Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

130. Heartbroken Poison

Translator: Flying Lines

However, Su Jie didn’t know that Ju Liandao would think so much.

There was a reason why he ordered to bury Xu Lingtian, Xia Zhi, and Gong Che well.

On one hand, he admired this kind of loyal soldiers. On the other hand, he did so to give the citizens an impression that he was someone compassionate.

Because, how could a ruler treat his citizens badly if he was so respectful to talented people on the enemies’ side?

Even though Su Jie had never been an emperor before, he knew he should think about the future. Since he landed himself with such a burden, he needed to think of a good way to deal with it.

Also, Su Jie had always been a master who refused to suffer. He was poisoned by Gong Che, and so he would certainly think of a way of taking revenge on Lan Buhui.

However, after this matter, Su Jie also decided to nurture his power, which was going to be a lot easier for him because he could use State Yanling’s religion.

Su Jie’s identity already decided that he could nurture his power in broad daylight.

The soldiers were all extremely loyal to him, like Ju Liandao, who had been protecting the borders for more than a decade.

Ju Liandao possessed military power. Before he found Su Jie, he already conquered half the country. However, he didn’t give up on finding Su Jie, nor did he claim himself as emperor.

Zhou Zaiyue was also extremely loyal.

Thinking back, Su Jie discovered that there were a lot of talented people by his side that he could use. However, he didn’t know if there were spies sent by Lan Buhui amid these soldiers.

Su Jie thought for a while, and then said, “General Zhanbei.”

“I am here.” General Zhanbei was a title conferred by the previous emperor. Now being called so, he felt a bit complicated.

Su Jie’s gaze was heavy, and his expression was solemn. “Prepare the army. Get ready to attack the imperial city!”

Hearing this, Ju Liandao widened his eyes. He once thought that His Highness was kind to the very core – or he wouldn’t order to bury three of Lan Buhui’s famous generals. But now that His Highness was poisoned, why did he want to attack at this point?

Ju Liandao was a little old, and the way he did things was no longer as reckless as when he was young. Also, he had guarded the borders for so many years and had developed a fear of making mistakes. In these years, his sharpness had been eroded by a lot, and he became more cautious when making decisions.

However, Gongsun Yi was not like that.

Once he heard Su Jie’s decision, he revealed an expression of agreement instead.

Indeed, attacking the imperial city now seemed to be the best decision. Su Jie got poisoned, and news of this had yet to spread. Attacking before Su Jie’s poison caused any negative effects would prevent any hitches from occurring due to long delays. If the antidote couldn’t be made…

Gongsun Yi didn’t think any further. Even though he didn’t wish for Su Jie to die, it was always better to consider both the best and worst scenarios, right?

“Your Highness, your health is more important…” Ju Liandao didn’t want the crown prince they painstakingly found to die of poison. He’d rather wait for a bit more than taking the risk to let Su Jie advance the army.

“It’s fine. The poison has yet to attack my organs, I can still travel with the army. If Lan Buhui spreads out the message that I’m going to die soon, the army and citizens are bound to be affected. ” Su Jie said.

“But…” Ju Liandao was usually decisive, but he was extremely hesitant on this subject. Although he didn’t want to go against orders, he didn’t want Su Jie to play with his life.

“General Zhanbei, listen to my orders. Dispatch the troops at once, and prepare for attack!” Su Jie didn’t try to discuss it any longer with Ju Liandao. Instead, he said this in a commanding tone.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Ju Liandao suppressed the hesitation he wanted to voice and answered.

Inside the room, other generals also saluted in response, and then followed Ju Liandao out of the room.

Only Gongsun Yi stayed behind.

“Does Vice-general Gongsun have anything to say?” Su Jie revealed a faint smile. Now, he could feel a slight numbing and pain in his right leg, just like ants were gnawing at his body. The pain spread slowly mixed with a trace of itchiness.

In order to not let Gongsun Yi worry, Su Jie didn’t show the discomfort on his face.

“Your Highness…” Gongsun Yi froze a little. He also didn’t know why he stayed behind. Perhaps it was because he was worried about the poison within Su Jie, or maybe he wanted to stay with Su Jie for a bit longer.

“Vice-general Gongsun has worked hard and has obtained outstanding achievements. After we take the imperial city, I will reward you.” Su Jie said smilingly.

Gongsun Yi didn’t plan to talk about this, but since Su Jie had already found a topic, he said, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

After finishing his sentence, he was like a stone carving in the way, staying rooted to the spot. He didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything, and only stared at Su Jie.

Gongsun Yi scolded himself for being stupid inwardly. It wasn’t easy to have a chance to interact with Su Jie without anyone else, but his mind had turned into a puddle. He didn’t know what to say.

