Rebirth: Degenerate Slave Abuses Tyrant

“Wei Er will hate me,” The emperor had said to Liu Zhi Qiu when he finished taking care of the empress dowager, “I don’t want him to hate me.”

But Liu Zhi Qiu was worried about something else. If Luo Wei knew that he was a prince, Liu Zhi Qiu wouldn’t dare to think what Luo Wei would do. The throne is a huge temptation, if Luo Wei also wanted that seat, then who would the Luo family choose? Long Yu or Luo Wei? Luo Zhi Jin was his sister, but Luo Zhi Yi was also his sister! In front of Luo Wei’s intelligence and political machinations, was Long Yu even a real opponent? Luo Zhi Qiu hoped that things would remain as they are.

Xiao Xiao brought over another bowl of congee, but Luo Wei stubbornly refused it, only shaking his head.

Luo Zhi Qiu helped tuck Luo Wei in, ” The imperial physician said that if you take care of your body and let it heal, everything will be fine. Wei Er, just concentrate on getting better, don’t worry about things out there, everything can wait until you get better.”

Luo Wei asked, “That… That brothel…”

“His Imperial Majesty sent down orders, everyone there has been executed,” Luo Zhi Qiu didn’t let Luo Wei finish his questions, instead interrupting, “No one else will know about what happened.”

Luo Wei asked again, “That one, named Ku Liu, is he dead too?”

“Who is Ku Liu?” Luo Zhi Qiu asked.

Luo Wei hesitated, “The one who was torturing me.”

Luo Zhi Qiu quickly answered, “Wei Lan was the one who lead the Dragon Guard there, there’s no chance of escape for any of them.”

“The Dragon Guard?” Luo Wei asked, “Father, why is His Imperial Majesty so good to me?”

Luo Zhi Qiu managed a smile, “You’re his pupil, how could he not care about you?”

Luo Wei smiled too, “Right, of course, father.”

Luo Qi and Luo Ze walked in at this moment.

Luo Qi asked, worriedly, “Xiao Wei still isn’t eating?”

Luo Wei answered, “I just had some ginseng soup.”

Luo Ze made a noise, “Even your voice sounds tired, you can’t survive on ginseng soup alone.”

Luo Wei pulled a smile, “Don’t worry, big brother, how could someone all grown up like me starve to death?”

Luo Zhi Qiu and his two elder sons all sighed upon hearing this from Luo Wei. If it weren’t for the ginseng soup he’d been having lately, Luo Wei might really have starved to death.

Luo Qi spoke up, “Xiao wei, I’m going to leave for Yun Guan tomorrow, but I’m still worried about you.”

Luo Wei asked, “Are you going with my big sister-in-law?”

Luo Qi nodded.

Luo Wei followed it solemnly, “Big brother, I’m really sorry, I caused trouble on your wedding night, your first day together, and ruined it for the two of you.”

The rims of Luo Qi’s eyes went red, he already knew that Luo Wei was the one who brought him and Ye Xiu together. This little brother of his almost lost his life, but was still sorry about him and Ye Xiu’s feelings! “Don’t talk nonsense like this anymore,” Luo Qi gave Luo Wei an eye, “So long as you’re okay, why are you worrying about me for?”

“Don’t worry so much about me, I’ll be fine,” Luo Wei said, but his voice was getting quieter and quieter, and his eyelids were slowly closing.

Luo Zhi Qiu and Luo Ze quickly helped Luo Wei down onto the bed, his father said, “Rest for a bit if you’re tired, don’t think too much about other things.”

After Luo Wei laid down, it only took him seconds before he was fast asleep.

Luo Qi looked at Luo Wei’s face, pale as paper, and shook his head, “With Xiao Wei like this, I really don’t want to leave.”

Luo Zhi Qiu stood and motioned his two older sons to follow him outside the room.

Luo Ze nudged Luo Qi, “Big brother, you could probably stay a few more days.”

Luo Zhi Qiu turned around, “You’re both servants of the emperor, can you afford to be irresponsible?”

Luo Qi nodded, “I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Luo Zhi Qiu comforted him, “You don’t need to be worried about Xiao Wei. The imperial physicians are all guarding him day and night, he will not lose his life, and getting his health back is only a matter of time.”

