Chapter 34

“Insolent!” Xie Fuyi’s eyes reddened with anger at the other’s words. He tried to break free from the other’s grasp but was pressed directly onto the dragon bed.

Zhao Shiyi had hurried to Xie Fuyi’s chamber upon hearing of the events of the past few days. Ye Baixiao was severely injured almost to the point of death because of him, and he had been staying close by recently, personally attending to Xie Fuyi’s needs, rarely dealing with state affairs.

Zhao Shiyi could hardly believe this was still the same ambitious general who once had aspirations for the world.

He had initially thought that perhaps only by killing the tyrant emperor could his elder brother awaken. As for the consequences, he would bear them alone!

However, as he entered the dormitory, and saw the person leaning against the bed, with a hint of fair neck exposed by the loose Ming yellow robes, lips slightly curled in disdain, delicate brows and eyes showing contempt, just one glance made his heart race.

What tyrant? He was simply a bewitching fox!

Zhao Shiyi’s heart burned, both for his uncontrollable heartbeat and for the lingering marks on the other.

“Insolent?” He sneered, his gaze sweeping over Xie Fuyi’s body, gritting his teeth. “What else are you pretending? Isn’t your throne obtained through this body?”

Xie Fuyi’s struggling body stiffened, then struggled even more intensely. His eyes were bloodshot. “I’ll kill you!”

As if exerting all his strength, Zhao Shiyi didn’t notice being slapped twice by Xie Fuyi on the face, leaving a scratch on his neck.

This slight sting only fueled his anger further. But as Xie Fuyi struggled too hard, Zhao Shiyi waved his hand. “Hold him down!”

Two guards behind immediately stepped forward, one gripping one of Xie Fuyi’s hands on each side.

Like iron clamps, Xie Fuyi could only lie on his back, his legs suppressed by the other, unable to move at all.

“I’ve changed my mind. I won’t kill you. I want you to be mine,” Zhao Shiyi licked his lips, unbuckling his own belt while Xie gritted his teeth. “Brothers are like limbs, men are like clothes. My elder brother and I are brothers in life and death. As long as you become mine, he probably won’t want you anymore.”

With force, Zhao Shiyi tore open Xie Fuyi’s inner robes, his gaze gradually descending from his handsome face, fair chest, slender waist… all the way down to his snow-white feet.

The once arrogant little emperor, who once looked down on him, now lay on the dragon bed, unable to struggle.

His gaze uncontrollably lowered… to Xie Fuyi’s snow-white feet.

And Zhao Shiyi’s words, intended to embarrass Xie Fuyi, seemed off as Xie Fuyi, being held by two people, didn’t look quite right.

“Don’t touch me! You slave! Get off!” The emperor’s expression was pained and desperate, still resisting.

At those words, Zhao Shiyi’s brows furrowed, his anger making him threaten offhandedly, “Slave? Do you still think you’re the high and mighty emperor? Then taste what it’s like to be played by these slaves! Shall my brothers have a turn with you?”

The two guards, who had been itching to act, looked pleased at Zhao Shiyi’s words, but seeing his cold demeanor, they didn’t dare to act recklessly.

Meanwhile, upon hearing this, Xie Fuyi’s body stiffened instantly, his face turning pale. A sudden piercing pain in his brain made him weak, and he struggled weakly before lying motionless, though the usually arrogant little emperor was trembling all over.

His eyes were unfocused, his mouth quivering, pupils dilated as if not looking at him but seeing something else through him, something terrifying.

“N-no, don’t do this… let me go…”

He whimpered, fear and despair deep in his black eyes. “N-no, don’t… please… someone save me…”

He was crying?

So afraid?

Zhao Shiyi was stunned, his heart suddenly softening.

Just then, a familiar voice, filled with icy anger, sounded:

“Zhao Shiyi! What are you doing?!”

Ye Baixiao kicked open the palace door, only to see two guards holding Xie Fuyi’s wrists while Zhao Shiyi was pressing down on him, Xie Fuyi’s upper garment torn, his eyes lifeless, trembling all over.

