Ah, a hangover.
Su Zhenzhen rolled out of bed.
Hair disheveled, she hugged her quilt and lay on the floor in a daze.
Ugh.
Her head hurt.
Su Zhenzhen wrapped herself in the quilt and dozed for a while before suddenly sitting bolt upright.
She was late! She still had to go work at the Peony Pavilion.
Su Zhenzhen opened her eyes and saw the wide-open window. In the courtyard, summer flowers were blooming brightly, and the fern leaves grew thick and lush.
Oh, wait. She was on vacation. She didn't have to go look after those damn peonies anymore.
Her corporate slave syndrome was acting up again. When she got old and got dementia, would she still inexplicably try to go to work every day?
Su Zhenzhen grabbed her hair and rubbed her face, catching the scent of alcohol on herself.
She seemed to have drunk a little wine yesterday, and then... what did she do last night?
As her memories slowly returned, Su Zhenzhen sat frozen on the floor with a blank expression.
She... she kissed someone.
-
Before the age of ten, Lu Hexu lived in the palace servant quarters.
He had seen these kinds of things.
Some palace maids would pair up with eunuchs as fake spouses. They would hide in corners, intimately holding hands, hugging, and kissing.
Some palace maids would have affairs with the guards. They were even more explicit—after all, there were certain things eunuchs simply didn't have.
Lu Hexu found it disgusting.
He hated touching others.
Lu Hexu knew exactly what the Empress Dowager was planning by choosing a woman for him. She thought he was going to die, so she wanted to secure his bloodline to continue her control over the royal court.
He would not let her get what she wanted.
But strangely enough, he didn't seem to hate this woman named Su Zhenzhen.
Lu Hexu lay in his bedchamber on Qingliang Mountain. The hall was draped on all four sides with blackout curtains, just like his bedchamber in the Jinling Imperial Palace. Only a single glazed lamp was lit inside.
The hazy lamplight fell, illuminating three large basins in the hall. Each contained a block of ice half the height of a person, and one could see the biting cold air billowing vigorously as it reacted with the heat in the room.
Lu Hexu just lay there on the floor, right in the middle of the three basins of ice.
His skin looked extremely pale under the lamplight, like a corpse in a coffin.
The weather today was clearly very hot, yet his mood was surprisingly not as irritable; he even felt a strange sense of pleasure.
-
The sun was glaring today. After entering the Limit of Heat, the weather grew hotter by the day, especially in a furnace-like place like Jinling. Fortunately, the temperature up on the mountain was much more comfortable than down below.
Su Zhenzhen lived on the first floor, with windows at both the front and back, allowing for excellent ventilation.
Right now, she was sitting in front of her window, a blank look on her face.
Su Zhenzhen reached out and rubbed her face vigorously, beginning to mentally prepare herself.
She and Mu Dan were already married. Being intimate and affectionate was completely normal.
Wait, no making love, only kissing. He didn't have that function.
Around noon, a eunuch delivered lunch.
Su Zhenzhen secretly opened her door and saw an empty room.
There was no one there.
She remembered now. During the day, Mu Dan seemed to always be out running errands for Wei Heng and wasn't in the courtyard.
So, she could come out now, right?
Su Zhenzhen sneaked out stealthily, picked up the food box, and took it back to her room to eat.
As she ate, Su Zhenzhen sighed to herself. Psychologically, she felt a bit awkward.
They were clearly already married, so why couldn't she help but act like a thief?
-
The daytime sun fell, and the cold moon rose. Lu Hexu slowly and methodically got up.
He opened the doors of the bedchamber, and the hot summer wind rushed at his face.
The young man frowned, picked up the glazed lamp by the door, and walked outside.
He walked through the bustling gardens, passed through the green bamboo, and entered the small courtyard.
It was truly hot outside. With nowhere for the heat to dissipate, his rare good mood from the day vanished completely. He felt like a steamer unable to release its heat, compressed to the absolute limit by the sweltering temperature.
The courtyard was dead silent, and no lamp was lit in the woman's room.
Lu Hexu entered the main room and slumped over the table. As his skin pressed against the cold surface of the table, he caught the lingering scent of herbs in the room, which surprisingly made him feel a bit more comfortable.
He hated summer, as always.
Su Zhenzhen had stayed hiding in her room all the way until nightfall, right until she saw the faint, light-colored gleam of a glazed lamp appearing at the courtyard gate.
She carefully pushed her door open just a crack.
The young man was lying on the table with his arms folded, revealing the thin lines of his back. The eunuch uniform he wore looked completely empty and baggy on him.
