He was stripped bare!
Xiao Quanchuan was a head taller than him. Looking down, his nose brushed against Jiang Wangnan’s crown, and a wisp of faint gardenia fragrance turned into fine threads that wrapped around him, as if pleading for something.
“Your Majesty, won’t you come?” Jiang Wangnan asked cautiously.
His delicate face was flushed white with a rosy glow, his pupils sparkling with fiery light like gemstones, his long eyelashes black and curved, and his lips glossy, coated with an alluring layer of moisture.
Xiao Quanchuan pinched his chin with two fingers, staring at him with falcon-like eyes: “Do you truly wish to share a bed of clouds and rain with Me?”
“Mn!” He considered his expression and tone to be acted out to absolute perfection.
“Ah!” In the blink of an eye, the ground beneath his feet vanished!
He was scooped up horizontally in Xiao Quanchuan’s arms, his hands instinctively resting on the other’s neck: “Your Majesty, is it happening right now?”
“Otherwise?”
Xiao Quanchuan lowered his head, moving close to his ear, his voice low and hoarse: “How could I fail to live up to my beloved consort’s kind intentions? You do not know how pretty you are right now.”
Jiang Wangnan: “(Silence)”
With his long legs and tall stature, Xiao Quanchuan reached the bedside in just two or three strides, gently placing the beauty in his arms onto the bed as his large hand began to roam from top to bottom.
Jiang Wangnan’s breathing gradually grew heavier, his face turning increasingly red. He did not dare to move, nor could he move, resembling a little white rabbit dragged into a wolf’s den, sitting and waiting to be eaten.
At this moment, Xiao Quanchuan’s hand slid toward his waistband, untying the knot.
He truly could not hold on any longer. He suddenly grabbed that restless claw, tears welling up in his eyes: “Your Majesty, this concubine. This concubine is not ready yet.”
Xiao Quanchuan ignored him completely, grabbing his hands instead and pinning them high above his head. With a single knee, he forced open Jiang Wangnan’s thighs, firmly pinned him down, and leaned over with the force of a sudden storm to deliver a forceful kiss.
The body’s reactions are the most honest. Without a second thought, he turned his face aside, and Xiao Quanchuan’s kiss missed.
Jiang Wangnan felt like a survivor of a catastrophe, having guarded his first kiss, yet he remained panicked and trembled all over with fear.
One must know that the Xiao Quanchuan in the original book had a peculiar fetish: the more unyielding someone was to him in bed, the more he loved them.
A chuckle sounded by his ear. He could not understand its meaning, only hearing: “Idiot, you do not even know how to fake it.”
No one wants to be called an idiot. Wary of Xiao Quanchuan’s bizarre habits, Jiang Wangnan only dared to retort in a low murmur: “This concubine is not an idiot.”
Right at that moment, with a thud, something dropped down.
With long and swift hands, Xiao Quanchuan picked it up a step faster. The object looked like a small stick in his hand: “What is this?”
That is right, his inner palace was entirely filled with women; how would he know the steps to sleep with a man?
Sensing a moment of triumph, Jiang Wangnan snatched the item back and half-truthfully declared: “A little toy.”
Looking like a child seeing something novel, Xiao Quanchuan leaned in and asked curiously, “How is it played with?”
“Um. Just. Just hold it in your palm, squeeze and release, it is for stress relief, haha.”
Xiao Quanchuan said, “Let Me try.”
Willing or not, Jiang Wangnan had to hand it over. He watched as Xiao Quanchuan did just as described, the toy shrinking and springing back in his palm.
He even evaluated it with a straight face: “The texture is not bad, it really is quite stress-relieving.”
“(Silence)”
Rumble!
His stomach began to clamor, and only then did he realize he seemed to have missed dinner.
He had been tormented by Gao Shuman all morning, chopping wood until dusk, and shortly after returning to Xiying Palace, the imperial edict had arrived. Then he was taken away to bathe, change clothes, and learn how to attend the bedchamber.
All things considered, he had not eaten for about five hours.
“Sun Nianhai,” Xiao Quanchuan called out loudly.
“This old servant is here.”
“Go get some food from the Imperial Kitchen.”
Sun Nianhai wondered inwardly, His Majesty had never eaten midnight snacks before, why change tonight?
He looked at Jiang Wangnan again, instantly grasping the situation, and went off to make arrangements.
Jiang Wangnan’s pupils dilated like a kitten seeing dried fish: “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Could the character settings in the original book actually change? Did the psycho transform into a warm man? If so, his days would become far too easy to live!
“Eat your fill, I am afraid you will pass out from exhaustion later in the night,” Xiao Quanchuan said suddenly in an ambiguous tone, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
Jiang Wangnan instantly petrified on the spot.
About two quarters of an hour later, Sun Nianhai pushed open the door, stepped to the side, and a line of palace maids and eunuchs carrying trays filed in.
