Chapter Fifty-Two â The Emperor (2)
Yan Jing Ze felt a little dizzy.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the majestic interior of the palace, carved with dragons and phoenixes.
He was lying flat on his back, and directly above him, a lifelike carved dragon head was looking down.
Where is this place? Who is he?
Yan Jing Zeâs mind was blank, remembering nothing except that his name was Yan Jing Ze.
âYour Majesty, are you all right?â A sharp voice sounded, and at the same time, a wrinkled face appeared in front of Yan Jing Ze.
It was a face that belonged to an older man, but there was no beard on his face, and the manâs voice was too shrill⦠a eunuch?
âYour Majesty⦠Whatâs wrong with you?â The old eunuchâs voice had taken on a weeping tone and he reached out his hand to help Yan Jing Ze.
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âIâm fine.â Yan Jing Ze, on the other hand, sat up under the old eunuchâs help, only to find that there were actually quite a few people around.
Inside the room was a group of soldiers in armor, weapons in hand pointed at a young man, and the young man looked in his direction, his eyes heavy with pain.
With that look in his eyes, Yan Jing Zeâs heart ached, and soon, his heart was beating fast again.
He fell in love at first sight.
He didnât know who this young man surrounded by people was but he had fallen in love with him at first sight.
Yan Jing Zeâs eyes became hot, and then he saw that the young man looked at him with intense sadness, and slowly fell down.
The man was falling backwards, directly to the ground, while Yan Jing Ze rushed up and tried to pull him, but couldnât because there was a large table between them that was in the way.
At the same time, the original ownerâs memories fiercely appeared in Yan Jing Zeâs mind.
The original owner, what a pathetic, wretched, and stupid man!
The original owner, like him, was called Yan Jing Ze and was an Emperor.
The original ownerâs father, the late emperor who had passed away many years ago, was born to a maid given to Emperor Taizu by someone else when Emperor Taizu was on the march to war.
At that time the Emperor Taizu and the Empress Dowager, now imprisoned in a Buddhist temple, were busy with their great work. These two also had two extremely good sons, so no one paid any attention to the late emperor, who followed his mother and was displaced in the war with his relatives from the same clan as Emperor Taizu.
There were many people who wanted their lives, and they had to fear every day, and the late emperor developed a cowardly temperament as a result.
If the late Emperorâs two brothers were still alive, the late Emperor would have been able to live a good life as an ordinary prince after the world was at peace, but to the contrary, Emperor Taizuâs two sons, one of them died in battle and the other one died of illness.
Neither of these men had a child when they died.
The death of these two children was a great blow to Emperor Taizu, and the Empress Dowager suffered even more, even lingering in her bed for two whole years.
When the Emperor Taizu pacified the world, the late Emperor was driven to become a crown prince and later became Emperor.
The late emperor was actually quite intelligent, but his temperament was too timid, and he was always afraid of the Empress Dowager. He lived with great anxiety until the age of thirty and then died.
The late Emperor left behind three sons and two daughters, and the original owner was the eldest of his children and the one most like him.
The original ownerâs mother was a little maid bought by the late Emperor Taizuâs mother to serve his son when he was still in a state of hardship, before he ascended the throne. This woman canât read a word. Sheâs a coward and has low class. In contrast, the other two princesâ birth mothers were noble daughters who had been bestowed upon the late Emperor after his ascension to the throne.
The third prince was no more than two years old when the late emperor died and everyone ignored him, but the second prince was only a few months behind the original owner. Also born of a noble consort, and famous for being a prodigy, the officials of the court at the time were hoping to be succeeded by the then second prince, now King Ping.
But the Empress Dowager chose the original owner.
After all, the original owner was easier to control than King Ping at a glance.
The original owner became emperor in this way, but had a very bad life.
The Empress Dowager, having lost her own son, was naturally unhappy with someone elseâs son, someone elseâs grandson. She was getting older, after realizing that her days were numbered, she was no longer as wise as she had been in her youth, and her temperament is becoming more and more overbearing and capricious. The original owner became even more of an enemy in her eyes for stealing her sonâs things.
Furthermore, she didnât want to relinquish her authority, so she forbade the original owner to read and write, but always had people pressuring the original owner to read to her son in the Buddhist temple.
