Strongly Spoiled by the Villainous Tyrant After Climbing into the Dragon’s Bed - Chapter 19

Imperial examination fraud?

Zhan Yueqing froze for a moment, thinking back to the words in the imperial decree, appearing somewhat dazed.

He had thought Tan Huairan had fabricated that, but it turned out to be true…

Zhan Jing had truly put a lot of thought into that younger brother.

The moment this thought appeared, a surge of resentment welled up in his heart.

It belonged to the original owner of the body.

Zhan Yueqing crouched down, looking at Zhan Jing before him. He tilted his head slightly and suddenly smiled.

His expression was somewhat cruel, yet the light pouring in from the prison window onto Zhan Yueqing’s face lent him an oddly innocent appearance.

Zhan Jing felt his skin crawl at the smile, yet he still endured the pain and let tears fall. “My son… I have finally seen you…”

The middle-aged man no longer looked like the baring-of-fangs-and-claws, cold bystander from Zhan Xiaoyue’s memories.

His hair had turned much whiter, and he knelt on the ground, while the once-lowly, shabbily-dressed Zhan Yueqing stood in magnificent robes, looking exquisite.

Zhan Jing paused, unable to help but marvel at the beauty of this “medicine human” in his heart. Subconsciously, he recalled that startling figure in blue, graceful as a swan—

Zhan Yueqing suddenly interrupted his thoughts, sighing: “Why have you come to see me?”

“Xiaoyue! Xiaoyue, I mistreated you in the past, and the fraud was my fault… but your brother didn’t participate! He really was framed; he wouldn’t poison the Emperor—” Zhan Jing wept bitterly, pleading in a wretched state, “Go beg the Court of State Ceremonies, have them investigate thoroughly… give your brother justice… in return, I will tell you the truth of your birth…”

Zhan Yueqing turned his eyes away coldly. “I don’t need it.”

In any case, what he said might not even be true.

Furthermore—why should he go beg?

He hadn’t received a single benefit.

Even if the original owner had, it was canceled out the moment he was used as a trade for Zhan De.

Seeing this, Zhan Jing understood something and gave a bitter smile. “Are you blaming me for using you to exchange for your brother? I had no choice! That was the Emperor’s decree…”

“Did he issue a decree?” Zhan Yueqing looked at him, a chill in his heart. “Zhan Jing, he only had people drop hints to you…”

“That was also the Emperor’s fault! Are you going to stand on his side?!” Zhan Jing hurriedly interrupted him. “If he kills me today, he is your father’s killer. Are you still going to submit yourself to him?”

Zhan Yueqing burst out laughing.

“So you also know it is called ‘submitting’…” he murmured.

Zhan Yueqing’s eyes were slightly red, but it was because of the original owner’s plight.

Knowing it was wrong, he still pushed Zhan Xiaoyue into it, and even now, he refused to admit his mistake.

“Setting aside how whimsical it is to ask a ‘slave’ to defy his master… Zhan Jing, I only ask you this: you claim it was the Emperor’s fault that ‘I’ was sent to the palace, but did I tell Zhan De to administer the poison?!”

Zhan Yueqing’s chest heaved, his stomach aching with anger, yet he continued: “When Zhan De had a bright future, did you think of me… no, let’s not speak of me, I am not your biological son after all. Did you think of your daughter? Did you ever raise them properly? You had no heart for nurturing them, so why should I repay you for the ‘grace of upbringing’? Based on those few scraps of leftovers? Or your cold indifference?”

The original owner’s situation made even him feel aggrieved.

The status of a master but the treatment of a servant—if this was the intention from the start, why pick Zhan Xiaoyue up in the first place?

Zhan Jing’s spirit wavered, his heart going cold for a second, but he cried even more piteously, mentioning: “Yes, your younger sister… if you won’t help your brother… at least help your sister…”

“There is no sister anymore.” Zhan Yueqing raised his gloved left hand, a smile on his face. He gently brushed away the white hair at Zhan Jing’s temples, but the words he spoke were as malicious as a ghost seeking a debt—

“With the two great crimes of the Zhan family combined, the family has been exterminated. From now on, there is no Zhan Yueqing, no Zhan Xiaosong… no one left.”

Zhan Jing’s eyes widened instantly in terror—

Zhan Yueqing added fuel to the fire indifferently, “You should go and accompany them now.”

He stood up, pushed Zhan Jing away, and walked out of the cell.

“Zhan Yueqing!!!” Zhan Jing struggled and screamed, “Do you think you can live by clinging to that tyrant! You can’t—and neither can he!!!”

Zhan Yueqing gave a sneer, his steps swift and sharp as he walked faster.

“Out so soon?”

