“The Crown Prince still has the mind to think of such filthy things at a time like this?” Xiao Ci twirled the short knife in his hand, his expression growing darker.
Qin Ziyu didn’t want to admit it, but he truly couldn’t deny it.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ve been ill these past few years and rarely see you, My Lord. Moreover, we were so close… I simply couldn’t hold back for a moment. I didn’t mean to seduce you…”
“Seduce?” Xiao Ci sized Qin Ziyu up. “Crown Prince, with this scrawny, dried-up frame of yours, who exactly could you seduce?”
Qin Ziyu was speechless. The original host’s body was too frail; a gust of wind could blow him away. If he had his old body, he’d guarantee Xiao Ci would have a nosebleed from the sight!
Humph.
Who are you looking down on?
“Crown Prince, a word of advice: don’t hanker after things you shouldn’t, otherwise…”
Xiao Ci sliced open Qin Ziyu’s remaining undergarments, the cold blade pressing against him. “This will be the result.”
With a clack, the flat of the blade struck his skin.
Cold sweat soaked his clothes, and strands of hair stuck to his scalp. Qin Ziyu endured the pain, cursing inwardly. Better to just give me a quick death than to keep tapping me with a knife. Who do you think you’re tapping?!
Amidst his struggling, the iron chains let out a crisp rattling sound. Red marks appeared on his slender white wrists. Xiao Ci stopped his movements, his eyes falling on the beads of sweat on Qin Ziyu’s nose.
Qin Ziyu let out a muffled groan. His tensed legs suddenly relaxed, and his vision grew misty. He said weakly, “Has Lord Xiao played enough?”
If this continued, he really would die! It was a mix of pain and pleasure—commonly known as “dying in the saddle.”
Damn it, and he calls me filthy? Who’s the filthy one here!
“Of course not.” Xiao Ci stowed the knife. He indeed hadn’t intended to actually do anything to Qin Ziyu—at least not yet. It wasn’t easy to find someone to play with him, so naturally, he had to enjoy himself.
He’d kill him once he was bored. He only hoped the Crown Prince wouldn’t die too quickly.
“The palace gates are about to be locked. This official still has duties to attend to, so I shall not escort Your Highness back to the Eastern Palace.”
Before leaving, Xiao Ci unlocked the chains. Qin Ziyu gritted his teeth and glared at him. Xiao Ci smiled and pretended not to see. “This official takes his leave.”
“Xiao Ci!”
Qin Ziyu stared in the direction Xiao Ci had left, trying to calm himself. Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. Anger ruins the health.
Damn that Xiao Ci for just patting his ass and leaving! My clothes are in shreds!
Curse him. Once I survive this round and ascend the throne, I’ll have Xiao Ci executed immediately torn apart by five horses!
Qin Ziyu managed to tie his clothes together. His undergarments were ruined and his inner shirt was sliced beyond recognition, but fortunately, his outer robe was intact. If he wrapped it tightly, no one would notice anything unusual.
He didn’t know the way back, but luckily, after walking a short distance, he encountered a few palace maids. He sent them to the Eastern Palace to find Qingkang and had the other two stay to guard him.
The way these two little maids looked at him was a bit strange—a mix of fear and curiosity.
“What are your names?” Qin Ziyu asked.
He walked too slowly, gasping for breath after every few steps, so he decided to wait in place. Seeing the two maids trembling with nerves, Qin Ziyu wasn’t very happy. Am I really that scary?
The round-faced maid said, “In response to Your Highness, this servant is Jinfan.”
The sharp-faced maid added, “This servant is Jinrong.”
“Jinfan, Jinrong beautiful names, like a cluster of flowers. How old are you?” Qin Ziyu asked. They looked very young.
Jinfan said timidly, “We are new to the palace. We just turned fifteen.”
Child labor.
Jinrong peeked at Qin Ziyu several times. He asked, “What are you looking at?”
Jinrong shrank back. “Your Highness… you are so beautiful. Like a fairy… No, that’s not right. Like an immortal. A god from the heavens.”
Before she could finish, Jinfan nudged her with an elbow. Jinrong immediately knelt. “Your Highness, forgive me! This servant does not know the rules and is willing to accept punishment.”
Qin Ziyu laughed. “Why would I punish you? You just praised me for being handsome.”
