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墨書 Inktalez
"Don't you want to?"
Lou Yu, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, turned gracefully and settled onto the dragon throne. His gaze was piercing as he glanced at the kneeling Dark Guard and asked, "Did he really say that? Not a hint of hesitation?"
The Dark Guard respectfully lowered his head and replied with certainty, "Indeed, he did not. Your Majesty, perhaps we should remove the mark from Ming Consort. The medicine has a time limit; if Ming Consort discovers next month that she has missed her Rain Dew Period, she will quickly realize something is amiss."
Lou Yu lightly stroked the tea cup with his fingers, his expression deep and inscrutable as he pondered. He himself could not understand why he had chosen Ming Xiting.
He could have easily resolved the situation by selecting any Kun Ze, yet at the critical moment, his attention had solely fallen on Ming Xiting; no one else caught his eye. The mere thought of being with someone else made his heart race inexplicably.
What surprised him most was that he had not mistaken Ming Xiting for Ye Chen. Despite still having feelings for Ye Chen, during his time with Ming Xiting, he had never once confused the two, allowing things to proceed smoothly.
Could it be that he had developed feelings for this Kun Ze that he himself was unaware of?
To confirm his suspicions, Lou Yu began to frequently visit the Warm Fragrance Pavilion, and this time he did not just stop by briefly; he stayed overnight.
Ming Xiting knelt on the ground and waited for the palace servants to leave. Without waiting for Lou Yu to tell him to rise, he stood up and walked in front of Lou Yu, speaking softly, "Why are you here again? We agreed that..."
"What do you mean 'agreed'? You are my Ming Fei; it is only natural for me to stay at your Warm Fragrance Pavilion," Lou Yu said as he pulled him into an embrace, holding his slender waist tightly.
Ming Xiting struggled a couple of times but could not break free. He looked at Lou Yu with a furrowed brow and questioned, "Your Majesty, you explicitly said before that you would not engage in anything inappropriate with me. Let’s consider what happened the other day an accident; I won’t hold it against you. But now you are sober, and have you forgotten Ye Chen? Isn’t he your beloved? Why come to find me? I just lost the child and am not feeling well enough to serve you."
In reality, the medicine that the Dark Guard personally administered to Ming Xiting was a fake drug instructed by Lou Yu. It would only expel the stagnant blood from Ming Xiting's body and was not an abortion pill. Thus, Ming Xiting believed that after experiencing abdominal pain that day, the child was gone and lamented over the pool of blood for quite some time.
Ming Xiting raised an eyebrow as he looked at Lou Yu's clingy demeanor now, recalling how on their first meeting he had been violently thrown onto a high building and threatened by cold winds.
"But... this doesn't seem right, Your Majesty." Ming Xiting wrapped his arms around Lou Yu's neck, his tone playful yet elusive.
Lou Yu gently caressed his red lips, the corners of his eyes slowly lifting. His dark eyes shifted as he said, "Don't worry, you're not feeling well, so I won't do anything to you. Now that Changyu Princess's tail has been exposed, we just need to hold on for another two months. Once I've gathered all her evidence of wrongdoing, I can bring her to justice."
Indeed, if he were to directly accuse his cousin, who had fought alongside him to ascend the throne, without complete evidence, Lou Yu would undoubtedly be criticized by the world. To avoid angering those stubborn individuals, he could only patiently wait for the right moment—a perfect opportunity to capture Lou Yan and her followers all at once.
Ming Xiting nodded gloomily. How much longer would he have to wait before he could leave this place?
Fortunately, Lou Yu did not make him wait too long.
Recently, it seemed that Lou Yan had sensed something was amiss and had pushed her husband out into the open.
The former governor of Cangzhou, now the prince consort Zhou Changyuan, was discovered to have privately engaged in bribery and the sale of official positions. In an instant, the entire imperial city was shaken. Zhou Changyuan was publicly imprisoned in front of the Bureaucrats. As for Lou Yan, she promptly distanced herself from him and unilaterally divorced Zhou Changyuan.
After a long time, the Heavenly Prison welcomed new inmates at its lowest level.
The new emperor vigorously reformed the corrupt practices of the previous dynasty and established the Imperial Examination System. The primary goal for entering the court as an official was to prevent noble families from regaining control over the lives of common people. Naturally, the sale of official positions angered the emperor deeply.
Lou Yan did not plead for Zhou Changyuan but instead came to Heavenly Prison under the cover of night, intending to see him one last time.
This was humiliation, not for old feelings.
Stepping into Heavenly Prison, a dark and damp atmosphere greeted her.
In the lowest cell, Zhou Changyuan was battered and bruised, looking utterly wretched. His face was swollen like a pig's head; his once handsome features were now twisted together. His nose was bruised and swollen, his lips cracked with dried blood at the corners. His clothes were tattered and bore marks from whippings—crisscrossing streaks of blood that were hard to look at.
Hearing footsteps, Zhou Changyuan weakly shook his head and slowly lifted it. From below, his dazed gaze gradually focused on a figure clad in a palace robe of delicate pink; the exquisite patterns were reserved for members of the royal family.
"What's this, come to see my joke?" Zhou Changyuan smirked, his voice hoarse and laced with mockery.
Lou Yan looked down at him from her elevated position, pausing for a moment before she chuckled lightly. "Zhou Changyuan, I bet you never thought this day would come. Back when you framed me, forcing me to bear your mark and become the laughingstock of Cangzhou, I was compelled to marry you. Now that my Royal Brother has ascended the throne, I stand as the Chang Gongzhu, second only to one and above all others. You are merely the husband of my Chang Yu, no longer that Tian Qian who used to beat me mercilessly in the inner courtyard. I wonder how it feels for you to experience such a drastic fall from grace!"
As she spoke, Lou Yan took a handkerchief and harshly wiped away the grime from his chin. Then she grasped his jaw, observing his disheveled appearance. The corners of her lipstick-like lips curled slightly as she coldly remarked, "I suppose you've never tasted this kind of bitterness before. Honestly, I've always wanted to see you suffer beneath my feet. Although you won't live much longer for me to torment you fully, why should I bother with a dead man?"
Zhou Changyuan suddenly burst into laughter, the sound echoing eerily in the silent Heavenly Prison.
Lou Yan's expression hardened instantly as she tightened her grip on his jaw, demanding angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
Ignoring her question, Zhou Changyuan continued to laugh until he had his fill. After a long pause, he finally spoke with derision. "Do you really think your emperor brother is still that little boy who climbed trees to fetch kites for you? He is now a lofty emperor. You aren't even siblings by blood; you're merely cousins. Do you truly expect that after the East Window Incident he won't hold it against you?"
Lou Yan released him and began to repeatedly wipe her fingers and the spaces between them with her handkerchief. Even without any dirt, she rubbed back and forth as if she had touched something unbearably filthy.
"There's no need for you to worry, Zhou Cishi. I have plenty to do. As for you, perhaps it's time to go apologize to those Kun Ze whom you've tormented in the past."
With that final remark, Lou Yan disregarded Zhou Changyuan's mocking laughter and stepped over the threshold without looking back as she left the Heavenly Prison. It was just like years ago when she was forced to step over that fire pit to marry Zhou Changyuan—resolute and unwavering.
Since losing her parents at a young age, she had vowed never to let anyone who had harmed her go unpunished—even her own daughter, Zhou Ling'er.
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