CH 35

October 1, 2022Merchie

As soon as those outrageous words came out of Jiang Yubai’s mouth, Qi Changyi’s eyes widened slightly, and he looked around nervously.

He lifted his uninjured hand and placed a finger on his lips, “Shh, Imperial Physician Jiang, you can’t say that out loud. Pei-gege has wolf ears, he’ll hear you.”

Qi Changyi had once suffered the consequences of talking behind Pei Zheng’s back. He hadn’t even finished speaking when Pei Zheng had appeared behind him. He was so angry that he ordered several servants to tie Qi Changyi up with a long chain. He left him chained up for two days before he was finally released.

Jiang Yubai thought it was bullshit, “Relax, Your Highness, he hasn’t returned to the palace yet, how can he hear me? You’re like a frightened little rabbit; could it be that you’ve been scared stupid by Pei Zheng?”

After he spoke, Jiang Yubai studied Qi Changyi’s face carefully, before he reached out and patted the other’s forehead.

“Never mind, you’ve always been stupid, what was I thinking?”

Qi Changyi felt a little wronged by these words. He puffed his cheeks, his eyes serious.

“I’m not stupid. I know a lot of things, maybe even more than Imperial Physician Jiang.”

Jiang Yubai looked at the little man’s cheeks which were bulging with anger and tried to hold back his laughter. He responded in an equally serious tone, “Oh? What does Your Highness know? It would be an honor to learn from you.”

Qi Changyi briefly described the events of the night in simple words. Jiang Yubai’s neck turned bright red.

He reached out to cover Qi Changyi’s mouth, before reprimanding him sternly, “Your Highness, my dear, you must never, ever mention this to anyone else, never describe those positions and movements ever again, and never perform them on anyone, do you hear me?”

Jiang Yubai had insulted Pei Zheng countless times in his heart; to say that he wasn’t human was the understatement of the century. It was his first time out of the palace, and that scoundrel had taken His Highness to a brothel; was he not worried about destroying His Highness’s innocence?!

Qi Changyi nodded with a muffled ‘mm’, and Jiang Yubai breathed a sigh of relief and removed his hand.

The guard who was standing at the door also came back inside. After Qi Changyi said goodbye to Jiang Yubai, he was escorted back to his palace.

It was quiet in the prince’s residence, but there was a small candle glowing in the inner hall.

After Qi Changyi pushed open the door, Li Yu, who had been kneeling in front of the candle, rushed forward to greet him.

“Oh, my dear highness, you’re finally back! We were all worried sick.”

Li Yu had woken up in the middle of the night, and had gone to Qi Changyi’s bedroom to check on him. However, no matter where he searched, he couldn’t find His Highness anywhere.

Fortunately, the guard at the door told him that the prince had been taken by Pei Zheng, and Li Yu had been waiting in the inner hall ever since.

Upon seeing Qi Changyi’s gauze-wrapped hand, Li Yu’s heart jolted again.

“Your Highness, what happened to your hand? There’s so much blood, does it still hurt?”

Qi Changyi shook his head, “It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt anymore, I’m sorry I made everyone worry.”

For some reason, when he heard those soft words, Li Yu felt his eyes grow warm.

Servants only care about their masters, so it is only natural that they serve them. They would even die for their masters if necessary.

But Li Yu, who had served Qi Changyi since he was a child, was never treated like a servant by his master. He was His Highness’s friend, which instilled in him an even deeper loyalty to Qi Changyi.

“Your Highness, it’s getting late. You should head to bed.” Li Yu turned and wiped his tears. “I’ll be right here beside you.”

He helped Qi Changyi change out of his robes, careful not to disturb his wound. True to his word, Li Yu sat down next to the bed.

The candle flame was extinguished, and the little man’s breathing gradually evened out. Li Yu’s eyelids slowly drooped downwards as well.

Not long after the two had fallen asleep, there was a loud ‘bang’, as though someone had kicked the palace door open.

The little bundle on the bed was still drowsy with sleep and moved slightly. Li Yu, on the other hand, was fully awake and had broken into a cold sweat.

The approaching figure was tall, and it looked hazy and dark against the moonlight. It walked crookedly, and the whole room was immediately enveloped in the pungent scent of alcohol.

Who else could it have been but Pei Zheng?

He took two or three shaky steps towards the bed and reached out to grab the little bundle, but his leg was suddenly hugged by a pair of arms.

“Lord Pei, His Highness was injured today and needs rest. Could you, come back some other day?”

The little servant was obviously scared out of his wits, but he still tried to restrain him

Pei Zheng was suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of irritation and gloominess, he ripped his foot away and aimed a heavy kick at the servant’s shoulder.

Li Yu spat out a mouthful of blood. Not only was his shoulder in terrible pain, but there was no doubt that his internal organs had been damaged as well.

He couldn’t just let Pei Zheng have his way; the last time Pei Zheng was drunk, he tortured His Highness for an entire night. He couldn’t let that happen again.

“My, my lord, please come again another day!”

So annoying!

Pei Zheng’s head was about to burst from his migraine; this little servant sure liked to stir up troubles for others, why couldn’t he just hurry up and let go?

Li Yu was kicked again, right in the abdomen. The tip of Pei Zheng’s boot dug into his flesh before he pulled away.

Li Yu finally let go of Pei Zheng’s leg, having tumbled several steps away.

Pei Zheng stretched out his hand again. Just as he was about to touch the quilt, he felt a light tug on his sleeve

“My lord…”

Before he could finish speaking Pei Zheng turned around and grabbed the little servant by the front of his robes, lifting him off the ground.

His cold, sinister eyes were slightly squinted; his vision was blurred and unfocused, and he stared at Li Yu’s face for a good while.

It looks like…that dog slave I saved before…

“Heh, what an ungrateful, backstabbing piece of shit.”

Pei Zheng’s tone was gloomy, and he tossed the man in his hands to the floor like a rag. “Take him away.”

Two men dressed in black who appeared to be dark guards1 came through the door. They dragged the unconscious Li Yu into the darkness.

Pei Zheng slowly turned to the side of the bed. The little man had turned over in his sleep and was facing him.

In his drunken state, Pei Zheng’s mind was screaming and buzzing, the carnal desires in his heart sprouting like bamboo shoots.

Earlier, he had gone back to speak with the barbarian envoys about some confidential matters, and sure enough, Qi Changfeng was there as well. It seemed like the more secrets he hid, the more he had to show himself in front of Pei Zheng.

The two of them got into a fight, and Pei Zheng had nearly broken Qi Changfeng’s wrist, if not for A’mu Le’s timely intervention.

Then Pei Zheng went out alone to drink himself stupid. He wasn’t sure how much he had drunk; he was dizzy and out of his mind. Instinctively, he made his way back to this place.

Finally, without any further obstruction, Pei Zheng reached out, grabbed the soft, warm bundle on the bed, and rudely pulled the little man out of his quilt.

Then, his thin lips opened and he spoke coldly, “Bring me the chain.”

Notes

I feel like the author had something beautiful going with Changyi and Li Yu’s friendship and I kinda fked it up just a little bit

Can we just acknowledge how scary it would be if someone just tore you out of your bed and then said ‘bring the chain’ holy shit that sounds really scary

Also, I won’t be using the pronouns meant for positions, or anyone (like ‘this minister’ ‘this subject’ ‘this servant’ etc.)

Thanks for reading~~

1: 暗卫: dark guard/shadow guard, someone who is responsible for their master’s security, carries out assassinations, and is skilled and loyal and yeah you get the picture right