In order to read the scriptures, naturally you need to be vegetarian. The original owner was an emperor, still growing, and as a result, he didnât even get to eat meat.
The Empress Dowager even, from time to time, looked for an opportunity to scold the original owner.
The original owner grew up in such an environment, he was timid all day long like a scared bird and was always suspicious.
At the same time, he desperately wanted to get rid of the Empress Dowager.
The original owner, this emperor, was seen by the ministers as inferior in every way to King Ping, who was born of the late emperorâs noble consort. But in fact, the late emperorâs favorite son was the original owner, and the favorite woman was the original ownerâs concubine mother.
The original ownerâs mother and the late emperor relied on each other during the war, thatâs how they developed a deep bond, and the original owner was so much like the late emperor. Who else would the late Emperor like if not the original owner?
And while the late Emperor was cowardly, he was not stupid; he had reigned for many years, had cultivated many of his own forces, and also possessed a wealth of experience in preserving himself under the Empress Dowager.
His experience is known to the original owner and his men were also in the hands of the original owner.
It was through these that the original owner grew up well under the eyes of the Empress Dowager, and even found the opportunity to contact the Marquis of the North, Chu Ting Xiu, and through Chu Ting Xiu, he was able to wipe out the Empress Dowagerâs army.
Even the Empress Dowager was locked up in a Buddhist temple and became vegetarian by him.
The original owner removed a boulder that had been weighing him down but the situation didnât get any easier. Because he came out from under the boulder and discovered that the outside world wasnât a beautiful place.
The ministers werenât happy with him, an emperor who could only read the scriptures, couldnât even read all the words on his memos, and with the remnants of the Empress Dowagerâs line, the original owner spoke in the courtroom with no one listening.
Moreover, although the Empress Dowager was no longer there, Chu Ting Xiu was overwhelming him.
The constant oppression by the Empress Dowager has made the original ownerâs temperament extremely twisted. When he normally encounters things that make him unhappy, he doesnât dare to raise objections, but his heart has written them all down in one stroke.
Chu Ting Xiu was born in the military, and although he was loyal to him, he would always offend him in his normal actions. When he sees that he canât get an idea in the courtroom, heâll get it for him too, and that makes him hate it.
In addition, King Ping always told him that Chu Ting Xiu was trying to use his power to intimidate the people, and he became even more defensive of Chu Ting Xiu.
And this hatred and defensiveness reached its peak when Chu Ting Xiu tried to get him to marry his sister.
Chu Ting Xiuâs power is already so great, if his sister becomes the Empress then⦠can he still be an Emperor? When Chu Ting Xiuâs sister gave birth to a son, would he still have a way to live?
The original owner eventually decides to make a move against Chu Ting Xiu, and he has someone get a drug to knock him down, and say that Chu Ting Xiu wants to assassinate him and put Chu Ting Xiu in the Heavenly Prison.
Afterwards, for fear that Chu Ting Xiuâs Northern Army would get word and kill him to save Chu Ting Xiu, the original owner also rushed to have Chu Ting Xiu poisoned in the Heavenly Prison, saying that Chu Ting Xiu committed suicide in fear of his crimes.
Chu Ting Xiu died but the original ownerâs life wasnât any better.
Those in the court who didnât take the original owner seriously originally had Chu Ting Xiu pressuring them to do what the original owner couldnât do, but now Chu Ting Xiu was gone.
The original owner was faced with a mess that he couldnât solve, and Chu Ting Xiuâs old army even hated the original owner.
The original owner had no choice but to marry Chu Ting Xiuâs sister as a way to draw in Chu Ting Xiuâs old army and show favor to the Northern Army.
The original owner didnât want to marry Chu Ting Lan, but after he did⦠Chu Ting Lan was very gentle to the original owner, and the original owner also learned that she had a bad relationship with Chu Ting Xiu, together with the fact that she was the first woman to make the original owner subconsciously get close⦠The original owner fell in love with Chu Ting Lan.
Although the original owner was useless, the position of emperor, with the exception of the founding emperor, was not based on talent, but on father, on bloodline. At this time, people still had a natural fear of the emperor and easily did not dare to rebel.
So the original owner, in fact, could have been an emperor for a few decades.
