Murong Jie's face was cold and grim. A dagger was pressed in his hand, but in the end, he made no move to resist.
Only one more year. He couldn't let it all fall apart now. No matter how arrogant Murong Yu was, he wouldn't dare kill him. At worst, he'd suffer some flesh wounds.
He was dragged by Murong Yu's two guards into Jingming Palace—the very palace Murong Yu had resided in before leaving the capital.
The Empress had once taught them how to control subordinates. To punish disobedient palace servants, they would be locked in a dark chamber.
And so Murong Jie was dragged into that dark chamber by the two guards, who bound him directly to the torture rack.
Murong Yu, full of pent-up rage with nowhere to vent, grabbed a whip from the wall and lashed it at Murong Jie, striking as he shouted: "You bastard! Do you really think you're a prince? If it weren't for that good-for-nothing Lu Yunqi, do you think you'd ever have become Prince Cang? You'd probably have been played to pieces by him long ago!"
After several lashes, blood began to seep through Murong Jie's clothes.
The attendants behind him dared not intervene. Murong Yu had been spoiled rotten by the Empress and his two elder brothers—the number of palace servants he'd beaten to death or injury was countless.
If they dared to stop him, they'd be the next ones bound to the torture rack.
But Murong Jie was a strange one. After more than a dozen lashes, he didn't make a single sound, as if he were born without feeling.
Yet it was precisely his silence that infuriated Murong Yu even more. He pointed the whip at Murong Jie and snarled: "What the hell are you playing at? Not gonna cry out? Not gonna beg for mercy? I'll show you what I'm capable of today! Someone! Bring the brazier!"
Lu Yunqi had already driven the carriage at breakneck speed. Palace attendants rushed forward to stop him—being allowed to drive a carriage into the palace was already an imperial favor granted to the Lu family by the Emperor, but racing through the palace grounds in a carriage was a grave crime of contempt against the imperial court.
Even so, Lu Yunqi drove the carriage straight to the front of Qianyuan Hall. The moment he stepped down, he grabbed a Dragon Guard and demanded: "Where's Murong Jie? Didn't he enter the palace? Why hasn't he returned yet?"
Three questions in a row left the Dragon Guard bewildered. After a long pause, he said: "Just now… this one saw the Sixth Prince being taken away by the Third Prince's guards."
"Damn it!" Lu Yunqi cursed, then turned and ran toward Murong Yu's palace. After a few steps, he realized how foolish he was being, turned back, flipped the carriage over, mounted the horse, and galloped off.
Before the Dragon Guards could even stop him, he was gone like an arrow released from a bow.
The Emperor heard the commotion and rushed out, demanding: "What's going on? What's all this racket!"
The Dragon Guard Commander bowed and said: "Your Majesty, Young Lord Lu just came looking for the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince was taken away by the Third Prince's men. So… the Young Lord mounted a horse and rode toward Yangming Palace. He's probably already arrived by now."
"Nonsense!" the Emperor barked. "Riding horses within the palace—have you no sense of decency at all! Someone, prepare my carriage for Yangming Palace!"
Inside the dark chamber of Yangming Palace, the charcoal fire blazed fiercely, crackling softly. Murong Yu picked up a red-hot branding iron and walked before Murong Jie, waving it near his face. Through gritted teeth, he said: "Bastard! I know your bones are hard. Well then, let's see if you can still rely on that good-for-nothing Lu Yunqi to back you up once I ruin that pretty face of yours!"
With that, he moved to press the glowing branding iron against Murong Jie's face—when suddenly a thunderous crash rang out as Lu Yunqi kicked the door of the dark chamber clean off its hinges.
Ignoring the pain in his foot, he rushed forward, snatched the branding iron from Murong Yu's hand, and turned to look at Murong Jie—bound to the torture rack, beaten black and blue. His eyes turned red in an instant.
He kicked Murong Yu to the ground and cursed: "Murong Yu! You did this?"
That kick had landed hard. Murong Yu had never applied himself to anything, and his physical condition was even worse than Lu Yunqi's. The kick had struck a vital spot, and he curled up in the corner clutching his stomach in agony.
Branding iron in hand, Lu Yunqi stepped forward one pace at a time: "Good. Very good. You dare touch my man, do you? Today I'll show you exactly what happens when you mess with someone under my protection!"
With that, he pressed the red-hot branding iron directly onto Murong Yu's stomach. A sizzling sound filled the air as fabric and flesh burned together, and Murong Yu's screams echoed through the dark chamber.
Just then, the Emperor finally arrived. He shouted: "Stop! Lu Yunqi, what do you think you're doing!"
By this point, Lu Yunqi had somewhat calmed down. He glanced back at Murong Jie, then bowed to the Emperor: "Your nephew greets His Majesty."
The Emperor scolded: "Do you still have any regard for me as your imperial uncle? Riding a horse within the palace—do you know that's a capital offense?"
Lu Yunqi knew that even though he relied on his father's power and never truly respected the imperial family, that was all behind closed doors. On the surface, he still had to observe proper decorum.
Not to mention that this time, he hadn't just ridden a horse through the palace—he'd also branded the Emperor's precious son until he was screaming like a stuck pig.
