Chasing You (Arcs 1-7)

My Dear Emperor (XXVI)

Upon the day ending, Bao Bao departed. Wu QingJue bowed and left the room as well. Tu HuaLi hugged Xu XiuLan from behind. He kissed their hair, "Everything will be over soon."

Xu XiuLan nodded, "En."

The sleepy Lin Jun Kai finally woke up from his nap, his eyes sparkled seeing that Xu XiuLan was still there. He hopped off the bed and made his way over to Xu XiuLan, he latched onto their leg, "Mommy... Xiao Jun loves you."

Xu XiuLan chuckled, "Mmn. I love you too."

He leaned down and picked Lin Jun Kai up, kissing their nose, "I will always love you."

Tu HuaLi felt a little aggrieved that his son switched sides so fast. He looked at him, "What about daddy?"

Lin Jun Kai smirked inside, but kept an innocent face on, "Xiao Jun loves daddy too... But never as much as mommy~!"

He continued, recollecting what his mother told him at one point in his past, "Mommy is the one who carried Xiao Jun for ten months!"

Tu HuaLi's face darkened, "I did the work too..."

His voice trailed off as he received a pinch from Xu XiuLan. Tu HuaLi smiled, "But of course, mommy did most the work."

Xu XiuLan didn't even want to comment on either of what the other two was saying. He looked at Tu HuaLi, "Let's go for a walk in the courtyard, Xiao Jun needs some fresh air."

Tu HuaLi brought his fingers to his lips and kissed them gently, "Whatever you wish for."

---

A week passed by, since Xu XiuLan was taken to the imperial palace. He had spent his days watching and playing with Lin Jun Kai. More than often Bao Bao couldn't hold himself back and activate his passive just to play with Lin Jun Kai. During that time Tu HuaLi would take this chance and throw Xu XiuLan onto the bed and roll around in the sheets.

Xu XiuLan had questioned Tu HuaLi while he was being penetrated one time, why the other would release their fluids into him. Wasn't he afraid of him becoming pregnant? Tu HuaLi only chuckled, "We know that you're unable to bear any children for Us."

"So let Us fill you up."

Tu HuaLI had long known about the practices that ran during this era, the dragon guard had also searched and dug up everything they could about Xu XiuLan and his life. From it, he learned that Xu XiuLan would drink a special concoction that would make him become infertile. Subsequently he was upset that, Xu XiuLan would even drink it but decided that he would fairly punish him in bed. What he would do from now on is make sure that the poison wouldn't have accumulated to much or entered his bloodstream in high dosages that would cause harm to Xu XiuLan's vessel. Every time after, Tu HuaLi kept to his words and 'filled' Xu XiuLan until he felt 'full'. Later, he would receive a 'massage' from Tu HuaLi. It happened too many times for Xu XiuLan to count. He almost felt that they were trying to make up for the lost time that they weren't able to spend together.

As for Bao Bao, many of the times he would come back and complain about what he saw or heard. After he would be dragged away by the eager Wu QingJue, only to come back saying that his back and waist ached. He would weep and howl as he rubbed his back and lay on Xu XiuLan's lap. Surprisingly, Xu XiuLan responded to this situation accordingly. He would pat Bao Bao's head while telling him that he needed to put on some ointment where it was needed, even asking if they needed any help with the application. This would lead Bao Bao's face to become so red he could be mistaken for a ripe tomato.

Bao Bao had taken his host's silence as an acceptance of his and Wu QingJue's relationship. He wouldn't have known what to do if Xu XiuLan had outright told him 'no'. Even if his host didn't say any words of acceptance, his lack of objecting to talk about Wu QingJue said enough.

Lin Jun Kai was taking his afternoon nap when Bao Bao came for his usual informative lesson. Bao Bao rubbed his head as he started his little onslaught of information.

[Are you sure host?]

Xu XiuLan smiled, "En."

Tomorrow would mark the day where eastern rural areas would lose their hope for their emperor after receiving a major loss. The rations and harvest would be taken from one of the smaller towns that provided the other villages with goods. After losing the supply, many of the other villages starved as there wasn't enough food being produced in their areas to feed everyone. It caused a chain reaction to happen, one by one the cities began to weaken.

It could've been stopped a long time ago, but to maximize the impact that it would make in showing their might and power, they needed to lie and wait. It would also minimize the number of casualties if they waited for them to think that their kingdom would not do anything, and then initiate an attack. Just as despair was going to settle in, the army would be sent in to wipe out every single enemy troop. They would be lead by Wu QingJue as general.

As for Zuo NaLi, he and his family was to be executed by the end of the day. The rumors added with what they had been charged with, their entire family was found guilty. Though it was cruel, Xu XiuLan wanted to pull the weeds out by the roots and avoid trouble. If they didn't pose a threat to him or his family... Xu XiuLan would've let them live but knowing that Zuo NaLi had been reincarnated with intense hatred that blinded him from reasoning. The only way left was to remove the cancer before it spread.

Usually, he would like to be present at these kind of scenes but... What would be the worth of it when he couldn't see? There was also Lin Jun Kai and Tu HuaLi here with him now, he just needed a confirmation that they were dead from Bao Bao and that was that. What Xu XiuLan had in store for the rest of the kingdom... It would be to solidify Tu HuaLi's position as emperor of the land and his position as male empress.

Xu XiuLan stroked Lin Jun Kai's hair as he hummed a soft tune. Soon... There wouldn't be any trouble standing in their way anymore.

---

Down in the town, a parade of cages were dragged by mules. They were heading towards the heart of the town that held two big guillotines. The citizens would throw rotten food at the family as they were driven past the onslaught of the crazed crowd. Zuo NaLi was in the furthest cage, his image was beyond what was recognizable and his mind was in a mess. He couldn't even differentiate between faces or time of day anymore.

Once they arrived, they were tossed out of the cage by the soldiers and roughly grabbed to be placed in line for receiving judgement. The crowd was cheering loudly as one of the officials read off the deeds that they had done. Hearing those same crimes being pinned onto his family, Zuo NaLi finally showed some sanity and shouted, "Lies! You're telling lies! My family is innocent... It's all because the emperor wanting to get rid of a growing power!"

Many of the onlookers were shocked by their words, while others shook their head at Zuo NaLi's outburst. Majority of them had already guess who Zuo NaLi's identity was and felt shamed that such a pretty person was so vile. The deeds he did alone would've been enough to send his family to the guillotine

One by one they were placed onto the wooden lock and the blade fell down. Head after head fell into the bucket lying below. The blade was soaked and dripped blood as it continued to lopped off heads. Soon it was Zuo NaLi's turn, he struggled the most as his eyes filled with hatred. He even resorted to trying to bite one of the soldiers, leading to them stuffing his mouth with cloth.

The held him down as they locked on the metal pad. His hands wriggled as it tried to escape the small hole. The back of his neck became so red that it almost bled from his ceaseless moving. They signaled and down came the blade, the last of the Zuo blood was spilled onto the streets.