This scene deeply pierced Ye Baixiao’s heart. In an instant, raging flames of anger reddened his eyes. He couldn’t contain the icy killing intent. Almost the next moment, he was by the bed, his powerful palm wind flipping the three of them over, sending them flying out.

The two guards who were still in the air were struck by Ye Baixiao’s palms on their chests, their internal organs shifting, the intense pain causing them to curl up on the ground like shrimp, soon succumbing to their injuries.

As for Zhao Shiyi, swept away by the palm wind, he crashed into a pillar, hitting the ground hard. His internal organs suffered severe damage, and he spat out blood, a taste of blood in his throat.

He barely lifted his eyes, seeing Ye Baixiao’s terrifyingly cold face, slowly approaching him step by step.

“Cough… El-elder brother?” Zhao Shiyi had never seen Ye Baixiao in such a terrifying and frightening state. Even he, who had been on the battlefield, felt a chill in his heart, trembling.

No, he had seen it before.

On the battlefield, facing enemies, Ye Baixiao had this imposing, demon-like appearance. But back then, it was the enemies who were afraid, and he felt reliable. But now…

In the next instant, Zhao Shiyi was already being lifted by the neck by Ye Baixiao. His breathing became difficult, his face gradually turning red from the constriction, his throat gripped tightly by the large hand, each breath bringing a sharp pain from his chest.

“Elder brother, are you… going to kill me… for him?” He could hardly believe it, his words coming out in a broken manner.

After so many years of brotherhood, now the other was going to kill him for a tyrant?

“He is the person I care about the most,” Ye Baixiao’s face was cold as ice, his tightened fingers showing no sign of loosening. Because he knew very well that his anger wasn’t just a momentary flare-up. When he saw the other laying his hands on Xie Fuyi, that moment of murderous intent was crystal clear and swift.

“Zhao Shiyi, you should be grateful we were once brothers. That’s why I’ll give you a quick death. Otherwise, I would have hacked to pieces anyone who dared to touch him.” Ye Baixiao’s voice, filled with deep anger, sounded like it was tempered with ice.

Zhao Shiyi’s heart trembled, his face pale. Before he could say anything else, with a “crack,” his neck was already twisted by Ye Baixiao. His eyes widened as he fell to the ground in a strange posture, instantly lifeless.

Xie Fuyi, who had been shivering on the bed, couldn’t believe it:… Isn’t that your brother? Killing a brother for a man, I think you’re the tyrant here!

…

Ye Baixiao closed his eyes, calmed himself, then turned quickly to check on Xie Fuyi.

“Your Majesty?” He pulled the thin quilt covering the trembling figure on the bed to one side, then held him in his arms, comforting him gently, “Don’t be afraid, they’re dead, they can’t hurt you anymore.”

But Xie Fuyi couldn’t hear him. He was trembling violently, his eyes vacant, his face pale, a deeper vulnerability in his expression than ever before.

His trembling lips continued to refuse, “Don’t touch me… Get away… Go away…”

Even his refusals were weak and silent, unlike before when he was bold and defiant.

“No, please, don’t…”

Another sob.

Ye Baixiao’s body stiffened. Even when he was first tortured by him with drugs, the proud and stubborn little emperor had never begged for mercy.

So, who was this person begging for mercy in such pain and vulnerability now?

It couldn’t be Zhao Shiyi.

There was someone else!

Suffocated in his chest, Ye Baixiao was filled with a mixture of pain and anger, the desire to kill raging violently in his heart.

He suppressed the urge to kill and wanted to have the imperial physician look at Xie Fuyi first. But then, a furious and icy male voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of weapons cutting through the air:

“Ye Baixiao! What have you done to the Emperor?”

Qinghe had only recovered about seventy to eighty percent from his internal injuries when he couldn’t wait any longer and sneaked into the palace to rescue Xie Fuyi. But as soon as he entered the bedchamber, he saw Xie Fuyi in tattered clothes, being humiliated, with several disheveled bodies on the ground.

He instantly knew what these people had come to do.