If he kept stubbornly challenging the Emperor, today would not end well. Even if his father came to forcibly drag him away, he would still face impeachment and verbal attacks from the civil official faction.
With that thought, Lu Yunqi's eyes darted around, and he burst into loud sobs, plopping down on the ground. Between sobs, he cried, "Imperial Uncle, I know I was wrong, and I'm willing to accept punishment. But His Highness the Third Prince—of all things—tied up my wife and beat him half to death! You bestowed the Sixth Prince upon me, and I cherish and pamper him like a pearl. But him! I just want to ask, what crime did my wife commit? Why did he beat my wife!"
With that, he turned and threw himself onto Murong Jie, hugging him and whispering quietly in his ear, "Quick, pretend to faint!"
Murong Jie frowned slightly but ultimately complied, feigning a faint.
His fainting gave Lu Yunqi even more ammunition to make a scene. He shook Murong Jie and shouted loudly, "Wife, what's wrong? Wife, wake up! Imperial Uncle, look—my wife is dead! I don't care, I want Murong Yu to give me back my wife!"
With all this commotion, the Emperor had completely forgotten about Lu Yunqi's horse-riding in the palace. He quickly ordered Fuhai, "Hurry, summon the imperial physician!"
Soon, the imperial physician arrived carrying his medicine box. The group lowered Murong Jie down, and the physician examined Murong Jie's injuries, hissing through his teeth. "Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince was already frail to begin with. Now, having been beaten by the Third Prince, his constitution has been further damaged. I'm afraid he will need at least half a year to recuperate."
The Emperor's expression darkened. He turned to look at Murong Yu and asked, "How is the Third Prince?"
The physician went to examine him and said, "Just superficial wounds. Nothing serious."
But Murong Yu shouted loudly, "What? I'm in so much pain, my flesh is cooked through, and you say it's nothing serious? Father, Lu Yunqi did this to me! You must seek justice for your son!"
The Emperor roared, "Shut your mouth! I'm asking you—what crime did your sixth brother commit? Why did you tie him up and beat him?"
The Third Prince couldn't come up with a reason, but Lu Yunqi continued crying, "Imperial Uncle, my wife usually doesn't even speak loudly! What crime could he possibly commit? It must be that the Third Prince took out his anger on him because of Miss Xie's matter. Poor thing—he's so delicate and frail, and now he's been beaten like this. What are we to do!"
The Emperor's head throbbed from all the crying. He glanced at Murong Yu and said, "Prince Yu has shown no brotherly love and has beaten Prince Cang without cause. I hereby strip half your salary, confine you to your residence for three months, and demote you to Commandery Prince! From today onward, you will stay home and reflect on your mistakes! And you, Lu Yunqi, you've grown increasingly lawless—riding horses in the imperial palace. I see I've been too lenient with you! But considering you were anxious to save someone, I'll give you a light punishment as a warning—fifteen days of house arrest!"
With that, the Emperor flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
Lu Yunqi finished his performance, turned to look at Murong Yu, and sneered, "Did you hear that, Commandery Prince Yu? If you ever dare bully him again, it won't just be a single hole burned into you. I'm laying my words down right here—if there's a next time, I'll make sure you can't even be a Commandery Prince!"
With that, he turned and walked toward Murong Jie, intending to play the hero and scoop him up to carry him away. But try as he might, three attempts later, he still couldn't lift him.
He cleared his throat and ordered, "Liubao, go get me a stretcher!"
Soon, Liubao fashioned a simple stretcher and found two palace attendants to carry Murong Jie to the carriage.
Once seated in the carriage, Lu Yunqi began to scold, "Tell me, are you stupid? Can't you fight back? If you don't have the strength, bite, scream, or stab him with a dagger! I can't always rush over in time to save you. What if he'd burned your face? I…"
"And if it were burned?" Murong Jie asked weakly.
Just as Lu Yunqi was about to say something, Murong Jie spoke up, "If this face you like were ruined, you could naturally go find another color you fancy."
Lu Yunqi felt there was a hint of resentment in that tone, but remembering that he'd been killed nine times, he strangled that illusion in its cradle. He pinched Murong Jie's chin and said, "You know it well enough. This young lord just happens to like that pretty face of yours. If that face of yours is ever ruined, you won't be able to get any benefit out of me anymore."
"You should be grateful you were born with such a handsome face. And it just so happens that this young lord is a lecher to the bone—I've compared left and right, and no face can outshine yours. Even that Xie Lianyi from yesterday, without her fine clothes and the flickering candlelight, was reduced to common mediocrity next to you. Tsk tsk, Murong Jie, why do I fancy you so much?"
Murong Jie's gaze darkened, the fleeting resentment hidden perfectly, before returning to his usual brooding demeanor.
Lu Yunqi changed the subject and asked, "By the way, what did your father want with you today? He's never paid any attention to you, so if he suddenly summoned you to the palace, don't tell me it was just for some father-son chit-chat."
To her surprise, Murong Jie didn't hide anything at all and said directly, "He wants me to find a way to win you over, and if I get the chance, to seize control of your Lu family's 600,000 elite troops."
Lu Yunqi was greatly shocked. "You… you're just telling me this?"