Chapter 015: But Want to Go F*ck the Emperor
Outside the gates of the Tianlu Pavilion.
The long-waiting Jinwu Guard heard movement inside and assumed the big event had been accomplished, hurriedly opening the doors to welcome the new sovereign of the realm.
Tang Tuan straightened his battle armor and stepped forward, his heart filled with pride. His elder brother was ascending the throne - what an honor! In the future, he would easily become the most trusted general guarding the emperor.
"Elder brother... no, Your Majesty-" Tang Tuan pondered how to address the new emperor with more grandeur.
But as the doors of Tianlu Pavilion opened, he saw the Regent cradling someone, and Tang Tuan was shocked, scrutinizing the person's face: "How is the Emperor still here!?"
"Treason, how could the Emperor not be here?" the Regent coldly glared at him.
"This..." Tang Tuan was utterly perplexed. Wasn't the plan to usurp the throne? How could things change so drastically?
As Tang Tuan struggled to reorient himself, he looked down at the young Emperor, curled up in the elder brother's embrace. The young Emperor's face was tear-streaked and pitiful, but that wasn't important - the crucial thing was-
Tang Tuan exclaimed in shock: "—The mouth!"
"Shut up," Su Jingzhi said coldly.
Could it be that the Elder Brother... was not after the Emperor's throne, but the Emperor himself?! The price of this one kiss was no less than that of a heroic tale.
"Mm..." Wei Wanlan stirred.
"Elder Brother, look!"
"Mm." Su Jingzhi lowered his gaze, and Wei Wanlan's soft body shifted restlessly, burying his eyes in Su Jingzhi's embrace to shield them from the light outside.
A complicated emotion rose in Su Jingzhi's heart, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards slightly, his embrace tightening with an unnoticed tenderness. His gaze fell on the scab on Wei Wanlan's lips, his pupils darkening as he silently observed.
"Um, this subject... this subject will go bring out Lord Linghu Zheng," Tang Tuan felt he understood the situation, "I'll take my leave."
After some time to adjust, Wei Wanlan's eyes moved away from Su Jingzhi's collar and slowly opened.
He trembled, feeling as if he was suspended in the air, his back unsupported. He realized he was in Su Jingzhi's embrace, looking into those deep, unfathomable eyes.
It was simply unbelievable. During the time he had electrocuted Su Jingzhi and lost consciousness himself, he truly thought he would never wake up again. Yet here he was, being carried by the "villain," Wei Wanlan's heart racing with trepidation, his body stiff, unsure of Su Jingzhi's intentions.
"Regent..." Wei Wanlan tentatively called, trying to gauge the villain's attitude.
The "villain" Su Jingzhi said nothing, silently walking towards the open space outside Tianlu Pavilion.
"I'm really broke! I can't afford the ticket price, the only valuable thing left in the Zichen Palace is a Go board. You've confiscated everything else valuable and fun."
He didn't understand what "ticket price" meant. He'd never played Go before.
Wei Wanlan asked gloomily, "So you're not going to usurp the throne?"
Su Jingzhi's expression turned cold.
"!!!" Frightened, Wei Wanlan instinctively wanted to bury his head, but it wouldn't be appropriate to snuggle back into the Regent's embrace, so he could only cover his face with his hands.
But this movement tugged at his injured mouth: "Ouch! It hurts!" Wei Wanlan whimpered, his face scrunched up in pain.
Su Jingzhi's steps slowed slightly, and his gaze was drawn again to the crimson scab on Wei Wanlan's lips, the broken skin now seeping thin strands of blood, making the lips seem even more alluringly red.
Su Jingzhi's Adam's apple bobbed.
The silent impasse between them seemed unbreakable.
As a prudent person, the Emperor should be able to discern the situation. After the terrifying events in Tianlu Pavilion, Wei Wanlan didn't dare to go against the Regent's wishes.
So he plastered on an appeasing smile and stroked Su Jingzhi's front: "Hehe, hehe. As long as you don't kill the Emperor, you'll still be a good prince... I won't blame you, Regent, please don't abandon me."
However, Su Jingzhi coldly said, "Now that the Emperor is awake, does His Majesty still need me to carry him?"
"I'll get down right away!"
Wei Wanlan obediently hopped down, wobbling a few steps before steadying himself on his sore ankles. By then, Tang Tuan had brought over Linghu Zheng and the court historians, Linghu Zheng tied up like a rice dumpling.
"Kneel!" Tang Tuan commanded.
Wei Wanlan's brow furrowed with worry, the Regent was merciless. He feared for Linghu Zheng's safety.
But Linghu Zheng did not fully kneel, instead defiantly puffing out his chest: "—Su Yan! How dare you usurp the throne, you rebellious traitor! Even if you kill me a thousand times, you will never make me submit!"