Seemingly because he felt unwell, he shifted his position while lying there, but he still looked very uncomfortable. His slender body tilted downward, looking as if he was about to slide right off the round table.
In an instant, Su Zhenzhen forgot all about her embarrassment. She violently pushed the door open, hurried forward, and supported the back of the young man's neck. "What's wrong?"
A familiar voice rang in his ears, and Lu Hexu struggled to spit out a single word: "Hot."
Su Zhenzhen reached out and touched the little eunuch's face.
It was really hot. Could he be suffering from heatstroke?
A warm, soft hand caressed his forehead, then tentatively stroked his neck.
[So hot.]
[His mind is still clear, though.]
[He's so fragile.]
[Like a delicate flower melting in the sun.]
"Wait for me a moment."
Su Zhenzhen carefully helped the young man sit upright, then went into the room and rummaged through her chests and cabinets until she found a freshly made bottle of heatstroke pills.
She popped a heatstroke pill into the young man's mouth. When her fingertips brushed against his lips, she subconsciously curled them back, then withdrew her hand in a serious manner, though her earlobes involuntarily turned red.
[Su Zhenzhen, calm down! You've already kissed, what's a little touch!]
Lu Hexu leaned against her, tilting his head up slightly to look at her.
The young man's brows and eyes were flushed red, his eyes wet and glistening. The corners of his eyes tilted up like a cat's, carrying a natural, graceful curve.
[Ah, so cute, so delicate.]
"I'll go make you a bowl of shaved ice dessert to eat."
Su Zhenzhen fled as if escaping to the small kitchen to make the shaved ice for Mu Dan.
Ever since they went to open the ice cellar last time, a brand-new block of ice had started appearing in the small kitchen every day.
The weather was too hot, and the ice melted easily. Su Zhenzhen had covered it with cotton cloth and kept it pressed inside the water vat. Today, there was still a little bit left.
There was freshly delivered fruit in the basket: a bunch of crystal-clear purple grapes and a watermelon.
Su Zhenzhen carefully washed the grapes, peeled them, cut up some watermelon, and added extra honey.
Lu Hexu held the heatstroke pill in his mouth. The medicinal taste, mixed with honey, filled his oral cavity. He swallowed the pill down with his saliva, then slowly propped himself up against the round table to sit up.
The courtyard was dead silent, save for the crackling sounds coming from the small kitchen.
Lu Hexu stood up, his posture still a bit unsteady, and walked toward the faint glimmer of light in the small kitchen.
The kitchen was narrow. Finding it too hot, the woman had pinned up her black hair, revealing a section of her fair, jade-like neck. Her sleeves were also rolled up and tied with cloth strips, exposing her slender forearms.
There was only one window in the kitchen. A gentle summer breeze blew in from outside, and the rhythmic sound of crushing ice grew clearer.
The woman stood there, holding a tool to crush the ice. She pinched a small piece of ice that had fallen onto the table with her fingertips and popped it into her mouth.
Her cheek bulged slightly, forming a small round shape. Her lips were a beautiful dark red, showing off a healthy color even without any rouge.
Su Zhenzhen finished plating the prepared dessert. Before she could call him over to eat, the small kitchen door was pushed open with a creak, and the young man's figure walked in.
Lu Hexu walked over, picked up a spoon, and began to eat the ice.
A lot of honey had been added to the dessert. The icy, sweet fragrance seeped into his heart, temporarily dispelling the uncontrollable, sweltering heat.
The small kitchen was very quiet. Usually, Su Zhenzhen was the talkative one, so now that she had stopped speaking, the silence felt somewhat awkward.
Sitting not far from the little eunuch, she lowered her head and rubbed her fingers together. I was drunk yesterday... I didn't do it on purpose.
After waiting for a while, the only sound coming from Mu Dan's direction was him eating the shaved ice treat.
It seemed the beautiful youth wanted to deny it.
Then let him deny it.
Although the two of them were married, they actually didn't have much of an emotional foundation; they were simply making do and living together.
The shaved ice was finished, but the restless heat in Lu Hexu's heart still had not dissipated. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling upon the woman.
She seemed to have said something just now, but he hadn't heard it.
Following the irritation and heat came an uncontrollable headache and violent rage.
Lu Hexu was already very familiar with this routine.
He recalled the sense of comfort he felt during the day; it was the most comfortable he had felt in years.
Biting down on an unmelted piece of ice in his mouth, Lu Hexu's gaze slowly shifted downward, landing on the woman's moist lips.
It was strange, but he remembered the feeling from last night very clearly.
Lu Hexu hated many things.
