Strongly Spoiled by the Villainous Tyrant After Climbing into the Dragon’s Bed - Chapter 8

“Third Brother, where do you think I went yesterday?”

His voice was exceptionally cold and clear, like an immortal from beyond the mortal realm.

Yet, falling into Zhan De’s ears, it sounded like the murmur of a demon.

Zhan Yueqing’s long hair was half-tied, held by a small golden hairpin. He wore a moon-white inner robe with golden bamboo and auspicious cloud patterns, draped with a dark cyan cloak. He looked like a noble young master, lacking even a hint of the shrinking cowardice and fear he usually showed toward everything.

Zhan De frowned, keenly sensing that something was wrong.

He wasn’t like this before; why did he seem like a different person now?

And these clothes… how could he have clothes made of such silk?

He had only seen the wives of certain first-rank officials wear such fabrics during night banquets at the palace.

Lady Xu also hurriedly came forward to smooth things over, “Second Son, what kind of talk is this?”

“What kind of talk is it? Do you not know clearly?” Zhan Yueqing’s icy gaze swept over them.

Zhan De’s eyes flickered. Suddenly, he lunged forward, frantically tearing at the sleeve of Zhan Yueqing’s arm—

The scratch was still there.

Zhan De froze abruptly.

“Impossible, you can’t be him…” he continued to mutter, then reached out again, wanting to tear at Zhan Yueqing’s face to see if he was wearing a human-skin mask.

However, how could Zhan Yueqing let him touch him?

He raised his hand and gave a forceful push, a fake smile appearing on his face, “Little brother, what are you doing?”

Zhan De staggered back a step, but he gritted his teeth, “You aren’t Zhan Yueqing! Zhan Yueqing couldn’t possibly still be alive!”

Zhan Yueqing’s expression turned stern.

How was he so certain?

Was the death of the original host related to this younger brother?

“Oh? Then who do you think I am?” Zhan Yueqing’s brow arched slightly as he let out a soft laugh, stepping toward Zhan De one pace at a time—

“A ghost?”

Boom!

A sudden clap of thunder erupted outside the window. Without anyone noticing, evening had fallen and the sky had darkened.

A gust of icy wind blew through the broken window, extinguishing all the charcoal basins in the room.

Zhan Yueqing’s hem fluttered in the wind. His pale face wore an expression Zhan De had never seen before.

Like a man-eating flower about to bloom, or like… the moon slowly rising into the night sky, radiating a strange brilliance that made Zhan De’s heart go numb.

The dark green cloak, the peerless expression, and the white flower petals blowing wildly through the Flower Pavilion made Zhan Yueqing look like a glamorous ghost.

Behind the glamorous ghost was the moon slowly climbing the night curtain outside the window.

Thunder rolled outside, and the hanging curtains in the pavilion billowed in the wind. The scene was far too eerie. Whether from fear or the cold, Lady Xu and Zhan Yan couldn’t help but shudder, huddling together.

They knew very well—Zhan Yueqing could not be alive.

…Before he was sent into the small sedan chair, Zhan Yueqing had only a single breath of life left.

The Emperor had always been tyrannical, frequently beating people to death on a whim. How could he possibly condescend to save a lowly slave?

“Sec… Second Brother,” Zhan Yan spoke up—

Zhan Yueqing suddenly turned his eyes to sweep a glance at her. His gaze carried a startling chill and… murderous intent?

Zhan Yan’s lips twitched; for a moment, she actually didn’t dare to speak.

“Speak, brother.” Zhan Yueqing glanced indifferently at Zhan De, his tone airy and light: “What do you think I am?”

Zhan De swallowed hard, his body trembling slightly with fear. He saw the sliver of moonlight behind Zhan Yueqing—

“No…” Zhan De began to mutter, then suddenly ran outside like a madman—

But the door would not open.

Outside, Zhou Jiu stood there with arms crossed, guarding the door.

Inside the room, Zhan Yueqing narrowed his eyes. Seeing Zhan De in this state, he seemed to think of something and laughed softly once more.

He extended his left hand—this hand wore a black glove to conceal the poison veins.

