TPATTHU Chapter 62
by VolareShen Zhejiang woke up with a start.
The bed was shaking, the table was shaking, the whole house was shaking violently!
Could it be an earthquake?
Shen Zhejiang threw off the blanket and got out of bed, grabbed the outer robe from the bed, put it on, and strode out.
He looked around but didn’t see Xiao Zhinian.
“Xiao Nian?”
Shen Zhejiang called out twice, but no one responded.
As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Xiao Zhinian rushing over, his face gloomy.
“What happened?”
“Explosion,” Xiao Zhinian said, taking Shen Zhejiang’s hand and walking into the room, explaining in detail, “Yang Shihui, that bastard, planted explosives in the mansion. When Wang Xiuyi was searching the mansion, someone deliberately ignited the gunpowder. Fortunately, she’s mostly unharmed, with just some minor scrapes.”
Shen Zhejiang asked, “Was it the black-clothed man again? How many people were injured?”
A cloud-like gloom enveloped Xiao Zhinian’s brow. He shook his head and said, “The fire is spreading now. Wang Xiuyi is on the scene directing the firefighting. The number of casualties has not yet been tallied.”
Shen Zhejiang was very worried, “I’ll go take a look, maybe I can help.”
“Don’t go, Teacher,” Xiao Zhinian pressed Shen Zhejiang back onto the bed. This person still had injuries on him, how could he be thinking of running around? He looked at Shen Zhejiang’s pale face and felt distressed, “Teacher needs to rest well.”
He was telling others this, but Xiao Zhinian himself hadn’t rested for days, with dark circles under his eyes.
He had lost a lot of weight, almost to the point where you could see his bones, making him look even more composed.
He had an increasingly regal demeanor.
Shen Zhejiang saw it and felt heartache, reaching out to stroke Xiao Zhinian’s cheek, “You must be exhausted too.”
Xiao Zhinian nuzzled Shen Zhejiang’s palm like an obedient puppy, smiling and saying, “Not tired, I…”
Suddenly, he paused.
Shen Zhejiang kissed him.
Their tongues intertwined.
Even though the movements were clumsy, he was so determined to do everything to the extreme, inevitably leading to some bumps.
For example, he bit Xiao Zhinian’s lip.
But Xiao Zhinian only felt incredibly sweet. A warm current flowed through his heart, easily dispelling his fatigue.
Nothing could put one’s mind at ease like a kiss from a lover.
He embraced Shen Zhejiang as if holding the best treasure in the world, reluctant to let go.
Their chests pressed tightly together, the sound of their heartbeats drowning each other out.
Xiao Zhinian’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He wrapped his arms around Shen Zhejiang’s waist, suddenly shifting his position so that Shen Zhejiang was sitting on Xiao Zhinian’s lap.
Even so, Xiao Zhinian ultimately held the initiative.
They had only separated for a moment, and before Shen Zhejiang could catch his breath, Xiao Zhinian kissed him again. The soft touch, the moist warmth, were like sweet poison, addicting him and leading him to a lifetime of indulgence.
“Mmm…”
It was unclear who hummed first.
Once started, there was no stopping.
“Zhejiang, can I…”
But at this moment, the door was pushed open.
“Your Majesty! This subordinate has detained Zhao Jianji…”
Huai Wu said as he opened the door, but stopped halfway, stunned by the scene before him.
Shen Zhejiang suddenly sobered up, his face flushed, and he pushed Xiao Zhinian away.
Huai Wu immediately backed out of the door, not forgetting to say,
“This subordinate saw nothing, Your Majesty, Mr. Shen, please continue!”
He slammed the door shut.
Xiao Zhinian gnashed his teeth, “Huai Wu!”
This kid had ruined his good fortune three times!
Shen Zhejiang coughed lightly, and said sternly, “Let’s talk about important matters first.”
“…” Xiao Zhinian was extremely unwilling, tugging at the corner of Shen Zhejiang’s clothes and humming, “I don’t want to.”
“Important matters are paramount,” Shen Zhejiang said. Seeing that he was really pitiful, he added, “When everything is over…”
He paused, his voice very low, and added, “I’ll grant you.”
