The Emperor Reads Storybooks Hidden in His Official Reports 57

Chapter 57: Honesty

Zhao Linxu stared blankly at Li Jianyu.

The person before him had a hint of awkwardness and embarrassment in his eyes, a touch of unwillingness to admit defeat, but more than that, a look of determination.

“So, if anything happens in the future, just tell me,” Li Jianyu said with a frown. “I am also someone you can trust and rely on.”

Zhao Linxu paused for a moment.

After E Zhu had mentioned the marriage alliance, all Zhao Linxu had thought about was how to solve it, how to gain an advantage. But he had never once had the thought of marrying her, not even a little. He had had a plan for this matter from the beginning, but Zhao Linxu was an emperor, used to restraining his emotions, and had not made any statement.

Besides…

Zhao Linxu had to admit that he was not completely sure of Li Jianyu’s emotions and his feelings for him. Therefore, he had been a little reserved on this matter, wanting to see how Li Jianyu would react.

A dignified emperor, although he knew it was wrong, couldn’t help but be a little narrow-minded.

“Yes, you are.”

Zhao Linxu’s heart was moved. He stepped forward and held Li Jianyu with extreme gentleness.

“Little Carp, I was just talking to E Zhu about the marriage alliance when I walked out of the main tent. I don’t want to make any more plans. I know you’re not happy,” Zhao Linxu said in a low voice. “I have already rejected her outright. I should have done so from the beginning. I was wrong… I’m a bastard.”

Because it was Li Jianyu…

He was different.

Since he had decided to be with Li Jianyu forever, the serious kind, then he should not have deceived him like this.

“I swear,” Zhao Linxu said, taking a deep breath. “I, Zhao Linxu, will never have anyone else in this life.”

“Mm.” Li Jianyu looked at him with a grin.

Zhao Linxu looked at the person before him. A red robe, his eyes and brows curved.

Thump—!

Li Jianyu’s eyes widened, and he stared blankly at the man who had suddenly pressed him down.

“Little Carp, I love you.”

“…”

????!

“Th-that…”

Li Jianyu stammered, his hand on Zhao Linxu’s back, feeling his heartbeat getting more and more out of control.

“I…”

“It’s no matter. I understand.” Zhao Linxu lowered his head and kissed Li Jianyu. This kiss was gentle and timeless, four lips pressed together, as if they were gathering honey from each other.

The temperature in the tent was already high, but now Li Jianyu felt even hotter.

His sash was untied, and his robes were wide open, allowing the enemy to invade.

XXXXXX

Half a month later, the war drums beat again.

The first battle was ultimately initiated by the Great Gong.

On this day, it was the dead of winter, with heavy snow, and marching was more difficult than usual. The Great Xi’s soldiers were all huddled inside the city walls, comfortably drinking strong liquor and eating grilled meat, thinking that the Great Gong would definitely not attack in this weather.

The war between the two countries had been in a stalemate for a long time, and the Great Xi had already relaxed its guard. Therefore, they only realized something was wrong when the formation was half-broken. After all, even the people of the Great Xi themselves could not enter the formation; only the Green Lotus Cult had a way.

“Repel the enemy and fight for the glory of the Great Xi!!”

“Protect Huanyue City and His Majesty!”

“His Majesty has done so much for the people. How can he be bad to us commoners and soldiers? Fight for His Majesty!”

The Great Xi’s army on this expedition was divided among five powerful generals, with Rong Qing as the leader. At this moment, the five generals were boosting morale. The soldiers below did not know that they had been planted with a gu that would slowly eat away at their lives, and were shouting to fight for the Great Xi. They also did not know that their emperor was being imprisoned in the main tent, bullied day and night, and were shouting to fight for the Emperor.

Rong Qing looked at the grand scene before him with a slight frown, but his stomach was churning.

Disgusting… disgusting.

That’s right, it was disgusting. Rong Qing found the scene before him really hard to accept.

“General Rong! Let’s set off!” a deputy general at the side said with a laugh and a shout. “Let’s kill the enemy and that Ghost-Faced Army that betrayed His Majesty back to their hometown!”

“Let’s go.”

Thud—

And outside the city walls, the North-South army and the Ghost-Faced Army had ferociously broken through the gates of Huanyue City and successfully invaded.

The two armies fought a fierce battle. Li Jianyu rode beside Zhao Linxu without any retreat.

Li Jianyu was also half a commander in this battle. After all, he was the one who understood these formations the best here. According to the discussions and mutual learning with Xing Huan and Dan Xi these past few days, Li Jianyu could indeed easily lead the two armies around the Bagua formation and find a breakthrough. After that, the army had wiped out the obstructing enemy in one fell swoop and pushed open the city gates.

Zhao Linxu pulled Li Jianyu onto his own horse to protect him. Li Jianyu frowned. “Wasn’t that too easy?”

“Breaking into the city?”

“Yes.”

Zhao Linxu also had this feeling.

The reason why there was not much obstruction in breaking the formation was because of Li Jianyu’s knowledge and the preparations with Dan Xi beforehand. But what happened afterwards was indeed strange.

The city gates of Huanyue City were not so… fragile?

It felt like the city walls had been tampered with.

“We’ll deal with whatever comes our way. It’s no matter. We have our own countermeasures.” Zhao Linxu spurred his horse and charged towards the enemy with Zhao Zhanqi.

“Kill————”

Outside, the sounds of killing shook the heavens, but it was slightly better outside the main tent, although the difference was not great.

Feng Juheng, in full armor, stood at the side, listening to the battle report.

The person before him was one of Rong Qing’s deputy generals, who was now kneeling before Feng Juheng, reporting.