“Little brother.”

The voice behind him seemed to drift in from the horizon. These words were like some demon-trapping incantation; Zhan De’s face instantly twisted in agony, and he trembled violently, not daring to move.

“Son… Son?” Lady Xu looked at Zhan De with uncertainty and alarm. “What… what’s wrong with you?”

Zhan Yan’s eyes were also full of shock.

Zhan De was being too strange. His face had turned pale in an instant, and he looked as if he wanted to eat something, reaching up to cover his lips.

Zhan Yueqing laughed again, issuing a command: “Come here!”

Zhan De’s expression collapsed to the extreme, his features turning hideously ugly. He stumbled toward Zhan Yueqing, reaching out to grab him—

But Zhan Yueqing leaned to the side to dodge, stepping his foot onto that face, asking in feigned surprise—

“Zhan De, why do you have no strength left?”

“Zhan Yueqing! What did you do to my son?!” Driven perhaps by maternal instinct, Lady Xu actually dared to pounce over. She reached out her pale hands to grab Zhan Yueqing, “What exactly—”

Zhan Yueqing shifted his body and dodged.

Her grab caught only air.

Another crack of thunder sounded outside. Lady Xu and Zhan Yan had both done many shameful things, and they shivered again.

“…You, are you human?” Lady Xu murmured, “Is everything today a dream?”

“Give it to me!!!” Zhan De suddenly roared, “Your blood!”

Zhan Yueqing let out a cold sneer.

He hadn’t guessed wrong—Zhan De had indeed drunk the original host’s blood.

He just didn’t know under what circumstances it had been drunk.

“System? Why did Zhan De drink the poisonous blood?” Zhan Yueqing took a moment to ask 997.

997’s response was a flickering series of images—

In a dark woodshed, the young Zhan Yueqing at that time looked to be only about ten years old. He was holding his younger sister in his arms, his dirty face covered in tears.

The sister looked very small, her pupils unfocused, her speech incoherent, “Mother… Brother… I’m so hungry… Am I going to die?”

Just after Peihuan died, the siblings had been driven here.

Hearing this, little Zhan Yueqing cried even harder. He felt he was too small, too powerless, “No… it won’t happen…”

“Brother, it will… we will die too, just like Mother did a few days ago… Brother, if I die, take them all with you, just like that dog that bit your leg last time.”

Little Zhan Yueqing froze.

That dog had bitten his leg, and as soon as the blood seeped out, it had died instantly.

“…Alright, when the time comes, I will kill them all…”

—Zhan Yueqing was shocked.

His blood was already poisonous at age twelve?

He wasn’t a “medicine man” raised by Prince An?

“Zhan De, what are you talking about? What blood?” Zhan Yan looked at her biological brother, who seemed like a completely different person. “Ah De? You…”

Zhan Yueqing snapped back to reality, wiping away the emotions of grief and indignation as he realized the current situation.

On the floor, Zhan De had already crawled painfully to Zhan Yueqing’s feet.

He reached out, grabbing Zhan Yueqing’s ankle, roaring, “Zhan Yueqing… give it to me!!!”

Zhan Yueqing thought of the two pitiful little children in the memory just now. Gritting his teeth, he raised his foot and stepped directly onto Zhan De’s fingers—

“Give it to you? Give you what? What did you people ever give me and my sister?”

The grief and indignation that had just dissipated surged back instantly with that interrogation. Looking at that loathsome face, many tragic events flashed before Zhan Yueqing’s eyes—

He saw a world of ice and snow, where little Zhan Yueqing was pushed into a frozen pond while the richly dressed little Zhan De held a rope, dangling it above him.

“Please,” little Zhan Yueqing’s voice trembled with cold, “pull… pull me up…”

He saw two children huddled together, wrapped in their mother’s old clothes for warmth.

He saw Zhan De showing off his new, expensive clothes to little Zhan Yueqing, while little Zhan Yueqing stubbornly said nothing, only to return home and silently stroke a certain spot on his own old clothes.

There, Peihuan had sewn the stitches over and over again; every thread was a mother’s love.

