SGT CH150: Shadow Guard Has Never Betrayed His Master

He was tied up in the bedchamber, devices on his body, accommodating all night.

Mousse felt uneasy, yet also puzzled and confused.

“Since you could easily break through the meridian seal, why didn’t you do it before? Why recover your internal energy only today?”

Mousse asked with a frown.

“It was Your Majesty who ordered my internal energy sealed. Without Your Majesty’s permission, I naturally dared not recover it.”

As Shadow One spoke, he remembered he had already recovered his internal energy without authorization, defying His Majesty’s order.

He didn’t regret his decision at that time; he just knew his unauthorized action must have angered the Master, which was why the Master tied him up and brought him back in anger.

Shadow One lowered his head to accept his punishment.

“The situation today was critical. I didn’t have time to ask for Your Majesty’s instructions and broke open the meridians without authorization. Please punish me, Your Majesty.”

Shadow One did this to save him.

Without Shadow One, he would have died at the hands of the assassins long ago.

Mousse naturally couldn’t blame Shadow One for this.

Instead, Shadow One’s earlier words concerned him more.

Clearly could break the seal in three breaths, yet refused to do so just because he didn’t have permission.

Like a beast with powerful strength actively lowering its head to let a rope be put around its neck.

Even though he could easily break that fragile rope, he allowed it to bind him in place.

Mousse had to admit, Shadow One’s action subtly pleased him.

“You are obedient now.”

Mousse stroked Shadow One’s head, feeling both moved and bitter.

If only Shadow One could be this obedient regarding the Second Prince.

His requirements weren’t high; as long as Shadow One was his exclusive shadow guard and stayed by his side forever.

Remembering what Shadow One said earlier, about not being able to continue as his shadow guard due to stray thoughts.

Mousse felt even more bitter.

His stray thoughts must be about the Second Prince.

Although the Second Prince’s death was at the hands of the old Emperor, Mousse was the real mastermind behind the scenes.

Did Shadow One ever hate him for this?

“Do you hate Zhen?”

Mousse asked in a low voice, his eyes slightly lowered, actually somewhat afraid to look into Shadow One’s eyes, afraid to hear that answer.

Shadow One shook his head in panic.

How could he hate the Master?

“No, never. I have never resented Your Majesty.”

Everything about a shadow guard belonged to the Master.

Let alone sealing his internal energy, even if the Master completely shattered his meridians, cut off his limbs, and abandoned him completely, he would absolutely never resent the Master.

“I absolutely dare not have such rebellious thoughts,” Shadow One said.

Mousse felt relieved.

Even if Shadow One dared not hate him only out of fear of imperial power, he accepted it.

However, he couldn’t help confirming with Shadow One.

“Even if the Second Prince died because of Zhen, you don’t hate Zhen?”

Shadow One was blank for a moment.

What does this have to do with the Second Prince?

The Second Prince deserved to die.

Not being able to personally skin him and dismantle his bones was a lifelong regret of his.

But Shadow One didn’t want the Master to shoulder the Second Prince’s death.

His Master was pure and kind, flawless like white jade, and shouldn’t bear those burdens.

Let him handle all the filth.

“What does the Second Prince’s death have to do with Your Majesty?”

Shadow One tried to comfort the Emperor.

“He died due to the late Emperor’s suspicion and his own arrogance. Your Majesty, please don’t be overly sorrowful. If you damage your dragon body because of this… it would not be worth it.”

If the dragon body was damaged because of this, then the Second Prince couldn’t redeem himself even with ten thousand deaths.

Death is not enough to atone for his crimes.

Shadow One thought coldly.

“You really think the Second Prince’s death has nothing to do with Zhen?”

Mousse’s mood was somewhat complicated.

After knowing Shadow One truly wanted to follow the Second Prince, he deliberately avoided Shadow One when making plans against the Second Prince.

For example, at the palace banquet back then, he deliberately drank the poisoned wine, triggered the toxicity in advance, vomited blood in the hall, and caused the Second Prince to be imprisoned.

Also, setting up hidden pieces during the autumn hunt led the old Emperor to kill the Second Prince, sending both of them away in one go.

Only Mousse didn’t expect Shadow One really knew nothing about this.

“Naturally, it has nothing to do with Your Majesty,” Shadow One replied.

“What if I say it has something to do with me?”

Mousse’s heart was heavy.

He didn’t want to hide it from Shadow One.

Trust gained by deception was like a piece of paper, easily broken with a poke.

“Then the Second Prince brought it upon himself and deserved to die.”

Shadow One said firmly.

The Master naturally has his reasons for killing.

Leaving aside other things, isn’t the Second Prince being alive the biggest crime?

Moreover, he had attacked the Master multiple times.

Dying so easily was simply letting him off cheap.

“Brought… brought it upon himself? Deserved to die?”

Mousse was stunned.

Shadow One actually evaluated the Second Prince like this.

Wasn’t that the Master he truly wanted to follow?

Love deeply, chastise strictly?

Hmm… doesn’t quite make sense, right?

Of course, he absolutely wouldn’t refute Shadow One at this time.

Instead, he wanted to affirm him fiercely.

“Right! The Second Prince brought it upon himself! Deserved to die!”

While agreeing, Mousse trampled on the Second Prince fiercely.

“He was arrogant and domineering, abused subordinates, harmed siblings, persecuted loyal and good people, did all bad things, unfit to be human!”

In a moment of excitement, he seemed to have trampled a bit too much.

Mousse quietly observed Shadow One’s expression, only to see Shadow One nodding along, his expression showing great agreement.

This reaction… seemed a bit wrong, right?

