Picking a Faithful Dog to Feed the Palace Drinks and Food - Chapter 3

3.Farewell Just For Love

The shadow guard Lian Xiao, who was good at medicine, took the pulse of the unconscious Pei Nianyu several times, but all came to the same conclusion, his brows were deeply frowned, and he couldn’t explain it.

After listening to what Lian Xiao said, Lou Yefeng, who had always been calm and steady, seemed to have lost his soul at this moment. He was at a loss, and could not help but whisper to himself:

“How can this be? Is …… is my internal force is still not enough ……”

And the stern-faced shadow guard at the side saw Lou Yefeng’s appearance, knowing that something was wrong, a gleam suddenly shot out of his eyes, and he said in a low voice:

“Commander Lou, what’s going on?”

This tone was almost questioning, and several people in the room immediately looked at him with some surprise.

The young girl dressed in a snow-green palace satin coat and skirt, with her hair dressed as a maid, could not help but exclaim softly:

“He Qi? What do you mean by that?”

There was a little confusion in the room.

Lou Yefeng closed his eyes and quickly regained his composure from the moment of disorientation he had experienced earlier. He stood up from the side of the bed, his black cloak slowly dropping to the ground.

Several people around him looked at him, waiting for his explanation, with different expressions.

Lou Yefeng didn’t realize it, he just lowered his head and looked at the quietly sleeping person with very focused eyes.

“You don’t have to guess, I did it.”

The room was silent for a moment, and a needle could be heard falling.

The next moment, there was only a swipe of the long sword being unsheathed, the sword shadow flashed, and the sharp blade was already resting on Lou Yefeng’s neck.

A cold killing intent was instantly released from the stern shadow guard, pointing directly at the person under the sword.

That young maid saw this shocking change, instantly her hands and feet were a little cold, and tentatively asked:

“He Qi ……?”

The shadow guard named He Qi turned a deaf ear and stared at Lou Yefeng without blinking, and said calmly:

“Lou Yefeng, what did you do to the master? You’d better tell the truth, otherwise, don’t blame me for not being polite.”

Lou Yefeng had the cold sword blade against his skin, and his expression still did not change in the slightest, seemingly not even half surprised by He Qi’s approach. Only shook his head and spat out a sentence:

“The matter is confidential, you do not need to know.”

The Peach Blossom Gu was too vicious, and Pei Niancheng secretly silenced all those who were related to this Gu, and the method of planting Gu disappeared. Naturally, he hoped that this Gu would never reappear in the world.

The matter of the Peach Blossom Gu was personally ordered by His Majesty Lou Yefeng to forbid it to be spread outside. Although He Qi is also trusted by his master, his status is not high enough to know such secrets.

He Qi’s pupils suddenly shrank, and the hand holding the sword hilt immediately tightened:

“…… you!”

He turned his head and glanced at the unconscious master, startled and angry in his heart.

Today, Lou Yefeng suddenly transferred all the shadow guards from their duties, claiming that it was his master’s order, and there was a confidential matter to be dealt with.

He was a little suspicious about this, but Lou Yefeng has always been loyal and won the trust of his master. As the deputy commander, it was difficult for him to express unfounded suspicion to his master, so he could only temporarily obey orders.

Who knows …… one or two hours later, something really happened.

Lou Yefeng’s suspected murder of his master was not within his expectations, but he knew that he must not mess up.

He Qi suppressed the anxiety in his heart for a while, and then looked at Lou Yefeng’s expression that he would never say a word, then turned the hilt of his sword upside down, and struck his big acupoints all over his body like lightning, and then kicked Lou Yefeng’s knee, and at the same time pressed his shoulder with one hand, pushing him to kneel on the ground.

Lou Yefeng’s movement was restrained, and his body suddenly flickered.

The maidservant girl with sharp eyesight saw this and was puzzled and asked in amazement:

“Commander Lou, your martial arts…?”

Lou Yefeng tried to lift his Qi*, but only felt his Dantian** was empty, he gave a wry smile in his heart, and comforted softly:

“Jiang Xue, don’t ask any more.”

He Qi also realized this matter, however he was not as soft-hearted as Jiang Xue, and only asked in a deep voice:

“Lou Yefeng, let me ask you again, are you really unwilling to tell how you murdered your master?”

“I said, the matter is confidential, you do not need to know.”

“…………”

They had been working together for many years, and He Qi had never been willing to fight with Lou Yifeng’s sword. However, at this time the reason for the master’s coma is unknown, the only person present here that time is simply not spilling even half a word, he only had to be ruthless, and took a deep breath and said:

“As the deacon of the Punishment Hall, He should be loyal to his duty-since you are suspected of murdering the master, then don’t blame brother for being rude. It seems that I don’t need to resort to tricks, and you won’t say it. Commander Lou, then I’ll go to the execution hall for a walk.”