Su Jie couldn’t understand what this wild and easy-going man wanted to say to him alone. The pain in his leg was still within his tolerance, so the faint smile stayed on his face.

Seeing Gongsun Yi not saying anything, Su Jie said, “Vice-general Gongun’s martial arts is amazing. I originally wanted to have a match with you in broad daylight but since I’ve been poisoned today, I’m afraid I can’t use any martial arts anytime soon.”

“After Elder Zhou has undone the poison for Your Highness, I am willing to have a match with Your Highness.” The corners of Gongsun Yi’s lips tugged into a smile. He didn’t expect that Su Jie would actually remember about the match, which somehow made him feel over the moon.

“Gongsun Yi, I admire your outstanding abilities and your easy-going personality. How about this, when we’re alone, I’ll call you ‘big brother’ and you can still call me ‘little brother Wen’?” Su Jie smiled. His impression of Gongsun Yi was quite good. Also, the Gongsun father and son pair had military power and contributed a lot to the war. Su Jie didn’t mind becoming brothers with such a wise and resourceful man.

Hearing this, Gongsun Yi first froze, then was ecstatic. He laughed cheerily, “Sure! I’m older than you by a few years, so I can just call you ‘little brother’.

Gongsun Yi felt that he became closer to his target. He really liked Su Jie and had always been wanting to have a closer relationship with him.

Gongsun Yi’s feelings were like wildfire. He didn’t care what others thought of it, nor did he care about any obstacles. To Gongsun Yi, love is love. He liked the crown prince, so he wished that after the crown prince ascended to State Yanling’s throne, he would be able to become a male concubine in the crown prince’s harem.

Also, he didn’t think that his way of thinking was shameless. He wasn’t going after Su Jie’s position. All he cared was that the young man attracted him and was able to stimulate his interest. Thus, he only wanted to approach His Highness and get past the crown prince’s walls.

Ju Liandao had always taught Gongsun Yi to follow his heart, that he should be someone who could stand tall and proud. He should serve the country and shoulder his own responsibilities. But Ju Liandao would never have thought that his son would fall in love with the crown prince and planned to follow his heart to pursue the crown prince after the war.

If Ju Liandao knew of this, he probably wouldn’t be able to eat anything for three days straight. He always thought that his son was just a little more playful, so he had never fallen for anyone. Yet, unexpectedly, Gongsun Yi fell for Su Jie.

On the other hand, Xiao Shengnian didn’t know that there was such a vice-general by Su Jie’s side. Logically speaking, State Yanling’s royal family had a very high position in the eyes of their vice-generals who definitely wouldn’t harbor any inappropriate thoughts. However, Gongsun Yi was one of a kind. He didn’t care about the restrictions of positions or other people’s opinions. He only cared about what the one he loved thought.

*

When Xiao Shengnian received news of their immediate attack, he thought it was a decision that came to be after the vice-generals had a discussion to prevent any problems from occurring if they delayed, not knowing that was related to Su Jie being poisoned. He was only curious as to where Zhou Zaiyue went.

“Elder Zhou went to find some medicinal herbs. There will always be people getting injured in war. To lower the death toll, all medical practitioners will naturally have to prepare some herbs.” Su Jie said naturally.

Su Jie didn’t tell Xiao Shengnian that he was poisoned. One more person knowing meant one more person worrying about it. Xiao Shengnian traveling such a long way to find Su Jie had already caused Su Jie to feel extremely moved. Su Jie carried a coldness in his bones, and because of Prince Qin’s influence, it was hard for Su Jie to accept people. However, Xiao Shengnian was like the light rain that nourished objects, gradually seeping into Su Jie’s heart, causing the young man to bear a spring-like warmth.

“Xiao Shengnian.” Su Jie called out in a low voice. His voice was clear and pleasant to hear, carrying a few traces of sentimentality as he called out these two words.

“Hm?” Xiao Shengnian’s eyes carried a gentle glow. In the next second, Su Jie already opened his arms to hug him.

His gaze bearing a few hints of dumbfoundedness, a smile slowly blossomed on Xiao Shengnian’s face. This was the first time Su Jie initiated a hug after he arrived in State Yanling. It made Xiao Shengnian extremely happy.

Under the daylight, the hugging lovers didn’t say anything. Su Jie could feel Xiao Shengnian’s strong heartbeats.

“This is the last battle. Get ready to move out.” After a while, Su Jie released his grip. He placed a feather-light kiss on Xiao Shengnian’s lips and said as such.

“Sure.” Xiao Shengnian nodded.

After attacking the imperial city, he should leave…

Xiao Shengnian let out a sigh inwardly. At the same time, he made a decision…