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Ye Shu opened his eyes.
The day was not yet fully dawned as the waning light streamed in, spilling over the gilded tulle.
Ye Shu stared at the canopy above his head, somewhat in a trance.
Where

was he?
The air was filled with the fragrance of warmth. There was also a hint of an extremely faint and shallow vinosity, so faint that it was almost imperceptible. Ye Shu supported himself on the soft bed beneath him and sat up, hearing his bones and muscles lightly release overwhelming creaks.
His lower back throbbed with pain, then he fell back down.
“Ss

”
Ye Shu let out a low hiss.
The memory of last night wasn’t really clear to him.
From the moment he entered the woods, his body grew hotter and hotter, more and more eager to be touched. However, no one was there. He walked through the empty woods for who knows how long before he finally heard footsteps.
His brain was muddled into such chaos from all his racing desires that all he remembered in his trance was to never let the other man see his true face.
Thus, he casually tore off a piece of clothing and covered the man’s eyes and then pounced on him.
Afterwards


Frantic, uncontrollable, and bewildering.
Ye Shu buried his face in his hands, not daring to think about it any more.
He was undoubtedly just there trying to seek help, how did it come to this


In all honesty, he did like men, and he did like being the bottom one, but that didn’t mean he was willing to sleep with just any man.
Besides, that was

such a rough man.
Ye Shu rubbed his waist, suddenly somewhat aggrieved.
Not at all like those fantasies of gentle, considerate, gradual first nights.
That experience was too disappointing.
Ye Shu eased up a little before sitting up holding onto the edge of the bed.
He had been changed into a clean undergarment, soft and cozy in texture. It was just that the size didn’t quite fit and the sleeves dangled halfway out. Ye Shu casually rolled them back a few times, letting them hang loosely on his wrist.
He quietly lifted a corner of the drapes to look out.
It was like a bedchamber.
The interior of the hall was beautifully decorated, and was not tacky. Every piece of furniture, every carving was meticulously arranged, and at a glance, one could tell that they were all invaluable.


That’s not good ah.
No matter how little Ye Shu knew about this world, he could tell that the owner of this place must be either rich or noble, far beyond the average rich household.
He had not just slept with a noble, had he?
Wasn’t that man from last night an imperial guard???
“

Can’t be that unlucky,” Ye Shu muttered under his breath and was about to get out of bed when the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
Ye Shu shrank back like lightning and pulled the quilt firmly over him to cover himself tightly.
Someone pushed the door open.
It was more than one person coming in. Ye Shu lifted his head from under the quilt to look out through the gap in the drapery.
The man walking at the forefront was dressed in black. From Ye Shu’s point of view, he could see nothing of the other party’s appearance but the hem of his clothing with golden piping.
“Why isn’t he awake yet?” The voice that spoke was deep and low. Ye Shu’s scalp instantly exploded.
It really was that guy from last night!
Ye Shu unconsciously gripped the thin quilt on his body and held his breath, then he heard the other person speak.
“Answering Your Majesty, Minister Ye’s body is weak. Perhaps he is overworked, and will benefit from resting for another while.”
Y-Y-Y-Your Majesty??!
Ye Shu was frozen in place as if he was struck by lightning and couldn’t recover for a while.
The memories of the original owner weren’t clear in his mind and last night had been such a chaotic scene that even if he had seen the other man’s face, he wouldn’t have been able to remember who he was.
He had actually slept with Jin Wang???
Hold on


The ancients had always valued these things, something like a ‘one night of married life breeds countless days of enduring affections’. He was tossed about by Jin Wang last night; he might be able to use this as a pretext to beg the other party to let him live.
In the next moment, Jin Wang’s voice sounded coldly, “Use a needle and prick him awake.”
Ye Shu, “

”
This man is sick!
The hall was silent. Ye Shu could only hear his own rapid heartbeat. Soon, someone lifted the drapes, put a hand beneath his hand, and lifted his finger—
Ye Shu finally couldn’t just lie down anymore.
“No!” A second before the silver needle pierced his flesh, Ye Shu pulled his hand out with force and sat up suddenly.
He didn’t hold back on that force and rolled right off the edge of the bed.
“Ow

