7.5–7.6

7.5

Sixth Prince soon moved from the dilapidated Western Palace to the Purple Palace, the two a live in the main hall, a live in the east side of the head of the side hall, the middle is far apart, but also erected a few palace walls, the palace under the key will be completely two independent residence, but there is no need to avoid. Li Jintian specially sent people to ask if you want to rest and reorganize the palace, but also rewarded a lot of valuable treasures.

The lackey who had previously deducted the Sixth Prince’s meals was also caned by him on the spot to show his regard for Qi Xiu Jie’s father and son.

Therefore, the group of attendants who were sent to the Purple Chen Palace all had a respectful look on their faces and no longer dared to treat Qi Xiu Jie as a sinner. To be able to obtain one or two points of care when Li Jintian favored Noble Jun alone, and also pardoned his death penalty and then compensated, this Qi Noble Jun is by no means a simple character.

Zhou Yunsheng was cultivating his relationship with the Sixth Prince while keeping an eye on the movements of the Palace of Nourishing Heart and Tian Chen Palace. Li Jintian really did love Gao Min miserably as the information recounted, and even though she was forced to have her heart on fire, she still insisted on visiting him and the child every day, never spending the night at another concubine or retainer’s place.

He couldn’t give up this relationship, Gao Min knew this very well, that’s why he acted without fear. But this is just for now, even the deepest feelings can’t withstand time, especially when one of them is defending it and the other one is abandoning it, it’s only a matter of time for love to turn into hate.

As for searching for his lost love, the current Zhou Yunsheng resided within the deep palace, surrounded by the eyes of Li Jintian and Gao Min, so it was really not good to make any moves.

When my son ascends to the throne in the future, is it not a piece of cake to find someone? Zhou Yunsheng thought like this before barely suppressing his urgency.

On this day, he was crookedly reading a book on his couch when he saw his personal attendant walk in with hurried steps and whispered, “Master, the Sixth Prince’s Grand Palace Mistress has an urgent request to see him, saying that the Sixth Prince is not well.”

“How is it bad?” Zhou Yunsheng threw away the book and went out with his shoes, not even looking at the courtesan before walking straight to the side hall.

The palace maid hurriedly followed, her eyes red, her expression terrified, and she said expectantly, “Noble Lord, the Sixth Prince, he, he’s gone mad! You should quickly go over and take a look!”

Crazy? How could a good person go crazy? Zhou Yunsheng recalled that Gao Min had poisoned Qi Xiu Jie and planted many nails when the Sixth Prince moved to the palace, such tactics were really not like the bright and upright General Gao in his previous life, but rather like a sinister woman. It seems that he was still too careless, he should have cleaned up those nails long ago.

Thinking about it, the side hall has been close at hand, the palace maid quickly walked a few steps to lead the way, and then hurriedly pushed open the end of the corridor at the end of a room door, the strong smell of blood on the face.

Zhou Yunsheng walked to the door to take a look, but saw Li Xudong handheld a long whip with barbs, the ground kneeling three tied up lackeys, has been his whip all over the flesh and blood, eyes will be broken.

“Guijun help! The Sixth Prince has gone crazy!” One of them barely raised his head, spitting out blood bubbles as he begged for help, looking miserable to the core.

The Sixth Prince’s face was ashen, and the hand gripping the whip couldn’t stop trembling. He was fed up with these courtiers, who not only deducted his meals and monthly silver, but also scolded and humiliated him, treating him like a dog, as if bullying the master as a lackey would give them supreme pleasure.

He had been held down on the ground to lick their shoes, had been poured a ladle of cold water in the winter to stand in the bleak wind, had been forced one by one to drill their crotch, let them enjoy laughing. He wanted to resist, but also know that he is unable to resist, as a lowly birth and no mother consort care of the prince, his status is even the favored palace consort’s valet is not as good.

He couldn’t even show his resentment, or else he would be subjected to endless hunger, cold and intensified torture. He thought that one day when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he would die with these people.

But in the torment of despair, Qi Guijun appeared, like a ray of sunshine, warming his dead heart, like a sliver of air, sent to the end of his nose, which was about to suffocate. He said he would protect him, said he would no longer be humble, and sent the hope of becoming strong to his palm.

