The delicate and sickly beauty slumped limply against his firm and iron - like frame, just like a soft silk winding around a blood - thirsty steel blade.
This steel blade could easily cleave the sky and shatter the earth, but it was helpless against this soft and smooth silk. No matter how it struck, the silk always seemed intact.
Without saying a single extra word, Huo Wei picked the person up horizontally and carried her into the sleeping chamber. "You'd better make sure that everyone around you is trustworthy. Otherwise, both you and I will end up in hell."
He gently placed Du Gu Luanyue on the phoenix couch. Du Gu Luanyue gave him a charming and teasing look with her amorous eyes.
"Wouldn't it be nice if we were still together in hell?"
She hooked her index finger around Huo Wei's hand, pulled him to sit on the edge of the bed. Then she slumped down and lay on Huo Wei's lap.
Du Gu Luanyue looked up at his chin. "In hell, I can lie in your arms like this, and no one will care. Wouldn't that be even more carefree and enjoyable?"
Huo Wei sneered. "You really have a big nerve. Aren't you afraid that Father Emperor will find out?"
Du Gu Luanyue stretched out her jade - like finger and gently stroked Huo Wei's chin, grazing it from time to time. The ticklish feeling made Huo Wei's body tense up.
"If you have the ability, you naturally won't be afraid of the Emperor knowing. If you don't, you'll have to act furtively for the rest of your life," she said softly in a charming voice.
She began to try to arouse Huo Wei's fighting desire. A man like Huo Wei, who loved to fight battles, couldn't stand others denying his ability the most.
Huo Wei shot a sideways glance with his slanting phoenix eyes. "There are so many women in the entire imperial capital that I can't even look at them all. Why should I act furtively with Father Emperor's woman?"
Du Gu Luanyue reached out her hand to touch his incredibly handsome face and smiled deeply.
"Why didn't you refuse when I let you carry me just now?
Why didn't you push me away when I'm lying on your lap and in your arms?
As the saying goes, a gentleman is judged by his actions rather than his thoughts. I, Du Gu Luanyue, only look at a person's actions and never try to dissect their heart."
Huo Wei curled his thin lips. "Why should I refuse a beauty who comes to me on her own?"
Du Gu Luanyue got up from his body, rested her chin on his shoulder, and whispered.
"Look at you. When there are no battles, you rarely handle any official business, right?
You did a great job suppressing the bandits outside the city. But for such a trivial matter as suppressing bandits, the Emperor sent you, the God of Slaughter who defeated the Liao Kingdom. Isn't that overkill?"
Huo Wei said, "I know you're trying to provoke me."
Du Gu Luanyue gritted her teeth secretly. Huo Wei was really hard to deceive. "Yes, I just want a stable backer. Well, if this backer is unreliable, I'll just find another one."
His black eyes darkened. "Who are you going to find? That good - for - nothing Murong Hua?"
Du Gu Luanyue burst into laughter.
"Oh, I haven't even said who it is yet, but the Prince of Yuzhang is already hostile to the Second Prince. Well then, what does the Prince of Yuzhang think of the Third Prince, Murong Jue?"
Huo Wei grabbed her neck with his backhand and pressed her down on the bed. "Stay away from A Jue. He has the purest heart!"
Du Gu Luanyue slightly parted her red lips and looked at him with tear - filled eyes. "What can I do then? You won't agree, and you won't let me shift my target. Huo Wei, what on earth do you want?"
Huo Wei was just scaring her when he grabbed her neck; he didn't really use any force. He didn't expect her to cry. He loosened his hand.
"I seriously thought about what you said at the White Horse Temple after I got back. But you have no foundation in the Northern Yan. What can you do to help this prince gain a firm foothold in the court?"
Hearing this, Du Gu Luanyue looked serious. "The game in the court is different from the battles your new army fights.
In military battles, it's all about being steady, accurate, and ruthless. But in the court, it's much more complicated. It's mostly about networks of relationships.
Such networks of relationships are formed through marriage alliances, social interactions, and mutual benefits.
You're used to the straightforward survival rules of one - for - one and two - for - two from leading troops all year round.
But I've been involved in the court since I was a child. Moreover, I've been in control of the court. Why won't you trust me just once?
Besides, can you really guarantee that you'll win every large - scale battle?"
A complex look flashed in Huo Wei's eyes. This was different from his plan to quickly gain control of the military power, clear his family's name, and take revenge.
Du Gu Luanyue wanted to help him secure his position in the court just to make him promise not to attack the Southern Chu. But could he afford to take this gamble now?
What if Du Gu Luanyue didn't have the ability or had other ideas? Then both he and the people behind him would die a horrible death.
He said in a somewhat low voice,
"This decision is too difficult. Once you step into it, you'll be risking everything you have.
Moreover, you're still Murong Min's wife."
Huo Wei curled his lips into a smile. The smile was a bit mocking, and his eyes turned cold.
Du Gu Luanyue was slightly stunned and shrank back. The path in front of her was even more difficult now.
It was understandable that Huo Wei didn't trust her at all.
A grass - root prince who had struggled his way up to the top already enjoyed supreme honor.
He had all the wealth and glory he could ever want in this lifetime. Why should he trust a princess from the Southern Chu and believe her words about helping him?
But she only had one year. Once the year was up, she couldn't use the Gu powder anymore. If she did, she would really go blind. What would she do then?
If she couldn't complete the mission, she would have to compromise and sleep with Murong Min. If she had Murong Min's child, things would be even more complicated.
"Isn't helping you also risking everything I have, Huo Wei? Look for yourself. Which noble lady in the court is willing to form a marriage alliance with you now?" she asked.
Huo Wei left the edge of the phoenix couch. The matter of the marriage alliance with a noble lady was not only because of what Du Gu Luanyue had said but also because he had told Murong Min that he had a hidden illness.
Murong Min wouldn't arrange a marriage for a noble lady with a husband who was impotent, would he?
"Your Majesty the Queen, please rest well. Your subject will now go to the Zichen Palace to pay respects."
On the way from the Fengluan Palace to the Zichen Palace, Huo Wei didn't completely ignore Du Gu Luanyue's words.
Relying on the court rather than battles could also lead to a high - ranking position in the temple. Moreover, one wouldn't have to leave the center of imperial power, and there was even a kind of convenience of being able to reach for the stars with a stretch of one's hand.
His heart wavered slightly, but then he thought of other things. When he looked up again, he had already arrived at the Zichen Palace.
When Huo Wei saw Murong Min, he bowed respectfully according to the rules. "Your subject pays respects to Father Emperor."
Murong Min was standing under the window and asked in a deep voice, "Have you seen your mother?"
Huo Wei replied, "Yes, I have."
Murong Min looked at him sideways.
"You and the Queen don't get along. I don't know where this conflict came from.
I'm really busy with state affairs and can't inquire into the affairs of the harem in detail. Since you're here, just help me keep an eye on the Queen."
Huo Wei nodded. "Your subject will surely fulfill Father Emperor's order."
What Murong Min didn't notice was that there was obvious hatred in Huo Wei's long and slanting phoenix eyes. He was a prince, and the Emperor had even granted him the power over the imperial guards, yet Murong Min actually asked him to be a spy.
He was born with an unyielding spirit. Being oppressed like this by Murong Min, the anger in his heart flared up.
He had to keep calling Murong Min "Father Emperor" here. It was really disgusting! His fierce eyes glowed coldly like a wolf's, and his sharp eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
Here, Huo Wei hadn't yet agreed to Du Gu Luanyue's conditions, but there was quite a bit of filthy gossip in the harem, all about Du Gu Luanyue.