Strongly Spoiled by the Villainous Tyrant After Climbing into the Dragon’s Bed - Chapter 13

The Imperial Academy of Medicine was located in the southeast of the capital. The snow-covered roads were slippery, and fearing they might cause the noble inside the carriage to fall, the driver only dared to proceed slowly.

Inside the carriage, a charcoal brazier was lit. The warmth made Zhan Yueqing want to sleep again, but then he heard a loud commotion outside.

“What is happening out there?” Zhan Yueqing wanted to lift the carriage curtain, but Jun Yushu caught his wrist.

“How are you acting like you’ve never seen this before? It’s the morning market,” Jun Yushu looked at him in bewilderment. “If I hadn’t met you at Tan Mingzhi’s place before, I would really believe you were raised in a temple.”

Zhan Yueqing: “…”

Belatedly realizing he had shown too many flaws, Zhan Yueqing had no choice but to drag Tan Huairan into it: “Blame the Emperor; he broke my head.”

Jun Yushu’s gaze turned sympathetic. “It’s fine. Next time I’ll take you around the capital more. We can even go to Chunhua Courtyard if you like.”

Hearing an unfamiliar term, Zhan Yueqing perked up again. “What kind of place is that?”

“A brothel.” Seeing his interest, Jun Yushu immediately said, “Wait until you finish your exams; we can go tonight!”

Hearing this, Zhan Yueqing was puzzled. He didn’t understand how Tan Huairan, after becoming Emperor, hadn’t abolished such places.

Jun Yushu misunderstood, narrowing his peach-blossom eyes and saying suggestively, “You don’t like girls? Then let’s go to Chunlan Courtyard. There are quite a few newcomers there—men.”

“Do you like the handsome type or the beautiful type?” Jun Yushu followed up.

Zhan Yueqing uttered an “ah,” and in his mind, the image of Tan Huairan’s abs from that night flashed by—

“The handsome ones,” he whispered guiltily. Then, remembering how back in the modern world when they were still together, Tan Huai would go shirtless with only an apron to cook porridge for him in the kitchen, he added: “The ‘husband-material’ vibe, do you understand?”

Jun Yushu clearly didn’t understand, only asking further: “Isn’t that Tan Mingzhi? Between Tan Mingzhi and the Emperor, which one do you like more? Tan Mingzhi is the number one handsome man in the capital.”

Zhan Yueqing: “Did he give himself that title?”

How narcissistic.

“I don’t know, but everyone calls him that anyway.” Jun Yushu scrutinized his expression. “Do you really not like Tan Mingzhi anymore?”

Zhan Yueqing looked completely bewildered.

Wait, was the original owner’s secret crush known to the whole city?

“Last time I saw you, you were still mourning because he took in a new concubine,” Jun Yushu dropped a massive bombshell.

Zhan Yueqing: “…”

“Look, look, you’re still sad!” Jun Yushu immediately acted as if he had discovered a new continent.

Zhan Yueqing didn’t argue about that, but instead asked almost instinctively, “I like the Emperor more now. He said he has no concubines; is that true?”

—The carriage suddenly stopped.

A pair of jade-white hands lifted the carriage curtain, and cold wind instantly poured in. Since Zhan Yueqing’s cold hadn’t fully healed, the sudden shift from extreme heat to extreme cold made him sneeze. “Achoo!”

Jun Yushu didn’t expect him to be so physically weak. He quickly blocked the wind and looked unhappily at the person who had pulled back the curtain—

“Tan Mingzhi, are you sick in the head?”

Zhan Yueqing’s spirit jolted. He poked his head out from behind Jun Yushu, wanting to see what this “number one handsome man in the capital” looked like.

Tan Mingzhi was dressed in purple robes, looking elegant and handsome, but his face was incredibly dark.

“Zhan Xiaoyue! Come out.”

He spoke in a low voice laced with anger and waited outside the carriage.

In his heart, he believed this person would always run to him recklessly, no matter what.

His voice was like a horse’s neigh, lacking the deep elegance of Tan Huairan’s.

Zhan Yueqing glanced at his face and felt a bit disappointed.

Not as good-looking as Tan Huai.

As expected, he was a self-proclaimed handsome man.

He was lost in his own thoughts, completely forgetting that Tan Mingzhi had just told him to come out.

“He told you to get out,” Jun Yushu suddenly spoke up.

Zhan Yueqing snapped back to reality. “I am not Zhan Xiaoyue. There is no ‘Xiaoyue’ here. Let’s keep going; I’m in a hurry to get to the Imperial Academy.”

