The summer heat is intense, and even Liudu City in the northern region is shrouded by the unbearable scorching sun.
At noon in the Feng Mansion, it is eerily quiet. In the huge courtyard, except for the guards, there is no one else. Only the cicadas that cannot bear the heat are chirping non-stop.
Feng Tingliu's bedroom is the coolest place in the entire Liudu City. To cool his bedroom, there are wooden basins filled with huge chunks of ice in the room, emitting a cold chill that alleviates the summer heat.
Feng Tingliu is nestled on the Arhat bed, reading a book. He is wearing a set of pure white thin shirt and gauze clothing, exposing his chest and forearms, looking even more lazy. In the bowl by his hand is plum soup chilled with ice, emitting a sweet and cold aroma that whets the appetite.
And Yu Chi Feng is standing behind him, holding a fan to fan him, alleviating the already minimal remaining summer heat.
He is living a genuine young master's life.
However, even so, Feng Tingliu is disturbed and irritable by the summer heat.
"What does the young master want to eat for lunch?" Yu Chi Feng lowers his head and asks.
"No appetite. Tell the kitchen not to bother." Feng Tingliu frowns, casually turns another page of the book, and says indifferently.
Yu Chi Feng quietly glances at Feng Tingliu's waist. Although the set of clothes he is wearing is loose and thin, his slender figure can still be seen.
Feng Tingliu is naturally thin, perhaps related to his infrequent proper meals. But since Yu Chi Feng came to Liudu City, he has painstakingly coaxed Feng Tingliu to eat, and managed to make his waist grow a bit fatter. But unexpectedly, as soon as summer arrived, the flesh that had been gained in just a few months disappeared instantly.
"It's not okay not to eat. If the young master doesn't want to eat something hot, let the kitchen cook some noodles, pass them through ice water, and then pour on some gravy." Yu Chi Feng suggests in a gentle voice.
"Hmm..." Feng Tingliu frowns and thinks for a while, then nods. "Alright."
"Then I'll go tell the kitchen." Seeing Feng Tingliu's agreement, Yu Chi Feng smiles, puts the fan in Feng Tingliu's hand, opens the door and leaves.
As soon as the door is opened, the heat wave outside rushes in, nearly knocking Yu Chi Feng over.
Yu Chi Feng loosens his collar and steps out of the comfortable and cool room into the heat wave.
Yu Chi Feng instructs the kitchen to make cold noodles. Cold noodles are simple, but for Feng Tingliu's meal, there can't be only this one. Several kinds of various delicacies are prepared, all in small portions and not greasy, most suitable for this midsummer.
But something arrives at Feng Tingliu's bedroom even faster than lunch.
It is a letter, a secret letter from the imperial city.
Feng Tingliu immediately loses his appetite. He looks at the familiar mark left on the envelope, his brows tightly furrowed. He opens the envelope, unfolds the letter paper, and starts reading the scribbled words carefully.
Seeing how serious he is, Yu Chi Feng puts the bowls and chopsticks aside, watching as the bowl of cold noodles that emits a fragrant aroma turns into a lump.
"Heh, interesting." After reading the letter, Feng Tingliu sneers, but there is impatience in his eyes. He casually throws the letter into the oil lamp beside him, watching as the letter paper is burned to ashes before shifting his gaze.
"What did the letter say?" Yu Chi Feng asks curiously.
"The Emperor is ill." Feng Tingliu leans to the side, picks up the bowl containing the plum soup, takes a sip of the cold plum soup. "The imperial physicians say it's due to heatstroke and a weakened body."
"This sounds seemingly normal. Why is the young master unhappy?"
"How much ice is stored in the imperial city's cellars? It surely wouldn't be less than that in my Liudu City. But the Emperor has fallen ill due to heatstroke to such an extent, which is naturally suspicious." Feng Tingliu takes another sip of the plum soup to moisten his throat and continues, "Although the Fifth Prince can't tell, Feng Che can. It's definitely not heatstroke, but poisoning."
"What? Someone poisoned the Emperor?" Yu Chi Feng widens his eyes in surprise.
"Not only poisoning, but also bribing the imperial physicians to cover up the crime. But the imperial city is heavily guarded, and there aren't many who can do this. After Feng Che and the Fifth Prince investigated, the primary suspect is the most favored Consort Ting recently."
Consort Ting sent the Emperor several herbal incense candles, claiming that they can calm the mind and aid in sleep. The Emperor lights the incense candles every night and treasures them.
