Chapter 138: Tou Ming Zhuang*
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
* before joining an organization, you should show your loyalty with the actions approved by the organization
Liu Zhongming dismissed his attendants and walked back slowly along the city wall, leading his horse. The streetlights were gradually being extinguished, leaving him with a large area of darkness to hide in.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he kept sensing a faint smell of blood. He had washed his hands repeatedly before leaving that room, but the stench seemed to linger on.
He unconsciously put his hand to his nose, but the scent of incense overwhelmed him, mixing with the peculiar odor of infant milk and blood, which covered the smell of incense.
When he made the first cut, the woman had still not died. Perhaps it was motherly instincts, but even after his knife had pierced her body, there was still the unborn child in her womb.
“Please,” the woman’s fading gaze locked onto him, her bloody hand desperately protecting her belly, as if still hoping to let the other child see the light of day. “Please… spare the child…”
Liu Zhongming suddenly bent over and vomited. His stomach had long been emptied, but the spasms continued, almost making him lose his balance. He had to lean against the city wall, kneeling down slowly and shivering in the darkness.
Tou Ming Zhuang.
When he went to the palace, Chenzhou had already divined a divination for him – tou ming zhuang.
In order to keep him under control, the emperor asked him to replace the two deceased individuals.
Originally, he thought that by kneeling outside the imperial study, he could show his sincerity to the emperor and later find two abandoned babies without parents to raise, which would serve as his tou ming zhuang to the emperor.
At worst, he would have to find a pregnant woman expecting twins and only give one baby to the emperor, without putting the woman and the other child’s life in danger.
He was too naive.
After leaving the palace, he was blindfolded and taken by Yu Dexi to an unknown place. Until he saw three pregnant women in front of him, he realized what the emperor wanted him to do.
One woman each year – no wonder the emperor was not in a hurry. There were already candidates waiting, and he just needed to fall into the trap himself.
At this point, he had no way to turn back.
“Shizi,” Yu Dexi shook his feather duster behind him and said happily, “Your luck is really good. I thought that you wouldn’t make it in time.”
Perhaps it was not because he was lucky, but because he was valuable enough to be used.
A nine month fetus could barely survive.
There was a midwife in the delivery room, skillfully massaging and pressing, while the bound woman on the bed was in excruciating pain, unable to even scream.
And he could only watch as the premature baby was taken away.
All that was necessary was three knives, six lives, and the missing two people would be replaced this year.
After walking for so long, the crying of the baby and the woman’s desperate screams still echoed in his ears.
He felt Pan He’s fear, a nightmare that he couldn’t shake off for the rest of his life.
“Congratulations, Shizi.”
He smiled and exchanged congratulations with Yu Gonggong, then was calmly blindfolded and led down from the carriage in the night.
Fortunately, it was in the dark of night and no one saw him kneeling on the ground, vomiting and biting his sleeve in his mouth, silently crying in pain.
This disheveled, filthy and nauseating appearance.
The journey back home was particularly long. He walked until dawn broke and he could see the lanterns hanging outside the mansion, shining bright yellow in the morning light.
Someone was running towards him against the light, like a butterfly fluttering in the sunlight.
Maybe it was because he was too tired to take another step, or maybe it was because he cherished the feeling of waiting like this, but Liu Zhongming stopped and just opened his arms, waiting eagerly.
Someone was welcoming him home. How could he not come back?
In the next moment, that person rushed into his arms, full of fragrance.
“Zhongming!” Qu Chenzhou hugged his waist tightly, tiptoed to climb up, haphazardly nibbling on his neck. Without saying anything else, he just repeatedly called out his name in a choked voice: “Zhongming… Zhongming.”
Liu Zhongming allowed him to vent like this, letting him bite and nibble for a moment before lifting Qu Chenzhou’s chin. “
This feeling was like being separated for several autumns, but it had only been a few days. It felt like they had been apart for a long, long time. The wind and sand had corroded a hollow space in their hearts, and only his little fox could fill it.
“Why are you crying?” He lowered his head and licked the wet corner of his eye with his tongue, playfully rebuking, “Is it just because I came back late that you’re so clingy now? When did you become so delicate…”
He was forcefully pushed into the alleyway and pressed against the wall.
