To let the master’s mark stay
“You’re Dianxia’s person, so it’s only natural to have Dianxia’s mark imprinted on them. The marks just now were only strokes marked in advance a few days ago.”
——Where have you marked any strokes in the past few days?
Dousha was the cleverest. He was the first person to react,
“Yes, your humble slave has a poor memory and unexpectedly forgot about this. He was almost deceived by that foreign servant!”
Suo Woxie was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He was dumbfounded for a while before he anxiously argued.
“No! It’s impossible! I… I can’t possibly mistake a servant slave’s mark! He should be! He should be the lowliest servant…”
“——It’s so noisy.”
His hoarse howls made the young man’s eyebrows furrow. The next second, someone immediately blocked Suo Woxie’s mouth.
Seeing this, the young eunuch spoke once again,
“Not only did this person violate the Feng Shui of Min’an Pavilion, but he also dared to ruin His Highness’s reputation in this way. He had sinister intentions. He might even be a spy of the foreign race lurking in the mansion!”
“Mmn.”
While speaking, Zhou Huaiyan had already concentrated on finishing the last stroke. He looked at it carefully for a moment and finally put away the jin dagger with satisfaction.
The sensible maid immediately brought hot water and towels. He stood up, handed over the jin dagger, and then unhurriedly washed the blood on his hands.
“Since he’s a spy, what are you waiting for? Let’s handle it according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty.”
Suo Woxie’s eyes widened. He struggled desperately, but soon the guards outside the door immediately dragged the person out.
For a moment, everyone in the house was as silent as a cicada in cold weather, and the only sound left was the sound of the young man washing his hands with the water.
“That’s it for tonight.”
Zhou Huaiyan carefully wiped the water drops on his hands; his tone was as usual,
“If, in the future, Dianxia hears even the slightest gossip about this matter, everyone present tonight will be considered a spy and be executed in accordance with the law.”
People inside and outside the house immediately knelt on the ground. Zhou Huaiyan sighed in his heart. He was afraid that after today, his reputation as a ruined and licentious person would have to add another stroke of being “cruel”.
But it didn’t matter. The worse his reputation was, the happier the emperor would be and the longer his life would be. Thinking of this, the young man waved his hand,
“Everyone, please withdraw. Dianxia is tired.”
“Yes.”
Everyone withdrew. Zhou Huaiyan finally had time to take a look at the scarred kitten.
The latter was still kneeling on the ground, his curly hair in a mess, hiding the expression on his face. He didn’t know whether he was badly scared or in severe pain. His numb body curled up motionlessly, looking extremely pitiful.
Ah Fei covered the imprinted mark on his left ear, his hands covered with blood. The familiar pain made him feel dazed, as if he had returned to the past a long, long time ago——
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.
Qtfc tf kjr olnf sfjgr biv, tlr wbatfg, atf bcis bcf ktb mbeiv qgbafma tlw, vlrjqqfjgfv. Dfmjerf bo tlr ybvs, ktlmt kjr vloofgfca ogbw bgvlcjgs qfbqif, tf kjr mjqaegfv ys atf qfbqif ogbw atf rfgnjca rijnf mjwq.
Ktja cluta, tf kjr lwqglcafv klat atf rfgnjca rijnf lcx wjgxr. Lf kjr reggbecvfv ys rb wjcs qfbqif. Ktfs ibbxfv ja tlw klat atf wbra mbcafwqa jcv vlruera, fnfc yfilaailcu tlw klat atf wbra oliats jcv lcreialcu kbgvr.
The person who imprinted the marks was extremely rough, gripping his neck like a livestock. The sharp iron needle was then soaked in the pitch-black ink, piercing his skin and imprinting on him the lowliest mark.
Ah Fei cried loudly in pain, calling for his mother. But in the end, until his voice became hoarse, he couldn’t recall that warm embrace.
At that time, there was a lot of blood—a lot—mixing with the dark special ink and then blending into a dark red, appearing extremely dirty.
But now in the same situation, with the same imprinted mark, Ah Fei didn’t feel any pain—not even the slightest bit.
He felt happy.
The ink mark of a servant slave was a mark of lowliness and the reason why he could be trampled on by others. But the mark given by his master was different. It was recognition, protection, and ownership.
The master imprinted a mark on him with his own hands, which meant that the master would never abandon him in the future.
Ah Fei closed his eyes, feeling the burning pain behind his ears. From now on, he would be Zhou Huaiyan’s possession.
Live for the master, die for the master.
He heard a louder thump in his chest, as if he were witnessing with his own eyes the miraculous resurgence of the frozen wasteland at this moment.
Something hot was growing and flourishing in that place.
However, when Zhou Huaiyan saw this scene, he thought he was clutching his chest and trying to endure the pain. The young man squatted down, wanting to touch the kitten’s head. But after thinking for a moment, he decided against it.
He still remembered that he had to trim Cuicui’s nails before, but he wasn’t careful enough and hurt them. The cat boss had resented him for a long time. It scratched him again and again, not even letting him touch it.
Cats were so resentful, let alone humans.
But due to the situation just now, if he hadn’t said that, Ah Fei would probably have to bear the lowly label of being a “servant slave” for the rest of his life. Having the cruel Ninth Prince force him to imprint a mark sounded better than being a servant slave of a foreign race.
