Li Zhaoyi was still panting.
He wasn’t exactly a skilled rider; the sum total of his experience was the few hours Yun Yin had taught him.
Along the way, he had nearly been thrown from the horse several times. If not for the care Yun Yin had taken while instructing him, giving him a solid enough foundation, he would definitely have some injuries.
Of course, there was another reason.
Li Zhaoyi thought, perhaps he wasn’t that stupid after all.
The moment he arrived, he knew he’d made the right choice.
Within the palace grounds, silence had been restored, but the traces of the struggle remained.
In less than half an hour, it would be fully dawn.
By then, news of the palace events would rapidly spread to every corner. And when he arrived, he saw the fire at the secondary residence, which had just been extinguished. He realized this might also have been part of Li Chunjin’s objective.
If a peaceful cooperation was possible, that would be ideal.
But if the plan failed, with him, the Emperor, gone, Yun Yin would have only two choices.
Either ascend the throne himself and bear the infamy, or cooperate with Li Chunjin.
And Li Chunjin also understood Yun Yin. She knew that, deep down, Yun Yin was no traitorous usurper. This method was at least a first step toward forcing cooperation.
Li Zhaoyi pressed his lips tightly together.
The cruelty of power struggles was laid bare before him with a sudden, violent clarity.
Yet he felt unexpectedly calm and resolute.
Just as he was about to speak again, an arm suddenly tightened around his waist.
While he was distracted, Yun Yin had, at some unknown moment, ridden his horse to Li Zhaoyi’s side and scooped him up onto his own steed. Li Zhaoyi’s horse, suddenly without its rider, whinnied and trotted in circles helplessly.
This action caught Li Zhaoyi completely off guard.
His face was pressed against Yun Yin’s chest, unable to move. He felt suffocated and struggled involuntarily, crying out in a small voice, “Yun Yin, what are you doing…”
The man ignored him, pulling him tighter in his arms, his expression unreadable.
He instructed Mu Ke, “Tell Cheng Lan, His Majesty has been found. Recall the men from the secondary residence. Everything else continues as planned. Today’s morning court is suspended.”
Mu Ke bowed. “Yes.”
The moment Li Zhaoyi had appeared, Mu Ke felt an immense wave of relief.
By now, he certainly understood how the situation had developed. Li Zhaoyi’s appearance was a godsend. With him here, the subsequent matters would be much easier to handle.
He looked at Li Zhaoyi with a gaze full of gratitude and complexity.
The gratitude needed no explanation.
As for the complexity…
He knew his master’s temperament all too well.
If Li Zhaoyi had escaped today, his fate might have been very grim. After all, it would be considered a betrayal of Yun Yin.
But Mu Ke had a feeling that if it were Li Zhaoyi… no matter how grim, it wouldn’t be too bad. Yun Yin wouldn’t want him dead. The worst-case scenario was finding him and confining him within the palace.
Confined, but well-fed and cared for. With Li Zhaoyi’s naturally disarming face and temperament, in time, maybe once Yun Yin lost interest, he might even truly let him go.
But he came back today.
Regardless of the reason, he had actively chosen to stand by Yun Yin’s side.
…Knowing Yun Yin as Mu Ke did.
This time, no matter what, he probably wouldn’t let Li Zhaoyi go again.
Of course, what Yun Yin’s attitude would ultimately be depended on the true reason for Li Zhaoyi’s return.
Mu Ke prayed inwardly.
…Your Majesty.
He thought.
You really must think carefully before you speak.
While Mu Ke’s heart was tangled in complex emotions, Li Zhaoyi couldn’t focus on anything at all.
At this moment, he was completely enveloped in Yun Yin’s embrace, held so tightly he couldn’t move. The galloping horse jolted him dizzily; he could only passively clutch at Yun Yin’s clothes, not daring to let go.
He felt something was very wrong with this posture. It was only when they reached the dismounting point that he finally found a fitting description.
It was like…
He thought hazily.
Like a triumphant general, carrying off his beloved spoils of war.
He didn’t know where Yun Yin was taking him, nor what Yun Yin was thinking now. It wasn’t until the horse stopped that he opened his eyes, dizzy and disoriented, and saw they weren’t far from Bright Clarity Hall.
Yun Yin helped him dismount. His legs were so weak that he nearly collapsed.
