Chapter 029 Royal Banquet 08

Chapter 029: Palace Banquet 08

Zhou Younan was utterly bewildered.

Weren’t he and Wei Qing supposed to be in the palace guest room? Why were they both in prison now?

He closed his eyes, rubbed them, and opened them again—still in prison.

Why were they in prison?

Zhou Younan had absolutely no idea.

He glanced at Wei Qing beside him, whose golden hair cascaded down as he slept, long eyelashes casting shadows.

Wasn’t Wei Qing the Marshal? Why was he locked up in prison with him? What on earth had happened?

"You're up," Wei Qing murmured, slowly opening his eyes before leaning in to kiss the dazed Zhou Younan. Then he stretched his arms with a big, languid stretch.

"Mhm," Zhou Younan replied, trying to piece together why they were both in prison.

Unable to figure it out, he finally blurted, "Why are we here?"

Wei Qing gave him a strange look. "You don’t remember?"

"Remember what?" Zhou Younan had a sinking feeling.

"We secretly activated His Majesty’s mech together," Wei Qing said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

Flashes of forgotten memories suddenly flooded Zhou Younan’s mind.

The mech’s interior had been cramped, making him and Wei Qing press tightly against each other.

"We grabbed Zhu Gejin," Wei Qing laughed, showing off his pointy canines.

Zhou Younan remembered now.

Zhu Gejin had been clutched in the mech’s grip, screaming his head off in utter despair.

"We took him for a spin over the Queen’s District," Wei Qing said, his pale green eyes shining with excitement.

Zhou Younan felt like he’d been struck by lightning, frozen in place, his fingers trembling slightly.

So that dream of flying freely in the sky… hadn’t been a dream at all? It was real?!

Zhou Younan couldn’t believe it, couldn’t face it—this couldn’t be happening!

He clutched his head. "How could I have done something like this?!"

Wei Qing spread his hands innocently.

Zhou Younan tugged at his hair, on the verge of a breakdown, stammering, "I—I—I—"

"You were drunk yesterday," Wei Qing said, gently taking Zhou Younan’s hands to stop him from pulling his own hair. "That orange fizzy drink was alcohol. You drank the whole glass."

Recalling the drink from the night before, Zhou Younan’s eyes went wide. "That was alcohol?!"

"It was," Wei Qing chuckled. "Turns out, you get incredibly bold and affectionate when you’re drunk. We should keep some at home from now on."

Zhou Younan clapped his hands over his ears—he didn’t want to hear it.

Nor did he want to face the fact that he’d become a criminal.

But the more he resisted, the more those memories flooded back.

"I’ve failed the lab subjects at the institute."

"I could only watch them suffer."

"I couldn’t do anything."

"I was hurting them, and the occasional comforting words I gave were just to ease my own guilt."

"But they held onto them like gold, so grateful to me."

"I’m such a selfish, despicable person."

Zhou Younan hadn’t expected his drunken self to sob and spill all his inner thoughts to Wei Qing.

Would Wei Qing even understand?

He was the high-and-mighty Marshal—there was no way he could comprehend his pain.

After a long pause, Wei Qing grabbed the drunken Zhou Younan’s hand and held it tightly.

"Zhou Younan," he said, "your suffering comes from your kindness. You were forced into this. Don’t blame yourself. Don’t leave. Stay by my side forever."

The drunken Zhou Younan started bawling his eyes out.

The sober Zhou Younan now: *This is mortifying—shut up, oh my god!*

Then, to comfort the wailing Zhou Younan, Wei Qing snuck him past the palace guards to the mech docking bay.

They climbed into the same mech together.

The sober Zhou Younan wished he could rewind time—he would’ve dragged both of them off that mech and talked some sense into them.

Wei Qing flew Zhou Younan through the sky, pursued by a whole squad of palace drones.

During their escape, Zhou Younan spotted Zhu Gejin playing with Jinjin on a balcony.

Wei Qing worked the mech's controls to snatch Zhu Gejin up, yelling at the drones, "I have an Omega hostage! Make a move and he’s toast!"

