C152 — Kill the top Scorer （19）

Upon hearing this, the new emperor raised an eyebrow and slowly replied, “I heard it’s set for the fifteenth of next month. I don’t know why General Shi is in such a hurry to get married, but he chose the most auspicious date available and decided on it.”

Shen Jue raised the back of his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips, his expression returning to calm as he released the new emperor’s sleeve.

The new emperor stared at Shen Jue, then smiled. “I truly feel sorry for you, Imperial Uncle. You’ve never been unkind to General Shi, but General Shi didn’t even tell you about the marriage and locked you away in this small Chengde Hall, keeping you confined, as if you’re just a caged bird. This isn’t how you keep a golden pheasant, is it?”

Shen Jue turned his face away and refused to look at the new emperor. “If you’re done, then leave.”

He lay down on the bed again, and since the new emperor was still present, he covered himself entirely with the quilt.

The new emperor sat for a while, seemingly losing interest, and then got up and left.

Shen Jue heard the sound of footsteps retreating and his hand reached under the pillow, where the dagger that Shi Zhou had once returned to him lay.

This time, his life was even worse than in previous lifetimes. After going in circles, Wen Yurong was still going to end up with Shi Zhou.

Shen Jue closed his eyes and gripped the dagger tightly in his hand.

A few days later, Shi Zhou entered the room with large strides. As soon as he came in, he headed straight for the inner hall. When he saw Shen Jue standing by the window instead of lying on the bed, he paused for a moment before walking over.

“Is your health better today? Standing here in the cold wind?”

As he spoke, Shi Zhou reached out to close the open window.

The capital had already entered late autumn, and the weather was growing colder. In past years, by this time, Shen Jue would have been preparing to move to the South Palace for the winter, but this year, he didn’t have that luxury.

Although the mute palace servants had tried their best to burn charcoal stoves in Chengde Hall, there was still a chill in the air. It wasn’t too bad for ordinary people, but Shen Jue couldn’t tolerate the cold. His face was pale, and even though he wore many layers, his body remained icy cold.

Shi Zhou didn’t know how long Shen Jue had been standing there in the cold wind, but his complexion appeared worse than it had been in the past few days.

He couldn’t help but frown, pulling Shen Jue down onto the couch and muttering, “If you want to die, don’t just stand in the cold wind, you could hang yourself from the beam instead.”

His words were harsh, but he held Shen Jue’s hands tightly. After a moment, seeing that the cold wasn’t warming them, he simply pulled Shen Jue into his arms.

At first, Shen Jue allowed it, but when he was held, his brows furrowed, and he tried to push Shi Zhou away.

But Shi Zhou, relying on his physical strength, held him tightly in his arms, pulling the quilt from the couch to cover Shen Jue, leaving only his head exposed.

“What are you making a fuss about? You’re in such a fragile state and still acting up. Do you really think all those medicines you’ve been taking are free? You’re not the emperor anymore, so if you keep acting like this, I’ll stop giving you your medicine.”

Shi Zhou spoke without any courtesy.

When he saw Shen Jue look up at him with wide eyes, he sneered and said, “What are you staring at?” Before Shen Jue could respond, he leaned down to kiss him.

Shen Jue knew what Shi Zhou was going to do as soon as he lowered his head. Disgusted, he turned his head away, and the kiss landed on his cheek instead.

Shi Zhou clicked his tongue, then raised his hand and pinched Shen Jue’s chin, forcing him to turn his face back. “Yunu, you really won’t listen, will you?”

Shen Jue’s face was ashen, his lips pale, the only color in his face being his dark, striking eyes—eyes like ink, like the night. He looked at Shi Zhou and spoke slowly.

“You’re going to marry Wen Yurong, aren’t you?”

Upon hearing this, Shi Zhou’s expression shifted slightly. He slowly loosened his grip on Shen Jue’s chin. “How did you know?”

“Then it’s true,” Shen Jue said softly, turning his face away as if unwilling to look at Shi Zhou’s face any longer. “You’re getting married to him, so when do you plan to let me go?”

“Let you go?” Shi Zhou turned Shen Jue’s face back toward him, forcing him to look into his eyes which was filled with hatred. “Shen Jue, what does my marriage have to do with you? You killed my brother, and that’s something that will never be over in this lifetime. You want me to let you go? Fine, I’ll let you go once you’re dead. Until you die, I’ll keep coming back to check on your business. After all, who else will buy your medicine? That’s all you’re worth now.”

Shi Zhou suddenly smiled. “I heard the emperor came by. Did he tell you? What, you don’t still want to latch onto him, do you? Oh, it’s normal. After all, you managed to seduce me back then, so why can’t you seduce anyone else?”

In Shi Zhou’s words, Shen Jue was made to seem like a person of no worth, someone beneath contempt.

Hearing this, Shen Jue’s expression remained indifferent as he let Shi Zhou speak. After all, these were not the first insults he’d heard.

Back in the heavenly courts, when others would mock his appearance, Shen Jue would often frown. He never imagined that, in this lifetime, he could calmly listen to others’ slanders without reacting.

No, perhaps it wasn’t entirely slander.

Shi Zhou noticed that Shen Jue was silent, and his gaze became suspicious. “Why aren’t you speaking?”

What was there to say?

He had no words for this person.

It was his own fault for not being able to make Wen Yurong love him, for not breaking through, and he couldn’t blame anyone else.

