Two days later, New Year’s Eve arrived as scheduled.
This year, Emperor Guangxi was not in good health and would not attend the family reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve. The Empress Dowager hosted the royal banquet instead.
After Shen Qingzhuo packed up, he set off for the Zichen Palace before the dinner to pay his respects to the emperor first.
“The minister respectfully wishes Your Majesty the best of health.” Lord Shen lifted his brocade robe and knelt down to salute, “Long live the emperor, long live the emperor.”
“Cough, cough, cough…” Emperor Guangxi coughed weakly a few times. “Stand up.”
Shen Qingzhuo stood up as he was told, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Guangxi seemed to mock himself: “Today is New Year’s Eve, and Zhen still has to take medicine. Can Zhen really… live forever?”
Shen Qingzhuo looked normal: “Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune, and he should live forever.”
Emperor Guangxi wiped the medicine stains from the corners of his lips with Consort Yuan’s hand and then said, “Zhen will not attend the royal banquet tonight, so you keep a close eye for Zhen.”
Shen Qingzhuo bowed and replied, “Your Majesty, rest assured, everything has been arranged.”
“Especially King Qin, who hasn’t returned to the palace for the New Year for several years.” Emperor Guangxi narrowed his cloudy eyes. “The Empress Dowager has never liked this brother of Zhen’s very much. You keep a close eye on the Changshou Palace and make sure that nothing goes wrong before King Qin leaves the capital.”
Shen Qingzhuo looked solemn: “The humble minister understands.”
After explaining everything that needed to be explained, Emperor Guangxi waved his hand tiredly, “You can retreat.”
After Shen Qingzhuo left the bedchamber, he went to Chengde Palace.
When he reached the door of the hall, he was not paying attention for a moment and almost bumped into a tall and strong figure.
“Be careful.” It was a pleasant voice, and then a hand lifted his arm.
Shen Qingzhuo stood up. “Sorry.”
He raised his eyes and saw the man in front of him wearing a dark blue dragon robe, tall and majestic, with an extraordinary appearance and an unconcealable killing and decisive temperament. His deep and handsome facial features were somewhat similar to His Highness King Jin.
No, to be precise, his little disciple is somewhat similar to his Sixth Uncle.
“Your Highness King Qin.” Shen Qingzhuo confirmed the other party’s identity almost at a glance, took a step back, and bowed.
In fact, he has always been a little curious about the real male protagonist of the original book.
According to the original book, Xiao Luchi was not interested in the throne. As the most favored youngest son of the previous emperor, he went to the battlefield at the age of 14. At the age of 16, he asked to go to Shuodong to defend the Dayong Dynasty.
Therefore, he also became one of the only two princes who survived the battle for the throne.
Firstly, because Emperor Guangxi knew that he had no ambition for imperial power, and secondly, for so many years, King Qin had occupied Shuodong, commanded a large army, and had made great military achievements. He had already become an indispensable banner of Shuodong, and Emperor Guangxi did not dare to touch him easily.
Of course, when the little tyrant came to power, he would not care about King Qin or the Shuodong army and would cut down the vassal state without mercy.
One of the key factors that led King Qin to decide to raise an army to seize the throne was the other male protagonist of this book, Lin Jinyu.
The two had known each other for many years and appreciated each other. After Xiao Luchi was stationed in Shuodong, they still exchanged letters frequently. Lord Lin had the world in his heart and was full of ambitions but had nowhere to display them. He was disgusted with the tyrant’s various actions and finally succeeded in inciting King Qin to rebel.
Of course, now that Lord Lin is on the same boat with him, many things will become much easier.
Xiao Luchi looked at him with interest. “Young Master Shen, long time no see.”
“It’s been so many years, and His Royal Highness King Qin still remembers the minister. The minister is honored.” Shen Qingzhuo replied humbly.
Xiao Luchi smiled and said, “Someone has been talking about Lord Shen in this king’s ear, how can this king not remember you?”
Shen Qingzhuo also smiled, “It seems that the humble minister has to thank that Lord very much.”
After a few simple greetings, the two of them walked into the hall one after the other.
Emperor Guangxi did not attend the New Year’s Eve family dinner, and King Jin was absent due to illness. The other palaces did not pay much attention to it, and the huge Chengde Palace was no longer as lively as before.
The princes present saluted and greeted their sixth uncle, and His Highness King Qin responded one by one and then knelt in front of the Empress Dowager to pay respects.