“You let them bully the Emperor?” Qinghe’s fury soared to the heavens, his eyes reddened with anger. He drew his short sword and attacked swiftly.

Qinghe exerted almost all his strength, his attack fierce and fierce!

Ye Baixiao had no choice but to rise to the challenge. His wounds reopened, his face turning pale, but his movements were not slow at all.

Ye Baixiao coldly stared at Qinghe. “He’s willing to risk his life to protect you, that’s why I let you act recklessly here. If you don’t know any better, I’ll send you to meet the King of Hell!”

Qinghe hated him to the core and didn’t stop his hand.

The two of them deliberately avoided fighting around the bed, but elsewhere, debris flew and the ground was strewn with fallen bodies.

Xie Fuyi: … Still pretending to be scared on the bed? Why don’t you two deal with him first?

He simply bought a blood pack, spat out some blood, and feigned unconsciousness.

Sure enough, as soon as Xie Fuyi spat out blood, the two men immediately rushed over, distracted.

Ye Baixiao no longer hesitated and directly knocked Qinghe away, ordering someone to detain him. Then he hurriedly called for the imperial physician.

When the imperial physician arrived, the first thing he noticed was Ye Baixiao’s pale face and the bloodstains on his chest. He thought Ye Baixiao needed medical attention and cautioned, “Your Highness, your chest injury is difficult to heal. If you continue to exert yourself like this, it may affect your lifespan…”

“I’m fine,” Ye Baixiao waved his hand, not caring about his own injuries. He only cared about Xie Fuyi. “Hurry, attend to the Emperor!”

The imperial physician was taken aback. Wasn’t the little emperor eating and drinking well these days?

But when he saw Xie Fuyi lying lifeless on the bed again, the imperial physician sighed, feeling sorry for the little emperor, who was spitting blood every other day out of anger.

After examining Xie Fuyi’s pulse and prescribing some tonic medicines, the imperial physician advised, “Your Highness, if you’re truly concerned about His Majesty, please refrain from further provoking him.”

Ye Baixiao’s heart stabbed with pain. His face turned slightly pale, his lips pressed tightly together as he sat by Xie Fuyi’s bedside, guarding him.

…

When Xie Fuyi woke up again, his confused eyes looked up at the ceiling, still feeling a bit dazed. He murmured, “This bed is so warm… so comfortable… What a nice dream…”

The sound suddenly startled the person on the bed. Xie Fuyi turned to see Ye Baixiao beside him, finally realizing he wasn’t dreaming!

His first reaction wasn’t anger, but rather, he quickly sat up halfway in bed, trembling and shivering under the covers, timidly saying, “I-I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to sleep here…”

“Your Majesty, what are you saying?” Ye Baixiao was stunned. Since when was His Majesty so obedient and timid? And his clear and innocent eyes were as pure as a child’s.

“Your Majesty?” Xie Fuyi looked puzzled. Suddenly, as if realizing something, his face turned pale, he bit his lip to hold back tears, and tremblingly begged, “I-I was just too hungry, I took a small piece of pastry, I won’t do it again, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please don’t tell my father, please…”

He even wanted to get out of bed and kneel down, not daring to look up at him.

A suspicion arose in Ye Baixiao’s heart. His heart ached, every organ in his body felt like it was tightly twisted together, trembling hands holding Xie Fuyi close, not letting him get out of bed. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, no one will bully you anymore…”

【Ye Baixiao’s Heartache Value: 35/100.】

The person he was holding in his arms, suppressing the reddening of his eyes, said to the outside, “Summon the imperial physician for me!”

After the imperial physician was called again and examined Xie Fuyi’s condition, he sighed, “His Majesty seems to have suffered severe mental trauma, resulting in partial memory loss.”

Looking at Xie Fuyi sleeping peacefully on the bed after being medicated, Ye Baixiao’s voice was hoarse as he said, “Is there any way to treat it?”

“Heartache requires heart medicine. To treat His Majesty’s deepest trauma, we must first identify it.”

Ye Baixiao closed his eyes, then opened them and said coldly, “Bring Qinghe here.”