“I will go too.”

Wei Lian felt that Ji Yue had been acting strangely since their trip to Ganquan Temple. 

To be more specific…the older man was more clingy. 

They do have a good relationship but they were not inseparable. They each have their own space. For example, Wei Lian never bothered Ji Yue when the older man was handling official business. 

But now it was different. Ji Yue would take him anywhere including if he was only reviewing memorials, the older man would even consult him from time to time. 

As someone born in a royal family, it was not hard for Wei Lian to think like a ruler. He was naturally good at solving these political affairs perfectly, but it did not stop his strange feeling. 

“Isn’t one of the laws stating that anyone in the black palace should not interfere in politics? Are you not afraid of being denounced by the imperial censor?”

Ji Yue replied, “Isn’t it a pity that Wei Lang’s talents have to be hidden?”

“I do not believe that.” Wei Lian spread out a memorial in front of him. “Even seeking my consultation on a trivial memorial like this, why do I feel like…you are going to let me take over all the imperial court’s affairs?”

Wei Lian never asked about court politics as he was not clear on all the details. Now, Ji Yue seemed to want him to be familiar with control, which made Wei Lian suspicious. 

This question was borderline disgraceful as the underlying meaning was as obvious as ‘do you plan to let me act as regent’. This was something that an ordinary person dare not ask. 

Ji Yue did not care, only sighed helplessly. “We are tired of working on this mountain of memorials every day. Wei Xiao Lian, you are so smart and capable, can’t you help us solve this problem?”

As he spoke, he leaned back in his chair and looked very dispirited, as if he was really burdened by this pile of folding notebooks. 

Wei Lian glanced at the older man, suppressed his doubts and pulled the next memorial to help Ji Yue review it. 

His original handwriting was sharp yet modest. But after coming clean with Ji Yue, he was too lazy to continue his act. The vigorous words freely appeared onto the paper and penetrated to the back of the paper. 

This was his real handwriting. Like the word, the writer was born arrogant. 

Imitating Ji Yue’s handwriting was also written in a forceful hand, in both form and spirit. 

Ji Yue leaned against his chair and quietly watched Wei Lian carefully review the memorial. He then lowered his eyes, hiding the small trace of dejection. 

The words Master Jing Chen said that day was still ringing in his ears. 

“A great disaster is coming, and there will be a ray of bloody disaster in the southeast.”

“A way to avoid this disaster will all depend on the benefactor with you just now.”

“This monk sees…death plagues him. Everything points to disaster.”

…

Ji Yue closed his eyes, put his fingers against his forehead and remained silent for a long time. 

The safety of the people on one hand, Wei Lian’s life on the other hand. If Wei Lian goes, he would most likely die and never return; if Wei Lian did not go, the disaster would spread and would cause countless deaths. 

How should he choose?

What…should he do?

* * *

Wei Lian and Ji Yue are both masters in acting. Wei Lian did not let Ji Yue see any flaws after acting for so long. Similarly, if Ji Yue really wanted to hide from a person, Wei Lian would also not notice any abnormalities. 

But now they have the same heart and mind. They could see through each other just by a glance. Wei Lian sharply observed Ji Yue’s action. He could tell something was wrong with Ji Yue these days, it troubled him on the inside but he did not show it. 

…The strangest thing happened on the bed. 

As if Ji Yue took spring medicine. The older man would drag him to Mount Wu whenever he was free. At first Wei Lian was delighted, and welcomed it with affectionate enthusiasm. Anything they did was not at all inexcusable. But later after the tossing, he felt something was wrong. 

…Ji Yue went too far. 

Ji Yue used to think about his body no matter how wild he was. Even on the night of his birthday, Ji Yue immediately held back after he called out ‘husband’. 

But these days were obviously different. 

The more gently Ji Yue treated him outside the bed, the more vicious he was on the bed. No matter what Wei Lian said, Ji Yue would not stop. Even if he was at the point of crying out ‘husband’ in tears, he would only meet with fiercer treatment. 

Wei Lian vaguely felt that Ji Yue was venting something, but whenever he asked offhandedly during the day, Ji Yue would reply ‘Feeling more energetic lately’ like everything was normal, or without explaining in words, sealed his lips and carried him to the bed. Wei Lian would soon be kissed by him to the point of dropping the question. 

It was that wild. 