When he looked up again, he saw the wreckage strewn across the ground.
This was the aftermath of war.
Li Zhaoyi’s fists clenched instantly.
Yun Yin’s voice sounded beside his ear. “Do you know whose people these are?”
His voice was devoid of emotion, truly concealing his feelings. But after becoming familiar, he almost never showed this side of himself in front of Li Zhaoyi. When he spoke to him, it was usually in a teasing tone.
Playful, yet gentle.
Li Zhaoyi bit his lip.
He knew he couldn’t escape this interrogation.
After a moment’s hesitation, he chose to tell the truth. “I know.”
“They’re… Eldest Sister’s.”
Yun Yin looked at him, stating a fact. “Lu Zhong told you everything.”
Hearing that name, Li Zhaoyi’s head snapped up.
After a pause, he said with difficulty, “…Yes.”
While he clung to some hope, the possibility of hiding this from Yun Yin was too small. He clenched his fists tighter and tighter.
He wanted to explain, but Yun Yin had already skipped over that topic.
He said, “Will you walk inside yourself, or should I carry you in?”
Li Zhaoyi was startled.
After a moment, he understood: Yun Yin meant they were going into Bright Clarity Hall.
He said quietly, “I can walk.”
He thought Yun Yin was being considerate of his weak legs.
And they were indeed weak.
The extended horseback riding, plus the embrace just moments ago that had squeezed the breath from him, had left his legs trembling slightly.
But he wanted Yun Yin to carry him even less; that would be too humiliating.
He walked toward Bright Clarity Hall, even quickening his pace for a few steps to prove his legs weren’t weak. Almost the instant he drew near the hall, a circle of silent, disciplined soldiers surrounded him.
They all wore heavy armor, carrying a faint scent of rust.
Silently, they formed an impenetrable barricade.
Li Zhaoyi bit his lip.
He didn’t dare hesitate any longer. But just before entering the hall, he turned his head. “Yun Yin.”
Yun Yin stood with the light behind him, his expression unreadable.
He said, “What is it?”
“Can you… not blame Lu Zhong?” Li Zhaoyi’s words were a little incoherent. “He is very loyal to you. He just wanted to fulfill a promise to me, really. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you. But can you, please… not hurt him first?”
This wasn’t the right moment to say this.
According to Li Zhaoyi’s original plan, this should have come out when Yun Yin interrogated him, where he’d explain word for word. Along with his bond with Lu Zhong, and their plan for the escape route.
From the moment Lu Zhong said they had to split up, Li Zhaoyi knew Lu Zhong wasn’t planning to survive.
Leaving the palace sounds easy, but doing it was incredibly hard.
All under Heaven is the King’s land.
If Lu Zhong fled together with Li Zhaoyi, they’d be completely blind to the Capital’s movements. If Li Zhaoyi guessed correctly, Lu Zhong had intended to stay behind to mislead Yun Yin, buying Li Zhaoyi the maximum time to escape.
After all, as a former subordinate of Yun Yin, he knew the covert guards’ movements best.
But Li Zhaoyi didn’t want that.
He didn’t want his freedom to be built on Lu Zhong’s death; if that happened, he’d never be happy for the rest of his life.
Only if he returned and personally pleaded with Yun Yin would there be any chance for Lu Zhong to be spared.
Otherwise, Lu Zhong would certainly die.
But it seemed Yun Yin wasn’t ready to interrogate him yet.
He didn’t know where Yun Yin was going or where Lu Zhong was now. He could only blurt out the most urgent thing first, lest Yun Yin, in a fit of rage, kill Lu Zhong before even learning the truth.
Li Zhaoyi’s nerves were stretched taut, watching Yun Yin’s expression closely.
From the moment he started speaking, Yun Yin hadn’t moved.
Standing against the morning sun, his expression was impossible to read. It wasn’t until Li Zhaoyi finished that he spoke.
He said, “All of you, withdraw.”
The surrounding people receded like the tide. Li Zhaoyi watched as Yun Yin walked closer step by step, entering the hall, and even closing the hall doors behind him.
No lamps were lit inside.
With the doors shut and the windows closed, the entire Bright Clarity Hall instantly plunged into a dim twilight.
The morning light was blocked outside the doors.
