The Command to Pamper the Husband - Chapter 234

In the palace, if you had a powerful background, the Emperor’s favor would be like adding wings to a tiger.

But if you had no background, the Emperor’s favor would be like a knife hanging over your neck, ready to kill you at any moment.

The Second Prince, under Consort Shu’s knee, watched him like a tiger eyeing its prey, while the Third Prince harbored ill intentions toward him.

Facing the perils of the deep palace, the Crown Prince wanted to protect himself, so he decided to make himself useless.

There were countless ways to render oneself useless, and the Crown Prince flamboyantly chose the path of becoming obsessed with storybooks.

He indulged in all kinds of storybooks.

Generously spending money, he even maintained a group of about ten scholars in the Chenghui Palace, who were dedicated to writing various storybooks for him.

Originally, he thought he could continue hiding his talents and living in obscurity this way,

but after he dispelled the enmity of the Second and Third Princes, a Fourth Prince arrived at the palace.

This Fourth Prince came from an enemy nation.

His mother was a Princess of the enemy country, and while she was pregnant with him, she was sent back to the enemy country by the Great Yan to nurture the fetus.

In name, it was for nurturing the fetus, but in reality, it was to hold her as a hostage.

But when this Fourth Prince was born and returned, he was no longer the original Fourth Prince.

Song Dingzhong from Yuzhou sent news, telling him that the Fourth Prince was actually a prince of the enemy country.

He was impersonating the Fourth Prince in order to inherit the throne in the future, then use the soldiers of the Great Yan Dynasty to defeat the soldiers of his motherland and unify the two nations.

The reason he could commit such a monstrous act was because he couldn’t survive the bullying from his royal brothers in his motherland.

Taking advantage of the Fourth Prince’s return to the palace, he swapped identities and sought a way out for himself.

He was indeed ruthless.

Zhou He certainly wanted revenge and to kill the Emperor, but he would never let this person take the hard-earned empire of his father and Empress Dowager.

However, he needed the existence of the Fourth Prince to stir up the court.

A person with such ambitions would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

To prevent this Fourth Prince from growing powerful, the Crown Prince, much like how Venerable Master Hongzhou once bribed Minister Liu of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, bribed Minister Liu’s son, Young Master Liu, who was now the chief inspector of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

As soon as the Fourth Prince returned to the capital, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau presented him with a grand gift.

His destiny conflicted with the Emperor’s.

The Emperor knew very well how he had obtained his throne, so he believed in the matter of destiny wholeheartedly.

Especially since there had been such a commotion when he entered the palace back then, the Emperor cared even more about such mystical matters.

The Fourth Prince was sent to Yuzhou on an assignment.

Zhou He sent people to assassinate him.

However, the purpose of the assassination was not to kill him, but to create a sense of urgency for the Fourth Prince, making him constantly stir up trouble.

Meanwhile, the Second and Third Princes would think he was insane.

After all, in the entire Great Yan Dynasty, anyone with eyes could see that the Second and Third Princes were the only ones likely to inherit the throne.

The Fourth Prince’s destiny clashed with the Emperor’s, so he had no chance.

The stranger the matter seemed to others, the more he did it, fitting his persona in the storybooks.

Besides, there was some truth in the storybooks.

Yet, to his surprise, Shen Yue not only survived the trip to Yuzhou but returned with a completely changed personality.

A person’s change could be seen from their eyes.

Having read countless storybooks, when Zhou He saw Shen Yue again in the capital after the Yuzhou trip, he felt mesmerized by those eyes.

Those eyes were clearly the same as before, but the light in them made Zhou He want to talk to him.

The first time they met in the Imperial Study, Zhou He just found Shen Yue’s speech peculiar.

But when they met again on Drum Tower Street after leaving the palace,

At that time, Zhou He was being pestered by Duke of An, who wanted him to visit his mansion.

Knowing it was a trap, Zhou He refused bluntly, even somewhat humorously.

But the Duke of An was persistent and refused to give up.

At that moment, Zhou He inexplicably ordered his carriage, which was supposed to return to the mansion, to head over.

He wanted to see how Shen Yue would react to his presence.

Unexpectedly, Shen Yue’s eyes lit up as he directly rushed towards Zhou He.

Standing at over six feet tall, Shen Yue acted like a little girl, clinging to Zhou He’s arm and standing beside him like a delicate bird.

His tone was coquettish.

“Big brother, I don’t want to go!”

At that moment, that was what he said to Zhou He.

