Early in the morning, Madam Zhang led a group of servants and stood by the side courtyard where Mingde lived. She had a servant knock loudly on the door and shout in a high-pitched voice, "Young master isn't up yet? The sun is already high in the sky! Who else gets to enjoy such a carefree life like the young master, idling around and eating for free every day?"

Madam Zhang, wearing a gray squirrel fur coat, stood to the side and said, "Knock louder. Have someone summon the master to come see the good son he fathered."

Hearing this, the servant pounded on the door even more vigorously. Finally, there was a creak from inside, and Mingde emerged wearing a long black robe, his face expressionless. "Greetings, Madam."

Madam Zhang looked him up and down. Compared to usual, when he would have a faint mocking expression, today he seemed impatient with her, the legitimate first wife. Moreover, his face was pale and there was a faint odor on him. Taking a careful sniff, it surprisingly smelled a bit like the stench of blood.

Madam Zhang circled around him and curled her lip. "Look at this eldest young master! The day is bright already, yet he's still hiding away sleeping! Did you sneak out last night to fool around? Look at you!"

She jabbed a red-painted fingernail at Mingde. Disgust flashed clearly across Mingde's face and he dodged to the side. Madam Zhang felt this was an affront to her dignity. She rushed forward to grab him, saying, "What's this? Where did this heavy stench of blood come from? Did you go out to kill and rob someone?"

She hadn't expected that when she touched him, her hand came away slick and sticky. Looking at it, her palm was covered in blood. Madam Zhang had never seen such a sight. She immediately started shrieking, "Ah! You're courting death!"

The servants hurriedly stepped forward, some calling out to the madam while others rushed to support her. Madam Zhang pointed at Mingde with a trembling finger, her voice quavering as she repeated, "You, you, you! How dare you look at me like that! What kind of expression is that? Do you dare to eat me? You rebellious bastard! Someone, get the master! Get the master!"

Lord Shangguan climbed out of his concubine's bed, already in a foul temper. The servant was terrified to see him and stammered, "Young Master Mingde... Young Master, he... he..."

Lord Shangguan kicked out. "He, he, he what? Useless lowborn seed!"

The servant tumbled to the ground. He scrambled up and said, "Young Master, he... he beat someone to death! Blood! It's all blood!"

Lord Shangguan's old face paled with fright. He hurried to the ancestral hall. Seeing Mingde in that state only frightened him more, leaving him at a loss. He could only curse, "Bastard courting death! You've actually learned to get into fights and stir up trouble! Where is he? Bring the family punishment! Today I'm going to teach this unfilial son a good lesson!"

The servants, having received instructions from Madam Zhang, had already brought out the beating plank. Lord Shangguan took it in hand and mustered his strength, intending to strike Mingde. Who would have thought that Mingde, usually so silent, would raise his hand and grab the plank.

Lord Shangguan fiercely tried to wrench it away, but Mingde's hand was like iron, not budging an inch. Lord Shangguan bulged his eyes, his complexion purple with rage. "Rebellious thing! See if I don't beat you!" With that, he raised the plank to strike again.

Mingde's expression froze over. With a casual lift of his hand, there was a loud crack as he snatched away the plank and flung it far away. Lord Shangguan was nearly knocked over by the force. Once he recovered his wits, he jumped up and down, slapping his thigh as he cursed, "Scoundrel! Scoundrel! This is outright rebellion! The law means nothing anymore! Someone come, take this unfilial son to the isolation room and lock him up. Don't give him any food!"

The isolation room was right next to the woodshed, a bare stone chamber with a large lock on the outside. In the bitter cold weather of the third lunar month, it was even more chillingly frigid. Mingde silently huddled in the corner. A few books had been tossed in beside him. Supposedly Lord Shangguan wanted him to study in preparation for the imperial examinations.

The imperial exams... Hah. Mingde wearily closed his eyes, sneering inwardly. If he passed, he could get an official post outside the capital and finally leave this place.

His head throbbed with pain, the wounds on his body hurting more and more unbearably. No medicine, no food, no water. For a moment, he even doubted if he could hold on until the day of the imperial exams.

What joy is there in living? What fear is there in death?

This was a line he had read in a book when he was very young. What was there in life that could be considered joyful? And what was there in death that was worth fearing? Nothing in the world could exist forever. It was only a matter of sooner or later.

He had once asked the Empress, "Living is so painful, why can't I die?"

The Empress had stared at him blankly before suddenly kneeling down and hugging him, choking back sobs as she scolded, "Spineless wretched child! Empress Mingrui went to great lengths to keep you alive, yet you waste the life she gave you! If you dare say such things again, watch out or I'll beat you to death myself!"

Despite her words, she held the young Mingde tightly in her arms, embracing him very very closely.

Her embrace was warm, but in the end she was a woman. A woman's arms would always be weak no matter what. Mingde silently allowed her to hold him, staring at the nine phoenix patterns on her imperial yellow palace robes, his face blank.

...In the end, it was just a kind of torment. Living or dying, there was no difference. There was no joy or fear to speak of.

Mingde wrapped his thin robe tightly around himself. The cold of the walls seeped into his bones. Although his body had reached the peak of exhaustion, he couldn't fall asleep at all. In fact, this stone room couldn't confine him at all. If he wanted, he could leave at any time. But he felt very lazy, as if his bones had rusted. The slightest movement felt stiff and inflexible.

Some unknown amount of time later, just as Mingde was hazily about to drift off, he suddenly heard a faint movement at the window, followed by Rong Shiba's voice. "...Asleep? Want something to eat?"

Mingde opened his eyes and raised a hand, deftly catching the steamed bun tossed through the air. "Lord Rong?"