But he was poisoned by Chu Tinglan, and before he died, he realized that Chu Tinglan was devoted to his brother, King Ping.
And when he dies, he will be succeeded by King Ping.
Yan Jing Ze then wanted to curse a bit after reading the original ownerâs memory.
The original owner was indeed quite miserable, but he had actually gotten a good deck of cards in the middle, but he, himself, preferred to throw it away!
As soon as he had the memories of the original owner, he had discovered that Chu Ting Xiu was loyal to the original owner, and the heavens could see that.
If Chu Ting Xiu was really like the Empress Dowager and only wanted power, where was the need to invite so many people to teach the original owner, where was the need to come to the palace every day to explain to the original owner about the outside world and explain in detail those memos that the original owner couldnât understand?
The original owner, on the surface seems like a good boy, heâll listen to everything you say, but the heart is not a little bit merciful.
When the original master drugged Chu Ting Xiu, Chu Ting Xiu had already realized that he could have killed the original owner on the spot or held him hostage, but he didnât do thatâ¦
The original owner also didnât feel that Chu Ting Xiu was the one who gave a second chance, but instead hated Chu Ting Xiu even more.
Even though he was thrown into the Heavenly Prison, Chu Ting Xiu had people bring words for the original owner, but unfortunately the original owner also didnât take it seriously and only thought that Chu Ting Xiu was trying to beg for mercy.
How can there be such stupid person in this world?
And thereâs King Ping, who clearly has no good will for the original owner. Heâs been soliciting officials, but the original owner doesnât even notice!
Yan Jing Ze wanted to slap himself!
At the same time, he also discovered very sadly⦠that the object of his love at first sight was Chu Ting Xiu.
And now, the original owner has knocked Chu Ting Xiu unconscious and plans to put him in jail.
Yan Jing Ze: â¦
âYour Majesty?â The old eunuch looked towards Yan Jing Ze in confusion, and those guards were likewise waiting for Yan Jing Zeâs instructions.
Whether it was the old eunuch or these guards, they were all trusted by the previous emperor to the original lord, or the original lordâs own cultivated subordinates, and their loyalty to the original lord was no less than Chu Ting Xiuâs loyalty to the original lord.
Yan Jing Ze, on the other hand, was a bit confused about their loyalty, but had to admit that their loyalty was good for him.
By the way, with such a loyal group of people around the original owner, and him being extra careful with his diet as well as his household items, the chances of him being assassinated were very slim. If Chu Tinglan hadnât poisoned him, he wouldnât have died!
The King Ping probably found out that the original owner wasnât that easy to deal with, and thatâs why he thought of hooking up with Chu Tinglan, so that Chu Tinglan could poison the original owner.
Yan Jing Ze didnât say anything as he walked over to Chu Ting Xiu.
Chu Ting Xiu was already unconscious, but the expression on his face was still fixed on grief.
Yan Jing Ze then crouched down and tried to pick him up.
He picked Chu Ting Xiu up, but holding him, he was afraid that he wouldnât be able to walk far â Chu Ting Xiu was a bit heavy with muscles all over his body, but his body, which had been malnourished for the previous years, was tall, but not very strong.
Yan Jing Ze put down Chu Ting Xiu and looked at the old eunuch beside him, âFind a blanket to wrap him up and carry him to my bed.â
The original owner was very suspicious and even more guarded, and the fact that he was going to do this to Chu Ting Xiu, in order not to reveal it, he didnât even say anything to his close aides, and before today, his close aides didnât even know that the original owner had bought a drug in order to knock out Chu Ting Xiu.
They were equally unaware that the original owner had previously told them to hide in order to capture Chu Ting Xiu.
At this point, those generals were actually still a bit confused.
Chu Ting Xiu is the head of the military officials, and now he is the one who decides the affairs of the court, and now such a person is easily fooled by His Majesty.
I donât know what His Majesty wants to do to Chu Ting Xiu.
Wait a minute. His Majesty told them to send Chu Ting Xiu to bed?
Did they hear it wrong?
âYour Majesty?â The eunuch accompanied the Emperor since he was small. Unlike the others who were so afraid of Yan Jing Ze, he dared to ask questions at this time.
Yan Jing Ze, on the other hand, emphasized once more, âCarry him to my bed.â
The man has been knocked out, but it is impossible to put him in jail.
