Chapter 73
At this point, Lu Hanzhi fully understood why Yuwen Min had taken advantage of the original owner, himself, while drunk.
When Yuwen Min got drunk, he was mostly docile and easily lost control of himself.
As for Lu Hanzhi, it had been hard for him to hold back his desires the night before.
If not for the medicine from Doctor Lin, he might have been dealing with a pregnancy right now.
Lu Hanzhi clicked his tongue. It seemed that next time, he couldn’t let Yuwen Min drink so much. This situation was a bit too embarrassing.
He stepped forward to cover Yuwen Min with the blanket and then left the private chamber.
Imperial Concubine Rong noticed Lu Hanzhi return. She stopped playing with Ah Chan and asked, “Hmm? Why isn’t Hanzhi sleeping?”
Ah Chan, seeing his father return, turned and waved his little hand.
Lu Hanzhi approached, picked up Ah Chan, and said, “Actually, I’m not drunk. It’s His Highness’ tolerance for alcohol that’s too poor.”
Imperial Concubine Rong smiled and replied, “He has been like this since he was young. It’s better now; before, he would pass out after just a few sips.”
Lu Hanzhi knew that this condition was called alcohol intolerance.
Even ordinary people could have alcohol intolerance. Some became rowdy after drinking, while others would just fall into a deep sleep. Yuwen Min’s case was more unusual: when drunk, he became unusually obedient.
It was rare for such a rebellious person to be so compliant.
Lu Hanzhi smiled and poked Ah Chan’s chubby face, saying, “Why are you so skinny now?”
Had Prince An’s weight-loss plan worked?
Imperial Concubine Rong replied, “Children gain weight from milk. He’ll be back to his chubby self in a few days.”
Lu Hanzhi nodded thoughtfully and asked, “Mother Concubine, the Emperor… was quite irritable today?”
Imperial Concubine Rong looked up at him, sighed, and said, “It’s not your fault, nor because of the chaos in the Western Regions. Today is the anniversary of Young Master Ping’s death. Every year on this day, the Emperor locks himself in his study for the entire day. But over the years, he has gotten better at handling it. However, recently, the matter regarding Young Master Ping has been brought up again, and I think he’s feeling a bit down.”
Lu Hanzhi understood. No wonder the Emperor had been so irritable today.
For him, Yin Pingwu wasn’t just a pain from his past; it was also the root of his own weakness.
He hadn’t been able to protect his one true love, and he hadn’t even been able to investigate his cause of death at the time.
Lu Hanzhi sighed and said, “The Emperor does have affection and loyalty, but he doesn’t need to keep dwelling on the past.”
Imperial Concubine Rong hesitated, as though she wanted to say something but didn’t.
After staying at Imperial Concubine Rong’s place until dusk, Yuwen Min finally sobered up.
Looking at his own naked body, he seemed a little confused.
He massaged his temples, his mind swirling with countless thoughts.
When did His Majesty start behaving so recklessly after drinking?
In the words of the Wang Fei, it wasn’t exactly a very scientific situation.
He suspected that the Wang Fei had ordered him to undress, humiliating himself in front of him.
If he didn’t act a little mischievously every day, he wouldn’t be able to get through his days.
Fortunately, the future tyrant wasn’t too thin-skinned, and neither was he overly thick-skinned; he managed the situation rather calmly.
He dressed as usual and pushed open the door, heading toward the main hall of Chenxi Pavilion.
As soon as he opened the door, the atmosphere in the room felt heavy.
Yuwen Min stepped forward and asked, “Mother Concubine, what’s going on?”
Imperial Concubine Rong glanced at Lu Hanzhi, who then explained, “Someone just reported that His Majesty left the palace in a hurry.”
Yuwen Min furrowed his brows and asked, “Left the palace? Where did he go?”
Imperial Concubine Rong answered, “Today is the anniversary of Young Master Ping’s death. He hasn’t visited the Three Life Tomb in years. But today, for some unknown reason, he left the palace dressed in plain clothes, taking a few people with him.”
