This chapter includes mentions of torture.
After learning that he had injured the Emperor’s most favored person, WanQi DongMing was so frightened that he hurried back home. He did not dare let his father know and could only cling to his mother’s thigh, begging for help. After hearing the whole story, Madam Huang realized the matter was no small affair and quickly reported it to her husband. When WanQi PengWei heard the news, he was so furious that he cried out that misfortune had befallen their family. Though WanQi PengWei was rather old fashioned by nature, he had spent decades navigating official circles and had learned that the way to survive was to avoid unnecessary trouble. Avoid what could be avoided, endure what had to be endured! In the court, WanQi PengWei was well liked and known as someone who went out of his way not to offend anyone! That was how he had managed to make it this far in his career without major incident, yet who would have thought that this wastrel of a son would cause such enormous trouble! In a fit of rage, he immediately grabbed a stick and beat WanQi DongMing until his backside was covered in bruises. Angry though he was, WanQi DongMing was still his son. Now his son had accidentally struck the Hostage Prince of Bei Ling whom His Majesty favored the most. Although the Emperor likely would not issue a decree to punish them, he feared that the Hostage Prince of Bei Ling might secretly retaliate. The power of words whispered in bed should never be underestimated! After weighing the pros and cons, WanQi PengWei decided that early the next morning he would first go to His Majesty to gauge the situation and plead their case. If he could first appease the Emperor, he could then ask His Majesty to act as a mediator and persuade the Hostage Prince of Bei Ling to let go of his anger. Only then could the WanQi family avoid a sudden and unexpected disaster!
After making up his mind, WanQi PengWei felt somewhat calmer. When he turned back, he saw his unruly son still groaning and crying out in pain, while his wife and the maidservants were gathered around him, weeping with tearful eyes. With a wave of his hand, he ordered them to carry his unworthy son back to his room and apply medicine to his wounds.
Late that night, just as he was about to take off his clothes and go to sleep, he suddenly heard someone outside the courtyard shouting, ‘Catch the assassin’. WanQi PengWei immediately grabbed his sword and rushed out of his room. He saw a masked man dressed in night clothing carrying WanQi DongMing, who had clearly been knocked unconscious, while fending off the household guards. When the assassin caught sight of WanQi PengWei, he suddenly leapt upward and landed on the roof. In an arrogant tone he said, “I was entrusted by someone to do this. Who told this fool to be so blind as to injure someone he shouldn’t have injured! General WanQi, I’ll be taking my leave first!” The man’s QingGong was extraordinarily good. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished without a trace. Even WanQi PengWei, who had fought countless enemies on the battlefield, could only watch the dust the other left behind, with no hope of closing the distance.
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 102 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
Mobilizing all the household guards and servants of the General’s residence, they searched the city throughout the night. At dawn, they finally found WanQi DongMing, but what they found was merely his already rigid corpse hanging on the city gate. His body bore no other wounds except for his severed mouth and genitals. He had been tortured to death!WanQi PengWei was torn with grief and rage. That wicked bastard from Bei Ling, intoxicated by favor, had brazenly hired an assassin to commit murder! Such a debt of vengeance could not go unpaid!
The results of the Ministry of Justice’s investigation were soon delivered into Hong Xu’s hands. As he looked at the Memorial in front of him, his heart sank.
“Your Majesty, although there are still some doubts about the case, all the recent evidence points to His Highness of Bei Ling as the one who hired the assassin……” the high official from the Ministry of Justice reported with his head lowered, unable to bring himself to look at His Majesty’s icy expression.
“Two days have passed, and you all still have not caught that person in black?”
“Your Majesty, please forgive me. This subject has already dispatched more men to thoroughly search for the assassin’s whereabouts and believe he will be captured and brought to justice soon!”
“Let this not be an empty promise! You may leave. As for the progress of the case, if any news leaks, We will hold only you accountable!”
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty! This subject will obey your orders!”
Hong Xu returned to Xia He Palace and saw ZiLi lying on the couch, lost in thought. ZiLi’s face was full of sorrow, which would make anyone else feel melancholic as well.
