Omega nestled in Bai Su’s arms. His clothes were clenched tightly. He was like a deer that accidentally entered a herd of beasts …

His helplessness caused Bai Su’s heartache. Bai Su took him into her arms and gently stroked his back. She didn’t let go of him until the young man’s emotions finally stabilized.

Omega’s eyes and nose were red. There was moisture in his eyes, but no sign of it falling. He was obviously holding it back.

Bai Su feeling heartache, lowered her head and touched the corner of his eyes … Then she kissed the tip of his red nose.

She said, “Cry if you feel sad. Baby, you need to vent.”

The young man blinked his eyes slowly and raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eyes. He said in a muffled voice, “I won’t cry.”

Although he said that, the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but curl down. There was more moisture in his eyes. Bai Su knew that he was used to holding on for the sake of the emperor’s face and a man’s dignity, especially in front of a woman.

The influence of many years of ideas couldn’t be changed in a moment … The young man hugged her and said he was afraid in her arms. It was already a breakthrough. So she didn’t force it.

Instead, she lowered her head and kissed the corner of his eyes and slightly wet eyelashes to comfort him. The young man quietly closed his eyes, allowing her to kiss him.

“Baby, is there anyone else in the room?” She whispered in Omega’s ear.

“No …” The young man replied, “I’ve sent them away. I want to be alone …”

“Then I’ll carry you back to the bedroom? Don’t think about anything first. Have a good sleep. Everything will be fine when you wake up.”

The young man’s hand holding her tightened. He lowered his eyes in embarrassment and said softly, “I’m a man … I don’t need to be carried.”

As he said that, the pheromone on the back of his neck uncontrollably emerged from the glands. From the faint scent of gardenia, she could tell that he was dependent on her.

The child obviously smelled it himself. Her face under the candlelight seemed as if smeared with a layer of beautiful rouge. Alpha let out a shallow laugh and picked up her Omega.

“You don’t mean what you say.” Helpless and doting.

–

The next day, Duan Changchuan was woken up by Chang Le. As soon as it was Yin hours in the morning, the Imperial Head Eunuch knocked on his door.

“Your Majesty, are you awake? It’s time to wash up and change.”

The teenager was nestled in a warm quilt with his head resting on Alpha’s chest. He was hugged from behind, only half of his face exposed, snoring evenly.

When it was half past Yin hours, the young eunuch guarding the door knocked on the door again.

This time, his voice was so loud that it could not be ignored, “Your Majesty, it’s really time to get up. If you don’t get up now, you won’t have time for breakfast.”

Omega, who had been snoring under the blanket, opened his eyes in a daze. Although he was very sleepy and his eyelids were fighting, he still insisted on climbing out of bed. Then, with his eyes half-closed, he opened his arms and allowed Chang Le to help him dress.

Bai Su found it interesting. She simply took the child from Chang Le’s hands and dressed him herself. Only after tidying up and changing into the bright yellow dress did he completely wake up.

“Are you that sleepy?” Bai Su pinched his cheeks.

The child immediately tilted his head and sat upright at the table, “I slept a little late last night …”

He was completely different from the way he hugged her and wanted to be comforted by her last night.

Tsk, he didn’t recognize his husband after waking up and didn’t let her touch him.

Alpha rubbed her fingertips, the corners of her lips unconsciously rising.

[Forget it, forget it. Who told him to be so cute no matter what he did.]

–

It was half past Mao hours, the two finished their breakfast.

After entering the fourth month, the sun rose earlier each day. At this time, the sun had already risen. Half the sky was suffused with orange light from the eaves in the east.

A well-dressed teenager stood on the stone steps at the top of the main hall.

He asked in a deep voice, “Changle, have you brought the bow that Imperial Father left for me?”

The young eunuch beside him immediately bowed and replied, “Your Majesty, this servant has asked someone to bring it.”

The teenager straightened his clothes and said imposingly, “Prepare the carriage.”

Then, step by step, he walked down the stone steps of the Ming Sheng Hall.

In the imperial court, civil and military officials stood neatly from the imperial court to the stone steps and courtyard outside.

Seeing the emperor’s imperial carriage from afar, they all knelt in unison.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

Their voices resounded through half of the imperial city.

The young emperor’s gaze swept across the officials. Then, with the support of Chang Le, he slowly entered the imperial court.

“Where is the former governor of Huainan, Chen Kangcheng?”

