Chapter 44.2
Editor: yummers
The boy screamed and backed away, however, he underestimated his strength and fell onto the red fox skin.
Shi Qing’s round eyes were fixated on Yu Chennian. His expression was very timid. Maybe because he was too scared, but he maintained his awkward position on top of the red fox fur for quite some time.
He was always reckless and headstrong. Naturally, he was never taught how to protect himself from a man.
His innocent and dazed figure remained on the sea of red. He shrunk back under Yu Chennian’s gaze. The little master was rarely this subdued.
Not only did his appearance make people want to protect him, but he aroused their desire to possess him as well.
Yu Chennian felt like they were almost playing a game of cat and mouse.
His eyes darkened immediately.
He could finally hug the haughty kitten who was out of his reach until now.
If he had to endure a second more, he was going to explode.
He had been holding himself back ever since he saw Shi Qing again.
And now, his little master was spread out before him in this utterly vulnerable position, just like a carefully prepared gift that was just waiting for him to come and open.
The emperor swallowed.
He’s endured for so long.
What was a while longer?
He leaned down slowly and gently collected Shi Qing in his arms.
Just like he did four years ago.
He was still the unfavoured prince at that time. No matter the season or time of day, all he felt was a bone-chilling cold.
Only during his afternoon naps could he hold this delicate and soft little master, enjoying a moment of warmth.
Yu Chennian’s heart was filled with tender emotions. He tried his hardest to suppress his desires in order to not frighten Shi Qing. His voice was hoa.r.s.e as he softly coaxed the youth with the words he had rehea.r.s.ed so many times before.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t do anything to you.”
The System had just arrived after being startled by the Host’s scream. After hearing his words, it sighed in relief and quietly comforted the Host.
[Don’t be afraid, Host. He said he won’t do anything to you.]
Shi Qing, [That can’t be right. I felt it, ah.]
System, [?]
Shi Qing, [He’s the opposite of soft.]
System: [???]
System: [……]
Shi Qing continued to mutter to himself, [I waited four whole years for him. He’s already like this, but he still refuses to do anything to me. Tong, don’t you think this is illogical?]
System: [……]
Shi Qing had a sudden realization, [I see! He must not be not soft enough!]
[Alright! Darling Tong, quickly go watch TV dramas. Baby systems like you shouldn’t see what comes next.]
Yu Chennian, who was focused on ignoring his body’s signals, contentedly held the soft youth in his arms. He heard Shi Qing’s quiet question.
“Are you really not going to do anything to me?”
Yu Chennian looked down and met the apprehensive eyes of the beautiful youth in his arms.
Those expressive eyes were filled with caution.
The emperor’s heart melted.
Even if he had witnessed with his own eyes how overbearing the little master was before. Even if he knew that Shi Qing was able to hold his own in a fight and quickly change his face to accommodate his situation.
When the little boy gazed at him pitifully with those watery eyes, he was unable to deny any request he asked of him.
“Yes.”
Yu Chennian’s deep voice seemed to startle Shi Qing. He soothed the little master that he had kidnapped. “As long as you don’t want to, I won’t do anything to you.”
Shi Qing, who had always taken full advantage of any concessions, immediately said, “I want to go home.”
“Why don’t you stay with me for a while first? I will give you whatever you want while you’re here.”
The little master seemed to be convinced by his generous att.i.tude. His stiff body relaxed slightly. His soft voice was sticky and spoiled. “Don’t you hate me?”
“Everyone’s saying that I bullied you. After you took the throne, that Fifth Young Master Zhao who’s always had a bone to pick with me even laughed at me. He said that I was a gra.s.shopper in late autumn that couldn’t even jump. He also said that when you carried out your revenge, your first target would be me.”
No wonder Shi Qing’s reaction to him was so extreme. He must’ve been very scared.
Yu Chennian secretly began holding a grudge in his heart against this Fifth Young Master Zhao.
He tried even harder to soften his voice and comfort the nervous little youth in front of him.
“How can I hate you? You were the only one in the palace who treated me well. You even stopped others from bullying me.”
As he spoke of the past, the emperor’s eyes were warm and tender. He lowered his head and kissed the youth’s lightly fragrant hair.
“Even if I retaliate against the entire world, I won’t retaliate against you.”
The promise made the youth’s body relax further.
He even obediently took the initiative to rub against the man’s chest, like a spoiled kitten. He nuzzled his face against Yu Chennian’s clothes repeatedly.
His voice was still soft, as if he had suffered great grievances. “I woke up to suddenly find myself locked up. I was really scared.”
He appeared utterly harmless and pitiful right now. It was like the person who went on a swearing tantrum before wasn’t him.