Luo Ze spat in hatred, “That old man Liu died too easy! I wish I could go and rattle him right now and pay him back for what he did to Xiao Wei!”

“There’s no need to say that now,” Luo Zhi Qiu waves his hand in dismissal, “Let’s go and let Xiao Wei rest.”

The three of them were just about to leave when they saw Ye Xiu and Madam Wang arrive in the courtyard of Luo Wei’s dwelling at the estate, closely followed by Ning Fei and his two siblings.

“Chancellor, Commander, General,” Ning Fei was holding his little sister, Ning Ling, in his arms.

“Grandpa Luo,” Ning Yuan, Ning Fei’s little brother, pulled his hand out of his mother’s when he saw Luo Zhi Qiu, and jogged up to him.

“Yuan Er, what’s wrong?” Luo Zhi Qiu crouched down to ask.

“We came to see big brother Wei, we heard he woke up,” Even Ning Yuan’s little face held a facet of worry on it, he looked Luo Zhi Qiu in the eyes, “Grandpa Luo, will he get better? Is he gonna be on the bed for the rest of his life?”

“Yuan Er!” Madam Wang quickly interrupted the boy when he started talking about these unlucky things.

“Your big brother Wei will be fine,” Luo Zhi Qiu ruffled Ning Yuan’s hair, “Are you worried about him too?”

“Of course,” Ning Yuan said, “My mother said, good things come to good people, big brother Wei is a good person, he will be okay.”

Luo Ze felt his eyes sting with tears, and turned around to hide it.

“Xiao Wei just went back to sleep,” Luo Qi walked up to his new wife, and told her.

Ye Xiu looked at Luo Zhi Qiu, “Father, I’m going to leave with Luo Qi tomorrow to Yun Guan, so I wanted to come take a look at Xiao Wei.”

“Go take a look,” Luo Zhi Qiu said. Luo Wei was deep asleep now, he wouldn’t wake even if someone shouted for him, nevermind any raucousness that could be caused by this party of five.

Ye Xiu and Madam Wang lead the two little ones inside, Ning Fei stayed in the courtyard.

“Father,” Luo Qi said to Luo Zhi Qiu, “I made preparations for Ning Fei to stay for a few more days. His Imperial Majesty has awarded the soldiers and officers in Yun Guan, I want Ning Fei to see the gifts back to the border. I’m still worried about Xiao Wei, if Ning Fei is here, I’ll worry less.”

“Foolishness,” Luo Zhi Qiu’s face darkened, “Ning Fei is a general of Greater Zhou, and you’re treating him like some common house guard? Have you grown this proud after Yun Guan’s success?”

“Chancellor,” Seeing Luo Zhi Qiu scold Luo Qi, Ning Fei quickly interjected, “The third young master is my benefactor, no matter what position I hold, I would do anything for him.”

Luo Zhi Qiu walked up to Ning Fei and gave him a pat on the shoulder, “General Ning Fei, you’re a general of the imperial court, not one of our house guards, I appreciate your love and affection for Xiao Wei.”

“The chancellor thinks too highly of me,” Ning Fei quickly bowed with his hand in his fist. He has always been respected in the Luo estate, and it was this respect that made the Luo family carry more and more weight in his heart.

“Go see Xiao Wei,” Luo Zhi Qiu nodded at Ning Fei, then turned to ask his two sons, “Are you guys leaving?”

“We want to stay with Xiao Wei for a little while longer,” Luo Qi answered.

Luo Zhi Qiu left Luo wei’s quarters by himself, and returned to his own study. He poured himself a drink and downed it in a single mouthful, but he could not drown his sorrows with it.

In Luo Wei’s bedroom, Ning Yuan and Ning Ling both called out to Luo Wei, but he did not rouse. The two grew scared, and Ning Ling started to cry, asking the adults in the room why her big brother Wei wasn’t waking up. Ning Yuan followed her not long after, with Ye Xiu being affected too. Madam Wang kept trying to talk them out of it, saying how one shouldn’t cry in front of an ailing man, but she ended up crying as well. The three military men in the room all stood, their insides twisting.

In Luo Wei’s dreams though, there was still a great snowstorm brewing. The barren earth only held himself. He couldn’t see where he was coming from, or where he was going. The sky felt so faraway, and the earth seemed endless, yet somehow, he had nowhere to go.