Ancient Spoiled Heir 04 – Some Sleep Soundly, Others Wait Out the Dawn…
Lin Jiujiu was half asleep, trying to embrace the person beside him.
No, wait.
The texture felt wrong.
How had he become so much harder? It was a frame of rock-hard bones, and the temperature was far too high.
Who was this?
Lin Jiujiu realized belatedly: it was Foster Father.
Why was he sleeping in the same bed as Foster Father? He didn’t want to sleep with Foster Father; he wanted Eldest Brother.
He wanted to hold Eldest Brother’s hand, tug at Eldest Brother’s fingers, and secretly wrap his arms around Eldest Brother’s waist.
When it was cold, he wanted to press his feet right onto Eldest Brother’s feet.
They could warm each other.
Eldest Brother was like warm jade, comfortably lukewarm. The person beside him right now was a blazing stove. A large palm swept over, pulling Lin Jiujiu into an embrace and forbidding him from moving around and disturbing his sound sleep.
So hot.
Had Foster Father drunk deer’s blood? How could he be like a furnace even in the dead of winter, scorching anyone near him without even realizing it?
Lin Jiujiu naturally ran a bit cooler. The doctors and imperial physicians had all examined him, and it wasn’t an illness.
In the summer, he loved clinging to Eldest Brother to help him cool down.
In the winter, he loved hugging Eldest Brother to borrow his warmth.
Lin Jiujiu touched his own face. It felt scorching hot, and it must have been bright red, too. Wait, wasn’t it because Foster Father was hot? No, it was because he wasn’t used to it, couldn’t adapt, and felt shy.
No, that wasn’t it either.
Unable to figure it out, Lin Jiujiu simply decided to observe in the dim light.
The room wasn’t completely pitch-black; the gleam of swords and blades reflected a faint shimmer.
A tiny, solitary candle flickered alone, positioned far away from the bed.
Further out, guards were keeping watch through the night.
In Foster Father’s courtyard, all the attendants were soldiers, constantly on guard against assassins.
Foster Father’s meals were strictly monitored, too—someone always tested the food for poison before he ate.
No matter where Foster Father went, he never traveled alone. Elite guards flanked him on either side, and even though every single one of them was towering and broad-shouldered, Foster Father remained the most striking of all.
To capture a bandit, one must first capture the ringleader. If assassins really came, they wouldn’t mistake their target.
Yet it had been different in the past. Lin Jiujiu had heard Cao Xing say that back then, Shi Henzhen always charged at the very forefront on the battlefield, fighting side by side with the troops, eating and drinking the same as the common soldiers.
He was never the one being protected.
The Great General’s formidable reputation spread far and wide. His warhorses galloped all the way to the far north, leaving only victory in their wake. Trampling over the bones of the defeated, he made foreign tribes tremble with fear and flee at the mere sight of him.
Foreigners called the Great General names like Evil Ghost, Enemy Tiger, and Blood Wolf. Some foreign princes even surrendered to him, wanting to call him Foster Father, but Shi Henzhen wouldn’t have it. He collected the prince’s head and took a vast expanse of territory instead.
Cao Xing said that prince had shot and killed one of their brothers. The Prince cherished his comrades and would never accept such a person’s overtures of goodwill, preferring to wash it away with even more blood rather than swallow the suffocating grief of a brother’s death.
They followed the Prince with their lives, their loyalty, and the impending glory of helping him ascend the throne.
Lin Jiujiu had once asked why Foster Father never married or had children.
Cao Xing had laughed: “My Lord’s heart belongs to the realm, completely devoid of selfishness. My Lord fears that if he has biological children, he will never be able to treat his sworn brothers and foster sons the same as before.”
“When the Prince ascends to the position that is rightfully his,” Cao Xing had said, “brothers and foster sons will all become ministers, and ministers will naturally urge His Majesty to populate the inner court so his imperial lineage thrives.”
At that time, 888 had chimed in with a sarcastic thought: The author of this book went to great lengths just to keep the Gong pure.
Right now, as Lin Jiujiu lay in the same bed as Shi Henzhen, he suddenly felt that the author’s painstaking efforts were quite good. If the Gong had to stay pure for the Shou, then as the villain, even if he stripped down and shared a bed with Foster Father, nothing would happen anyway.
Foster Father was just Foster Father. Why was he getting all flustered and annoyed? Lin Jiujiu rubbed his own face, forbidding it from turning red.
Remembering that he was the villain, how could he treat the Gong and the Shou differently? Since he was already Eldest Brother’s villain, he might as well be Foster Father’s villain, too.
He stretched out a mischievous hand and gave a light poke with his slender fingers right against Shi Henzhen’s sturdy chest.
It was soft! And springy, too.
The muscles were soft and bouncy when relaxed, only turning rock-hard when tensed. Eldest Brother had muscles, too—Lin Jiujiu knew that—but Eldest Brother’s muscles possessed the elegance of a scholar and the grace of an orchid, nothing like Foster Father’s massive build.