“What is troubling my baby to make him look like this? Hmn?” Hong Xu asked in a doting tone, as he placed his hands on either side of ZiLi’s waist and leaned down.
“You’re back! How is the investigation going?” ZiLi seemed to only now realize Hong Xu’s presence and asked eagerly with wide eyes.
ZiLi’s momentary neglect made Hong Xu dissatisfied. He bent down and kissed the other fiercely on the lips before saying, “This trap has actually been meticulously set. Baby, the other side has actually forced me into a choice, ah! Catching a highly skilled man in black is no easy task. Without solid evidence, baby, you have truly become the unlucky one. I cannot bear to see even the slightest harm come to you, so I will step into cover for you. Baby, for you, I am even willing to sacrifice my image as a just and benevolent ruler in the eyes of my subjects. So tonight, you will have to make me eat well!” Hong Xu narrowed his eyes as he smiled slyly.
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 102 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
ZiLi blushed and pushed away Hong Xu’s lips as the other secretly tried to take advantage of him again, saying, “Isn’t there a way to have the best of both worlds? I don’t want to be pointed at and scolded for seducing the Emperor again!”“There is, but it is troublesome!” Hong Xu said, leaning in for another kiss.
ZiLi pressed his hands against Hong Xu’s chest, his eyes darting nervously as he looked at the other. “Am I always causing you trouble?”
Hong Xu’s gaze softened as he raised his hand and gently caressed ZiLi’s cheek. “You are not a burden to me, so how could you be any trouble? That kind of thinking won’t do baby!”
Hong Xu’s words touched a soft spot in ZiLi’s heart, causing his uneasy and confused emotions to gradually dissipate. He hooked his arm around Hong Xu’s neck and chuckled, “I noticed that since I met you, I’ve become more emotionally sensitive and prone to melancholy, causing me to worry about personal gains and losses. I don’t want to be like that!”
“What a little fool you are!” Hong Xu pecked at the corner of ZiLi’s lips, one wandering hand already slipping inside the other’s clothes, seeking out those two sensitive points and teasing them.
ZiLi trembled lightly, a blush spreading across his face. His lips parted as he panted softly, his moist eyes like black onyx submerged in water, making Hong Xu’s throat tighten.
“Wait, wait!” ZiLi suddenly turned his head and said to Hong Xu, who was nuzzling and nibbling at his neck, “I forgot to ask you something!”
“Whatever it is, we will talk after we are done!” Hong Xu mumbled, still nibbling away.
“No, that is out of the question, if I let you finish, I won’t be able to get out of bed again!” ZiLi wriggled desperately to escape. “I want to see someone alone!”
“If it is that male courtesan Ji Bai you are thinking of, then forget it!”
ZiLi was stunned, then looked at Hong Xu with admiration, saying, “How amazing! How did you know I wanted to see him?”
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 102 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
“Heh, heh, your little secrets, baby, if I did not know them, how could I call myself a good lover?”“Uh, then why can’t I see him?”
“I have shut down their inn!”
“What?”
“Given their motives, not ordering their decapitation as a public warning is already letting them off lightly!”
“But I am curious. I want to see that Ji Bai! Have you seen him? Is he very similar?”
“Baby, thinking about other men at a time like this will make me angry! And when I get angry, your little butt will suffer!”
“Ah! How can you be like this…… Hnn…… No, I still have many questions to ask…… Hnghh……”
“Whatever questions you have, we will talk after we are done. I said I am going to eat well!”
“We…… Hnn, haven’t eaten!”
“We will eat after we are done!”
“We…… Hnghh, haven’t bathed!”
“We will bathe after we are done!”
***
“My Lord, everything is going according to plan!” A man knelt on one knee, head bowed as he reported, while the figure behind the beaded curtain sat by the window, seemingly lost in the view outside.“……That goes without saying!” After a long time, the figure spoke calmy.
“Then, My Lord, what should we do next?”
“What’s next? Hah, let’s just spread some little rumors for people to gossip over tea!”
“As you command!”
Looking up at the sky, the autumn weather was clear and refreshing!
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