Wei Lian is really a beautiful freaking scourge.
Did he really do nothing after he got drunk?
Wei Lian pondered over this question for several days. In the end, he classified it as an unsolved mystery and tossed it to the back of his mind to collect dust.
He also noticed a slight shift in the King of Qin’s attitude towards him since that day.
The other person became…a little gentler.
It was only just a tiny bit.
It was only limited to being threatened with punishment at every turn only, especially ones with physical pains. There was less of that now. As for the King of Qin’s unforgiving mouth, his words were still harsh when it was necessary, despite being left speechless by Wei Lian’s effortless counters.
The antidote for the poison wasn’t brought up at all, he was still under the King’s control.
He did not know what stimulated the King of Qin’s mental health during this period, but he was no longer to be kept in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The only thing worth celebrating.
The King of Qin gave him a separate residence, the Spiritual Palace, and thereafter, fewer opportunities for them to meet, which gave Wei Lian some freedom.
He was finally able to relax for a rare moment, because he could stop putting on a facade now that he wasn’t by the King of Qin’s side day in and day out.
Both of them were tacitly aware of the move. Wei Lian who had previously lived in the Hall of Mental Cultivation as a show to bring his favored status to life. Now that the talk of increasing the harem was postponed, there was no longer a reason for him to stay consistently by the King of Qin’s side and bed.
As a man, staying in the Hall of Mental Cultivation for a period of time meant receiving favor, but scandalous when he was to stay forever. Moreover, he and the King of Qin were not truly in love. When things were solved, it was natural for him to retire after his success.
Even if he moved out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, no one would see it as him losing the King’s favor. The Spiritual Palace was one of the palace residences for the four imperial consorts in the former dynasties, and it was second only to the Pepper Residence Hall, where the queen lives. The Spiritual Palace also had a luxurious layout and was the closest to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
To grant sanction on staying in the Spiritual Palace would make Wei Lian appear more in the King of Qin’s good grace.
Wei Lian was very satisfied with this arrangement.
Chang Sheng and Chang Shou were also very satisfied with this arrangement.
Only heaven knew of their suffering lives in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Because the day their Young Master was favored, both held the mentality of ‘the young master is bearing the heavy burden of humiliation.’ Since the agreement between Wei Lian and the King was kept quiet to any outsiders, the two attendants always thought their Young Master was offering his body to the tyrant, as every time they saw him, there was sympathy in their eyes. In the sympathy inside of their eyes, there was compassion… Wei Lian got goosebumps from his two attendants’ eyes. It made him feel like he was suffering patiently while firmly fixed on revenge, a brave knight not afraid of dying.
The two of them were the most excited when Wei Lian was moved out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
“This is great! Young Master, you don’t have to face the King of Qin all day long!” Chang Shou could not contain his emotion as joy filled his face. His desire to run out and set off a series of firecrackers to celebrate was clearly written across his face.
“Watch your mouth,” Wei Lian knocked on Chang Shou’s head with his fan. “Be more mindful. The wall has ears.”
Chang Shou hastily covered his mouth and nodded, indicating he understood.
But he was still grinning from ear to ear, and the joy within his eyes looked as if it would overflow at any giving moment.
Wei Lian joked, “How can you be happier on my relocation than the Lunar New Year?”
“This servant is congratulating on your house moving, and to escape from the abyss of suffering!” Chang Shou soon forgot Wei Lian’s advice from his excitement and continued, “How hard it must be for you to deal with the temperamental King of Qin daily! When this servant was in front of him, I didn’t dare to breathe or say a single word more. Only Young Master would dare to act in front of the King of Qin…”
“Chang Shou!” Chang Sheng warned, “Although there are only the three of us here, do not lose your composure. It was only thanks to the young master’s cautious execution that he survived this hard time. We do not want your big mouth to ruin that.”
Chang Shou knew his tongue had slipped as he silenced his resentment.
“Temperamental?” When hearing someone else’s thoughts on the King of Qin, there was this strange feeling in Wei Lian’s heart.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He faintly recalled the young King’s ever-changing face, mostly his doing.
Jtemxilcu, tf rjlv, “Ugfaas meaf.”
Jtjcu Vtbe kjr vewyobecvfv jr tlr pjk vgbqqfv.
Cu-cu-cute???
Young Master, you must not be proud of being favored! That is the King of Qin you are talking about!!!