Jinrong looked up in surprise, her eyes filled with joy. “Really? The Crown Prince is too kind! The heavens will surely bless you with a long life!”
Jinfan followed suit and knelt. “Long live Your Highness.”
Jinrong added, “Yes, yes, this servant is stupid and spoke wrongly. Long live Your Highness.”
Qin Ziyu was amused by the two. “You two are quite interesting. Come work at the Eastern Palace tomorrow.”
Though he held no real power, he could still manage a small matter like this.
The two maids were overjoyed, especially Jinrong. They had only been in the palace for half a year and constantly heard senior maids saying how difficult masters were to serve. They were told to be careful in everything especially in front of the Crown Prince, who supposedly disliked noise.
But the Crown Prince is clearly very nice! Not serious at all.
Qin Ziyu disliked those with deep, calculating minds. Most of the current eunuchs and maids in the Eastern Palace were Xiao Ci’s people. Even Qing’an and Qingkang couldn’t be fully trusted. He needed to cultivate his own faction, otherwise, his path would be blocked at every turn.
To survive, he could endure humiliation for a time, but he couldn’t live under someone else’s thumb forever.
Even if the original host’s body was weak and wouldn’t live long, it would be nice to have a few people chatting around him like watching TV. Later, he’d have them rehearse some shows singing, dancing, skits, and crosstalk.
Life was starting to look up.
The night passed quietly. Qing’an knelt outside for four hours, claiming he deserved punishment for failing to look after the Prince. Qin Ziyu didn’t stop him. The Eastern Palace couldn’t lose its rules; otherwise, people would stop treating him as a master.
Punishing Qing’an now would also prevent others from finding fault later.
Early the next morning, as soon as Qin Ziyu opened his eyes, Qingkang came to report that Lord Lu requested an audience.
Lu Moyun was here?
“Invite him in quickly,” Qin Ziyu said. “Lord Lu is here to treat me; he must not be treated coldly. Prepare plenty of food and have him join me for breakfast.”
“Yes.” While Qingkang helped Qin Ziyu dress, he ordered others to bring the meal.
By the time Lu Moyun entered the hall, Qin Ziyu had finished grooming, and breakfast was mostly laid out.
“This official greets the Crown Prince. Long live Your Highness.”
The corners of Qin Ziyu’s mouth couldn’t stop curling upward. If there was one benefit to being this invalid, it was the high status Lu Moyun had to kneel to him.
Heh…
If I ever get back, I’ll definitely brag about this to everyone. Even the stray dogs on the street won’t be spared from hearing it.
“Rise.”
Lu Moyun bowed. “Yes.”
“There were urgent matters at the Censorate these past few days, so I was unable to come and take Your Highness’s pulse. It is my fault; I hope Your Highness does not take offense.”
Qin Ziyu looked up at him, and his mood soured instantly. He hadn’t noticed it with Xiao Ci, as Xiao Ci was naturally tall, but now…
Why is Lu Moyun also taller than me?!
In their original world, they were the same height and had similar builds. Lu Moyun hadn’t changed; it was Qin Ziyu who had.
The more Qin Ziyu thought about it, the sadder he got. He missed his own body—missed his healthy physique, his abs, and his V-taper.
“Your Highness?”
Qin Ziyu’s voice turned a few degrees colder. “What are you saying, Lord Lu? State affairs are naturally more important than I am.”
Lu Moyun: “…”
“It was just a joke. Take my pulse first. All of you, get out, so as not to disturb Lord Lu,” Qin Ziyu ordered.
Qingkang ushered out the maids and eunuchs who had finished setting the table. “Everyone out.”
Once the doors were closed, Qin Ziyu relaxed. “Not bad, huh? You’ve even learned how to pull off that formal scholar-talk.”
“Give me your hand.” Lu Moyun grabbed Qin Ziyu’s wrist.
Qin Ziyu shrank back. “Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you’re touching? Is this something you’re allowed to touch? You’re crossing a line!”
“What if I touch it?” Lu Moyun raised an eyebrow. “Stop messing around. Let me take a proper look.”
“What happened here?”
As soon as the sleeve was pulled back, several greenish-purple bruises were visible on Qin Ziyu’s wrists, looking as if they had been bound. This wasn’t a foreign sight to Lu Moyun; he knew people who liked to play “rough” with ropes.
But this looked serious.