Zhu Gejin, clutched in the mech’s grip, was crying like a baby, screaming that he was sorry.

The drunken Zhou Younan cackled like a madman at him.

The sober Zhou Younan now wanted to slap his past self.

Later, Wei Qing flew the mech back to the docking bay. The moment they stepped out, they were surrounded by guards.

And then they were hauled off to jail.

Now that he remembered everything, Zhou Younan heaved a huge sigh.

How had it come to this?!

How had things gotten so out of hand?!

This was a path Zhou Younan had never envisioned, completely beyond his expectations.

What should he do next? What would happen? Would he have to serve time in prison?

If he had to stay in prison for a month, he’d be ruined!

Drinking got him into trouble!

As Zhou Younan drowned in regret, a man in a green uniform appeared outside the prison cell.

He had black hair and green eyes, was tall and burly, with three vertical tattoos on his forehead and a black teardrop mole on his chin.

The man stood with his hands behind his back and smirked at Wei Qing. "You, come out. Your time’s up."

"Luo Ou, tell me the truth—have you been waiting for this opportunity for a long time?" Wei Qing chuckled.

Zhou Younan frowned. On Short-Tail Star, he had heard the phrase "Your time’s up" many times before.

Every time, it was spoken by prison guards, and for those serving sentences, it meant punishment.

"Yes, I became the Royal Guard Captain just for a day like this." Luo Ou smirked.

Wei Qing stood up and lazily walked out.

"Wait." Zhou Younan blocked Wei Qing's path, looking up warily at Luo Ou. "What are you going to do?"

Luo Ou glanced at him with a cold stare. "For endangering an Omega, according to imperial law, Wei Qing gets ten lashes, and you get five."

A long whip appeared in Luo Ou's hand.

He pointed it at Wei Qing and said bluntly, "Wei Qing will take yours for you."

Zhou Younan's stomach dropped.

"Fifteen lashes—and you’re gloating?" Wei Qing mocked.

"Heh." Luo Ou chuckled lightly, flicking the whip in his hand. It snapped sharply.

Zhou Younan's eyes flickered with fear.

"Be good and wait here. I'll be back soon." Wei Qing reached out to pinch Zhou Younan's cheek, then walked out casually.

Zhou Younan was too afraid to reach out to grab the hem of Wei Qing's retreating clothes.

After Wei Qing and Luo Ou left, it wasn't long before the sound of the whip striking flesh rang out—*crack—crack—crack—*

Zhou Younan didn’t hear Wei Qing make a single sound.

But he knew all too well the searing pain of the whip—the way the lash tore through skin, the rough pull that left flesh splitting open.

It was a pain that burned to the bone, as if the soul itself were being ripped apart.

Zhou Younan clenched his teeth, guilt gnawed at him.

Wei Qing was suffering because of him.

It was his drunkenness, his emotional outburst, that had led Wei Qing to take him to pilot the mech.

That was why everything afterward went wrong.

Wracked with guilt, Zhou Younan felt he had to do something.

Just then, his comms device buzzed—Empress Murong Shalun was calling.

This was the first time he had ever received a call from someone of such high status, and it was happening in prison.

With trembling fingers, Zhou Younan finally accepted the call after a long pause.

A holographic projection of Murong Shalun, dressed in robes, appeared in the prison. His expression was stern.

"What you did yesterday was utterly unacceptable."

His opening words were a scolding, his eyes burning with barely contained anger.

"Xiao Jin’s still feverish, babbling nonsense. The doctors say he’s suffering from severe shock and will need time to recover."

Zhou Younan dropped his head in apology. "I'm sorry."

Seeing his remorse, Murong Shalun’s voice softened slightly, and he sighed.

"Xiao Jin is my cousin. His homeland was invaded by the Zerg, and he was the only one left in his family. He lashed out at you yesterday out of jealousy."

"I know he likes Vance, but I was once a daughter-in-law of the Nabel family. I won’t send my brother back to that family."

Zhou Younan stayed silent.