Rong Shiba said, "Hurry and eat. Once you're done, come out with me."

Mingde thought to himself, I knew this steamed bun wouldn't come free. With this in mind, he took an unceremonious bite and asked, "Did orders come down from above again?"

For a moment, Rong Shiba's expression turned very strange. After a long while, he stammered, "Not from above. His Majesty is summoning you..."

Mingde made an "oh" sound. He finished off the steamed bun in a few bites and extended his hand, calmly asking, "Any more? I want more."

Rong Shiba threw away the steamed buns and leaped out of the Shangguan Mansion's main gate with Mingde, but instead of heading towards the imperial palace, he went straight to the outer city.

Mingde followed Rong Shiba out of the palace city gate without a word, and asked in a low voice, "Lord Rong, where are we going?"

Rong Shiba felt a bit awkward. "You'll know when we get there."

Outside the palace city was a bustling street with lanterns, wine shops, and a lively crowd coming and going. Mingde followed behind Rong Shiba, timid like a young boy being taken out to play by his older brother. He was good-looking and had a noble air about him, which attracted the attention of bold girls in the embroidery building who pointed at him and laughed behind their hands.

Mingde acted as if he didn't see them. In fact, he was in a lot of pain from walking so far, and felt like he couldn't catch his breath. Fortunately, they soon reached their destination. Rong Shiba stopped beside a carriage in front of a wine shop, bowed to the person inside, and said in a low voice, "My lord, your servant Rong Shiba is here."

Mingde saw the carriage curtain being lifted, revealing the Qianwan Emperor's face. He looked at Mingde expressionlessly and said, "Come up."

Mingde took a step back, instinctively wanting to turn around and leave. But as soon as he turned, he heard the Qianwan Emperor ask, "You dare defy the imperial decree?"

Mingde turned back around and smiled sarcastically. "This humble servant wouldn't dare."

He then strode forward, reached out to lift the carriage curtain, and bent down to step into the carriage. The action was originally very dashing and neat, but halfway through, the Qianwan Emperor reached out and hugged him, directly lifting him and throwing him onto the thick, gold-embroidered gray mouse cushion.

"...Ugh!"

As soon as Mingde got up, he crashed into the Qianwan Emperor's embrace. This man was much stronger than him. With just one hand, he grabbed the boy's shoulders that were still too thin and held him in his arms, laughing softly, "What, did you get hurt from the fall? That's impossible. I specially chose such a thick cushion for you."

Mingde was forced to lean against his chest and said flatly, "This humble servant is terrified."

The Qianwan Emperor was used to seeing this expression on his face. He held him down with one hand and used the other to undress him. Mingde struggled violently a couple of times, his face slightly panicked. Seeing him like this, the Qianwan Emperor suppressed the anger in his heart and tried to comfort him, "It's okay, I just want to see how your injury is."

Mingde could hardly hear clearly. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped the Qianwan Emperor's face with a crisp sound.

The Qianwan Emperor was stunned. The slap was not light, and the burning pain spread all the way to the back of his ear. The Qianwan Emperor was not just a prosperous emperor, but also one who had fought on horseback and won in palace struggles. He was very domineering and ruthless. When had anyone ever dared to slap him? How could anyone possibly dare to slap him?

The Qianwan Emperor's first impulse was to slap him back. But his hand stopped in midair.

Slapping him back was not just a matter of a slap. It was possible to directly knock the boy in his arms unconscious.

The Qianwan Emperor saw Mingde's momentary flinch and slowly lowered his hand, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible, "...It's okay, I just want to take a look... Does it hurt? Does it hurt here?"

Mingde turned his face away slightly, curled up a little. The Qianwan Emperor felt anxious in his heart, wishing he could force him to look at him. But after all, they had been together for two years and he knew this boy very well.

This little one couldn't be scared. Others might be frightened into obedience, but he would explode in anger when startled, and when he exploded, he would do anything out of desperation.

The Qianwan Emperor tried to coax him, "Be good, it's okay... If you don't let me look, I won't look... Do you want to apply medicine? Do you want me to do it for you or do you want to do it yourself?"

Perhaps his comfort had an effect. Mingde glanced at him cautiously and said, "...I'll do it myself."

He took the white jade bottle of ointment from the Qianwan Emperor's palm, sat in the farthest corner of the carriage compartment with his back to the emperor, and slowly took off his long robe, revealing a slender and beautiful back from his shoulders down. Although a diagonal knife wound stretched across his chest, it did not detract from the boy's tender beauty. The red flesh set off his jade-like skin, and his slightly timid yet stubborn appearance was probably hard for any normal man to resist.

Mingde felt uneasy under the gaze of undisguised desire behind him. He hurriedly applied a layer of ointment for preliminary treatment and quickly put on his clothes. Just as he was halfway through putting them on, his hand was grabbed. He only had time to let out a muffled groan in his throat before being pulled into the Qianwan Emperor's arms and kissed deeply, his head held in place.

Their breaths intertwined, predatory and meticulous, not missing any delicious part of the prey. Mingde's eyes widened, one hand pressed against the Qianwan Emperor's chest, trying to push him away several times but being held down. The knife wound on his body tore open, making him dizzy with pain. There was only one thought in his mind: it wouldn't be so easy to endure it this time.

After the kiss ended, the Qianwan Emperor stared at him for a long time, his eyes filled with fine bloodshot lines, looking quite frightening. However, after looking at him for a long time, he just hugged Mingde's body, holding him in his arms, without any further action.

Mingde felt his fingers trembling slightly, his whole body stiff and unable to move. The carriage bumped along, and he could clearly feel the Qianwan Emperor's hot organ erect beneath him. This posture was too dangerous, and he had to keep his heart in his throat.