Mousse probed further: “For a guy like him, even digging up his coffin and whipping his corpse after death wouldn’t be excessive.”

Shadow One suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp.

Mousse’s heart skipped a beat, about to take back his words.

“Your Majesty, you cannot! You are the master of the world, the father of all people. If you rashly order the digging up of a deceased prince’s coffin to whip the corpse, it will damage your reputation!”

Shadow One said.

Mousse coughed dryly, trying to gloss over this topic.

“Alright, Zhen knows. Zhen was just casually…”

But he heard Shadow One say:

“Please let me go do it!”

Mousse: “???”

“I will handle this matter well without letting anyone know.”

Shadow One said.

Even if the destruction of the Second Prince’s tomb was discovered one day, His Majesty could execute him to end the matter completely.

Shadow One thought.

“Wait a moment…”

Mousse felt his brain wasn’t quite enough.

Shadow One’s earlier evaluation of the Second Prince already surprised him greatly.

If that could still be called “love deeply, chastise strictly.”

Personally digging up the coffin and whipping the corpse really couldn’t be explained that way, right?

Who does such immoral things without a deep-seated hatred?

Shadow One behaved completely differently from Mousse’s perception, so much so that Mousse couldn’t help suspecting deception.

“You aren’t thinking of… taking the opportunity to die for the Second Prince, are you?”

Mousse stared at him closely, trying to see his true thoughts from his eyes.

Shadow One was slightly stunned.

He indeed thought that if the matter was discovered, he would bury everything with his death.

But that was absolutely not dying for the Second Prince.

A shadow guard would only die for his own Master.

“I only die for Your Majesty.”

Shadow One said in a deep voice.

Even if he was executed because of the Second Prince’s matter, it would be dying for His Majesty.

If one must say “die for,” it would be him dying for His Majesty, for his Master first.

Shadow One was telling the truth.

Mousse hesitated and withdrew his probing gaze.

Completely realizing things were not quite as he thought.

Or rather, completely different.

“Back then… you gave yourself to me on the Second Prince’s orders.”

Mousse’s tone suddenly became somewhat uncertain.

Shadow One was slightly startled.

He indeed decided to teach His Majesty about sexual matters after listening to the Second Prince’s words.

But Shadow One absolutely dared not admit the term “on orders.”

That would be betraying his Master.

“No…”

Shadow One hurriedly explained:

“The Second Prince wanted to plant people by Your Majesty’s side. Your Majesty dislikes outsiders getting close and would definitely not accept. But if you refuse service for a long time, rumors will be unfavorable to Your Majesty. That was why I dared…”

Dared to accept when the Second Prince said, “If not palace maids, are you going to teach Royal Brother about sexual matters?”

Taking on the responsibility of teaching His Majesty about sexual matters without authorization.

After reading a few illustrated books, he cleaned himself and crawled into the brocade quilt when the Master went to sleep.

The Master didn’t punish him at that time.

But that was the Master’s forgiveness; it didn’t mean he was completely innocent.

Shadow One was willing to accept all punishments, except one point.

“This slave absolutely never betrayed the Master.”

He did it to prevent the Second Prince from stuffing people by his side and to solve the rumors.

Mousse was always suspicious. Hearing this, he didn’t fully believe it, but the balance in his heart had long tipped.

“On the day of the palace banquet, the Second Prince was imprisoned. You tried to break into the Imperial Prison alone with a sword. Wasn’t that to save the Second Prince?!”

Mousse simply said it all.

“Your Majesty?” Shadow One was astonished.

Almost unable to recover from being hit by these accusations one after another.

“How could I go to save him?”

“You were deeply poisoned and bedridden; even Imperial Physician Zhang was helpless. Since the poison was administered by the Second Prince, he must have the antidote. Even if there was no antidote, forcing out what specific poison and what medicine was used would be good.”

Shadow One lowered his head and said:

“The late Emperor confined the Second Prince in the Imperial Prison, forbidding anyone from contact. I could only break in.”

What Shadow One didn’t say was that breaking into the Imperial Prison was not only for the antidote but also to ensure the Second Prince died completely in prison.

His lightness skill was unmatched. He was confident he could evade all guards, infiltrate the Imperial Prison, and achieve the result he wanted.

What he didn’t expect was that the guards in the Master’s palace would suddenly come out to stop him, and even less expected that the Master would drag his sick body out of bed to come before him.

He could only surrender.

He was tied up by the Master in the bedchamber for several months, wearing many devices on his body.

The Master watched him constantly. Even when sleeping, he was made to serve in bed, accommodating all night; he couldn’t get away at all.

Worried about the Master’s health, he was burning with anxiety.

Fortunately, although the Master had been bedridden, his complexion improved day by day, and he showed no fatigue even after playing with him all night.

“For the antidote…”

Mousse was confused for a moment.

He never thought of this point at all.

Because his dying from poisoning was largely an act.

The imperial physicians he trusted also knew this and cooperated to create the illusion that he wouldn’t live long.

But Shadow One was kept in the dark by him.

This was a trap for the Second Prince; naturally, he couldn’t tell Shadow One.

He vomited blood all over and was carried back from the palace banquet by guards.

Shadow One really thought he was going to die.

So, resolutely breaking into the Imperial Prison for him, to get the antidote for him.

Shadow One also had hemophobia; his appearance must have scared Shadow One badly.

Wait…

Mousse suddenly remembered something.

Shadow One fought with assassins today; sword light danced, and blood splashed.

All assassins died from cut jugular veins. The spurting blood stained the attic stairs and the courtyard slate red, yet Shadow One showed no abnormality.

Didn’t Shadow One have hemophobia?

Support me on Ko-fi