Holding the Emperor Hostage : Chapter 73: A Chill

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather turned cooler bit by bit.

After one autumn rain, Shentu Yang, whose constitution had always been excellent, caught a chill. Worried about passing the illness to Yin Shuhuai, Shentu Yang, who had been staying in the palace ever since his triumphant return, finally decided to move out to recover. But Yin Shuhuai stopped him.

Yin Shuhuai had people tidy up the side hall and moved Shentu Yang there. Shentu Yang’s eyes were red from fever, yet he still could not resist being a smooth talker: “Is Your Majesty planning to keep me in a golden house?”

“What kind of delicate beauty are you?” Yin Shuhuai laughed and cried at the same time: “A flood dragon is more like it.”

And a wicked flood dragon at that, one constantly scheming to seize the throne and become a true dragon.

Shentu Yang chuckled at this, muddled from the fever: “A flood dragon is fine too. Once I transform into a dragon, I will mate with Your Majesty.”

He added: “They say dragons are lustful by nature. Why does Your Majesty not lust after me? Could it be that this wicked flood dragon is not a match for the divine dragon?”

Yin Shuhuai pressed the wicked flood dragon, who was burning with fever, delirious, talking nonsense, and scorching hot all over, down onto the bed, and force-fed him several bowls of medicinal soup with extra coptis root. The bitterness made Shentu Yang’s handsome face scrunch up, and in his dreams he cried out for his mother.

Yin Shuhuai, who was wiping sweat from Shentu Yang’s brow, paused slightly. He suddenly remembered that Shentu Yang had been five years old when the Xiongnu, who had destroyed the state of Yan, carried him off to the steppes. It was hard to imagine how a young heir of the Duke of Yan, dressed in fine silks and eating fine foods, was supposed to face a life suddenly turned into that of an enemy slave. He had heard that the Duchess of Yan, who had been carried off to the Xiongnu together with him, had died early because she could not endure the humiliation. The young Shentu Yang at that time must have been very sad, very frightened, even furious. That was why, many years later, he had taken advantage of the Xiongnu’s internal strife to fight his way back to Yan, slaughtering his stepmother and half-brother’s entire household to avenge himself…

The world knew the Duke of Yan as invincible in battle, but who knew how a fallen former heir, who had wandered among the Xiongnu for fifteen years, had managed to accomplish all this.

Yin Shuhuai used his slender fingers to smooth the furrow between Shentu Yang’s brows, which was creased like the character for “river,” and sighed silently. He hoped Shentu Yang’s illness would get better soon. He was somewhat unaccustomed to this Shentu Yang, so weak and unconscious, so unlike his usual self.

Yet things did not go as he wished. Not only did Shentu Yang’s condition not improve, it grew steadily worse.

They say illness strikes like a mountain falling. Shentu Yang’s body had always been healthy; he had not suffered a serious illness in so many years. But this chill had hit him hard. In just a few short days, he had burned so badly that he fell unconscious, his jaw clenched tight, unable even to take his medicine.

Yin Shuhuai had no choice. He simply pinched Shentu Yang’s chin with his fingers, forced his mouth open, drank the medicine himself, and fed it to him mouthful by mouthful.

“Your Majesty must not!” Zhuang Wuwei, attending at the side, turned pale with shock and immediately knelt to stop Yin Shuhuai’s actions: “Your Majesty’s body is worth ten thousand pieces of gold. How can you take such a risk? If Your Majesty catches the chill because of this, the Duke of Yan could die ten thousand deaths and still not atone for it. This is certainly not the Duke of Yan’s intention either. I beg Your Majesty to take good care of yourself”

Before Zhuang Wuwei could finish speaking, Yin Shuhuai waved his hand and said: “It is fine. I will not catch it from him.”

Zhuang Wuwei wanted to speak but stopped himself. Yin Shuhuai said: “Have all the palace physicians remain in the side hall, on standby at all times. No matter what method is used, you must cure the Duke of Yan.”

Yin Shuhuai knew that in ancient times, a chill had always been a serious illness that could take a person’s life. Many great figures in history had died from “catching a chill by chance.” But Yin Shuhuai was not ready to let Shentu Yang die. If that was the case, then Shentu Yang simply had to live.

“When the ruler commands his minister to die, only then may the minister die…” After dismissing all the palace maids and eunuchs from the hall, Yin Shuhuai looked at Shentu Yang, unconscious on the bed, touched his burning forehead with some helplessness, and covered him with another layer of quilt: “Did you not want to match with a true dragon? How can you match if you are dead?”

