This was not the study where Lu Xiao slept, nor was it his bedchamber… What did he want to do?
“Your Highness?” Shen Shangling doubted he had heard correctly. “Your Highness means to say… Ah!”
He had barely uttered a few words when he felt the belt at his waist loosen. Then, with a “thud,” he was pressed down onto the large rosewood table. Caught off guard, as his upper body was pinned to the table, his clothes were stripped away from the collar down by Lu Xiao. In an instant, the outer robe slid off and dropped to his feet.
“Your, Your Highness…” Shen Shangling struggled subconsciously, feeling every hair on his body stand on end. However, he was half-pinned by Lu Xiao; any slight movement just caused him to collide with the Prince. Lu Xiao’s body, like one cast from tempered bronze, rendered all of Shen Shangling’s struggles entirely futile—no more than a bug wriggling in the embrace of a titan of iron and copper. The effort of those few struggles only succeeded in making Shen Shangling’s eyes ache with pain. “Hisss, hisss—”
Lu Xiao said nothing. He pressed down on him with one hand while using the other to rip open the inner undergarment. As he caught sight of the exposed, jade-like expanse of the waist, his movements paused abruptly. But quickly, his gaze swept rapidly over the lower back.
He remembered that when his father was alive, Shen Shangling had been steeped in the habits of a famous scholar. During the Shangsi Festival, his father would lead the scholars of the estate to the water’s edge for the purification ritual, following the ancient customs of the Great Yin. He had followed them. He remembered that while bathing in the river, he had inadvertently caught a glimpse of a savage, poplar-leaf-shaped burn scar on Shen Shangling’s lower back. He had asked about it then, and remembered the man saying it was from a lamp overturned by his wet nurse when he was a child; the hot wax had caused a severe burn, leaving that scar.
Thinking of this, Lu Xiao’s gaze grew even sharper. But all he saw before him was snow-white, smooth, and supple skin—where was even the slightest trace of a burn scar? A flash of brilliant light crossed Lu Xiao’s eyes. His large hand dropped to Shen Shangling’s waist and gave a sharp tug, pulling his under-trousers down. Now, it wasn’t just the waist; the dimples of Venus and half of his buttocks were exposed.
It was still snow-white and smooth.
It wasn’t there!
A chill passed through Lu Xiao’s eyes. Filled with doubt and disbelief, his large hand rubbed fiercely across Shen Shangling’s lower back and half of his buttocks… This scholar is fond of applying powder to his face; perhaps he applied it to his body as well?
“Mmm… Let go, let go!”
Shen Shangling was equally incredulous. Didn’t that trashy book say Lu Xiao wasn’t really interested in men? Why is he rubbing me—rubbing my butt? Damn it.
Shen Shangling was shocked, angry, and anxious all at once. Unable to break free from the iron-walled Lu Xiao, he became dizzy with desperation, letting out incoherent cries, wishing he could transmigrate back to his own world immediately. Especially since Lu Xiao’s hands were covered in hard callouses; when they rubbed against him, it felt like coarse sandpaper, causing him pain so sharp he couldn’t catch his breath. He thrashed about under Lu Xiao’s restraint like a fish tossed onto the shore.
Just then, the force pressing him down eased. Shen Shangling felt aches all over, but he still scrambled up from the table, abruptly pulling up his under-trousers, and looked at Lu Xiao with intense nervousness.
Lu Xiao was also staring at him darkly, but no distinct emotion could be discerned on his face. When he failed to find the scar, his first suspicion was that this person had been replaced by some spy… But from the moment Shen Shangling was rescued by him—and throughout these past days he had been confined within the iron-clad security of his estate. Under the surveillance of his secret guards, it was impossible for a living person to be swapped out. Moreover, the man was full of flaws; there was absolutely no spy in the world as stupid as this.
“Why is the Snow Demon panicked?” Noticing the fearful, rabbit-like look in Shen Shangling’s eyes, Lu Xiao scoffed inwardly: He really looks a bit stupid.
He glanced again at the hand tightly gripping the trousers’ waistband. Unlike the large, knobby joints of an average man, they were slender and fluid. The wrists were delicate—he could break them between two fingers. The thin skin on the wrists, like the skin on his body, showed no hint of powerful bone structure; the waist was absurdly thin, and there was hardly any meat on those buttocks… The man didn’t just look a bit stupid; he looked extremely weak.
Lu Xiao snorted coldly in his heart. If not for his personal experience of rebirth, and sensing the difference between this man and the original Shen Shangling, he would have burned him at the stake long ago. He never showed mercy to sorcery or paranormal occurrences. But now… regardless of what this thing was, given how stupid and weak it looked… keeping it in the manor was probably no more dangerous than keeping a rabbit. Let him live, and we shall see.
“Your Highness,” Shen Shangling’s voice trembled with anger. “In broad daylight, Your Highness, Your Highness, what are you doing?”
“You are my concubine,” Lu Xiao stared at Shen Shangling’s vigilant, resistant gaze, and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow with a hint of malice. “Never mind stripping your clothes; even if I were to have my way with you right here, it would be according to my whim.”
Looking at Lu Xiao’s piercingly ruthless and roguish gaze, Shen Shangling felt his heart drop: When Lu Xiao first returned after his rebirth, he had been filled with murderous, icy, and rigid aura. But now, the man seemed to possess less killing intent, as if he had gained a bit of vitality. He wasn’t sure why Lu Xiao had changed, and he couldn’t even evaluate whether this change was a benefit or a detriment: Less killing intent was theoretically a good thing. But, this man was even more frightening when he dropped that rigid act. His gaze was like a poisoned hook; Shen Shangling even had the feeling that the man wanted to hook out his heart, liver, and lungs to trample them into pieces… Just meeting the man’s eyes made his very soul tremble.
