Chapter 33: Shackles
Outside the Wen Residence, after Wen Ning’an placed his luggage on the carriage, Liangliang and Xingxing also clamored to jump into the carriage.
Wen Ning’an didn’t have much luggage to begin with, but he couldn’t refuse the packets of food and thick clothes his mother had sent, saying that it was now autumn, and if there was a war, it would definitely be in winter, so he had to prepare a few more winter clothes.
“Have a safe journey.” Wen Ningyuan patted Wen Ning’an’s shoulder. “Come back early, and come back safely. With you going on this campaign, Mother will probably go to the Buddhist hall to live again, praying to the Bodhisattva to bless you and bring you back safely.”
“I will take good care of big brother,” Ah Bai, standing beside Wen Ning’an, said obediently.
Wen Ning’an smiled and pinched Ah Bai’s cheek. “You should take good care of yourself first. The place we’re going is a bit chaotic. I’ll have to explain it to you in detail later on the carriage.”
Wen Ning’an had originally not wanted to bring Ah Bai along, but Ah Bai had clung to him, crying and making a fuss, insisting on going with him. Wen Ning’an had no choice. He thought to himself that bringing Ah Bai along would mean one more person to do chores, so he didn’t insist.
Wen Ning’an lifted Ah Bai onto the carriage and said seriously, “I’m leaving. Take good care of our parents and Ningxi.”
“I will.” Wen Ningyuan watched Wen Ning’an’s carriage disappear into the twilight, praying silently for his safety.
The rumbling of the carriage wheels could be faintly heard inside the carriage. This was not an imperial carriage, so Wen Ning’an felt the seats were hard and extremely uncomfortable.
“Sigh…” Wen Ning’an rubbed his temples. He had been spoiled by Feng Qi and had become more and more delicate and picky. If he continued to stay in the palace, he was afraid he would become less and less like a general of the wild. Perhaps in the future, he wouldn’t even be able to live at the frontier.
“Big brother.” Ah Bai sensed that Wen Ning’an’s mood was off and shrank into his embrace, his hands gently wrapped around his waist.
Wen Ning’an looked at Ah Bai and felt as if he were raising a little cotton-padded jacket of a daughter… At this thought, Wen Ning’an couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Ah Bai, what will you do if you can’t find a wife in the future?”
“I don’t want to find a wife. I want to be with big brother forever.” Ah Bai lowered his head and rubbed against Wen Ning’an’s waist. He then took out a bag of biscuits he had gotten from the imperial kitchen from his pocket. Ah Bai found the largest piece and was about to hand it to Wen Ning’an when he saw him rubbing his temples, blinking, and shaking his head, as if he were a little uncomfortable.
“Big brother?”
Wen Ning’an felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier, his mind a muddle of dizziness. He subconsciously reached for the sword at his waist but found that his whole body was limp and weak, as if his bones had been removed. A commotion came from outside the carriage, and the sound of fighting and clashing swords rang in his ears. Wen Ning’an finally couldn’t hold on any longer. His head drooped, and his body gently fell to the side, completely losing consciousness.
At the same time, Ah Bai felt a violent jolt, and then the carriage, with a “boom,” lost its balance and tilted to one side. Ah Bai was immediately thrown out of the carriage.
Outside the carriage, the driver had already been knocked unconscious. A group of men in black surrounded the carriage. Strangely, none of them had any weapons.
Xingxing and Liangliang also rolled out like two balls of fur. Xingxing let out a low growl and looked at the men in black with hostility, as if it were about to pounce. Liangliang immediately leaped up and pressed down on Xingxing, holding down its restless paws.
These people, they don’t seem to have any hostile intent.
Night fell, and the moon was high in the sky, a splash of ink.
