After I Faked My Death, the Dog Emperor Completely Lost His Mind - Chapter 24

On the first day of the lunar year, the Imperial Palace was buried beneath a sky-obscuring blanket of ice and snow. New Year lanterns and decorations adorned every corner, but the heavy snowfall quietly hid these festive colors within the howling wind.

Because of the storm and the holiday, the palace servants were more relaxed than usual. In a remote corner of the Yeting quarters, they huddled around charcoal braziers, playing mahjong while warming themselves.

Gifts continued to arrive at Qingzhuo Hall. Shen Yuheng recognized the names of several consorts who frequently sent offerings, though he had never actually met them. As a male consort, he lived in a remote part of the harem, far from the residences of the female concubines.

The Shen family had also sent a New Year letter filled with blessings, though it contained one odd detail. For some reason, Shen Yun璟 had told him, in a tone that was almost an ultimatum: Stay away from Xiao Jin.

Shen Yuheng felt incredibly wronged. He hadn’t even seen a glimpse of Xiao Jin lately; their only two recent encounters hadn’t been by his choice. He sent back a brief, aggrieved reply to his elder brother: Okay.

Despite the constant flow of letters and gifts, Shen Yuheng felt a bit lonely being unable to see a single friend during the New Year. After some thought, he decided to visit Su Cheng. He had Yundou pack some beautiful jewelry and gold-and-silver ware to bring as gifts.

It took over an hour to reach Su Cheng’s palace. It looked vastly different from Qingzhuo Hall; the snow at the front gate was thick and unswiped. Except for the red of the palace walls, everything was a vast expanse of white, looking like a “Cold Palace” buried by a blizzard, with almost no signs of human life.

Shen Yuheng knocked for a long time before he heard the muffled sound of footsteps treading through deep snow. Su Cheng struggled through the drifts to open the door, and the frost in his eyes seemed to melt instantly upon seeing his guest.

Shen Yuheng stood there in a moon-white gold-trimmed squirrel-fur jacket, a bright red fox-fur shawl draped over his shoulders. He looked like a brilliant red sun in a snowy ancient landscape. His eyelashes were heavy with tiny snow crystals; as he looked up, they fell away with a breathtaking beauty.

“Consort Shen, why…” Su Cheng saw the layer of snow on the other man’s shoulders and stopped talking. He quickly pulled him inside. “Please, come in quickly. It’s freezing out.”

Once inside, Su Cheng immediately woke the lazy servants to prepare hot tea and snacks. The palace was drafty and the charcoal fire was weak. Su Cheng lacked the favor to command the servants, so he had to do many things himself.

Seeing Su Cheng bustling about alone, Shen Yuheng couldn’t sit still. “Let me help.” He stood up to move a small table Su Cheng was reaching for. “Where does this go?”

“Consort! No! This is coarse work—”

Shen Yuheng waved him off. Back when he was a kindergarten teacher, had he done any less manual labor? He used to move crates of toys every day; he’d almost developed muscles from it.

He picked up a chair and took two steps when suddenly a dull “crack” came from his lower back.

Shen Yuheng’s face went white with pain. No way!! He threw out his back moving a chair? What kind of “glass-cannon” body was this?! He knew the original owner’s constitution was weak, but this was ridiculous!!

Realizing something was wrong, Su Cheng rushed to support him and sent a maid to fetch Imperial Physician Xu. A moment later, the physician arrived through the storm. Seeing Shen Yuheng injured yet again, he shook his head. “The Consort must cherish his body. You cannot be so reckless.”

The physician had spent many days lately running back and forth for Shen Yuheng. He felt pity for such a precious person who was always getting hurt. Shen Yuheng had intended to ask the physician why he had been so abnormally drowsy lately, but seeing the man’s concern, he was too embarrassed to bother him with “laziness.”

After the physician left, Su Cheng sat by the bed and comforted him softly. “Since it’s hard for the Consort to move today, why not stay at my palace for a while? If His Majesty summons you… I will send someone to escort you back.”

“That works.”

But Shen Yuheng knew in his heart: “serving in bed” was out of the question. Xiao Huai was already suspicious of him; the fact that he hadn’t been given the “white silk” to hang himself was the Emperor’s greatest mercy. He had once thought Xiao Huai was just a feckless ruler who ignored the court, but a ruler was still a ruler, and a single moment of rage could leave a million corpses. Killing an unfaithful male consort would be easy.

That night, Shen Yuheng stayed with Su Cheng. While consorts weren’t usually allowed to sleep in each other’s quarters, no one dared complain on New Year’s Day, especially given his injury. This was the first time since transmigrating that he had slept somewhere other than Qingzhuo Hall or the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Su Cheng’s bedchamber was smaller, but with a charcoal brazier and a hot pot dinner, it was quite cozy. The soup base, made with beef bone and a dozen spices, smelled divine. Under the snow-covered eaves, the steam rose into the air, and the yellow candlelight made the room feel even warmer.