As Qi Guijun said these words, his blood boiled and burned, and great joy almost washed over him. He felt like he had loved ones, so he could stop being afraid of anyone. Seeing the few attendants who had shyly followed him to the Zichen Palace, he finally couldn’t hold down the hostility that had been pent up for so long and decided to send them to their deaths.

He knew he was bloodthirsty at heart, and in the dead of night he would imagine many tortures to inflict on all those who bullied him, some of which he had never even heard of or seen, and which were sickeningly bloody and brutal, but which sent shivers of excitement down his spine.

He knew how appalling such thoughts were, so he used the appearance of humility and cowardice to hide his true heart nature. He could never let Qi Guijun see such an ugly version of himself.

But he is still a child, the means of raw tender, actually did not expect his secret will be the courtesan spied and attracted the people he dared not see.

He was like a prisoner standing under the gallows, waiting for Qi Guijun to put the locket around his neck.

Zhou Yunsheng slowly walked in, took the whip in his hand, and violently whipped it on his arm, the sharp barbs cutting through his shirt, leaving a bloodstained scar.

The courtesan standing in the doorway hurriedly hung her head and smiled wryly.

The Sixth Prince thought that Qi Guijun would reprimand himself and express disappointment in himself, but he didn’t expect him to whip himself without a second thought. Is this what the so-called protection, love, and dependence on each other is all about? Am I just a tool for your resurgence? The Sixth Prince clenched his teeth to keep the tears of humiliation and despair from falling. No one could make him cry or even hurt his hardened heart, only this person who had given him hope and pushed him into the abyss could easily shake his heart and make him feel what true coldness was.

Once, as much as he had expected from Qi Guijun, he now resented him. But strangely enough, he couldn’t imagine himself hurting him.

“Know it’s wrong?” Zhou Yunsheng pinched his jaw, forcing him to raise his head and look straight at himself, and interrogated him in a stern voice.

The Sixth Prince repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, and after a few moments replied in a mute voice, “I know it’s wrong.”

“Then tell me what you’re wrong about?”

“I shouldn’t have been so brutal.”

“Stupid!” Zhou Yunsheng’s fingers that cupped his jaw applied a few points of force, leaving several shocking bruises on his skin.

The Sixth Prince finally revealed a pained expression.

Zhou Yunsheng continued, “You are at fault in two. One, too much contempt for themselves. You are a prince, they are lackeys, you are porcelain, they are rubble, the two are really different, can not be compared. You want to dispose of them, just weave a few charges and order down, natural people can make them worse than death, why dirty their hands against the fall of a reputation for brutality; two, you did not completely recover the subordinates when you hastily move, so that people with malicious intent to drill the empty space, away from my father and son’s feelings. Do you say you are stupid or not?” The words fell coldly glancing at the palace maid standing at the door.

The Sixth Prince looked at him with wide eyes, trying to digest these words.

Zhou Yunsheng let go of his jaw, disgustedly wiping his hands with a handkerchief, and ordered in a deep voice, “Come on, these four people are disrespectful to the Sixth Prince, drag them down and cane them.”

Li Jin Tian Qi Xiu Jie guilt, although no longer love him, but the ability to make amends, inside and outside the Palace of the Purple Chen more than a hundred guards, all at his beck and call.

As soon as his words fell, guards with swords rushed into the room and took away the three attendants along with the courtesan who was howling.

“Jun Father.” Only then did the Sixth Prince return to his senses, his frozen heart resuming its jumps and getting faster and faster, great joy filling his body, making him float lightly as if he was going to float up to the sky. He tugged on Zhou Yunsheng’s hand, as if this would keep his legs firmly glued to the ground, as if this person in front of him was his lifelong reliance.

How could Father Jun hate him and even abandon him? Jun’s father was his family, someone who would tolerate him no matter what. Jun’s father was right in scolding him, he really was still too stupid.

Li Xudong was so joyful that he didn’t know what to say, he could only tug on Zhou Yunsheng’s hand and shouted Jun’s father in a loud voice.

“Why are you acting like a little girl. Where has the bloodlust of the previous beating gone?” Zhou Yunsheng drew back his hand in disgust and asked, “Do you dare to go and watch the execution?”

“Of course I dare.” The Sixth Prince replied busily, and if there was a tail behind him, it was estimated that he would be wagging very happily at this moment. At this moment, he was like a cute dog puppy that was spreading joy around its master, where was the viciousness and violence from before.

