The prince’s broad palm firmly cupped the counselor’s chin.
His long fingers, bearing faint calluses, slid past the spot where a pulse beat rapidly.
That handsome face, fierce enough to border on murderous, closed in with a posture entirely defying the etiquette between ruler and subject. The moment that noticeably scorching, firm cheek pressed against his own, only two words flashed through Yuchi Xiu’s mind.
Finished.
As a hardcore cat addict, Yuchi Xiu knew very well what this action meant.
Cats have scent glands located on their cheeks. Therefore, a feline master will rub its cheeks against objects in its territory, or trusted bipeds within that territory, to leave behind its own scent.
In modern times, this behavior is called “scent marking.” It is both an assertion of ownership signaling a desire to claim dominion and a way to express trust and affection…
The problem, however, was that the “cat” wearing this skin right now was Tuoba Lin, the murderous Prince of Aorong!
Of course Yuchi Xiu knew that the prince had turned into a cat because of a casual wish he had blurted out, and he also understood that the feline master was merely marking its territory and showing trust.
Having spent the entire day in the study observing the prince’s various feline behaviors and personally tending to his food, drink, and daily needs, Yuchi Xiu had already come to view this powerful prince as a giant black cat. He had even begun to grow accustomed to the prince’s feline antics; no matter how jaw-dropping an act the prince pulled, he could forcibly convince himself with, “Oh well, after all, he’s just a cat.”
Yet even with all that mental preparation, the move just then still delivered a ton-load of critical damage to Yuchi Xiu. After all, this cat was wearing Tuoba Lin’s angular, majestic, and domineering face.
Though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what felt so wrong about it, the inherently innocent cheek-rubbing action of a feline master, when executed by this living judge of hell, suddenly unleashed a heart-pounding, fatal lethality.
And right here in this study…
There was also a human military general present who had no idea the prince was a cat, nor any clue what “scent marking” even meant.
Looking past the broad shoulders of the prince, who was still engaged in forced head-rubbing, Yuchi Xiu locked eyes with the military general, whose jaw had dropped in utter astonishment.
Observing the general’s pupils trembling frantically as if experiencing a magnitude-ten earthquake, Yuchi Xiu closed his eyes in agony.
It seemed… he had been misunderstood to the point… that even his underwear was practically exposed.
The general’s eyeballs, which had nowhere to look and were darting frantically back and forth between the two of them, proved this point to absolute perfection.
And to top it all off, the most fatal part was this:
The military general who was currently reporting on border defense intelligence, yet had unexpectedly witnessed the terrifying living judge of hell tyrannically pulling over his own counselor and intimately rubbing cheeks with him in such an ambiguous manner, bore a very specific name.
His name was…
Yuchi Che.
That’s right.
Grand Commander Yuchi.
Inheriting the traditional physical stature of a military general from the Yuchi family, yet simultaneously afflicted with the sensitive, melancholy constitution and delicate sensibility of his elderly scholar father, this older brother of Yuchi Xiu was already plunging headlong into a state of bewilderment and spiritual deviance when faced with this sudden, passionate interaction between the prince and his little brother.
While these two brothers’ brains were short-circuiting for entirely different reasons:
The prince, having thoroughly rubbed his ears and cheeks against Yuchi Xiu’s face for a while, seemed to feel the marked scent was now sufficiently potent, and only then retreated with a look of supreme satisfaction.
With a countenance of utter hopelessness, Yuchi Xiu watched the prince retake his seat at the desk, acting as if nothing at all had happened as he lowered his head to resume reading the military reports.
Did this cat have the faintest clue what kind of heaven-shaking, earth-shattering good deed he had just pulled off?
He probably didn’t have the concept…
Cats doing cat things is entirely natural and righteous.
How could a human possibly blame a cat for doing cat things? Even less could they accuse it of public indecency just because the cat performed cat things in front of others.
So, when all was said and done, this blame still had to be borne entirely by Yuchi Xiu himself, the one who caused the prince to turn into a cat in the first place…
Even so, the spiritual shock inflicted upon an ignorant ancient mortal by these “cat deeds” still left Yuchi Xiu feeling a numbness spread across his scalp.
Nevertheless, feline masters are aloof and never care about such mundane worldly gazes, leaving only two humans in this study with wildly trembling pupils:
The prince, wearing an expression completely indistinguishable from usual dignified, ruthless, and naturally imposing…
“Why aren’t you continuing? How many man-eating demons have arrived from the north?”
Until he coldly opened his mouth to urge them forward.
“Ah, yes! So that…”
With a trembling gaze, Yuchi Che stared at the prince who had just subjected his younger brother to a certain exceedingly sticky physical contact and stammered as he picked up the interrupted report.
Yet Yuchi Xiu couldn’t take in a single word right now.
Because Grand Commander Yuchi, caught up in whatever intense romantic melodrama of forced abduction and entangled torment his imagination was conjuring, watched his brother’s eye sockets redden at a visible speed.