Over time, the scent of the incense candles lingers in the Emperor's bedchamber.
The faint herbal smell does indeed soothe the mind. When the Fifth Prince went to visit the Emperor, this smell also stuck to him and was detected by Feng Che.
Feng Che has a deep understanding of herbal medicine and is even familiar with many uncommon poisons and medicines. Naturally, he can tell what exactly is on it - it is a unique poison from the southwest that requires two poisonous herbs to be ingested simultaneously to activate the toxin.
Perhaps Consort Ting also gave the Emperor something else, and the Emperor came into contact with the two poisonous herbs at the same time, resulting in him lying ill in bed.
However, except for Feng Che, no one in the palace is familiar with this herbal medicine, so everyone thinks that the Emperor is just having a common heatstroke and doesn't pay much attention to it.
"So... Did Consort Ting poison the Emperor?" Yu Chi Feng asks after a moment of stunned silence.
"She's just a concubine. What benefit would poisoning bring to herself? People in the Central Plains are not familiar with this kind of poisonous herb, but those who travel in the martial arts world might come into contact with it. No matter how you look at it, there must be someone behind the scenes pushing this."
"Concubine... Martial arts world... Poisonous herb..." Yu Chi Feng lowers his eyes and ponders for a while before suddenly realizing, "The young master means that all of this is the Second Prince's conspiracy? Only the Second Prince, who has contact with people in the martial arts world, could use this herbal poison."
"Exactly." Feng Tingliu nods and takes another sip of the plum soup.
The plum soup is sweet and sour, and after drinking it, he feels a bit hungry, so he picks up the chopsticks and casually takes a few bites of the dishes.
"Is the Second Prince going to take the opportunity to seize the throne?"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. After the Crown Prince's death, the Emperor has not yet established a new Crown Prince. If he is pushed to the brink of death, the throne may not necessarily be passed to the Second Prince." Feng Tingliu puts down the chopsticks after taking a couple of bites and continues, "The most likely scenario is that the Second Prince wants to take this opportunity to do something and then stage a coup to seize the throne."
This might also be the reason why the Zhu Xie Society has been acting frequently recently. Everything is because the situation in the imperial city has changed.
Yu Chi Feng tidies up the bowls and chopsticks, still somewhat immersed in surprise.
Originally, these matters in the imperial city have nothing to do with them, the martial arts people. But now, the power struggle between the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince has involved them, which is truly strange.
"Do we need to do something?" Yu Chi Feng asks again.
"Before we know what the Second Prince wants to use the Zhu Xie Society and the Devil Cult for, let's wait and see." Feng Tingliu waves his hand, telling Yu Chi Feng to remove the things.
Yu Chi Feng nods and takes the leftovers to the kitchen. But he is afraid that Feng Tingliu will be hungry, so he brings back a portion of iced milk curd. There are several kinds of fruits and dried fruits on the iced milk curd, like a snow-capped mountain in full bloom.
Feng Tingliu is particularly interested in this cool dessert. He eats it slowly and manages to fill his stomach.
Seeing him eating happily, Yu Chi Feng can't help but laugh. He guesses that when Feng Tingliu was a child, he must have also lived such a carefree young master's life.
He really wants to go back to that time to see his young master living a life of luxury.
-
In the imperial city.
Feng Che is lying on the bed in the prince's mansion, his clothes disheveled and lacking proper posture, holding a book from the prince's mansion collection and reading it with great interest.
The Fifth Prince walks over and sits by his bedside, snatching the book with one hand and placing it aside.
"Hey, I haven't finished reading it yet." Feng Che immediately props himself up and reaches out to snatch the book back, but his wrist is grasped by the Fifth Prince and pressed back into the bed.
"Is this book more attractive than I am?" The Fifth Prince smiles with narrowed eyes, like a fox on the hunt.
"Ha ha... How could that be. Your Highness is handsome and charming, unrivaled." Feng Che immediately plays up to him, honestly trying to withdraw his hand, but it is tightly held by the Fifth Prince, leaving him no room to struggle.
The Fifth Prince smiles and leans down, kissing the demonic mark on the corner of his eye.
"I know you're bored. But it's too chaotic outside now. You just stay in the prince's mansion for these two days and be good."
"Of course, of course, I will definitely be good."
Feng Che forces awry smile and lies down, giving up the struggle.
It's not that he doesn't want to go out. Firstly, the guards outside are specially sent by the Fifth Prince to monitor him. Secondly, his waist is so sore that he can't even get out of bed, let alone walk out the door!
