei Huai, pay your respects to the Noble Consort. Otherwise, I will charge you with the crime of disrespect.”

Qixue froze, shocked by Helan Ji’s ruthlessness. Wei Huai’s head hung low, his breathing rapid from the pain. Upon hearing this, he laughed instead.

He said, “I know you too well, Helan Ji. You’re making things so difficult for me and forcing me to bow to A Xue because you’re jealous.”

“Did you use the Nightmare Demons to eavesdrop on our conversation? If you heard it, then you should know you’ve already surpassed me by so much. Yet you still can’t tolerate me—you harbor jealousy toward me.”

“You’re jealous of the bond A Xue and I shared in the past, jealous that he sees me as someone close and pities me.”

“I imprisoned him and forced him to marry me. You wanted him to hate me, but he didn’t. He forgave me generously. So you couldn’t let it go. You wanted A Xue to truly hate me, but you couldn’t bear to trouble him, so you targeted me personally.”

Helan Ji’s expression grew cold. “Enough.”

Wei Huai coughed up bloody foam and wiped the blood from his lips with a trembling hand. He sneered, “Helan Ji, you look so ugly when you’re jealous. Sooner or later, you’ll end up like me—jealous of everyone around A Xue until you imprison him—”

With a “whoosh,” numerous Nightmare Demons surged out from the cracks in the floor. They wrenched Wei Huai’s arms behind his back, pressed down on his head and neck, and forced him to kneel toward Qixue.

Wei Huai braced the ground with both arms, resisting the force with all his might. But he was on the brink of unconsciousness, his demon power exhausted. He couldn’t withstand the crushing pressure from so many Nightmare Demons. His head lowered inch by inch.

“Creak, creak…”

His bones emitted crisp sounds, as if they might snap at any moment. Just like that, the Nightmare Demons manipulated him into performing a kneeling bow to Qixue.

After the bow, Wei Huai had fallen unconscious. His hands had gripped too hard, reopening the wounds on his wrists. Blood soaked his sleeves and dripped steadily to the floor.

“Take him to the Imperial Hospital,” Helan Ji said.

The Nightmare Demons writhed with their pitch-black, slender shadows and carried Wei Huai away.

Helan Ji turned to Qixue. Qixue stood dazed, still stunned. Suddenly, a tall figure loomed over him. A pair of icy hands caressed his cheeks, then captured his lips in a deep kiss.

He had never sought Qixue so urgently before. Even his tentacles eagerly climbed up Qixue’s legs, quickly kissing him until his whole body went limp and his cheeks flushed with intoxicating pink.

Qixue wrapped his arms around Helan Ji’s shoulders and submissively offered himself up. His calves enthusiastically rubbed against the tentacles, kicking off his embroidered shoes and silk stockings, then lightly tapping the black fleshy masses.

He keenly sensed that beneath this pathological fervor lay Helan Ji’s turbulent heart. Wei Huai’s words had affected him deeply.

He was seeking love and reassurance from Qixue. Of course, Qixue had to comply fully and satisfy him, leaving no room for any sense of distance or neglect. He wanted to prove that he loved Helan Ji and had no space in his heart for anyone else.

Layer upon layer of heavy court robes fell to the floor. Helan Ji scooped Qixue up and carried him into the inner chamber. Held princess-style in Helan Ji’s arms, Qixue hooked one hand around his neck and used the other to undo Helan Ji’s collar. He kissed the prominent Adam’s apple on his pale neck.

Helan Ji’s breathing grew heavy from the seduction. Yet Qixue felt it wasn’t enough. With seductive, affectionate eyes, he murmured into his ear.

“A’Man brother, now we’re truly husband and wife. I like children, especially ones from you and me. Can A’Man brother make me pregnant tonight? Just thinking about carrying your child makes me…”

He whispered two words into Helan Ji’s ear—very fittingly—a drop of water fell to the ground.

“…”

Helan Ji’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes darkening like ink that wouldn’t dissolve. He carried Qixue to the bed and let down the bed curtains.

Through the curtains, one could vaguely see a pair of slender legs raised high, toes swaying. It took a long time before they lowered, but the person inside still didn’t emerge.

It wasn’t until just before dinner that the Nightmare Demons carried hot water into the inner chamber. Eunuch Xue stood outside the door, waiting for Helan Ji’s summons for the meal.

Qixue was too exhausted to maintain his human form. He simply transformed back into Rabbit Tuan, sprawling like a rabbit pancake on Helan Ji’s chest. With his three-petaled mouth, he nibbled on a strand of Helan Ji’s black hair, playing with it.

Helan Ji gently stroked Rabbit Tuan’s soft fur. After a long silence, he finally spoke. “Don’t you think I look too ugly?”