Frlcu meaf ab vfrmglyf atf Blcu bo Hlc, la kjr rmjglfg atjc j olfgmf wjraloo ufaalcu j cjwf ilxf C’Zfcu.
Jtjcu Vtfcu, ktb pera kjgcfv Jtjcu Vtbe cba ab ibrf mbwqbregf: “…”
Llr qbbg, qjlcoei ojmf.
Llr Tbecu Zjrafg kjr atf wbra gfmxifrr bcf.
_
Wei Lian pushed open the window, allowing the falling snow to enter the room. The accumulated snow covered as far as eyes could see. The Ninefold Palace was engulfed in snow on this winter day, insignificant as an air particulate, but as beautiful as a painting.
He saw a palace worker in the distance putting up a ladder and hanging a red lantern under the eaves.
Chang Sheng brought up softly, “Young Master, it’s almost New Year.”
Being in the last third of the twelfth month, the New Year was approaching, and the palace became busy soon after, buzzing with activity as lanterns and colorful banners were put on display.
It was very festive.
They have been in the country of Qin for more than a month. After New Year’s Eve is the New Year, and then Lantern Festival, afterward is the Birthday of the Flowers followed by Double Third Festival, then the spring would soon be upon them.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the seasons change as time waits for no one.
There was someone among the crowd that felt the time had passed too slowly, as if a day dragged past like a year that needed to be counted minute by minute.
In the past years in the country of Chu, the three of them also spent New Year together. Consort Yan would be with her own son, Wei Yan. This ninth brother did not like Wei Lian, feeling like his seventh brother was a magpie that seized his nest and mother by force. So, Wei Lian naturally would not interfere with the mother-son’s time together.
Wei Lian was not close to his other siblings at all. When he was a child, he had a good relationship with Young Miss Xiang as they used to celebrate the New Year together. Wei Xiang was the second child of the King of Chu. Her biological mother earned no favor from His Majesty and was of equally low status in the palace. She probably felt mutual sympathy as a fellow sufferer and took great care of him when he was young. Later, when Wei Lian was regarded as an heir by Consort Yan, Wei Xiang was conscious of the difference in their status and avoided contact with him.
Wei Lian treated her the same as before, but she eventually drifted away. Wei Lian was powerless, but he still protected Wei Xiang and her mother from harem drama in the dark. While on the surface, they remained as nodding acquaintances.
Later, when Wei Xiang grew up and met her peerless and talented seventh brother again, she only bowed her head during their brief encounter; they could no longer return to how they once were.
He understood that if he strives to gain something, he will always lose something to offset.
For a person who had no home, New Year’s Eve had no meaning to him other than growing one year older.
“When we first arrived here at the beginning of the month, there wasn’t even a pot of charcoal in the Green Bamboo Pavilion. The servants even brushed it off, saying it will be warm once spring arrives.” Chang Shou sighed. “This servant did not expect to live in such a grand palace by the end of the same month. It was all thanks to Young Master’s ability.”
Wei Lian smiled and did not mind mocking himself, “My ability to serve someone with my body?”
Chang Shou panicked, “This servant stepped out of line again!”
“That’s enough. The King of Qin and I are not…” A fond smile appeared on Wei Lian’s face. As he was about to explain to his two attendants that the outrageous imaginations they had come up with between him and the other party was not as sadistic as they made them out to be, but halfway through his explanation, Chang Sheng suddenly interrupted, “Eunuch Li is here.”
The words stopped at Wei Lian’s throat.
He turned around and saw Li Fuquan entered with two young eunuchs following behind.
“What brings Eunuch Li here?” Wei Lian asked.
Li Fuquan’s attitude towards Wei Lian was much more respectful than before. After all, the King of Qin’s affection for him was obvious to everyone.
He also did not dare to act pretentious in front of Wei Lian and answered with a smile, “This servant greets Young Master Lian. Tomorrow night is New Year’s Eve, and His Majesty has given the order for you to eat the reunion dinner in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.”
Wei Lian nodded. “Alright.”
Li Fuquan smiled, stepped forward and lowered his voice, “In the past years, His Majesty dined that night alone. It’s too lonely to be alone. His Majesty treated the young master so differently, so this servant proposed to His Majesty to have you for company, also as a wish that you can bring a smile to His Majesty’s face.”
Wei Lian with a straight face. “Eunuch Li, thank you. Wei Lian will take this kindness into consideration.”
Li Fuquan was offering him a good deal.