Chen Kangcheng was the governor of Huainan who was responsible for appeasing the disaster victims and investigating the matter of corrupt officials who embezzled relief supplies. He was the one who claimed to have been “sent off by tens of thousands of people”.

Duan Changchuan’s question was filled with anger. The court hall had always been quiet and empty, and this voice even carried an echo. Every official looked at each other, and all of them fell silent at the same time.

Chen Kangcheng looked left and right, then stood out from the crowd of officials. He knelt neither servile nor overbearing and said, “This old official is here. If Your Majesty has any orders, this official will not hesitate to jump into scalding water and plunge into the raging fire^[1]赴汤蹈火 fùtāngdǎohuǒ (idiom) – To brave any danger; To go to any lengths for a noble cause!”

He looked like a loyal person who was worried about the country and the people.

The young man sneered, “Is that so?”

Then, he took the stack of letters Rong Wu sent back yesterday from Chang Le and threw it in front of him with a bang, “Is this what you mean by ready to sacrifice yourself without any hesitation? You traitor and corrupt thing! Willing to sacrifice for the court and the people? I think you are sacrificed for the wealth in your residence and the concubines you keep! Where is General Rong Wu? Present yourself before the court!”

A stack of yellowed letters was thrown, and a question about where General Rong Wu was.

In an instant, the entire hall was in an uproar.

Everyone’s gazes immediately looked outside the door.

“General Rong Wu has an audience with the imperial court!”

“Announcement! General Rong Wu has an audience with the imperial court!”

Amidst the high and low voices outside the hall, a man covered in dust and armor walked in.

After entering, he respectfully knelt on one knee in front of the emperor and said, “This official, Rong Wu, greets Your Majesty!”

“Speak, what did you see and hear in Shaoguan and Huainan? Give a good talk to all the officials in my court!” As the young emperor spoke, his eyes looked disdainfully at everyone below the stage.

Rong Wu crossed his arms in front of his chest and said in a deep voice, “Yes”. He told him everything he had investigated, heard, and seen in the past month.

“This subject was attacked at Shaoguan and then went to Huainan. According to the local people, there was no such thing as a send-off. It was a notice from the government that anyone who went to perform would be rewarded with a meal. The people of Huainan starved for an entire winter and did not even see half a grain of disaster food. They only hoped that this meal would save their lives. They had no choice but to go.”

“There was no such thing as tens of thousands of people crying together and not wanting to let Lord Chen go. They were only crying for themselves that they did not meet the righteous lord who saved the country and the people.”

“In Huainan City, there was a mass grave on the mountain to the east. This official brought the bones to the Supreme Court’s coroner, and the coroner said that the time of death was last winter. In that mass grave, there were more than thirty thousand people. This official guarantee my life that every word I say is true! The letters from Huainan County’s officials can also prove it!”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the scattered letters on the ground.

Chen Kangcheng, who was “jumping into scalding water and plunging into the raging fire for the people”, was already paralyzed on the ground.

He looked at the Regent, who was sitting at the head of the table, for help, trying to grasp at the last straw. However, the other party lightly shifted his gaze.

The evidence was passed down one by one. The Supreme Court’s coroner and the people brought back from Huainan were brought to the imperial court one by one. In front of the civil and military officials, everything was explained clearly.

The evidence was conclusive, and there was no way to argue.

“Chen Kangcheng.” Duan Changchuan took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said, “You are an official of the imperial court. The regent appointed you as the governor of Huainan, bestowing you with the imperial sword so that you can speak for the people, think for the people, and seek happiness for the people. But what did you do?”

“Huainan’s five hundred thousand people, they did not harvest a single grain for the entire autumn. They were waiting for the imperial court to send an official to save their lives! They were waiting for you to save their lives, but what were you doing?! Chen Kangcheng, you just watched as the people starved to death and froze to death!”

“Thirty thousand people, in one winter, thirty thousand people died! Thirty thousand people in Huainan’s eastern suburbs watched you, watched you eat, drink, and play! Watched you perform some send-offs by the people! Thirty thousand dead souls, Chen Kangcheng, were you not afraid of these dead souls taking your life at night?!”

The young emperor, questioning sentence by sentence, his anger burning more and more.

He shouted behind him, “Chang Le! Bring the bow of the late emperor! The late emperor is above! All the emperors of Datong are above! I want to eradicate evil in this imperial court for my people, for the people of my Duan family!”

The Imperial Head Eunuch, dressed in a robe embroidered with flowers, immediately handed over the bow and arrows he had prepared beforehand.