Match in a ghost marriage?

Looking at Shentu Yang, still burning and completely senseless, Yin Shuhuai let out a long sigh and simply lay down beside him.

It was late autumn now, and the weather grew colder and colder. The temperature difference between morning and evening grew greater as well. The palace servants had already lit charcoal braziers in the hall long ago. Silver frost charcoal burned quietly, and the entire hall was as warm as spring. Only Shentu Yang shivered with cold, unable to get warm even under several layers of quilts.

Yin Shuhuai lay on his side, looking at Shentu Yang wrapped in quilts and trembling. He thought for a moment, took off his outer garments, lifted the quilt, and climbed in.

Shentu Yang’s body was burning hot like a large piece of charcoal. His skin was warm and elastic, his muscle lines smooth, his chest and abdominal muscles clearly defined. Yin Shuhuai felt the large body pillow in his embrace, just the right size, and sighed with relief: “Fortunately I will not catch a chill…”

He looked at Shentu Yang, eyes tightly shut and thin lips pressed together. This unprecedented state of weakness lent a touch of aggrieved youthfulness to the normally willful and domineering Duke of Yan. Although the man was already burning so badly he knew nothing, his body seemed to move of its own accord, pressing close to Yin Shuhuai’s body. His arms still held Yin Shuhuai possessively and would not let go, and his damp head pillowed itself on Yin Shuhuai’s chest.

“It hurts…” A thread-thin moan escaped from Shentu Yang’s lips. Yin Shuhuai reached out and carefully wiped away the physiological tears spilling from the corner of Shentu Yang’s eyes, whispering in comfort: “Sleep. Once you have slept your fill, you will be better.”

Shentu Yang seemed to sense Yin Shuhuai’s comfort and concern, and his arms around Yin Shuhuai tightened even more.

For the next several days, Shentu Yang never woke up at all.

As news that Shentu Yang had fallen gravely ill spread through the capital, the political situation, which had been gradually clarifying, also grew murky and obscure. From some point onward, the conspiracy theory that His Majesty feared the Duke of Yan’s merits overshadowed his own and was trying to make the Duke of Yan “catch a chill by chance” spread through every street and alley of Ji County.

As the saying goes, “when the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning hare is dead, the hunting dog is cooked.” The power struggle between an emperor and his meritorious ministers has always been the most attention-grabbing matter. Not to mention that the current emperor had originally been a puppet, pushed onto the throne by the powerful eunuch Zhang Jian, and had successively experienced three generations of powerful ministers. Although while those powerful ministers were still alive, Yin Shuhuai had left behind a tale of “ruler and minister in perfect harmony” with each one, who could say that His Majesty did not harbor hatred in his heart? Now that he had the chance to get rid of a powerful minister and hold power alone, how could he not be tempted?

Moreover, after the Duke of Yan caught the chill, he had clearly wanted to leave the palace to recover, yet His Majesty kept him firmly confined in the palace and would not let him go.

The imperial palace of today was no longer the imperial palace of the time when Zhou Tai controlled the imperial guard. Although Feng Tang, who had taken over as commander of the imperial guard, was still a diehard loyalist of the Duke of Yan Shentu Yang. Ever since Zhou Tai stepped down as commander of the imperial guard, His Majesty had also personally selected many northern army soldiers to join the imperial guard. Now that His Majesty was keeping the Duke of Yan in the side hall, was it truly to treat his illness, or was it to cut off the Duke of Yan’s contact with his old subordinates from Yan?

Countless rumors and gossip grew more and more intense in the capital, utterly impossible to suppress.

Yin Shuhuai, who stood at the center of this whirlpool of public opinion, paid no attention to the outside clamor, because Shentu Yang was growing sicker and sicker.

The Chief Imperial Physician said that the reason Shentu Yang’s illness lingered was that the chill had stirred up old hidden injuries. This man had been carried off to the steppes by the Xiongnu as a child and spent fifteen years as a slave. During that time he had suffered terrible abuse, which had already damaged his vital energy. Fortunately, Shentu Yang was gifted with extraordinary talent and possessed a resolute nature. Even while in enemy territory, he had never given up on himself. In the end, relying on his innate constitution, he had forged himself a body of excellent martial skill.

