The Sickly Beauty Official Faked His Death and Now the Tyrant Has Gone Mad - Chapter 35

The bright moon hung high in the sky. After the rain, the night seemed washed clean, making the stars shine even more brilliantly. The gentle moonlight bathed the earth in its soft glow.

The courtyard was brightly lit with candles. Fang Zhixu, Jing Fei, and Ji Wuyou were already heavily intoxicated. The wine from Great Chu was truly potent. Seeing that Fang Zhixu couldn’t hold his liquor, Ji Wuyou insisted on “training his tolerance” and dragged him into drinking several cups. Then, noticing that Jing Fei’s tolerance wasn’t much better either, he pulled Jing Fei into the mix as well. In the end, he ended up drunk himself.

Lin Huaiyu looked at the table strewn with collapsed figures and instructed Lin Fei, “Take them back.”

Lin Fei thought for a moment and pointed at Ji Wuyou. “What about this one?”

Lin Huaiyu glanced at him. “Do you really think he has nowhere to go? Send him to wherever he’s staying.”

Lin Fei chuckled awkwardly. “Yes.”

Carrying two in his hands and one on his shoulder, he left the courtyard and sent the three of them back to their respective places.

The courtyard suddenly grew much quieter, with only the soft crackling of the candle flames breaking the silence.

Lin Huaiyu propped himself up and slowly walked toward the courtyard.

Su Yang, seeing this, wanted to move but had only taken a step when he realized his clothes were still wet. With every step, water dripped from him, and if he approached, the dampness would surely cling to Lin Huaiyu.

He hesitated for a moment, but Lin Huaiyu had already walked into the courtyard, passing by him without even sparing him a glance.

Yet Su Yang caught a glimpse of the flush on Lin Huaiyu’s face.

Lin Huaiyu, too, was not immune to the effects of alcohol. Although he was ill and no one dared to force him to drink or even offer him wine, Lin Huaiyu had been curious about the fine wine of Great Chu and had taken just a sip.

But the wine of Great Chu was too strong. Even a single sip was enough to make someone with poor tolerance feel intoxicated.

Su Yang turned and left the courtyard.

Lin Huaiyu lay on the reclining chair, the moonlight spilling over him like a soft, gauzy blanket. His dark, long hair shimmered with a silvery glow under the moonlight, as if an immortal had descended to the mortal world.

He lay there for a while, on the verge of falling asleep, when he heard movement in the courtyard. Thinking it was Lin Fei returning, Lin Huaiyu asked, “Did you send them all back?”

The newcomer didn’t speak but walked over to Lin Huaiyu’s side. Lin Huaiyu immediately opened his eyes and met Su Yang’s gaze.

Su Yang had changed into clean robes and was holding a bowl of soup. He knelt down again, level with Lin Huaiyu, and offered the soup to him. “I made you some sobering soup. Have a little.”

Lin Huaiyu glanced briefly at the soup in Su Yang’s hands before looking away, turning his head to the other side, clearly unwilling to drink it.

Seeing Lin Huaiyu’s adorable reluctance, reminiscent of his refusal to take medicine, Su Yang’s lips curved slightly as he coaxed, “Have a little. You’re not used to drinking, and the wine of Great Chu is extremely strong. Even a sip can make someone drunk. If you don’t drink the sobering soup, you might have a headache tomorrow.”

Lin Huaiyu’s voice was cold. “It’s none of your concern.”

A flicker of disappointment passed through Su Yang’s eyes, but he continued to coax gently, “I know you’re angry with me. Hate me if you must I’ll take whatever punishment or death you give me. But don’t take it out on yourself.”

Lin Huaiyu let out a scoff, turning his gaze back to Su Yang. His eyes held only a cold light, like that of a frosty moon. “I won’t make things difficult for myself because of you, Su Yang. Whatever your purpose is for coming here, return to the capital. I don’t want to kill you, nor do I want to fight you. I only wish that from now on, I have nothing to do with anything from the capital including you.”

