When Jiang Wu woke up from this nap and opened his eyes, he immediately met Yin Wuzhi’s expectant face.
He vaguely remembered their conversation before sleeping and internally shouted: No.
He didn’t know how Yin Wuzhi could read his expressionless face to find his refusal; his expression dimmed slightly. “I haven’t taken you to try it yet.”
Jiang Wu didn’t say anything.
“But they said you don’t reject this matter.”
He just didn’t reject being carried.
This psychological state was a bit complicated, and Yin Wuzhi couldn’t understand it.
Jiang Wu told him, “Don’t tie my legs, only my hands.”
“You only like being tied at the waist?” Yin Wuzhi understood. “You enjoy being taken along, but you don’t want to be moved around.”
Jiang Wu remained silent.
But what was the difference between the two?
One was hanging loosely from a stationary waist, and the other was tied to moving limbs.
“Actually, you like…” Yin Wuzhi tentatively suggested, “floating?”
This wasn’t hard to guess. Jiang Wu liked swings, enjoyed floating on water, and sometimes, when he was in a daze, his gaze would follow the birds in the sky.
Moreover, he liked being held, liked to sleep; these were all related to being suspended.
Yin Wuzhi looked at him and noticed a faint light gradually filling his clear eyes. The lifeless person slowly turned his gaze towards him and gently corrected him: “Flying.”
Yes, he wanted to fly.
Yin Wuzhi suddenly understood why, on that day when they were on the swing, Jiang Wu had suddenly let go.
It wasn’t an accident or a trap; it was purely an instinct—
He wanted to fly.
To fly beyond the palace walls, to fly beyond his identity, to fly away from the pile of official documents, and even from this heavy body that felt burdensome to him.
He was willing to pay the price of severe injury or even death.
“You want to fly,” Yin Wuzhi’s fingers grasped the corner of the blanket beside Jiang Wu’s chin, his voice very low and soft, with a slightly hoarse tone. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I know Xing Gong, I can take you flying.”
The light in Jiang Wu’s eyes grew brighter.
The binding at his waist hadn’t gone to waste; Yin Wuzhi tied him around the waist, and Jiang Wu looked down, seeing his feet naturally suspended in the air. The next moment, the ground suddenly seemed to pull away, and Jiang Wu tilted his head back. Yin Wuzhi had already taken him to leap onto the roof of the Taiji Hall.
From this position, the entire palace laid beneath them. Jiang Wu looked up at the sky, took a deep breath of the sweet osmanthus fragrance in the air, and said, “Higher.”
“There’s no foothold above; we can’t go higher.”
“Higher.”
Do you not understand human language?
Yin Wuzhi, a bit annoyed, jumped again. A gentle breeze brushed against their faces, and Jiang Wu’s eyes widened with joy.
But as Yin Wuzhi said, they had already reached the roof, and there were no footholds above, so after the leap, they quickly began to fall due to gravity.
“Higher, even higher.”
Yin Wuzhi could only jump again.
Jiang Wu was taken flying up, falling down, then flying up again, and falling down once more.
Below, a group of patrolling soldiers silently stopped, staring at the young master bouncing nonstop on the roof, and the emperor who was being carried along bouncing just as energetically.
Someone went to inform the captain of the guards, Qiu Yuting. When he hurried over with soldiers, Qi Hanmiao had already arrived below: “Your Highness, please calm down for a bit. Jumping on the roof like this is very dangerous.”
Qiu Yuting said, “Young Master Shizi, truly remarkable.”
The young and talented young master was already struggling a bit; just as he was catching his breath and stopping, he heard Jiang Wu’s voice: “Higher.”
He glanced at the eaves, feeling a bit embarrassed and helpless. “I’m tired; let’s rest for a while.”
Jiang Wu raised both arms, cheering him on: “Higher, higher!”
Yin Wuzhi: “…”
Qi Hanmiao looked worried. “Your Majesty, should we take a break for a bit?”
From his angle, he could see that Yin Wuzhi was sweating profusely.
Yin Wuzhi jumped a few more times, each time taking longer breaks.
Sweat trickled over his brows and into his eyes. He raised his hand to wipe it away and gradually felt his vision blurring. “Your Majesty, it’s been over an hour; let’s go higher later, okay?”
Jiang Wu couldn’t see his expression, only hearing his breathless voice. Because their bodies were pressed together, he could feel Yin Wuzhi’s legs trembling slightly.