It felt… like a massive catastrophe was about to unfold…
Yuchi Xiu had an older brother and an older sister.
Unlike his second sister, Yuchi Mei commonly known as Vice Commander Yuchi, who had inherited their mother’s unruffled, unflappable personality his eldest brother, Grand Commander Yuchi Che, was a military general through and through, yet unfortunately afflicted with the constitution of a “male Lin Daiyu,” possessing an extremely delicate and emotionally fragile inner world.
It made one seriously wonder how he ever managed to bring himself to hack apart man-eating demons with a saber on the battlefield.
Lately, his “crying switch” had been none other than that younger brother of his who had only recently regained consciousness from a coma. When Yuchi Xiu was forced into duty because no counselor could possibly be recruited, Yuchi Che was the sole person in the entire family to stand up in vehement opposition, questioning heart-and-soul how they could push an amnesiac brother into a fiery pit of hell. Ever since then, at the mere thought of his younger brother having to work every single day right beside that “living judge of hell,” he wept bitter tears day in and day out.
Furthermore, though one could only guess how his labyrinthine train of thought actually functioned… that scene just now had clearly detonated a thunderous bomb inside this fragile older brother’s mind.
There was simply no washing oneself clean of this even if one jumped into the Yellow River.
Just as Yuchi Xiu was racking his brains trying to figure out how to explain the situation to this “brother devoted to his sibling to a fault”…
Amidst this eerie atmosphere where two humans suffered intensely while the ultimate culprit sat as stable as a mountain, the military intelligence briefing finally drew to a close.
Realizing he still hadn’t come up with a flawless excuse by the very end, Yuchi Xiu gritted his teeth and made a decision.
To hell with it.
He had to plug his older brother’s mouth first.
In a place like the Aorong Kingdom, where gossipmongers roamed like stray dogs, if an explosive piece of gossip like “The Prince and His Male Counselor Playing Close Face-to-Face in the Study” ever got out, the consequences would be unimaginable; it had to be suppressed with an iron grip.
After spending these past few months mingling in the Aorong Kingdom, the primary conclusion Yuchi Xiu had drawn was this: the soldiers and civilians here were absolute fanatics for gossip.
And there was no helping it either. Who told this wretched wasteland of Aorong to possess nothing besides windstorms and man-eating demons? It was an absolute desert of entertainment.
Due to year-round preparations for war and atrocious weather, pleasure quarters and theatrical houses simply failed to take root. In a borderland as desolate and environmentally harsh as this, expecting any sort of refined cultural life was absolute nonsense.
Consequently, everyone’s sole diversion consisted of gathering in groups around a campfire, wagging their tongues, pricking up their ears, and chatting endlessly about various romantic scandals.
The soldiers and civilians of Aorong remained forever active on the frontline of gossip, holding an absolute, unwavering love for juicy rumors.
If he let his worldview-shattered older brother run off just like that…
Yuchi Xiu couldn’t help shuddering.
He could already vividly picture how a few random remarks carelessly spouted by his brother would be embellished and exaggerated by those rough-hewn veterans, eventually evolving into some sort of earth-shattering, scandalous tragedy of broken sleeves, spreading like wildfire through the military camp and down every street and alley.
The saving grace within this misfortune was that the man in front of him was Yuchi Che. His gentle-natured older brother was a complete brother-con; as long as his younger brother spoke up, he would generally listen, so getting him to shut his mouth shouldn’t prove too difficult.
With that thought, Yuchi Xiu instantly broke into a sprint, chasing after Grand Commander Yuchi, who was preparing to stride out of the study.
“Hey, Brother! Just now”
Right as he prepared to grab hold of the older brother walking ahead, warn him never to run his mouth around, and explain things slowly once they returned to the estate.
Yuchi Xiu froze.
Because when Yuchi Che turned his head back… his eyes were already brimming with tears.
And the fatal part commenced right amidst this brief hesitation.
“Little Xiu… the Prince is simply not a suitable person to entrust your life to… The Prince will surely have to take a primary consort and father an heir someday… When that time comes, what will our little Xiu do… No, wait, given the Prince’s tyrannical and violent temper, even after taking a primary consort he certainly won’t let you off as his kept outside lover either…”
While Yuchi Xiu stood there stunned, earth-shattering and terrifying lines of dialogue spilled straight out of his older brother’s mouth.
“…Huh?”
Goodness only knows what kind of chaotic back-alley harem struggles were flashing through his brain while he was delivering military briefings just a moment ago, or how far the plot had already progressed down this path.
No, seriously, just how massive was this older brother’s imagination?
Furthermore, the speed and trajectory of this runaway carriage were altogether too lethal…
How on earth had he somehow managed to transform into a kept outside lover raised by the living judge of hell, only to face the imminent danger of ruthless persecution by the primary wife?
