Quick Transmigration: Crazy About the Villain, Begging for Love - Chapter 8

The Prince of Li turned the prayer beads in his hand rapidly, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile. “Feng Yanzhou, the more people you kill, the more court officials will fear you, and the faster I will be able to win the hearts of the people!”

The Prince of Jing stood beside the Prince of Li, sighing silently as he observed his expression. They are all family; why bother fighting so bitterly? I only wonder if Ming’er will be able to return safely this time…

The day of departure drew closer, yet Li Qing always felt flustered and would often wake from his dreams in a start. In his dreams, Feng Yanzhou would catch him as he tried to flee, interrogating him as to why he was leaving, before locking him in a secret chamber and torturing him to death; the methods were extremely cruel and chilling!

Waking up in a cold sweat once again, Li Qing stumbled out of bed and poured himself a cup of lukewarm tea.

“Shadow One!”

“This subordinate is here!”

Li Qing sat on a stool, rubbing the bangle on his wrist, and muttered to himself: “Why… not tell Feng Yanzhou? Is it because you are convinced that he will definitely be able to catch me and bring me back?”

Shadow One lowered his head in silence, and Li Qing understood the answer.

“If I am caught and brought back, will I die a miserable death?”

Shadow One looked up at the youth before him and said earnestly: “Your Highness is mistaken. Shadow One has followed His Majesty since childhood, and he has never cared this much for anyone. Even if betrayed, His Majesty would never have the heart to harm you in the slightest. Shadow Two and I did not disclose this matter because we believe that you will not let His Majesty down.”

Li Qing scoffed: “And how would you be able to discern my thoughts?”

“This subordinate cannot discern them, but I understand that there is a situation known as ‘love without realizing it’.”

Li Qing: “…” You know quite a lot! It is truly a waste of talent to be a shadow guard!

Love without realizing it, my foot. A Qingqiu nine-tailed fox loves only one person in a lifetime; once deeply in love, nine out of ten cases end in tragedy. He would never let himself fall in love easily and increase his troubles for nothing!

“Heh, I hear that whenever the full moon arrives, His Majesty locks himself in a secret chamber. I wonder…”

Before he could finish, Shadow One stood up abruptly, his blade unsheathed and his intent to kill fully displayed. This concerned His Majesty’s safety; it must not be spread!

Li Qing was entirely unafraid, looking at him calmly: “It seems that, in the end, you recognize only one master.”

“This subordinate is an imperial shadow guard; everything is based on the safety of the Emperor. I can obey any order from Your Highness, except for anything that would harm the Emperor.”

Li Qing stood up and took a few steps forward, his shoulder pressing against the tip of the blade: “That secret chamber of His Majesty’s it leads outside the city, does it not?”

Shadow One tightened his grip on the hilt, his tone conflicted: “Your Highness, you are the person His Majesty loves; do not force this subordinate.”

Li Qing smiled slightly and stepped away; he had finally baited it out. It seemed his guess was correct; that secret chamber was indeed not simple. In the original plot, Feng Yanzhou likely did not die and did not return to the capital to fight for the throne afterward; perhaps he was already living freely in the pugilistic world, having already looked down upon that position.

Shadow One knelt to salute again: “This subordinate humbly requests that Your Highness does not spread news of this matter!”

Li Qing waved his hand dismissively and walked toward the inner room: “Rest assured, I will not be that ruthless. On the day of the plan, I will escape from the secret chamber. Remember to help me spread the word both inside and outside the palace that the Sixth Prince of the Yun Kingdom is dead. After everything is over, you do not need to follow me anymore; return to your original master. I will not break up the bond between you and your master.”

Shadow One knelt for a long time, eyes lowered in silence, likely angry that he was ignoring Feng Yanzhou’s feelings and thinking only of escaping. Upon hearing Shadow Two’s signal for a shift change, he left directly…

On the evening when Li Qing’s plan was set to begin, Feng Yanzhou was consulting with the Prime Minister, preparing to find an excuse to open the imperial examinations to fill the vacant official positions. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gao Yuan pacing in small steps with an anxious expression. Feng Yanzhou looked up and asked: “Eunuch Gao, is something the matter?”

Gao Yuan gave an awkward smile to the Prime Minister and walked to Feng Yanzhou’s side, whispering: “Your Majesty, tonight is the night of the full moon, you…”

Had he not been reminded, Feng Yanzhou would have truly forgotten. With Li Qing by his side, he had been in a very good mood recently, rarely feeling irritable or depressed. Could it be that my years of mania have been cured by Qingqing? He did not know if his symptoms of madness and bloodlust would appear tonight; to be safe, it was better to go to the secret chamber to be sure, so as not to frighten Qingqing.

After Eunuch Gao sent the Prime Minister away from the study, Feng Yanzhou turned to head back to his sleeping quarters, but he stopped at the palace gate: “Qingqing… why are you here?”

Li Qing lifted the food box in his hand: “I learned how to make some pastries. Would Your Majesty like to try some?”

Feng Yanzhou immediately beamed, walking quickly to his side, but his smile faltered: “Er… Qingqing, I have a matter to attend to today; perhaps it is not convenient.”

“What matter?”

Feng Yanzhou did not know how to explain. If he knew the truth, would Li Qing think that he was only using him as a medicinal ingredient?

Li Qing slowly lowered his arm, staring at the food box in his hand, and sighed slightly: “If Your Majesty has concerns, there is no need to say more. As a prince of a neighboring country, I indeed should not know too much.”

Shadow One and Shadow Two, hiding in the dark: “…” What a masterful move of retreating to advance; their Emperor has truly been handled.

“No, no, it is no great secret; I was just afraid of you misunderstanding. Come with me, I will explain it to you slowly!”

Taking the food box, Feng Yanzhou led Li Qing by the hand into the palace. He usually did not like having too many people serve him, so there were only two or three servants in his quarters; seeing the Emperor, they hurriedly saluted. Feng Yanzhou signaled with his eyes for everyone to leave. He brought Li Qing to the inner room to sit down and explained to him about the mania he had suffered from since childhood.

“When I was young, I was merely impatient and loved to be noisy. But since I turned thirteen, I have often been restless and temperamental, easily losing my temper, and every full moon, I would become manic and bloodthirsty. As I grew older, I could control myself less and less. When I was fifteen, I even lost my sanity and injured many palace servants with a sword. My father had only one son; he feared that if this matter spread, it would be detrimental to me and affect my succession to the throne. Having no other choice, he sealed the news and built a secret chamber in the palace. Every time I had an episode, he would lock me in there for the night. He left me to scream, hack at the walls, claw at the floor, and even harm myself inside over all these years, I have become accustomed to it…”

As he spoke, Feng Yanzhou secretly peeked at Li Qing’s expression. Why is he not pained for me? Sigh, the most important part is coming next; I am so nervous.

“Master Kongyun said that this illness of mine cannot be cured by medicine; it can only be slowly healed by meeting my fated person, gradually turning me into a normal person and that fated person… is you.”

Li Qing was just about to speak, but Feng Yanzhou quickly covered his mouth: “Don’t be angry just yet, hear me out. The first time I saw you, even before I knew you were my fated person, I already liked you! After I knew you were my fated person, my feelings only grew stronger. But I swear, from beginning to end, I never thought of using you to treat my illness; I only wanted to hold you in the palm of my hand and cherish you, to make sure you would never suffer grievances again. The Emperor of the Yun Kingdom did not love you I will pamper you instead. Everything you missed out on growing up, I want to make up for it all!”