Murong Shalun had once been the eldest daughter-in-law of the Nabel family. After the eldest young master died young, he mourned for a year.

Later, when the Emperor proposed, he overruled objections to make Murong Shalun his Empress.

Because it was a second marriage, Murong Shalun rarely appeared in public, and no one dared mention the matter in front of the Emperor or him.

Now that he had brought it up himself, Zhou Younan figured he was clearly furious.

Murong Shalun continued, "He upset you, and you paid him back. I hope you won’t stay angry at Xiao Jin in the future."

Zhou Younan quickly shook his head. "I don’t."

He hadn’t taken Zhu Gejin’s actions to heart—or even seriously. Maybe it was the alcohol that had caused his pheromones to go wild at the dinner table.

Besides, Zhu Gejin had already got what was coming.

Murong Shalun paused, then added, "You’re a good kid who listens to reason. But you took Xiao Jin and flew over the Empress District in broad daylight, in front of everyone. The Emperor had no choice but to punish Wei Qing."

"Wei Qing is the Empire’s Marshal, a trusted general of His Majesty. He’s bold by nature and dislikes restraint. As his Omega, we hope you can rein in his actions appropriately."

Zhou Younan nodded quickly.

What had happened yesterday was entirely his own recklessness.

"I’ll send you a document. Read it carefully. Wei Qing may seem strong on the surface, but in truth, he..."

Murong Shalun trailed off.

"He cares for you, and both the Emperor and I are happy about that. But he isn’t your excuse to act out. I hope you’ll soon recognize his virtues and learn to love him."

"Zhou Younan, you should treasure how much he cares for you."

The line went dead.

Zhou Younan got the document from Murong Shalun and went through it carefully.

The first part was about aftercare for whip injuries, which Zhou Younan glanced over.

He had plenty of experience in injury care, so he only focused on the dietary restrictions.

The rest contained details about Wei Qing’s daily habits.

For example: "Wei Qing dislikes drinking water, so you should make sure he drinks enough water."

Zhou Younan recalled the previous day when they were shopping for clothes together at home.

Wuhuarou had poured water, but Wei Qing never touched his glass all afternoon.

He continued reading.

"Wei Qing hates eating vegetables and fruits, but he needs to eat them daily for his health."

Zhou Younan doubted this part.

He remembered Wei Qing making vegetable dishes for him before.

But upon reflection, Wei Qing never touched vegetables at meals—only meat.

Noting this, Zhou Younan read on.

……

After finishing the document, Zhou Younan felt like he knew Wei Qing much better now.

Wei Qing, the merciless marshal of the Tyrell Empire, was an unapproachable, shining presence.

Zhou Younan had always thought so.

But after reading the file, he realized just how wrong he'd been.

Wei Qing was a person—someone who knew about living, feelings, and kindness, with his own habits and vulnerabilities.

Yet Zhou Younan had never really noticed.

Perhaps because he knew he would leave someday, he had subconsciously ignored Wei Qing’s flaws and the fact that Wei Qing, too, needed care.

The sound of the whip—*crack, crack, crack*—finally stopped.

Zhou Younan closed the file on his terminal.

He looked up to see Wei Qing walking toward him like it was nothing.

Wei Qing’s face was pale, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

He gave Zhou Younan a bright smile. "Why the long face? Fifteen lashes? No big deal."

Even though he was the one who had been punished, he was trying to comfort him.

Zhou Younan stepped forward to gently took Wei Qing's arm and apologized, "I’m sorry, Wei Qing."

*I’m sorry, Wei Qing.*

*You were punished because of me.*

*I never truly cared for you.*

*I even gave you a drug that would make you become attracted to my pheromones.*

Zhou Younan decided that before he left, he would look after Wei Qing properly.

To make up for it.

"You really feel sorry for me?" Wei Qing shot back.

Zhou Younan felt uneasy, but he nodded earnestly.

Wei Qing tilted his head, with his trademark mischievous grin. "Then I want to see your forehead."

Zhou Younan went completely still.