Rabbit Tuan perked up one ear and twitched the tip, indicating he was listening. Helan Ji continued, “Wei Huai was right. I punished him by making him bow to you because jealousy stirred in my heart. I had to make him acknowledge your status as Noble Consort.”

He had sent the Nightmare Demons to track Wei Huai, following him all the way to Chenglu Palace. Not long after, the Nightmare Demons returned and repeated the conversation between Qixue and Wei Huai to him.

Only then did he learn that Qixue’s former lover was Wei Huai, and they hadn’t fully severed ties. Qixue still harbored feelings from the past and felt sorry for Wei Huai’s injuries. Wei Huai was even more devoted, never forgetting Qixue for a moment.

Twisted jealousy bred and spread in his heart. He couldn’t control the violence within. Knowing intellectually that Qixue had a former lover was one thing; seeing it firsthand was another. In that instant, he truly wanted to kill Wei Huai.

The backlash from the witchcraft struck fiercely, splitting his head open like an axe had cleaved it in two. The pain nearly made him vomit. It eased only after Qixue later admitted that Wei Huai couldn’t compare to him.

Once he recovered enough to stand and walk, Helan Ji left Jianzhang Hall immediately and hurried to Chenglu Palace.

He could sense Qixue’s emotions, so even when Qixue came out to greet him, he still felt the lingering unease in his heart—like shackles binding his ferocity and forcing him to calm down.

Qixue cared for him, and he wanted nothing more than to cherish Qixue in return. Thus, he tried his utmost to control himself, to prevent his emotions from spiraling and letting his darkest, ugliest side frighten Qixue.

But he hadn’t controlled himself well enough. Wei Huai knew him too well and mercilessly exposed him. He hadn’t let Wei Huai off easy either, forcing him to bow and shattering his hopes completely.

He had done it, but afterward, he felt a twinge of regret.

No matter what, Wei Huai was a friend he had known since childhood—the only friend he had, his right-hand man. They shouldn’t have reached such an awkward impasse.

Wei Huai said he had stolen his wife, and Helan Ji did feel some guilt. But there was one thing he would never yield: his Yuan Yuan. At least not while he was alive.

If only he could have reunited with Yuan Yuan sooner, instead of when he was about to burn out. He didn’t have many years left.

As for what happened after his death, he would set Yuan Yuan free to choose as his heart desired.

Perhaps stay in the Imperial Palace as the honorable Empress Dowager; perhaps return to his hometown as a free little rabbit; or perhaps… be with Wei Huai. He believed Wei Huai had the ability to protect Yuan Yuan fully.

As for Yuan Yuan’s talk of bearing heirs, he wouldn’t consider it.

He appreciated Yuan Yuan’s intentions, but he was a dying man. Death was no great loss—why drag Yuan Yuan into the suffering of childbirth?

After his death, if Yuan Yuan carried young children, life would be far harder. Without children, Yuan Yuan would fare better. He wouldn’t sacrifice the one he loved for illusory descendants.

A faint bitterness rose and spread in Helan Ji’s heart. How he wished Yuan Yuan’s blessings were real—that he could live to a hundred and accompany Yuan Yuan forever.

It was probably just his delusion.

Helan Ji closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt the soft little thing on his chest hop upward, nuzzling against his ear. The warm, fluffy ball affectionately snuggled into his neck, rubbing his earlobe.

“Why does Your Majesty think himself so ugly? I think Your Majesty looks especially handsome when jealous for my sake. I like it when Your Majesty gets jealous—it proves how much you love me.”

Rabbit Tuan nibbled his hair coquettishly. “But I don’t want Your Majesty to be jealous for me. I don’t want to see you sad. I love Your Majesty so much. I love how you pamper and cherish me. My husband is only Your Majesty. Wei Huai is just a friend to me. How can a friend compare to a husband?”

“Your Majesty, believe me. Don’t be sad…”

Rabbit Tuan rolled coquettishly on the pillow, rubbing against Helan Ji’s face. The fluffy rabbit fur brushed his cheek and neck, sweeping away the gloom in his heart and dissolving the shadows between his brows.

“Good Yuan Yuan, I’m not sad.”

He cradled Rabbit Tuan, kissed his rabbit ears, then his rabbit tail. Rabbit Tuan instantly turned pink and said shyly, “The tail… you can’t kiss the tail.”

“Then I’ll kiss here.”

Helan Ji held Rabbit Tuan’s front paws and kissed the round rabbit paws, then planted one on the soft rabbit belly.

…

Several days later.

Clansmen and vassal kings from various regions gathered successively in Shangjing. Ji Yuheng’s convoy also arrived just outside the suburbs from Nanping County.

In the carriage, the handsome and refined youth lifted the curtain with his folding fan. The majestic and splendid White Jade City Tower of Shangjing entered his view, gleaming faintly like scattered stardust falling into gentle lake waters.

He had finally arrived in Shangjing.