Su Yang’s grip on the hangover soup tightened abruptly, his fingertips turning nearly white. He stared at Lin Huaiyu for a long moment before saying, “I don’t want to leave, Teacher. Wherever you are, I’ll be there. If you’re afraid I’ll do something to you again, rest assured I will never hurt you again or do anything you don’t want.”

Lin Huaiyu chuckled softly, the sound dripping with mockery.

Su Yang knew Lin Huaiyu didn’t believe him.

No matter how much he tried to explain now, it was useless. He could only look at the hangover soup in his hands, take a sip himself, swallow it, and then bring it to Lin Huaiyu’s lips. “I drank it. It’s not poisoned. Teacher, have a little.”

Lin Huaiyu could indeed feel the effects of the alcohol, his head slightly dizzy. He looked at the hangover soup Su Yang offered and finally took two sips.

The ginger-infused hangover soup had a hint of sweetness and wasn’t unpleasant, but Lin Huaiyu still set it down after a few sips.

Seeing this, Su Yang continued patiently coaxing him. “Have a little more. Just a few sips won’t do much. You’ll still have a headache when you wake up tomorrow.”

Lin Huaiyu glanced at him but said nothing.

Su Yang brought the spoon to Lin Huaiyu’s lips, his voice gentle. “Let me feed you. Have a little, ah ”

Seeing Su Yang coax him like a child, Lin Huaiyu couldn’t help but find it amusing, though he deliberately remarked, “So His Majesty has a patient side too.”

Su Yang froze in place, his movements stiffening. He could only offer a pale, feeble explanation. “I’m sorry. Back then, I was just too obsessed with you. I wanted to keep you, to possess you, but I had no other way to make you stay by my side. I know it was all my fault.”

Lin Huaiyu chuckled again and asked, “Are you blaming me?”

Su Yang looked up, confused. “Blaming you?”

What could he blame Lin Huaiyu for? What would he dare blame him for?

Lin Huaiyu lowered his gaze, his tone indifferent. “For not teaching you how to treat someone sincerely? I taught you all the palace intrigues, the cunning schemes, the art of ruling, the strategies of manipulation and you learned them well. Only this… I never taught you. Are you blaming me?”

Su Yang quickly shook his head. “How could I blame you, Teacher? I…”

“If you don’t blame me, then return to where you belong. Between us, there’s nothing left.” Lin Huaiyu cut him off.

Su Yang panicked. “No, that’s not true. It won’t be nothing I… If Teacher didn’t teach me, can I learn now? Teacher, will you teach me now?”

Lin Huaiyu looked at Su Yang with a complicated expression. “We are no longer teacher and student. I have nothing left to teach you.”

Su Yang pursed his lips. “Then why can you teach Fang Zhixu? Am I not as capable as him? If you won’t teach me this, are you going to teach him instead?”

Lin Huaiyu stared at Su Yang for a long moment, long enough for Su Yang to nearly slap himself. How could he speak to Lin Huaiyu like that again?

Just as he was about to apologize, Lin Huaiyu moved first. Lin Huaiyu reached for the hangover soup in Su Yang’s hand. Su Yang thought Lin Huaiyu was willing to drink a few more sips, but the corners of his lips, which had just begun to lift, fell again the next second.

Crack

The crisp sound of porcelain shattering on the ground rang out pleasantly, and the splintering fragments even scratched Su Yang. Yet Su Yang remained kneeling beside Lin Huaiyu’s recliner, allowing the shards to scatter around him.

Lin Huaiyu looked at Su Yang, withdrew his hand that had been suspended in the air, and averted his gaze.

The shattered pieces covering the floor interrupted their conversation. Lin Huaiyu seemed unwilling to look at Su Yang any longer and turned to lie on his side.

Su Yang stood up from the floor, paying no mind to whether the fragments had pierced him. He leaned down, intending to pick up Lin Huaiyu. Sensing his approach, Lin Huaiyu’s eyes turned icy. “What are you doing?”