Zhou He felt a bit disgusted but not entirely repelled.

He looked at Shen Yue beside him in confusion and whispered, “Are you acting coquettish with me?”

Shen Yue slightly tilted his head and righteously nodded. “Hmm.”

At that instant, as Shen Yue tilted his head and uttered that sound, Zhou He felt a slight tremor in his body.

It was like being struck by lightning.

Having read thousands of storybooks, the only explanation for this situation was love.

In storybooks, such scenes depicted a certain kind of feeling akin to love between two men, causing one party to act this way towards the other.

He and Shen Yue…

Zhou He couldn’t help but shiver.

He wanted to pull his arm out of Shen Yue’s grip but couldn’t move it.

Shen Yue clung to him tightly, looking up at him and gently shaking his arm with a bit of shamelessness.

“Big brother.”

Again with a coquettish tone.

From the corner of his eye, Zhou He saw the Duke of An and Lu Zhan’s shocked expressions.

Meanwhile, Shen Yue looked soft and adorable.

Zhou He couldn’t help but want to pinch that cute face.

Realizing this, Zhou He frowned and straightened his back.

“Big brother, I’m investigating the case of the Third Young Master of Duke of An’s mansion committing public violence. It would be inappropriate for me to visit his mansion at this time.”

Shen Yue clung to Zhou He and uttered the words “public violence” clearly and confidently.

After speaking, he continued to cling to Zhou He’s arm and said to Duke of An, “I should avoid suspicion. I hope the Duke of An will abide by the law as well.”

At that moment, Zhou He watched as the Duke of An’s face turned green.

Being clung to and coquettishly requested, Zhou He could only sigh after Shen Yue finished speaking, “This matter is indeed a lack of consideration on the Duke of An’s part. Since the Fourth Brother is investigating your mansion, it’s appropriate to avoid suspicion.”

His tone carried a doting quality that he himself didn’t notice.

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Yue quickly let go of his arm.

“Thank you, big brother, for helping me out. I won’t delay your business any longer.”

Shen Yue cheerfully thanked him and then rushed to his own carriage, diving into it.

Watching that figure, Zhou He stood there, feeling amused.

When he returned to his mansion, he initially wanted to discuss matters with Vice General Zhao and Zhao Su, but his mind was filled with Shen Yue’s appearance.

He even felt like someone was still clinging to his arm.

That feeling was truly peculiar.

He had never felt this way before. Closing his eyes, all he saw was Shen Yue’s bright eyes.

It was strange.

His mind wasn’t filled with Shen Yue’s face or body, only those eyes, looking at him with a smile that wouldn’t fade away.

And he, who had always been indifferent to women, actually had a reaction.

Sitting in his study, staring at the storybook “My Gorgeous Prince” on the desk, Zhou He felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

Heavens!

Could he be in love with a man?

This was…

After struggling for a long time, Zhou He suddenly realized that Shen Yue might not actually be Shen Yue.

In storybooks, there were always strange ways for a person’s soul to enter another’s body.

Could it be that in Yuzhou…

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered Zhao Su to investigate what exactly happened in Yuzhou.

Zhao Su had a son named Zhao Nian, who was about the same age as Zhou He. Recently, Zhao Su often had leg pain, so she handed this long-distance task to Zhao Nian.

Zhou He understood that Zhao Su wanted Zhao Nian to work by his side.

If Zhao Su wanted to say this directly, she could.

Zhao Su was his mother’s friend and an ally in his revenge plan. Besides, Zhao Nian was skilled in martial arts, so if Zhao Su requested, Zhou He would definitely arrange a suitable position for Zhao Nian.

But Zhao Su didn’t say it.

Zhou He guessed that Zhao Su wanted Zhao Nian to work in the Jingwei Camp, but Zhao Su refused.

It seemed Zhao Su only wanted Zhao Nian to be an assassin.

This puzzled Zhou He, but he didn’t ask further, as it was their family matter.

Zhao Nian soon returned with news from Yuzhou.

Shen Yue had interacted with Song Dingzhong in Yuzhou.

And Song Dingzhong’s son had just married recently but drowned on his wedding night. Both the newlyweds died.

Isn’t that too strange?

Song Dingzhong was Zhou He’s ally, and he had always protected his son. How could he drown on his wedding night?

Moreover, it was midnight when the couple drowned.

And Song Dingzhong hadn’t sent any news to them.

According to the storybook’s plot, unless his son hadn’t really died.

