“Why Have Your Eyes Turned Like a Rabbit’s? All Red.”
The sounds from within the room continued.
Xian Shuang and Xian Yu glanced at each other. In the other’s eyes, each saw a trace of embarrassment.
And a faint awkwardness.
Without speaking, the two lifted their feet in tacit understanding and shuffled forward a little, standing beneath the blazing midday sun.
Before long, they moved forward again.
By the time midnight approached, the two had already relocated all the way outside the courtyard. Even so, they could still faintly hear the sounds coming from within.
Xian Yu tilted his head back and gazed at the stars filling the sky. He let out a long sigh. “The Prince Consort has been crying out for six hours now, has he not? His voice has gone hoarse...”
Xian Shuang said, “Be silent.”
Xian Yu muttered, “I am only trying to distract myself.”
The noise from inside was considerable. He was not made of wood. Prolonged exposure was, frankly, its own form of torment.
At this point he turned his head and examined Xian Shuang curiously from head to toe. “Could it be that you... have remained calm the entire time?”
Xian Shuang raised his eyes with flat indifference. “Otherwise?”
He found it embarrassing, certainly. However, it is not to the point of forming improper thoughts merely from hearing such sounds.
Xian Yu: “...”
“Truly a cold-blooded man.”
At the third quarter of the Chou hour, the room called for hot water.
Xian Yu hurried to wake Le Shu. Together they carried several large buckets of water into the room, not daring to lift their heads the entire time.
The fragrance inside the room was rich and lingering. Both of them emerged with their faces burning scarlet.
Lu Ronghuai draped a robe loosely over himself and lifted the already unconscious Chu Yuan into his arms before stepping into the wooden bath tub.
“Mm...” When the hot water covered his skin, Chu Yuan gave an uncomfortable whimper.
Lu Ronghuai seated him upon his lap. Chu Yuan’s head leaned against his neck while Lu Ronghuai took a cloth and carefully washed his body, satisfaction evident upon his face.
It was like a beast that had starved for a long time and had finally eaten its fill. His every movement now carried a languid contentment.
Everywhere the eye fell, red plum blossoms bloomed, like crimson lotuses flowering upon snow-covered mountains, dazzling and vivid.
Lu Ronghuai washed him thoroughly, inside and out, then wrapped him in a soft blanket and placed him upon the daybed.
He poured a cup of warm tea, returned to the daybed, and fed Chu Yuan a little at a time.
Afterward he went to the bed and began removing the soaked bed linens, taking fresh ones from the cabinet to replace them.
Once everything was prepared, he carried Chu Yuan back to the bed and tucked the quilt carefully around him.
He walked to the door and gave Xian Shuang several instructions before returning to the bath chamber and quickly rinsing himself with the remaining water.
When he came out, Xian Shuang knocked from outside.
Lu Ronghuai took the pale green porcelain bottle from his hand and closed the door before returning inside.
He removed his shoes, climbed back onto the bed, and drew Chu Yuan out from the covers to apply the medicine.
He had not measured himself well earlier. Chu Yuan was delicate by nature, and this had been his first time. When bathing him earlier, Lu Ronghuai had already examined him carefully. The place had been red and swollen.
After applying the medicine, he leaned down and kissed Chu Yuan’s eyelids, his gaze full of tenderness.
“Ah-Yuan, I love you.”
The sleeping figure knew nothing of this. Chu Yuan had exhausted himself utterly today and had lost consciousness even before everything was finished.
Lu Ronghuai rose from the bed and put on an outer robe. Before leaving, he instructed Le Shu and Xian Shuang to stand guard outside. Then he took Xian Yu and Xian Feng with him and went through the night to interrogate Xue Yingying.
When Xue Yingying had been brought back earlier, her hairpins had fallen loose. She had spent several hours in a state of constant terror, yet now kneeling before Lu Ronghuai she had strangely grown calm.
“Your Highness, this servant truly did not harm the Prince Consort. I beg Your Highness to investigate clearly.”
On the table before Lu Ronghuai sat the tea set taken from Xue Yingying’s room. Xian Yu said, “Your Highness, the physician has already examined the tea set. No traces of medicine were found.”
Lu Ronghuai looked toward Xue Yingying. Tonight his mood was good, and his tone was almost pleasant. “Do you know of Half-Pot Spring?”
