Why is the Dog Emperor Like That? - Chapter 17

The garment Yin Xiao picked out for me was certainly quite handsome. However, when had he ever been a person who cared about clothing styles? What is more, he was not concerned with his own attire, but with mine. I could not understand his reasoning, but as I was in a rush, I put on the clothes and hurried off to my appointment.

I arrived at the Xuri Palace and knocked on the palace gate several times before someone finally opened it for me. The servant who opened the door looked at me and froze for a few seconds, seemingly unsure whether to let me in. I took out the letter and explained that Yin Shu had invited me.

The young servant looked at the letter, then at me, still looking hesitant. I was puzzled. Was a personal letter from Yin Shu not enough to grant me entry into his palace?

I waited for Yin Shu to welcome me in personally, but instead, I was met with an unexpected and stern face. It was not Yin Shu, but an elderly official with a goat-like beard and grey hair. I recognized this man, Minister of Revenue Li Ming, one of the key officials in Yin Shu’s faction. I remained polite and offered a greeting, but received no response.

The old official’s sharp, severe gaze fell upon me; not only was he not friendly, but his entire aura suggested he wanted to kill me.

After all, if not for me, his First Prince would undoubtedly be the only candidate for Crown Prince. To ensure that stability, Yin Xiao had long ago been treated as a discardable pawn and kept firmly underfoot. Remembering how these people had forced Yin Xiao to suffer through such hardship from a young age just to ensure their own comfortable lives, I lost my patience with them as well.

This arrogant Minister Li did not let me step a single inch into the Xuri Palace, but he did inform me that the First Prince had already gone to the Imperial Garden.

On the west side of the Imperial Garden, behind the rockery connected by a pebble path, stood an octagonal pavilion. I finally found Yin Shu. The young eunuch who led me there bowed his head and hurried away. Everyone in the Xuri Palace treated me like a tiger or a wolf, but Yin Shu had always been pleasant, treating me like a friend of equal standing.

To say something treasonous, even though he was Yin Xiao’s political rival, I actually quite looked forward to going out with him. No one spoke of it openly or forced the issue; we simply met up occasionally, and that was fine enough.

I asked Yin Shu why he looked so preoccupied while we were admiring the flowers. Yin Shu first smiled and denied it. We remained silent for a few seconds, then Yin Shu softened his smile and suddenly asked, “Zi Jin, when you met Minister Li just now, did he seem to be in a good mood?”

I shook my head and told him that the old man looked as if he wanted to swallow me whole. Yin Shu laughed again, a particularly radiant laugh. In the most casual tone possible, he said, “Those old officials want to support me in taking the throne, but I told them that my younger brother is better suited to sit on the Dragon Throne. They seemed to have gone a bit mad.”

“Pfft.” I could not help but let out a small laugh. Thinking of the expression Li Ming had on his face earlier, I could not help but feel a sense of admiration. Yin Shu was incredibly calm; he was worthy of being an experienced official who had seen the world. If Yin Xiao had said that to me, I am sure I would have been even more stunned than they were.

Before we parted ways, Yin Shu remarked that there were many flower petals stuck to my back and offered to help me clean them off. As he walked behind me and reached out to tidy my clothes, his movements suddenly stopped abruptly.

“What is wrong?”

Yin Shu softly replied, “It is nothing.”

After he finished, I noticed Yin Shu’s expression was off. I asked him about it, but he gently brushed the matter aside.

After parting from Yin Xiao, the feeling of abnormality in my heart kept expanding. The more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

When I finally came to my senses, I had already quickened my pace, hurrying back to the Lanyue Palace with the wind at my heels. I slammed the door to my room, pulled out a bronze mirror, turned my head, and looked at my neck.

Spots of red bite marks were clearly visible, blatantly stimulating my eyes. Yin Shu must have seen them all. My current mood was one-third embarrassment, one-third shame, and one-third wanting to hang myself.

There was also one part curiosity. Just what had Yin Xiao turned my back into? Usually, I could not see my own back, and due to a small amount of avoidance, I had not wanted to check. But things had come to this. I took off my upper garment, twisted my neck with all my might, and stared for a long tim and finally saw clearly.

I was stunned.

I said, “…”

As expected.

Mottled, red marks covered my entire back, as if I had been subjected to a fierce, overwhelming dog attack while I was asleep.

Facing the bronze mirror, I could not help but let out an earth-shattering shout:

“Damn it.”