Outside the prison, Tan Huairan sat on a chair brought by his subordinates, dressed in black and gold robes. He had his legs crossed, his expression icy, his face as pale as a ghost, and his eyes looking as if they might devour someone the next second.

His handsome face was utterly cold, and his voice was as chilling as frost and snow when he spoke.

Zhan Yueqing rarely saw him like this and was dazed for a moment. “There’s nothing more to say… it’s just, Zhan Xiaosong…”

“Whatever your status is, that is her status,” Mu Zhou spoke up.

The way he looked at Zhan Yueqing had changed; the previous dissatisfaction had faded.

It seemed this Second Young Master could distinguish right from wrong…

A good shoot from a bad bamboo.

Mu Zhou sighed in his heart.

“Then there is nothing more to say…” Zhan Yueqing lowered his head, seeming somewhat sad.

Tan Huairan raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t head to the Xinglin Academy now, you’ll be late.”

“!!!”

Zhan Yueqing hurriedly broke into a small run, but after a thought, he turned back. “Thank you, Your Majesty. However, there is no need to call me for such matters next time. You may handle it on my behalf.”

Having said that, he ran out like a gust of wind.

Tan Huairan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly let out a low laugh.

Mu Zhou had followed Tan Huairan since the Emperor’s youth, and since he ascended the throne, Mu Zhou had rarely seen him laugh so happily.

What was he laughing at?

“Your Majesty?”

Tan Huairan stopped laughing, his tone turning icy once more. “Did you not hear the Second Young Master’s words? Kill him… no, make him swallow the charcoal from the brazier. Don’t let him die too comfortably.”

Mu Zhou shuddered.

…

“My Lord? He’s dead.”

In the cell, Mu Zhou’s subordinate approached. Zhan Jing, lying on the ground, had lost all breath and was motionless.

“How dull, he died after only eight pieces of charcoal.” Mu Zhou lazily tossed aside the torture tools. “Take him away and bury him… actually, don’t bury him, it would defile the royal soil. Have someone bring ‘Thirteen’ over; it hasn’t eaten for many days.”

“This…” The subordinate hesitated. “Thirteen is too large. Bringing it over might scare many people…”

Mu Zhou grew impatient. “Then throw Zhan Jing into its cage. Do I have to be consulted on this too?”

Zhan Jing was dragged out.

The snowy wind was biting. The men dragging him were cursing and swearing, failing to notice that his finger twitched once.

Thirteen was a grey-white snow wolf that Tan Huairan had picked up when he was fifteen. After being raised for over a decade, its body was invincibly powerful and exceptionally large—looking at it, it could fill half a small room.

It sniffed the fresh flesh sent into the cage, its sharp teeth sinking into Zhan Jing’s meat, emitting a terrifying growl.

The cage guard was new and couldn’t stand such a bloody scene, so he hurriedly left.

In the open-air cage, only the snow wolf feasted happily.

Zhan Jing endured the agony, peeking stealthily to ensure everyone was far away. Then, he emitted a strange tone from his throat, sounding like a shepherd’s song or a peculiar grinding of teeth.

The snow wolf continued gnawing on him, but before long, it keenly heard the sound of wings flapping—

It was actually a swallow.

The black swallow seemed to possess a spiritual nature. Following the strange tone, it landed in front of Zhan Jing.

Zhan Jing stuffed a hidden blood-written letter into the swallow’s beak. On it, words could faintly be discerned: “Medicine human… revenge…”

Bit by bit, the snow wolf finished eating Zhan Jing, even crunching the bones to pieces.

As noon approached, a loud bang of a hand hitting a table echoed through the inner hall of the Xinglin Academy.

“That Jun Yueqing! I sent people to invite him twice and he didn’t come?! Does he really think he’s someone important?!” Shi Rendong was fuming with rage.

Ji Honghu sat nearby tidying the medicinal records, remaining silent like a little punching bag.

He knew Shi Rendong wasn’t truly furious.

Because this was already the third time Shi Rendong had struck the table, and the water in the teacup had been vibrated down to just a shallow layer at the bottom.

—Sure enough, after a short while, Shi Rendong lowered his head to look at that answer sheet filled with “ghostly scribbles,” a hint of admiration appearing in his expression. “Fine… fine, arrogant because of talent. I was like that in my youth as well, and I was indeed a bit harsh when speaking to him yesterday.”

The answer sheet did more than just name the herbs; it also wrote their corresponding uses. Aside from the ugly handwriting, it was a perfect paper.

The most important thing was the time—it took only about two sticks of incense to identify them, and he could even accurately judge the herbs’ effects, even identifying them while blindfolded.

In time, he would surely become a great talent.