Jun Yushu was somewhat surprised by this, but he obediently did as told.

In the midst of the ice and snow, with citizens lined up on both sides of the street, Tan Mingzhi waited outside, considering himself a gentleman. Some citizens recognized him and began to look on sideways.

Damn it! Why isn’t he coming out yet? A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Tan Mingzhi’s eyes. He had already thought of how he would punish Zhan Yueqing later.

He didn’t expect that just as this thought appeared, the carriage in front of him actually started moving.

It was so fast that Tan Mingzhi didn’t react in time, and the servant behind him holding the snow umbrella was also stunned.

Tan Mingzhi: “…”

Tan Mingzhi moved suddenly, lunging out from under the umbrella and jumping onto the carriage in a few strides.

The servants were shocked; they hurriedly followed.

It was the first time they had seen Tan Mingzhi lose his composure so badly in front of so many people.

“What are you doing?! Get down! This is my carriage!” Inside the carriage, the snowy wind surged in as Jun Yushu looked displeased at Tan Mingzhi.

“Zhan Xiaoyue! Are your ears broken?!” Tan Mingzhi suddenly grabbed Zhan Yueqing’s arms and slammed him against the carriage wall, his expression growing even more grim—

Zhan Yueqing’s vision went black, but a scene suddenly flashed through his mind—

In an ancient-style inner room, Tan Mingzhi leaned against a couch with his clothes wide open, a beautiful woman sitting beside him.

And it seemed he was kneeling on the ground.

“Zhan Xiaoyue, serve the Princess of An as she undresses for bed.”

The Princess of An looked at the Prince of An in shock.

Zhan Yueqing—Zhan Xiaoyue—looked at him.

“My Lord, he… he is a man!” the Princess said in fear. “How can you let him undress me?”

“If the Prince wants to punish me, he can hit me…” Zhan Xiaoyue felt a dull pain in his heart. “Just don’t ruin the Princess’s reputation.”

Tan Mingzhi laughed.

He suddenly raised his foot, seemingly wanting to lift Zhan Xiaoyue’s chin, but Zhan Xiaoyue dodged the humiliating gesture.

“Why are you hiding?” Tan Mingzhi threatened in a low voice. “Do you not want this month’s stipend?”

Zhan Xiaoyue remained silent with his head lowered, his eyes slightly stinging.

“Go, undress the Princess—this King likes it when you two are together.” Tan Mingzhi leaned against the couch, his eyes full of malice.

The Princess knelt down. “Please, no, My Lord. If word of this gets out…”

Before she could finish, Zhan Xiaoyue stood up and left—

It was raining outside, and the paths in the manor were slippery. The cold wind made his face and heart turn cold.

“Zhan Xiaoyue! Stop right there!” Tan Mingzhi chased him out, his tone sinister. “You dare run? Who gave you permission to keep looking at me during the palace banquet today? You’ve been noticed by the Emperor! I won’t allow you to be noticed by anyone!”

Zhan Xiaoyue paused. In the dark night, Tan Mingzhi couldn’t see his expression.

“Then why did you abandon the Princess to bring me into the palace?” he asked softly. “That was your family banquet. You made your Princess a laughingstock and turned me into a target for everyone.”

Tan Mingzhi paused.

Zhan Xiaoyue turned to leave again.

“If you step over that threshold, I won’t want you anymore. I will take back every bit of the secret guard stipend I gave you before.”

As always, Tan Mingzhi held onto his weakness.

Zhan Xiaoyue smiled, feeling utterly hopeless, yet he still stubbornly tried to leave through the manor’s side gate. Tan Mingzhi chased after him—

“Second Young Master,” people from the Zhan Manor grabbed Zhan Xiaoyue’s arms with ill intent. “The Head of the House wants you to come with us to handle some ‘family business.'”

As the words “family business” fell, a bone-deep fear suddenly flared up. Zhan Xiaoyue instinctively turned back to look at the Prince of An.

The people from the Zhan family also saw the Prince and bowed low. “My Lord, we are handling family business. Please do not interfere.”

Family business.

Tan Mingzhi knew exactly what this family business entailed. Every time Zhan Xiaoyue went back and returned, his body would be covered in new wounds.

In the past, Tan Mingzhi would have intervened, but because Zhan Xiaoyue had just defied him—

“Go,” Tan Mingzhi said with a cruel expression. “Discipline him well.”

“Fuck your ancestors!!” Inside the carriage, Jun Yushu hurriedly pulled the madman Tan Mingzhi away. “He still has a wound on his neck! Let go!!”