If he hadn’t really died, and Shen Yue had interacted with Song Dingzhong…

Zhou He’s mind started to form a hypothesis based on his experience with storybooks and life.

This hypothesis was quite bizarre.

Soon, the matter of the Duke of An privately opening a gold mine was exposed.

The Emperor was furious and ordered Shen Yue, along with the Capital Magistrate and the Minister of Justice, to investigate.

And Zhou He was to assist them.

Zhou He understood the Emperor’s intention. The Emperor wanted to add some achievements to his name.

He also understood why the Emperor treated him so well.

The Emperor always believed that Zhou He’s blessings and merits directly influenced his own.

So, over the years, the Emperor had tried his best to treat him well.

During that investigation, Shen Yue knew about the golden thread on the Capital Magistrate’s socks without even seeing them.

He also recognized the blood jade entwined on the Magistrate’s socks, something Shen Yue shouldn’t have known about, and accurately stated its value.

This made Zhou He suspicious.

Not to mention recognizing such rare jade, how did Shen Yue know about the golden thread on the socks?

Socks were private matters unless Shen Yue had someone secretly monitoring the Magistrate, even his daily life.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t know such private things.

At that moment, Zhou He had a vague suspicion.

Yuzhou, Song Dingzhong, golden thread…

Could Shen Yue be related to Song Dingzhong?

That is, related to Song Dingzhong’s son.

Zhou He had seen Song Dingzhong’s son once.

That appearance…

actually resembled the late Empress somewhat.

All these miscellaneous clues piled up…

Thinking that Shen Yue’s body might house the soul of the Princess who was declared dead at birth, Zhou He felt a rush of agitation.

He couldn’t help but look at Shen Yue with doting eyes, behaving intimately and even with blatant affection.

He wanted to provoke the real person inside Shen Yue to respond.

And that person did react.

Sometimes avoiding his affection, sometimes being more affectionate than him, like a wavering rascal.

The investigation of the Capital Magistrate eventually led to the Duke of An’s mansion.

At Duke of An’s mansion, Shen Yue directly pointed out the location of the secret gold mine.

That certainty made Zhou He doubt his identity again.

Later, the Duke of An, to stop Shen Yue from investigating, even decided to kill him.

Shen Yue had just left when the Duke of An sent a large number of assassins to surround and kill him.

Opening a gold mine was a capital offense, but killing an unloved Fourth Prince might not be.

But the Duke of An never expected that the assassins he sent, holding swords, would end up stabbing themselves.

Zhou He rushed over urgently and, seeing that scene from afar, was dumbfounded and his suspicions grew stronger.

Shen Yue’s body must be connected to the late Empress.

And connected to the late Empress must mean the Princess she gave birth to!

Using spiritual power to control weapons.

Shen Yue successfully escaped Duke of An’s assassination and, in public, unearthed the gold mine.

Due to the discrepancy in the gold mine’s quantity, she quickly found the other hidden gold mine.

The Duke of An’s private gold mining in Linglong Mountain was thoroughly confirmed.

How the Emperor would deal with Duke of An didn’t concern Zhou He.

In his view, it was just a dog-eat-dog situation between the Emperor and Duke of An.

If not for Duke of An colluding with the Emperor back then, the Emperor wouldn’t have had the ability to rebel and seize the throne.

With Duke of An’s fall, next would be Duke of Ning and then the Great General.

These matters were originally to be completed with the help of Song Dingzhong and others.

But…

Song Dingzhong didn’t come to the capital as planned.

And Shen Yue was no longer Shen Yue, handling Duke of An alone with his own abilities.

To force the real person inside Shen Yue to reveal themselves, Zhou He arranged a banquet.

He knew the Second and Third Princes were always wary of him and had planted spies in his mansion.

He used this to invite Shen Yue.

In the banquet hall, when the snakes crawled up densely, he felt a bit regretful.

He feared scaring that person.

But that person…

directly rushed towards him.

Clearly over six feet tall, Shen Yue clung to him like a little girl.

When Shen Yue hugged him, Zhou He trembled slightly.

Holding this sudden person, Zhou He had a strong urge to kiss him, an impulse so strong.

Even later, when they left the banquet hall and went to the small pavilion to rest, he couldn’t help but push Shen Yue against the pavilion’s pillar.

Seeing his panicked and angry face, Zhou He really wanted to peck his lips or kiss him fiercely.

He didn’t know if this was related to love.

But his body’s instincts made him want to do so.

Later, the arrival of the physician to change the bandages broke this cursed situation.

Otherwise, he would have kissed a man.