He never expected that the Fifth Prince would actually like this kind of "small dark room" scenario. Is the next step going to be a forced marriage?
While Feng Che is cursing in his heart, the Fifth Prince kisses him again, making him itchy all over and unable to stop struggling.
"Stop! Stop for a moment!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?" The Fifth Prince stops and looks at him in confusion.
"Shouldn't we talk about something important! Like how is the Emperor's condition now?"
"Do you want to mention another man in my bed?" The Fifth Prince narrows his eyes, his expression dangerous.
"I don't mean that... Ugh...! You brat...!"
All the tricks Feng Che has played in his life seem to have backfired on the Fifth Prince.
The old fox actually can't defeat a young fox, and he is left bruised and battered, covered in marks. It's truly absurd.
By the time the young fox prince is satisfied, the sun has already set, and even the guards outside have been replaced.
The little fox prince holds Feng Che in his arms, contentedly rubbing against his neck. With that handsome face in front of him, it's really hard for Feng Che to get angry.
"Can we talk about serious matters now?" Feng Che pats the hand that the Fifth Prince is using to hold him, saying helplessly.
"The imperial physicians still believe that the Emperor is ill due to heatstroke, but neither acupuncture nor medication has shown any effect. Last night, the Emperor had a fever, which made the imperial physicians more convinced that it is a symptom of heatstroke." The Fifth Prince holds Feng Che tightly and says slowly, "Consort Ting has also been much quieter recently. It seems that her goal is not just to gain the Emperor's favor."
"What about the Second Prince?"
"The Second Prince has shown no movement, but it is very unusual. He has changed his usual temperament and even started chatting with the imperial physicians. I don't know what he's up to."
Feng Che strokes his chin, thinks for a while, and mutters, "Strange. Shouldn't he take the opportunity to stage a coup or threaten the Emperor to make him the Crown Prince?"
"The Second Prince has no military power. How can he stage a coup?"
"Military power..."
Suddenly, Feng Che remembers that after the Crown Prince's death, the Emperor not only did not appoint a new Crown Prince, but also did not give the military power that was originally in the Crown Prince's hands to any other prince. It is reasonable to think that the Emperor is wary of the Second Prince's ambition and concerned about the Fifth Prince's background.
But the Crown Prince has been dead for so long, and yet the Emperor has not chosen a successor. What exactly is that old fellow waiting for?
Seeing that he is lost in thought, the Fifth Prince guesses what he is thinking and says, "The Emperor always says that this matter is not urgent. If someone mentions it, he will fly into a rage and say that the person is wishing for his death. Perhaps he thinks he can live a long life and wants to hold onto power for a few more years."
Feng Che sneers in his heart. Those who have held onto power for too long and lost themselves are all like this. They always think they can be sure of victory and are unwilling to hand over power to others.
"He's not in a hurry, but there are others who are." Feng Che snorts lightly. "The Second Prince will eventually lose patience."
"Then I will also seize that position."
"You're really confident. What if you fail?"
"Then I can also wander the martial arts world with you. It just depends on whether the Devil Cult needs me as the cult leader's wife or not?"
-
The imperial city is in chaos, but Liudu City remains peaceful and undisturbed.
The hot weather makes people reluctant to go out, and they all hide at home to enjoy the shade and leisure. It's very comfortable.
But there are also those who suffer from the intense heat, such as the farmers working in the fields, the stall owners setting up in the noon, the guards on patrol duty, and Yu Chi Feng who is almost kicked out of bed.
Yu Chi Feng sits by the bed, looking at Feng Tingliu who is curled up in the bed and already asleep. His heart is filled with grievance.
Since the weather has become hot, Feng Tingliu does not allow him to hold himself while sleeping at night. A clear boundary must be drawn, and even being close together is not allowed.
Yu Chi Feng can only look longingly at the person's back, restraining the urge in his heart, tossing and turning through many sleepless nights.
Tonight is the same.
Yu Chi Feng sighs softly and lies down again, staring at the back of Feng Tingliu's head for a long time.
Just as he is hesitating whether to reach out and hug Feng Tingliu, an unexpected event occurs.
"Uh!"
A sudden sharp pain like a needle prick suddenly shoots through his head, followed by an unbearable pain as if a huge stone is crushing over him, and a rumbling buzzing sound in his ears.
Yu Chi Feng quietly grasps the bed sheet, sweating profusely.
He has to clench his teeth tightly to prevent himself from making a sound.