With numerous and countless trains of thought, Zhou Huaiyan heaved a sigh,
“Does it still hurt?”
“……”
Ah Fei lifted his head blankly and saw the young man’s gentle face. His formerly blank expression gradually changed. The dirty and scarred kitten looked at him, his pale green cat eyes filled with tears.
As if in the next second, he was about to cry a loud “meow”.
Ah, this…
Zhou Huaiyan thought this was a bit nerve-wracking. He waved his hand and asked the young eunuch to get a warm towel and medicine.
“Come here, I will give you some medicine.”
“……!”
Hearing this, the kitten, whose eyes were still filled with tears, knelt down next to Zhou Huaiyan very smoothly.
The blade of the jin dagger was very small and thin, almost equivalent to a modern scalpel, so the wound was very small. Now, it had already formed a scab, but it looked a bit scary.
Zhou Huaiyan comforted him while applying the medicine,
“I pierced it shallowly. This medicine has the effect of removing scars. It won’t be long before there are any marks left.”
Removing… removing scars?!!
“……!!!”
——The master actually didn’t allow him to let the mark stay?!
Ah Fei’s eyes suddenly widened. He immediately covered his ears and retreated far away in panic. He shrank behind the bookshelf and curled up into a ball, only revealing a pair of anxious eyes.
Zhou Huaiyan, who was frozen while holding the medicine in midair: “……?”
This… it seems like he really held a grudge ah.
Sure enough, all cats hold grudges, and even people who look like cats do the same. Seeing Ah Fei staring at him as if facing a formidable foe, Zhou Huaiyan sighed again.
He had no idea that their brain circuits were not aligned at all. Ah Fei, who was choked with sobs, wiped off the medicine he had just applied, trying hard to hold back his tears.
The master didn’t allow him to let the mark stay. The master didn’t want him.
All the joy he felt just now was totally dispersed, with bitterness submerging his heart like ice-cold seawater.
Perhaps what the master did just now was only to preserve the reputation of the imperial family. How could he be so self-righteous and sentimental, thinking that what his master did was just for himself?
——This explanation was reasonable.
He wiped the remaining medicine behind his ears vigorously, feeling as if he suddenly fell from the clouds into the mud again, shattering into pieces. The scab that had just formed was also removed, causing it to drip with blood.
Pa!
The young man grabbed hold of his wrist bones,
“What are you doing?!”
Seeing Ah Fei’s almost self-mutilating behavior, Zhou Huaiyan’s tone became a little angry. The kitten carefully tugged at the hem of his clothes. He tried hard for quite a while before he finally uttered a vague word with a sobbing tone,
“Stay… stay…”
Begging the master to please allow this slave to let the mark stay.
The kitten anxiously looked at him, his emerald eyes filled with water, as if he had been extremely wronged.
“Stay?”
Zhou Huaiyan was dumbfounded. Then he suddenly realized something,
“You think I’m going to drive you away?”
Although the meaning was different, it was still similar. Ah Fei looked at him and nodded while sobbing and sniffling.
“…Why do you think so?”
Looking into the kitten’s scared and panicked eyes, Zhou Huaiyan was stunned for a moment. The former didn’t answer, only lowering his head in embarrassment.
“……”
The room fell into silence for a brief moment.
“Ah Fei,”
After quite a while, Zhou Huaiyan let go of his hand. The kitten heard him sigh softly,
“Do you want to leave?”
Leave?!
The kitten’s eyes immediately turned red. He hurriedly shook his head, whimpering panicked sobs from his throat.
“In that case, then stay.”
Warm fingers fell on his hair, rubbing it gently.
“Stay with me.”
Ah Fei looked at Zhou Huaiyan blankly. This sentence started an infinite loop in his mind,
Stay with me…
At this moment, the young man’s beautiful face seemed to be haloed by some kind of glow, infinitely gentle yet infinitely dazzling.
“……”
Without warning, big tears rolled down from those beautiful emerald eyes.
Before Zhou Huaiyan could react, Ah Fei suddenly hugged him. His movements were fast and urgent, knocking the young man backward.
After so many years of enjoying a high position and living in comfort, Zhou Huaiyan fell down on the ground for the first time. He didn’t expect that Ah Fei, who looked so thin and small, would actually be so strong.
He suddenly felt that this was a little bit funny, but the next second, a damp, hot, and trembling touch came from his waist and abdomen.
The young man was stunned. He heard the kitten’s cries very clearly——
Intricate, hoarse, and painful.
Like a cub that had lost its shelter, suffered from all kinds of bullying and humiliation, and had scars of wounds, finally finding a warm lair.
All the insecurities, insults, grievances, and sufferings he had experienced were cried out at this moment.
The author has something to say:
Beep, card updated~~
KEIGHTY: Good news! The long wait is over! EMERALD will finally be updated not just once but TWICE a week! 🎉 Scheduled every Tuesday and Friday, GMT+8 00:00! Please look forward to it ^^v
Yay!🎉 Thank you for the chapter and looking forward to reading more. I can’t get enough of these two! They are so cute!🥰
😭😭 Ah fei you suffered so