The Cannon Fodder Awakens, Training the Cold and Proud Protagonist into a Submissive Dog - Chapter 11

Shen Chaoqing sat upon the dragon throne, massaging his temples as his brows furrowed tightly. He had draped an outer robe over his shoulders, yet his dark hair cascaded loosely across his shoulders. His skin was glowing white, making the black look even blacker and the white even whiter, much like an enchanting demon beneath the moonlight.

The young Emperor usually wrapped himself up tightly, layer upon layer, so this was the first time Xiao Huaiyan had ever seen him in such a state. His slender neck was exposed in its entirety, and his inner robe outlined a fragile, slender waist.

“Your Majesty, save me!” Wuhuo broke free from the eunuch’s restraint and collapsed to his knees, wailing, “This Liao slave stole the moon-dew condensing light cup bestowed by the Empress, and when this old servant caught him red-handed, he actually dared to commit violence…”

Shen Chaoqing finally raised his gaze, sweeping past Xiao Huaiyan’s blood-stained trouser cuffs and coming to a halt on Wuhuo, who was being dragged by him. The old eunuch’s official hat was crooked, his tears and snot smeared across a face full of cosmetics, and the hem of his official robe was soaked with urine.

“Where is the stolen property?” Shen Chaoqing interrupted him.

Wuhuo hastily searched his sleeves, but abruptly froze. His sleeve pouches were completely empty.

“Here.” Xiao Huaiyan unfolded his palm.

Half a glazed cup rested within his blood-stained palm. The intertwined lotus pattern along the rim of the cup was stained with blood, and the chipped edge was jagged like a dog’s teeth. What was even more striking was that a few specks of brownish-yellow medicinal ointment adhered to the bottom of the cup.

It was precisely the jade facial cream that Wuhuo applied to his face every day. The color was vibrant, obviously having been smeared on only recently. If Xiao Huaiyan had truly taken it, no matter what, it would have been some time ago; it could not possibly possess such a fresh color.

“You framed him?!” Fu An exclaimed in involuntary shock.

“No! He swapped it…” Wuhuo lunged forward with his eyes splitting from rage, only to be kicked squarely in the chest by Xiao Huaiyan back onto the floor.

Shen Chaoqing stared at Xiao Huaiyan, narrowing his eyes.

Since Wuhuo intended to make a move against Xiao Huaiyan, he would not have made such a foolish mistake. It must have been Xiao Huaiyan who tampered with it; with his formidable martial arts, taking things effortlessly from someone’s pocket was no difficult task.

Yet Shen Chaoqing had not expected that Xiao Huaiyan would actually drag Wuhuo right before him to seek judgment.

This was Xiao Huaiyan’s allegiance token to him, allowing him to strike the Empress across the face in a justified and legitimate manner.

Disregarding Wuhuo’s cries, Shen Chaoqing stated, “Framing others, disturbing my tranquility—beat him to death with a staff, and then send him to the Empress.”

Wuhuo was struck as if by a bolt of lightning, his entire body trembling like chaff in the wind. “Your Majesty, make a thorough investigation! Your Majesty, spare my life!”

“Hurry up and get lost!” Fu An led a group of young eunuchs forward to grab Wuhuo’s hind legs, dragging him backward.

“As for you…” Shen Chaoqing glanced at Xiao Huaiyan. “Twenty whip strokes as punishment.”

Xiao Huaiyan spoke, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The moment he came to the Zichen Hall, he had never expected to leave unscathed.

Shen Chaoqing smiled, his brows and eyes curving as he continued, “You are quite obedient. Since Wuhuo’s room is empty, you may move in and live there.”

Before long, the news that the Empress had fallen severely ill spread throughout the inner courts.

It was said that upon hearing the news that Wuhuo had been beaten to death with a staff and his corpse returned to the Changle Palace, the Empress was seized with such shock and rage that she immediately “fainted.” The imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Service busied themselves for an entire night, and now the gates of the Changle Palace remained tightly shut, with word only going out that she was suffering from brooding and terror and required quiet recuperation.

When the news reached Shen Chaoqing’s ears, he was leisurely playing a game of go with Xiao Huaiyan.

In the later stages of the story, this person was a renowned scholar far and near capable of wielding a pen to pacify the realm and mounting a horse to settle the universe. Simple chess skills were naturally a breeze for him.

He happened to be growing bored of playing against himself, with his white pieces completely blocked from any path forward, so he simply brought Xiao Huaiyan over.

Shen Chaoqing played the black pieces, while Xiao Huaiyan played the white pieces.

Xiao Huaiyan picked up a white piece; the situation on the board was already like a cornered beast.

The black army’s main force occupied the center, while the white pieces were forced into the edges and corners.

“The people of Liao are skilled in riding and archery,” Shen Chaoqing played another piece, cutting off the white pieces’ last remaining living eye, “so this slaughter within a square inch must be quite difficult for you.”

The knuckles of Xiao Huaiyan’s fingers holding the go stone turned slightly pale.

The chessboard was like a battlefield, with black clouds pressing down on the city and the white banner making its dying gasps. His gaze swept across a spot on the edge. Three lonely white pieces were trapped deep within the black formation, resembling abandoned pieces.