Su Jingzhi coldly said, "Which eye of yours saw this subject usurping the throne?" He pulled Wei Wanlan in front of Linghu Zheng, causing the Emperor to jump a few times, but he dared not protest, only pouting his lips.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty is still alive... Your Majesty!" Linghu Zheng's eyes brimmed with emotional tears as he carefully examined Wei Wanlan, searching for signs of the villain's mistreatment. He muttered, "The Emperor must have... been hurt... Hmm, this..."
This, this, this was indeed an injury, right? But on the lips, it seemed a bit... questionable!
"Your Majesty!" The loyal minister was deeply shaken, plaintively asking, "Your Majesty, are you truly unharmed?"
Su Jingzhi coldly snorted, clearly disdainful of the old-fashioned scholar.
Ah, now that the great minister had declared his stance, it seemed this little puppet could only cooperate with the Prince in their duet.
So Wei Wanlan let out a dry chuckle: "My minister need not worry, the Regent came to the Tianlu Pavilion to receive me. I - I am truly well. Truly."
Truly. Lately, his speech had been a bit hyperbolic and evasive, but after completing this task, he must work on improving that in the future.
Wuwuwu!
***
"Your Majesty—"
Upon returning to the palace, An Ruyi came to greet him.
As a spy planted close to the Emperor, An Eunuch was not exactly resentful towards the young Emperor. Now, seeing that the Prince had not usurped the throne but rather returned the Emperor, he was surely delighted, his voice changing in tone: "Your Majesty, let this servant take a look at you..."
Wei Wanlan walked over to show him.
"Good, good, no serious harm," An Ruyi carefully examined the Emperor, but suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Your Majesty, your mouth!"
Ah, why did they have to bring that up!
Hearing their reactions, Wei Wanlan knew the injury on his mouth must be quite severe, but an injury in that location was really not a good thing. His face heated up a little: "Go get some ointment."
"Yes."
"And remove the charcoal fires in the palace, it's too hot in here."
"Yes." An Ruyi hurriedly went to attend to the tasks.
The ointment brought back was a secret formula from the Imperial Medical Office, a restorative cream with a cool, minty scent.
An Ruyi also brought a bronze mirror, placing it in Wei Wanlan's hand. The mirror reflected the Emperor's beautiful countenance, and An Ruyi dipped a brush in the ointment, lightly dabbing it on Wei Wanlan's lips.
"Ow... Careful, An Gong Gong, it hurts." As the translucent ointment sank into the skin, the injury looked even more prominent. The Emperor's lovely face was marred by this broken wound.
An Ruyi was already being very gentle, but still managed to hurt him: "Your Majesty's skin is so delicate. How did you sustain such a severe injury?"
—The image of Su Jingzhi's frenzied actions in Tianlu Pavilion flashed through Wei Wanlan's mind.
Wei Wanlan pressed his lips together, a flush of shame rising, along with a strange, itchy feeling in his heart that he couldn't quite describe.
He dully asked, "How long until it heals?"
"Your Majesty, with an injury this deep, at least ten days."
Ten days... During that time, he would have to meet so many people. The fact that he was bitten by Su Jingzhi would likely spread everywhere!
He really didn't want that kind of thing to become public knowledge. Recalling that he sometimes needed makeup for his cosplay activities as the society's COSER, Wei Wanlan asked, "Do you have any concealer?"
"Concealer?" An Ruyi was taken aback.
This was the ancient era, so he had to translate it into the language of the time: "Pearl, white orchid, honey, talcum powder."
"We have all those, this servant will go prepare them immediately." An Ruyi took his leave.
...
【So what exactly happened to your mouth?】
404 couldn't see it, but from the reactions of An Ruyi, Tang Tuan, and the others, they were clearly brimming with curiosity.
There was no way Wei Wanlan could admit such an embarrassing thing. 404 liked to tease him, and he could never figure it out in time, so he couldn't give it that chance.
"I bumped into the corner of a bookshelf and got injured."
The logical system didn't believe it: 【The bookshelf is so high, how could you have hit the corner unless the Regent threw you up there!?】
It was so hard to deceive!
Wei Wanlan strategically coughed for a moment, completely at a loss for how to respond to this problem, so he could only resort to clinging and whining: "I deserve worker's compensation. I'm already injured, so don't bring up my mouth again."
The system had programs of civilized rationality, understanding labor laws, but it was even better at debating: 【The host should have already completed Task 1, but you've gone off track, now asking for sickness leave pay.】
Uwah, it was so good at talking!
Wei Wanlan couldn't refute the system born from countless power struggle novels, and could only firmly emphasize the severity of his injury again: "It'll take me ten days to recover. Being wounded for ten days and still having to pay, you're so inhumane."
The host's tone was on the verge of tears, and the system was defeated: 【Alright, I'll arrange your worker's compensation for you.】
"What is it?"
【I'll let you go out incognito.】
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