When Shi Zhou saw that Shen Jue remained silent, his eyes flashed with dissatisfaction. He suddenly picked Shen Jue up and began walking toward the dragon couch.

Seeing the familiar dragon couch, Shen Jue’s eyes trembled. As soon as he was set down, he reached out and forcefully pushed Shi Zhou away. “Get out!”

Shi Zhou sneered, stepping forward and grabbing Shen Jue’s wrist. “Stop pretending. It’s not like this is the first time. I have things to do later, so hurry up!”

Hearing this, Shen Jue nearly felt sick, but he couldn’t throw up. As Shi Zhou’s face drew closer, Shen Jue’s hand, which had been resting by his side, slowly clenched. Then, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

He raised his hand and slapped Shi Zhou across the face. Given Shi Zhou’s skills, he could have easily avoided it, but for some reason, he didn’t. The slap landed squarely.

Shi Zhou narrowed his eyes after being hit and reached out to grab Shen Jue’s neck. “With your little strength, that slap didn’t even hurt. Next time, save it.”

He squeezed Shen Jue’s neck as if handling an animal. His grip wasn’t particularly hard, but it still reddened Shen Jue’s skin.

Shen Jue bit his lip tightly, and the flame of anger in his eyes slowly extinguished, like the last glow of a firefly in the dark, fading away with a gust of wind, leaving only an unbreakable void.

Since Shen Jue’s fall from power, his long hair had been loosely tied up. After his recent struggles, the hair tie had long since fallen off, and his dark hair now spread across the pillow like ink.

Shi Zhou’s hand passed through Shen Jue’s hair, and he gently rubbed his ear lobe. It was unclear whether it was because Shen Jue had stopped resisting or for some other reason, but at this moment, Shi Zhou’s touch became unexpectedly gentle.

“Fine, I won’t push you. What’s the point of arguing with me? No matter how much you struggle, it’ll all be the same. Yesterday, I hunted a red fox. Its fur is magnificent. I shot it in the eye on purpose. A few days from now, when the fur is ready, I’ll bring it to you. The weather’s cold, so you’d better wear it. Do you hear me?”

Shi Zhou lowered his voice when he spoke. When he saw that Shen Jue ignored him, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he simply lay down beside him.

He looked up at the bright yellow canopy above the bed and sighed, then reached over and pulled Shen Jue into his arms.

“I’ve been worked to death these past few days. Why are there so many things for me to do? I’d rather be out fighting on the frontier.”

After saying that, he turned his head to glance at Shen Jue. Seeing that Shen Jue was just staring out the window, he paused, and his expression gradually turned cold. A moment later, he got up and left with a dark look on his face.

Shen Jue remained lying on the bed. Who knew how much time passed before he finally moved.

He sat up and took the dagger out from under his pillow.

It was a fine blade, sharp enough to slice through iron like mud—it would take only an instant to take a life.

Just as Shen Jue removed the sheath, the man who had just left returned. Shi Zhou’s brow twitched when he saw the dagger in Shen Jue’s hand. “What are you doing?”

Shen Jue’s answer was to plunge the dagger straight into his own chest.

It was all in a split second—Shi Zhou didn’t even have time to react. By the time he rushed to the bedside, the dagger was already fully embedded.

“Are you insane?!” Shi Zhou cursed furiously, then quickly tried to stem the bleeding with his hands—but the blood was pouring out, too fast and too much.

In his fury, he kicked the bed hard, then immediately scooped Shen Jue into his arms and dashed out while shouting, “Someone! Call the imperial physician! Where is he?!”

Shi Zhou ran swiftly, using light-footwork techniques. Shen Jue looked up at the sky above the palace walls and blinked tiredly.

He was just too tired. He wanted to rest now.

His vision blurred more and more, and it felt like someone was speaking beside him.

“Shen Jue! I won’t let you die! Do you hear me?! Imperial physician, hurry up! Shen Jue, if you die, I’ll capture that Tong woman and throw her into the snake pit—do you hear me? And that so-called heir of Prince Yong? None of them will survive. And all those palace servants who used to wait on you? I’ll round them all up. If you dare die, I’ll slaughter them one by one in front of your grave!”

 

Shen Jue thought the voice was too noisy—but he no longer cared. He just felt sorry for his master. His master was surely still waiting for him to return, but it hurt too much, and he couldn’t hold on anymore. He didn’t want to break through the realm anymore.

“Mas…”

Hearing that single syllable, Shiz Zhou immediately pressed his ear to Shen Jue’s lips. “You’re calling me?”

Master, I’m sorry.

Your disciple is useless. I couldn’t break through this realm. I could only cowardly choose to end it all because I really couldn’t bear to live like this any longer.

From one realm to another, there wasn’t a single moment of rest. Even in sleep, he was calculating—calculating the realm lord’s preferences, thinking of every way to make him fall in love with him.

To break through, he had done everything. He had become someone entirely different—the kind of person he once despised the most.

But fate was set against him. It wanted him to suffer through every kind of torment. And those people from the Celestial Court—surely they were laughing at him from above. How ridiculous his rebellion a thousand years ago must seem now.

He was really tired, so he wanted to give up—just for a moment, even that would be enough.

Master, your disciple may not be able to return. Please forgive my uselessness.

---

TN:

😭😭😭😭😭😭