Qin Yuanxi felt miserable, his body aching all over. Unable to find any relief, he closed his eyes but couldn’t manage to fall asleep. Basically, he was in an utterly uncomfortable state all around.
No answers came from Zhao Tuo’s mouth, and Qin Yuanxi didn’t bother wasting energy trying to extract anything further. Surprisingly, the person he had ordered to leave, Zhao Tuo, didn’t budge. No signs of departure, no indications whatsoever. He just stood by Qin Yuanxi’s bedside like a dumbfounded statue.
Qin Yuanxi had already said everything that needed to be said, all the soft and hard words, and even resorted to a bit of playing the wounded card, all to no avail. In a state of resignation, Qin Yuanxi ignored him, letting him stand there like a pillar, for as long as he pleased.
And so, Zhao Tuo truly stood there the entire day.
Not a single word spoken, just silently stationed by Qin Yuanxi’s bedside. He persisted until the sky completely darkened. When the palace servant brought Qin Yuanxi’s medicinal soup, this ‘door god’ startled him so much that he nearly dropped the bowl.
Watching Zhao Tuo, expressionless, take the medicinal soup from the attendant, Qin Yuanxi didn’t even shoot him a glance. He reached out to take it, but Zhao Tuo didn’t hand it over. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed with the bowl, seemingly intending to feed Qin Yuanxi the medicine himself.
Qin Yuanxi’s patience had worn thin, and with Zhao Tuo refusing to engage in a civil conversation, there were no kind words left in Qin Yuanxi’s vocabulary for him.
“Don’t trouble yourself. I can manage to drink the medicine on my own.”
Zhao Tuo persisted, the medicine bowl Qin Yuanxi was supposed to take remained unmoved. This almost made Qin Yuanxi lose his temper, “What’s wrong with you? Are you seeking torment for yourself? Feeding someone medicine is something only close relatives do. What right do you have to hold my medicine bowl and try to make me drink it?”
Although he said these words, when the medicinal soup reached his lips, Qin Yuanxi, in a moment of weakness, reluctantly opened his mouth to drink.
He drank, but his face contorted in discomfort. The medicine was bitter, something he could never tolerate. In the past, he would have prepared something sweet to counteract the bitterness, but amidst their argument today, neither of them thought about it. After that one sip, Qin Yuanxi, tears welling in the corners of his eyes from the bitterness, adamantly refused to take another.
“You coax me, then I’ll drink more.”
Observing Zhao Tuo holding the medicine bowl with noticeable stiffness, Qin Yuanxi lazily remarked, “What’s this? In the past, you were willing to do anything to achieve your goal, ready to coax me in any way. Now that your intentions are laid bare, you realize you’ve lost even the facade of hypocrisy in front of me. So, you can’t be bothered to coax me anymore, huh? Fine, I didn’t force you to stay. You don’t need to linger around me. In my half-dead state, there’s no way I can escape, so you don’t have to waste your time watching over me.”
Zhao Tuo’s hand, holding the medicine bowl, revealed bulging veins as Qin Yuanxi suddenly reached out, taking the bowl from Zhao Tuo’s hand. To Zhao Tuo’s surprise, Qin Yuanxi tilted his head back and downed the medicine in one go. He handed the empty bowl back to Zhao Tuo with an airy tone.
“The medicine is bitter, always has been, extremely bitter. But you know what? For me, it’s not the bitterest thing I’ve tasted. I’ve already experienced something far more bitter, so this medicine isn’t that hard to swallow.”
“Go back; I won’t make things difficult for you.” Qin Yuanxi, with a hint of playfulness, even smiled intentionally at Zhao Tuo. “After all, I can’t bear to.”
Yet, within that smile, there still lingered a trace of melancholy.
“I didn’t intend to kill you.”
With the empty medicine bowl still in hand, Zhao Tuo lowered his head, gazing at the empty vessel. It seemed as if he was contemplating Qin Yuanxi’s words or lost in some personal reminiscence. After uttering this sentence, he offered no further words.
However, Qin Yuanxi wasn’t in a hurry.
“If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have made it this far; you’d have died long ago.”
Zhao Tuo seemed to be explaining, “As long as you behave, listen to me, I’ll spare your life. I’ll arrange everything for you, and you can even leave the palace if you want. You can go anywhere, to the ends of the earth.”
“Oh, really?” What Qin Yuanxi wanted to hear was far from this, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He continued with a methodical approach, coaxing gently, “Or maybe Ah Tuo understands me. Knows that I dislike the palace, knows that I long for the vast world beyond. Can I ask you a question?”
“Not speaking implies consent,” Qin Yuanxi continued without waiting for a response. “If I’m not mistaken, initially, you had the intention to kill me, right? By ‘initially,’ I mean when we first met, when I was leaving the palace. You should remember; if I’m not mistaken, at that time, you planned to deal with me outside the palace, correct?”
In retrospect, it becomes evident that Zhao Tuo’s chosen route for their departure was questionable. With the potential for bandit disturbances in the mountains, a bit of manipulation could easily create an accident, it was a perfect opportunity.