The young man drew the bowstring, and in an instant, the bow was pulled to a full moon.

All of a sudden, the expressions of all the officials changed.

They all fell to their knees, “Your Majesty, you mustn’t! This sacred imperial court cannot be stained with bloodshed!”

“Your Majesty, you mustn’t …”

“Your Majesty, you absolutely mustn’t!”

Amidst the rising clamor. Under the dragon’s wrath, everyone felt endangered.

Just as the courtiers were in great trepidation … Another figure stood up in the hall. In immaculate official attire, every move seemed measured and precise.

He knelt calmly and bowed. Then, he said in a deep voice, “The matter has not been thoroughly investigated. Chen Kangcheng still needs to be brought to the Supreme Court for interrogation. Your Majesty, please calm down.”

It was the High Official of the Supreme Court, Official Jiang.

As soon as he spoke, Rong Wu, who was kneeling on the ground, echoed, “Jiang Daren is right. Your Majesty, please calm down.”

Official Jiang of the Supreme Court was the emperor’s trusted aide, and Rong Wu was the one who investigated the case this time. Naturally, they could speak in front of Duan Changchuan.

The other ministers did not dare to utter a single extra word. They feared that if they said one extra word, their emperor would directly cause blood to splatter all over the court.

The ministers trembled. Nearly a hundred people stood in the main hall. It was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard. Two hundred eyes were staring at the arrow in the emperor’s hand.

The young man standing on the highest step pointed the arrow at Chen Kangcheng for a long time before he finally lowered his hand.

“Where are the imperial guards?! Drag him out! Lock him in the prison and no one is allowed to visit!” The emperor ordered.

Only then did the ministers let out a long sigh.

However, no one expected that the moment Chen Kangcheng was taken out of the hall, the arrow in Duan Changchuan’s hand swiftly shot out.

Drawing the bow and aiming. The moment his fingertips released, the arrow shot out of the string with extraordinary force.

Instantly, a piercing cry echoed into the hall, stirring up one echo after another in the rafters. The sound lingered over the grand hall, refusing to dissipate.

As everyone turned back, they saw the imperial arrow lodged in Chen Kangcheng’s thigh. The red blood soaked through his garments. At the same time, a faint smell of urine and embarrassment wafted in

The young emperor standing on the high platform gracefully retrieved his bow and arrow before turning around.

His cold voice echoed in the grand hall, “Order the Assistant Minister of the Supreme Court to hurry up with the interrogation. If there’s any delay, and he dies, I will hold him accountable.”

High Official of the Supreme Court hurriedly bowed and responded, “Yes, this official will obey.”

“Pass on my decree. Official Jiang of the Supreme Court will be appointed as the special envoy to the three provinces to continue the investigation in Huainan! The Great General Rong Wu will dispatch troops for protection. This year’s Zhuang Yuan, Lin Qing, and the second-place Shu Ze will assist. Also, send Coroner Chen Sheng immediately, I want to see results within fifteen days. If nothing is uncovered within that time, I will strip you of your titles to appease the people!”

“Yes! This official receives the imperial edict.”

After the matter was settled, the pent-up anger in Duan Changchuan’s heart finally dissipated somewhat. He turned around and handed the bow and arrow back to Chang Le at his side.

However …

When he turned around, a sharp pain suddenly came from his abdomen without warning. The bow and arrow clattered down the steps …

“Your Majesty … Your Majesty!” Chang Le cried out in fright, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t scare this servant …”

Duan Changchuan also didn’t know what was wrong with him. In the instant he exhaled, a sudden wave of pain surged from his lower abdomen. Then, it felt like his internal organs were being stirred up.

He hurriedly supported himself on the armrest of the dragon throne, barely preventing himself from collapsing.

He tightly grasped Chang Le’s arm and gritted his teeth as he said weakly, “… My lower abdomen suddenly hurts so much.”

As he spoke, his face was as pale as paper, and beads of sweat dripping profusely.

In a split second, chaos erupted in the court.

“Imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician quickly!”

“Carriage, fetch His Majesty’s carriage over quickly! Send His Majesty back to Ming Sheng Hall!” Chang Le loudly ordered to the side.

Tears filled his eyes as he spoke, “Your Majesty, please hold on. We will return to Ming Sheng Hall immediately, and the imperial physician will come to treat you…”

The young emperor’s lips were almost bitten to the point of bleeding, but he still forced himself to stand up, “Alright … don’t panic … I will be fine.”

However, no one saw the faint red stain on the dragon robe behind him.