To be honest, Zhou Yunsheng is very satisfied with the heart of the sixth prince, since ancient times, who can ascend to the high position, which one is not a ruthless person? Li Shimin, Wu Zetian, Zhu Di, Yongzheng …… who are not philanthropists. Having blood means having ambition, which is a good thing.

“Go, remember to come back and accompany me for dinner after observing the punishment.” Living in a huge palace, he would also feel lonely, especially at meal time.

The Sixth Prince, as if he had received a supreme reward, loudly answered the promise and left with three steps back. He loved his father and couldn’t wait to be by his side every moment, but how could he ask his father to accompany him on something as bloody as a torture watch? He should live in a bright and gorgeous palace, and receive the most proper care and attention.

——————

Gao Min walked into the Yang Xin Hall with a sullen face and did not salute, but directly questioned, “The Sixth Prince executed four courtiers for no reason, do you know about it?”

“Is it really for no reason? Do you know what kind of life the Sixth Prince used to live?” Li Jintian asked back rhetorically. If he hadn’t had someone deliberately investigate, he wouldn’t have known that his own child had been treated that harshly. The twelfth prince had already died, and if he continued to be negligent, there would be more princes who would be diced to death until only the fifth prince was left. Was Gao Min unintentional or intentional?

Gao Min’s eyes flickered and he avoided answering, clearly knowing all about it.

Li Jintian was disappointed, the pre rebirth Gao Min was atmospheric, kind and straightforward, the post rebirth Gao Min was cold, selfish and vicious, caring about no one except the fifth prince and the Gao family. Whose fault was this? In the final analysis, it seemed that he was the one who was the culprit.

Gao Min was unable to say that he had a clear conscience, so he changed the topic and said, “How have you considered the matter of me taking command of the Western Barbarians?”

“Can’t you stay and keep me company?”

Gao Min replied with silence, his eyes overflowing with unwillingness, resentment, and even a hint of ambition. He desperately wanted to leave this suffocating palace, to bathe in blood, to build a career. He had been humble enough in his last life, and in this life all over again, he deeply realized that only power could protect his interests.

Ambition? Li Jintian couldn’t tell himself that it was an illusion. He smiled tiredly and waved his hand, “Go and do what you want.” Let go and let you fly first, but one day, I will break your wings.

Gao Min was overjoyed and left in a hurry after sincerely thanking him.

7.6

The news that his father was going to be in command of the army made Li Xuyan very proud. Looking at the whole of Great Yan, which married brother could still show her face outside or even go to the battlefield to conquer the enemy. His father’s favor towards his father has never been unique.

Just as he thought of this, his face changed slightly, remembering Qi Guijun, who had been given to death by Father Emperor and then saved in time and sent guards to heavily protect him. What kind of attitude did the Father Emperor have towards him? First, he wanted to exterminate his entire family, and then he kept him in the Purple Palace, so what was the point of tossing him around? Qi Guijun had adopted the Sixth Prince, how would it affect herself and her father?

Li Xuyan frowned worriedly, just raised his eyes, he saw the sixth prince carrying a brand new bag of books into the imperial study, spreading out the expensive ink, paper and inkstones one by one.

Li Xuyan walked over and pointed at the several green bruises on his jaw, asking in surprise, “Sixth royal brother, what’s wrong with you?” After only going to the Purple Chen Palace for a day, this imperial brother had killed four people, thanks to which he thought the other party was a coward by nature, seeing that he had intentionally hidden his clumsiness in the past.

The reason why he exposed his nature overnight was afraid that he was trying to win the favor of Qi Guijun. However, judging from his injured jaw, Qi Guijun was displeased with him.

That’s fine.

Gao Min had told him countless times that when he met someone with heart and means, he must not rush to kill them just because he felt threatened, that might cause him to lose a wonderful helping hand. The best way was to draw him in first, and if he failed to do so, then it would not be too late to take action.

The current Sixth Prince was valuable to draw in, regardless of whether he was talented or not, the fact that he had been adopted at Qi Guijun’s knee alone was enough. Qi Guijun had somehow gained his father’s respect and trust, which made Li Xuyan feel very uneasy.

Li Xudong covered his jaw and shook his head, “It’s nothing, I was injured by a few unruly slaves.”

