MRE – Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

“Da-ge, has ‘preparation’ for the late king’s birthday ready yet?” Lan Zhan asked Lan Xichen.

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

“I told you brother, no need for formality when it comes to the two of us.”

 

“You know I cannot do that, even if you are my little brother,” Lan Xichen answered back and give Lan Zhan his subtle smile and added, “But are you sure that you will continue with this plan?”

 

“Yes, it is the only way, they are suspicious, we need to take an action.”

 

“But almost that was because of the empress, Your Majesty, no Wanji, please be honest with me.  Do you have feelings for the empress?” Lan Xichen sincerely asked.

 

 

“I – I believe that I can trust him, brother.”

 

“That’s not what I am asking, you know what I mean.” Lan Xichen said, and Lan Zhan just grit his teeth.

 

 

“I – I think I like him, I —” but before he continues, the door slams open and Xue Yang walks in angrily.

 

 

“Your Majesty, I do not mean to be rude, but how about Lord Xingchen? A-are you abandoning him, after he went through and almost sacrifice himself for you?” Xue Yang emotionally said, he always admires Xingchen and promise to support him until the end while supporting his loved one. He knew that XIngchen was deeply in love but the emperor, but the emperor, he trusts and respect the emperor and swear his loyalty to him, but he cannot feel the love coming from the emperor to Xingchen but who is he to question them both, he has no right, he just is grateful how the emperor treats and protect Xiao Xingchen, but what about Xingchen feelings.

 

 

“No. I wouldn’t do that, but..” Lan Zhan said.

 

 

Xue Yang clenched his fist, he doesn’t need to hear everything, he knew what the emperor wanted to say. All these times, no, not just this time, ever since they were student, he always thought that the emperor has feelings to Wei Wuxian because of how he looks at him, the emperor is the only one who wouldn’t notice his feelings towards the omega, and everything changed when he came back from the kidnapping.

 

He deliberately ignores Wei Wuxian after his coalition with the Wen, and the emperor tends to show his disappointed and disgusted face whenever the emperor sees Wei Wuxian but at the same time he looks so hurt. He always had a cold face but whenever his face made a reaction or emotions, it is always about the empress. Others my thinks that the emperor only smiles in front of Xiao Xingchen, but that is not the case he once saw the emperor how he smiles in front of Wei Wuxian and when he is looking at him in a distance compared to the subtle smile that he gave to Xincheng.

 

 

Xue Yang knew that kind of look and smile because that is how he look at Xiao Xingchen, ever since the day he gave him that ordinary but the sweetest candy he ever had. With this, Xue Yang ran hurriedly and while trying to suppress his anger.

 

“Xue Yang, what’s the matter?”

 

“M-my Lord Xingchen,” just in time, the voice he wanted to hear.  Suddenly Xue Yang rans toward Xiao XIngchen and hugs him tightly, while trying to suppress his tears. He is not a cry baby nor anything like that, in fact he is the opposite. He may look harmless and easy going, but he is the most sadistic and brutal subordinate of the emperor, but right now he just wanted hug this person, who always gently calls his name.

 

 

“Your Highness! Your Highness!” A loud scream can be heard throughout the hallway of the empress palace.

 

 

“What’s wrong Wen Qing?”

 

 

“Wen Ning is missing!”

 

“What?! Did you ask him for something?” Xiao Zhan worriedly asked.

 

 

“No, he is just preparing your breakfast this morning, but suddenly he disappeared from the kitchen! No one saw anything, the food was just left in the preparation room, and they thought that he had already served you your food, that’s why they are asking as well why there was extra food in there. What should we do, Your Highness? Please help us!”

 

“Please remain calm Wen Qing, we will ask Yourwen for some help.”

 

 

“No, Your Highness, he’s reporting directly to the Prime Minister!”

 

 

“Do you think that it has something to do with?”

 

“I-I don’t know, b-but I have a feeling that they might,” Wen Qing worriedly said as she squeezes the lucky charm that Wen Ning gave.

 

 

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do, but we still need Youwen’s help, you stay here okay?”

 

 

“No, I’ll go with you,” Wen Qing said.

 

 

The two of them hurriedly looked for Youwen but unexpectedly, they met the emperor.

 

 

“What’s with the rush?” Lan Zhan asked but since there’s no time to waste, Xiao Zhan asked for the emperor’s presence privately, and since he has a worried face, Lan Zhan and Lan Xichen accommodate them in their office to hear what is happening.

 

 

“Your Majesty! Wen Ning is missing! Please help us out!” Xiao Zhan said he is getting worried as well.

 

 

“When did this happen?” Lan Zhan asked, and Wen Qing explained everything she knew but she’s getting worried as time passed by. Lan Zhan asked Lan Xichen a favor to investigate what happened and tried to calm down the empress and his subject.

 

 

 

He thought that Wen Rouhan would not do anything to harm the empress nor anyone else under him, but that seems not to be the case. His hunches might be right, that the Prime Minister is getting suspicious of them and trying to make a move as well. He is the only one he could think of.

 

 

In a remote area in Qiongqi Way, there were some black dressed men in the cabin, with covers in their faces. They harshly threw some water on the servants that were tightly tied on the torture chair.

