Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 104 (Part 1)
Emperor Chun was fond of beauties, and once they caught his eye, he was indiscriminate in his affections, regardless of gender. Even though his lower body was useless, just having them around was pleasing to the eye. But someone as robust and fierce-looking as Meng Changye was truly unappealing to him. Noticing that the other man, though imprisoning him, was treating him gently and with considerable care. He felt both disgusted and proud of his own charm.
“Why are you still making me drink this kind of thing? If you don’t have green glutinous rice, at least bring me some eggs! Cook a bowl of egg custard for me!” He leaned against a large rock, glancing sideways at the General.
I gave you a little face and you want to ride on my head! Even my puppy couldn’t get a bowl of egg custard when he was here. Do you think you deserve it? Meng Changye thought angrily in his heart. He then stepped forward, grabbed Emperor Chun’s chin, and forcefully poured a bowl of porridge down his throat. Afterward, he ordered Liu Wen to quickly prepare the medicine, and once it dissolved in the porridge, he would then administer another dose, and then they could depart.
At the same time, he secretly blamed himself: why hadn’t he thought of that? Even though there wasn’t any fine rice here, there were plenty of birds in the mountains; he could easily collect many eggs from a few nests to nourish the puppy’s body. Since it was something the dog emperor had eaten, it must taste quite good. He will let the cooks figure out how to make egg custard later.
While pondering, he finished pouring the bowl of porridge into Emperor Chun’s mouth. To prevent the emperor from spitting it out again, he blocked his mouth with a handkerchief and tied his limbs with a leather rope.
Emperor Chun, who had been so proud just moments before, was now uncertain. Judging from General Huwei’s cold and heartless attitude, he didn’t seem interested in him. Then why had this person hugged him while sleeping, and even reacted towards him in the morning?
The emperor felt he was imagining things, yet he also hoped it wasn’t just his imagination. Although he hated General Huwei, he also knew that if he could win the other party’s favor, he might be able to live a peaceful and long life.
As he pondered, he slowly stopped struggling. When Liu Wen came to deliver the medicine, he swallowed it obediently. He then squeezed out a few tears and looked pitifully at General Huwei.
He had never tried to please anyone before, so he could only imitate the behaviour of the concubines in the palace.
Just as he was about to beg the general to untie the ropes, he saw the general reveal a ferocious expression, raising his hand as if wanting to slap him. After struggling for a few seconds, he slowly lowered his hand and said sternly, “I’m warning you, don’t look at people with such eyes, or I’ll gouge your eyes out!”
A fake is still a fake. No matter how much they pretend, they still can’t hide the underlying falsehood and obscenity. If he hadn’t deliberately imitated the puppy, Meng Changye could have simply ignored him. But the way he acted was too unbearable for Meng Changye. It was as if a thief had stolen his priceless treasure, and instead of cherishing it, had wantonly smashed and ruined it— An unforgivable crime.
Emperor Chun quickly shrank his shoulders, lowered his head, and pondered what he had done to offend General Huwei. Why did this person change his expression so suddenly? His temper was far too unpredictable.
The group of deputy generals shared the same feeling about the general’s unpredictable mood. Just last night, the general had clearly held the person in his arms, his expression gentle, his actions domineering, as if he were holding a precious treasure, afraid that someone would snatch it away.
However, this morning, the general’s attitude had completely changed. Not only had he thrown the person out, but he had also bound and threatened him, treating him no differently than an ordinary prisoner. What is the general’s plan? Furthermore, Emperor Chun himself was acting strangely. One moment, he’s so obedient and docile, but the next moment, he starts to make a fuss, as if there were two different people in a body.
Everyone was puzzled, except for Liu Wen, who knew the inside story. He calmly waved his hand and said, “Chang Shun, carry your master onto the horse. You’re in charge of transporting him.”
Chang Shun obediently nodded and was about to bend down to pick up his master who was tied up, when he saw General Huwei striding towards him. Though the General’s face was full of disgust, he still grabbed his master by the back of the collar and easily tossed him onto the horse’s back, saying in a cold voice, “Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him fall off and get hurt.”
Judging from the General’s expression, it seemed that the other party still cared a little about his master. Chang Shun, eager to take advantage, quickly bowed and pleaded, “Please, General, loosen the ropes! My master’s skin is delicate; if he’s tied up for too long, the skin will definitely chafe, and my master will have to bear the pain.”
Recalling the touch of white, tender, and smooth skin from last night, just like mutton-fat jade or snow piled up on the Tianshan Mountains, Meng Changye’s cheeks flushed red, and his lower abdomen tightened. He waved his hand almost without hesitation, “Untie him!” He hadn’t thought that being tied up with leather ropes was a big deal, but he’d almost forgotten how delicate the puppy’s skin was.
Chang Shun was overjoyed and quickly untied the ropes for Emperor Chun, carefully helping him onto the horse. The group traveled for a day and finally arrived at a small town, but instead of entering, they set up a camp in the mountains outside the town and sent a few men in to buy daily necessities.