The Empress Dowager sat high on the main seat, with a kind and gentle look, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
A family dinner, on the surface, harmonious, but secretly filled with smoke, everyone had their own evil intentions, testing each other.
From beginning to end, Shen Qingzhuo was highly nervous, secretly observing everyone’s movements.
It’s not time yet, His Highness King Qin must not get into trouble tonight.
Fortunately, the reunion dinner ended smoothly, but His Highness King Qin was forced to drink a lot of wine during the dinner. For safety reasons, Shen Qingzhuo decided to personally escort His Highness King Qin out of the palace.
“By the way, this king heard that King Jin was unfortunately seriously injured.” Xiao Luchi reeked of alcohol, and his steps were steady. “As his Imperial Uncle, it is reasonable for this king to go and see him.”
Shen Qingzhuo frowned and replied, “Jiuyue Pavilion is in the same direction. The humble minister will accompany Your Highness.”
***
On New Year’s Eve, the palace road was full of festive lanterns, and the road to Changle Palace was bright.
When he reached the palace gate, Shen Qingzhuo’s footsteps suddenly stopped.
On the way just now, he and His Highness King Qin had been chatting casually, and every sentence seemed casual, but in fact, every sentence contained deep meaning, so naturally he had no time to think about anything else.
But now that he was getting closer to the palace gate, he couldn’t help but recall that chaotic night in his mind—
The rapid breath sprayed at the roots of his ears, one faster than the other, covering his body hard and hot, like a red-hot iron, which could not be pushed or pulled away.
A fatal numbness rose from his tailbone, as if an electric heat was running through the whole body, and Shen Qingzhuo’s whole body went limp uncontrollably.
“No…” He was infected by the heat emitted by the young man. Although he didn’t drink the bowl of deer antler soup, but his whole body was so hot that he felt like he was about to burn. “How, how can I help…”
The young man still buried his head in his neck, raised a slender and powerful hand, and groped to find his hand that had nowhere to go.
The palm of the hand rubbed slowly against the back of the hand, firmly but gently squeezing the soft gaps between the fingers and forming a close and intimate posture of interlocking fingers.
Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help but shudder, “Xiao Qi…”
The palm of the hand that had been wielding swords and weapons for a long time was covered with a layer of callous, which rubbed against the delicate skin slightly roughly, and every rubbing brought a clearly perceptible strange feeling.
Before he knew it, his hands were soaked with sweat. He wiped them clean with his big hands impatiently, but soon new sweat came out, and it kept repeating, as if the hot sweat could never be washed away…
He felt his hands were sore and numb, and even thought he was going to die of the heat. He couldn’t help sobbing, “Xiao Qi…”
Soon, the young man freed his other hand and pinched the back of his neck with an absolutely controlling gesture.
The hot palm kneaded the smooth, jade-like neck, and the thumb rubbed a small piece of skin red. The young man covered his ear and called him in a deep and magnetic voice: “Master, master… I like Master so much…”
But Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t hear what the young man was saying at all. All his senses were forced to focus on one thing.
As time went by, he squeezed out a soft and light protest from his throat, just like a newborn kitten whose neck was pinched maliciously. There was no way to escape, and he could only make pitiful cries…
……
“Lord Shen?” Xiao Luchi noticed that the footsteps behind him had stopped and immediately turned around and asked, “Why did you stop?”
Shen Qingzhuo woke up as if from a dream, and his white jade-like earlobes instantly turned red. He tried to calm down and said, “No, nothing… Your Highness, please!”
Xiao Luchi looked at him in confusion, turned around, and stepped through the threshold.
Shen Qingzhuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief and followed His Highness King Qin with a blushing face.
Since that ridiculous night, he has been avoiding his little disciple, intentionally or unintentionally, for the past two days. But as the saying goes, you can avoid the first day, but you can’t avoid the fifteenth day, he can’t hide forever.
It’s fine, isn’t it just to help his little disciple? As a master, it’s normal to help his little disciple solve problems, just as…
Just treat it as him teaching and demonstrate in person as a master.
Thinking of this, the heat in Shen Qingzhuo’s ears finally faded away.
“Your Highness, His Highness King Qin is here to see you.” Soon, he raised his hand and knocked on the door, his tone was normal.
A deep and magnetic voice came from the hall, “Come in.”
Just two short words instantly brought back memories that shouldn’t exist in Shen Qingzhuo’s mind.
