12

The Golden Scale Guards, the Silver Crane Guards, the Minister of Revenue,

Twenty thousand refugees, tens of thousands, or even more, in embezzled silver.

With such an enormous scale, from the ailing Prime Minister Shi bedridden at home, to the minor officials managing the Eastern Market of Chang'an, everyone hurriedly climbed out of their homes and rushed to their posts, afraid that a single moment of negligence would cost them their hats or their heads.

Some matters are like this, it’s not the powerful officials’ secret investigations that are truly terrifying, but the collective scrutiny of an entire court.

With so many hands at play, everyone wants to tamper with something, and everyone could uncover something. The more people involved, the wider the net spreads, and the more flaws inevitably appear.

Moreover, since ancient times, water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.

Even the most cunning ruler must fear the voices of the people.

Thus, the twenty thousand refugees outside the city, and the 1.8 million citizens within Chang’an, became the greatest censors for this case.

As for the emperor within the palace, he was of no use anyway. When the ministers were busy handling real affairs, they were usually too lazy to involve him, at most sending a report and then briefly mentioning it during court sessions for formality’s sake.

In the end, Prince Xiangding was the one making all the decisions.

And Prince Xiangding, with a face cold as iron, held his gravely wounded beloved concubine and boarded the carriage.

Gu Fang sat on the couch inside the carriage, holding Jing Xuan in his arms.

Feeling the faint breath against his neck, fluctuating with the carriage’s jolts, he asked lazily.

"We've traveled over two miles already, yet Your Majesty still hasn’t woken up. Could it be that you find my embrace particularly comfortable?"

"…"

"I was just careless and almost got caught!" Jing Xuan hurriedly pulled away from Gu Fang’s embrace, straightened his appearance in a rush, then scratched his neck.

"Strange… why do I suddenly feel so itchy all over? Could it be that you haven’t bathed in months and passed your lice to me?"

Gu Fang, long accustomed to his baseless accusations, answered calmly:

"Setting aside the fact that I bathe in ice water daily, just two days ago didn't we bathe together, Your Majesty? Have you forgotten?"

Jing Xuan: "…Then that means you passed them to me back then!"

Jing Xuan’s ears reddened as he argued unreasonably, but the strange itchiness grew stronger as his skin heated up.

He removed his veiled hat, his fingers frantically scratching his skin.

Before long, reddish scratch marks appeared along his wrists and the sides of his neck, standing out harshly against his pale complexion.

Gu Fang grabbed his wrist firmly, his voice low:

"You can’t scratch like that."

Jing Xuan, clearly uncomfortable: "Leave me alone!"

"If I itch but can’t scratch, are you going to do it for me?"

The moment he finished speaking, a cool hand truly pressed against his burning, itching neck.

"Relax. Don’t use your nails. Your skin is delicate. If you scratch too hard and break it, you’ll complain about the pain later."

Gu Fang spoke softly, his fingertips pressing gently against the reddened areas, massaging in slow, measured strokes.

The pressure was neither too light that it felt useless, nor too heavy that it would bruise his skin.

Cool. Gentle.

Just like how Gu Fang used to soothe him when they were young, instinctively knowing exactly where he needed relief, applying just the right amount of pressure.

Logically, this should have been enough to ease the discomfort.

But instead, Jing Xuan only felt hotter, dizzier, itchier.

The moment Gu Fang’s fingers touched his skin, it was as if his body instinctively awakened some kind of craving.

Like parched land longing for rain.

Like a desert finding an oasis.

Like dry tinder catching a spark.

His heart rate inexplicably sped up, beating even faster than when he and Gu Fang were properly soaking in the bath together.

Even Gu Fang’s usual speaking voice, when it reached his ears, somehow sounded just like the seductive little singers from Zhangtai Alley.

This feeling was far too strange!

Yet, at the same time, it felt oddly familiar as if he had experienced it before, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t recall when or where.

Jing Xuan was so unbearably uncomfortable that he panicked, his survival instincts kicking in as he shoved Gu Fang away.

"Who allowed you to touch me?!"

Because of how overwhelmed he felt, the words burst out with an edge of genuine urgency and irritation.

Gu Fang’s fingertips paused in midair for a moment before he withdrew his hand.

"It was indeed inappropriate of this minister."

His tone and expression remained as calm as ever, but precisely because of that eerie calmness, Jing Xuan inexplicably felt like there was some deeper meaning behind it. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Jing Xuan hesitated, wanting to say that wasn’t what he meant at all.

But before he could, the bone-deep itchiness overwhelmed him again, it was as if ten thousand ants were crawling all over his body.

He couldn’t hold back anymore and started scratching furiously.

He scratched at his neck, his arms, his collarbones, his waist.

Then, he froze, as if realizing something was wrong.

His hand moved to his waist,

his slender waist,

only to find it empty.

Lowering his gaze, he saw the silk sash was still there but the glazed vial that should have been hanging from it had vanished.

Only a shattered glass bottle’s jagged mouth remained, still dangling from the sash.

And the small insect inside it was completely gone.

Which meant that during his intense performance earlier,

he had likely crushed the bottle by accident.

"…"

"!!!"

Realizing what had just happened, Jing Xuan’s eyes widened in sheer horror, and he frantically began searching all over himself.