Half-Pot Spring?
Xue Yingying startled for a moment before nodding quickly. “This servant knows of it. That medicine... its potency is extremely fierce. Could it be that the Prince Consort accidentally used Half-Pot Spring?”
Lu Ronghuai said, “Such a vile drug. Do you not possess it?”
Xue Yingying shook her head frantically. “Your Highness, though pleasure houses sometimes use medicines to heighten the mood, we would never use something so strong. Moreover this medicine is quite expensive. This servant sells her art and not her person. What use would I have for such a thing?”
Xian Feng bent down and whispered beside Lu Ronghuai. “My lord, this subordinate has already searched her rooms. Half-Pot Spring was not found.”
Lu Ronghuai tapped the table and said in a heavy voice, “Repeat yesterday’s events from beginning to end.”
Xue Yingying did not dare conceal anything. She recounted everything faithfully. After hearing the entire account, Lu Ronghuai keenly seized upon a detail.
“You said Zhang Ze took out a booklet and asked the Prince Consort to look at it?”
“Yes. Prefect Zhang asked the Prince Consort to help him choose a location.”
As she spoke, a sudden realization struck Xue Yingying. “This servant understands now. Half-Pot Spring is a colorless and scentless powder. When the Prince Consort opened the booklet, he may have inhaled the powder by accident. Then the Prince Consort drank tea. When Half-Pot Spring meets hot liquid, it immediately transforms into a powerful drug.”
Lu Ronghuai rose to his feet and looked down at her. “You had better be telling the truth.”
Xue Yingying said, “Yesterday this servant asked the Prince Consort for help. I would never invite disaster upon myself at such a moment.”
Lu Ronghuai said, “Until the Prince Consort awakens, you will remain here.”
After saying this, he led the others back to the study.
Xian Feng said, “Your Highness, this subordinate cannot understand why Zhang Ze would wish to harm the Prince Consort.”
Xian Yu said, “And with such a despicable method.”
Lu Ronghuai said, “He wished to use this to humiliate Ah-Yuan and cause this Prince to lose face.”
“This subordinate will go and kill him at once!” Xian Yu said angrily.
Xian Feng pulled him back helplessly. “Zhang Ze is a court official. If you kill him, you will not escape death either.”
“The Dong and Cheng families have been at odds with him recently. He must have sensed this Prince’s intentions and wishes to use this as a warning.”
“Overestimating himself.”
Lu Ronghuai drew a private seal from his waist. Had Chu Yuan been present, he would have recognized it instantly as the same seal kept in the main chamber of Prince Li’s residence.
“Xian Feng, take this and inform the brothers to make ready in the coming days.”
Xian Yu’s expression brightened. “Your Highness finally intends to draw in the net?”
“This Prince had intended to amuse himself with them a while longer. Yet that old man dared injure my Ah-Yuan.” His voice settled into something flat and cold. “He has grown tired of living.”
It was not until the following evening that Chu Yuan slowly awakened.
After waking he felt thirsty and tried to rise to pour himself some tea.
Yet the moment he moved, he collapsed back onto the bed.
“Hiss...” He drew in a sharp breath through his teeth.
His entire body felt as though it had been crushed beneath a cart wheel. Pain lingered everywhere. His bones seemed misaligned, and waves of numb soreness spread through him.
Chu Yuan raised a hand to touch his throat. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Had that hoarse, rough voice truly come from him?
How had his voice become like this?
Chu Yuan felt a wave of despair.
Even worse was the cool, slippery sensation from a certain hidden place.
He turned his head and buried his face deeply into the soft pillow, refusing to face reality.
Footsteps sounded from the outer room.
Lu Ronghuai lifted the bead curtain aside and looked in, his eyes curved with a smile. “Ah-Yuan, you are awake.”
Chu Yuan did not wish to respond.
A moment of silence passed. No one spoke. Then the footsteps retreated again.
Chu Yuan bit his lip in frustration. He did not understand what was wrong with him. Only that his heart had grown fragile and tender, and it sat now seething with a sour, bitter taste, gurgling and churning.
Before coitus, he had coaxed him tenderly. Now that the man had what he wanted, he would not even coax him anymore.
Men were all great liars!
Suddenly a pair of arms slipped beneath the quilt and lifted him sideways.
