Bathed clean
KEIGHTY: Here’s an extra chapter special thanks to Bloom21‘s ko-fi tips! 🎉
Also, I just want to inform y’all that EMERALD finally got its discord role on CG’s discord! Make sure to click this 💚 on the #get-your-roles channel to stay updated with the latest chapter updates! Hope to see you there ( ˘ ³˘)💚
But before he could even start untying it, big tears suddenly fell down.
Patter, patter!
The little slave cried, as if he had encountered the most embarrassing and aggrieving thing in the world. The overflowing, choked sobs were like those of a helpless cub.
He cried.
Zhou Huaiyan was somewhat at a loss. After a moment, he sighed,
“Since you’re unwilling, let’s just forget it.”
Cuicui didn’t like taking a bath either. It even scratched him when it touched the water for the first time. Later on, it gradually got used to it. Zhou Huaiyan looked at the little one’s soaking wet curls, feeling a little regrettable.
Upon hearing this, the little slave abruptly raised his head. His originally sad expression turned alarmed and panicky.
“Ah, no……”
No!
It was not that he was unwilling, but he was afraid that the nobleman would dislike him and abandon him once he saw his body. He might even throw him into that kind of place to become any man’s……tool. If….. If the nobleman doesn’t mind it and wants to use him, of course he can!
The little slave had tears on his face, wanting to explain urgently. But his hurt throat could only utter a little hoarse whimper. Before Zhou Huaiyan could understand what the little slave wanted to say, Hongdou’s voice came from outside the door.
“Your Highness, the Grand Duke is back and is looking for you.”
Why did Uncle come back so soon?!
Zhou Huaiyan’s eyebrows furrowed.
“I understand.”
The young man lowered his head and looked at the little slave, who was still crying. He stretched out his hand to wipe the tears away from his little face.
“Wait for me to come back.”
The little slave looked at him blankly, suddenly quieting down. He lowered his head and made a soft sound.
“Mmn……”
Zhou Huaiyan went out and changed into a set of clean clothes. He casually played with the jade pendant around his waist.
“Uncle came back very early today.”
The eldest palace maid’s body stiffened.
Zhou Huaiyan glanced at her with a half-smile. He had just taken a little wild cat a while ago, and now his uncle had suddenly come back. It was very strange and unusual. He couldn’t guess enough what was fishy about it.
“Let’s go, we shouldn’t keep Uncle waiting.”
Hongdou breathed a sigh of relief.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As soon as he entered the study, Zhou Huaiyan saw his uncle sitting in front of the desk.
Hmm, as expected, his face was dark.
Zhou Huaiyan walked over with a grin.
“Why did Uncle come back so early today? Huaiyan was still worried that Uncle would be busy with official duties.”
Duke Wei raised his eyelids,
“Oh? It’s rare for you to have this share of filial sentiments.”
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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“Where’s your cat? Hand it over.”
“Hmm? What cat?”
Zhou Huaiyan started to act dumb,
“Can it be that Uncle has become so busy that his memory is no longer good? Uncle has not allowed Huaiyan to keep cats since he was five years old, even telling the Ninth Prince that no small animals should appear within a hundred meters!”
Hongdou suddenly glanced at the imperial guard behind Duke Wei. The man immediately called his attention in a low voice,
“Grand Duke, perhaps some of the talkative ones passed on the wrong message. His Little Highness is the most obedient and well-behaved. He certainly has never kept a cat. He only asked for a foreign little slave to go back and play with him today. That’s all.”
——It’s actually like this!
His uncle didn’t even allow him to keep a cat, let alone allow him to keep a foreign slave after being assassinated by a spy not long ago.
As expected, Jiang Yi was furious.
Bang!
He ruthlessly slammed the table, extremely furious,
“Zhou Huaiyan!”
“Grand Duke, please quell your anger, your subordinates are here!”
The young man put on an act by cupping his fist before his chest, curtsying. He was all at sevens and eights, looking so bad. His comical and adorable appearance took away most of Duke Wei’s anger.
“Absurd! Did you know that Laofu could not sleep day and night for the past half month and have turned over the entire capital? Isn’t it all because of the foreign spies?!”
The little prince’s unserious smile suddenly disappeared,
“Huaiyan knew that Uncle had worked hard. But Huaiyan believes that this matter was not planned by foreigners. The assassination seemed dangerous, but in fact, it cannot withstand a single blow. If they wanted to kill my humble self, the spies should have thought that Duke Wei was still in the capital and would immediately seek for their lives. It’s simply indulging themselves in the wildest fantasy then.
The foreigners may be barbaric, but they are not brainless. None of the assassins seem to be from our clan, but that’s not necessarily the case with the people behind them. Uncle has been arresting spies in the capital for the past two weeks, with great strength and impetus. However, he is also where the wind and the waves are highest.”
