Chapter 68: The Elimination of the Pretty Boy
All of Su Jingzhi’s anxieties were gradually calmed the moment he saw the four eye exercise charts.
Outside the carriage, unseen by others, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Wan hadn’t tormented this king.
His trip out of the palace was still for official business.
Because this matter was urgent. Yuan Xizai was a newly appointed high-ranking official, and Xiao Wan was worried about affecting the court’s image, and also afraid of alarming Yuan Xizai. He had no choice but to ask Xiao Ji to take him to Dongdu for investigation.
It was out of a sense of public duty, showing Xiao Wan’s progress.
Out of a sense of public duty, Xiao Ji was merely a tool.
Yes.
That’s it.
The logic of the Regent King of Da Wei is impeccable.
The stern face, meticulously disguised by makeup, lifted its corners even higher as he realized that even though Wei Wanlan had gone to Luoyang for a secret investigation, he was still thinking about him, remembering the often-mentioned “headache” he had fabricated.
Xiao Wan is so good. Although he doesn’t say it, he loves this king completely.
The Regent King of Da Wei, after much thought, felt triumphant as he drove the carriage. Even the horses seemed to sense the Regent King’s mood, their hooves beating faster and faster.
Da da da da da da da…
The carriage sped wildly along the official road of Luozhou!
Since he was here, and Xiao Wan needed to investigate Yuan Xizai, Su Jingzhi naturally cooperated fully, merely accelerating the process of cutting the various threads he had placed on Yuan Xizai, ensuring his earlier demise by a few days.
Su Jingzhi had already planned in his heart:
——To use this action as an opportunity to boost Xiao Wan’s reputation and improve their relationship.
If Wei Wanlan discovered his true identity later, perhaps Wei Wanlan would forgive his forceful kiss because of his excellent performance in the Luoyang investigation.
This way, their relationship would be better upon returning to Chang’an, Xiao Wan wouldn’t be angry anymore, they could eat together, share the dragon bed, and he could even stealthily touch the dragon’s claws and head…
Excellent!
After a lengthy train of thought, the slight anger he felt towards Wei Wanlan for leaving without notice became insignificant.
He drove intently, the carriage never stopping.
Wei Wanlan in the carriage was unaware of the complex emotional rollercoaster the Regent King had just experienced outside.
Wei Wanlan casually asked Xiao Ji a few questions about whether he was still feeling carsick.
Knowing that Xiao Ji had vomited terribly, he couldn’t bear to see his friend suffer this ordeal on the journey from Chang’an, so he took out a prepared package of kraft paper, carefully opened it, and prepared water and food for Xiao Ji:
“Here, you should be feeling better now after resting. Eat and drink something.”
Wei Wanlan was very polite and attentive in his service.
Xiao Ji stammered, “Thank you… thank you, young master, for the water and food.”
A flash of excitement sparkled in Xiao Ji’s narrow eyes. He was both moved and surprised. The grace of being noticed was perhaps the ultimate fantasy of every scholar, similar to Zhuge Liang meeting the Emperor Zhaolie.
But even Emperor Zhaolie wouldn’t personally tuck Zhuge Liang’s quilt, would he?
Xiao Ji’s gaze fell upon Wei Wanlan’s hands as he prepared the food and tucked the quilt around him. The light in the carriage was dim, but Wei Wanlan’s skin was still dazzlingly white. Xiao Ji’s eyebrows twitched.
Wei Wanlan didn’t notice Xiao Sheren’s subtle emotional shifts.
The little dove of peace acted purely on instinct.
He had to take care of one thing, and then the other.
After taking care of Xiao Sheren’s meal, Wei Wanlan gathered the kraft paper package, then gently pushed open the carriage door, sticking out his round, fluffy dragon head:
“Coachman?”
Su Jingzhi was in a good mood. With his back to Wei Wanlan, upon hearing him, he suppressed his thoughts and pretended to be calm: “What is it?”
