The Sickly Beauty Official Faked His Death and Now the Tyrant Has Gone Mad - Chapter 2

Heavenly light poured in through the window, spilling across the couch and casting a soft glow over the figure lying there.

Lin Huaiyu’s hand, resting outside the quilt, happened to cradle a sliver of light in his palm. However, he lacked the strength to grasp it; his hand simply hung limply at the edge of the bed. The circular red marks around his wrist were strikingly vivid, a silent testament to just how intense the previous night had been.

Having missed the morning court session, he had fallen back into a fitful sleep. Outside, the weather was frigid, yet the indoor floor heating burned intensely.

Before long, Lin Huaiyu woke again to the sound of voices at the door.

“Have you seen him? How is he?” Su Yang’s voice carried a hint of lightness, suggesting a pleasant mood.

Zhou Li hesitated for a moment before ultimately conceding, “Master Lin is fine, though his constitution is somewhat weak. I shall prescribe some restorative tonics for him to drink.”

Su Yang nodded dismissively and sent Zhou Li back to the Imperial Academy of Medicine before pushing the door open himself.

The light followed Su Yang in from the threshold, only to be completely blocked by his silhouette. Lin Huaiyu could neither see the sky outside nor make out Su Yang’s expression.

As the door gently clicked shut, the light was once again barred from the room.

“Is Teacher awake?” Su Yang removed his beaded imperial crown and approached the bed, his voice thick with lingering exhaustion and satisfaction.

Lin Huaiyu had been simmering with suppressed rage all morning. Having regained a bit of strength, he found that every part of him—especially a certain unmentionable place—ached and throbbed.

“Do you still recognize me as your teacher?” Lin Huaiyu propped himself up. The slight movement tugged at the injuries across his body, and he could not help but cough twice in his agitation.

Su Yang remained unbothered. He sat by the bedside and looked at Lin Huaiyu with an appreciative gaze. “Naturally, I know. I have always known.”

Lin Huaiyu was provoked into a cold laugh by Su Yang’s sheer audacity. He asked with a frozen expression, “Since you know, then why did you do such a thing? Even if you were drugged last night, I refuse to believe you lost all reason!”

Su Yang caught sight of Lin Huaiyu’s scarred wrist exposed to the air. He reached out, seized it, and rubbed it delicately. “I was perfectly lucid, of course. I simply wanted Teacher. This being the case, do you still intend to ask me for that imperial decree of marriage?”

Lin Huaiyu tried to pull his hand back, but his body was limp and his strength unrecovered. He was no match for Su Yang and could only watch helplessly as the Emperor rubbed his wrist, leaving even deeper marks over the existing red bruising.

Memories of the previous night flooded back: Su Yang pinning his hands down, his desperate struggles only resulting in his wrists being chafed raw and bleeding, and his attempts to flee from beneath Su Yang only to have his wrists seized and his fingers forcibly interlaced in a dominating grip.

Lin Huaiyu closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently. He said coldly, “Naturally, I still request it. Your Majesty acts with reckless abandon, disregarding all ethics and social constants. As the Imperial Preceptor, I cannot sink into ruin alongside you. My only choice is to marry and sever Your Majesty’s obsession.”

Su Yang’s grip on Lin Huaiyu’s hand tightened instantly. His face darkened, and his previous good mood vanished. “Everything under heaven belongs to me, and you belong to me as well. I shall do as I please. Lin Huaiyu, look at yourself. If the young lady of the Tan family saw you like this, would she still like you? I suspect she would flee in terror!”

As he spoke, Su Yang ripped away the quilt. Lin Huaiyu’s body was instantly exposed to the air. Having been carried back by Su Yang the night before without a stitch of clothing, he remained naked beneath the covers. His entire body was a roadmap of marks—bruises, bite marks, and hickeys—leaving almost no patch of skin untouched.

Startled by the sudden exposure, Lin Huaiyu scrambled to pull the quilt back to hide his shame, but Su Yang held his hand fast, refusing to let him cover up. Su Yang’s gaze swept over him inch by inch, like a physical touch, admiring his handiwork as if viewing a trophy of war.

Su Yang leaned into Lin Huaiyu’s ear and sneered, “In this state, do you truly think you can still take a wife? When you were begging me to go slower last night, did you stop to wonder if you could still perform for a woman?”

“You! Cough, cough…” Lin Huaiyu’s ears burned with shame. He was so humiliated he broke into a coughing fit, the corners of his eyes turning watery.

Pure nonsense!

However, Su Yang’s free hand pressed against Lin Huaiyu’s neck, stroking along the marks. “When Teacher was begging me to go faster last night, did you consider how you would ever share a bed with a woman again?”

Lies! Utter lies! He never begged for such things!

Su Yang felt a slight tremor run through Lin Huaiyu as his hand moved downward. It was as if he had discovered a delightful new toy. He chuckled, “Or perhaps, while I was bestowing my imperial favor upon you, Teacher was still thinking about how to get married and have children?”

His hand held captive, Lin Huaiyu desperately wanted to kick Su Yang. Yet, he realized with frustration that he lacked even the strength to lift a leg; his calves felt as heavy as lead.

With ears still burning, Lin Huaiyu cut Su Yang off. “Marrying, having children, and establishing a life; if I can one day find someone to share my heart with, I shall have no regrets. And if Your Majesty marries and appoints an Empress in the future, I shall be happy for you as well.”