Shen Yuheng felt like he was having a sleepover at a classmate’s house. Even though Su Cheng mostly just smiled and nodded, his presence was far less stressful than anyone else’s. At least Su Cheng was a normal human being.

Shen Yuheng whispered to the System: “Why are there so many normal people in the world, yet I only ever encounter…”

[Host, I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘psychos.’]

“You hit the nail on the head!!”

At night, after they had both bathed, Su Cheng had a simple pallet of blankets laid out by the door, intending to sleep there. Shen Yuheng felt guilty and offered to trade places, but Su Cheng immediately pressed him back into the bed.

“The Consort has a back injury. Stay here.”

Shen Yuheng tried to protest, but Su Cheng gave him no chance. He held Shen Yuheng’s hand and smiled. “Just sleep here… okay?” He blinked, looking almost aggrieved.

Shen Yuheng suddenly felt a chill. For some reason, he saw a flicker of eerie fanaticism in Su Cheng’s eyes that was completely out of character. It was as if a corner of a mask had been lifted, revealing something unsettling. What does it matter where I sleep? Why is he so insistent? He looked into those gentle but strangely cold eyes and found he couldn’t ask.

By the time the lamp was extinguished, it was late. Despite his wariness, Shen Yuheng was exhausted. He fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

After a short while, a silhouette sat up on the floor pallet. The dark shadow reflected on the window paper turned slowly toward Shen Yuheng. In the silence of the night, the distant sound of firecrackers drifted from somewhere in the palace. When the noise faded and only the sound of Shen Yuheng’s rhythmic breathing remained, Su Cheng’s heart began to hammer against his ribs.

He took a trembling step forward, imagining if Xiao Jin had walked this same quiet night path when he transgressed against the man. Su Cheng reached the bedside, looking down at the sleeping figure.

“Consort Shen…”

He reached out to touch the tempting curve of the man’s shoulder. Suddenly, a streak of white light pierced the window paper. A sharp sting brushed past his fingertips, and blood instantly seeped from a tiny cut.

In the next second, an arrow slammed deep into the wall.

Su Cheng stared in horror at the window. Through the hole torn by the arrow, he could vaguely see a dark figure standing high upon the roof. The shadow was drawing a longbow, the wood bending into a lethal arc, aiming once again toward the same spot

On the Rooftop

“Your Highness.” The death-soldier Cheng Xiao arrived in a rush, his knees cracking the roof tiles as he knelt. “Xiao Qi has escaped prison and is currently recruiting private troops outside the city.”

The news didn’t cause Xiao Jin’s posture to shift even a fraction of an inch. In the next second, the arrow he had notched flew out, heading straight for the silhouette inside the palace.

Cheng Xiao’s brow flickered with tension. He glanced toward Su Cheng’s bedchamber. The night remained silent no scream, no cry of pain. It hadn’t hit anyone. Cheng Xiao breathed a secret sigh of relief.

A moment later, a gust of wind whistled past his ear as an arrow grazed him. Blood instantly trickled down the side of his head. Cheng Xiao’s face went pale, and he knelt heavily. “Your Highness, forgive me!”

Xiao Jin’s next arrow was already notched. His eyes were bloodshot, and the sharp tip hung just a finger’s width above Cheng Xiao’s head.

“Forgive me! Your servant only felt…” Cheng Xiao knew one wrong word meant his end. “…The Emperor thinks he holds a leash on you by threatening Consort Shen’s safety. You could simply take the Consort and leave the palace to keep him safe! Until then, you must not harm Attendant Su and draw suspicion.”

Xiao Jin’s voice was cold. “Why would I want to keep him safe?” The arrow remained pointed at Cheng Xiao’s skull.

“After Your Highness ascends the throne,” Cheng Xiao continued, sweat drenching his back, “you can name the Consort as Empress Dowager and confine him to the harem to control the Shen family and mobilize their military power as quickly as possible…”

This involved seventy percent of the Great Zhou’s military might; Shen Yuheng still had utility. Once he was possessed, the Shen family wouldn’t dare oppose the new regime. In the previous life, Xiao Jin had killed Shen Yuheng; the Shens had fallen, the military power had fragmented, and many talents were wasted. This time, he would use this crimson cage of jade and cinnabar to imprison Shen Yuheng for life, ensuring he would never escape. He was destined to live in Xiao Jin’s shadow, with no hope of ever seeing the light.

“Your Highness need not worry about the harem,” Cheng Xiao added. “Once you ascend, the Consort will naturally seek his own benefit and stay by your side. Even if you take your revenge for the past, he will not dare resist.”

“No, he will dare.”