Yet his two-faced nature succeeded in making Yu Chennian’s heart ache.
He guiltily patted the youth on the back. “It was my fault. I should’ve been by your side.”
The emperor’s extremely good att.i.tude made Shi Qing behave more and more outrageously.
“I’ve been hungry ever since I woke up and I didn’t get to eat anything. I’m still hungry. Touch it, it’s completely flat now.”
The youth took Yu Chennian’s st.u.r.dy hand and placed it on his abdomen.
He looked very aggrieved. “I’m so hungry my stomach hurts.”
The emperor felt more and more ashamed of himself.
He wanted to gather all of the best treasures in the world and offer them to Shi Qing and beg for his forgiveness.
“I’ll have them deliver something to eat right away.”
He carefully kneaded Shi Qing’s stomach as he called for servants to bring food from the imperial kitchens.
Now the little master was certain that Yu Chennian was 110% devoted to him.
He was still a little uneasy, so he snuck a few glances at the emperor who was embracing him. His words were tentative.
“I don’t want to eat the food from the imperial kitchens. They suck at cooking. I want to eat pig trotters from West House.”
As expected, Yu Chennian agreed without hesitation and ordered the palace servants to send people out to buy it.
The little master was overjoyed.
Upon realizing that Yu Chennian was amenable to all of his demands, Shi Qing reinflated. He straightened his back and raised his little tail. Without the slightest hint of courtesy, he rattled off a list of dishes, “I also want the Lianshuang chicken, the red and green soup, and the braised pork meatb.a.l.l.s!”
Yu Chennian’s hand never stopped rubbing his little belly. “Okay. I’ll send someone to buy it.”
The little master puffed up more and more.
“I also want to eat the sugar people the Liu family makes over on West street, the roasted chestnuts on South Street, and, um, the thing I always wanted to buy. I always wanted a big jade carved oyster from the Gold and Silver House, but my daddy wouldn’t buy it for me.”
After that, Shi Qing returned to leaning bonelessly against the emperor. He nuzzled Yu Chennian repeatedly with his face and said cutely, “You’ll buy it for me, right?”
Currently, Yu Chennian seemed to act like a foolish monarch entangled with beauties .
“Alright. I’ll buy it for you.”
The little master was ecstatic.
He even got up to plant a wet kiss on Yu Chennian’s cheek.
The emperor froze.
His heart was beating so fast that his blood didn’t have time to catch up. The place that Shi Qing just kissed seemed to be scorching hot.
“Shi Qing, Shi Qing……”
He held the little youth tightly as he became even more not soft.
Due to their previous movements, Shi Qing was sitting on top of him now.
The youth felt something and glanced down with a puzzled expression. “What’s that?”
And then, definitely not on purpose, Shi Qing shifted around and brushed against that place.
Yu Chennian, “……”
He was really about to explode.
But he held back through sheer force of will and squeezed out a smile. “It’s nothing. Why don’t you take a nap first? Those things will be brought back soon.”
Now that he knew Yu Chennian meant no harm, the youth returned to his old rambunctious self. When he saw the emperor rise, he leaned on the red fox skin and raised his small face to ask quietly.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s a little hot.”
Yu Chennian’s face was impa.s.sive as he stood in the pleasantly cool chambers. “I’m going to take a cold bath.”
“Oh! I’ll go with you then.”
The little master stood up excitedly. “I heard that there was a hot spring in the palace, but I couldn’t ask the previous emperor because I was just a subject. I’ve always wanted to visit there.”
He hopped happily barefoot and hugged Yu Chennian’s arm. He pleaded softly, “Take me with you. I heard that the faucets are carved into the shape of dragon heads with a night pearl in their mouths. I want to see.”
A scene immediately flashed by in Yu Chennian’s mind.
The youth stood in the water with his back to him. The misty white fog then parted to show his smooth and unblemished back……
Yu Chennian, “……”
The heat in his body was almost uncontrollable at this point.
In the end, the emperor forced himself to hold on and sat on the couch again in a pose that would not expose anything.
“Suddenly I don’t feel hot anymore. Let’s go another day.”
Shi Qing’s face quickly became unhappy.
Luckily, he remembered that Yu Chennian was now the emperor. He didn’t kick him with his feet like before to express his displeasure. Instead, he leaned bonelessly in Yu Chennian’s lap and purposely dragged out his words and acted cute.
“Take me there, please? You said before that you would give me anything I wanted. Yu Chennian, Yu Chennian……”
Yu Chennian almost couldn’t stand it.
The thought of “bearing down on Shi Qing like this” flashed through his mind countless times.