If the boy came later and could answer his questions and pass his tests… that would be even better.

Shi Rendong hadn’t seen such a genius in many years. The last time was twelve years ago, and that child later became his eldest disciple.

Now that another exceptionally gifted one had appeared, he couldn’t help but feel indulgent.

“Honghu, is the snow outside heavy?” Shi Rendong asked. “Is it because the road is too slippery and his carriage got stuck?”

Ji Honghu: “Head of the Academy, it’s not snowing outside, it’s just windy.”

Shi Rendong stated firmly: “Then the wind must have blown the carriage over.”

Ji Honghu: “…” Better the carriage be stuck; at least the person would be safe.

Ji Honghu rarely recalled his own entry into the sect, but Shi Rendong had been interested for a while then too. After a period, he returned to his old ways of scolding whenever necessary.

He felt he could already foresee Jun Yueqing’s future.

Outside the courtyard, the snowy wind howled. The carriage arrived late, and Zhan Yueqing jumped down, rushing straight into the Xinglin Academy.

There were half as many people gathered in the courtyard as yesterday, scattered about.

When Zhan Yueqing rushed in, Shi Rendong was grading others’ papers and told him to wait a moment.

He had no choice but to find a place to sit. With a tone of looking for trouble, he called out the system: “997, come out.”

997 was somewhat wary: 【What do you want?】

“I still want to read the original novel. Even the abandoned draft version is fine. Otherwise, what’s the point of my ‘God’s eye view’?” Zhan Yueqing’s voice lowered, becoming serious.

997: 【You didn’t read this book in the first place, so how can you claim to have a God’s eye view?】

Zhan Yueqing: “…” So it was his fault now?

【The original work will not be given to you, but you can look more at the task bar. By completing tasks and connecting clues, perhaps you can predict what comes after.】 997 said.

Zhan Yueqing egged it on, saying, “In the novels I’ve read, the Great System is omnipotent. Why are you so useless? It’s just an original text…”

997: 【I’m not falling for that. I saw you use that tactic on Tan Mingzhi.】

Zhan Yueqing paused, thinking of last night’s events. “Hey, Great System…”

997 was annoyed: 【Call me 997!】

Zhan Yueqing immediately changed his tune: “997, when can you go offline? You were there when I was talking to Tan Mingzhi, so you were also there when I was sleeping with the tyrant yesterday? That’s not very good. I’m a conservative person. What if I go to bed with him in the future? Wouldn’t that be like you’re watching a movie?”

【Your little bit of ‘content’ isn’t even enough to fill my system’s storage. Besides, I’ve even seen movies of things that aren’t human. What does yours count for?】

997’s voice sounded significantly surprised this time: 【Besides, you? Conservative? Do you need me to extract some keywords for you? I just went to the management department and pulled up a scene: rainy night, temple, prayer tree, blindfold, tattooed man—】

Hearing this, Zhan Yueqing instantly choked, jumping up in shock. He shouted in his mind at the system: “997! Didn’t we agree not to check my past in the modern world?”

How did it pull up the business between him and Tan Huai?

The keywords the system extracted were too effective; memories of that spring night instantly flashed through Zhan Yueqing’s mind.

It was winter when he entered the Tan family, but spring when he left.

Spring returned to the earth, and all things were revived. In the second month after Old Man Tan’s death, he went to the temple to fulfill a vow, but he never expected to encounter Tan Huai there.

At dusk, the horizon was a mass of crimson and orange clouds. In early spring, the nights were somewhat cold.

“What vow did you come to fulfill?”

Under the prayer tree, Tan Huai turned slightly to ask him.

Zhan Yueqing was wearing a blue and red robe from the temple. Hearing this, he lowered his eyes, his face pale. “It’s not important… in any case, it has been achieved.”

Tan Huai’s eyes flickered. He suddenly turned to look at him and laughed.

Zhan Yueqing frowned, giving him a displeased glare. The next moment, he froze.

Tan Huai pulled out a red prayer ribbon—

“Tell me, did my adoptive father know while he was alive that every time you seemingly prayed for him, what you were actually asking for every time was…”

“Give it back!” Zhan Yueqing interrupted him angrily, reaching out to snatch the prayer ribbon.

Tan Huai was a fair bit taller than him. He held the ribbon high, leaving Zhan Yueqing with no way to reach it.

Zhan Yueqing’s ears turned red with anger. He turned to leave but was pulled back into an embrace filled with the scent of wood—

“…Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Tan Huai asked in a low voice, his tone actually carrying a hint of vulnerability.

Zhan Yueqing was stunned. Before he could speak, he was pressed against the tree—

He saw the courtyard full of red prayer ribbons, and clusters of locust flowers hanging from the prayer tree.