I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 423 What's the use of hindsight?
Even kneeling outside in the midday sun, under the shade of a tree, Chu Liuzheng couldn't help but break out in a fine layer of sweat on his forehead.

Xiao Jingfan squatted down and unfolded his folding fan to fan her.

Chu Liuzheng secretly curled his lip.

[You're blocking my wind by squatting somewhere else.]

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

He shifted his feet, continuing to fan himself, and asked in a relatively gentle tone, "Have you thought it through?"

Chu Liuzheng secretly rolled his eyes, pursed his lips and didn't say a word, but he was cursing in his heart.

Xiao Jingfan was used to it and didn't care at all. When he got tired of fanning with one hand, he would switch to the other hand to continue fanning.

Chu Liuzheng didn't know what had gotten into him all of a sudden, but he just let him fan himself. He could enjoy the treatment of being fanned by an emperor and brag about it later.

Zhou Yuande, who was standing to the side, really didn't understand.

Why is His Majesty ignoring the urgent memorials sent from the capital and instead squatting here fanning people? What is he trying to achieve?

If you feel bad about it, why not just not punish them?
In this sweltering heat, why suffer together outside like this?

The others were also watching from a distance. Feng Jing stroked his chin and asked his companions, "What do you think His Majesty means by this?"

Lü Fei: "I don't know."

Siyue: "I don't understand."

Chen Xing: "I don't know."

Prince Rui: "I regret it."

The four of them turned around in unison, surprised: "What brings you here?"

Prince Rui raised his hand and shushed him, his voice as clear as morning dew, "Don't let my brother find out."

The four of them nodded in unison.

Feng Jing asked quietly, "What did you mean when you said 'I regret it'?"

"The literal meaning." Prince Rui's gaze lingered on Chu Liuzheng for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips, before he was helped away.

Siyue asked in confusion, "What brings Prince Rui here?"

The other three shook their heads. Who knows?
Chu Liuzheng was spared punishment by the emperor, who was tired of fanning him and hadn't even knelt until his legs were crippled. He was then helped back to his tent by Chenxing and Siyue, limping along.

Chenxing went to fetch the food, while Siyue took out some medicated oil to massage her bruised knees.

Chu Liuzheng winced in pain, his face twitching. "That's enough, stop rubbing it, let it heal on its own."

"You have to rub it open." Mitsuki loosened her grip, but Chu Liuzheng still couldn't bear it and tears welled up in his eyes from the pain.

Seeing this, Siyue had no choice but to stop, put down her rolled-up trouser legs, and instructed, "Chenxing will bring the food in a little while. Sister, eat and rest well. I will come back to massage you again tonight."

Chu Liuzheng hugged his leg, tears welling in his eyes from the pain, his eyes reddening. "Do I really have to rub it?"

Siyue nodded: "To avoid developing a chronic illness, please bear with it, sister."

Just then, Chenxing brought the food.

While Chu Liu was having his meal, Si Yue went to the main tent next door.

While reviewing the memorials, Xiao Jingfan asked without looking up, "How is it?"

Siyue glanced at him and replied, "Both knees are bruised and swollen, with subcutaneous bruising. If not treated properly, they may become chronic."

"How could it be so serious?" Xiao Jingfan frowned and looked up. Weren't there padding added?

Siyue said, "Sister Liuzheng has a special constitution, so her condition is more serious than that of ordinary people. I wanted to use medicated oil to massage it in for her all at once, but she is in a lot of pain, so I can only do it slowly."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingfan frowned and waved for her to leave. He picked up the memorials on the table again, reluctantly reviewed two, then put them down in a daze. He paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, making Zhou Gonggong dizzy.

The head eunuch was worried for him. If he was worried, he should go and see for himself; it wasn't far.

Seeing the emperor pacing back and forth, practically wearing out the ground, the considerate eunuch Zhou felt it was time to share the emperor's burden. But before he could even finish calling out "Your Majesty," Xiao Jingfan had already strode out of the tent.

