CH 17.2

Lin Bozhou gently stroked his head. “People don’t have long memories and are selfish. If this prince does not kill them, the people replacing them in this residence, after seeing their good end, will also move out of greed with the mind of being spared and look down on you. The power dynamic should be established early and severe enough to settle the matter once and for all.”

Meng Huan looked at him in a daze.

“So,” Lin Bozhou whispered. “Madam, don’t blame this prince.”

Meng Huan: “……”

Lin Bozhou smiled, his eyes narrowing, and the light vanished.

He said, “Okay?”

–

After Lin Bozhou got angry, the things on the table were immediately changed to the standard of thirty dishes. The servants lined up with colorful dishes and put them on Meng Huan’s unspacious table, crowding it to the edge.

Lin Bozhou sat in his chair, lazily leaning. He had just killed a few underlings and was a bit bored, without any psychological pressure.

Meng Huan silently picked up the bowls and chopsticks and sat beside Lin Bozhou, undertaking the duty of a concubine accompanying him. “Your Majesty, is it time to eat?”

The words were obediently whispered.

The dishes served to Lin Bozhou by the residence’s main kitchen varied daily, but someone would take note of the food: if the prince touched a dish three times, it would still be cooked next time. Meanwhile, if the prince only glanced at a dish, it would be discarded. Grasping his preferences was their life’s mission.

After not eating well for several days, Meng Huan was so focused on eating that he didn’t notice Lin Bozhou stopped his chopsticks and looked at him quietly.

Lin Bozhou didn’t know what came to him and asked, “Two days ago, you argued with someone and were bullied. Why didn’t you take the initiative to tell this prince?”

“……”

Meng Huan’s chopsticks stopped for a moment.

Meng Huan licked his lips. When he licked the food’s grease, he took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the corners of his lips, not knowing for a moment what to say.

In his mind, no matter how Lin Bozhou treated him as a concubine or a wife, in Meng Huan’s eyes, he would always be a traitorous official who oppressed all the other officials and killed them without blinking.

Meng Huan felt that he had received too many benefits and would become a small traitor if he sought him out and borrowed his power when he was aggrieved.

After all, having received a modern anti-feudal education, Meng Huan had always been incapable of accepting him psychologically.

With his head bowed, Meng Huan polished a sentence for a long time. “Your Highness is busy with official duties. I do not want to disturb Your Highness for this trivial matter.”

Lin Bozhou’s tone sounded unconvinced. “Is that so?”

Meng Huan nodded. “Your Highness goes to court daily to deal with political affairs and returns to the house in the dark; it’s extremely tough. I would be embarrassed to bother you with some domestic disputes.”

“Snort.” Lin Bozhou lowered his eyes and laughed for an unknown reason.

“……”

He did not continue to ask.

Seeing that the topic was bypassed, Meng Huan hurriedly bowed his head and turned his rice lest he brought it up again.

After a while, Lin Bozhou said in his ear. “Why does Madam suddenly want to learn how to read these days?”

Meng Huan’s back tensed up again. When he thought of the two letters, his chopsticks stopped again.

He was so jittery and nervous; all his little motions were visible. Lin Bozhou slightly raised his lips while looking at him and indifferently said, “Is it because you want to write and read something?”

“……” This speculation.

Meng Huan was even more nervous. He put down his chopsticks and picked up his handkerchief again to dab the corner of his lips.

His scalp tingled. After a long time, he stumblingly said, “The days in the residence were boring. I wanted to learn to do some light reading and write something, compensating for the loneliness from Your Highness’ absence. After all, Your Highness never came to see me then, and I thought I had lost favor.”

Lin Bozhou raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

“Mmmm.”

Meng Huan’s eyes were more genuine than pearls.

Lin Bozhou’s body leaned forward slightly. His dark brown eyes looked down at him, his breath fell to the tip of his nose, hot, and he spoke with a light, airy tone. “This prince didn’t come to see you; did you keep thinking of this prince?”

Meng Huan blushed uncontrollably, bowed his head, and spoke after a while. “Mm.”

Lin Bozhou gently tapped on the table and smiled. “It is true that this prince treated you coldly these days. This prince will reflect on this and come to see you every night after court, okay?”

“……” Meng Huan opened his mouth.

Lin Bozhou stood up, his voice calm. “Then tonight, this prince will stay overnight at Madam’s place.”

——————–

The author has something to say.

Meng Huan: Do I really look as if I like you that much?

Lin Bozhou (smiles): Do you not?

-…