The Fengtian Temple was located in the most remote part of the palace, as quiet and secluded as if it were cut off from the world. At night, there were only the chirping of cicadas and the creaking of the compass in the courtyard. The Star Gazing Tower within it was the tallest building in the vast palace. The top floor of the tower had no roof, and the floor-to-ceiling glazed windows were wide open. It was less like a house and more like a beauty’s rest or a corridor.
And there was indeed a beauty on it.
Qin Zhaohuang was leaning lazily on a soft couch, squinting at the starry river in the sky, holding a pot of wine and occasionally taking a small sip. The wine, with its fresh fruity aroma, was not strong, but Qin Zhaohuang, who couldn’t hold his liquor, was drunk. His long, dark hair fell smoothly over his shoulders, setting off his snow-white neck. The thin gauze robe he was wearing fluttered slightly in the evening wind.
“National Preceptor, the night is already very deep. It’s cold outside. You should go back and rest to avoid catching a cold…” A maid came up behind Qin Zhaohuang, holding a thick outer robe.
“Mmm…” Qin Zhaohuang seemed a little drunk. He squirmed and shifted his body, then continued to laze on the long bench covered with soft cushions.
“National Preceptor… ah!”
The maid was about to say something, but her words came to an abrupt halt.
Hearing the cry of alarm, Qin Zhaohuang subconsciously turned his head and saw a man holding a sharp dagger to the maid’s neck. The man was wearing a gray robe, and his face was covered with gauze, exuding a dark and sinister aura. With such a cold temperament that an ordinary person could not possess, who else could it be but Yu Qianshou?
Yu Qianshou’s tone was flat. “Return the jade pendant to me, and I can spare her life.” As he spoke, he moved the blade a little closer to the faintly throbbing pulse.
The maid was so scared her face had lost all color. She trembled and cried, “National Preceptor, National Preceptor, please save this servant…”
“The jade pendant… hmm…” Qin Zhaohuang, holding the wine pot, stood up unsteadily. The thin gauze on his body slipped to the ground, revealing the waist tightly bound by a red robe and the half-exposed white jade chest and legs. Yu Qianshou, as if trying to cover something up, averted his gaze.
Qin Zhaohuang’s eyes were hazy. He smiled and asked intermittently, “Who… are you?”
Yu Qianshou looked at Qin Zhaohuang’s obviously drunk state and cursed inwardly. What bad luck, to have come at this time. How could he negotiate with a drunk person?
“National Preceptor… the Star Gazing Tower has been invaded by an assassin! National Preceptor… mmmph!”
Yu Qianshou covered the maid’s mouth and nose and said coldly, “Behave. If you want to live, don’t make a sound.”
Qin Zhaohuang watched the interaction between the two and giggled. His already flushed cheeks were now even more vibrant.
Yu Qianshou hit the maid’s pressure point and threw her aside, then walked over to Qin Zhaohuang and began to search his body, hoping to try his luck and see if he had the jade pendant on him.
Yu Qianshou’s hand accidentally touched the small of Qin Zhaohuang’s back. Qin Zhaohuang shrank back and then let out a low laugh. Looking at Qin Zhaohuang squirming and smiling before him, Yu Qianshou felt that at this moment, strangely, he didn’t seem like an assassin at all…
Qin Zhaohuang was a little tired from laughing. Another wave of drunkenness hit him, and he smacked his lips and leaned directly against Yu Qianshou, as if he couldn’t stand up.
The smell of wine that hit his nose made Yu Qianshou a little uncomfortable, but the movements of his hands did not stop.
“Mmm, this medicinal smell…” Qin Zhaohuang frowned. “Chen Shu? Ah Shu?”
Hearing this name and form of address, which he hadn’t heard in many years, Yu Qianshou’s whole body stiffened, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“Ah Shu, you’re back…” Qin Zhaohuang seemed to have directly mistaken Yu Qianshou for the person in his heart. He rubbed against his shoulder. “Ah Shu, I missed you.”
Yu Qianshou suddenly pushed Qin Zhaohuang away and, somewhat flustered, leaped down from the Star Gazing Tower with his lightness skill and left.