“Happy?” Su Yang echoed the word darkly before Lin Huaiyu could even finish, as if chewing the word to pieces. “What? Was Chancellor Lin not happy enough last night?”

Lin Huaiyu frowned, his eyes filled with revulsion. “Your Majesty, let go!”

That look of disgust seemed to sting Su Yang. Instead of letting go, he yanked Lin Huaiyu up and pinned him against the desk. “Do not look at me with those eyes!”

The cold surface of the desk pressed against Lin Huaiyu’s spine. He winced, biting back a cry that almost escaped his lips. As Su Yang forced his legs up, Lin Huaiyu finally managed to strike Su Yang across the face.

“Do you even know what you are doing? You were drugged last night; has the effect still not worn off today?”

Su Yang’s head snapped to the side from the blow. He did not look angry; instead, he let out a short laugh. No one in the world dared to strike him anymore. Only Lin Huaiyu.

Only Lin Huaiyu.

He said viciously, “I am perfectly sober. I did not just want to do this last night; I have wanted to do this for a long time, to leave these marks all over Teacher. Look at how beautiful they are! My only regret is not doing this sooner.”

Seeing the madness in Su Yang’s eyes, a sense of dread rose in Lin Huaiyu’s heart. “Su Yang, have you lost your mind? I am your teacher, and I am a man.”

Su Yang interrupted him. “What of it? So what if you are a man? So what if you are my teacher? You were the one who told me that if there is something I want, I must use any means necessary to seize it. Is that not what you taught me, Teacher?”

That final “Teacher” was spoken with a tender affection that made Lin Huaiyu shudder. He gritted his teeth. “I taught you to fight for the position of Crown Prince, for the throne, for power, and for the empire. Not for me.”

Su Yang hauled Lin Huaiyu up from the desk and dragged him toward a mirror. The large bronze mirror, usually meant for adjusting one’s formal attire, now reflected two figures. Su Yang was fully dressed in his intricate, layered imperial robes, looking every bit the dignified sovereign. In contrast, Lin Huaiyu was stark naked, his pale skin covered from head to toe in the marks Su Yang had left. Not a single inch of his original appearance remained untainted; even his lips were swollen.

Unable to bear the sight, Lin Huaiyu turned his head away. Su Yang refused to let him hide, gripping his jaw and forcing him to face the mirror. “Look, Teacher. You are so beautiful and so enticing. Those ministers can’t even walk straight when they see you. Even with your notorious reputation, they still want to marry their daughters to you. Tell me, are you not a temptress?”

Lin Huaiyu looked at Su Yang in disbelief. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

Su Yang looked at the reflection of Lin Huaiyu, trembling so hard he could barely stand, and smiled. “Am I wrong? Is Teacher not seducing them, just as you seduced me?”

Lin Huaiyu was so incensed he was speechless. He felt Su Yang had become a stranger, someone he had apparently failed to truly understand despite twelve years of closeness.

Was he wrong? Had he taught him the wrong things?

The room fell silent for a moment until a knock came from the door. “Your Majesty, Chancellor Lin’s medicine is ready. The Imperial Academy has sent it over.”

Lin Huaiyu seized the opportunity to grab a cloth from the desk and hurl it toward the door. “Get out!”

His eyes, however, were fixed on Su Yang. That command was clearly intended for the person inside the room.

The noise outside ceased instantly. Su Yang looked at the fuming Lin Huaiyu and joked, “Teacher still has the energy to throw a temper tantrum. It seems I did not work hard enough last night.”

Lin Huaiyu grabbed a cup and threw it, this time hitting Su Yang directly. “Su Yang, get out of here!”

Su Yang caught the quilt that had fallen after the cup hit him, placed it on the table, and took a cloak from a nearby rack. He draped it over Lin Huaiyu, hiding the marks and the shame. Leaning into his ear, he whispered, “Lin Huaiyu, you are mine. As for marriage, do not even think about it.”

With that, Su Yang left Lin Huaiyu alone. The door opened and closed, and the black and gold figure vanished from sight.

Lin Huaiyu’s vision began to darken, and a constant ringing filled his ears. He leaned one hand on the table to steady himself, watching Su Yang leave with a deep sense of helplessness and confusion.

Why did it come to this? How did it turn out like this?

In those twelve years, he had taught Su Yang many things: literacy, court etiquette, conspiracies, power plays, and military strategy. He had taught him every tactic, both honorable and dishonorable. But there was one thing he had failed to teach Su Yang properly.

And that was love.

He had forgotten to teach Su Yang how to like someone and how to love someone. As a result, Su Yang could not distinguish his feelings, nor did he know how to truly treat the person he desired.

It was his fault. He had failed to raise Su Yang well.

Weariness took over. The world spun before Lin Huaiyu’s eyes, his hand lost its grip, and his body finally gave out. He collapsed.

The room was warm from the floor heating, but Lin Huaiyu was frail. With nothing but a cloak covering him, he curled up on the floor. Outside, the heavy snowfall seemed ready to crash through the roof and cover him in a blanket of white.

Lin Huaiyu thought to himself: Let this all be a dream. I will leave the palace, get far away from Su Yang, and then everything will be fine.