Substitute Bride Phoenix, The Tyrant's Pampered Demon Empress

Panda Novel

On a relatively quiet, secluded street, Zuiying walked up to the door of a commoner’s home with a hard look on his face.

Just then, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Cough cough cough…

The moment he stepped inside, he heard the sound of violent coughing.

Zuiying hurriedly walked past the screen and towards the bed in the back.

He saw an incredibly weak man, laying in bed. He was tall, skinny, and a face similar to Zuiying’s. However, he looked slightly paler.

Zuiying immediately walked over, sat by his bedside, and patted the man on the back. “Brother, I have come back to see you.”

The man in the bed coughed a few times, then sat up to look at Zuiying after his breathing calmed down. He pulled a smile from his pale lips. “Little Ying, seeing that you’re back safe makes me so incredibly happy. I’ll get out of bed now and cook for you.”

He got ready to get out of bed and do chores.

Zuiying hurriedly stopped the man. “Brother, I ate just before coming back to see you. I’m not hungry at all. Brother, don’t move. Get some rest.”

There was a faint look of sadness on Zuiying’s face.

The man saw the awful look on Zuiying’s face and asked rhetorically, “Little Ying, did something happen? Tell me, I’ll help you think of a way out.”

Zuiying turned his head to not let the man see the strange look on his face. “Brother, i-it’s… nothing. It’s just that I’ve recently been promoted and am earning ten times more now. Since I’ve got extra money, I want to give you a better living environment. It’s too isolated and quiet here. I’m afraid that you’ll be bored,” he said flatly.

The man furrowed his brows and spoke with a serious tone of voice. “Oh Little Ying, I’ve lived here for over ten years now. I couldn’t bear to leave. Actually, I don’t feel lonely at all. Besides, I’m comfortable living here, so you don’t need to spend the money. The right thing to do is use the money you earned to get married!”

Zuiying suddenly furrows his sharp brows. “B-but… brother…”

“Little Ying, say no more. I’m not someone who can’t suffer a little. I’m so happy that you received a promotion. I’ll be happy if you just come back to visit me more often.” The frail man on the bed spoke softly with a grateful look on his face.

Zuiying sighed helplessly. “B-but… brother…”

The man saw the look of sorrow on Zuiying’s side profile and came to an instant realization. “Little Ying, d-did… did you get in some kind of trouble?”

Zuiying hurriedly shook his head. “N-no… I didn’t get into some kind of trouble. I just accidentally offended the General’s Eldest Young Lady, then she… she’s looking for me everywhere. I-I’m… I’m afraid she’ll come here to… to harm you!”

The man let out a long sigh. “You live in the imperial palace, and so it’s hard to avoid drama. I understand. That Eldest Young Lady must have seen something in you that pissed her off, so she just wants to bully you to make the time go by. I’ve seen things like this happen quite a lot. It’s no matter. Let’s leave this place now. Worse comes to worst, we can just come back when things have calmed down.”

Zuiying pulled a faint smile, then turned to look at the man. “Thank you, brother,” he said in a warm voice.

The man patted Zuiying on the shoulder and wore a comforting smile. “Little Ying, you don’t need to feel indebted to me. You were only four years old, so I was right to take the hit. Although I’m now bedridden all year round, I’ve raised you to be so tall and outstanding. I think it was all really worth it.”

Zuiying reached his arm out and tightly hugged the pale-faced man. His vision started to blur with a look of brimming emotion on his face.