Quick Transmigration: The Divine-Looking Host is Always Pampered by a Powerful Boss

This statement... seems fine at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it feels out of place.

Qi Xingli's eyelids twitched, hoping she was just overthinking it: "Goodbye, oh no, see you in the martial world."

After a while, Chu Zhuo removed the large hand covering her eyes, leaving only a shadow of the female protagonist before she disappeared.

Before I knew it, the thing in my hand was taken away.

Yan Jiheng intended to check the object's origin for safety, so he flipped the bottle over to search for the words on it.

The handwriting was different from what he was used to; it was too simple.

I can roughly make out that it's a private matter, a smear...

Wound medicine?

Chu Zhuo glanced at Yan Jiheng's hand and quickly snatched it back.

"It's for skin abrasions, it's for applying. It works very well. I've heard that in her hometown, they specialize in selling this kind of medicine, and it's famous for its miraculous healing effects." Chu Zhu explained in a very professional manner, as if it were true.

Yan Jiheng's brows furrowed with doubt as he stared at him silently, then suddenly chuckled, "Then you may keep Zhuobao."

Chu Zhuo didn't notice Yan Jiheng's unusual behavior and put the small porcelain bottle back in his pocket.

His intuition told him that it was best not to let Yan Jiheng know the purpose of this thing for the time being.

001 glared: [Hiss, no wonder she's a female lead who survived the apocalypse, ruthless and open-minded.]

Chu Zhuo stayed at the palace for almost half a month, and before leaving, he collected a bunch of peach petals.

"Yan Jiheng, I want to go back to the General's Mansion first." Chu Zhu carefully folded the cloth bag. "These days I only go back for half a day during my days off. Last time, my mother told me that she made me a dress, and it's almost finished. I'm going back today to rest with my mother for two days. I'll make it up to her later."

Yan Jiheng: "...Alright, I will come to pick you up in two days."

Oh my?

Since becoming Yan Jiheng's personal bodyguard, the other party had almost never referred to himself as "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I, the Emperor") in front of him. Now, hearing this, he approached the emperor with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, I haven't left yet."

Yan Jiheng raised a finger and hooked his nose: "Are you making fun of me?"

Chu Zhu shook his head from side to side, adopting a devout posture: "No, no, Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, so of course I would keep the jokes to myself."

The bodyguard who returned after ensuring safety and scouting the area: "..."

I wish I could go deaf! Why did they have to witness the emperor flirting with someone?

Yan Jiheng chuckled, suppressing his slight displeasure for the time being: "If you need anything, come to the palace to find me. The people at the palace gate have already given you permission to come and go as you please."

Chu Zhu nodded: "With Your Majesty as such a powerful backer, I won't just let him go to waste."

"Still calling him Your Majesty?"

Yan Jiheng pinched his cheek, his rosy lips slightly pouting, revealing a few pearly white teeth. He was truly a handsome young man with red lips, white teeth, and a face as lovely as spring.

The man gradually became stunned.

"Yan Jiheng, if you don't let go, I'm going to drool from your mouth." Chu Zhu accused him, her words muffled, her eyes glistening with tears.

Yan Jiheng seemed to wake from a dream, loosened the boy's jaw, and took two steps back in a slightly flustered manner: "Sorry, I lost my composure."

"No need to apologize, it didn't affect me." Chu Zhu rubbed her cheek and glanced at him sideways. "But if you keep pinching it, you might actually drool, and that's another story."

Yan Jiheng indulgently played along with him: "Fortunately, I escaped unscathed."

As they set off to return home, Yan Jiheng saw them off at the main gate of the General's Mansion: "Remember, if you encounter any trouble, come to the palace to find me."

Chu Zhuo jumped off the carriage, turned around and waved to him: "I know, it's getting late, Your Majesty should go back now."

After watching the young man enter the mansion, Yan Jiheng returned to his carriage and turned to order, "To the dungeon."

*

The dungeon is different from the main prison; it was a prison specifically built to deal with rebellions by powerful families.

The environment was even darker than the prison, and a damp smell permeated the entire space.

The spring outing was marred by an assassination attempt, and this trip to the imperial palace was kept secret.

Yan Jiheng was absent from the morning court session, claiming to be ill, but in reality, he was secretly looking for someone behind the scenes.

Well, someone finally showed their true colors and was caught red-handed.

The stench of blood lingered in the dungeon, and the black-clad men who had been tortured a few days earlier hung there like rotten flesh.

Beside him was a middle-aged man with an overweight build.

The jailer moved a grand chair to a spot not far from the middle-aged man. Yan Jiheng sat down gracefully, holding a long whip soaked in salt water: "The Xia family alone could not possibly mobilize such a large number of assassins."

Xia Huaiyong's fat body trembled, and he prostrated himself before the emperor: "Your Majesty, I do not know this person. The Xia family has always been loyal to Your Majesty and would never do such a rebellious act as assassinating Your Majesty."

"Ha, Xia Huaiyong, this is your last chance."

Yan Jiheng's cold gaze was filled with murderous intent. He stood up, and his guards quickly captured him and tied him to the wooden stake behind him.

Xia Huaiyong's legs trembled so badly he could barely touch the ground, his face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured down his back: "Your Majesty, the Xia family is innocent! Please don't listen to the slander of these villains..."

Crack—The sharp sound of a whip pierced the sky.

Before he could finish speaking, Xia Huaiyong let out a scream.

The irritating salt water seeped into his cracked flesh, causing him excruciating pain. His limbs were tightly bound, and he wept and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please spare me! This humble subject is dull-witted, and the master of the household has kept many things from me. This humble subject was unaware of them all, Your Majesty!"

Yan Jiheng ignored him, whipping him until his skin was torn and bleeding, then grabbed a dagger and plunged it into Xia Huaiyong's eye.

Blood spurted out instantly, splattering all over the man's face. He murmured in a low voice, "If you don't know, then enjoy it."

Xia Huaiyong screamed in pain, his body struggling uncontrollably: "Your Majesty, I am truly innocent!!!"

"...Xia Huaiyong, Xia Huaiyong, do you really think your family head will protect your family's safety? You're just being used as a pawn, huh?"

The emperor's sinister gaze swept over his bloodstained eyes: "That day, A-Zhuo almost injured his eyes. These eyes of yours are useless; you can't see the situation clearly. I'll remove them for you."

After speaking, Yan Jiheng twisted his wrist, the sharp blade slicing through the flesh, the sound causing his heart to clench. He then gouged out his eyeballs, the blood-stained spheres falling to the ground with a thud.

Xia Huaiyong screamed and fainted from the pain.

Yan Jiheng glanced sideways, and a jailer brought over a bucket of water and splashed it on the unconscious Xia Huaiyong.

After a while, Xia Huaiyong opened his eyes and woke up... Oh, he had no eyes.

Red blood dripped from his empty eye sockets. He was breathing weakly, and his fingers trembled as he touched his eyes, stopping just before he reached them.

Xia Huaiyong recalled the words His Majesty had spoken when he fainted, and his wife and children... He couldn't help but feel sorrow in his heart.

"Your Majesty, I know my sins are grave, but my wife and children are innocent. I beg you to save them. I am willing to tell you everything, and I only ask that Your Majesty spare them."

Despite the incessant chatter in his ears, Yan Jiheng ignored it, tossed aside the bloodstained dagger which clattered to the ground, and picked up the handkerchief presented by the jailer: "I do not arbitrarily execute nine generations of relatives."

After wiping his hands, Yan Jiheng sat back in his armchair: "Speak."