ch 76

Ci 'an Palace, Buddha Hall.

The empress dowager was dressed in plain clothing. She twirled the jade Buddhist beads in her hand. Her features were gentle and benevolent. She murmured Amitabha a few times. She looked back at the man behind her who had raised eyebrows and asked, "Have you heard about what happened at Chengqian Palace?"

Zong Xu calmly took out a fresh apple from the tribute plate. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Mother, are you asking about Tong Jiabao vomiting blood and fainting? I've heard about it."

He meant to distance himself from the matter. The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes became more obvious. She sighed and said, "Now that the court is stable, why are you doing this?"

Zong Xu casually wiped the apple with his sleeve. He opened his mouth and took a bite, making a crisp sound.

"This apple is really sweet. Someone must have replaced it every day. That's right, if the tribute is not fresh, Buddha will blame me." He slowly swallowed the pulp in his mouth and said, "Mother, do you know that such an apple is rare in Northern Hebei? That land is very barren, and ordinary fruit trees can't survive there. Most of the people dig for wild vegetables on the ground to fill their stomachs. I've eaten it when I was very hungry, and I still can't forget the taste."

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and sighed. "I know that you've suffered a lot in the past few years. It's not easy, but you committed the crime of regicide. Your royal brother only banished you out of the capital, and that's already very kind of you. Besides, now that you've returned to the capital, I won't ask the Emperor to transfer you out even if I have to sacrifice my face. Why do you have to touch that little eunuch? "

"Ha …" Zong Xu clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Mother, you said that he's just a little eunuch, but to my royal brother, he's a precious treasure that can't be touched. He's where his pulse lies."

"Since you know that you can't touch him, why did you do it? What good will come of angering your royal brother?"

"Mother, it seems that my royal brother has been very filial to you these years. In the past, you were always on my side, but now you're doing it for my royal brother. Are people really fickle?"

The Empress Dowager frowned, and the string of Buddhist beads in her hand fell to the ground, making a clattering sound.

"Very good." The Empress Dowager turned her face away. After a while, she sneered and said, "Aijia is indeed old and useless. At the Mid-Autumn Festival, I was humiliated by the Emperor, and now I'm being blamed by you. Fine, that's all I have to say. In the future, Aijia will not interfere in the matters between you two brothers."

With that, he flicked his sleeves and stepped into the inner hall. Zong Xu stood there silently for a long time, then turned and left.

= = =

Su Yang slowly woke up. The poison in his body had been temporarily suppressed. There was only a strange purple pattern left on his back shoulder. His body was fine. With some good treatment, he would be able to jump up and down again.

A pair of scarlet eyes suddenly appeared in front of him. Su Yang opened his mouth. In front of him was Zong Huan, who was slovenly dressed. The man stared straight at his face and murmured in a low voice, "Bao 'er woke up … Am I hallucinating again?"

Su Yang burst out laughing. He reached out and pinched his cheek, asking, "Does it hurt? If it doesn't hurt, then Your Majesty is dreaming."

Zong Huan frowned from being pinched, and then his eyes showed ecstasy. He dug the naughty little thing out of the bed, held it in his arms, and kissed it. He unconsciously called out, "Bao 'er, my Bao' er, you finally returned to my side …"

Su Yang wasn't used to being so intimate with others, but when he thought about how this man had watched over him for a day and a night, his heart couldn't help but soften. He let him kiss and nibble on his cheek.

Zong Huan's reason gradually came back. He hurriedly lifted Su Yang's clothes. Su Yang wouldn't let him do this. He hurriedly wrapped his arms around his chest and refused to let go. Zong Huan explained, "Let me see how your body is. Is there any discomfort?"

Su Yang swore to protect his chastity. He muttered, "What are you looking at? You're not an imperial physician."

It was fine if he didn't mention the imperial physician, but when he did, Zong Huan's face suddenly became gloomy.

"None of the trash in the Imperial Physician's Department were useful. I didn't pull them out and behead them because I was afraid it would damage your karma. Otherwise, none of them would have seen the sun rise this morning."

Su Yang swallowed his saliva. His intuition told him that Zong Huan was speaking the truth. This man really wanted to kill those imperial physicians because they couldn't diagnose his illness. Other people would only beat up individual physicians, but the emperor wanted to kill all of the physicians in the Imperial Physician's Department. The place where the relationship between doctors and patients was the most tense was none other than the imperial palace!

He hurriedly said, "You can't do this. What does my illness have to do with them? It's wrong to kill the innocent."

Zong Huan restrained the haze in his eyes. He slowly curved his lips and said, "If you're fine, their lives will naturally be saved. If you … … No, there's no other possibility. You will be fine and stay by my side. No one will be able to take you away, not even the king of hell."

Su Yang felt that his tone was a bit frightening. What did this man experience in such a short period of time? How did he become so paranoid and terrifying?

While his thoughts were running wild, Zong Huan had already pushed him down on the bed. He easily tore off his pure white inner clothes and underwear. His deep black eyes stared at Su Yang, examining him from head to toe. His body was completely exposed to other people's eyes. Su Yang was embarrassed and angry. His white body gradually turned a light pink color.

Zong Huan didn't think it was enough. He simply flipped him over and used his hand to pinch his soft butt. This made Su Yang feel extremely embarrassed. He angrily cursed, "Stinky rogue!"

Zong Huan didn't care. He continued to inspect his body, not letting go of any corner. When his gaze swept over the purple mark on his shoulder, his eyes slightly flashed.

He held the embarrassed boy in his arms and pressed his forehead against his thin shoulder. His voice was thick with sleepiness. "I have to go to the morning court. Accompany me for a short rest … …" Su Yang didn't have time to answer before he heard the sound of snoring.

"Wait … … Let go of me first … …"

Su Yang's face was red. His clothes had been stripped and this man was sticking to him like this. It was simply embarrassing.

= = =

Three days later, in the imperial study.