Chapter 56: Ling Yehan Vomits Blood

Chapter 56: Ling Yehan Vomits Blood

"Your Honor, my lord, this humble one truly did nothing with that young master."

In a private room at Dali Temple, Zhang Fu sat in an armchair, observing the two male courtesans kneeling before him—the same two who had been in Ling Yehan’s room at the Qinghui Pavilion earlier. Now, stripped of their alluring demeanor from the pavilion, they were wrapped in thick cloaks, kneeling on the ground with anxious expressions. They had clearly seen that the Imperial Guards who arrived were from the palace, and they had been accused of harboring assassins who attempted to assassinate His Majesty—a charge of treason that made them tremble uncontrollably.

Zhang Fu spoke:

"Think carefully about every word you say. If you lie, no one in this world can save you."

"Yes, yes, this humble one dare not lie. That... that young master didn’t come for pleasure today."

Hearing this, Zhang Fu finally felt relieved. He had always believed the Marquis wouldn’t be so foolish, but he was still somewhat curious: why did the Marquis go to the Qinghui Pavilion in the first place?

"Oh? If he didn’t go for pleasure, then what was his purpose?"

Qing Yue knelt forward two steps, eager to spill everything quickly:

"That young master said he had someone special but didn’t know how to please them properly, so he came to the Qinghui Pavilion to learn. I’ve never encountered such a guest before, so I showed him many instructional pictures. However, the young master wasn’t satisfied, saying those positions were too strenuous and unsuitable for his beloved. Upon further questioning, I realized his beloved must be older and *lacking stamina*, making conventional techniques unsuitable. So, I suggested using oral service to please him."

At this point, Zhang Fu almost fell off his stool, his hand trembling as he held the teacup.

Misinterpreting his reaction as dissatisfaction, Qing Yue hurriedly continued, spilling everything quickly:

"That young master seemed inexperienced in matters of pleasure, so we demonstrated for him and explained the key points. I swear every word I’ve said is true, without exaggeration."

Xing Fang, standing guard outside the woodshed, spotted Zhang Fu returning from a distance. The usually composed Grand Steward now looked pale and unsteady on his feet. Xing Fang couldn’t help but step down to meet him:

"Steward Zhang, what’s wrong?"

Zhang Fu’s mind was filled with the phrases "*lacking stamina*" and "*lacking masculine vigor*." He had been tasked with the interrogation by imperial decree, and he wouldn’t dare withhold anything from the Emperor. But if he reported these words verbatim, he felt his own life would be forfeit. How could the Marquis of Jingbian have such audacity? He...

Zhang Fu lifted his eyes, his gaze vacant:

"Commander Xing, we’ve worked together for years. If anything happens to me, remember to burn some joss paper for me during the Qingming and Hanshi festivals."

Xing Fang...

Zhang Fu glanced at the still-closed woodshed door. Xing Fang asked:

"His Majesty hasn't come out yet. Do you wish to go in and report?"

Zhang Fu hesitated, a rare occurrence. With the Emperor currently enraged, entering now would either endanger the Marquis’s safety or cost him his own head:

"No, no, there’s no hurry."

He could only hope the Marquis would confess out of guilt, sparing him the ordeal. With that, Zhang Fu quietly positioned himself by the door.

Inside the woodshed, the atmosphere was tense. Xiao Chen recalled the Luo man who had appeared at the Qinghui Pavilion that night. Ling Yehan had chosen that particular night to go—could it have been for that Luo man? The lewd reports he had heard earlier had already pushed Xiao Chen, already furious, to lose his usual restraint in his speech:

"Are you so curious about Luo men? Is seeing me in the palace not enough? You had to go to the Qinghui Pavilion to see one?"

Ling Yehan, bound to the post, struggled to free his hands. Hearing this, he looked up abruptly:

"Brother, do you think I went to the Qinghui Pavilion to see some Luo man?"

Xiao Chen’s anger flared:

"Otherwise, were you really there for pleasure?"

"I wasn’t."

Ling Yehan instinctively responded. Their eyes met across the room.

The dim, yellowish candlelight in the woodshed cast shadows on Xiao Chen’s profile, making him appear even more drawn and tired. Ling Yehan recalled the humiliation and vulgar insults directed at the Luo man at the Qinghui Pavilion. Xiao Chen must have learned everything by now. His heart felt as if it had been pierced by a knife.

He opened his mouth to speak but found no words. All he wanted was to hold the other in his arms and comfort him, but with his hands and feet bound to the post, he couldn’t move an inch.

"Then what were you doing? Is Marquis Ling so wealthy that he’s ready to spend a fortune for a night with that Luo man?"

Xiao Chen felt dizzy. When Xing Fang had entered earlier, Ling Yehan was already preparing to pay. Regardless of his intentions, the situation displeased Xiao Chen. He had endured discomfort in the palace waiting for him, only to find him spending money on someone else in a brothel. What an ungrateful creature.

In his panic, Ling Yehan blurted out:

"I wasn’t trying to buy a night with him. I just didn’t want him to end up with someone else."

