The next day, Wei Yunzhao sent someone to the Ministry of War to request sick leave. Rumors of the previous day’s events had spread, and the Minister of War who had been present knew the "illness" was merely an excuse to lay low.
Upon returning to the Wei mansion, Wei Yunzhao, Xun Qi, and Jiang Lin quietly left the city.
Jiang Lin saw them off outside the gates. Gazing at Wei Yunzhao on horseback, his eyes held anticipation. "When you return, I’ll finally see you walking, won’t I?"
"I’d love to be the first to see you stand again. Why not take the wheelchair with you, just in case?"
Outside the capital, there was no need to maintain the pretense of disability. With the mask off and a direct confrontation imminent, Wei Yunzhao could finally drop the act.
"Wife, I seem to smell something," Wei Yunzhao waved a hand in front of his nose.
"Eh? What smell?" Jiang Lin blinked, momentarily confused.
"Vinegar, sour."
The corners of Wei Yunzhao’s lips curled up. Suddenly, he leaped onto Jiang Lin’s horse, wrapped an arm around his waist, and urged the horse forward, telling Xun Qi to follow slowly.
He emphasized the word slowly.
The horse galloped far before stopping in an unfamiliar place. Wei Yunzhao dismounted, landing steadily on his feet.
He reached out. "Wife, come."
Jiang Lin froze.
Since realizing his feelings, he had imagined countless times what Wei Yunzhao would look like standing before him. He’d thought no amount of praise could capture the moment. How dashing Wei Yunzhao would be, how his heart would race.
But who could have guessed their first meeting like this would be Wei Yunzhao helping him dismount?
"I never imagined your first fit of jealousy would be over who gets to see me stand first."
Wei Yunzhao’s voice snapped Jiang Lin out of his daze. Belatedly, he realized he’d spoken his thoughts aloud.
"Wife, your jealousy is truly unique."
When Jiang Lin didn’t take his hand, Wei Yunzhao pulled him down into a bridal carry, just as Jiang Lin often carried him to the carriage or bed.
Wei Yunzhao held him tightly. "I’ve also imagined many times what it would feel like to hold you like this."
Jiang Lin looped his arms around Wei Yunzhao’s neck. "And? How does it feel?"
Wei Yunzhao answered, "Like I never want to let go."
Jiang Lin laughed softly. "Wei Yunzhao, don’t you think you picked a terrible time and place to show off your recovered legs?"
He leaned close to Wei Yunzhao’s ear. "If this were at home, in our room, then..."
"Then my wife would undoubtedly drag me to bed immediately," Wei Yunzhao finished for him.
Jiang Lin grinned. "And the bath. I’d spend ages washing those legs of yours."
Wei Yunzhao suddenly regretted his choices. "Wife, I should’ve stood up last night."
Jiang Lin patted his chest sympathetically. "Look what you missed out on."
His fingers trailed lower. "But it’s fine. You’ll be back in half a month. We’ll have all the time we want then."
Wei Yunzhao pulled him close and kissed him. "Wife, wait for me."
"I will."
Hoofbeats approached, it was Xun Qi who had following at a leisurely pace.
"Go. Stay safe. I’ll wait for you."
Wei Yunzhao mounted his horse and rode off with Xun Qi.
Jiang Lin waved until they vanished. Only then did the reality of their separation sink in.
When even the hoofbeats faded, he rode back to the city.
He missed him already.
____
Naturally, Wei Yunzhao’s absence had to remain secret. Jiang Lin had Chu Ba pose as him while summoning several physicians to sell the ruse.
With Wei Yunzhao "recovering" indoors and Jiang Lin staying home, the earlier incident faded from public memory, especially with the drought still ongoing.
But Jiang Lin wasn’t idle. Under cover of night, he used his space abilities to move freely, often visiting Emperor Changde’s chambers. On the very night Wei Yunzhao left, Jiang Lin slipped in and heard the emperor muttering in his sleep - dreaming of killing them.
So Jiang Lin dosed him with a drug that ensured a night of nightmares.
The next evening, he arrived earlier and overheard the emperor plotting to pin the refugee uprising on them, framing Wei Yunzhao as the Fourth Prince’s accomplice.
The Fourth Prince who was now a cripple and useless had become a pawn in this final scheme. However, the plan was abruptly shelved when something unexpected happened.
Ruyue had escaped!
The woman who resembled Jiang Jinyue, the one Emperor Changde had locked in a secret chamber had disappeared.
Only then did Jiang Lin learn the emperor had kept her in a lightless dungeon.
No one could have predicted that the disappearance of a lowly huakui would shake the emperor so deeply. Not only did he postpone his plans against the Wei family, diverting all resources to finding Ruyue, but he also neglected court affairs. He holed up in his chambers - or rather, his dungeon, caressing the torture instruments on the walls, yearning for her return.
After so long, his body had been conditioned to depend on Ruyue. Only after daily "sessions" could he focus on anything else.
Initially, Emperor Changde hadn’t recognized the problem, likening it to his past abuse of Jiang Jinyue, whipping her to vent his anger. Even after Jiang Jinyue’s death, though he’d missed her, it was nothing like this.
The first day, he’d been furious, ordering her immediate retrieval.
By the second, he grew restless, itchy, lethargic, unable to concentrate.
By the third and fourth, the symptoms worsened. With no news of Ruyue, the emperor became a tyrant - exploding at the slightest mistake, demanding beatings, even executions.
His behavior drew courtiers’ ire. Daily court sessions devolved into chaos, with kneeling supplicants and heated arguments.
Word spread beyond the palace. At first, the people cursed Ruyue as a seductress who had bewitched the emperor. But under the Crown Prince’s orchestration, public sentiment soon turned against Emperor Changde himself.
To pave his own path, the Crown Prince even spread rumors that the emperor’s instability risked the dynasty’s collapse, urging him to abdicate for the kingdom’s sake.
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