In fact, He Qi knew very well that with Lou Yefeng’s temperament, if he made up his mind and refused to speak, then even if he tortured him, he might not be able to ask anything.

But he has a duty to do, so he can’t leave a person who is suspected of murdering the prince alone and do nothing.

Lou Yefeng had already expected that He Qi would make such a decision.

He Qi has been in charge of the Hall of Punishment for many years and has always been iron-faced and selfless, and before the incident he had purposely sent the other shadow guards away, only he and the master were in the study, there is no room for the slightest change and justification.

He is responsible, Lou Yefeng doesn’t mind this matter.

What’s more ……

Lou Yefeng looked at the unconscious master, his eyes were slightly sour, and the wound in his heart called self-blame and guilt was getting deeper and deeper.

He slightly lowered his eyes, and his voice incomparably calm:

“…You follow the rules of the traitor.”

What he did to deceive the top and the bottom is actually no different from betraying the Lord.

Lou Yefeng had thought about this when he made this plan – even if the strategy was successful and the Peach Blossom Gu was successfully removed, he would not have any thought of surviving.

As a shadow guard, he was also the shadow leader most trusted by his master. He took advantage of his master’s trust, passed on false orders, drugged his master, and disobeyed orders.

No master could tolerate such a shadow guard continuing to exist.

He would either die from exhaustion of his internal strength or, he would be executed by order of his sober master and die.

He had already chosen a desperate path for himself, and now a mere prison sentence was no longer too important.

He Qi didn’t talk nonsense when he heard the words, and first stretched out his hands to untie the black cloak and sword of the man kneeling on the ground, and put them on the table next to the bed – the cloak and sword were gifts from the master, and they should not be humiliated in the torture hall.

Then he took out the dark silver rope that he carried with him, and neatly tied Lou Yefeng’s hands behind his back.

The dark silver rope is a slender chain forged from special materials, specially used to bind shadow guards who have committed serious crimes. The shadow guards are all highly skilled in martial arts, even if the acupoints can be broken away with internal strength and mental methods, the dark silver cord is absolutely difficult to break.

Lou Yefeng’s acupoints had already been tapped, and he had nothing to resist, so he just quietly let him do what he did.

When He Qi finished tying the dark silver rope, he suddenly spoke out:

“He Qi, Jiang Xue.”

The two named people were both stunned.

“…… During my absence, you two will be in charge of the shadow guards in the house, He Qi will be in charge of the outside, Jiang Xue you will guard the master’s side. Don’t neglect your vigilance. The master is in a coma, so you must be more careful.”

He Qi sighed secretly in his heart: “Lou Yefeng, if you really care about Master so much, you might as well tell the whole story earlier, so as not to suffer from torture later.”

At this time He Qi had grabbed Lou Yefeng’s back, and wanted to take him away. And Jiang Xue could not bear it in her eyes, her slender hands tightly twisted the handkerchief, still trying to keep it:

“Commander Lou! At this moment, the master is in a coma, and it is the critical moment of defense. Why don’t you stay and sit in charge?”

Lou Yefeng paused, and said warmly and soothingly:

“Jiang Xue, I have lost my martial arts skills, so it is useless to stay by the master’s side. Listen to me, take good care of the master, and I’ll leave it to you.”

When he was about to go out, the bound Lou Yefeng suddenly looked at the sleeping Pei Nianyu again, three points of fondness flashed in his gaze, three points of vague affection, and quickly disappeared: “Jiang Xue, when the master wakes up, I hope you will be able to take care of him:

“Jiangxue, when the master wakes up, please tell the master… If I am still alive at that time, I hope the master will see me again—if the master is still willing to see me.”

Jiang Xue was stunned when she heard this confession like last words, and nodded subconsciously:

“……Okay.”

If the master can’t wake up… then he must go down to accompany the master after suffering all the tortures.

Lou Yefeng took one last look at his master, and was escorted to the Punishment Hall by He Qi.

…………………………

Lou Yefeng was taken away by He Qi in full view, and the shadow guards were all a little surprised. Fortunately, they are well-trained on weekdays. Under the arrangement of He Qi and other deacons, they still stick to each other wholeheartedly, and there is no disturbance.

It was night.

It was originally quiet outside the palace’s bedroom, but at this moment it was suddenly disturbed by the sound of fast and powerful footsteps.

A handsome man wearing a dark gold patterned basalt robe and a masked woman in a light apricot colored thin shirt, walked into the courtyard of the bedchamber with quick steps.