It was when Qin Yuanxi had just arrived, and the Regent and Emperor Qin Yuanxi were still suspicious of each other. If anything happened to Qin Yuanxi, the throne was destined to change hands. Whether it was intentional or a passive outcome, Lu Bohuan would be pushed into that position.
That seemed to be what Zhao Tuo wanted.
Unfortunately, a slight deviation occurred, and the unexpected factor was Qin Yuanxi himself.
“At that time, you intended to kill me, but you didn’t expect that we would develop a relationship. Is the feeling of sleeping with the emperor particularly delightful?” Qin Yuanxi’s eyes held a teasing glint. “So much so that you couldn’t resist and kept sleeping. Moreover, you never expected a child to come out of it. Since then, have you changed your mind? Instead of letting me die discreetly, you decided to make the most of it, play a significant role. As long as the child is born, when the time comes for you to rebel, you’ll have even more standing, right?”
Qin Yuanxi had already analyzed many aspects of the situation, but what he was more interested in was Zhao Tuo’s psychology.
He wanted to know what Zhao Tuo had been thinking from the beginning to the end and what changes had occurred in between.
“So what if I did!” Zhao Tuo admitted with a stiff neck. But as soon as he admitted it, Qin Yuanxi leaned in and kissed him. “When it came to the crucial moment, why didn’t you leave the villa when I didn’t let you? You obediently stayed in the villa, giving Lu Bohuan the opportunity to mess up your plans. Your rebellion plan is already—”
Zhao Tuo’s expression changed the moment this topic came up. It seemed like he was about to grit his teeth in frustration. In a hurry, Qin Yuanxi pressed down on his hand, almost hanging onto Zhao Tuo. “I haven’t finished talking yet!”
He had injuries, the wounds were still quite severe, and he hung onto Zhao Tuo. If Zhao Tuo made any sudden moves to push him away or turned hostile, Qin Yuanxi wouldn’t gain anything, and his wounds would undoubtedly tear open again. Qin Yuanxi had pinpointed this, using himself as a shield.
Despite Zhao Tuo’s face looking extremely displeased, he hadn’t made a move.
Qin Yuanxi felt a bit smug.
“Enough, the failure of rebellion is a good thing,” Qin Yuanxi comforted Zhao Tuo. “Look, you don’t want me dead. You still plan to rebel. Throughout history, which emperor facing a rebellion had a good outcome? Your actions lead to only two results. First, if you succeed, my fate is destined to be miserable. Considering I risked my life for the sake of giving you a baby, do you really want to see me end up like that? Second, if you fail, once you officially revolt, do you know what failure means? It’s a destined outcome where one of us lives while the other dies. Why bother?”
Anticipating Zhao Tuo’s response, Qin Yuanxi continued the conversation. “Do you truly want to be emperor? I can give it to you, really.”
“With achievements overshadowing the ruler, if I don’t rebel, sooner or later, I’ll be killed. Why should I wait for death?”
“Look at me!” Qin Yuanxi became displeased, turning Zhao Tuo’s face to meet his gaze. “Am I the ruler you’re overshadowing? Take a good look at who I am. We’ve been together for so long; don’t you have any judgment of your own?”
Zhao Tuo’s brow furrowed tightly, showing signs of struggle. His lips gradually paled, and Qin Yuanxi, unwilling to push him further, was about to give in when Zhao Tuo gripped his wrist. “Are you blaming me? Blaming me for not being as wise as him, for lacking his judgment, for not being as good as him, is that it?”
“Easy, my hand hurts.” Seeing Zhao Tuo’s uneasy expression, Qin Yuanxi cautiously asked, “The ‘him’ you’re talking about, is it Lu Bohuan?”
“Who else could it be? Who else is there?” Zhao Tuo, with a hint of sarcasm, huffed and said, “Everyone thinks he’s great, thinks he’s formidable. He’s the Regent who holds sway over the world, proficient in both literary and martial arts, wise and knowledgeable. He’s better than me in everything, even you like him more than you like me, right?”
Well, now it’s turning into a bit of a tantrum, isn’t it?
Qin Yuanxi was starting to feel a bit confused about the current situation and hesitated to upset Zhao Tuo further. He could only try to soothe the situation, “No, no, in my heart, you’re the best, truly.”
The sincerity in his eyes was evident, but unfortunately, Zhao Tuo didn’t believe it.
“You’re lying to me.” There was a hint of aggrievement in those large eyes.
Qin Yuanxi felt increasingly at a loss. This situation was not unfolding as he had expected. It was supposed to be a standoff, a conversation, and eventually a return to harmony. How did they just start, and before getting to the main point, things went off track?
It almost felt like… was Zhao Tuo getting jealous of Lu Bohuan?
Being jealous of himself? Even if he were jealous, Qin Yuanxi wouldn’t say anything. The key issue was that the timing of this jealousy seemed a bit off. He was still in a confrontation with Zhao Tuo, yet suddenly Zhao Tuo was expressing jealousy toward Lu Bohuan?
It’s all a bit baffling, no matter how you look at it!
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