 

 

“Hey! Time to wake up! Do you guys think that you’re on a vacation!” One of the black men said, it is evident that the hostages already suffered in torture, one of them is Wen Ning and some other relative who’s directly reporting to the empress.

 

 

“Please let us go! We do not know anything!” some of the hostages’ cries. It has been two days since the black men tied them up and tortured them nonstop. Some of them died already, due to their body cannot handle the pain but the worst condition out of all is Wen Ning, he has been enduring the pain and hasn’t say a word ever since they were tied in the cabin. He silently endured the pain and tried to hang on with his life.

 

 

After a while, the black dressed men greeted someone who came into the cabin and it is quite familiar to them, although Wen Ning has his suspicions, but he couldn’t still believe that this was Wen Chao’s work.

 

“W-why are you doing this, you-young master Wen,” for the first time Wen Ning talked.

 

 

“Oh-ho! You’re still alive,” Wen Chao’s smugly said.

 

“Now tell me, that damned omega, your empress, oh wait that’s not right, my future empress, did he betray my father and decided to join forced with that puppet emperor?” Wen Chao provocatively asked, but it was not the thing that Wen Ning wanted to hear, that is why he remained silent and glared back to Wen Chao.

 

 

“You! Don’t you dare to test my patient!” With that the torture continues and a pitiful scream of the hostage can be heard from the remote cabin as Wen Chao left the place.

 

 

After that, the empress received a report from one of the emperor’s soldiers and told them that they already found Wen Ning’s location and it’s not just Wen Ning but were some servant’s as well. They already knew that there were some servants from the minor Wen clan that were missing aside from Wen Ning.

 

 

They already informed Youwen to what happened and asked him to be discreet about the investigation, thankfully that he is loyal to Wei Ying, that’s why he decided to help him. Even though it was a rainy night, Youwen, Xiao Zhan and Wen Qing decided to travel to Qiongqi Way, while the soldier hurriedly reported to the emperor as well.

 

 

Xiao Zhan does not want to waste time, that is why he and the other two decided to leave the palace without the knowledge of the emperor. Youwen tried to forbid the empress leaving the palace, but Xiao Zhan begged him. Youwen gives a clear instruction to the empress not to leave his side and they ride on the same horse, to fully secure the empress’ safety while Wen Qing also ride on her horse, and they travel as fast as they can. Upon hearing this news, the emperor and Lan Xichen hurriedly followed the empress and the two subjects.

 

 

Upon arriving on the scene, Xiao Zhan saw a devastating scene. Under the pouring rain there’s a pile of dead bodies in front of the cabin and hurriedly called for Wen Ning’s name, as they tried to uncover the bodies one by one Xiao Zhan noticed a body in a secluded area that was slightly submerged into the mud. Chills run throughout his body and hurriedly turn over the body with a flag that was stabbed through the chest of the body, and it is not just a normal flag, it was a Stygian Lure flag, thankfully the flag missed his heart and that might be on purpose to kill Wen Ning in a slow painful death.

 

Wen Qing removed the pole and tried to give Wen Ning some first aid, but his heartbeat was so weak and barely alive. They were attacked by the remaining assassin and Youwen single handedly killed them, they are not from the palace, and he thinks that those are merchant assassin, so the real perpetrator would not even use their direct soldier and people and just pay someone to do the job.

 

 

Youwen tried to capture one of the assassins, but the black dressed man was assassinated from the distance as well using an arrow. It’s almost zero visibility due to the heavy rain, but Xiao Zhan asked Youwen to help them first and move Wen Ning’s body to a nearby cabin or cave.

 

Due to the memories of Wei Wuxian that he recalled, he uses talisman to preserve the remaining life energy of his friend Wen Ning, he can’t help but to cry in agony but there are things that he needs to do. After a while there’s a sudden noise from the forest and that might be a fierce corpse that was attracted to the Stygian Lure flag.

 

 

Xiao Zhan tried to use Chenqing as a resort in protecting them from the upcoming fierce corpse, but he didn’t know that this would affect his friend as well. Before they realized it, Wen Ning became a fierce corpse but different compared to the others, Wen Ning keeps on fighting the other fierce corpse and protecting them.

 

 

“What have I done,” Xiao Zhan mumbles while kneeling in the mud while Wen Qing, loudly weeping for his brother. The two cannot bear to look at the current situation of Wen Ning. After a while, the army of fierce corpses took off, and Wen Ning lost consciousness, but Xiao Zhan still decided to bring him into the Burial Mound to hide his body.

 

 

But before they leave the place, the emperor and Lan Xichen arrived at the scene they had detour due to the landslide that was caused by heavy rain and the army of fierce corpse and had to kill some of them.

 

 

“Wei Ying!” Lan Zhan called the empress, but he was devastated when he saw the empress’ face, so he hurriedly ran towards the empress and tightly hugged him. Xiao Zhan hugged him back and cried loudly. He can no longer hold back the tears, he’s frustrated, sad and angry, he doesn’t know what to do with the emotions piling inside of him.

 

 

That night they went to the Burial Mound to hide Wen Ning’s body and put some talisman on it.

 

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AN: Just got back! Sorry for the long hiatus hehe 🙂

PS: I’m still alive hehe