He wanted to confirm something.
A shadow suddenly fell beside her. Su Zhenzhen looked up and met a pair of dark, heavy eyes.
The next moment, a cold hand, carrying damp moisture, pressed against her cheek and tipped her chin up higher.
Su Zhenzhen arched her neck. In her vision, the youth's beautiful face drew closer and closer.
Lu Hexu cupped the woman's face with one hand. As he leaned in, he saw pure innocence in those incredibly clear eyes.
When those thin lips, steeped in the sweet scent of honey, pressed against hers, Su Zhenzhen's entire mind went blank.
Yesterday had actually been Su Zhenzhen's first kiss.
Whether in this life or her past life.
And clearly, it seemed to be the youth's first time as well. He had no technique, simply mimicking her actions and pressing his lips against hers.
He pressed against her lips, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth as he kissed her.
The woman had a herbal scent about her, and this fragrance seemed to seep into his body. Lu Hexu felt the suppressed anxiety within him slowly dissipate.
It was very comfortable.
Lu Hexu suddenly began to understand why people liked doing this sort of thing.
I don't hate it.
Wei Heng felt that His Majesty had been in quite a good mood these past two days.
Ever since he began serving His Majesty, Wei Heng had never seen him in a good mood.
Tormented by chronic illness and lack of sleep, the Emperor had always been in a state of tempestuous fury.
He had eccentricities like hating the light and loathing summer. He preferred to go out at night, and he would draw his sword to kill without a moment's notice, acting completely unpredictably.
Even Wei Heng, who had served him for so many years, could not suppress his fear of this young emperor.
He even frequently dreamed that the sharp sword, which had claimed countless lives, would pierce his own body.
However, since the Wei Yuan incident, Wei Heng had not had such dreams again.
Wei Heng waited on him from the side, handing Lu Hexu a cup of cold tea.
Crushed ice had been added to the tea, and a faint tea fragrance drifted over the verdant liquid.
Lu Hexu lifted the teacup with one hand and took a light sip, leaving a subtle tea fragrance lingering in his mouth.
His gaze shifted downward, landing on the tea.
Lu Hexu set down the teacup and turned his head to look at the pastries placed on the side table.
He walked over, picked one up, and put it in his mouth.
The taste was very mild, but it wasn't completely tasteless like chewing wax, as it had been in the past.
Your Majesty, this servant has a matter to report, Wei Heng stepped forward carefully.
Hmm, Lu Hexu replied lazily, casually tossing the half-bitten pastry back onto the plate.
Wei Heng glanced at the plate of pastries.
In the past, His Majesty would eat some, though very little, but for the last half year, he hadn't even bothered to look at them. Today, it was rare for him to even take a bite, though he clearly didn't like it either.
Because Lu Hexu disliked being followed, aside from hidden guards like Shadow One, Wei Heng had no idea what His Majesty actually did outside every night. Could it be that he had found something to his taste? His complexion indeed looked much better than before, and even his episodes of illness had decreased, bringing about a rare period of calm and pleasure.
The previous imperial examination fraud case left behind a ledger of corruption, and this time, the border defense map was found in the treason case, but these are still not enough.
The border defense map was searched from Sun Xianning. Elder Sun could completely push his own biological son out to take the fall, and clearly, he had already done so. Sacrificing a son to save himself.
Wei Heng was not surprised in the least that Elder Sun could do such a thing.
Han Shuo pried it out of Sun Xianning's mouth that Sun Zhaohua has been communicating with that Mongolian crown prince for the past few years.
Sun Zhaohua was an extremely cautious man. Although he did not reveal his identity to the Mongolian crown prince, he wrote every letter personally.
This servant believes that as long as we find those letters, we can completely solidify Sun Zhaohua's crime of treason.
Lu Hexu lazily flipped open the memorial before him. Where are the letters?
Wei Heng looked troubled. Sun Zhaohua doesn't know.
Lu Hexu pondered for a moment and said, I understand.
These few light words fell, and for some reason, Wei Heng felt that this problem, which had troubled him for days, would definitely be resolved.
Just like that imperial examination fraud case.
Wei Heng realized that, without knowing when, he had already come to view the young emperor before him as his backbone.
Lu Hexu raised his hand and tapped the imperial desk. Where is Batu Möngke?
Wei Heng remembered that this was the Mongolian crown prince's guard.
At the time, he had seen His Majesty casually glance at the tributary list, never expecting that he would remember it with just one look.
Wei Heng's heart was stirred once more. He thought, if this young emperor had not suffered those torments, but had been educated from a young age, what a brilliantly intelligent, proud, and talented person he would be.
