“With you here, I am no longer afraid.”
Editor: Miiya and Avalie
Unlike the small cask in the Green Bamboo Pavilion, the ruler had the entire Hot Spring Palace just for bathing. Within it, there was a large, hot pond with walls made of white jade, a faucet crafted into a dragon’s head that spouted out water, and the floor beneath was heated to a warm and comfortable degree.
Wei Lian removed his clothes and hung them over the folding screen, then stepped barefoot on the jade steps and slowly dipped into the water. His inky, black hair floated on the water’s surface, and his radiant, creamy skin blushed slightly from the steam.
Droplets slid down from his delicate collarbones and the curve of his attractive spine. The youth scooped up a handful of water and poured it over himself, shrouding his charming and languish appearance in a mist of steam.
The water reflected deep and reserved eyes. With a sudden smile, it instantaneously became clear and captivating, as if the person residing in the water was a soul-stealing evil spirit.
He didn’t dare to delay too long, so not long after entering, he got out of the water and wiped his body dry, taking the prepared clothes and putting them on. The thin material of the clothing only enhanced his slender form.
He thought that after he had bathed, there would be candied fruits waiting for him in the chamber.
But instead of taking him back, the palace workers took him around the folding screen and showed him an assortment of objects being displayed on the table.
Also standing by the table was the head eunuch, Li Fuquan.
Wei Lian studied those playthings on the table with an unchanged expression.
While inside his mind, it was like the collapse of heaven and the rupture of earth.
…What was that tube used for?
…Where would…that ointment be applied?
It wasn’t that he didn’t know those answers.
It should be said that he was expecting this day would come when he decided to pick the King of Qin as his backer.
Bu-but he was still a patient!
His fever hadn’t broken and his wounds hadn’t fully healed yet. Not to mention that in the King of Qin’s eyes, he was supposedly still delirious.
And the King of Qin wanted to be intimate with him in his current state?
Was that something a human would do???
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.
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_
Wei Lian surveyed these objects, pretended to be ignorant, and using his sickly appearance, he asked with a bewildered expression seemingly from the fever that had not yet subsided, “What are these…?”
Li Fuquan served up a fake smile. “Congratulations, Wei-shijun, this is a fine matter indeed. His Majesty has taken a fancy to you, and you will be blessed tonight. However, there are some preparations that must be made before accepting this grace, so as not to tarnish His Majesty’s body. Attendants, come and cleanse Wei-shijun’s body.”
“What are you going to do?” Confusion showed on Wei Lian’s face as two strong palace men quickly came forward and held him by the arms, trying to place him on the table.
Wei Lian lowered his gaze and clenched his fingers into fists. A hint of cold, killing intent surfaced in his eyes.
In that split second, a chill ran down the two palace attendants’ backs, and they felt as if the surrounding temperature suddenly plummeted. Even their movements paused immediately.
He could certainly kill these men this instant.
But that wouldn’t do.
This was the Qin palace, where the King of Qin lived.
One must not act rashly.
After some reconsideration, Wei Lian loosened his hands and dissipated his internal energy, shaping his expression into one of helplessness. “Release me! Let me go!”
The palace attendants weren’t aware of their near-death encounter, they only recovered from their hesitation after they noticed the coldness in the air had disappeared. Once they pinned the youth back to the table, another man stepped forward with the tube and tried to strip the youth of his trousers.
The youth struggled fiercely, and his cries became desperate, “Stop—”
Li Fuquan sneered, “It’s best for Wei-shijun to quietly cooperate so there will be less pain and bleeding later on.”
He was just a play thing, to really view himself as something more.
The youth murmured with a pale complexion, “I don’t want…”
“What’s going on here?” A low voice came from the side as the King of Qin appeared by the entrance, dressed in his black robe.
Everyone in the palace stopped their movements.
Then, one after another, they knelt down and kowtowed. “Saluting to Your Majesty.”
The only outlier was Wei Lian, who slid powerlessly to the ground. His dark hair was in a disarrayed mess and whimpers escaped from his lips.
When he saw Ji Yue, he instantly looked as if a savior had come to his rescue and he scrambled to his feet, colliding, head first, into the man’s arms and holding onto Ji Yue’s waist for dear life.
Wei Lian buried himself into Ji Yue’s chest and sobbed softly, “Mother, I’m scared…”
Ji Yue: “…”
Ji Yue patted Wei Lian on the back soothingly, then, he raised his eyes and his tone was sinisterly cold as he asked, “What were you doing?”