Qin Ziyu didn’t want to mention yesterday’s events it was too embarrassing.
“It’s not important.”
Lu Moyun fell silent, staring at Qin Ziyu’s face.
Qin Ziyu surrendered. “Fine, fine. I was tied up with iron chains and nearly lost my life.”
“Xiao Ci?” Lu Moyun’s brow furrowed tightly.
Qin Ziyu nodded. “Yeah.”
Lu Moyun clicked his tongue and grabbed Qin Ziyu’s wrist again. Qin Ziyu felt the man was up to no good. “That’s enough acting. Let go.”
“Shut up.” Lu Moyun’s gaze was sharp.
Qin Ziyu opened his mouth, then shut it. Fine, he wouldn’t argue with Lu Moyun for now.
After finishing the pulse reading, Lu Moyun said, “The residual toxin in your body is too deep. There is no cure. The imperial physicians likely can’t do anything either—they can only delay it. As time goes on, your body will grow weaker until your lamp runs out of oil.”
He spoke with such expertise that Qin Ziyu withdrew his hand. “You actually know medicine!”
“Let’s not talk about that for now.”
“I’m asking you, what on earth is going on? Is it that jade pendant’s fault?”
“You mean this?” Lu Moyun unfastened the Qilin Jade from his waist. “I’m not sure either. When I transmigrated, I had this jade on me. It’s been twelve years.”
“Twelve years!” Qin Ziyu was stunned. “You’ve been here for twelve years?”
No wonder he knows how to read pulses!
Lu Moyun was even more surprised. “Well, yeah. When did you arrive?”
“Um…” Qin Ziyu calculated. “About seven days ago. The day before we met.”
“A ‘head-seven’ (seventh day after death)?” Lu Moyun remarked.
Qin Ziyu: “Seven your head! You’re the one in a ‘head-seven’! Didn’t we just finish drinking? I went back to fix a proposal, the booze hit me and I got woozy—when I woke up, I was here.”
“To me, that was twelve years ago,” Lu Moyun sighed. “No wonder Xiao Ci entered the palace. I was wondering why you were so stupid that you didn’t even try to change the plot. Well, looks like you’re waiting for death!”
Qin Ziyu: “…”
“Not for now, don’t worry. Even if I go, I’ll take you with me.”
“Otherwise, if I leave you all alone in this world, I’d be so heartbroken!”
As he spoke, Qin Ziyu ruffled Lu Moyun’s hair. He finally got to play the “big brother.”
“I’ve lived ten years longer than you here. Call me ‘Daddy’.” Lu Moyun swiped Qin Ziyu’s hand away. “Don’t touch me; you’re messing up my hair.”
They were originally only two months apart. Lu Moyun was six when he arrived; he was now eighteen.
“You’re eighteen, I’m twenty-five. I’m your daddy,” Qin Ziyu refused to lose.
The two bickered for a while until Qin Ziyu got hungry. They moved to the table to eat while continuing their argument.
Once they were tired of arguing and breakfast was nearly finished Qin Ziyu didn’t dare eat too much as his body couldn’t take it, Lu Moyun suddenly turned serious.
“I will definitely find a way to save you.”
“Let’s get past Xiao Ci first,” Qin Ziyu said. “Aren’t you childhood friends? Why don’t you go plead my case?”
Lu Moyun: “How? He isn’t exactly warm toward me. It’s a far cry from the novel. I’m afraid it would backfire.”
“Since you arrived twelve years ago, why didn’t you stay with him during the flood?” Qin Ziyu asked.
Lu Moyun countered, “Why should I have stayed with him to save him? I’m not a Bodhisattva.”
“Besides, I thought you had transmigrated with me and that he wouldn’t enter the palace. Who knew you just got here.”
Qin Ziyu: “So it’s my fault that I just arrived?”
“Trash.”
Lu Moyun clicked his tongue. “I don’t have time to curse you right now. Xiao Ci is incredibly suspicious; he doesn’t trust easily and hates you to the bone. Even if you have to humble yourself, stay alive first. I’ll bet everything on my medical skills to make sure you live to a hundred.”
“I’ve already humbled myself,” Qin Ziyu said, his face full of “tears.”
Lu Moyun: “What did you do?”
He was tied up and still managed not to die yet?
Qin Ziyu: “I said I wanted to appoint him as my Crown Princess.”
Lu Moyun: “…”