Having lost his support, Qin Zhaohuang fell to the ground with a “thud,” his nose hitting the ground painfully.
Seeing Yu Qianshou leave, the maid immediately shouted, “Assassin!! Catch the assassin—”
At this time, Yu Qianshou still didn’t know that for every night to come, the drunken image of Qin Zhaohuang, his eyes misty with tears, his cheeks flushed, his slender body faintly visible under the messy red robe, would appear in his mind over and over again, tormenting him so much that he couldn’t sleep.
Wen Ning’an slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Feng Qi sitting by the bed, watching him. Looking around, the bright yellow bed curtains, the dragon-carved red lacquer—it was clearly Feng Qi’s bedchamber.
“Huaitian? What happened…” Wen Ning’an frowned, trying hard to remember what had happened before. He seemed to have been drugged and passed out, and the carriage had been hijacked by a group of men in black…
“Where’s Ah Bai?”
Feng Qi said with a straight face, “Ah Bai is fine. I naturally wouldn’t harm you two.”
Wen Ning’an was stunned. He moved his body and heard a “clang, clang” sound.
Only then did Wen Ning’an realize that his hands were pinned above his head, tightly bound by handcuffs. The chain of the handcuffs extended to the edge of the bed and was embedded in the headboard. Not only his wrists, but also his ankles were bound by iron shackles, imprisoning him on the bed.
“Huaitian!” Wen Ning’an looked at Feng Qi in disbelief and shouted, “You’re crazy!”
Feng Qi’s eyes were filled with madness. He bent down and leaned against Wen Ning’an, smiling with a twisted expression. “Yes, I’m crazy. No matter what you think, I want you to be with me.”
Feng Qi reached out and pulled open Wen Ning’an’s collar, murmuring, “Yixin, you are mine, you are mine… No one can take you away from me, nothing can separate us. Not Li Huaisheng, not the war…”
“Huaitian!! Huaitian! Don’t be like this! Let me go, let me go…” Wen Ning’an felt a chill on his chest and tried to struggle, but it only made the iron shackles clash more violently.
Feng Qi reached out and fiercely pinched and twisted the fragile peaks on Wen Ning’an’s chest.
“Ngh…!”
Wen Ning’an was stimulated by the sudden pleasure and pain and couldn’t help but tilt his head back and pant, revealing the beautiful curve of his chin and neck.
Feng Qi first kissed Wen Ning’an’s bobbing Adam’s apple, then slowly moved up to block the lips that were constantly letting out whimpers.
“Heh… you will be with me, forever and ever. Until we die, our bodies and ashes will also be together. For all eternity, we will be together…”
His undergarments were also pulled off, and another violent plunder and invasion began. Wen Ning’an’s limbs were bound, and he couldn’t resist. He could only bite down hard on Feng Qi’s shoulder. The taste of blood filled his mouth, but Feng Qi seemed not to notice. He drove in like an unstoppable force, thrusting deep.
“Feng Qi! You madman… ah—” Wen Ning’an’s face was flushed, his eyes rolled back. He suppressed the nausea in his stomach and roared decisively, “I will never, ngh… ever… be with you! Not even in death!”
Screams and amorous, wet sounds came from the bedchamber, mixed with the incessant, harsh clashing of iron chains. The servants waiting outside the bedchamber couldn’t help but shiver at the sounds coming from inside. How tragic must it be…
Fu Che shook his head slightly, his eyes full of pity. He knew Wen Ning’an’s nature of responding to softness but not to hardness. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of trying to stop Feng Qi. But after Wen Ning’an left, Feng Qi’s eyes were too terrifying. It was the resolute gaze of someone who had lost everything. Because he had nothing, he had nothing to fear, nothing to hold him back. It was also a terrifying gaze that seemed to want to kill. Anyone who touched him would be instantly crushed.
This is… the love of an emperor.
