Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen

Around six in the morning, Lu Wuyou rose to leave. As he opened the door, his gaze immediately fell upon Qi Guan standing by the door.

He coldly looked at the man, whose face was gentle in the moonlight, speaking with no emotion whatsoever: "If you're that devoted, go in and tell him."

Qi Guan shook his head and smiled, "I just came to check on His Majesty. He drank too much at the banquet; his stomach's probably upset."

Hearing this, Lu Wuyou subconsciously recalled how Fang Zhihe had been with him just moments ago—his hands and feet were merely a bit cold, with no signs of pain on his face.

"Oh." He averted his gaze and made to leave.

Qi Guan stepped closer, blocking his path, and said warmly, "Lord Lu, His Majesty seems to really enjoy the food you prepare. Could you share the recipes? Lately, His Majesty's appetite has been poor."

Qi Guan's eyes were clear, faintly shimmering with the light of the moon.

Lu Wuyou raised an eyebrow, amused, "What's this? Is the divine healer about to trade his craft for that of a cook out of love?"

Qi Guan shook his head, fixed his gaze on Lu Wuyou's eyes, and declared, "I know nothing of such things. I just want the imperial kitchen staff to learn a few tricks. After all, when using one's own servants, no one dares to poison the food."

Lu Wuyou narrowed his eyes slightly, a half-smile on his face, "Who would dare poison the Son of Heaven?"

Qi Guan's expression turned serious as he said calmly, "In life, there's no chance for regret. Lord Lu, it's best to know when to stop."

Lu Wuyou regarded him coldly. For a long while, neither spoke. Qi Guan did not back down either. Only when Lu Wuyou flicked his sleeves and left did Qi Guan press a hand to his heart and let out a soft sigh.

While stationed at the border, he had looked up to Lu Wuyou with admiration and respect. Defending the country and guarding the territory—what a glorious duty it was, and how grand and magnificent this man was, like a blazing fire or a heroic ballad.

Standing face to face with someone he admired and revered, he found it hard to withstand the man's aura.

That was close. He muttered, fished a piece of sour date cake from his pocket, and took a bite. Then he opened the door beside him, glanced at the person lying on the bed, and closed the door before heading off.

Lu Wuyou walked back to his residence with a blank expression, his mind in turmoil. That afternoon, the look on Fang Zhihe's face as he smiled had stirred something in him, almost making him lean in for a kiss.

Qi Guan's words had also made it clear that Fang Zhihe knew about the powder he had been slipping him to weaken his martial arts. So had the eight-treasure rice he asked Xiaoyuan to deliver last time been misunderstood?

Frowning, Lu Wuyou stepped into the main hall and was greeted by a face strikingly similar to Fang Zhihe's, streaked with tears. A wave of disgust rose within him. "Why are you still here at this late hour?" he asked coldly.

Fang Minshu wiped her tears and said softly, with pauses, "Lord Lu, you've truly been beguiled by that man... He says a few sweet words, and your heart softens."

Lu Wuyou furrowed his brows at her, "How do you know what he said?"

Fang Minshu, who strongly resembled Fang Zhihe, looked so much like him when she cried that for a moment Lu Wuyou was stunned. "How could I not know? That's how he treated my entire family... He harmed my father and brother, and even Changlin—he didn't spare him either!" She choked out between sobs.

Lu Wuyou said quietly, "Changlin didn't like it here; he was merely sent away."

Fang Minshu shrieked, "Sent away? He was driven away! Changlin said he would wait for your return, but it was that man who drove him out!"

Lu Wuyou stared at her, "Changlin never said he liked me. Why would he wait for me?"

Fang Minshu was stunned for a few seconds, then tears streamed down her face again. "You don't know... you don't know... He would even kill his own father. Changlin often told my brother that he was miserable at home, that Fang Zhihe always bullied him, ordering him around... Before you went on campaign, he came to my brother, asking him to prepare a carriage to take him to the border to find you."

Lu Wuyou had been impatient, but at the last sentence, he was suddenly stunned.

He grabbed Fang Minshu's wrist and said coldly, "Then what? Where did Fang Zhihe send him?"

Seeing the hint of urgency in his brows, Fang Minshu felt a surge of joy inside. She wiped her tears and said softly, "Father knows, but, Lord Lu, you must save my family." With that, she curtsied.

Lu Wuyou released her hand, his brows tightly knit. "I can judge for myself whether what you say is true or false. Grand Tutor Fang died of illness back then. Besides, Changlin has always been the treasured young master of the Fang family. Even if Fang Zhihe were worse, he wouldn't bully him."

"Moreover, I grew up in the Fang family. I never saw Changlin having a close relationship with you collateral branches." Lu Wuyou glanced at Fang Minshu's dazed expression and continued, "But if that last part is true, I can help you."

Fang Minshu seemed to be in a stupor for a moment, then suddenly looked at Lu Wuyou with bright, determined eyes. She emphasized, "My brother has a keepsake left by Changlin—a short knife with your courtesy name on the handle."

Lu Wuyou's pupils constricted. "Where is your brother?"

Fang Minshu, on the verge of tears, said, "My brother has been thrown into prison by that man. My father has been bedridden with illness since he was pressured by him during the last renovation of the mansion... Lord Lu, you must seek justice for Changlin and for us innocent people..."

Lu Wuyou's mind was fixated on that short knife. His heart churned with emotion, making it impossible to think clearly.

He nodded casually and told Fang Minshu to return to her room, then he set off toward the palace.