Anyone who could stand out in the palace was a sophisticated person. He could tell who was worth making friends with, and who was not worth his attention. The first half of the month was him making peace with Li Fuquan, the second half of the month was Li Fuquan taking the initiative to express goodwill in hope of burying the hatchet.
There was nothing wrong with having more friends, because it would give him more options in life.
_
When night arrived, Ji Yue was sitting on the daybed alone. He was not accustomed to the emptiness beside him.
He stared at the frame above his bed, lost in thought.
He was the only one who knew his motive for relocating Wei Lian out of the palace hall. The delay they had on the harem selection was only one of them.
There were two other reasons.
The first reason was that…since Wei Lian’s drunken action, Ji Yue would often dream of that night—the youth conducting outrageous action before putting his slender fingers into his mouth…
The dream was so realistic and beautiful that his body reacted in an uncontrollable manner.
Every time he suddenly woke up and felt the unbearable feeling, then saw the youth sleeping peacefully on the side, whose appearance could not be described in words, like a feast for his eyes. Ji Yue almost wanted to repay it without conscience and made the culprit to his numerous sleepless nights to cry out and beg for mercy.
But this was tightly restrained by his reasoning side.
To make matters worse, with Wei Lian sleeping beside him, he dared not relieve himself in fear of working the youth up from his movements.
Just the thought of their eyes meeting was embarrassing enough to go down in history.
Ji Yue rejected this imaginary situation.
He chose to endure.
This endurance lasted a few days. Now with dark bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep, a trace of tiredness appeared on his face.
Li Fuquan also politely reminded him, “…Is better for Your Majesty to have some restraint. Too much indulgence could harm one’s body. It is not good for Young Master Wei’s body as well.”
Ji Yue replied with great difficulty, “…We know.”
We did not indulge in our sexual desire! We are suppressing our sexual desires!
Wei Lian is in perfectly good health from sleeping so well!
Ji Yue finally understood that the punishment he had considered that day at the hot spring was not enough. It should have been more than three rounds!
He should have trapped the youth in unbearable pleasure without relief, it would have been a much crueler punishment.
Unfortunately, it was too late now.
He himself experienced it before Wei Lian.
In the end, Ji Yue could no longer bear it and drove Wei Lian out to the Spiritual Palace.
And finally had a round of pleasure and peace.
As for reason number two.
Ji Yue came to his senses and lowered his eyes.
After Wei Lian was gone, his mind often wandered off as he had just done.
He felt that Wei Lian was different. There was something so attractive about the youth that made everyone under heaven love him, as long as Wei Lian was willing.
But we could not love him.
We as the ruler must love all the land under heaven, all the commoners, and never just one person.
The love of the ruler must be evenly distributed like the rain dew, life water that is essential to commoners’ lives. There must not be a weakness, there must not be an exception.
Since ancient times, every ruler knew love would never bring a happy ending.
Ji Yue was an outstanding ruler, so he certainly understood such reasoning, and knew how to avoid it.
In just the first sign of the bud, it must be removed mercilessly. That was the correct choice.
He had a good opinion about Wei Lian, and it was only natural for good feelings to come to life the more time they spent together, and more they shared the same interests.
It was fine as long as the bud was removed in time.
As long as he distanced himself from Wei Lian, decreased the chance they met, the temporarily hot-blooded desire would soon cool off.
…But he has been daydreaming lately.
When he saw the chair Wei Lian had sat on, the daybed he had slept on, the scrolls he had read, and the teacup he had held, they all could draw out Ji Yue’s attention.
Even in the evening, when Li Fuquan was saying something to him, Ji Yue was lost in thought and did not fully catch what Li Fuquan had said, only offhandedly agreeing to it.
He was even distracted when reading the memorial to the throne in the imperial study, remembering the time when Wei Lian grinded inks for him.
In the moment of his gloom, he ordered someone to replace the inkstone, but the result was worse, he was having a harder time concentrating on his task.
…He disliked the inkstone that was not touched by Wei Lian. The ink it produced did not have the right feel.
Wei Lian was not in sight, but he was also everywhere.
His head was filled with Wei Xiao Lian, so annoying.
When Ji Yue tossed his brush, he thought in anger, Wei Lian is really a beautiful freaking scourge.
We have not fallen in love with him yet, but he has already allured our heart.
The author has something to say:
The timeline in the story is always calculated using the lunar calendar √
Thank You for the chapter ｡✰✧(♡´❍`♡)✧✰｡