This made Wei Lian think of a phrase. 

Be tangled in death. 

He was really at the verge of death, being tossed to death in bed by Ji Yue. 

Their bodies were becoming more accustomed to each other, but it felt as if their hearts were drifting further and further apart. They were still in love, but under each hot kiss, there was an increasing coldness spreading inside, spreading boundless panic. 

There was something on his lover’s mind that he knew nothing about. 

This made Wei Lian very upset as well as sad. 

He felt that he and Ji Yue were two people trapped in a shell. He finally came out and used great courage to present everything to Ji Yue without holding back, but Ji Yue withdrew back into his shell for some reason. 

He stood outside of Ji Yue’s shell and could not get the other to come out, no matter how much he knocked. 

Thus, Wei Lian snuck out of the palace. 

Ji Yue had been acting strangely ever since their trip to Ganquan Tempest. He needed to know what Ji Yue and Master Jing Chen discussed. 

“Amitabha.” When Jing Chen came out of the meditation room, he saw a young man with a hat standing at the door. He recited one of Buddha’s many names and did not seem all that surprised at the young man’s visit. 

The young man lifted up the white gauze, showing his ice-cold face. “This one is here to seek a question from the Master.”

Jing Chen replied, “This monk knows what the benefactor wants to ask, please forgive this monk on keeping his tongue—”

Before he could finish, a folding fan appeared by his neck. 

A sharp edge appeared out of the bone fan. 

Wei Lian showed a slight smile. “Please forgive this one’s rudeness.”

Jing Chen uttered, “...Benefactor, let’s talk this out.”

Although his teachings of the Buddha are profound, even could be said as mystery known only to heaven, he was clueless when it came to martial arts. 

Wei Lian gently twisted his folding fan, said softly and politely, “Then talk.”

Jing Cheng trembled and changed his tone, “Could the benefactor put down the fan? This monk will tell the truth.”

…

Looking at Wei Lian’s departing back towards the foot of the mountain, Jing Chen put away his persevering appearance and sighed, “Benefactor Ji, I don’t know if you will regret making such a decision in the future…”

* * *

The dim light of night with a slightly cool breeze caused the candle light to flicker. 

One or two supressed groans could be heard from within the Zhongling Palace. 

Wei Lian clenched his fingers and held back the tears in his eyes. His exposed skin was dusted with a light rouge colour. 

It was too intense. 

He was sure there was a tear. 

When he came back from Ganquan Temple, he finally learned what choice Ji Yue was facing these days. 

Jing Chen told him everything. There is a great disaster in the southeast, which can only be solved by him. But if he goes, it would be hard for him to escape death. 

In the end, his fate was still in death’s grasp. 

For Ji Yue, this was an extremely painful choice. 

Save him or save the common people. 

To put it in a crueller phrase, he dies or thousands of people die. 

If Ji Yue was a ruler who did not love his country, there was no doubt that he would choose the former. 

But Ji Yue was a wise ruler. 

A wise ruler would not abandon his people. 

So…

Wei Lian quietly endured it, almost making a cut on his lip from his bite as his thick eyelashes trembled. 

So Ji Yue has been clinging to him so much these days. 

Pulling him around so uncontrollably. 

It was…it was to treat every day between them as the last day?

So that was why. 

Wei Lian in fact understood. 

If it were him, he would also choose to save the many. If Ji Yue chose him, he would look down on the older man. 

How could Wei Lian fall in love with someone who ignored the people of his county for his own personal gain. 

The person he fell in love with is a hero, a wise ruler. That is the Ji Yue he loves. 

But he still felt very sad. 

Not because Ji Yue chose the common people. 

Throughout his life, he would only spend a small portion of it with Ji Yue. It was really…hard to accept. 

He could probably guess that the man behind him was sadder than him. 

Wei Lian accepted Ji Yue’s full treatment without saying a word. He knew he had been hurt, but Ji Yue was restless and did not notice it. 

Until his body was at his limit, Wei Lian said in a hoarse voice, “Enough.”

Ji Yue did not hear him. 

He was reluctant to part with this man and did not want to waste a single second of their limited time together. 

Wei Lian put his forehead on his arms, said softly with a slight trembling, “...It hurts.”

Ji Yue suddenly came to his senses and saw Wei Lian’s distressed appearance. For a moment, pain and panic flashed across his face. 