Xiao Chen looked at Ling Yehan’s foolish expression and thought of Xu Jing, whom he still kept confined in the cold palace. Ling Yehan remained blind to Xu Jing’s obvious intentions, and now he was showing pity for a Luo man. Xiao Chen couldn’t help but sneer mockingly:

"The Marquis truly knows how to appreciate delicate beauty."

Outside the door, Zhang Fu closed his eyes deeply upon hearing the conversation. He felt that if he didn’t intervene soon, either the Emperor would be driven to fury by the Marquis, or the Marquis would be beaten again by the Emperor.

He stood up and knocked on the door:

"Your Majesty, it is this servant."

Hearing the call to enter, Zhang Fu pushed the door open.

He bowed in salute. Xiao Chen turned to look at him:

"Finished the interrogation?"

"Yes."

"Tell me then. Let me hear what the always-busy Marquis of Jingbian was doing at the courtesans’ place at such an hour."

Ling Yehan looked up abruptly, his face flushing red from his neck to his cheeks. He stared intently at Zhang Fu:

"Steward Zhang."

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Fu recounted the two courtesans’ words word for word in the woodshed.

For a moment, the woodshed fell into silence. Xiao Chen’s expression went blank for several seconds, taking the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea to connect the phrases "older," "*lacking stamina*," and "*lacking masculine vigor*" to himself. Zhang Fu hardly dared to look at Xiao Chen’s face.

Ling Yehan’s expression also went blank. He broke out in a cold sweat:

"They’re lying! I didn’t say that! When did I ever say you were *lacking stamina* or *lacking masculine vigor*?"

Before he could finish, a sharp voice cut him off:

"Silence."

Ling Yehan now truly felt that today was unlucky. Even Dou E, the wronged woman from the stories, hadn’t suffered as much as he had. He had only gone to the courtesans to learn ways to please someone better. How had it come to this? How could Zhang Fu have handled the interrogation so badly, allowing such nonsense to be spoken?

"Brother, I really didn’t say those things. I went there today to learn something, but those words weren’t mine. Brother."

Xiao Chen felt that looking at this fool any longer would cut his life short. He pushed himself up:

"Return to the palace."

Zhang Fu's head was spared for the time being.

Ling Yehan felt burning up all over, each breath felt scorching hot. Seeing Xiao Chen about to leave, he anxiously tried to break free from the ropes, unconsciously channeling his inner energy. The scorching heat rushed from his limbs to his chest, making him cough uncontrollably. A metallic taste flooded his mouth and nose, and when he instinctively wiped it, his hand came away covered in blood. Staring at the blood on his hand, he was completely dumbfounded.

Zhang Fu turned and saw this scene, his face instantly paling:

"My Lord!"

The exclamation made Xiao Chen halt and look back. He saw Ling Yehan staring blankly at the blood on his hand, and his mind reeled for a moment before he rushed forward in alarm:

"What happened? What's wrong?"

Ling Yehan tried to speak but was choked by continuous coughing, blood still frothing from his mouth. Xiao Chen's face turned deathly pale, and he instinctively moved to hold Ling Yehan's body:

"Get the imperial physician, now!"

Ling Yehan himself had no idea what was happening. He had felt extremely hot all over earlier, and now the heat had concentrated in his chest, burning and swelling. Strangely, spitting out the blood made him feel slightly better. Unable to speak, he could tell from Xiao Chen's expression that he had frightened him, so he could only press against him reassuringly.

The woodshed didn’t even have a bed. Zhang Fu and Xing Fang, who had just entered, had no choice but to temporarily lay Ling Yehan on a pile of straw in the corner—a spot that seemed to have once been a dog’s bed.

Soon, an imperial guard came to report:

"Your Majesty, twelve people held in the prison cells have suddenly fallen ill. They all have high fevers and are suffering severe swelling and pain below the waist, crying out for a physician."

Xiao Chen immediately sensed something was wrong and patted Ling Yehan's face:

"Did you eat or drink anything at Qinghui Pavilion?"

Ling Yehan curled up like a shrimp, about to shake his head—how could he casually consume anything in such a place? But then he suddenly remembered mistakenly taking a small cup of wine for water in the private room:

"Wine... I only drank one cup of wine."

It can’t be… Could the wine have been tampered with? Ling Yehan felt utterly helpless, on the verge of tears.

Xiao Chen immediately pushed up the hem of his garments. Ling Yehan felt a hand probe downward and instinctively clenched his buttocks, trying to roll away to avoid it. But a firm grip on his shoulder held him in place. Not daring to struggle against Xiao Chen, he had no choice but to submit to his probing hands:

"Brother, you… don’t do this, I..."

His self-control was hanging by a thread. Just the scent of Xiao Chen was enough to make him want to pounce and overpower him.

Xiao Chen felt like he wanted to crack open this man’s skull to see if it was filled with nonsense:

"You dared drink wine in a den like that?"

Ling Yehan’s entire body was flushed red like a boiled shrimp. It was true that he wanted to serve Xiao Chen, but he absolutely refused to let it happen because of some drug. He bit down hard on his tongue, filling his mouth with the taste of blood, and looked at Xiao Chen:

"Brother, please return to the palace. I… I’ll surely be fine by tomorrow."