”
Ye Shu’s fall triggered a faint stinging on his behind, and his eyes reddened in pain.
A pair of black brocade boots walked up to him.
Ye Shu raised his head and his gaze traced upwards through the other party’s sumptuous black-gold dragon robe into a pair of handsome and smiling eyes.
Jin Wang’s voice could almost be considered gentle and considerate. “Did my beloved minister sleep well?”
—
The fragrance of tea permeated through the hall. Ye Shu walked out of the inner chamber neatly dressed and immediately saw Jin Wang sitting on the main seat sipping tea.
He behaved like a wimp as he walked over. “Your Majesty.”
Jin Wang took a sip of tea before he spoke, “Last night

my beloved minister made Gu very surprised.”
The taunt behind these words was too strong. Ye Shu’s ears were somewhat hot and he lowered his head without speaking.
Jin Wang didn’t seem to mind as he put the tea cup down and pointed to some things in front of him. “Gu has prepared some presents for you.”
Three exquisite wooden boxes were placed on the ground, in descending order from small to large.
Jin Wang’s eyebrows quirked. “Open them and take a look.”
Ye Shu instinctively felt that there wouldn’t be good things inside, but he didn’t dare to refuse and walked straight forward to open the first wooden box.
Inside the box lay a sealed secret letter.
Ye Shu’s heart lifted.
The seal on the secret letter was exclusive to the original owner and could absolutely never be copied.
It was a sealed secret letter of covert communication between the original owner and foreign enemies.
With it, the matter of his involvement in the assassination would be revealed.
What to do now?
Ye Shu’s back broke out in a layer of cold sweat.
In a moment of confusion as he tried to retrieve the remaining memories of the original owner from his mind, he subconsciously opened the second, slightly larger box.
“Ah!”
With trembling hands, Ye Shu slammed back down the cover of the box and refastened it.
There, in that box, was actually a bloodied, severed hand.
Ye Shu had hardly recovered from the shock, only to hear Jin Wang say leisurely, “This is the commander of the imperial guards, but unfortunately his flesh has now been cut to the point that there isn’t much left, only this hand remains. He received a lot of wealth from you with this hand, do you still recognize it?”
Ye Shu’s stomach was queasy and a drop of cold sweat slid down his cheeks.
Is this man a sicko??!
But Jin Wang just said in an insipid tone, “The third one, open it.”
Ye Shu looked towards the last wooden box, his fingertips trembling imperceptibly.
The final wooden box was the largest in size and was closed so tightly that it was impossible to see what was inside.
Ye Shu strode over and opened the cover vigorously.
At the bottom of the box lay a human head.
Both of the human head’s eyes had been gouged out, leaving two dark hollows that stared silently at him.
“Aaaahhhhhhhhh—!” Ye Shu rapidly retreated a few steps and fell to the ground.
Jin Wang gazed at him, his voice undisturbed, “This is one of the assassins involved in the assassination last night. He was caught not long ago. There are still more than ten outside who have yet to be executed, would you like to go with me to see them, my beloved minister?”
Ye Shu’s complexion was pale and his brain was buzzing.
He looked at Jin Wang in stunned silence, seeing the other party’s lips open and close, but not hearing the least bit of sound.
In extreme fear, Ye Shu finally passed out.
—
The young man on the bed was pale, brows furrowed, and sleeping somewhat uncomfortably.
Jin Wang sat on the bedside and twirled the other party’s earlobe, fondling it with his fingers. “What?”
The imperial physician finished examining Ye Shu’s pulse and placed his wrist back on the bed. “He has suffered from a shock, and perhaps some faintness after seeing blood, but he’ll be awake in a while.”
“Faintness after seeing blood
” Jin Wang looked down and smoothly pinched the side of Ye Shu’s face. “Still so useless.”
The imperial physician looked at Jin Wang, wanting to speak, but then faltered.
Jin Wang spoke, “Say what you have to say.”
The imperial physician knelt down and bowed his forehead to the ground. “Dare I ask Your Majesty how Minister Ye shall be dealt with.”
Jin Wang’s eyes narrowed.
The imperial physician only felt as if a cold sword was pointed at his back, not daring to raise his head, he toughened his scalp, “Your Majesty possesses the body of a Qianjun among millions. A Qianjun’s mark can only be given to one Kunjun. After the marking, both side’s faith incense would be fused. When demands are to be met, only the two can fulfill each others’. Such connections cannot be removed or transferred unless the Kunjun is dead.”
Jin Wang said lightly, “What are you getting at?”
The imperial physician made a tough decision and forthrightly said, “Your Majesty is setting up a recipe for disaster by doing so!”
Jin Wang said nothing for a long time.
The imperial physician’s shoulders and back trembled, beads of sweat slowly oozing from his forehead.
The monarch of Changlu was of a fickle disposition, though his face never showed it.
Whether one was to be rewarded or punished, he always expressed so through underemphasized statements with a graceful demeanor, but only one circumstance was different.
Whenever he was silent.
The only possibility when Jin Wang fell silent was that he was considering which method of death he was about to use on others.
The longer the silence, the more dangerous it became.
The atmosphere in the hall dropped to a freezing point, and the imperial physician finally couldn’t stand it any longer. “This subject
”
“What you said was reasonable,” Jin Wang suddenly said softly. “Minister Ye already has a rebellious heart, so he must not be kept.”
“But Gu doesn’t want him dead.”
The imperial physician blankly looked up.
Jin Wang gazed at him coldly and repeated word by word softly, “Gu said, Gu doesn’t want him dead.”
The imperial physician shuddered and kowtowed heavily. “This subject is in fear!”
Jin Wang said nothing more.
He walked up to the imperial physician and stretched out a hand to help the latter up. “Old Feng is already of advanced age. Don’t kneel for long.”
The imperial physician didn’t dare to let Jin Wang help him and hurriedly stood up. “ Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Jin Wang sent the imperial physician out of the hall and said in a low voice, “Gu knows of a medicine that can briefly suppress the faith incense from showing
”
The imperial physician then clearly understood. “This subject understands. This subject will prepare it at once.”
Jin Wang nodded, his expression gentle as before. “Old Feng is a veteran from the last three reigns in succession, and has saved Gu’s life, which Gu will naturally remember. However