Two thousand elite troops were ultimately too eye-catching, and it is unknown whose territory this was; if the spies reported it, it would inevitably attract the attention of other vassal lords.
“Remember to buy everything the puppy needs,” Meng Changye instructed Liu Wen.
“Yellow talisman paper, cinnabar, gecko, spider, mercury, aconite grass…” Liu Wen slowly read the list, then said seriously, “You really have the nerve to hand over these things to him. For example, let’s talk about this aconite grass. If even a drop of its juice is poured into our pot, we will all die instantly.”
“I want to see what he’s up to, but don’t worry, I won’t risk our brothers’ lives…”
Before he could finish speaking, a soldier approached and whispered, “General, didn’t you tell me to keep an eye on that damned eunuch? This afternoon, when we stopped for a rest, I saw him sneaking up on Deputy General Zhao’s horse and stealing several kinds of medicinal herbs from the saddlebag.”
“What medicinal herbs?” Meng Changye’s face darkened.
The soldier had barely uttered the name of the herb when the military strategist sneered, “Look at this, this guy is also proficient in pharmacology. He only picked specific type of herbs. If you mix these herbs together, you can make a sleeping potion with hardly any odor. General, what do you think they’re up to?”
Meng Changye remained silent for a long time before saying, “Let’s give them a chance. I want to see what tricks they’re playing.” But even as he spoke, his hand tightly gripped his sword, clearly showing a murderous intent.
Liu Wen didn’t object either. He had to let the general see Emperor Chun’s cunning firsthand to erase the image of the harmless puppy in his mind. Once the man was caught red-handed this time, no matter how convincingly Emperor Chun acted, he wouldn’t receive a shred of pity from the general.
The group secretly made arrangements, leading Chang Shun to administer the poison. Poor Chang Shun was still complacent, thinking his actions were incredibly secretive and his plans incredibly thorough. He shook the Emperor Chun awake who was pretending to sleep, stuffed the stolen package and silver into his hand, and instructed, “Your Majesty, this servant will go fetch the horses. Please wait here for a moment.”
“They…they are truly unconscious? No matter how much noise we make, they won’t wake up?” Emperor Chun’s voice trembled slightly.
“Don’t worry, this servant prepared a very strong dose of sleeping potion. Even if they were as strong as oxen, one sip would leave them lying in bed for a day and a night before they woke up.” Chang Shun was a loyal servant trained by Empress Yue and sent to her son’s side. He was especially skilled in poisoning and preventing poisoning, fearing that her son might be harmed again.
Emperor Chun, who had been trembling with fear, straightened his back instantly. He picked up a soldier’s sword and said fiercely, “Since they’re all asleep, let’s kill them all in one go!”
Chang Shun was startled and quickly stepped forward to stop him, “You mustn’t! If you kill them all, you’ll inevitably get covered in blood, and we don’t have any spare clothes to change into. What if we attract wild beasts on the way? Also, after we escape into the city, we’ll definitely be arrested by the soldiers as thieves. Besides, with two thousand soldiers, how long would it take you to kill them one by one? We could have already…”
“We should run away quickly! Even worse, can you guarantee you’ll kill everyone? What if some lucky ones escape? Won’t they hunt us down relentlessly from heaven to earth?”
Emperor Chun thought about it and felt discouraged, but quickly regained his spirits. “Then I’ll only kill that beast Meng Changye, okay?”
Chang Shun sighed, despairing at the emperor’s foolishness. “If you kill General Huwei, won’t you create a blood feud with over two hundred thousand soldiers. Do you even want to live in the future?”
Emperor Chun froze and finally gave up in despair. He threw away his sword and crawled into the tent to search Meng Changye’s clothes.
“What are you trying to do now?” Despite the cold winter, Chang Shun was already drenched in sweat. He knew Emperor Chun was difficult to serve, but he hadn’t realized it was this difficult. This was a matter of life and death; why aren’t you running away?
“I have to get the treasure map back. In the future, I will have to rely on it entirely to restore my kingdom.”
Chang Shun knelt down. “Your Majesty, this servant begs you to leave quickly. Forget about the treasure map; saving your life is the most important thing. Don’t you think that if you run away, they’ll be in a hurry to find the treasure and probably won’t disperse their forces to chase after you? But if you take the treasure map with you, we probably won’t even get two miles before the enraged General Huwei catches us back? As long as we’re alive, we can always fight again. Please think it over.”
Emperor Chun was immediately furious and kicked him hard in the chest. “You dog of a servant! This isn’t allowed, that isn’t allowed! Aren’t you annoying enough?”
“Your Majesty, run! Run quickly! Saving your life is the most important thing!” Chang Shun crawled over and hugged his legs.
Emperor Chun gasped repeatedly, finally suppressing his anger, then lifted the tent flap and stepped out. A moment later, the sound of horses’ hooves faded into the distance, disappearing into the dark forest.
After a moment, Meng Changye sat up, his face ashen.
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