The man’s face is very young, it seems that he has not reached the age of the crown, but the aura of majesty around him is as strong as the essence. His facial features are correct, his steps are steady, but he walks fast step by step, his complexion is tense, and his expression is extremely serious, which makes people feel fearful.

The maids and servants who were standing quietly in front of the door under the corridor were all startled when they saw the visitor and knelt down in unison, saying:

“Your Majesty!”

Then they did not dare to breathe.

If it were usual, Pei Niancheng would still say “pacify”, but at this moment he has no such mood, he did not stop, and directly stepped into the bedchamber.

Pei Niancheng looked around the room and said, “Jiang Xue stays outside the courtyard, and the rest of the people leave fifty feet away.”

“Yes.”

After the room was cleared, Pei Niancheng saw that the shadow guards he had brought had already secured the surroundings, so he turned his head to the masked woman in apricot shirt and nodded, “It’s ok.”

The woman reached out her hand to feel Pei Nianyu’s pulse, and then she remained motionless, closing her eyes as if she had fallen asleep.

After a while, the woman in the apricot shirt suddenly opened her eyes and uttered two short words:

“No problem.”

When Pei Niancheng heard this, he let out a sigh of relief. Only after calming down his breath did he continue to ask: “What does it say.”

“The cause of the coma-heart attack accounts for 50% of it, and the other 50% seems to be… blockage of spiritual consciousness.”

Pei Niancheng was a little surprised: “Spiritual consciousness is blocked? What is this…?”

“Your Majesty, it can be understood by that…a large number of thoughts poured into the consciousness, causing the consciousness to close itself.”

An influx of thoughts? Self-closure?

Pei Niancheng looked at the person on the bed, he didn’t know what he thought of, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

“Then… what about the Peach Blossom Gu in his body?”

“Peach Blossom Gu has been eliminated.”

“…………!!!”

Pei Niancheng stood up abruptly, walked around in place a few times, breathing heavily, the expression on his face was surprise for a while, and puzzled for the next moment.

After pondering for a while, he suddenly reached into Pei Nianyu’s lapel and took out the Mo Cui pendant on his body. Seeing that it was covered with cracks, his eyes froze for a moment, and after thinking about it for a while, a strange look appeared on his face.

“Could it be that brother is also ……”

Pei Niancheng muttered a few words to himself, but no one understood what he meant.

He stared at the already dull and lightless jade pendant for a long time, half a long time, seems to finally put down his heart. Taking a long breath, he asked, “When will he wake up?”

“It will be as short as ten days or as long as several months. Your Majesty rest assured, the king is lucky and will be fine.”

Yes …… brother he is such a good person, he will be fine ……

Pei Niansheng gently held the arm of the person on the couch, and secretly said in his heart.

…………

The two of them left the courtyard of the royal residence. When Pei Niancheng saw Jiang Xue, he suddenly felt puzzled and frowned, “Where’s Lou Yefeng? Why are you the only one here?”

Jiang Xue told what happened during the day.

“What? You said Lou Yefeng he plotted to kill–”

When Pei Niancheng heard the news, he was very unbelievable at first, but then his thoughts changed, and he seemed to understand something. At last he suddenly asked:

“Where are Lou Yefeng and the others?”

“He was escorted for the interrogation by the deacon of the Hall of Punishment.”

Pei Niancheng said indifferently:

“…Oh, then let him stay inside. Jiangxue, you and He Qi should be more careful these days.”

“Yes.”

Then he took the masked woman and a group of shadow guards to leave the royal residence directly and returned to the palace.

Jiang Xue sent away His Majesty, suddenly felt that something seemed vaguely wrong.

——If Commander Lou really murdered the master, judging from His Majesty’s always caring attitude towards the Master, shouldn’t he be brought back to the palace for interrogation by His Majesty’s people in person? How could he be left in the palace to be interrogated by his own shadow guards?

However, she is still young after all, and she has been by the generous prince’s side all the time, going through all these twists and turns, how can she compare with Pei Niancheng, who has been emperor for several years.

She speculated several times on Pei Niancheng’s expression and tone before leaving, but she couldn’t understand what it meant, so she had no choice but to turn around and go back to feed Pei Nianyu ginseng soup.

*Qi : vital energy that is held to animate the body internally and is of central importance in some Eastern systems of medical treatment (such as acupuncture) and of exercise or self-defense (such as tai chi)

**Dantian : Dantian, dan t’ian, dan tien or tan t’ien is loosely translated as “elixir field”, “sea of qi”, or simply “energy center”. Dantian are the “qi focus flow centers”, important focal points for meditative and exercise techniques such as qigong, martial arts such as t’ai chi ch’uan, and in traditional Chinese medicine.