Lin Jiujiu poked away without any restraint, just like playing with mud when he was little. Shi Henzhen opened his eyes and grabbed his hand before he could use any force.
The little brat was already crying out in pain.
“My fault, I was wrong, Foster Father. I’ll sleep properly.” Lin Jiujiu rubbed his cheek against Shi Henzhen’s wrist, pleading for him to let go, promising he wouldn’t dare do it again.
The brat’s skin was so tender, yet he didn’t even fear the rough friction against his hand.
Shi Henzhen pinched his cheeks, grabbing one side with each hand. Thanks to his exceptional night vision—which was great for sneaking up on people during wartime, but equally great for watching the brat’s goofy, crying expressions in bed—he pinched, released, and pinched again, squeezing Lin Jiujiu’s mouth into a pouty goldfish shape until the silly boy was thoroughly terrified, his eyes blinking rapidly as unshed tears welled up.
Shi Henzhen let him off.
Lin Jiujiu sat up with a start, turning his back to the man and pitifully wiping his eyes.
“Does it hurt?” Shi Henzhen asked.
Lin Jiujiu apologized: “I know I was wrong. I know if I poke like this, Foster Father will hurt, too. I should put myself in others’ shoes and understand the principle.”
“What grand principle,” Shi Henzhen chuckled playfully. “I don’t hurt.”
Lin Jiujiu whipped around, a gloomy aura of grievance filling his entire body: “Then Foster Father still pinched me…”
Shi Henzhen ruffled his head, rumpling his neat hair into a mess, and pulled Lin Jiujiu straight into his arms.
“You silly fool. If Foster Father had actually used force, your eye sockets would have burst open.”
Lin Jiujiu covered his eyes and shook his head.
“A mouse with a coward’s heart.”
As soon as Foster Father finished his mocking remark, Lin Jiujiu didn’t forget to correct him: “It’s timid as a mouse.”
“Fine,” Foster Father tucked the blanket around Lin Jiujiu. “Little mouse has a small heart, so sleep more and grow tall…”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Shi Henzhen fell asleep again.
The Regent’s sleep quality was truly remarkable. Even though people might want to kill him, even though he had killed countless people himself, he didn’t fear ghosts or corpses at all, sleeping soundly through the night.
Lin Jiujiu couldn’t help but envy him. Eating well, drinking well, and sleeping well—no wonder Foster Father was so solidly built.
He remembered a year when Foster Father had hunted a tiger.
The poor tiger’s pelt had ended up as Lin Jiujiu’s mattress.
Foster Father was even fiercer than a tiger. The one fiercer than a tiger was holding Lin Jiujiu now, acting like a blanket, while those weaker than a tiger couldn’t even serve as Lin Jiujiu’s mattress and weren’t allowed on the bed at all.
Long before the light arrived, the sound of rain came first.
It was raining, a gentle patter. Some drops beat against the roof tiles, while others fell among the plum blossoms.
Lin Jiujiu slowly opened his eyes, feeling a bit dazed. The dream still clung to him without offering any further clues, leaving him with only a vague sense of disorientation. He rubbed his eyes—the day had long since broken.
Foster Father wasn’t there. He must have gone off to drill the troops.
Lin Jiujiu’s gaze drifted past the bedside and out the window, where the plum trees in the courtyard were weighed down with a flush of crimson. A plain oiled-paper umbrella emerged through the gaps in the red blossoms, and a figure slowly walked out from behind the trees.
The rain fell in drops. The umbrella obscured the person’s brows and eyes, revealing only a posture as graceful as a master’s running-script calligraphy, resembling the character for water or the character for moon. He wore a pale sky-green robe, looking like that single trace of green and mist blending together at a mountain peak.
Eldest Brother had come.
Lin Jiujiu heard the soldiers questioning him.
Eldest Brother said: “I’ve come to fetch him.”
Eldest Brother’s voice was a bit hoarse. Clearly, the lamps had been blown out so early last night, and not a single one had been left for Lin Jiujiu, meaning he must have slept extremely well. Yet his voice was low and hoarse, making it sound as though he hadn’t slept at all the entire night.
Why, couldn’t Eldest Brother sleep without him?
Hmph, he had slept like a log last night; it was crystal clear who couldn’t live without whom.
Yet Eldest Brother was calling him out.
Lin Jiujiu still obediently got dressed, put on his shoes, opened the door, and walked out to stand before him.
Xiao Jinglian’s gaze fell upon his lips.
As if trying to confirm something.
Lin Jiujiu subconsciously took a step back and looked up at him.
Damn it, Eldest Brother was taller than him.
Xiao Jinglian took Lin Jiujiu’s hand: “A-jiu, Eldest Brother is taking you home.”
This long-outdated form of address, a nickname Lin Jiujiu had long since tossed to the back of his mind, was spoken by Eldest Brother right outside Foster Father’s bedchamber. Even though Foster Father wasn’t around, Lin Jiujiu still felt quite a bit of awkwardness.