“The city gates have been broken?” Feng Juheng raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“I know.” Feng Juheng shook his head and waved his hand for the deputy general to retreat.

And the next moment, something unexpected happened.

The deputy general suddenly stood up and attacked, holding a dagger and shouting as he pounced at Feng Juheng.

Clang!

The dagger was sent flying. The deputy general was fast, but Feng Juheng was even faster. His move was not only fast and precise, but also ruthless. He directly broke the deputy general’s hand.

“Oh? Now you’re done for,” Feng Juheng said, crossing his arms and smiling at the deputy general. “To put all your eggs in one basket, if you fail, you’ll wish you were dead.”

The deputy general pressed on his wrist, his gaze fierce as he looked at Feng Juheng, gritting his teeth. “To treat His Majesty and our soldiers like this, you will get your retribution!”

Feng Juheng raised an eyebrow.

These… who had told the deputy general? And who had instigated him?

Feng Juheng’s mind was racing. He looked at the deputy general. “That’s a real pity. You’ll be dead and won’t be able to see my retribution.”

“No, he will.”

Feng Juheng was startled.

Not far away, a tall man stood at the side, holding a blood-dripping longsword. The man’s features were covered by a mask, and only a pair of eyes like those of a ghost-asura could be seen.

The Ghost-Faced General, Xu Zheng.

Feng Juheng sneered. “To be able to break through the defenses here, the Ghost-Faced General’s martial arts are really high.”

Feng Juheng knew very well that he was no match for Xu Zheng, so he immediately gestured to a personal guard at the side, telling him to quickly go and get reinforcements.

Damn it.

What on earth happened to Rong Qing! Why was Xu Zheng able to break in here! And how could he have killed the guards outside without a sound?

“You overpraise me.”

With that, Xu Zheng drew his sword and charged at Feng Juheng.

Feng Juheng… Feng Juheng!

He could finally kill this beast with his own hands!

Kill this beast!

Xu Zheng swung his sword like a madman, not caring if Feng Juheng’s sword would harm him. He only attacked, not defended, like a hungry ghost that had been starving for days, tearing at the enemy.

“Hiss!”

The tip of the sword made a large gash on Feng Juheng’s chest. Feng Juheng let out a muffled grunt and turned to retreat, but Xu Zheng would naturally not let him.

Xu Zheng threw away his sword, switched to a dagger, and pounced again, stabbing it hard into Feng Juheng’s shoulder.

“Do you know what despair is?” Xu Zheng laughed and stabbed another bloody hole in Feng Juheng’s arm, shouting, “Do you know what Hua’er is enduring?”

“Hmph…!”

Feng Juheng’s body trembled from the pain. He could no longer support himself and fell to the ground. Xu Zheng pounced on him and stabbed the dagger hard into his abdomen. “Do you feel even a little bit of it now?!”

“Cough, cough… Xu… cough… Xu Zheng, you madman—!”

“Even if I cut you into a thousand pieces!”

Thud—

A bloody hole was opened in his thigh.

“It will be of no use!”

A bloody hole was opened in his wrist.

Xu Zheng’s eyes were red. He looked at the person beneath him, who was bathed in blood and tattered, but he laughed.

“Feng Juheng! You… deserve to die!”

This time, the dagger was aimed at his heart.

Thump—

At the critical moment, a smoke bomb was thrown towards Xu Zheng and Feng Juheng. Xu Zheng was caught off guard by the poisonous smoke, which filled his eyes and nose. A moment of daze and subconscious resistance allowed Feng Juheng, who was on his last breath and making a last-ditch effort, to push him over.

By the time Xu Zheng reacted, Feng Juheng had already been rescued by reinforcements.

Bastard…!

Xu Zheng sneered coldly.

It didn’t matter.

No matter where he ran, he would kill him.

Xu Zheng held his longsword, looking at the surrounding guards, his eyes deep.

Kill!

And on the other side, Feng Juheng, supported by the guards, stumbled into the main tent.

“Get a doctor! Quick, get a doctor!”

“Your Highness!”

Feng Juheng spat out another mouthful of blood, and the bleeding from his body wouldn’t stop.

Feng Juhua, sitting on the bed, looked at the tragic scene before him, slightly stunned, and looked at Feng Juheng with a blank expression.

“Cough… cough…” Feng Juheng lay on the bed and looked at the person beside him with a smile. “Is brother’s heart aching now?”

The guards had all retreated, and the doctor was on his way. Only the two of them were left in the tent. Feng Juheng, like a child acting spoiled, pulled on Feng Juhua’s hand. “Is brother’s heart aching? Can you hold me?”

Feng Juheng would always handcuff Feng Juhua’s hands and feet after leaving the tent. At this moment, Feng Juhua looked at Feng Juheng. “If you unlock the chains, I will hold you.”

“Brother still cares for me after all.” Feng Juheng’s eyes narrowed into a smile, and he felt the pain in his body lessen a lot.

After taking out the key and unlocking the chains, Feng Juhua indeed reached out a hand and pulled Feng Juheng into his arms.

“Brother… I like you so much.” Feng Juheng nuzzled Feng Juhua’s cheek, staining his cheek, neck, and white clothes red.

Thud—

Feng Juheng was stunned. He looked down and saw a dagger stuck in his heart, the entire blade embedded, leaving only a small hilt outside.

Feng Juhua did not look at Feng Juheng’s expression. He lowered his head, his hand holding the dagger.

“Brother…” Feng Juheng smiled and buried his head in the crook of Feng Juhua’s neck. “This is good too. It’s better to die in brother’s arms than in the hands of others.”

“This way, brother will remember me forever. Forever, and ever, he will remember me…”

Feng Juhua numbly felt the person in his arms gradually lose his breath and closed his watery eyes.