Even though the cat-things the prince pulled off were indeed prone to inducing misunderstandings, this was getting entirely too preposterous…
At most, Yuchi Xiu had anticipated gossip of the caliber of “There are suspicions of a cut-sleeve romance between the Prince and his counselor,” but being hit by a progression speed moving at rocket-ship velocity genuinely left Yuchi Xiu dumbfounded.
Staring at the speechless Yuchi Xiu, his older brother seemingly conjured up even more miserable imagery within his mind, causing tears to gush forth like a breached dike on the Yellow River.
“My poor little Xiu… what are we going to do? What on earth are we going to do…”
Seeing that if he didn’t speak up immediately, his older brother’s wild imagination might literally soar right out of the borders of the Aorong Kingdom, Yuchi Xiu hastily raised his voice to interrupt:
“No. That’s not how it is, Brother. The Prince and I are definitely not in that kind of relationship.”
Yuchi Xiu launched into a rapid-fire triple denial, but Grand Commander Yuchi who had just witnessed the passionate close-range face-rubbing between the two of them with his own eyes loudly retorted:
“But just now the Prince pulled you into his arms and affectionately rubbed your face…!”
This sudden, booming volume instantly drew the gazes of guards and maidservants patrolling along the nearby corridor.
Crap. In his haste to intercept him, he had completely forgotten they were standing in a prince’s estate corridor…
The footsteps of those passing by slowed down with uniform synchronicity; some even began pretending to sweep the floor. This was definitely not his imagination.
Overwhelmed by panic, Yuchi Xiu didn’t even realize they were openly discussing such a raw, spicy topic out in broad daylight.
Initially figuring that as long as he temporarily shut his older brother up, the two brothers could casually brush it off with some flimsy pretense once they got back off duty, the current Yuchi Xiu felt as though his skull was about to split right open.
The seeds of gossip had already been sown.
Expecting those servants who outwardly feigned nonchalance while perking up their ears like rabbits to refrain from chewing the fat behind his back was harder than ascending to heaven.
Even if rumors were going to spread… he had to figure out some way to steer the trajectory of this cut-sleeve scandal in a manageable direction…
Desperate to salvage the situation, Yuchi Xiu hurriedly interrupted his older brother to initiate emergency public relations:
“Hold on, Brother. If you shout so loudly… it’s terribly easy for people to misunderstand. Besides, that wasn’t any sort of dragon-phoenix affection gesture you’re imagining; rather, it was”
However, this public relations attempt produced the exact opposite of the desired effect.
Catching only the words “not any sort of dragon-phoenix affection gesture,” the older brother’s complexion instantly turned ghastly.
“Could it be… that… the Prince has taken a fancy to you and forced you against your will?!”
At that exact instant.
The corridor, which had previously featured quite a bit of foot traffic, plunged into a dead silence so profound that even the sound of sweeping vanished entirely.
Finished! This time he was truly, thoroughly screwed!
Gathering the most resolute tone of his entire life, Yuchi Xiu declared:
“No. Absolutely not. The Prince is not the kind of man who would forcibly seize commoner men.”
“That’s true as well… right? Exactly. Although the Prince is a feudal warlord who kills without blinking an eye, he surely wouldn’t sink so low as to commit such despicable acts of forcibly seizing his subordinates…”
Why did those words sound somewhat bizarre when spoken aloud? Still, Yuchi Xiu had no choice at this point other than to bite the bullet and nod along.
“Right. Exactly like that. So the situation at that moment was actually”
Noticing that his older brother seemed slightly calmed down, Yuchi Xiu readied himself to strike while the iron was hot, translating “scent marking” into terms an ancient mortal could readily accept, right when:
“Grand Commander Yuchi! What are you dilly-dallying around for! The West Garrison is still waiting for you to assemble the troops!”
A guard popped up from the far end of the corridor at the top of his lungs.
“Ah, right.”
Seeming to recall urgent military matters, Grand Commander Yuchi immediately assumed the posture of someone preparing to make a run for it.
“Look, Brother, wait a second”
Desperate to explain the situation before rumors filled the skies, Yuchi Xiu reached out a hand to pull his older brother back, but.
“Sorry, little Xiu. Your brother forgot there are urgent military matters demanding immediate attention… As an older brother, failing to protect you when faced with such an ordeal… I’m sorry… Once we return to the estate later, the two of us brothers will definitely sit down and carefully discuss a countermeasure.”
Refusing to grant Yuchi Xiu the slightest chance to detain him, Grand Commander Yuchi tossed over a parting line of “We must have a chat, okay? Brother will think of a way to save you!” and bolted away like a gust of wind.
Staring in utter vacancy at his older brother’s rapidly vanishing backside, Yuchi Xiu stood frozen.
An explanation…
He hadn’t even gotten to explain yet…
The older brother he had assumed would be the easiest to handle had unexpectedly turned out to be the one who detonated the nuclear warhead of gossip right inside the entire prince’s estate.