Chapter 13: Standing Up for Him
“Gree-greetings, Your Majesty…”
Xu Huayi knelt down, her face pale.
Feng Qi paid her no mind, simply walking over to Wen Ning’an, taking off his outer robe, and draping it over him. Wen Ning’an felt a piece of silk, faintly scented with dragon’s saliva incense, fall over his head, shielding him from the venomous sun. Then, the pressure on his knees vanished as he was lifted into Feng Qi’s arms.
Wen Ning’an’s mouth and tongue were too dry to speak. He just leaned his head slightly against Feng Qi’s solid chest, no longer forcing himself to be strong, and let the dizziness gradually strip away his consciousness…
Feng Qi looked at Wen Ning’an in his arms. The skin exposed outside the white robe was slightly blistered and red, his face was flushed, his consciousness was hazy, and his knees were injured. He felt an urge to kill everyone who had harmed him, and he also wanted to slap himself twice.
So what if I’m an emperor? So what if I have power over the world?
The Empress Dowager frowned, about to say something, but was startled by Feng Qi’s murderous gaze. Her heart skipped a beat. She never would have expected that after half a lifetime of navigating the palace, she would be intimidated by this little wolf cub.
The more the Empress Dowager thought about it, the angrier she became. She could no longer hold back and said coldly, “Huaitian, this Dowager is teaching General Wen how to be a subject. You should not interfere.”
“Teaching?” Feng Qi said with a blank expression. “Yixin is not a woman of the inner palace, nor does he belong to the rear court. The Empress Dowager need not worry. Just manage these women who prance around and stir up trouble in front of your son all day. Your son will handle the affairs of the court himself.”
After speaking, Feng Qi glanced at Xu Huayi.
The Empress Dowager’s face immediately darkened. How could she not know the hidden meaning in Feng Qi’s words?
“Xu Huayi… heh, I will give you two choices.”
He couldn’t kill Xu Huayi, firstly because of the Li family and the Empress Dowager, and secondly because he didn’t want Wen Ning’an to bear the crime of being a disastrous beauty. It also wasn’t logical. But making someone’s life worse than death—that was something Feng Qi was best at.
“Either the Exposure Chamber or the Phoenix Pavilion. Choose for yourself. Where do you want to go?”
Xu Huayi’s eyes widened, and her eyes gradually turned red. The Cold Palace was absolutely not an option; to go there would be to ruin her entire life. But if she went to the Phoenix Pavilion… Unlike the Dragon Pavilion, the women in the Phoenix Pavilion actually served the Empress. To put it bluntly, they were the Empress’s maids, just a little more noble than ordinary maids, as they were all women of talent and beauty specially selected by the palace, with a status higher than that of commoners.
If she went to the Phoenix Pavilion, wouldn’t she be tormented to death by the Empress and the Li family? Even if the Empress didn’t use any tricks, losing her consort title and being demoted to a mere maid, falling from the clouds to the ground in one day—the “when a wall falls, everyone pushes” effect would be enough for Xu Huayi to suffer.
“Your Majesty, what have I done wrong to deserve such cruelty from you!”
“What have you done wrong? Sowing discord between the court and the inner palace, whispering nonsense in my Empress Mother’s ear—is that not enough?”
Xu Huayi knelt before Feng Qi and tried to argue, “Your Majesty’s every word is a stab to the heart, all based on conjecture. How can anyone be convinced!”
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow, glanced at Wen Ning’an in his arms, and smiled. “When the Empress Mother made Yixin kneel here, wasn’t that also based on conjecture? Was there any solid evidence? Or does it mean that when I punish my own inner palace, I have to get the Xu family’s permission? Xu Huayi, you have some nerve.”
Xu Huayi trembled.
Although Feng Qi was not in a towering rage like last time, his current expressionless face and the turbulent undercurrent in his eyes were even more terrifying. She felt so oppressed by him that she could barely breathe, as if she were surrounded by countless landmines, liable to lose her life and be blown to pieces at any moment. The occasional curve of his lips as he spoke was even more chilling.
Feng Qi had already… already developed a killing intent towards her! Any more pleading would be futile. Xu Huayi turned to the Empress Dowager and cried, “Empress Dowager, save Huayi! Save Huayi!”
The Empress Dowager sighed and shook her head slightly.
She was not unaware of what Feng Qi had done for Wen Ning’an before, but Xu Ren was from a branch family, and Xu Huayi had always been on bad terms with Feng Qi, so the Empress Dowager couldn’t be sure of Feng Qi’s true feelings for Wen Ning’an. But now, Feng Qi was actually confronting her for Wen Ning’an. Wasn’t everything clear?
Seeing Xu Huayi crying and kneeling at the side, Feng Qi smiled. “Can’t choose? Then I’ll help you. A bolt of white silk, one and done.”
The Empress Dowager sighed again and said slowly, “Let Huayi go and serve the Empress to learn a thing or two.”
It’s better than that Cold Palace, from which there is no return.
The servants behind Feng Qi stepped forward to “escort” Xu Huayi away, but Feng Qi stopped them.
“Wait, take these with you.” Feng Qi pointed to the Buddhist scriptures that Xu Huayi had thrown on the ground. “Go and copy these scriptures ten times. Fu Che, give the order. If Xu Huayi doesn’t finish copying, don’t prepare any food for her.”
Xu Huayi looked at the thick stack of densely written scriptures and broke down.
After the limp Xu Huayi was dragged away, Feng Qi didn’t even bid farewell, simply carrying Wen Ning’an and leaving the Buddhist hall.