And little Zhan Yueqing murmured as if brainwashing himself: “It’s okay, it’s okay… I have a mother, I am very happy.”

Thinking about it, this fictional happiness actually made him smile.

The scene shifted again—

“I’m going to the Imperial Academy in a few days…” Little Zhan De narrowed his eyes, looking at little Zhan Yueqing who was half a head shorter than him. “Do you want to go?”

According to the laws of the Ning Dynasty, any children of officials who could pass the assessment could enter the Imperial Academy, regardless of age.

The younger the age, the more likely they were to be considered child prodigies and widely praised.

Little Zhan De was only eleven.

“I…” Just as little Zhan Yueqing was about to speak, little Zhan De suddenly interrupted him, throwing a nearby inkstick at him.

“What is that look on your face? You really think you can go?”

Little Zhan Yueqing lowered his eyes and remained silent.

“Having Doctor Wang save your sister was an act of great mercy on my part. Now how are you pushing your luck? Thinking you can go study at the Imperial Academy?” Little Zhan De sneered, “Don’t even think about it. With one word from my mother, I can have you kicked out of the manor.”

“No, Father wouldn’t do that,” little Zhan Yueqing suddenly looked up. “I am also a young master of the Zhan Manor.”

Little Zhan De burst out laughing, his expression full of mockery: “You still think you’re a Zhan family young master? Do you still not understand why I treat you so harshly? It’s all permitted by Father—you really think he knows nothing? Besides, you aren’t even his biological son.”

Little Zhan Yueqing froze, his eyes turning red. “No… Father… Father taught me how to write before…”

Little Zhan De laughed again, “Superficial work; it has to be done. Did you know? Men are actually very good at pretending.”

Little Zhan Yueqing’s eyes were full of confusion.

“Brother.” Little Zhan De looked at him and suddenly murmured, “This appearance of yours…”

He lunged forward as if to hit him. Little Zhan Yueqing sensed it keenly and dodged backward.

Little Zhan De was much taller than him. He clamped a hand around his neck and suddenly brought his face close—

“Aaah!! Get away!” Little Zhan Yueqing struggled, using all his strength to throw a punch—

Little Zhan De probably hadn’t expected him to resist so violently. Sneering like a mad dog, he bit down on the fist.

Purple-red blood stained his lips.

Little Zhan De suddenly fainted.

“Brother? Brother??” Little Zhan Yueqing realized something and quickly ran out, grabbing a maidservant. “Quick, go get Doctor Wang! The Third Young Master is dying!”

The maidservant ran off without delay.

Strangely enough, in just a short moment, Doctor Wang—who was supposed to live in the south of the city—arrived.

Following behind him was Lady Xu, looking frantic.

As soon as Lady Xu arrived, she first slapped little Zhan Yueqing. “What did you do to my son?! Why would he faint?!”

Little Zhan Yueqing’s vision went black from the blow.

Zhan Yueqing’s vision also went black for a moment. When he returned to his senses, his eyes suddenly turned red.

Human nature is inherently evil, even when Zhan De was young.

Zhan Yueqing gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and delivered a slap to Zhan De’s loathsome face.

This slap used up almost all his strength; the corner of Zhan De’s mouth bled from the impact.

“Bro… Brother… give it to me, I beg you…” he pleaded humbly, “I was wrong, Brother…”

A tear fell from the corner of Zhan Yueqing’s eye—he didn’t want to cry, yet for some reason, he did.

“Too late.”

He delivered another slap to the right side of Zhan De’s face.

Yet Zhan De suddenly froze, looking at Zhan Yueqing with obsession.

Zhan Yueqing was disgusted to death. He raised his foot and kicked the face aside—

Zhan De fell completely unconscious from the pain.

This series of movements was extremely fast, leaving Lady Xu and Zhan Yan stunned.

“Zhan Yueqing!! I’ll kill you! What have you done to my son!!” Lady Xu began to shriek.

“Father… where is Father…” Zhan Yan finally realized something. “What time is it? Why hasn’t Father returned from court yet?”

He went so early; no matter what the business was, he should have been back by noon.

But now, it was already evening!