According to conventional logic, they should be abandoned.

His fingertips hovered, and in the end, he did not save the isolated pieces. Instead, he slammed a white piece down with a sharp “clack” onto an inconspicuous star point in the southeast.

Shen Chaoqing’s eyebrows lifted slightly, as though surprised by this self-destructive blunder. Without the slightest hesitation, he played a piece to encircle and slaughter those three white pieces. The black dragon raised its head, and victory seemed absolute.

Yet Xiao Huaiyan did not show any signs of defeat. His breathing steady and slow, white pieces fell one after another, unexpectedly weaving quietly into a thin line along the very edge of the chessboard.

Like a solitary wolf roaming the snowy plains, taking a circuitous path, he took advantage of Shen Chaoqing’s undivided focus on slaughtering the dragon to secretly build a long fortress along the corner.

“Your Majesty,” Xiao Huaiyan suddenly spoke, his fingertips pointing toward a white piece in the center of the board that was heavily besieged by black pieces, “if you had been willing to abandon this ‘bait’ and thrust straight at my ‘vital spot,’ I would have lost the entire game long ago.”

Shen Chaoqing’s hand holding the go piece abruptly froze mid-air.

He narrowed his eyes to look closer. That isolated southeast piece had actually been the “eye” Xiao Huaiyan had buried all along. Now, utilizing the momentum of the border fortress to feed back into the center, it was like a poison-dipped dagger pressing right against the throat of the black dragon.

“What a brilliant move of ‘crossing the pass on a snowy night.'”

The black piece between Shen Chaoqing’s fingertips came down fiercely, attempting a forced slaughter of the white dragon.

Yet Xiao Huaiyan was even faster. The white piece fell like a shooting star, precisely piercing the heart of the black formation. In an instant, the entire black dragon entrenched in the center had its head and tail severed, all vitality thoroughly extinguished.

The entire layout of the board was instantly reversed.

Shen Chaoqing stared fixedly at the chessboard. Across the nineteen intersecting lines, the black pieces were like scattered iron cavalry, while the white fortress stood lofty and imposing.

He counted the territory point by point, and ultimately discovered to his dismay that the white pieces had won by precisely half a point no more, no less.

“You calculated this early on?” Deep within Shen Chaoqing’s eyes, a gloomy flame ignited. “Calculated that I would overlook this nail of yours?”

“Your Majesty did not miscalculate.” Xiao Huaiyan’s gaze was like a fire-tempered blade, piercing straight into Shen Chaoqing. “You were waiting.”

“Waiting?”

“Waiting for me to bare my fangs, waiting for me to think I had succeeded…” Xiao Huaiyan said each word with heavy emphasis, like a weighty hammer striking Shen Chaoqing’s heart, “Waiting for a justified… opportunity to crush me.”

Shen Chaoqing laughed softly, suddenly flipping the chessboard over.

“Crash!”

The black and white jade pieces scattered across the golden bricks like a hailstorm, bouncing and rolling everywhere, leaving the entire room in a mess.

Shen Chaoqing grabbed the other’s jaw, forcing him to raise his head. “Since you saw through my game, why did you still win?”

Their eyes met.

Xiao Huaiyan replied, “Because I wanted to know whether what Your Majesty desires is a dog that obeys submissively, or a wolf that dares to bite through its master’s throat?”

Shen Chaoqing reined in his smile and released his grip on the other’s chin. Those pretty eyes narrowed slightly, carrying the inquisitive interest of someone observing prey, as he swept a slow gaze across his battered figure.

“Interesting.”

Fu An chimed in at the opportune moment, “Your Majesty, would you like to check on the Empress?”

“Oh? Mother is actually ill?” Shen Chaoqing feigned surprise. “Ill so suddenly? As a son, how can I not go and attend to her with medicine?”

That farce a few days ago—beating Wuhuo to death with a staff and returning his corpse—was no different from fiercely slapping the Empress across the face in public.

The Empress’s “illness” was out of anger, out of rage, and even more so a probe directed at him.

“Your Majesty’s filial piety is truly admirable,” Fu An said respectfully. “Shall this servant go and arrange the imperial carriage right away?”

“No need to make a grand display.” Shen Chaoqing shifted his gaze, landing it upon Xiao Huaiyan. “Bring Xiao Huaiyan along. Since he is my person now, naturally he must go and pay his respects to Mother.”

Hearing this, Xiao Huaiyan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Fu An’s eyelids twitched, but he did not dare to say more. “Understood.”

The Changle Palace was indeed shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere of “illness.” The guards at the palace gates were several times stricter than usual, and the air was filled with a thick, bitter medicinal scent. Every single palace attendant held their breath, keeping their footsteps extremely light, as though disturbing the noble person inside by even the slightest fraction would be a capital crime.

Shen Chaoqing walked with a calm and composed gait, while Xiao Huaiyan followed half a step behind in silence. His spine remained straight as ever, and he walked as usual, showing not the slightest hint of the whip wounds upon his back.

After the eunuch announced their arrival, Shen Chaoqing led Xiao Huaiyan into the Empress’s bedchamber.