Xiao Jin thought of what he did to Shen Yuheng every night… if the man ever found out… His lips curled into a wicked, pure smile that would make anyone’s skin crawl.

Shen Yuheng’s night at Su Cheng’s quarters was exceptionally peaceful. His back injury was minor, and by the next day, he could walk again.

However, Su Cheng’s finger was wrapped in a blood-stained bandage. How do you get hurt while sleeping? After being questioned several times, Su Cheng whispered that he had tried to sew something for the Consort in the middle of the night and pricked himself. Shen Yuheng felt terrible and repeatedly told Su Cheng he didn’t need anything, but to ask if he needed anything instead.

Su Cheng just smiled. Under the golden winter sun, his hair looked chestnut-colored, and his smile was warm. Shen Yuheng felt like he really had become Xiao Jin’s mother, looking at this “lovely daughter-in-law.” Xiao Jin really doesn’t deserve him!! With that temper and the biting habit, who could stand him? No wonder every ending is a ‘Bad Ending’.

That said, after returning to Qingzhuo Hall, Shen Yuheng sent people into the city to find interesting trinkets for Xiao Jin’s birthday on the eighth of the first month. He knew Xiao Jin likely didn’t have the habit of celebrating, but just because he hadn’t in the past didn’t mean he wouldn’t in the future. Anything to make him a bit more “human” would help the redemption score.

Beyond gifts, he arranged a small birthday banquet. Officials who had befriended Xiao Jin or wanted to curry favor would be invited. He spent days corresponding with various people, and even invited Shen Yun璟 to the palace.

When Yun璟 entered Qingzhuo Hall, he saw his brother slumped over his desk, eyes bloodshot and dark circles under his lids. He was so drowsy he didn’t even notice the General’s arrival.

Yun璟 frowned and walked straight up to him. As a shadow fell over his desk, Shen Yuheng rubbed his eyes and woke up. He was grabbed by his collar and almost screamed until he saw it was his brother.

“Brother…?” he asked weakly.

“You still remember I’m your brother?” Yun璟 asked coldly. “How long has it been since you slept? Why do you look like a ghost?”

Shen Yuheng shrunk his neck. “It’s fine, I just haven’t slept much…”

Yun璟 let out a frustrated laugh. “Fine? Look in a mirror. You call this ‘fine’?” He slammed several letters onto the table. “And what is this nonsense you wrote? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from Xiao Jin? Are my words a joke to you?”

“I’m doing it for the family—”

“Talking back? You dare claim there is nothing between you two?”

“I…” Shen Yuheng felt seven parts defiant and three parts guilty. “I haven’t even seen him for days. I had to contact the court officials just to arrange this banquet. What could possibly be happening?”

I have nothing with him. What he has with me… that doesn’t count!

Yun璟 gave him a mocking, cold sneer. “You dare say there is nothing between you?” He repeated the words slowly, his voice like a blade at the throat.

“I—” Shen Yuheng started, but his face suddenly changed. He grabbed Yun璟’s arm and began to cough violently, his body doubled over.

Yun璟 froze. He immediately sat Shen Yuheng down and rushed to the door to shout for the physicians. He brought every old physician in the Academy. But despite their numbers, they were helpless.

“The Consort’s pulse is thin; this is an illness born of overwork and a deficiency of Qi and blood. He needs rest and nourishment. This cannot be cured overnight.”

The physicians prescribed a dietary regimen of chicken soup brewed with ginseng and ginger to be delivered daily. But an illness of exhaustion couldn’t be cured by medicine alone; it needed time.

Shen Yuheng hesitated and asked, “Um… I’ve been having ‘nightmares’ lately. Is that because of the Qi deficiency?”

“Likely so,” the physician nodded. “The Consort’s constitution is weak, so the symptoms will be more pronounced.”

Shen Yuheng nodded, but he was skeptical. Lately, his body felt… strange. Not only was he easily exhausted, but he was forgetting things. Nighttime memories were especially muddled.

Sometimes he’d just finished bathing or entered his room, and his memory would cut out. The next thing he knew, it was morning. Sometimes he’d “snap back” into consciousness and not know why he was standing in a certain spot or what had just happened.

Even the System was puzzled: [Host, are you sure you didn’t eat poisonous mushrooms? I keep getting forced offline and coming back. It’s so weird.]

Shen Yuheng shook his head, equally clueless. But there were things he hadn’t even dared tell the System…

Lately, his lower back and waist felt incredibly sore and achy. He felt heavy and dazed, and even in that “unspeakable place,” he occasionally felt a faint, lingering sting. It wasn’t a sharp pain, but it was impossible to ignore. It felt as if something usually closed had been forced open; the unfamiliar ache brought a wave of fear.

At first, he thought it was an illusion. but over time, the sensation became clearer and harder to talk about. The only “clue” he had was that dark shadow he saw crawling over him the night of the banquet.