Chapter 194: This King Will Ruin You

Chapter 194: This King Will Ruin You

The originally fervent court fell silent at the sight of Jingyang Wang's blood splattered on the scene. Everyone stared at the corpse with eyes wide open in death, retreating to form a vacuum circle around it, their hearts filled with shock:

This Regent Wang has always been at odds with His Majesty. He doesn't attend court eight out of ten times, and when he does, he stirs up trouble. Why is he willing to lend a hand today? With a weak and incapable monarch and powerful ministers overstepping their bounds, it seems that the Zhao dynasty will eventually fall into someone else's hands.

Lady Wei, upon seeing Zhao Qin's death, did not linger in the court for long. She gave Huo Lang a deep look, directly ordered people to carry away the body, and left the hall with an indifferent expression.

The name of loyalty can shape a person's backbone, but it can also confine the heart. The entire Zhen Guogong Mansion was full of loyal martyrs, yet they ended up like this. Even if Lady Wei had thought about rebelling ninety-nine times out of a hundred, she was held back by that one moment of hesitation:

Throughout history, rebellion has always been condemned for all eternity. The Wei family's clean reputation could not bear any stain.

Zhao Kang sat on the ground in a daze, looking as if he hadn't come to his senses. In the end, he was gently coaxed away by Wu Mei and others, who dismissed the court officials under the pretext of illness.

Zhao Kang rarely appeared in public. Even sitting in a high position, he wore a numb expression, resembling Lu Yan's calm demeanor seven or eight times out of ten. Few could detect that today, he had shown rare emotional agitation, inevitably revealing a weakness.

Huo Lang stood still, his eyes slightly narrowed, his dark gaze fixed on Zhao Kang's departing back. He felt a strange sensation in his heart.

Seeing him lost in thought, Huo Bi approached and asked, "Brother, what are you thinking about?"

Huo Lang suddenly asked, "Was Zhao Qin so important to him?"

Huo Lang was somewhat frustrated earlier, torn between the empire's future and a useless uncle who merely ate and waited to die. A fool would know how to choose, but unexpectedly, the emperor chose foolishly, hesitating even to kill a person.

Huo Lang himself found it odd. Sometimes, when he saw the emperor, he felt that the other was the best in the world. Other times, he inexplicably felt an intense hatred, wanting nothing more than to slap him. Was this the legendary love-hate relationship?

Huo Bi empathetically said, "After all, his own uncle died. Grief is a natural human emotion."

Huo Lang sneered inwardly. What was so great about losing an uncle? When his own father died, he didn't cry as miserably. However, despite his thoughts, seeing the emperor cry so sorrowfully, he pondered it over and over. After changing his clothes and returning to the palace in the afternoon, he paid a visit, carrying a food box, fully expressing his intentions to comfort the sick.

After returning to his bedroom, Zhao Kang lay on the bed like a fool, his face pale, muttering repeatedly, "Uncle... It's all my fault... It's all my fault..."

Wu Mei fed him some calming medicine, which he promptly vomited back up, causing her to sigh anxiously, "What should we do!"

Lu Yan happened to enter the secret room. Glancing at the half-dead Zhao Kang lying on the bed, he casually dropped a bombshell: "A palace maid just reported that the Regent Wang is outside Shenkang Hall, requesting an audience. When does His Majesty plan to receive him?"

Zhao Kang, who was still awake, heard these words and fainted from fright. Wu Mei knew Lu Yan did it on purpose and turned to glare at him angrily, "What do you mean by this?!"

Lu Yan chuckled lightly, a particularly jarring sound in the silent secret room. His gentle features fell into shadow, making him seem like the perennial snow on the Tian Mountains, inexplicably exuding a chill: "What could I possibly mean? He slipped up today, don't you know?"

Confronted by Lu Yan's penetrating gaze, Wu Mei was speechless.

In his previous life, Huo Lang did not participate in this court session, naturally unaware of it. But today, Lu Yan hid behind a screen and, observing the other's contemplative appearance, knew that Huo Lang must have raised suspicions.

Shenkang Hall, East Warm Pavilion.