Golden coin chicken, crystal pork, spicy diced chicken, celery with shrimp, garlic-flavored crab meat, wine-steamed clams, bird’s nest porridge, clear broth wontons, milk pastries, sesame almond paste.
Jiang Wangnan was drooling three feet deep, wishing he could take a deep breath and stir up a whirlwind right there on the spot to suck everything into his stomach.
Yet, Xiao Quanchuan sat back down at the desk to review memorials, motionless as a mountain.
At the dining table, he neither dared to move nor wanted to move.
Although he accepted attending the bedchamber, it did not mean he would sink into becoming the emperor’s plaything.
His acceptable limit was to let the other guy ejaculate once, and absolutely no more!
If he ate these things, he would end up being hammered by Xiao Quanchuan until dawn! Knowing that, he would rather continue starving!
The fragrance of a table full of dishes filled the air, and his stomach had long since received the call of food, growling back and forth in succession.
Xiao Quanchuan remarked, “Are these dishes not to your taste?”
Jiang Wangnan shook his head.
Soon, steady footsteps approached from afar. The stool beside him was claimed, and a faint woody ambergris fragrance drifted between their noses.
Xiao Quanchuan’s tall figure blocked the candlelight, trapping Jiang Wangnan within his shadow with nowhere to flee, bringing an invisible wave of oppressive force.
He picked up his chopsticks, holding them with an exceptionally standard grip, picked up a piece of clam meat, and extended it to Jiang Wangnan’s lips: “Open your mouth.”
His tone lacked the slightest fluctuation, resolute and crisp. Though entirely devoid of aggressiveness, it made people feel their bones tremble slightly.
Not daring to even look into his eyes, Jiang Wangnan obediently opened his mouth and took the chopsticks in.
The clam meat had been soaked in white wine, completely devoid of any fishy taste, leaving only a mouth-full of pure sweetness.
Having tasted a hint of the delicacy, he felt even hunglier, his heart fluttering anxiously.
Following that, Xiao Quanchuan placed a bowl of bird’s nest porridge in front of him: “Eat.”
“Oh.” He took two symbolic bites; it was very bland, and he did not care for it much.
Seeing his brows slightly furrowed, his gaze wandering around while eating until it landed on the milk pastries, Jiang Wangnan licked his moist lips and stole a glance at him, as if hinting at something.
Resting his chin on one hand, Xiao Quanchuan watched quietly, seemingly unwilling to lift his precious hand again.
Seeing that he did not move and craving the food, Jiang Wangnan used his fingers to stealthily pinch Xiao Quanchuan’s wide sleeve, pulling on it: “Your Majesty, may this concubine eat that?”
Without a word, Xiao Quanchuan pushed the entire plate of pastries over and took away the bird’s nest porridge, completing the actions in one smooth motion.
“Thank you, Your Majesty! You are really a good person.”
With a curved smile in his eyes, Jiang Wangnan finished saying this and began devouring them half a piece at a time.
Watching with great relish from the side as if Jiang Wangnan were the irresistible dish, Xiao Quanchuan suddenly noticed something, his gaze darkening, and the gloom in his pupils quietly burst forth.
“Do you have nothing else you wish to say to Me?”
“Huh? What?” Jiang Wangnan blinked.
Curving his slender index finger, Xiao Quanchuan tapped his red, peeling right palm and noticed a yellowish blister protruding near the base of his little finger.
“This? It is nothing, it will heal in a couple of days.” Jiang Wangnan spoke lightly, though feeling extremely guilty, and quickly hid his right hand, switching to his left hand to hold a clam shell and slurp the remaining broth.
For some reason, the taste did not seem quite as astonishing as before.
A moment later, Xiao Quanchuan said, “You are the first person I chose by flipping a tablet. I am in a rather good mood tonight, is there nothing you want?”
In other words, as long as you state it, I will vent this frustration for you.
His elaborate dressing already indicated he had requests, and he had made his words so obvious; how could he possibly fail to seize the opportunity?
Yet, Jiang Wangnan still shook his head: “This concubine desires nothing else; things are already very good right now.”
With good food and clothing to enjoy, the emperor not only personally picked food for him but also wanted to bestow gifts upon him. Compared to the crazed, distorted Xiao Quanchuan in the original book who only knew how to use force, this Xiao Quanchuan was relatively much more respectful toward him.
“Is this true?”
“Mn!”
Not a trace of acting could be found on Jiang Wangnan’s face.
Xiao Quanchuan conceded defeat in his heart, yet unlike previous disappointments, he felt a strange sense of amusement in his defeat.
Ever since taking a tumble on the night he avoided favor, this person had truly transformed into an entirely different individual, and all his fierce, unyielding traits had been completely erased.