It was like falling into a dream in a place where they could avoid all eyes, indulging in each other without restraint.
They were two halves of the same person, torn apart, only by sticking together could they not feel the pain.
“Chenzhou,” Liu Zhongming repeatedly wiped away the tears of the person in front of him, and in the midst of their crazy kissing and biting, he heard his own hoarse voice say, “Chenzhou… don’t leave me.”
***
The water in the tea stove boiled for a few moments, a slender hand wrapped in a handkerchief picked up the teapot, and the boiling water and tea leaves were swirled together in the cup, filling it seven-tenths full.
Mu Jingyan held the cup with both hands and presented it on the tea table, “Mother, please have some tea.”
He watched as Concubine Yu carefully held the teacup in her hand, and then smiled, “Mother, have you heard anything about what Liu Zhongming did that day while in the palace?”
“Jingyan, palace matters… it’s not something you can just hear about. Even I, let alone Liu Qingru, have not been able to get anything out of the emperor and her own younger brother. How would I know?” Concubine Yu lowered her head and rubbed the teacup, feeling ashamed.
She looked at her son, afraid of being blamed, and dared not pause as she asked, “Don’t you have anyone in the palace?”
Mu Jingyan’s expression was indifferent, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself: “Last year, because of Mother’s matter, Boyan and Yu Dexi punished many people. It’s not as easy to gather information as it used to be.”
Concubine Yu dared not speak again.
“Zhongming, this person,” Mu Jingyan smiled lightly, “I used to think he only cared about doing business. I underestimated him.”
“What happened?” Concubine Yu asked in confusion, “Do you know what he’s done?”
“Just a guess. Doesn’t Royal Mother see what he wants?” Mu Jingyan asked back, laughing lightly in Concubine Yu’s silence.
“Liao Guangming withdrew from the camp in the north a few days ago and went to Luo City. This fool only has manure in his head and only thinks about showing off in front of the emperor. I don’t know when he will realize that he has no way out.”
“If he had realized it before withdrawing from the camp, and came back to beg the emperor, there might still be a way out. But now it’s too late.”
“Since Liao Guangming left the northern suburbs, Liu Zhongming has been in frequent contact with the Jinxiu Ying in the name of the Dali Temple.”
“I can’t go myself, and I’ve asked my uncles to intervene, but they couldn’t stop the other side from freely spending money to crush us. Those in the Jinxiu Ying are not fools, they know very well who to choose between Liu Zhongming and Liao Guangming.”
“Liao Guangming is probably unaware that his own backyard is on fire.”
“I finally managed to convince him once in secret, but he hurriedly came back to the capital and was fooled by those scoundrels who had received benefits, and then he left again.”
“If I were the emperor, I wouldn’t even look at such a fool,” he said. Concubine Yu couldn’t fail to understand the meaning behind his words.
“Are you saying that Liu Zhongming’s target… is Jinxiu Ying? He can’t have such a big appetite. Impossible!” Concubine Yu denied, “The Bai family already holds military power, how could it be possible!”
“Military power is military power, and the Jinxiu Ying are loyal dogs,” Mu Jingyan’s gaze became serious, “That’s why I said I underestimated Zhongming. If he is willing to put down his identity, how can the emperor not be moved?”
Concubine Yu was getting anxious with his words.
“We’ve tried so hard for so long, but the emperor still won’t give you even a little bit of the Southern Bureau. If we had known earlier…”
Halfway through her words, she stopped, finally realizing the problem.
— Not mentioning the three Wangyes’, even if it was Mu Jingyan, he could not bend down and take on the position of the Jinxiu Ying.
With so many people watching them in the court. As a royal prince, who would be willing to be held by someone else.
“This Cheng Yaojin* who came out of nowhere, I didn’t even think of him before,” Mu Jingyan sneered, “When Liu Shizi really becomes the leader of the Liu family, the Jinxiu Ying will become more difficult to handle than in Liao Guangming’s hands.”
* often depicted in Chinese folklore and popular culture as a somewhat inept and bumbling warrior who sometimes shows up at the right place and right time to save the day.