Yuwen Min thought for a moment and asked, “Mother Concubine, are you worried about Father’s safety?”
Imperial Concubine Rong shook her head and said, “Not really. I’m more concerned that someone might exploit this situation for their own gain.”
Lu Hanzhi suddenly remembered something and said, “This is bad! Yuwen Min, didn’t you say that the person has been using acupuncture and medicine to win over the villagers in the western outskirts?”
Before Imperial Concubine Rong could wonder why her daughter-in-law was calling her husband by name so casually, Yuwen Min grabbed Lu Hanzhi’s hand and said, “There’s no time to waste. Let’s go check it out immediately.”
The Three Life Tomb was located in the western outskirts, at Yuanben Mountain.
Yuanben Mountain was the ancestral tomb of the Yuwen family, where emperors from every generation were buried, starting with Emperor Taizu.
It was the first time that an emperor personally oversaw the construction of the Three Life Tomb for a deceased companion, indicating the person’s importance in the emperor’s heart.
The emperor had brought only eight personal guards with him, all of whom were skilled in martial arts.
His mood was in turmoil, and just when he thought he might escape for a moment of peace, yet more things were complicating his life.
Although he knew that, as the ruler of a nation, he couldn’t afford to live carefree, today he desperately wished for some peace.
He found himself madly longing for Yin Pingwu. If he were by his side, he certainly wouldn’t feel this irritable.
Yin Pingwu was like a refreshing breeze to him, calming his heart with just a thought.
Once he left the palace, the emperor instructed his guards to drive the carriage westward along the road.
Once they left the city, the landscape became increasingly desolate.
The scenery around the capital was vastly different on each side: the eastern outskirts were wealthy, the southern outskirts poor, the northern outskirts dilapidated, and the western outskirts were barren.
There were many unmarked graves in the area, and wild animals roamed freely.
The belief was that the western region was close to the western sky, hence the desolate nature of the land.
The emperor furrowed his brows, deep in thought.
Could the western frontier rebellion really be related to his younger brother, whom he had watched grow up? He had already instructed people to secretly investigate. If it was confirmed, should he execute him?
The emperor felt a heavy weight in his heart. As the supreme ruler of the world, why did he have no family member who truly cared for him?
When Mingji was young, he was obedient and sensible, but as he grew older, he lived a carefree life like a wandering cloud.
Why had everyone deceived him?
The Empress had deceived him, his younger brother had deceived him, and even his own sons were plotting against him!
As the emperor sunk deeper into his thoughts, the carriage suddenly came to a stop. He frowned and asked, “What’s going on? Why aren’t we moving?”
The guard outside the carriage replied, “Your Majesty, mountain bandits are blocking the road.”
The emperor remained calm and said, “A few mountain bandits? Are you telling me these imperial guards can’t handle them? Deal with them.”
The guards outside responded in unison, “Yes, Your Majesty!”
Soon, the sounds of weapons clashing echoed from outside the carriage.
The emperor lifted the carriage curtain and frowned deeply at the sight. The number of bandits was far more than he had expected.
And judging by their skills, these were no ordinary bandits.
Every strike was deadly, and the emperor quickly recognized their identity — they were death warriors!
Who would send death warriors to assassinate him?
Before long, a few of his guards were beginning to falter.
One guard jumped onto the carriage and said, “Your Majesty, please allow me to escort you to safety!”
The emperor didn’t say anything, and the carriage sped off.
However, the death warriors continued to pursue relentlessly. One of the guards driving the carriage was struck by an arrow in his left shoulder.
Blood began to spill into the carriage, and the emperor started to feel a growing sense of unease.
Who would want him dead? Was it Yuwen Mingji?
Just then, a muffled grunt was heard from the front. The emperor looked up and saw the blood oozing from the guard’s shoulder, tinged with black, indicating the arrow was poisoned.
The emperor was startled. At that moment, the left wheel of the carriage struck a large rock.