At first, Xiao Quanchuan had felt somewhat repulsed by this change, feeling that the only excitement in life had vanished and it was terribly boring. He even attempted to hunt for traces of his disguise, hoping to pierce through the other’s act of feigning stupidity and weakness.
Yet testing him again and again, probing him time and again, Xiao Quanchuan suffered defeat after defeat.
Or rather, he had not lost at all, because all of this was him indulging in wishful thinking and unrequited sentiment. That Jiang Wangnan who would rather die than submit, who refused to bend under any circumstance, would never return.
The present Jiang Wangnan had become exceptionally obedient and cute. Instead of loathing his foolishness as he did initially, Xiao Quanchuan unconsciously relaxed.
Teasing him, toying with him, and finding himself inexplicably wanting to protect him gave him the novelty of discovering a new continent.
Xiao Quanchuan asked quite bluntly, “Do you wish to rise in rank?”
Jiang Wangnan paused, swallowed the clam meat in his mouth, and nodded sincerely: “I do! I want to climb higher.”
This answer was completely within expectations, and Xiao Quanchuan was very satisfied. If he had said no, it truly would have been an act.
“To punish those who harmed you?” he asked again.
However, this time, Jiang Wangnan shook his head again.
Xiao Quanchuan considered himself extremely astute, yet he could not fathom what the other person was thinking at all.
“Everything I do is not for revenge, but for protection.” His expression was serious, his tone earnest.
“Protection?” Xiao Quanchuan curled his lips downward, seeming to disdain the word while also feeling somewhat unfamiliar with it.
“Mn, the higher I climb, the wealthier I will be, and the more right to speak I will have. Myself and the people around me will be very safe, and no one will dare bully us.”
As Jiang Wangnan spoke, his chin lifted slightly, his eyes glowing so brightly that the candlelight of the entire palace seemed to gather in his pupils, converging into a dazzling, brilliant sea of stars.
“So that is how it is.” Falling silent for a moment, Xiao Quanchuan snapped out of whatever thoughts he was lost in, patted his head, and stood up to leave.
Suddenly turning back, he instructed: “Right, this dish of wine-steamed clams is very potent, take it easy.”
Jiang Wangnan flashed a grin and retracted the chopsticks he had reached out to use for the clams.
Returning to his desk, Xiao Quanchuan instinctively grabbed a small handful of bitter lotus seeds to refresh himself, but after a moment, he put them back down and continued attending to official duties.
The mountain-like pile of memorials quickly shrank. It seemed that after bickering with Jiang Wangnan, his mood was refreshed, and listening to the sounds of him eating brought an inexplicable peace to his heart, filling him with boundless energy.
When he looked up again, the candle had already burned down by half. Soft, gentle snores drifted over. At the dining table, Jiang Wangnan had slumped forward without moving a muscle.
Xiao Quanchuan unconsciously softened his footsteps as he approached, only to see his face exceptionally flushed, a heap of clam shells piled before him, and not a single drop of soup left in the dish.
Xiao Quanchuan shook his head helplessly.
At that moment, Sun Nianhai entered: “Your Ma—”
“Shh.” He waved his hand, keeping his voice down.
Sun Nianhai smiled slightly, pointing at the table full of wreckage, and upon receiving a nod, he directed the servants outside the door to clean everything up quietly and lightly.
Suddenly, Jiang Wangnan stood up, his eyes half-open and half-closed, muttering: “Where is my bed? My bed. Ah. You are right here.”
Before the words finished, with a thud, his entire body dropped straight down onto the bed, falling fast asleep.
Sun Nianhai watched as Xiao Quanchuan straightened him out, tucked him in, smoothed down the corners of the blanket, and brushed away the stray locks of hair scattered across his forehead.
He hurriedly lowered his head, feeling utterly terrified in his heart.
Sun Nianhai had watched Xiao Quanchuan grow up, seeing him curse, beat, and kill people, but had never seen him treat anyone with such consideration.
This Attendant Jiang was clearly riding on the back of a fierce and ruthless wild wolf, yet he was able to sleep peacefully. Truly, he was no simple character.
The next day, Jiang Wangnan was awakened by a splitting headache.
His half-side shoulder felt somewhat numb, and when he tried to turn over, he found himself unable to budge. Lowering his head to look, his waist was encircled by a large hand with prominent veins, and looking up revealed Xiao Quanchuan’s handsome, mesmerizing profile.
Reflexively, Jiang Wangnan bounced up like a startled fish. The blanket slid off, and suddenly it felt rather breezy:
He was stripped bare!
Before he even had time to react, he was pulled back by a strong force, his cheek pressed against Xiao Quanchuan’s springy pectoral muscles while his butt was supported by the other person’s hand.
“Do not move around blindly.” The man spoke with sleepy eyes and a hoarse voice, the breath he exhaled terrifyingly hot.