Wei Heng gathered his thoughts and respectfully replied, He is being detained by Han Shuo and the Brocade Guards in the courtyard where the Mongolian crown prince previously stayed.
Hmm. Lu Hexu stood up, raising his eyes to check the sky. He frowned, but still stepped forward and said, Let's go take a look.
Only two lanterns were lit in the courtyard.
Two Brocade Guards stood at the entrance.
Wei Heng walked in front carrying a palace lantern. Lu Hexu frowned, enduring the summer heat, his expression looking quite displeased.
Open the door, Wei Heng ordered in a low voice.
The two Brocade Guards quickly opened the courtyard gates.
The courtyard was quiet, with only a few Brocade Guards guarding the door of the main house.
The door to the main house was not tightly shut, and Lu Hexu caught the scent of blood.
He slightly narrowed his eyes, and the Brocade Guards standing aside hurried to open the door fully.
A wave of scorching heat washed over his face, causing Lu Hexu's frown to deepen.
A charcoal brazier was set up in the room. The two-meter-tall Mongolian guard was bound with iron chains, kneeling there, while Han Shuo, the Commander of the Brocade Guards, held a branding iron to extort a confession.
Speak, where exactly are those letters?
Batu Möngke's clothes were in tatters, faintly revealing his mottled, burned skin.
Yet, he kept his lips tightly sealed, refusing to confess.
Because he knew that these letters were the only things that could save his life.
Han Shuo, His Majesty has arrived, Wei Heng called out to remind him.
Han Shuo immediately put down the branding iron in his hand and came over to bow and pay his respects.
"Still haven't gotten anything out of him?"
Lu Hexu looked at the charcoal basin with disgust in his eyes.
The already stuffy and sweltering room had risen several degrees in temperature because of this burning charcoal basin.
"Yes, Your Majesty..." Han Shuo lowered his head, looking somewhat hesitant to speak.
Lu Hexu casually picked up the branding iron from the charcoal basin and walked over to Batu Möngke.
"Where is the item?"
Batu Möngke kept his eyes tightly shut and said nothing.
As the heat in the room steadily climbed, Lu Hexu's already impatient mood reached its peak.
He reached out a hand and pinched Batu Möngke's jaw.
The young man looked slender, but his strength was immense, forcefully prying open the jaw of a burly man who was over two meters tall.
He hadn't even had his growth spurt yet, but when facing a giant of a man, his imposing aura did not fall short in the slightest.
Batu Möngke was forced to open his mouth, and the red-hot iron was shoved onto his tongue.
"Mmph..." Even a man made of iron could not withstand such torture.
Batu Möngke let out muffled, howling whimpers, his entire body trembling uncontrollably, yet he could not break free from the iron chains binding him.
The smell of burning flesh spread through the room, but the young man did not even twitch a fingertip.
Han Shuo's eyes flickered slightly, but he stood there without making a sound.
Wei Heng subconsciously turned his head away, taking back his earlier thought that this little ancestor was in a good mood today.
Lu Hexu released his grip on Batu Möngke's jaw and casually tossed aside the branding iron. "Does he have an injury on his body?"
Han Shuo took a step forward. "He has a wound on his abdomen. It's an injury he sustained during the night hunt that day."
Lu Hexu shook off the bloodstains on his hand. "Open it."
Han Shuo paused for a moment, then instantly understood.
He called the Imperial Guards waiting outside to come in and pin Batu Möngke to the ground.
There was barely any clothing left on Batu Möngke. After Han Shuo violently tore it away, a gash over ten centimeters long across his abdomen was exposed.
Because it hadn't been properly cared for, the wound was already festering and oozing pus in this hot summer weather.
Han Shuo took out a dagger, sliced the wound open, and pulled out a wrapped package from inside.
Han Shuo carefully opened it, revealing a somewhat damp letter inside.
-
Mu Dan did not come tonight.
Su Zhenzhen glanced at the sky; it was very late.
She yawned and lay down.
But she couldn't fall asleep.
Su Zhenzhen touched her lips and sat up, unable to stop herself from recalling what happened yesterday.
Not disgusted... what did that mean?
The sky was dark, and the summer breeze rippled gently. Su Zhenzhen, deep in thought, looked up and saw the gauze lantern hanging under the eaves, and suddenly thought of that human-skin lantern again.
Of course, this gauze lantern hanging under the eaves was not a human-skin lantern, but a normal one. Yet, Su Zhenzhen still felt that its stark whiteness looked quite frightening.
Being idle was just being idle.