He nodded in disappointment. “If you can’t do it anymore, let’s go down.”
They could go down, but he couldn’t give up.
Yin Wuzhi leaped again with all his strength.
Jiang Wu clearly felt that his view had improved significantly from before. He joyfully spread his arms, and the next moment, the “helicopter” carrying him suddenly lost all its power.
Jiang Wu: “?”
Yin Wuzhi’s vision darkened as he realized he might lose consciousness from exhaustion. He quickly opened his wide sleeves and wrapped Jiang Wu’s head and chest tightly in his embrace.
Jiang Wu’s vision was obscured by the sleeves, and he lost control as he tilted over, then rolled. Next came the sound of tiles shattering, and finally, a clear sense of weightlessness.
“Your Majesty!” Qi Hanmiao rushed forward, eyes wide with fear, but his collar was suddenly tugged by someone.
The sound of clashing armor rang out as the captain of the guards leaped up, rushing toward the two falling figures, while another dark shadow shot out.
The Taiji Hall descended into chaos.
For a while, Jiang Wu was tightly wrapped in Yin Wuzhi’s arms. The grip wasn’t hard, but his muscles were rigid from tension, just like the day he was caught after flying off the swing; he couldn’t break free for a long time.
Because he had already fainted, it was ultimately Gu Yan who administered acupuncture to finally rescue Jiang Wu.
After separating from Yin Wuzhi’s body, Jiang Wu turned his face to stare at him for a while.
Yin Wuzhi was a good person.
Although Jiang Wu was very bad, in a crisis, he still protected him closely.
Perhaps there was an element of foolish loyalty involved.
Such a major incident undoubtedly alarmed the Great Empress Dowager. When she hurried over, she first grabbed Jiang Wu and checked him thoroughly, confirming that he had no injuries at all, before frowning and asking, “Where is Yin Wuzhi?”
As soon as Yin Wuzhi woke up, he heard this voice. He propped himself up from the dragon couch, and Jiang Wu’s voice suddenly rang in his ears: “It was I who asked him to do this.”
The Great Empress Dowager sat on the throne with a gloomy expression and said, “Call him out.”
Qi Hanmiao tremblingly crept in from behind, while the others present had already knelt down in unison.
Only Jiang Wu remained seated, not moving. He spoke again: “It was I who asked him to do this.”
The Great Empress Dowager glanced at him, suppressing the urge to scold him, and instead struck the ground heavily with her cane. “Where is Yin Wuzhi?!”
“I’m here.”
The voice came from behind the screen as Qi Hanmiao supported Yin Wuzhi to walk out.
Jiang Wu looked up and saw that Yin Wuzhi’s face was pale, his lips almost the same color as his skin, and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead from exhaustion.
Yin Wuzhi knelt down, lifting his robe weakly. “It’s my fault for not guarding properly, causing His Majesty to be startled. Please punish me, Great Empress Dowager.”
“How dare you still speak!” the Great Empress Dowager stood up, her voice filled with anger. “His Majesty is immature, and you are just as foolish! What, is the ground not enough for you to jump on? You had to go on the roof?!”
Yin Wuzhi’s throat felt dry; he licked his lips and did not defend himself. “I know my crime. Please punish me, Great Empress Dowager.”
The Great Empress Dowager glared at him for a moment and commanded, “Bring the punishment instruments! Hit him, and those useless servants watching over him, drag them all out and hit them too!”
The servants, wronged, immediately knocked their heads and cried out, “Great Empress Dowager, spare us! Great Empress Dowager, spare us!”
“Wait.” Yin Wuzhi crawled forward, mustering the strength to say, “Today’s matter was solely caused by Yin Shu. Great Empress Dowager, please show mercy and do not implicate the innocent.”
“You dare to plead for them?!”
The Great Empress Dowager grew angrier. Suddenly, her sleeve was tugged by someone, and Empress Dowager Wen spoke softly, “In that case, just punish Yin Shu alone.”
After she spoke, she glanced at Jiang Wu’s reaction. Jiang Wu indeed lifted his eyelashes to look over. His clear, transparent eyes seemed to hold no emotion at all.
Empress Dowager Wen avoided his gaze, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at Yin Wuzhi.
The punishment instruments were quickly brought in.