Seeing Lin Huaiyu’s guarded expression, Su Yang felt a pang in his chest. He didn’t want Lin Huaiyu to look at him like this with rejection, hostility, disgust, and wariness.

But in the end, he could only remain where he stood and explain, “The floor is covered in shards. I’m afraid you might step on them later. Let me carry you into the house.”

Lin Huaiyu’s gaze was cold, his entire body seeming to be coated in frost. This aloofness that kept others at a distance was something Su Yang had seen before, when Lin Huaiyu had been stripped of his power and influence in the capital, and everyone avoided him, he had carried himself in this very manner.

But back then, Lin Huaiyu’s coldness was directed only at others, not at him.

Now, however, Lin Huaiyu’s coldness was directed at him.

Su Yang’s expression grew desolate, but since Lin Huaiyu would not allow it, he could no longer force him. He could only take a step back, crouch down, and begin picking up the fragments.

Lin Huaiyu ignored him, closed his eyes, and fell asleep on the recliner.

Su Yang softened his movements, cleaned up the shards, and then stood not far from the recliner, simply gazing at Lin Huaiyu.

As night fell and the wind picked up, and with Lin Huaiyu still drunk, Su Yang removed his outer robe and quietly approached him. Lin Huaiyu was truly asleep this time, not even opening his eyes or staring at him warily as he drew near.

Su Yang draped the robe over Lin Huaiyu and gazed at him deeply for a long while, the adoration in his eyes overflowing like a tide.

He wanted to keep looking at Lin Huaiyu like this, even if it meant doing nothing else.

Su Yang watched over Lin Huaiyu until daybreak, as the sun was about to rise from the east. Lin Huaiyu slept soundly, whether because he was unafraid of what Su Yang might do or simply indifferent.

Su Yang thought it was likely the latter. Lin Huaiyu no longer seemed to care about his own life, and the more he acted this way, the more it pained Su Yang.

He glanced at the faint light of dawn, brought out a clothes rack from the house, hung the robe on it, and used it to shield Lin Huaiyu from the sun.

Only after completing these tasks did Su Yang reluctantly leave.

Returning to the county office, Su Yang took out the storybook he had bought the day before.

He looked at the title, Twelve Ways to Win Back Your Wife, which he had initially paid little attention to. But now, he truly didn’t know how to treat Lin Huaiyu. In their current situation, simply apologizing was useless. Lin Huaiyu was determined to draw a clear line between them. What could he possibly do to mend their relationship?

Lin Huaiyu had never taught him, and there was no one else who could.

His mother had passed away shortly after his birth, and his father, the emperor, was utterly unworthy of the title, having abandoned him in the cold palace without a second thought. Though he bore the title of prince in name, everyone in the palace knew that he was treated worse than a lowly servant. The palace attendants, whenever they were scolded by a consort or punished elsewhere, would come to the cold palace to vent their anger on him. Whether they starved him, fed him spoiled food, or beat him, no one intervened. No one cared what happened to him. They all knew he would never see his so-called father, the emperor, and could never report their abuse. The palace servants had a hundred, a thousand ways to keep him trapped in the cold palace. Even if he somehow managed to leave and encountered the late emperor, that man would not spare him a single glance.

Thus, the servants only grew more ruthless.

Yet, in the end, they dared not actually kill a prince. They exhausted every means to torment him, using him as an outlet for their rage, but they never dared to take his life. Su Yang had fought back desperately back then, had even escaped, struggling to survive until he met Lin Huaiyu.

That person was like a beam of light, illuminating his dark and murky existence, pulling him out of the endless abyss. It was a warmth in the depths of winter, burning brighter and brighter in his heart until, in the end, it could never be extinguished.

Su Yang closed his eyes for a moment, then opened the playbook in his hands.

The Core Principle of the Twelve Steps to Win Back Your Wife: Be a dog for the one you love.