Huo Lang stepped into the hall and saw Lu Yan silently reclining on the couch. He closed his eyes, holding his forehead, his face pale, appearing weak and exhausted, as if frightened by the events of the day.

Wu Mei tactfully dismissed everyone, waiting outside herself. The hall door closed, and the peacock incense burner emitted a wisp of smoke, attempting to mask the floating scent of blood in the air.

"So, scared, were you?"

Huo Lang's voice, devoid of emotion, rang overhead, carrying an inexplicable pressure. He disliked seeing Lu Yan cry, especially for someone else, finding it annoying.

Lu Yan remained silent, lowering his gaze without looking at him, then inadvertently shed a tear, his eyes reddening. He looked no different from his appearance in the court that day: "It's all my fault that Uncle died..."

He imitated Zhao Kang's half-dead, sickly appearance to seven or eight degrees of accuracy. When he looked up at Huo Lang, there was even a hint of appropriate resentment, questioning word by word: "He was my real uncle... How could you... How could you force me to kill him..."

Hearing this, Huo Lang's eyes flashed, a surge of anger welling up within him. He reached out to grip Lu Yan's throat, forcing him to look at him, and suddenly laughed coldly: "This king forced you? Did this king force you?!"

He gritted his teeth, feeling as if his good intentions had been thrown to the dogs, his expression unable to hide his ferocity: "If you have the ability to be angry, why didn't you confront the Zhen Guogong Mansion in the court just now, instead coming before this king to show off your power?"

"Today, if you didn't execute Zhao Qin, even if the Wei family endured and lay low, you would have chilled the hearts of the officials. Their family has dominated the court for years; are all those old military subordinates vegetarians?!"

"When the palace was in turmoil years ago, everyone was terrified. This king worried about your safety and led troops through life and death to quell the rebellion, being hit by three arrows and seven knives. Could that be less significant than the piece of flatbread that Jingyang Wang gave you?!"

The more Huo Lang spoke, the more he felt like a complete idiot. He angrily brushed his sleeves aside, his tone dripping with sarcasm: "In the future, whether you live or die has nothing to do with this king. Next time, send fewer of those miscellaneous medicinal soups; crocodile tears for a dead rat!"

After saying this, he forcefully pushed Lu Yan away and turned to leave the hall. However, his wrist was suddenly seized and pulled back, falling into a familiar embrace. A low voice whispered in his ear, the warm breath stirring an inexplicable itch:

"In that case, it seems I wronged the Regent Wang..."

Lu Yan was merely acting, trying to cover up the flaw in the court. He hadn't expected Huo Lang to explode like a firecracker. Holding tightly to the person in his arms, a faint smile hid in his eyes, leaving no trace of self-reproach or sorrow: "I was wrong just now. In my heart, you are a thousand times more important than my uncle."

Huo Lang didn't expect Lu Yan to admit defeat so quickly, momentarily stunned. Realizing that this person was using sweet talk again, he warned sternly, "Let go!"

Lu Yan naturally wouldn't release him. He rested his chin on Huo Lang's shoulder, encircling his lean waist. With his naturally gentle disposition, he softened his tone to apologize, few could harden their hearts against him:

"This king is still blaming me. I've never killed anyone before. It was inevitable that I couldn't bring myself to do it today. It wasn't intentional to resent you."

After saying this, he released Huo Lang, turning him around to face him. The smile disappeared, replaced by a faint self-reproach.

Just as Huo Lang was about to say something, a series of delicate kisses quietly landed on his eyebrows and eyes. Lu Yan kissed his cold lips, gently turning and grinding them, swallowing all the unfinished words. He had truly grasped Huo Lang's weakness.

Fuming inside, Huo Lang felt that the dog emperor used this trick every time they argued, clearly treating him like a fool. He tried to turn his head to avoid the kiss, but Lu Yan had anticipated it, tightly clasping the back of his head, leaving no room for escape.

The kiss deepened, leaving them breathless, ending up in a tangle on the couch.