Li Zhaoyi stood where he was, a little nervous, a little lost.
He didn’t know why Yun Yin had come in, but Yun Yin didn’t seem angry. That should be a good sign.
His throat was dry. He was about to speak again when his waist was suddenly seized.
Li Zhaoyi’s eyes widened.
His chin was tilted upwards.
In the next moment, a hand on his waist pulled him staggering into the other’s embrace. Something warm covered his lips. His breath hitched sharply, but his lips and teeth were already being pried open.
The first time Li Zhaoyi learned about kissing was a very incidental occurrence.
He was still very young then, and had stumbled upon a eunuch and a palace maid tangled together in the woods behind the Cold Palace. He’d been terribly frightened and even snapped a twig on his way back.
He was scared out of his wits at the time, but after Lu Zhong explained it, the fear turned into something more like envy.
He hadn’t understood what “paired meals” or romantic love was back then. He’d only vaguely grasped that those two people shared a bond closer than others. He thought, having someone to depend on, to rely on, to support each other in this cold palace… that might be a good thing.
But as he grew a little older, this thing seemed less beautiful.
He often felt prying gazes on him.
Sticky, greedy gazes. Like vipers lurking in the shadows.
A drunk Managing Eunuch had broken into his room in the dead of night, squinting and fumbling in the darkness, trying to kiss his face and undo his belt. He had lashed out wildly with the knife Lu Zhong had given him for self-defense.
When dawn broke, the floor was slick with blood.
He’d gagged the still-groaning man and, in a panic, summoned Lu Zhong using the signal they’d agreed upon.
He never saw that eunuch again.
Lu Zhong had stroked his hair and remained silent for a very long time.
That was the first time he saw Lu Zhong’s hands tremble.
For a long time afterward, any physical intimacy became a shadow haunting him.
He deliberately avoided everyone. For a period, he slept curled up inside a wardrobe, waking from nightmares. It wasn’t until he grew older and truly understood things that these nightmare-like reactions gradually eased.
The real turning point was that snowy day.
Yun Yin had carried him from the icy surface back to the shore.
Even though their breaths were so close, he felt no disgust or revulsion.
From that moment on, he emerged from the nightmare that had plagued him for so long. From then on, the sticky scent of rust… was replaced by the scent of fresh snow.
Li Zhaoyi leaned against the door panel behind him, his body limp.
His waist was still seized. Unable to find any leverage, he kept sliding downwards. He was forced to cling to the shoulders of the man before him just to avoid collapsing to the floor.
His breathing came in quick, fragmented gasps. The presence of the man surrounded him from all directions. At some point, a broken sound escaped his throat. His fingers, clutching the man’s clothes, were bone-white at the knuckles, like a pitiful, helpless little beast.
Yun Yin’s expression seemed casual, but his actions were forceful.
Li Zhaoyi suspected his waist was already bruised black and blue. He whimpered, his eyelashes trembling.
But he was trapped between the door and Yun Yin’s embrace, with nowhere to go.
He didn’t know how long it was before he was finally released.
Fresh air rushed into his nostrils. Dazedly, he braced himself against the door panel behind him. Something warm slid down from the corner of his eye. Through the blur of tears, he saw in the other’s eyes a reflection of his own disheveled state.
Outside, the crisp chirping of morning birds.
He was pressed against the door of his own bedchamber, kissed so brazenly, so wantonly. The humiliation made him tremble.
In the cold, still air, Yun Yin’s hand wiped across his lips.
Li Zhaoyi didn’t know why Yun Yin had suddenly done this, nor what this kiss truly meant. Everything had happened so abruptly. His lips were numb from the onslaught; even a slight touch from Yun Yin’s fingers stung lightly.
He panted, bewildered, his gaze slightly hazy.
Then, he heard Yun Yin’s voice.
Yun Yin’s voice was noticeably hoarse. That kiss just moments ago had finally allowed Li Zhaoyi a glimpse of the turbulent emotions surging beneath Yun Yin’s suppressed surface. It finally dawned on him, belatedly, that Yun Yin was perhaps far from being as calm as he appeared on the surface.
Perhaps he should have waited before discussing this.
But it was already too late.
Yun Yin looked at him and spoke, his tone deliberately slow. “Li Zhaoyi, so you came back… just to plead for Lu Zhong’s life?”