Wei Wanlan was somewhat uncertain by his reaction. He always felt that this coachman was strange, but couldn’t pinpoint why.
Wei Wanlan hesitantly asked:
“We ate a little something in the carriage, and we’re not hungry anymore. I don’t know if you brought any food. Because we rushed from Chang’an to Luoyang, even though we planned well, we didn’t really have a chance to stop and eat on the way. Are you hungry?”
As he spoke, Wei Wanlan leaned out of the carriage.
He saw the coachman stiffen, quickly grasping the reins. Wei Wanlan tilted his head, feeling the carriage was stable, and sat beside the coachman:
“We brought a lot of delicious food, the osmanthus cakes are just the right sweetness, they smell amazing~”
This little fool is always so kind.
Su Jingzhi understood this aspect of him, feeling both relieved and helpless. He deliberately put on a stern face and said: “Driving, no time for that.”
As expected, the little fool tilted his head and said foolishly:
“Then, I’ll feed you. You… open your mouth.”
Ha. The little fool took the bait again. Su Jingzhi remained unmoved.
Wei Wanlan picked up an osmanthus cake.
The cake had a rich fragrance, a delightful scent.
And this floral fragrance complemented Wei Wanlan’s sweet scent, causing Su Jingzhi to turn his head and open his lips to take the cake, his side profile handsome and sharp.
His thin lips brushed, almost touching, the tip of Wei Wanlan’s finger holding the cake as he bit into half of the osmanthus cake.
This made Wei Wanlan pause slightly.
The coachman seemed to be simply worried about cake crumbs falling on his clothes, afraid of crushing the cake.
Therefore, the coachman’s action of biting the cake was slow, but it made Wei Wanlan’s back and knuckles feel warm and itchy, his fingers trembling. Wei Wanlan felt the other person’s real, scorching breath, which inexplicably felt threatening to him.
Wei Wanlan’s deer-like eyes widened slightly, his arms trembling:
“You…”
The coachman bit down on the osmanthus cake, chewing lightly.
Repeatedly, with relish, slowly chewing.
And he looked at Wei Wanlan seriously, Su Jingzhi feigning ignorance asked:
“What?”
“No, nothing.” It must be me being too sensitive, Wei Wanlan shivered his ears. His face was already flushed red.
It was simply inexplicable.
——The other party was just chewing a cake.
But he suddenly had an unreal feeling that the other party was slowly eating him, savoring the taste until nothing remained…
“Eat… eat, are you full,” Wei Wanlan instinctively retracted his legs, no longer daring to stay on the carriage board.
No matter how stable the carriage board was.
Wei Wanlan, inexplicably shy, no longer dared to stay outside the carriage. He wanted to return to the carriage: “I, I’ll go back inside.”
The Regent King: Trying to escape?
Of all the tactics Su Jingzhi was familiar with, he excelled at two: surprise attacks and luring the enemy.
Su Jingzhi was not a defensive general by nature.
What he liked to do was to expand territory, conquer cities and lands, to witness his opponents’ gates wide open, their defenses lax. He followed the rhythm and teased Wei Wanlan further:
“A little dry, want some water.”
That… that… does that mean he has to be fed water again QAQ!!!
Wei Wanlan covered his face with his hands, inexplicably imagining water droplets sliding down the other person’s jawline to his firm neck, the heat rising further.
Is it because the characters in a political intrigue novel are after all just paper people, with guaranteed figures?
Or had he become so focused on male characters in this novel that he ignored female characters, even losing his aesthetic ability?
Wei Wanlan felt something was wrong; he shouldn’t be reacting this way to a stranger.
But.
The feeding thing originated with him, so he had to see it through; he couldn’t stop halfway.
So Wei Wanlan could only nod resignedly.
His gaze shifted to the coachman’s narrow waist. The man carried a waterskin, a crescent-shaped reddish-brown leather pouch, the edges sewn tightly with thick thread.