Fang Zhihe slept until about six in the morning, when a surge of intense pain jolted him awake. When he gave birth to Xiaoyuan, it was in freezing weather, with heavy snow veiling his eyes in pure white coldness. The sharp, stabbing pain in his abdomen was like needles piercing him, relentless.

Now, he guessed that drinking too much at the banquet had triggered an old ailment. Fever and chills alternated, with needle-like stabs of pain.

The pain was unbearable. He propped himself up against the bed frame, a dull ache in his chest, and sat up. Gritting his teeth, he gently pressed his hand to his chest, which eased the pain slightly.

He used to keep a short knife under his jade pillow. Having it there helped him sleep peacefully, but it had fallen into someone else's hands years ago. Fortunately, he still had a jade pendant he had stolen from Lu Wuyou. Pressing it to his chest usually comforted him.

Thinking this, he reached into a small drawer and pulled out the warm jade, and was about to press it to his chest when the door was kicked open, startling him so much that the jade pendant slipped from his hand and fell.

With a clear clatter, Fang Zhihe froze. He watched in disbelief as Lu Wuyou walked over with a cold expression, picked up the jade pendant and tucked it into his own bosom with infinite tenderness. Then, with utter disgust, he stared at Fang Zhihe and said coldly, "Where exactly did you send Changlin?"

The sound of the wind echoed through the bedchamber. Fang Zhihe gazed at the man before him. After a long moment, he shook his head. "Not long after you left on campaign... he disappeared. It's wrong to say I sent him away. Even I don't know where he went."

Lu Wuyou narrowed his eyes. "First you say you sent him away, now you say he left on his own. How can I trust you?"

Fang Zhihe opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, and slightly lowered his eyes.

Seeing him like this only fueled Lu Wuyou's anger. He reached out, pinched Fang Zhihe's chin, and said heavily, "Fang Zhihe, he is your brother. Your own blood brother. Where did you drive him off to?"

Fang Zhihe looked up at him, his eyes full of tears. He shook his head and said calmly, "I really don't know."

"...Fine." Lu Wuyou released his grip, kicked him over, and placed a foot on his chest. "You're vile by nature, and you deserve this. Why should I feel sorry for you? Yes, why pity such a villain?"

With that, he smiled at Fang Zhihe. The cold smile spread to the heart beneath his foot. Fang Zhihe curled up, trying to evade the foot.

"What are you hiding from? Aren't you, this slut, even willing to play the part of Changlin?" Lu Wuyou grabbed his clothes and tore them open roughly. He sneered, "Look at this pathetic body of yours—how could it ever compare to Changlin's?"

Fang Zhihe had always been someone who didn't gain weight easily. During this period, he had been sick on and off, his body as thin as a bamboo pole, every touch feeling bony.

At this, Fang Zhihe looked up at Lu Wuyou. He pressed his lips together tightly, and after a while, said, "Don't take your anger out on me. I feel terrible." His face, under the moonlight streaming in, appeared pale and sickly, his eyes large and vacant. Lu Wuyou watched him in silence, then reached out to tear his clothes further.

Fang Zhihe started coughing, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

Lu Wuyou rummaged through the small drawer and pulled out an embroidered box. From it, he took out a cold jade dildo. His eyes darkened as he stared at Fang Zhihe's lower body, which was shamelessly half-hard. He toyed with it with the jade dildo, and Fang Zhihe curled up in panic.

Lu Wuyou laughed maliciously. "It seems His Majesty wants it badly."

Fang Zhihe knew his body reacted this way because of the medicine, not lust. Qi Guan's tonic had some yang-boosting ingredients. He only drank it before bed every night, afraid it would undermine his imperial dignity. He never expected that tonight Lu Wuyou would mistake it for lust.

He opened his mouth to explain, but Lu Wuyou pulled his thighs apart and shoved the cold jade dildo into his lower body. The searing pain shattered his consciousness. The icy cold of the jade spread from the opening, flooding his limbs. The already excruciating pain in his abdomen now felt like being frozen, his entire body going cold.

"Ah... stop, stop! ... Take it out! Lu Wuyou!! It hurts... ah! ... Lu Wuyou... it hurts... sob..." He struggled painfully, trying to crawl off the bed, only to be yanked back by Lu Wuyou, who mocked, "Why are you crying out like you can't stand it? Last time, when I used this one, Your Majesty seemed to enjoy it, didn't you? Now I'm using a smaller one, and you're acting all prissy?"

The cold of the jade plunged Fang Zhihe into an icy abyss, as if thousands of ice needles were piercing his body. He cried out in agony, unable to hear Lu Wuyou's words. All he could do was grab a corner of Lu Wuyou's clothes and sob weakly, "Yuntai gege... Yuntai gege... Huaishu hurts... ah, Huaishu hurts so much... Yuntai gege... I won't buy a big yellow dog to annoy you... gege, save me..."

Lu Wuyou was stunned. He had never heard Fang Zhihe call him that. Only Fang Zhanglin had ever called him that.

He didn't understand why it was just a jade sex toy, yet Fang Zhihe seemed to be in agony as if he were dying. Lu Wuyou scowled and slapped Fang Zhihe across the face, raising his voice, "Cut the act! Who doesn’t know you love to play Changlin?"

Fang Zhihe’s head dropped toward the pillow, a thin trickle of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth onto the bedding.

It seemed to sober him up a little; he stopped making sounds. Lu Wuyou pumped the object in his hand, only feeling the man beneath him trembling violently, so much so that his teeth chattered audibly.

Lu Wuyou gritted his teeth as he watched, then in a fit of rage, kicked him.

"Since you like playing the role of Changlin, before he comes back, keep playing it," Lu Wuyou said coldly. "After all, you're worthless—no one needs to pity you!"