He lowered his gaze, unwilling to defy Eldest Brother in front of the soldiers.
Ever since Eldest Brother became a Ge’er, the respect people in the Prince’s Mansion showed him had grown slacker day by day.
Everyone seemed to have tacitly accepted that Xiao Jinglian, once renowned throughout Wangjing City, could now only be treated as consumable material.
Lin Jiujiu gripped Eldest Brother’s hand tightly.
Perhaps Eldest Brother didn’t need Lin Jiujiu to pass on any courage at all; it was Lin Jiujiu who needed to accept reality.
Lin Jiujiu ran while holding Eldest Brother’s hand, dropping the umbrella along the way.
Eldest Brother only cared about holding Jiujiu tight, forgetting to spare even a shred of attention for the umbrella.
They ran out of the courtyard filled with red plum blossoms. This year’s plums were truly too red, so saturated they seemed to have drunk their fill of flesh and blood.
Lin Jiujiu looked back. Eldest Brother was drenched by the rain. A damp Eldest Brother looked so, so appetizing.
Lin Jiujiu leaped straight into Eldest Brother’s embrace, demanding to be carried.
He wanted to use this intimacy to signal to Eldest Brother that he hadn’t betrayed him.
He still liked him the most.
No one would take him away.
Xiao Jinglian finally smiled.
A faint, pale, and dazzling smile.
“I won’t let you leave me. Jiujiu, you were raised by Eldest Brother.” Xiao Jinglian’s voice couldn’t help but turn firm, like a blade wrapped in silk slowly revealing its edge.
He seemed afraid that this side of himself would drive Jiujiu away.
Very quickly, Xiao Jinglian softened again.
Lin Jiujiu secretly poked Eldest Brother’s arm. The muscles had turned soft and springy again, no longer hard and icy like before, and Lin Jiujiu breathed a sigh of relief.
He even had the leisure to joke around: “Eldest Brother dressed up so nicely to come fetch me. Are you trying to please me?”
Xiao Jinglian pulled Lin Jiujiu closer into his embrace.
An itchy sensation brushed against Lin Jiujiu’s ear as Eldest Brother replied: “That’s right.”
Such a, such a bewitching tone of voice!
Ah! He hadn’t been wrong; Eldest Brother really was trying to seduce him every now and then.
Eldest Brother was doing it on purpose.
Eldest Brother was so bad.
Lin Jiujiu bit his lip, itching to bite Xiao Jinglian to death. No one was allowed to tease him, not even Eldest Brother.
Lin Jiujiu struggled fiercely, but all of it was effortlessly neutralized by Xiao Jinglian.
So Eldest Brother’s muscles weren’t just for show… Lin Jiujiu fell into deep contemplation, recalling all those days in the past when Eldest Brother practiced martial arts while he sat cracking melon seeds…
Getting drenched in the rain meant he had to take a bath. Eldest Brother said he would help him.
Lin Jiujiu strongly suspected that Eldest Brother had dropped that umbrella on purpose.
Poor oiled-paper umbrella, abandoned by its bad owner.
Lin Jiujiu desperately wanted to run back outside right now and pick up that umbrella.
Poor umbrella, your owner doesn’t care about you, but I do!
Yet Xiao Jinglian dragged him along relentlessly, and no matter how much Lin Jiujiu fussed, he was still dunked straight into the wooden tub.
Lin Jiujiu turned his back to Eldest Brother: “I’ve grown up. I’m a big kid now.”
The hint to leave was written all over his face, but Eldest Brother replied: “Grown up, eh? It’s time for you to show some filial piety.”
Lin Jiujiu panicked: “I don’t taste good!”
Eldest Brother laughed: “Where has your mind wandered? Eldest Brother isn’t some monster that devours raw flesh and blood. Eldest Brother means either I wash you, or you help Eldest Brother.”
Lin Jiujiu stealthily turned his head to glance at Eldest Brother.
Well, Eldest Brother really did look rather pitiful, with dark bruised circles under his eyes. Although it didn’t diminish Eldest Brother’s charm, it certainly added a somewhat sickly aura.
Poor Eldest Brother. Since Lin Jiujiu was a big kid now, he supposed he could just help Eldest Brother wash his hair.
Going back on his word, Lin Jiujiu shoved Eldest Brother directly into the large tub, used the excuse of fetching rose soap instead of jasmine soap, put on his clothes, and slipped away in a flash.
How could Xiao Jinglian not know what was on his mind?
He watched him run off with a smile, as if fleeing from a wolf or a tiger.
Xiao Jinglian let out a soft, lingering sigh. He had been far too impatient.
The more one wanted to grasp something, the more one’s true colors were exposed, revealing every ugly state. The face of desire really was hideous.
An imperial decree, authorized by the Regent and stamped with the Emperor’s jade seal, was issued from the palace.
The head eunuch delivering the decree wiped the sweat from his forehead.