The head eunuch nearly bit his tongue and hurriedly followed, watching as his emperor entered the tent next door. He couldn't help but smile and spontaneously stood at the doorway as a doorman. Inside the tent, calming incense was lit, and Chu Liuzheng, his face resting against the pillow, was breathing evenly and sleeping soundly.

Xiao Jingfan stood by the bed for a long time, puzzled.

There are plenty of gentle and understanding women out there, so why did he fall for this heartless girl who always makes him angry?
Chu Liuzheng was completely unaware that there was someone else in the tent. He rubbed his cheek against the pillow, opened and closed his mouth, and mumbled something.

Xiao Jingfan leaned closer to listen.

"asshole."

"You...you're awful...you've gone bald..."

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

He's superfluous!
He gritted his teeth, stared at Chu Liuzheng's sleeping face for a moment, then leaned down and bit down.

In his sleep, Chu Liuzheng let out a soft snort and raised his hand to slap someone.

Xiao Jingfan skillfully grabbed the soft flesh in his mouth, and looking at the complete tooth mark, his anger subsided considerably.

He pulled back the quilt, gently rolled up Chu Liuzheng's trouser legs, and examined the injuries on his knees.

Chu Liuzheng's skin was naturally fair, so even the slightest bump or bruise would appear more severe than others, let alone large bruises.

Xiao Jingfan's brows furrowed more and more as he looked at it.

He practiced riding and archery from a young age, and bruises were common. He had also been punished by kneeling for making mistakes, and his knees were swollen. Knowing this, he knew he had to rub the swelling with medicated oil as soon as possible, otherwise it would take a long time to subside.

Thinking of this, he looked around and found the medicinal oil on the table next to him.

He got up, took it, rubbed it in his palm to warm it, and gently pressed it onto his bruised knee, massaging it little by little.

Even in her sleep, Chu Liuzheng felt pain; her eyelashes trembled violently, and she was about to wake up.

Xiao Jingfan immediately stopped and waited until the person fell asleep again before continuing to massage.

This went on intermittently for about an hour.

Chu Liuzheng was sweating profusely from the pain, and Xiao Jingfan was also exhausted, so he had to wring out a handkerchief to wipe Chu Liuzheng's sweat.

After doing all this, the emperor put the medicated oil back in its place and got up to leave.

The memorial hasn't been approved yet.

The air was filled with a strong minty scent, with a faint hint of sandalwood mixed in, almost imperceptible.

The person on the bed trembled slightly, opened their eyes, looked at the tent ceiling, and sighed softly.

She was just asleep, not dead. How could she not feel the throbbing pain in her knee?
She turned her head and glanced at the medicated oil on the table.

A beating followed by a sweet treat—no matter how sweet the treat, the beating still hurts.

She's not a goldfish with only a seven-second memory.

What's the use of hindsight when you've already suffered the consequences?
Feeling a warm sensation on his knees, Chu Liuzheng blinked, closed his eyes again, turned over, and continued sleeping.

When Siyue came over that evening, she found that the bruises on Chu Liuzheng's knees had faded by more than half. A smile flashed in her eyes. Instead of using medicated oil, she applied ointment and told Chu Liuzheng to rest well.

After resting for two days, Chu Liuzheng's injury was completely healed, and he returned to work at the summons of Eunuch Zhou.

Good news: The emperor has not gone mad again.

Bad news: The emperor is finding fault more frequently and is ten times more difficult to please than before.

Chu Liuzheng often thought of smashing a teacup on the emperor's forehead and quitting.

Unfortunately, I don't dare.

Seeing that Chu Liuzheng's resentment was almost as heavy as a ghost, and the tension in the tent was growing stronger, it was about to explode. The considerate eunuch Zhou hurriedly tried to persuade the emperor and subtly advised him to stop, otherwise things would really fall apart.

But the emperor wouldn't listen at all, and became even more unreasonable.

(End of this chapter)