The voice that stuck to his ears made his heart beat faster. The low, hoarse voice mixed with emotions was surprisingly pleasant and seductive, especially at the last critical moment…
Stop!
Shen Qingzhuo suddenly came back to his senses, took a deep breath, lowered his eyes, and opened the door.
“Sixth Imperial Uncle.” Xiao Shen’s eyes swept over his master without leaving a trace and then stopped at King Qin. “It is inconvenient for the nephew to stand up and salute Sixth Imperial Uncle, hope Imperial Uncle will not blame.”
“We are family, no need to be polite.” Xiao Luchi stared at him for a moment and smiled and sighed, “I haven’t seen you for many years, you have grown up.”
In fact, King Qin left the palace early and rarely returned to the capital. He had only met the Seventh Prince, who grew up in the palace, once. They did not have much of an uncle-nephew relationship, so they fought ruthlessly in the original book.
“Thanks, Imperial Uncle.” Xiao Shen smiled palely, “Imperial Uncle, please sit down. Someone, serve tea.”
After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, perhaps because they drank a few more glasses of wine at the banquet, Xiao Luchi casually talked to his nephew about the situation in Suixi, including whether the Xirong was sincere in negotiating peace, how to ensure that the barbarians would not dare to offend Dayong again, and how to maintain long-term peace and stability on the border.
Shen Qingzhuo stood aside, listening silently, thinking that His Highness King Qin was testing his little disciple, and it seemed that he did not drink much.
After about two cups of tea later, Xiao Luchi stood up and said, “It’s getting late, you should have a good rest.”
Xiao Shen bowed and replied, “Imperial Uncle, take care. Sorry, nephew can’t see you off.”
Xiao Luchi looked at him twice before turning around and walking out. Unexpectedly, he was drunk and tripped over the door.
Shen Qingzhuo quickly supported him, “Your Highness, be careful.”
Xiao Luchi put his arm on his thin shoulders. The two were so close that they could see each eyelash clearly. He couldn’t help but laugh: “I support you, you support me, this king and Lord Shen are even today.”
At the same time, Xiao Shen’s face darkened, and his hand on the quilt suddenly tightened, pinching his knuckles until they creaked.
“Your Highness is right.” Shen Qingzhuo calmly let go of his hand. “I’ll see Your Highness out.”
He saw King Qin out, and Lord Lin, who was on duty tonight, was waiting at the door.
The moment Xiao Luchi saw Lord Lin, his drunken eyes lit up, “Ah Yu?”
“Lord Lin has to be on duty at the New Year’s Eve banquet, it’s really a hard work.” Shen Qingzhuo said politely, “His Highness King Qin is drunk, I have to trouble Lord Lin to send His Highness back safely.”
Lin Jinyu nodded slightly: “Don’t worry.”
Finally seeing off the Buddha, King Qin, Shen Qingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief and turned back.
When he reached the door of the inner hall again, his steps froze again.
However, before he could prepare himself, a big hand suddenly stretched out from the door and pulled him in.
“Ah!” He cried out and fell into a familiar embrace.
“Master.” Xiao Shen lowered his head, his thin lips close to the tip of his red ear, “Have you been avoiding me enough?”
“I…” Shen Qingzhuo was tightly held by a strong arm around his waist. He struggled to no avail and could only whisper, “I’m not avoiding you ah.”
“Really?” Xiao Shen pulled out a hand, pinched the pointed jaw of the man in his arms, forced him to look up and look directly at him, and said in a very resentful tone, “Master, do you know how disappointed I was when I woke up that night and didn’t see you?”
The obsidian eyes were wet, and the expression looked very aggrieved, like a poor dog being abandoned.
Shen Qingzhuo was confused and apologized subconsciously: “Sorry, Master didn’t mean to leave you behind…”
He didn’t expect to succeed so easily. Xiao Shen hugged his master into his arms again. “But I’m so happy that Master took the initiative to come to me tonight!”
“Happy New Year, Xiao Qi.” Shen Qingzhuo blinked his eyelashes and reacted belatedly, “That’s not right ah!”
It was clearly his little disciple who asked him for help, which caused his palm to catch fire, and it still hurts. Why does he make it sound like he is a scumbag who turns his back on people?
The author has something to say:
The Master: I am not a scumbag! Conspiracy, there must be a conspiracy!
The Wolf Cub: Yes, it is a sweet conspiracy to eat Master bite by bite~
