…head, Ji Aotian looked at him with an expression that was half-smile, half-serious. “Huaide, you’re quite crafty yourself, knowing full well that I wouldn’t punish you anyway… Hmph, we’ll let those loose-lipped ones off this time, but if I catch wind of it again, it won’t just be a matter of a beating!”
“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty!”
“You’ve got such a fierce temper…” King Yue had already woken up, though he remained languid, his entire body so sore and limp that he couldn’t muster the strength to move. Lounging seductively against the head of the bed, his golden-brown hair spilled softly across his body, half-concealing the ambiguous marks and making them all the more alluring.
Ji Aotian walked over and pinched his exposed waist. “Whose fault is it that you didn’t vent all my heat for me last night?”
Pushing away his hand, King Yue shot him a disdainful glare. “Vented it all, just so you’d have an excuse to go look for other women the next few days?”
Seeming to thoroughly enjoy the faint trace of jealousy King Yue displayed for him, Ji Aotian’s composed face broke into a smile. “Qiyue is the sole king of the Chu Yun Empire, sitting above ten thousand people with only one person above him. That ‘one person above him’… doesn’t that just mean I’m destined to always be on top of you?”
Hearing this from the side, Huaide lowered his head even further, thinking to himself: How can Your Majesty be so lacking in propriety!
Waving a hand, King Yue retorted, “Who wants to listen to you rattle on about this? Dress me up and get me washed and tidied, so I can go take a look at the little eighteenth who’ll be staying with me for a while.”
The only person in the empire who dared order Ji Aotian around was none other than King Yue. Unfazed, Ji Aotian simply scooped him up in his arms. “What’s the use of putting on clothes now? You’ll just have to take them off again after washing anyway.”
As Ji Aotian carried King Yue away amidst chuckles and playful banter toward the bathing pool, the final words Huaide caught from the retreating monarch were spoken by Ji Aotian: You’d better wash up properly to shake off the fatigue; a good show is about to unfold next, and you won’t pull it off without stamina~
Chapter 031: The Play (Part 1)
Lister rubbed his chin, a lingering intuition telling him that both the seventeenth and eighteenth princes were rather peculiar. Especially the seventeenth prince… After pondering for a long time, he slammed a fist into his palm: the seventeenth prince possessed the cute, exquisite face of a young child, yet those eyes carried an indescribable chill the sort of gaze that simply did not belong to a child.
And then there was the eighteenth prince, whose eyes were disproportionately large, with pitch-black irises that practically occupied his entire eye sockets. He looked somewhat…
“Captain, what are you spacing out for? Freezing?” A guard marching alongside him noticed Lister lost in deep thought, shivering under the blazing sun, and asked with bewilderment.
Snapped out of his reverie, Lister hastily reined in his thoughts. He found it baffling; having spent long years within the imperial palace, he naturally knew which matters were best left entirely unthought-of. Yet these two princes seemed to possess an inexplicable magnetism that compelled deep scrutiny. Waving a hand dismissively, Lister replied, “It’s nothing, probably just caught a bit of a chill down at the bottom of the cliff earlier.”
With that, Lister quickened his pace.
The guard followed closely behind, still somewhat mystified: With the captain’s level of cultivation, how could he possibly catch a chill just from running an errand down a cliff?
Meanwhile, Zhexue Palace.
Unlike the freezing, blizzard-swept wilderness outside, this place was warm, cozy, and filled with a comforting domestic serenity.
Ji Ran was sprawled beside Xueyi Wright’s bedside. Starting out worried, he had gradually melted into a posture resembling a lazy cat having found a warm spot, he had no intention of moving an inch.
Amused, Xueyi Wright pinched his cheek. “Don’t think you can get away with acting spoiled. Go ask Ziyu if he agrees to that.”
Pouting in mild dissatisfaction, Ji Ziran reached out to tug at Xiaoyu’s robe hem. Before his fingers even brushed the fabric, he heard Ji Ziyu’s mercilessly cold voice ring out: “No.”
“What’s this about ‘no’?” Ji Aotian walked in with King Yue draped over his arm. If Xueyi Wright had held even a shred of lingering romantic attachment toward this man, she surely would have been heartbroken and grief-stricken at this sight.
Instead, she merely smiled faintly, making a motion to rise from the bed and offer a salute.
With a wave of his hand, Ji Aotian signaled her to remain seated. “I specifically instructed them not to announce my arrival. Today, I’m just here for a casual chat.”
Ji Ziran nervously pressed closer to Ji Ziyu. He well remembered that prior to the talent test, his imperial father had intended to “gift” him away to someone else.
Perhaps due to his oversized eyes, Ji Ziran’s obvious defensive posture and the reluctance shining in his gaze were caught dead-to-rights by Ji Aotian.
Ji Aotian patted King Yue’s waist. “Didn’t you say you liked Little Eighteenth? Go ahead and get acquainted with him first.”
Witnessing the gentle, submissive expression Xueyi Wright had consistently maintained fracture for a single instant, the corners of Ji Aotian’s mouth curled upward. Clasping King Yue’s hand, he beckoned toward Ji Ziran: “Little Eighteenth, come here. Your Father Emperor hasn’t given you a proper hug yet.”
The face of Mia, who had followed them in, paled instantly, terror flashing across her eyes. Four years ago, the exact same scenario had played out. The Emperor had spoken of his two princes in this very tone, while the Consort lay unconscious after undergoing a caesarean section!
That single embrace back then had resulted in the 18th Prince receiving nothing more than a two-character title for a name!
Was the Emperor genuinely planning to send the 18th Prince away to King Yue this time?!