Su Zhenzhen first got up and went to the small kitchen. Since she was staying up late today, she decided to stew some chicken soup to nourish her body. Then, she brought over a stool, reached up, and took down the gauze lantern hanging under the eaves.
The style of the white gauze lantern was extremely similar to the beauty lantern the Mongolian crown prince had given her.
Although during the day one could tell that the materials were completely different, the lighting was poor at night, blurring one's vision. The weather was hot, so Su Zhenzhen slept with the windows open at night. Waking up from the heat in the middle of the night and seeing this gauze lantern right upon sitting up could scare her into a cold sweat even in the height of summer.
Su Zhenzhen took the gauze lantern down, placed it on the stone table in the courtyard, and then went back into the room to fetch a brush and ink.
Well... she was actually a complete failure at drawing.
Just doodling casually shouldn't be a problem, right?
What should she draw?
Flowers? Grass? A cat? A dog?
Su Zhenzhen thought of the little dog the young eunuch had drawn on the white paper in the imperial prison.
Did she really look like a little dog?
He was the one who looked like a cat, okay?
Su Zhenzhen dipped her brush in the ink and began to draw.
Let's draw a little cat.
An ink blob.
It's fine, let's try again. Let's draw a little dog.
Two ink blobs.
Su Zhenzhen: ...Is there something wrong with this brush?
"What ugly rocks." A young man's voice came from behind, giving Su Zhenzhen a start.
She turned around and saw Mu Dan's beautiful young face.
Never mind, I forgive you.
Su Zhenzhen's gaze moved down, and she saw the young man's hand holding a glazed lantern. On it were impossible-to-ignore dark red bloodstains.
"Are you hurt?" She grabbed the young man's wrist, unable to hide the worry on her face.
[What if such beautiful hands are left with scars? How is she supposed to lick them then?]
"It's not my blood." Lu Hexu tried to pull his hand back, but paused and stayed still.
Su Zhenzhen held his wrist and led him into the small kitchen, then used a handkerchief dipped in spring water to wipe the bloodstains from his hand.
The blood had already dried and was a bit hard to wipe off, so Su Zhenzhen used a little force.
The bloodstains were wiped clean, but the young man's skin had also turned red.
[It turned pink.]
[I want to lick it even more now.]
"Ahem, all done."
Su Zhenzhen let go of the young eunuch's wrist, then remembered the chicken soup she was stewing.
"Do you want some chicken soup to nourish your body?"
Lu Hexu didn't like eating hot food in the summer, but something like chicken soup would be greasy if eaten cold.
In the end, Su Zhenzhen still made the young man a bowl of Sushan ice dessert as usual.
The two of them sat together under the eaves.
She drank the slightly warm chicken soup while the young man ate the honey-drizzled Sushan. There was also a plate of sliced fruit on the side. Su Zhenzhen felt that the fruit was already sweet enough on its own, but to cater to Mu Dan's taste, she still placed a small porcelain bowl of honey next to it.
When Su Zhenzhen saw the amount of honey Mu Dan subconsciously reduced when dipping his food, she was finally certain that his sense of taste was gradually recovering.
Although the effect of herbal medicine was much slower than acupuncture, he was young. However, being able to recover in such a short time meant his physical constitution was truly excellent.
Traditional Chinese medicine was different from Western medicine; its healing effects were always slow. Western medicine might show results in a few days, but Chinese medicine often required several courses of treatment.
After finishing the chicken soup and Sushan.
Su Zhenzhen placed her fingers on the young man's wrist to check his pulse.
Lu Hexu lay in the rocking chair, still wearing that low-profile eunuch uniform.
He tilted his head slightly to look at the woman, his gaze staring at her without any avoidance.
Su Zhenzhen's expression went from serious to slowly lowering her head, and finally turning her head away to avoid his gaze.
[What in the world is he looking at?]
[Is there something on her face?]
[Does she usually look at him like this too?]
[Is she actually this obvious normally?]
Su Zhenzhen let go of Mu Dan's wrist, feeling as if the whole sky had fallen.
She had always thought she acted very discreetly.
The young man's gaze shifted downward, and then he suddenly leaned over from the rocking chair.
"You have a mole here too."
Lu Hexu reached out and pinched the woman's fingertip. On the side of Su Zhenzhen's ring finger, just below the nail, there was a red mole.
Having just finished a bowl of Sushan, Lu Hexu's fingertips still retained the temperature of the ice. His slightly cool fingertips pinched and rubbed the mole on her fingertip.
Zhenzhen was a giant in thought but a dwarf in action.