Cold sweat instantly appeared on Li Fuquan’s forehead. “Your Majesty brought Wei-shijun back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, so this servant thought that Your Majesty was going to summon Wei-shijun for his service…which was why…”
It wasn’t his fault that he misunderstood His Majesty’s intention! Since ancient times, all the rulers have brought their concubines to the Hall of Mental Cultivation for one thing only, right?
And that one thing surely wasn’t something as simple as sleeping under the same quilt to chat.
How could he know that His Majesty had no such desire…
Ji Yue’s tone raised slightly while remaining gentle. “Who allowed you to act in self-assertion?”
He had gotten impatient from waiting too long in his bedchamber, so he’d come out to investigate. Who would have imagined that as soon as he arrived, he would hear the youth’s miserable cries and witness the scene of him struggling as he was being held down by the servants?
All of a sudden, his good mood was gone.
People who spoiled his good mood never lived to have a good ending.
Hearing this rhetorical question, Li Fuquan was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, “This servant deserves death!”
Having served His Majesty for many years, he naturally knew His Majesty’s temperament like the back of his hand. The so-called tyrannical ruler wouldn’t easily roar like thunder the moment his stormy expression appeared, or shout for people’s death at the slightest disagreement, like a vicious human-eating beast.
No, that wasn’t how the King of Qin would act. His Majesty was born with a gentleman’s handsomeness, and as such, the way he handled things was also in an extremely graceful manner. He would never reprimand in a loud voice, and would seldom become angry. He would only…
…Would only sentence people to their death with a smile, as if it was a simple command like dismissing them.
The embodiment of a smiling tiger.
The gentler His Majesty’s tone was, the worse the fate for the person in question.
Li Fuquan’s whole body was shaking like a leaf, fearing that in the next moment, he wouldn’t be able to keep the head over his shoulders.
True to the phrase, being close to the sovereign can be as perilous as lying with a tiger.
“Li Fuquan, you have been with us for twelve years. We recognize your loyalty and will spare your life.” Ji Yue said lightly, “Just don’t presume that after years of following us, you can assume our thoughts and act in our place. Thirty lashes.”
Li Fuquan immediately bowed. “Thanks to Your Majesty for your kindness.”
“As for the rest of you…” Ji Yue’s slightly raised gaze contained no traces of emotion at the few palace workers who’d pinned Wei Lian in place just earlier.
The palace members’ expressions were already ashen. They kneeled on the ground, begging for their lives. “Your Majesty, please have mercy!”
Ji Yue was not moved in the slightest. “Drag them down and caned them to death.”
“Your Majesty, please have mercy! Have mercy!” A few palace members cried out at once, but they were dragged away by the imperial guards ruthlessly.
One of them, probably knowing that his death was inevitable, didn’t beg for mercy, but simply cursed loudly without restraint. “Tyrant! You have no regard for human life! You’ll not die a good death! The country of Qin will perish with you!”
Ji Yue’s expression remained the same. “We don’t want to hear it.”
The imperial guards heeded the King’s word and immediately cut out the man’s tongue. As blood spurted out from the orifice, there was the sound of soft flesh dropping to the ground. Now the man couldn’t utter a fully comprehensible word.
Wei Lian shrank into Ji Yue’s arms, eyes drooped in silence.
The rumors were true. The King of Qin was indeed…a tyrannical ruler.
Wei Lian had no pity for these palace men. It was true that they didn’t deserve to die, but what kind of person was he truly? There were many children of royalty in the King of Chu’s palace, and countless numbers of them had died before reaching adulthood. He himself had only survived to this day because of his ruthless scheming and firm determination. He had never felt any unnecessary sympathy.
It was only inevitable that there would be the sense of grief as a fox over the death of a rabbit.
So, it seemed that he was very lucky to survive today. Today, it was these palace men who were ordered to be dragged out, but tomorrow, it might be his turn.
“My Qin Dynasty will last for a thousand lifetimes, and my Ji Yue name will be remembered in history. And this nobody dared to run his mouth off?” Ji Yue snorted. “How ridiculous.”
Wei Lian acted like he couldn’t make sense of what he was hearing as he continued to embrace the man tightly. Even his body was trembling slightly.
Ji Yue supported him, studied the youth’s fragile appearance, and asked gently, “Were you frightened?”
The youth in white raised his frightened eyes. After a long time, he nodded then shook his head.
“With you here, I am no longer afraid.”
He fainted into Ji Yue’s arms immediately after speaking.
Thank You for the chapter ｡✰✧(♡´❍`♡)✧✰｡
Omg!!!! The amount of second hand embarrassment I had because of WL…. It’s really tough!!!! 😅