Before leaving, as if remembering something, Feng Qi looked back and smiled at the Empress Dowager. “After this incident, your son has realized how devout the Empress Mother is to the Buddha. It was your son’s negligence. I will immediately order the Empress to take over all of the Empress Mother’s duties. For this month, the Empress Mother need not leave the Buddhist hall. For the Empress Mother’s sake, I’m sure the Empress won’t complain about a little extra work.”
With that, Feng Qi left without looking back, leaving behind the pale-faced, dazed Empress Dowager.
Feng Qi carried Wen Ning’an all the way back to the bedchamber. Wen Ning’an was thin-skinned and would normally never allow himself to have any ambiguous interactions with Feng Qi in public. But now, he was in pain and discomfort all over, his head was dizzy, and he couldn’t even walk, so he didn’t want to bother with such things, nor did he want to be coy.
Feng Qi gently placed Wen Ning’an on the soft Dragon Bed. But as soon as Wen Ning’an lay flat, he convulsed, propped himself up on the mattress, and vomited violently into the spittoon by the bed.
Feng Qi patted Wen Ning’an’s back to help him catch his breath, feeling both heartbroken and anxious. He turned and roared at Fu Che, “Where is the imperial physician? Why isn’t the imperial physician here yet!”
Wen Ning’an grabbed Feng Qi’s hand. “It’s nothing… I just can’t quite recover. Don’t worry, I’m a general, after all…”
“Don’t talk.” Feng Qi let Wen Ning’an lean against him. Even for a general, kneeling under the sun during the hottest part of the day for an entire afternoon was serious. An ordinary person would have lost half their life.
Just as he was speaking, the imperial physician finally arrived under Feng Qi’s anxious gaze.
After taking Wen Ning’an’s pulse and examining him, the old imperial physician said slowly, “Your Majesty need not worry. General Wen has a good constitution. He will be fine after a period of rest.”
The old imperial physician explained the precautions and necessary actions to Feng Qi in detail, such as taking a cool bath, applying ointment, eating a light diet, and so on.
Fu Che had a servant write it all down. Then, Feng Qi dismissed the imperial physician to receive his reward, while he himself picked up Wen Ning’an again and carried him to the private bathroom in the bedchamber.
The pool in the bathroom was not as large as the one in the hot spring hall, but it was more than enough for the two of them.
Feng Qi carefully removed Wen Ning’an’s clothes. Wen Ning’an was stunned and, blushing, grabbed Feng Qi’s hand. “The rest… I… I’ll do it myself.”
After Wen Ning’an had taken off all his clothes, he slowly immersed himself in the pool. The water on his injuries made him hiss in pain.
“Yixin, it was my fault…” Feng Qi sat by the pool, reached out, and touched Wen Ning’an’s slightly feverish forehead, feeling as if his heart were bleeding.
The person I swore to protect ended up like this.
Useless, truly useless!
Wen Ning’an soaked in the pool. The initial discomfort had faded, and the burning pain on his body was gradually soothed by the cool water. He relaxed a little, leaned against the wall, and had the energy to chat with Feng Qi.
“It’s nothing. I don’t feel wronged at all.” Wen Ning’an smiled with satisfaction. “The way Your Majesty treats me so well, it makes me feel apprehensive…”
“Nonsense. It’s clearly you who treats me better.” Feng Qi paused and added, “I lost my composure the other day. I didn’t mean to lose my temper at you. You know I wasn’t angry at you.”
Wen Ning’an was stunned for a moment, then said, “I was also at fault. I didn’t mean to contradict you…”
“It’s alright. I understand. I understand everything. You were doing it for my own good, you didn’t want me to become a fatuous ruler.”
They both chuckled softly.
“Yixin, let’s go to the summer villa.”
Wen Ning’an was taken aback.
Feng Qi continued, “I’ll take you there to relax. It’s too vexing in this palace. You’re used to being wild at the frontier. I know you don’t like it.”
What Feng Qi didn’t say was that he had dealt with Xu Huayi, and the Xu family would surely not let it rest. Feng Qi didn’t want to see the Xu family’s people splash blood in the Golden Throne Hall during morning court or deal with a pile of their petitions. More importantly, he didn’t want Wen Ning’an to stay in the capital and face their revenge and relentless pursuit. After all, it’s not the open robbery that’s to be feared, but the hidden arrow that’s hard to dodge.
Although Feng Qi didn’t say it aloud, Wen Ning’an was not stupid. He knew in his heart that Feng Qi wanted to take him away to avoid the recent turmoil in the court, so he just smiled and nodded.
“At the summer villa, it will just be us. We can do whatever we want then.” Feng Qi stroked the top of Wen Ning’an’s head. “Alright, the imperial physician said not to soak for too long. Get up.”
Feng Qi helped Wen Ning’an up and took the towel handed over by a eunuch.
Being naked in front of Feng Qi made Wen Ning’an feel extremely embarrassed, but Feng Qi insisted on drying him off himself.
“You have blisters on your body. The imperial physician said they need to be handled carefully and must not be broken. And you’re not well right now, so it’s safer for me to do it. I also have to apply ointment for you later.”
Wen Ning’an said awkwardly, “Huaitian, these things can be done by the servants…”
The Son of Heaven, how can he do such servant’s work?
“It’s fine.” Feng Qi raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want anyone else to see your body.”
Wen Ning’an was so embarrassed that he turned his head and no longer looked at Feng Qi. This person… why is he becoming more and more improper…