“No… it can’t be.” Concubine Yu rarely saw him without a smile, and was a little panicked at the moment, “I heard them say that the Jinxiu Ying is probably going to decline…”
“That’s Liao Guangming’s Jinxiu Ying.”
Mu Jingyan took a sip of tea and poured the lukewarm tea that had lost its warmth to the side.
“It’s cold, so naturally, you have to get a new one. Whether the Jinxiu Ying will decline or not depends on whether the emperor wants to use it. Do you think the emperor will be willing to let go of this opportunity to control the Liu family?”
Concubine Yu’s heart tightened and she spoke cautiously after a while, as if she was afraid of angering her son.
“No wonder…the emperor has been staying in the Lijing Palace these days.”
Mu Jingyan’s fingers slowly rubbed the teacup, and he didn’t say a word.
He had insiders in the palace and naturally knew about this trivial matter, but precisely because of this, he realized that no matter what kind of agreement had been reached between Liu Zhongming and the emperor, staying in Lijing Palace had already indicated the emperor’s attitude.
He had thought before that he would meet Liu Zhongming face to face sooner or later, but he did not expect it to be earlier than he had imagined.
“Jingyan…” Concubine Yu looked at her son’s complexion and reminded him in a soft voice, “If Liu Zhongming knows about his brother’s incident that year…”
His knife-like gaze shot over, and she swallowed the rest of her words.
“That year?” Mu Jingyan sneered, “If it weren’t for your good deeds of hiding him, how could Liu Qingyan have stumbled upon it? Why would I need to kill him to keep it secret? When I haven’t gotten anything yet, I’m being guarded against. Now, you still have the face to bring up the past?”
Concubine Yu’s lips moved, but she ultimately held back her tears.
“Your uncles are also doing this for your own good. The past is the past, what should we do now? Just watch Liu Zhongming take over Jinxiu Ying? If Liu Qingru is just favored, then it’s fine, but I’m afraid she’s pregnant…”
“What are you panicking for!”
Mu Jingyan scolded, paused for a moment, and then said slowly: “I had someone follow Liao Guangming. I don’t know when he will come to his senses. If he returns to the capital, we will naturally pick him up.”
“As for my uncles, I have also made arrangements for them to behave obediently. If Liu Zhongming can spend money openly, we will use money secretly. If Liao Guangming’s backyard can be set on fire, Liu Zhongming’s can as well.”
“As for the palace…” His gaze fell on Concubine Yu, “Would Mother like to have another son in the palace and fight to the death with me?”
Concubine Yu nodded in agreement: “I understand. I’ll figure out a way.”
Mu Jingyan poured her another cup of tea and handed it to her with both hands. “Take your time, Mother. I will come and pay my respects to you again next time. Royal Father will surely be pleased.”
Concubine Yu watched him step back down the stairs, and her heart, which was in her throat, slowly fell.
“Mother.”
She was startled and quickly answered, “Jingyan, is there… anything else?”
“Why are you so nervous? Am I not your son?” Mu Jingyan smiled gently, as if he had recalled a sweet memory in his heart. “I forgot to remind Mother, do not harm Qingru.”
Concubine Yu’s heart almost jumped out of her throat, and she couldn’t help lowering her voice to scold him: “Jingyan, are you crazy! She’s… she’s a concubine!”
“So what? When I ascend the throne, I will send her to the cold palace then she will only belong to me.”
“Jingyan!” Concubine Yu suppressed her pounding chest. “Stop talking!”
“Why can’t I say it?” Mu Jingyan smiled shyly, as if thinking of a beloved sweetheart. “If someone like me can become a King, why can’t I imagine being with a noble concubine?”
Author’s note: Um, maybe this is the second “thunderbolt” in the story after non-consensual sex?
Both the Gong and Shou have innocent blood on their hands.
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Go to my Patreon where you can get up to 5 more unedited chapters right away or access to all BL early chapters available!! Or go show your appreciation by donating at Paypal!!! <3 :)
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Ohoho, I didn’t expect that! OAO
Thank You for the new chapter (๑°꒵°๑)･*♡