He was the emperor now.
Everything in this world belonged to him.
Naturally, Shi Qing was also his.
He could imprison Shi Qing within the palace and give him everything he wanted. He could make him wear clothes made of gauze and let him remain in his arms like this……
“Ah!”
The voice of the little boy interrupted Yu Chennian’s thoughts.
Shi Qing was shocked. “Your nose is bleeding!”
The emperor lowered his head, and a drop of fresh blood fell onto his clothes. It soon absorbed into the material.
Seizing the opportunity, Shi Qing took out a handkerchief from within his shirt. He worked on wiping the blood stain with a serious expression.
“I’ll wipe it for you.”
He wiped and wiped. Sometimes, he “accidentally” rubbed against a certain place.
He rubbed it again and again, seemingly not noticing anything out of the ordinary.
After two times, the cloth beside the stain had already begun to rise.
Yu Chennian, “…….”
The emperor sprang to his feet.
No!
He must not force Shi Qing. He must not make Shi Qing hate him.
Yu Chennian tried hard to calm his breathing. “I, I, I’m going outside for some fresh air.”
Then, as if there were monsters chasing close behind him, he rushed out of the palace hall.
Shi Qing, who had worked hard for quite some time said, [……Pah. Men.]
As soon as Yu Chennian went out, an eunuch carefully came up. “Your Majesty, Prime Minister Shi has been kneeling in the front. He refuses to leave…….unless he sees Little Master Shi. What should we do……”
Yu Chennian was much calmer after the cold wind cleared the haze in his mind.
He couldn’t be too forceful with the prime minister. This was Shi Qing’s father after all.
Kneeling for a long time wasn’t good either. Prime Minister Shi had Shi Qing at an old age. It wouldn’t be good if he caught a chill out there.
But it was impossible for him to let that person go.
“Bring the prime minister here. Let him meet with Shi Qing to a.s.suage his worries.”
The eunuch quickly replied, “Understood. This one will go right away.”
There was quite some distance between the front palace and the emperor’s sleeping chambers. Prime Minister Shi felt uneasy the entire time he was escorted here.
He only inquired briefly about what had happened after Yu Chennian ascended the throne. He didn’t know the details of how Shi Qing bullied this sleeping dragon.
He only knew that Yu Chennian had been used as a servant.
The new emperor didn’t seem to be the merciful type. As soon as he ascended the throne, he revoked the t.i.tles of all his living brothers and banished them. He obviously cared more about results than his reputation outside.
If that’s how he was to his own blood relations, then to a subject……
The prime minister’s mind was filled with images of his only son being tortured, imprisoned, or wounded.
The new emperor had even fought on the battlefield. If he used the various torture methods learned there to deal with Shi Qing, how could that spoiled child survive!
It was all over……
Even if his kid was a rotten apple, he was the only apple the prime minister had ah.
The eunuch beside noticed his sweat-covered visage. He hurriedly asked him, “Minister, are you alright?”
Prime Minister Shi, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
He was trying to comfort himself. He was an old minister and an aristocrat. Shi Qing was his only son. Even if the new emperor held a grudge against him, he would still have to show some modic.u.m of leniency on the prime minister’s behalf.
At this moment, his heart was already prepared for the worst. No matter how much his son suffered, it would all be worth it if he could keep his life.
The prime minister walked faster than other people could run the entire walk. But no matter how swift his stride, it still took some time to cover the considerable distance.
When the palace attendants saw that he was coming, they immediately raised their voices and shouted, “Your Majesty, Prime Minister Shi is arriving.”
Yu Chennian’s bland voice came from inside. “Let him in.”
Prime Minister Shi became even more nervous.
The eunuch beside him saw that he was trembling as he walked. “……Prime minister, are you all right?”
Prime Minister Shi, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
He cautiously stepped into the hall with an uneasy expression.
What he saw inside stunned him. His son was sitting cross-legged at the table gnawing on pig trotters without any grace or manners.
And the new emperor, who has killed countless people since his accession to the throne, was peeling shrimps with the hands he used to hold pet.i.tions from his ministers.
After he was finished with a shrimp, he fed it to Shi Qing with an indulgent air.
The happy little boy didn’t even lift his eyes. He certainly didn’t notice that his own father was about to have a stroke. He opened his ruddy lips and ate the shrimps as if there was nothing wrong with him being fed. He was even grumpily complaining about this treatment.
“Dip the shrimp in vinegar first. It’s no good without it.”
The eunuch on one side glanced at the prime minister who was on the verge of collapse. He quickly helped steady the man. “Prime minister, sir. Are…are you really alright?”
“……”
“I…should…be…fine……”