The Empress Dowager settled back down on the throne. “Do it here! Everyone in the Taiji Hall, open your eyes and see clearly what happens to those who guard ineffectively and cause the emperor to be frightened! Begin!”
Jiang Wu looked at the punishment instruments.
They were thick and large; Jiang Wu had never been struck by one, but just seeing its appearance was enough to make one shiver.
The first strike fell mercilessly on Yin Wuzhi.
Jiang Wu turned his gaze to the eunuch executing the punishment.
The eunuch felt flustered under Jiang Wu’s stare, instinctively seeking help from the Great Empress Dowager, but her cold gaze silenced him: “What, didn’t you have enough to eat?”
The eunuch gritted his teeth and struck Yin Wuzhi again.
Jiang Wu asked, “How many strikes will it take?”
“As many as it takes for me to feel better!” the Great Empress Dowager replied.
Jiang Wu pondered for a moment and then asked, “How do you know when you’re feeling better?”
“…” The Great Empress Dowager was momentarily speechless, her expression stern. “What, does the emperor want to plead for him?”
“Everything has its limits; even punishment must come to an end.”
“Then fifty strikes!”
Jiang Wu did not speak further.
Throughout the punishment, he kept watching Yin Wuzhi.
Yin Wuzhi’s face was very pale and growing paler. He held his back straight at first, but perhaps unable to bear it any longer, as his spine bent, his arms fell heavily to the ground, uncontrollably curling up.
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead onto the floor.
Yin Wuzhi was in great pain.
He turned his face to look at Jiang Wu.
Jiang Wu tilted his head slightly, still focused on him.
Yin Wuzhi forced a smile, shaping his lips to say: I’m fine.
Jiang Wu: “?”
“Forty-eight, forty-nine…”
The eunuch diligently counted, “Fifty.”
The punishment eunuch put down the instrument and knelt to pay his respects. “Reporting to the Great Empress Dowager, the punishment is complete.”
Yin Wuzhi’s arms finally gave way completely, and he collapsed onto the ground.
A trace of panic crossed the Great Empress Dowager’s face, and Empress Dowager Wen immediately said, “Imperial Physician Gu, hurry and check on him!”
Yin Wuzhi was quickly taken down to tend to his injuries. Empress Dowager Wen and the Empress Dowager looked over at Jiang Wu simultaneously. The latter’s expression remained unchanged, showing no signs of panic despite the injury to the person he cared for.
The two exchanged a glance. The Great Empress Dowager approached Jiang Wu with her cane, saying, “If such absurdity occurs again in the future, I will hold Yin Wuzhi accountable!”
If that’s the case, would Yin Wuzhi hate him or hate others?
Jiang Wu merely pondered, remaining silent.
He seemed like an emotionless, lifeless object.
The Great Empress Dowager’s brow twitched slightly, her lips trembled, and without looking back, she walked away from him. Empress Dowager Wen wanted to say something, but ultimately sighed heavily and followed after the Great Empress Dowager.
“Royal Mother…”
It was only after leaving the Taiji Hall that the Great Empress Dowager spoke. “Look at him, look at him now—what does he resemble? He’s clearly like a piece of wood! I struck Yin Shu; wasn’t that his beloved? Yet he didn’t utter a word!”
“Wu Er will be fine.”
“The late emperor was foolish, foolish indeed…”
Taiji Hall fell into complete silence.
Gu Yan had treated Yin Wuzhi’s injuries and stepped out from behind the screen to bow to Jiang Wu. “Your Majesty need not worry; the shizi’s injuries should be fine. It’s just a matter of exhaustion and the severe punishment; after some rest, he will recover.”
“Mm.”
“This Minister will take his leave.”
Jiang Wu sat quietly, ignoring him.
After Gu Yan left, Qi Hanmiao approached Jiang Wu cautiously, asking, “Your Majesty, would you like something to eat?”
Jiang Wu felt his stomach and realized he was indeed a bit hungry, so he replied, “Steamed egg custard.”
Qi Hanmiao fed him, but Jiang Wu sat at the table without moving, looking as if he was lost in thought, or perhaps he was simply sitting quietly.
The sky grew darker, and another figure appeared in front of him.
“Your Majesty,” it was Sixteen, “It is already the hour of Hai hour, would you like to go to bed?”
“Mm.” He indeed felt tired from sitting for too long.
Sixteen picked him up, paused, and then asked, “Your Majesty, would you like to go check on Yin Shizi?”
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