He hurriedly stopped, opened his mouth to apologise, but no words came out of his mouth. 

Wei Lian exhaustedly lowered his head. He was tired, the pain was greater this time. Maybe he was bleeding somewhere…

He was quiet for a moment and felt something cold behind him. 

Ji Yue was applying medicine on him. 

It was the medicine given by Physician Wang. He did not expect it to come in handy now. 

Wei Lian closed his eyes with some self mockery. 

A drop of cold liquid landed on Wei Lian’s shoulder. 

He thought it was Ji Yue’s sweat. They just finished an almost brutal loving, after all. 

“A-Lian.” Ji Yue whispered, “Sorry.”

He leaned over and hugged him, said in a voice with a hint of sobs, “Sorry, sorry…”

Sorry for what?

Sorry for hurting him?

Or sorry for abandoning him?

Don’t worry, I understand. Ji Yue, you’re a great hero.

I do not blame you.

Wei Lian pretended to be carefree and said, “Ji Yue, you have gone too far. You tossed me so much at night and have me review your memorials during the day. You are squeezing me dry.”

He turned around and was stunned by the sight of Ji Yue’s reddish eyes. He said with a smile, “Why are you crying? I should be the one who is crying. Immature.”

Ji Yue looked at him for a long time and suddenly went for a kiss. They tightly embraced each other and their kiss was so deep that even the candlelight did not burn as hot as their love. 

The moonlight was not as sad as that look. 

* * *

Unsure if he was frightened by Wei Lian’s injury that day, Ji Yue had not touched him since. But the degree of clinginess did not decrease at all. He held the young man gently, nothing more. 

As if carefully protecting his most precious treasure to the best of his ability. 

On the contrary, Wei Lian brought the issue up several times and was rejected by Ji Yue. “We keep overstepping these days and it is not good for your health.”

Wei Lian wanted to brush it off. Since he was going to die, he should have his fill before his death. 

So his current self and Ji Yue’s past self were completely reversed. 

In the eyes of outsiders, they only see that his Majesty and Lian Gongzi’s feelings for each other were growing deeper and deeper every day. 

When the fourth month was about to end, the man tasked by Ji Yue to visit Jiang Province and Qing Province rushed back and brought back two secret reports. 

There was no abnormality in Qing Province. While in Qingping of Jiang Province, which was also in the southeast, there was a serious plague. 

At the beginning, there was one patient in a village, and then it quickly spread to the whole district. By the time the scout returned, it had spread to the next district. 

The local head magistrate thought a few dying commoners was nothing serious, so he did not care to report. He would never have thought the problem would get more and more intense as a plague broke out. As the news passed to the governor, he was at the juncture of promotion. For fear of losing his official post, he did not report the situation. 

Today, the whole of Jiang Province, especially Qingping, the source of the epidemic, was a purgatory in the human realm. 

After hearing the news, Ji Yue was so angry that he slammed the notebook on the ground. The next day, he explained the matter at the morning court and removed the governor in charge of Jiang Province—the offender would be dealt with later. The rest of the corresponding officials would also have to wait once the matter settled. 

The top priority was to stop the spread of the disease. 

Now it was just Jiang Province. If it spreads to Qing Province and then to all parts of the Qin Empire, the outcome would be unimaginable. 

Ji Yue quickly summoned an imperial envoy to Jiang Province as well as half of the imperial physicians to solve the disease. 

But he knew that many imperial physicians were not equal to one Wei Lian. 

* * *

Ji Yue did not summon the young man today. 

Wei Lian knew the reason behind it. 

After the morning court, the occurrence of plague in Jiang Province had spread all over the country causing an uproar. No matter which dynasty, plague is a terrible thing that causes people to turn pale. The palace workers also whispered. Impossible for anyone to not know. 

Ji Yue, who did not want to separate from Wei Lian during any moment before, did not want to visit Wei Lian today. 

Ji Yue, what are you waiting for?

Wei Lian questioned in his head. 

You clearly know only I can solve this. 

He waited in Zhongling palace for half a day, but still received no news from the imperial study. 

Wei Lian laughed angrily as he got up and went to the imperial study, kicking the door open. 

Ji Yue looked up and stunned. 

Wei Lian lowered his eyes and announced, “I will go too.”

Knowing that this path led to death, but sometimes, a life mission exists to aim at death.