It was the object of his love at first sight, and without Chu Ting Xiu, a man like him who wore himself out of nowhere and had no memory of the past at all would still definitely not be able to hold the emperorâs seat.
Well, itâs no fun to be an emperor without Chu Ting Xiu.
What a tough job!
Yan Jing Ze has no feelings for anyone else, he just wants Chu Ting Xiu⦠The Heavenly Prison, he couldnât allow Chu Ting Xiu to go, but the Dragon Bed, he could allow Chu Ting Xiu to lie down.
As for the whole drugging thing⦠he can explain!
The original lord looked like a straw bag to outsiders, but in the eyes of his subordinates, he was both moody and an emperor, whom they dared not disobey.
So, someone quickly got a blanket and after wrapping up Chu Ting Xiu, lifted him onto the dragon bed.
The original owner had administered a little too much of the drug, and Chu Ting Xiu was completely unconscious, just lying there completely defenseless.
When Yan Jing Ze saw it, he was distressed: âIf you take too much of this drug, will it be harmful to your body?â
The eunuch said, âYour Majesty, the old slave does not know.â
Yan Jing Ze then sighed, âAll of you, get out.â
âYour Majesty, if General Chu wakes upâ¦â the eunuch was very anxious.
âI have my own way of dealing with it,â Yan Jing Ze said, and drove all of them out.
When everyone had left, Yan Jing Ze got on the bed as well and looked at the person on the bed seriously.
This man is his and only his.
After recalling the memory and discovering that Chu Ting Xiu, though not young, had yet to be married, Yan Jing Ze breathed a sigh of relief.
It was just that, although Chu Ting Xiu hadnât gotten married yet, but that was because he had been fighting a war until when he was old enough to get married, and after that he was busy supporting the original owner, so it shouldnât be that he didnât want to get marriedâ¦
Thinking that Chu Ting Xiu might get married in the future, Yan Jing Zeâs heart was tormented, and a nameless fire came out.
Thinking that Chu Ting Xiu, in his original historical trajectory, would be sent to the Heavenly Prison by the original owner, he began to feel distressed again.
Eventually, Yan Jing Ze sighed and first dug Chu Ting Xiu out of the blanket, then went to remove Chu Ting Xiuâs coat.
Chu Ting Xiuâs clothes are quite cumbersome, heâs only doing this so that Chu Ting Xiu can sleep better⦠Absolutely no other thoughts!
As for later⦠Yan Jing Ze is planning to confess when Chu Ting Xiu wakes up.
Chu Ting Xiu is the kind of foolish and loyal minister who âthe king wants the minister to die, and the minister has to dieâ. The original owner could kill him without resentment, and if he confessedâ¦
I wonder what Chu Ting Xiu will think when he learns that heâs favored by the emperor, because of his loyalty and automatic sacrifice, or will he be furious and turns against him?
No matter what, even if he used his imperial power to oppress, he would make Chu Ting Xiu belong to him.
Yan Jing Ze was thinking about things in his mind, but the speed of undressing his hands was not slow at all, and he quickly took off Chu Ting Xiuâs coat, and then, a pouch fell off.
A pouch embroidered with a mandarin duck playing in the water!
Chu Ting Xiu is even carrying such a pouch with him, could it be that he already has a lover?
He hadnât intended to do anything to Chu Ting Xiu while he was at his mercy but now, he especially wanted to bite Chu Ting Xiu!
Yan Jing Ze then bites towards Chu Ting Xiuâs mouth, but quickly realizes that itâs not good to have the wound seen by others. He changed to biting Chu Ting Xiuâs shoulder.
Unfortunately, when he came down with his mouth, he couldnât do it⦠Yan Jing Ze, instead, sat up straight and stared at the purse for a while before finally sneering and ripping it.
Itâs a pretty strong bag, he couldnât tear it.
Yan Jing Ze, therefore, found the scissors on the bedside table that the original owner used for self-defense. After cutting the purse to pieces and still not relieved, he cut all of Chu Ting Xiuâs straps and a few cuts on his clothes.
The cut wasnât even the coat that had been taken off, it was the mid-layers that Chu Ting Xiu was now wearing.
He couldnât afford to bite, but cutting his clothes is fine!