Chu Yuan startled and opened his eyes.
Lu Ronghuai paused, studying him curiously. “Why have your eyes turned like a rabbit’s? All red.”
Chu Yuan turned his face away.
Lu Ronghuai sat on the bed and drew him into his arms, still staring at him. “Have you been crying?”
Chu Yuan closed his eyes.
“Hm? Why are you crying?” Lu Ronghuai asked gently, his warm palm resting against Chu Yuan’s cheek as his fingers lightly stroked the reddened corner of his eye.
“Does that place hurt?” Lu Ronghuai assumed he was too embarrassed to say it aloud. As he spoke, he reached for Chu Yuan’s waistband, intending to examine the matter personally.
Chu Yuan hurriedly caught his hand, gritting his teeth. “It is not.”
When he spoke, his voice was frighteningly hoarse.
Lu Ronghuai picked up a cup of tea nearby and brought it to his lips. “I just poured this for you. The temperature is just right. Drink and soothe your throat.”
Chu Yuan was already thirsty. Leaning forward, he drank two mouthfuls from Lu Ronghuai’s hand. His dry throat was immediately soothed.
He wished to drink more, but Lu Ronghuai withdrew the cup.
Chu Yuan: “?”
He stared at Lu Ronghuai resentfully.
Lu Ronghuai laughed at his aggrieved little expression. “You have not eaten for four meals. Your stomach is empty. Too much tea would not be suitable. Drink some ginseng broth to warm it first.”
A white porcelain bowl rested on the low table beside the bed. When Lu Ronghuai lifted the lid, a rich fragrance spread through the room.
Chu Yuan’s long-neglected stomach awakened at the scent and rumbled loudly.
Lu Ronghuai burst into hearty laughter.
Chu Yuan glared at him.
“Very well, very well, I will not laugh. Ah-Yuan, open your mouth.” Lu Ronghuai lifted a spoonful of ginseng broth along with tender shredded chicken and fed it to him.
“Hiss.” The moment Chu Yuan’s lips touched the spoon he frowned in pain.
“What is it?” Lu Ronghuai quickly set the spoon aside and lifted Chu Yuan’s chin to examine him.
“It hurts.” Chu Yuan swallowed the mouthful he had managed, his voice very small.
Lu Ronghuai’s fingertip touched his lower lip. His voice became slightly hoarse. “Your lip is broken. I will cool the broth before feeding you.”
Chu Yuan believed there was only a small cut on his lip.
Yet Lu Ronghuai saw clearly that Chu Yuan’s lips were red and swollen, with several small breaks along the lower lip. They were marks he himself had left during the uncontrollable passion of the previous night.
Lu Ronghuai shifted his eyes away with a faint sense of guilt and lifted the bowl again.
This time he blew upon the spoonful longer before feeding it to him.
Chu Yuan opened his mouth and ate slowly.
Lu Ronghuai fed him spoon by spoon. After a while Chu Yuan grew dissatisfied. Lu Ronghuai was feeding him too slowly. It would be quicker if he ate by himself.
“I want to eat on my own.” He raised his head and looked at Lu Ronghuai.
“I will feed you.”
Lu Ronghuai particularly enjoyed feeding Chu Yuan. Sitting obediently in his arms, soft and beautiful, Chu Yuan gave him a deep sense of satisfaction.
Chu Yuan’s body was still sore, and he did not have much strength. Seeing Lu Ronghuai insist, he licked the corner of his lips. “Then feed a little faster.”
“Very well.”
After the ginseng broth he also ate several soft cakes. Night had settled quietly by then.
Lu Ronghuai placed him back upon the bed.
“Ah-Yuan, wait a moment. I will wash my hands.”
Chu Yuan did not think much of it. Lying on his side, he quietly slipped a hand beneath the quilt and gently rubbed his aching waist.
The events of the previous night returned vividly to his mind.
Through the bead curtain he looked toward Lu Ronghuai washing his hands in the outer room. The man stood with his back to him, broad-shouldered and long-legged, his narrow waist brimming with strength. Those powerful arms had lifted him, holding him through each rise and fall.
Remembering his own loss of composure the night before, Chu Yuan silently pulled the quilt higher.
That had not been him.
He refused to acknowledge it.
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu Dog: My wife is truly adorable.
0 Comments