Zhan Yueqing’s vision finally cleared. He touched his neck and caught his breath before looking up at Tan Mingzhi, who was being restrained by Jun Yushu—

“There is… no Zhan Xiaoyue here.”

His voice was a bit hoarse from being throttled, but it was icy cold.

Tan Mingzhi froze.

“I am the Second Young Master of the Jun family,” Zhan Yueqing’s eyes were dark as he forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart. “Please conduct yourself with dignity, Prince of An.”

He really wanted to stick a needle into Tan Mingzhi and make him paraplegic.

Dammit!!!

What an absolute idiot!!

“Exactly! Why are you choking him? If you touch him again, I’ll tell my father!” Jun Yushu used all his strength to lock Tan Mingzhi’s throat, his face turning red. “He is my brother! He is not Zhan Yueqing!”

The gloom on Tan Mingzhi’s face deepened, but he roared at Zhan Yueqing: “Nonsense! Zhan Yueqing, haven’t you had enough of making a scene with me?”

—He didn’t know that Zhan Yueqing had been snatched away by Tan Huairan using such methods.

He only thought Zhan Yueqing had gone home.

When Chen Zhiyi first came back to tell him about the matters in court, he had been anxious.

He had been so anxious that he looked everywhere for connections to help him, and now Zhan Yueqing dared to throw a tantrum at him?!

The more Tan Mingzhi thought about it, the angrier he got, staring at Zhan Yueqing like a mad bull about to gore someone.

Little did he know, Zhan Yueqing was even angrier—the fire in his heart was hitting the roof, yet his face remained extremely cold.

His tone grew even more frigid: “My Lord, are you now interested in me because I’m no longer submissive?”

Tan Mingzhi was stunned.

“You knew my hardships yet used them to blackmail me. You knew the Princess’s difficulties yet turned a blind eye, still forcing your desires onto others. It was like this before, and it is like this now.”

Hearing this, Tan Mingzhi’s expression changed.

Looking at his face, Zhan Yueqing let out a light laugh: “What is that expression? Do you like me now? But why should I be responsible for your one-sided feelings?”

Tan Mingzhi laughed from anger, losing his composure even more as he continued to roar: “One-sided? Who exactly was the one with one-sided feelings?! Zhan Xiaoyue—do you think you’ll have a good life just by clinging to Tan Huairan?”

Jun Yushu’s head was spinning. Seeing Tan Mingzhi becoming more frenzied as he was provoked, he quickly dragged the man back another step and swiftly pushed him off the carriage.

The people from the Prince of An’s manor quickly caught him.

The carriage sped away.

Tan Mingzhi wanted to chase after them, but a servant held him back, whispering a reminder: “My Lord! We are in the street!”

The citizens on both sides of the street were glancing over, watching the drama unfold.

Tan Mingzhi gritted his teeth in resentment and calmed himself down.

Thinking he could escape him by clinging to Tan Huairan?

Laughable!

“Is your neck okay?” Jun Yushu leaned over to look, feeling a bit anxious.

Although he used to look down on Zhan Yueqing a little, he hated Tan Mingzhi even more.

Now that Zhan Yueqing had changed and was no longer timid and subservient, Jun Yushu didn’t hate him as much.

Not to mention, his father had specifically asked him to pick up Zhan Yueqing today because he feared someone would cause trouble on the road.

After all, there were many other noble sons in this Imperial Academy assessment, and these people might express doubt regarding Zhan Yueqing’s presence.

He thought something would happen only at the Imperial Academy; he didn’t expect the Prince of An to strike halfway.

Seeing Tan Mingzhi leave, Zhan Yueqing’s tense expression finally relaxed. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Jun Yushu.

It was just an ordinary look, but Jun Yushu felt there was a hint of pained annoyance in those slightly red eyes.

“I’m fine, but the Prince of An is mentally ill, isn’t he?” Zhan Yueqing touched his neck and sighed. “This was almost healed, but that choke made it tear open again.”

He rubbed his neck, frowning, his eyes looking a bit aggrieved.

Seeing this, Jun Yushu’s anger flared up: “He’s always been sick! Sometimes he’s as crazy as the Emperor! Ignore him! Don’t touch your wound for now; we’ll be at the Imperial Academy soon. I’ll have a doctor look at you then.”

Zhan Yueqing, having poisonous blood in his body, didn’t dare let other doctors touch him, so he shook his head: “It’s no matter. Thank you for just now.”

He had no real relation to Jun Yushu, so he was very grateful that this person could help him like this.