Gu Fang, watching as he finally stopped scratching himself like a crazed monkey,

only to start rummaging around like a rabbit that had lost its child,

couldn’t help but ask, "Did Your Majesty lose something important?"

Without thinking, Jing Xuan blurted out "The medicine that was supposed to make you impotent is gone!"

Gu Fang: "?"

Jing Xuan: "…"

For a moment, an eerie silence filled the carriage.

A long while later, Gu Fang leisurely remarked "His Majesty’s methods are truly ruthless. Such a deep, calculating mind."

Jing Xuan: "…"

When would he ever get rid of this terrible habit of answering whatever Gu Fang asked?!

His face was flushed so red it looked like it was about to drip fresh rouge.

Gu Fang continued, "Or is it that His Majesty truly wishes to be close to this minister? So much so that you wanted to turn me into a eunuch, just so I could serve Your Majesty day and night?"

Jing Xuan had never seen anyone so shameless.

"Gu Fang! You are a Minister, an imperial mentor, a regent prince. How can you be so utterly devoid of shame?!"

He couldn’t take it anymore.

But Gu Fang remained composed, his expression as upright and proper as ever.

"At the very least, this minister has never thought of making his own subordinates incapable of having heirs."

Jing Xuan: "…"

A critical hit.

"So, why did His Majesty suddenly have such a bold idea, going out of your way to find a medicine that would make this minister impotent?"

"None of your damn—"

"Could it be that His Majesty had an inappropriate dream?"

"?"

Jing Xuan hadn’t even had time to explode from embarrassment when Gu Fang, still gazing at him, slowly and deliberately asked this question.

Yet in stark contrast to his casual tone, his eyes carried a rare and unmistakable look of genuine, open inquiry.

Jing Xuan’s heart tightened, but he quickly recovered, immediately slipping into his usual flustered fury as he snapped back,

"Yes! Because last night, I dreamed that you were out there seducing men, stealing husbands, committing all sorts of atrocities! So I was just taking precautions. What about it?!"

Gu Fang remained utterly unshaken.

"This minister has never claimed to have any preference for men. So why is it that His Majesty assumes I was stealing husbands, and not wives?"

His tone was still light, offhand, almost like casual small talk.

But every single word made Jing Xuan’s grip on his sleeves tighten, tighter and tighter.

Something felt off.

But the infuriating itch crawling through his entire body made it impossible for him to come up with a logical, airtight lie under such psychological pressure.

All he could do was throw out a final retort "I have an imperial intuition! Not something you need to worry about!"

Then, he flung open the carriage curtain, ready to bolt.

Only to have Gu Fang grab his wrist again.

Jing Xuan was determined to escape.

He turned around, about to break free.

But the moment he turned, he froze.

He saw a thin, crimson trail of blood slowly trickling down his wrist.

It was Gu Fang’s blood.

Oh, right.

Gu Fang’s hand had been injured when he grabbed that sword earlier.

And… he had bled quite a bit.

Jing Xuan distinctly remembered that Liu Chou’er had said,

Before using the insect, one must first drip a few drops of fresh human blood onto it to awaken it, allowing it to recognize its master.

But today, he had only used pre-prepared red syrup.

He had no wounds.

And the only injured person near him was Gu Fang.

And now, the insect was missing.

Could it be…?

Jing Xuan realized it instantly.

His mind reeled in sheer panic.

At first, he had thought about doing everything possible to prevent his relationship with Gu Fang from going beyond the point of no return.

But after hearing that it would drain one’s vitality, leading to an early death,

he had never truly intended to use it on Gu Fang.

Due to an unexpected twist of fate, how did that bug end up escaping and even burrowing into Gu Fang’s body?!

—Vital energy drained, life cut short.

As soon as these 6 words flashed through Jing Xuan’s mind, he felt his heart tighten in pain, so much so that he could barely breathe, and even the tingling itch spreading through his body was instantly suppressed.

He grabbed Gu Fang’s collar and flipped it open, checking anxiously: “Do you feel unwell anywhere? Speak! Do you feel unwell anywhere?!”

He was panicked beyond measure, his hands moving without hesitation as he pried open Gu Fang’s collar, feeling along his neck, collarbone, then down over Gu Fang’s broad chest and slender waist.

After finding nothing, to check the back more thoroughly, he unknowingly kneeled onto Gu Fang’s body, feeling around frantically.

He had always been stunningly beautiful, the kind of beauty that could make anyone’s heart waver with just a glance—intense, vivid, and openly striking.

Now, he was leaning forward like this, bringing himself right up close to Gu Fang, his beautiful brows drawn together in worry, his full, rosy lips bitten into a slight dip, his delicate jawline tilted up, exposing his long, fair neck right in front of Gu Fang.

And the carriage was swaying, his body was light, rocking back and forth without realizing it.

Gu Fang had always thought he had strong self-control.

But at this moment, he still couldn’t help but steady Jing Xuan’s waist, letting out a low sigh before speaking lazily:

“Your Majesty, I do not feel unwell, but if Your Majesty continues to care for me like this, I might actually start feeling unwell.”

“?”

Jing Xuan lowered his head slightly.

Then, a certain change he had just overlooked was now clearly felt through the light fabric between them.

Jing Xuan froze in place.

Gu Fang looked up at him.

“…”

Damn that Liu Chou’er!

He actually dared to sell him fake medicine!!!

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