Wei Wanlan reached out towards the coachman’s waist. He went to take the waterskin.
But he accidentally bumped into the coachman’s strong masculine scent, a woody fragrance he liked, with a hint of dry leather bitterness.
Wei Wanlan took off the waterskin, held it in his hand, and pulled out the cork.
He was about to get up to give water.
A certain Regent King secretly curled his lips, waiting for the little fool to obediently come to him.
However, at this moment, the two figures, significantly different in size, and about to overlap, in the half-open carriage door, deeply surprised Xiao Ji:
“…What’s going on?”
Why did the young emperor suddenly become so close to the coachman in such a short time?
Is it normal for a coachman to interact with his employer like this casually?
Xiao Mengshi was an incredibly intelligent person.
From an aristocratic family, he passed the imperial examination at fourteen, nurtured in an environment of intrigue and calculation from a young age. Xiao Ji was a walking encyclopedia of strategy. Xiao Sheren thought about it, this coachman was very suspicious!
Since they waited for a chance to leave the city at the Zui Xian Lou, he asked the waiter to hire a carriage, and this carriage arrived at just the right time:
It just so happened to stop near the hotel?
It just so happened to be a new carriage?
The coachman was even hostile towards him…
Considering all the circumstances, could it be Su Yan’s subordinate!
They had already been found by Su Yan. What did Su Yan want to do? To kill them on this outing? Or something else???
Xiao Sheren dared not imagine.
In short, when he connected the coachman with the Regent King, Xiao Ji had already regarded the coachman as a complete villain.
However, Xiao Sheren shouldn’t act rashly at this moment.
Because this place was the wilderness, they were no match for this person in a fight, so they had to wait and see.
Xiao Ji planned to stabilize the coachman first, without revealing his identity.
But at least, he had to lure the young emperor back into the carriage, creating distance, preventing him from being deceived, as the young emperor was safer by his side.
——How could he get the young emperor to come back?
Xiao Ji pondered, he had already used all the methods like reciting poems to attract the young emperor’s attention, even using foreign languages, he had to come up with something extraordinary.
Xiao Ji’s elegant eyebrows furrowed slightly.
A civil official, indeed a civil official, immediately came up with a new idea, absolutely fresh and innovative.
In the carriage, Xiao Ji pretended to be painfully carsick:
“I feel so unwell, I suddenly feel very unwell, dizzy, I seem to see the Milky Way in front of me, everywhere are glittering stars, young master, am I about to die…”
“Hero QAQ”
Wei Wanlan suddenly turned his head.
Shocked, what should he do if his friend was dying?
As a result, water from the waterskin splashed onto the Regent King’s face, his driving hand trembled, and the carriage shook, Wei Wanlan rolled back into the carriage. Su Jingzhi was so angry that he wanted to grab the little fool’s ankles and drag him back to keep him by his side.
——Whose carsickness can kill a person!
Pretending, pretending.
The Regent King thought to himself, this trick of feigning illness was familiar. The pretty boy clearly wasn’t kind. He wanted to get close to Xiao Wan, but Xiao Ji had the same idea, this wasn’t an imaginary enemy, this was a rival, an enemy to the death.
He… was… asking… for… death.
Elimi… nation… of…
In the sky between Luozhou City and Luoyang, dark clouds hung overhead.
Fine snow fell between the layers of crimson clouds, the cold wind seeping into the bones.
The Regent King violently shook the reins—
The carriage horses galloped forward.
Xiao Ji’s small frame was jolted by the ride, preventing him from sweet-talking to Xiao Wan.
“Giddy up!”
Bang.
The carriage suddenly sank. The horses lost their footing. The horses suddenly let out a frightened cry.
Su Jingzhi got up from the carriage board.
And Wei Wanlan in the carriage covered his head. He almost hit his head, what happened outside? What’s going on?