Xueyi Wright nearly lost her composure, desperately wanting to lurch forward and grab Ji Ziran the child she treasured above all else. Supporting her frail body with her arms, she looked at the languid, seductive King Yue, and then at the playful amusement dancing in Ji Aotian’s eyes, feeling a suffocating tightness in her chest…
Ji Ziyu lifted his gaze to lock eyes with Ji Aotian, his brows knitting together in an imperceptible frown.
In short, the atmosphere inside the room was exquisitely delicate.
Ji Ziran hesitated over whether he should step forward, biting his lower lip with an expression of profound distress. At that exact moment, everyone heard King Yue’s laughter, which carried an unmistakably buoyant mood.
Chapter 032: The Play (Part 2)
“He really looks like a harmless little kitten.” King Yue narrowed his eyes entirely, smiling happily. “Simply adorable.”
Hearing King Yue’s description of him, Ji Ziran experienced a momentary creep of goosebumps across his skin. It wasn’t hatred or fear exactly, but rather the fact that King Yue possessed a voice imbued with an addictive charm, and he had deliberately lowered his pitch when uttering the words “little kitten.”
Ji Aotian arched an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that Qiyue was actually being serious.
Ji Ziran pouted; he could sense the probing gaze the Emperor Father had suddenly cast upon him a gaze carrying a distinct undertone of malice.
Previously, even when Ji Aotian spoke of having him live with King Yue for a period and treating him like a disposable pawn to be “gifted” away, his attitude had mostly been one of playful amusement. It was akin to a cat toying with a mouse, confident that the mouse was already trapped within the confines of its domain.
Yet now, this mouse had exhibited variables entirely unexpected by the cat.
Thinking it through, Ji Ziran felt less awkward and walked toward the direction from which King Yue’s voice had originated.
Taking a step forward, King Yue scooped up Ji Ziran with a smiling expression, reaching out to poke his cheek.
Although Ji Ziyu and Ji Ziran were twins, due to differences in constitution and habits, they belonged to entirely distinct archetypes.
Xueyi Wright and their retinue of maidservants treated Ji Ziran like a fragile piece of porcelain, nurturing him until his skin glowed with a glossy, hydrated sheen plus, due to his blindness and lack of active movement, he looked even chubbier than ordinary children, resembling a steamed dumpling dripping with irresistible sweetness.
On the other hand, Ji Ziyu woke up early every day for physical training, having practiced cultivation ceaselessly even while still in the womb; his skin was a healthy honey-bronze tone, and his entire demeanor was frosty. He bore little resemblance to a typical child at all.
Even though Ji Ziran was a Black Child, his pitch-black eyes remained crystal-clear and innocent, possessing an unsettling intensity that made one’s heart skip a beat. Yet King Yue genuinely adored this child all the more. He felt an urge to lean in and press a kiss to Ji Ziran’s cheek, biting his lower lip in suppressed desire.
Resting his hands on King Yue’s shoulders, Ji Ziran suddenly spoke up: “Your Majesty King Yue, I can visit you often to play, but can I still sleep with Xiaoyu?”
King Yue froze for a second, then shot a look of amusement mixed with irony toward Ji Aotian. True to being this man’s son, the child wasn’t simple either, knowing how to seize the initiative at such a tender age.
Ji Aotian was likewise somewhat taken aback. After sizing up Ji Ziran, his gaze shifted to Xueyi Wright, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Gifting the black-child prince Ji Ziran to Qiyue for amusement wouldn’t cause any major political ripples; however, if both twins were hauled away, the optics would be deeply unfavorable. Furthermore, Xueyi Wright was the Pearl of the Z瑙 Empire, and such a heavy-handed move risked provoking resentment from Z瑙.
In a split second, Ji Aotian mentally weighed every conceivable scenario.
With a chuckle, he reached out and took Ji Ziran from King Yue’s arms, bouncing him slightly and discovering that the child possessed quite a hefty weight: “Little Eighteenth, you’re reluctant to part with your birth mother and brother, afraid you’ll feel lonely if you leave them?”
Ji Ziran felt a nervous flutter in his chest. “Mn.”
The corners of Ji Aotian’s mouth twitched upward as he twisted a strand of Ji Ziran’s soft, obsidian-black hair around his finger: “Since Little Seventeenth and Xueyi can keep each other company, how about Little Eighteenth goes keep Qiyue company instead? I never have the time to keep him company myself, so I’m asking Little Eighteenth to help me out here. Xueyi must have taught you this much sharing burdens for your Father Emperor.”
A monarch remains a monarch; with a single sentence, he completely turned the tables.
If Ji Ziran refused, it would mark him as unfilial and ignorant, while simultaneously reflecting poorly on Xueyi Wright’s upbringing. That would provide Ji Aotian with an even more ironclad justification to hand Ji Ziran over to King Yue’s care.
Parting his lips, Ji Ziran suddenly found himself at a loss for how to reply. Turning his head helplessly toward Ji Ziyu, even though he couldn’t see him, he knew he could locate him instantly within the familiar confines of Zhexue Palace.
The moment those dark eyes turned toward him, Ji Ziyu’s heart skipped a beat!
Even he himself couldn’t fathom why he suddenly stepped forward and declared: “I’ll go keep him company instead.”
None of them would ever truly understand how terrifyingly helpless a blind person felt. Every time one entered an unfamiliar environment, one had to feel the way forward step-by-step with one’s feet and explore thoroughly with one’s hands multiple times just to imprint the layout into one’s mind. Yet these memories remained fragile. With just a few extra turns that caused one to lose orientation, the mental map had to be pieced back together from scratch.
Just navigating the entirety of Zhexue Palace had taken Ji Ziran a full year, even with people accompanying him and meticulously explaining every single inch step-by-step. To be uprooted to a completely foreign place to an even more palatial and unfamiliar residence without anyone to so…