How would a lackey dare to hurt the face of the prince? Li Xuyan obviously do not believe, after a sigh of exhortation, “In the future, if there is any difficulty, the sixth emperor brother just come to the Tian Chen Palace to find me and father, we will not ignore you.”

You won’t turn your back on me? Then where were you when I was suffering? Of all the sons who lost their mothers and fathers in the palace, which one of them has been taken care of by the Noble King? Is this how he rules the Six Courts? The world praises Noble King for being charitable and kind, graceful and elegant, and a great scholar and warrior, but to him it’s nothing more than that, not even a finger compared to his father.

Li Xudong pretended to be grateful on one side, while snickering in his heart.

The arrival of all the imperial sons and their companions one after another made him feel a huge difference. In the past, these people did not even bother to look at him, but now they came up to greet him enthusiastically, just because he was adopted by the only two favored prince in the palace, Qi Guijun, and even if he did not have a chance to be a great ruler, he would still have a good future in the future.

It was also because he had the audacity to cane a few unruly slaves, which allowed the Emperor to see the embarrassing situation of all the princes and straighten out the inner palace. He brought well-being to everyone, and was naturally very popular in the Imperial Household.

Li Xuyan is also popular, but the flattery is fake. It is because of his father caused the princes to fall into this dilemma, dare to ask how they like Li Xuyan up? It is not possible to privately hate him into the bone.

Qi Guijun family was destroyed, the situation is described as tragic, even if the emperor’s attention, still widowed, all the princes and their mothers and fathers are really not jealous of him.

Li Xudong felt the changes brought about by his elevated status, but his heart was not at all joyful or pleased. It doesn’t matter what others think of him, what matters is whether or not his father will be disappointed in him. He was more attentive in class, always exceeded the homework assigned by the teacher, and repeatedly memorized and studied the articles he couldn’t remember, and only put down his scrolls and brushes during the lunch break.

All of the attendants carried their food boxes in a row, and the attendant of the Purple Chen Palace was especially notable, due to the fact that the food box he brought was really too big and looked heavy.

“How can there be so many?” Li Xudong looked at the food box with five layers in surprise.

“This was all made by the master himself, saying that His Highness has a huge appetite and is afraid that an ordinary person’s meal would not be enough.” The attendant laughed and spoke while taking out the layers of drawers and arranging them neatly, a rich aroma instantly permeated the air, calling for everyone to hold back their sideways glances.

“Jun’s father can still cook?” Li Xudong’s eyes widened in surprise. Jun’s father looked weak, but he was actually very strong, the way he made the whip and the force was very subtle, he felt it. He had thought that such a strong person would disdain the matter of cooking, but he had not expected that he would personally cook for himself.

Li Xudong rejoiced and then felt a little shy. He did have a large amount of meals, several times that of a normal person, and because of this, the punishment he feared the most was having his meals withheld by the palace staff. When he arrived at the Zichen Palace, he did not want to be belittled by Qi Guijun, so he tried to make himself moderate, but he did not expect that he would still be discovered.

Qi Guijun was afraid that she had more intentions for herself than he had imagined.

Thinking like this, Li Xudong felt that he was already full before he even ate, satiated by a great sense of happiness.

Slowly, bit by bit, he ate all the food, and he sighed with relief; in the past, he had often felt his hands and feet weakened by hunger, so he found the afternoon riding lessons particularly difficult, but now it was as if he had inexhaustible strength.

After school was dismissed, he couldn’t wait to run back to Zichen Palace, and when he saw the person standing in front of the desk fiddling with a few pieces of cardboard, he hastily collected his heavy steps.

The person was bathed in a beam of sunlight, and his white, delicate skin took on an almost transparent hue, as if a light touch would dissipate like mist, never to be found again.

Li Xudong was stunned by the idea and felt a wave of panic for no reason.

“Jun’s father.” He called out sharply, only to feel a lump in his throat.

“What is it?” The man didn’t look up, his voice lazy and revealing a flavor of spontaneity and uninhibitedness.

“I… Mister has assigned homework, I have a few questions I can’t figure out, can Jun Father help me out?” Li Xudong quickly hid his panicked look and casually found an excuse to strike up a conversation.

“Bring it to me.” Only then did Zhou Yunsheng put down the cardboard and whisked away a blank space on the desk.