 today’s words, Gu doesn’t want to hear them a second time.”
“

Yes.”
The door slowly closed, shutting out all outside noise.
Jin Wang returned to the bedside and saw Ye Shu’s eyelashes trembling slightly, as if he was about to be awake.
The corners of his mouth lifted and he slowly lowered his head.
The moment he was about to touch Ye Shu’s lips, the man underneath him suddenly dodged sideways and shrank deep into the bed.
Ye Shu pulled over the quilt and wrapped it around him as he curled himself into a ball and asked vigilantly, “What are you going to do?!”
Jin Wang looked at him like this, but he was rather in a good mood, and asked, “ Is Gu that scary?”
Ye Shu just wanted to nod when he suddenly thought of something and quickly shook his head.
Jin Wang laughed. “You weren’t so scared of Gu before.”
Half of Ye Shu’s face was buried in the quilt as he muffled, “I-Is it?”
“Mnn,” Jin Wang sat back by the bedside and said, “You dared to curse Gu as a fatuous and self-indulgent ruler in the court before, don’t you remember?”
Ye Shu, “

”
The original owner was such a man ah.
Jin Wang looked down. “Nevermind, let’s talk about something else.”
Ye Shu then complained, “

Don’t you ever show me any more heads!”
“Gu won’t.” Jin Wang spoke in a very gentle tone. “Now that it has been confirmed that these were your doings, things are much simpler.”
“Your accomplice has been imprisoned, and the others implicated in this matter will be investigated one by one and punished according to the law.”
“And as for you

”
“You’re the mastermind. According to laws and decrees, those who seek rebellion shall be punished with death by a thousand cuts.”
Jin Wang gazed at Ye Shu and nonchalantly asked, “
Does my beloved minister have anything else to say?”