Despite his fear of the cold, Huo Lang was now burning hot from the kiss. His vision blurred as he tried to push Lu Yan away, only to be caught off guard as the other undid his belt and outer robe.

Breathing heavily, Huo Lang was somewhat incredulous that the other dared to do such a thing here. Lowering his voice, he warned, "What are you crazy about? This is Shenkang Hall!"

Lu Yan glanced at him, a mysterious smile on his face: "I know."

His fingertips lightly flicked, and Huo Lang's last layer of white inner clothing also came undone, revealing the smooth lines of his body. Once a top-notch hero in the army, he had grown thinner over the past few years, plagued by illness.

Lu Yan asked seemingly out of nowhere, "Why didn't you tell me you were hit by three arrows and seven knives back then?"

He could barely remember the details of the past. He only recalled that Huo Lang led troops to suppress the rebellion, kneeling silently below to accept the late emperor's rewards. Neither happy nor sad, he resembled a stone statue in a temple, just with a bit more ferocity.

Hovering with a faint tone, Huo Lang said, "I'm not dead yet, what's there to talk about."

If his father doesn't care, why should Lu Yan?

Sometimes, Lu Yan's words were strangely vexing: "If you don't speak up, how can I feel for you? You deserve to suffer in silence."

"You!"

These words struck at Huo Lang's heart. He didn't say anything because he didn't want to seek reward for kindness. Even if it was ten thousand arrows and ten thousand blades, he wouldn't tell Lu Yan. How did he end up with the verdict of 'deserving' it? His face darkened, "Say that again?"

Lu Yan dared to repeat it, "Crying babies get fed. If the Prince doesn't make a sound, he deserves to suffer alone."

He really dared to say it again?!

Huo Lang laughed bitterly in anger, "Good, good, this Prince deserves to be cut! This Prince had lard on his mind to fight your battles...this Prince will go back and mobilize troops to depose you!"

The last sentence was clearly said in a fit of rage.

After he spoke, he directly pushed Lu Yan away and got out of bed, planning to depose this ungrateful emperor as soon as he returned. The other party didn't stop him, propping his head up with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, watching him. When he saw Huo Lang put on his outer robe and was about to leave, he reached out and pulled him back, causing him to fall precisely into his embrace.

The hall was unlit, the light from the flowered window casting shadows on Lu Yan, giving him an ethereal outline. Though it was winter, it strangely reminded one of the gentle spring breeze. He placed his index finger to his lips,

"Hush...who said I don't feel for you? Be quiet, don't let them hear us."

Lu Yan brushed off Huo Lang's outer robe, exposing his skin to the air, causing him to shiver slightly from the cold before falling back into the warmth of the man's embrace.

Lu Yan's slender fingertips slowly caressed Huo Lang's sullen brows and eyes, finally reaching his shoulders, then silently lowered his head to kiss those layers of old scars. Huo Lang couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, his voice hoarse, "You...what madness are you in..."

He felt that the emperor had been mentally unstable these past two days.

Lu Yan remained silent, lowering his eyes to seriously kiss those scars. The overlapping wounds from swords and blades represented Huo Lang's years of hardship at the border, countless and indescribable, yet far less piercing than his soft whisper: "Even if the Prince doesn't cry, I would still feel for you..."

Hearing this, Huo Lang closed his eyes and frowned, his lips tightly pursed, speechless, his pale face only betraying his emotions through the movement of his throat.

He felt sorry for himself again.

Every time Lu Yan said something nice, he felt truly pitiful, a few light words sending him to fight life and death for the other party, but growing up, no one had cared for him like this...

When he closed his eyes, the warmth of the touch became even more apparent. Lu Yan kissed every inch of those old scars without any impatience or disgust, finally pulling him closer again.

"What's this?"

Lu Yan's interested voice made Huo Lang open his eyes. On the footrest lay a food box, its lid lifted, revealing a stack of sesame-covered flatbreads.

Huo Lang raised his eyebrows faintly, "Of course it's Hu flatbread."

Wasn't it just a piece of flatbread that Zhao Qin gave the emperor? What was so great about it? He brought over a stack, at least twenty pieces, let's see who could outdo whom!