“Grant me what?” Xiao Zhinian belatedly realized, and was immediately surprised and delighted, leaning close to Shen Zhejiang’s ear, “Really?”
The tips of Shen Zhejiang’s ears turned red, more vibrant than the evening glow. He turned his head away and gave a very soft “Mm.”
Xiao Zhinian kissed Shen Zhejiang on the face and laughed, “Teacher is so good!”
After they tidied themselves up, Xiao Zhinian called for Huai Wu to bring people in.
“Get in here! Kneel!”
Zhao Jianji was pushed to the ground, shivering.
Xiao Zhinian sat by the bed, looking at him coldly, “Selling official horses and embezzling government money, do you know what crime this is?”
Zhao Jianji said in a trembling voice, “Your Majesty, spare my life! Yang Shihui ordered this humble servant to do these things! Please, Your Majesty, investigate!”
“Explain the whole story in detail, and maybe I can spare your life.”
Zhao Jianji dared not hide anything anymore. He swallowed, his face panicked, and said, “This humble servant… this humble servant was deceived by Yang Shihui and bribed Luo Xiaobei to add drugs to the fodder of the official horses. But this drug won’t cause death, it just… it just causes the horses to temporarily fall into a coma, faking the appearance of death, so that they can be bought and sold repeatedly without having to purchase new horses, saving a lot of money.”
“Outrageous!”
Xiao Zhinian slapped the edge of the bed, scaring Zhao Jianji out of his wits.
Shen Zhejiang asked, “Do these drugs have any adverse effects?”
“Yes, yes, with excessive use, large and small scratches will appear on the horses’ bodies, and then the scratches will continue to rot. This humble servant only found out later that these drugs were all given to this humble servant by Yang Shihui! It has nothing to do with this humble servant! Your Majesty, spare my life!”
Xiao Zhinian sneered, “A greedy person, blinded by greed, if it wasn’t you, are you saying someone else should take the blame for you! The black-clothed man who injured my teacher that day was arranged by you to monitor Luo Xiaobei’s every move, right?”
All the clues had been connected.
Zhao Jianji colluded with Yang Shihui, one responsible for taking action, the other responsible for strategizing, waiting to collect the money.
And the reason why no silver could be found in Yang Shihui’s mansion was because it was all used to recruit soldiers and buy horses for his master. Perhaps he had already anticipated the day when things would be exposed, so he prepared in advance and planted explosives in the mansion, just waiting for Xiao Zhinian to lead troops to search the mansion and blow him to smithereens.
What he miscalculated was that it wasn’t Xiao Zhinian who searched the mansion, but Wang Xiuyi.
Zhao Jianji was speechless.
Xiao Zhinian said, “Daring to injure my teacher, with multiple crimes piled up, it is unforgivable. Huai Wu, drag him down and beat him to death!”
“No! Your Majesty, this humble servant has a son. If I die, what will happen to him, alone and helpless?” Zhao Jianji cried out loudly, howling like a ghost, seeing that he couldn’t move Xiao Zhinian, he turned to beg Shen Zhejiang, after all, he had once been kind to Shen Zhejiang, and he believed that Shen Zhejiang would definitely repay kindness, “Mr. Shen, you are so kind and virtuous, please plead for me! Think about it, these years you’ve been teaching Xiao Si, this humble servant has helped you a lot, please! You can’t bear to let Xiao Si lose his mother and father, can you!”
According to the laws of the Great Yan Dynasty, if one member of a family committed a serious crime, the nine generations of relatives would be implicated.
According to the law, even Zhao Xiaosi should have been beheaded along with him.
Shen Zhejiang knew that Xiao Zhinian had only sentenced Zhao Jianji alone, which showed that he had already shown leniency. He had no reason to plead for anyone.
But according to Xiao Zhinian’s temperament, if he said even half a word in favor of Zhao Jianji, Xiao Zhinian would definitely listen to him and spare Zhao Jianji’s life.
If those who have always committed crimes and violated the law are not given due punishment, what justice is there to speak of?
Seeing an opportunity, Zhao Jianji continued to cry, “Xiao Si! Such a pitiful child! From now on, without parents to love him, he will suffer!”
Xiao Zhinian was annoyed by the noise, waved his hand and ordered Huai Wu, “Drag him away!”
“Wait…”