But it was precisely because Shentu Yang’s body had always been so robust that he normally paid no attention to minor illnesses and injuries at all. Added to that, in order to reunite with His Majesty, he had ridden hard for several consecutive days, racing day and night back to the capital. His body had already been pushed to its breaking point. That was why, after suddenly catching the chill, he had grown sicker and sicker. Even to the point of endangering his life.

Yin Shuhuai could not be bothered to listen to these alarmist words. He had only one thing to say: “Shentu Yang must be saved!”

To show how much he valued Shentu Yang, Yin Shuhuai even performed sacrifices to heaven and prayed for Shentu Yang’s recovery.

At the same time, news that the Duke of Yan had caught a chill and was gravely ill also spread like wildfire.

When the great clans and meritorious nobles learned of this, they all clapped their hands in delight. They wished the Duke of Yan would die in the palace immediately.

The Yan officials who were loyal to Shentu Yang, on the other hand, worried that this was indeed His Majesty’s scheme of “killing the donkey after the grinding is done.” Fortunately, Yao Wenruo, Feng Tang, and several officials from the chancellor’s office could all enter the palace at any time to visit Shentu Yang, personally keeping watch as the imperial physicians took his pulse and brewed his medicine. And after His Majesty performed sacrifices and prayed, Shentu Yang’s condition did indeed mysteriously improve day by day. Finally, on an autumn afternoon with crisp air and clear skies, he woke up. Only then did the conspiracy theory that His Majesty was “murdering a meritorious minister” gradually fade away.

The Yan officials who were devoted to their old master ran about spreading the good news to one another, while the great clans and meritorious nobles who had been hoping Shentu Yang would not survive beat their chests and stamped their feet in frustration. No one knew that the newly recovered Shentu Yang lay weak and limp on his bed, looking at himself wrapped up in layers of quilts into a giant quilt roll, then looking at Yin Shuhuai sitting before the bed, barely holding back his laughter. In a voice lacking strength, Shentu Yang played the pitiful victim: “…Could Your Majesty untie me for me? I have no strength.”

“No.” Yin Shuhuai propped his chin on his hand and said with a smile: “Did you not want to transform from a flood dragon into a true dragon? Now is the critical moment for you to shed your skin and take your true form. You must rely on your own strength to break free from inside.”

At this point, Yin Shuhuai could not resist selling a motivational speech that was already worn out in his previous life: “When an egg breaks from the inside, it is new life. When it breaks from the outside, it is food. You would not want me to eat you as food, would you?”

Shentu Yang: “???”

Sensing the mischief hidden beneath Yin Shuhuai’s warm and gentle manner, Shentu Yang asked in utter bewilderment: “Your Majesty, what have I done to offend you?”

Yin Shuhuai did not answer Shentu Yang either. He got up and returned to Chongde Hall.

Fan Juan was waiting for His Majesty inside the hall.

Fan Juan was nominally His Majesty’s palace attendant, but in reality he was the commander of the Night Owl secret guard, in charge of the remaining twelve earthly branch divisions of the Night Owl secret guard.

During Shentu Yang’s serious illness, rumors had run rampant in the capital. Yin Shuhuai suspected someone was secretly stirring up trouble, so he had the Night Owl secret guard investigate. The results were not unexpected to Shentu Yang. Indeed, it was the great clans and meritorious nobles led by Wang Su and Chen Yong who were spreading the rumors behind the scenes. Their goal was most likely to drive a wedge between Yin Shuhuai and Shentu Yang’s direct subordinates. They seemed to believe that once Yin Shuhuai and Shentu Yang’s old subordinates grew apart, he would turn to winning over the great clans and meritorious nobles. They had not expected that as soon as their rumors began to spread, the diehard loyalists of Shentu Yang’s old subordinates led by Yao Wenruo would step forward. And although the Yan faction officials had their private doubts, they did not cause any trouble on the surface. Some even actively defended His Majesty’s reputation and the Duke of Yan’s prestige. They neither believed that His Majesty would do something like “cooking the dog after the hare is caught,” nor did they believe that Shentu Yang was so incompetent that he could be confined by Yin Shuhuai in the palace to “catch a chill by chance” yet be completely powerless to fight back.

Whatever their reasons for reacting this way, it all came as a pleasant surprise to Yin Shuhuai.

Now that Shentu Yang had woken up, the outside rumors collapsed of their own accord. Yin Shuhuai could also spare the energy to settle accounts after the fact.