The impact caused the carriage to lose balance and flip over.
The emperor was thrown from the carriage and immediately lost consciousness.
Lu Hanzhi and Yuwen Min had hurriedly left the palace but didn’t head to Prince An’s residence. Instead, they made their way directly to the western outskirts.
Ah Chan had been left behind in the palace, with instructions to send someone to the Prince Chu’s residence to inform his second brother, asking him to make time to visit the palace and bring Ah Chan back.
At this moment, Lu Hanzhi finally remembered a plot from the original story, which took place in the western outskirts. The emperor had been attacked there, and all his guards were killed.
The emperor had definitely survived the danger, but he had hit his head when thrown from the carriage, rendering him unconscious.
This was the first instance of the Little Empress’s unexpected fortune. While casually collecting herbs in the western outskirts, she stumbled upon the injured and unconscious emperor.
She quickly found a nearby cave and took refuge, where she carefully tended to him through the night.
She fed him medicine, wiped his body down, and earned the emperor’s deep gratitude.
The following day, she rewarded the Crown Prince, allowing him to preside over the court while she claimed illness and retired from public duties.
Of course, her status as a concubine was elevated, and she was promoted from a mere servant to a favored consort.
However, this plot didn’t occur until after the emperor’s southern tour.
At that time, Yuwen Min had not yet officially started the internal turmoil; it was merely a small subplot in the story, so Lu Hanzhi had not immediately thought of it.
Seeing his serious expression, Yuwen Min asked, “Are you worried that His Majesty might be in danger?”
Lu Hanzhi furrowed his brows. “Something is bound to happen, but… I can’t say for sure. We’d better find the Emperor before certain people do.”
From what Lu Hanzhi knew about Su Wan’ning, she wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
In her current situation, only one person could resolve it— the Emperor.
How could she win the Emperor’s favor?
Is there any better way to earn merit than by rescuing the Emperor?
Saving the Emperor would be a tremendous achievement, benefiting both her and the Crown Prince immensely.
He could believe that the Emperor’s accident was planned by Su Wan’ning herself.
Once the accident happened, she would play the role of a savior, like a little fairy descending from the heavens to rescue him, flawlessly.
Lu Hanzhi was a bit impressed by Su Wan’ning’s persistence in using this tactic, but it was indeed the fastest and most effective method.
The two of them hurried to the western outskirts. After traveling for half an hour further west, they arrived at a desolate mass grave where they saw bodies scattered everywhere.
The people were dead, not a single survivor.
Lu Hanzhi furrowed his brow. “Let’s quickly find the Emperor!”
But Yuwen Min stopped him, saying, “It’s too late. If they weren’t killed, they must have been rescued. If we appear here now, it’ll only give others a reason to blame us.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Are you saying… that person might turn around and accuse us, claiming that we did this?”
Yuwen Min nodded. “No one knows we’re here in the western outskirts, so we should avoid encountering the Emperor.”
Lu Hanzhi was full of frustration; despite all the planning, they had missed one crucial detail, and now it seemed like Su Wan’ning had won this round.
Yuwen Min added, “It’s still salvageable.”
Lu Hanzhi asked, “How can we salvage this?”
Yuwen Min looked at the bodies on the ground, a slight smirk on his lips, and said, “How about we stage a scene?”
Lu Hanzhi, confused, asked, “Stage a scene? How would we do that?”
Yuwen Min smiled without answering, and Lu Hanzhi instantly understood.
Framing someone was something Yuwen Min was already very skilled at, but framing others required expertise.
As night fell, in the cave on the cliff, Su Wan’ning was tending a fire, brewing medicine in a pot.
The scent of the medicine spread through the cave, mingling with the smell of roasted sweet potatoes.
Su Wan’ning stood up, looking at the unconscious Emperor lying there, and smiled with satisfaction.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
Support Ciacia’s translation temple on Kofi—and if the cliffhanger demons are haunting you, join the Han’er Tier to purge them with advanced chapter access (up to 5!) before the masses even blink.