“Your Highness,” Shen Shangling gritted his teeth and continued, “I… this humble servant can perhaps do other things for Your Highness, things far more useful than serving in the bedchamber.”
Lu Xiao suddenly let out a cold scoff. After grinding the words “serving in the bedchamber” through his teeth, he laughed again as if he had just heard a hilarious joke.
Shen Shangling: “…” Damn you, you dog of a Prince. What exactly do you want?
“Very well, I will give you one chance,” Lu Xiao said, his smile fading, his gaze darkening. “Go and produce a batch of that object you mentioned earlier for me—” He paused, his gaze sweeping over Shen Shangling’s face, a hint of mockery in his tone. “It shall also serve to open my eyes and see the great use of my concubine.”
Having finally heard those words, Shen Shangling felt a weight lift from his chest. Too preoccupied to care about the mockery in the dog Prince’s tone, he hurriedly asked for people.
“Your Highness, this humble servant requires craftsmen,” Shen Shangling said seriously. “I also need a suitable place. Because the materials are oily and greasy, it is best to be far away from Your Highness’s courtyard.” Far away. The farther from this unpredictable Lu Xiao, the better.
Lu Xiao did not mock him this time; he stared at him with dark eyes and agreed. “I will have someone make arrangements.”
Shen Shangling soon waited for the manor’s arrangements. The person in charge of this matter was a personal guard from Lu Xiao’s side. Shen Shangling recognized him—it was the guard who had kept watch while he told the story of Journey to the West to Jiang Sanwen in the West Pavilion. At that time, the disdain in the guard’s eyes when he looked at him had been impossible to hide.
“This is it,” Li Yan said after leading Shen Shangling to a remote courtyard within the manor. He pointed at the four or five people standing in the courtyard. “These are the hands you requested.”
Shen Shangling was quite satisfied. This courtyard was sufficiently remote; he had walked for quite a while to get here with Li Yan. It was certainly far from where Lu Xiao lived.
“I… cough, this humble servant will just live here,” Shen Shangling said, eager not to return to Lu Xiao’s side. He tentatively added, “Since I am working for Your Highness, I shall naturally strive to be at the forefront, I will rise early and sleep late, and devote myself entirely to this task.” Get to work. Work hard to become useful. Stay and live in the workshop; I am determined not to return there.
Li Yan was indifferent; his only mission was to watch Shen Shangling work. Whatever materials Shen Shangling needed, he would simply order others to deliver them… cutting off any possibility of Shen Shangling having contact with the outside world. However, he did remind Shen Shangling that every day at the hour of Shen (3:00–5:00 PM), he had to go to the West Pavilion to continue telling Journey to the West to Jiang Sanwen.
Seeing that Li Yan did not refuse, Shen Shangling was overjoyed. As for telling stories to the little brat every day, that was absolutely no problem. Having the little boy’s reliance on him was a layer of protection, wasn’t it? A little guardian angel. Moreover, Shen Shangling strongly suspected that if it weren’t for Jiang Sanwen wanting to hear the story, he wouldn’t even have had water to bathe with when he moved into this remote courtyard. At the very least, he wouldn’t be able to bathe every day. Since he had the task of telling stories to Jiang Sanwen, Lu Xiao feared that if he were covered in the scent of lard and wood ash, he would offend the boy’s nose; therefore, there was a small boiler room in the corner of this courtyard.
Shen Shangling was easily contented. Even though the courtyard was dilapidated and the room he lived in was small and dim, it didn’t matter. He first led his “subordinates” in cleaning the house thoroughly. Once he spread out the bedding and hung up his sweat towels, wooden basins, ladles, and bowls, the small room quickly felt like a living space.
Li Yan naturally didn’t lift a finger. Just watching Shen Shangling personally wielding a broom and rag, working alongside the craftsmen to clean up… he couldn’t help but feel astonished. He is actually doing his own chores. Tsk. Strange.
Li Yan silently watched every move Shen Shangling made; later, he would naturally report all the details of what he heard and saw to the Prince. Once the cleaning was done, the raw materials prepared by the manor were all delivered one by one.
Shen Shangling called the craftsmen together and held a brief meeting, briefly outlining some precautions: he wasn’t worried about these craftsmen leaking the secret. Since they were in the Prince’s manor, Lu Xiao would never allow any “technology” to leak out.
“Master Shen, what should we do with this lard that was just delivered” “Master Shen, should we soak this wood ash in water…”
Very quickly, after the craftsmen grasped the basics, they began to chime in with various questions. They only knew that their “foreman,” who led them, was surnamed Shen, so they used the standard form of address for craftsmen to politely address him as “Master Shen.”
Shen Shangling: “…” ‘Master Shen’ it doesn’t sound very pleasant to the ear.
“Why don’t you call me Engineer Shen?” After pondering for a moment, Shen Shangling thought of something; his eyes lit up and he said with a smile, “I’m not really a ‘Master’—Engineer Shen, ha, call me Engineer Shen from now on.” It sounds so professional.
Seeing his smile, the craftsmen were stunned: This… this really isn’t an immortal descended to the mortal realm?
Li Yan, watching from afar, was also stunned: Previously, Shen Shangling held his head high, kept a straight face, and was always putting on airs. Afterward, when the Prince turned against him, Shen Shangling looked fearful and cowardly… I’ve always looked down on him. But now, seeing Shen Shangling smile like this… especially when he smiles so brightly, the whole person seems to have lit up. What is that… those peach-blossom eyes are curved into crescents. It’s inexplicably like the melting snow on a mountain at the frontier; it reminds me of a mountain full of rhododendrons.
Upon realizing what he was thinking, Li Yan: “…” Bah.