Li Xudong spread the book out in front of him and nodded towards a few lines of text. Zhou Yunsheng glanced slightly and opened his mouth with a smile or not, “Imperial son really can’t figure it out?”

Li Xudong nodded.

“Then why did I also see you writing notes on this article in the booklet last night? The intention was original and insightful.”

Li Xudong was dumbfounded, his ears slowly reddening. Last night, Jun Father only glanced at his textbook, just one glance, not even a breath of time, and surprisingly, he had already read and memorized all of the contents, how intelligent should Jun Father’s mind be? If not for Father’s suppression, what kind of dazzling existence would he have been? Everyone said that the Noble King was talented, both in literature and arms, but compared to Jun’s father, he was afraid that he was nothing!

Li Xudong couldn’t figure out why that father who he had never met would think so highly of Noble Jun, and in turn crippled Jun’s father to such an extent. Jun’s father was clearly the best person in the world. However, it was only good that the Father Emperor had eyes without a pearl, and it was enough for him alone to know how special Jun’s father was.

Zhou Yunsheng did not realize that the wolf cub’s admiration for himself had reached the point of blindness. He grabbed the wolf cub’s ear and asked, “In the Imperial Study, when Mister asked, you also said that you couldn’t figure anything out?”

Li Xudong did not dare to lie and nodded hesitantly. His days were already difficult, and if he showed outstanding talent, he didn’t know how far he would be utilized and squeezed by those concubines and retainers. He did not want to become a tool in the hands of others.

But that was before, Qi Guijun had picked him out at a glance when he was worthless and had said such wonderful words to him. Even if Qi Guijun was in disguise, even if it was discovered later that he had other plans, Li Xudong had recognized it. Instead, he was now worried that he did not have enough value to utilize and would be abandoned by Qi Guijun.

Zhou Yunsheng let go of his reddened ears and admonished, “What you were is what you are, no need to hide. Although I Qi Xiu Jie is down and out, I can protect you without any pressure. You remember, my Qi Xiu Jie’s son can be a villain, can also be a saint, but can never be a wimp. Even if you perform better than Li Xuyan, if Gao Min’s father and son can’t tolerate you, I have plenty of ways to clean them up.”

His tone was very cloudy and light, but it made Li Xudong feel an extremely powerful force, as if nothing in the world could make him frown. And he would only show this strength in front of himself, in order to still protect himself. Li Xudong was overjoyed, tugging on the hem of Jun’s father’s coat and nodding vigorously, his eyes slightly reddened.

“Don’t make this unproductive face. Go back and copy this article a hundred times, and don’t go to bed until you’ve finished copying it. In the future, you can only come and ask me if you really have doubts, and you are not allowed to pretend to understand, much less pretend to understand.” Zhou Yunsheng was asking for Li Xudong according to the emperor’s specifications, naturally very strict.

Li Xudong did not find it difficult in the slightest, spreading out a piece of rice paper and said sincerely, “Why don’t I copy it now, three hundred times, and Jun Father can supervise me from the side.” He did not want to go back to the side hall alone, he just wanted to stay by Jun Father’s side all the time all the time.

“Good boy.” Zhou Yunsheng was satisfied with his uptake and stroked his head then continued to fiddle with the cardboard.

Li Xudong copied a few lines and then peeked at his father, copied a few lines and then peeked again, always feeling that how to look at it is not enough, copying to fifty times, he put down the brush to take a short break, and came over to the side of Zhou Yunsheng, who had begun to cut the fabric according to the cardboard, and asked, “Father Jun, are you making clothes? Is it for Father?” The words fell with a slight darkening of his eyes, disgusted with the so-called Father Emperor.

“Him? Does he have that life?” Zhou Yunsheng snorted and flicked the wolf cub’s forehead and said, “This is for you. When I’m done you’ll see if it fits.”

As a brother who is going to marry, the original Qi Xiu Jie is proficient in women’s red, and Zhou Yun Sheng inherited this skill, thinking that since he raised the wolf cubs by his side, what he should do and can do should always be done, and the only thing that can be exchanged for a true heart is a true heart.

Li Xudong was really touched, blinking his moist eyes, wrapping his arms around one of Jun’s father’s arms and not wanting to let go, and in the end simply curled up at his feet, like a little puppy clinging to its master.

Zhou Yunsheng smiled, thinking that this child was actually quite cute, and it wasn’t a loss to raise him.