The young man was calm and rational; his words were sharp and sincere,
“I ask Uncle to please consider it carefully. There are already several impeachment scripts in the court. It is rumored among the people that Uncle’s accomplishments have overshadowed the authority of the sovereign and that he’s overweeningly ambitious. Are you aware of these?”
Hearing this, Duke Wei was left dumbfounded, even forgetting to get angry.
“You……”
How could a dandy prince, who spends his days eating, drinking, and having fun, suddenly say these words?
Zhou Huaiyan sighed. He originally wanted to maintain his image as a fool in his uncle’s mind, but now someone had shown intentions of killing him. He had no choice but to warn him all of a sudden.
“Uncle, perhaps you should ask my Emperor Father about this matter.”
“……”
Duke Wei was stunned for a moment.
At that time, because Zhou Huaiyan was poisoned, he was so anxious that he did not think about it carefully. Now, after thinking about it for a while, he realized that there were actually many strange things about this matter.
Duke Wei’s eyes sank down.
——Someone in the capital used the foreigners to scheme against him.
Zhou Huaiyan called it a day.
Duke Wei was still immersed in the feeling of “Someone actually dared to plot against Laozi.” The young man hastily struck while the iron was hot.
“This time, Huaiyan suffered difficulties for Uncle, and he was so quick-witted to see through the evil-doer’s intentions. Uncle must take good care of me.”
Duke Wei came back to his senses and looked at him with a gratified and complicated expression.
“Fine, fine, fine! Laofu deserves it, I brought it out all by myself.”
The man stroked his beard and laughed heartily,
“Tell me, whatever you want today, Laofu will reward you!”
As soon as these words came out, Hongdou immediately realized His Highness’s intention. She hurriedly wanted to warn the Duke——
“Huaiyan wants that little slave to be kept by his side.”
The young man smiled, coincidentally opening his mouth before Hongdou could.
“Uncle conferred the titles of a Duke and an iron-willed important general. He must know that military orders are as immovable as mountains and cannot be changed overnight.”
With a single sentence, all of Duke Wei’s escape routes were blocked.
Duke Wei: “……”
He was so surprised that he forgot that, a moment ago, he was supposed to question the young man about keeping a foreign slave with him. After being frozen for a long time, Duke Wei tried to make a last-ditch effort.
“If you really want to, Laofu will personally change them for you with a cleaner one.”
Since he couldn’t resist anymore, then it was better to choose someone who had been selected by his own people. At least with someone whom he knew the background and was clean.
“No, I want the one I chose!”
Zhou Huaiyan remained unmoved.
“You! You’re really going to make Laofu die from anger!!!”
Duke Wei was very furious! Just when the two were in a stalemate, the butler hurriedly appeared in the study and whispered a few words to Duke Wei.
Jiang Yi’s face turned focused,
“Laofu has something important to do right now. We’ll talk about it later once I come back!”
Zhou Huaiyan breathed a sigh of relief.
It gets dark early in the winter. When he came back from Duke Wei’s study, the sky was already a little dark. As soon as Zhou Huaiyan returned, he went straight to the bathroom. There were no lights inside, and it was pitch dark. The young man squatted at the door, holding up a candle and calling out softly,
“Little one, I’m back. Come out quickly.”
In an instant, a faint sound came from the empty bathroom, resembling a small animal cautiously stretching out its claws from its hideout.
Zhou Huaiyan heard footsteps. That was the sound of bare feet stepping on wooden boards.
At first, it was hesitant and slow, then it became hurried and chaotic. Finally, it trotted to a stop in front of Zhou Huaiyan. The thin chest under the little slave’s cloak kept rising and falling. A small animal-like panting escaped from his throat, so thin that one couldn’t help but pity him.
The slightly warm candlelight danced. It overlapped with the pair of pale green cat eyes, turning into a magnificent and dreamy light and shadow, like a piece of peerless emerald.
Zhou Huaiyan saw Cuicui’s reflection inside, and after concentrating all of his attention, he gradually realized that it was actually his own face inside.
The young man heard his own heart pounding.
“Do you have…… a name?”
The little slave stiffened, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head lightly.
The next second, the young man’s slender fingertips fell on the corners of his eyes, caressing them gently.
“Then from now on, you’ll be called Ah Fei, is that alright?”
Little Ah Fei lowered his head and responded very softly.
“……Mmn.”
Zhou Huaiyan stared into his eyes blankly,
“You really look like……. my kitten……”
Cat?
The little slave’s face turned white. He raised his head and secretly glanced at Zhou Huaiyan, only to see that the young man’s eyes were sparkling and full of indescribable nostalgia.
“……”
Ah Fei closed his eyes and finally accepted his new identity.
——A cat for the master to play with.
Unknown fear and panic spread in his heart.
“Yes……. Master…….”
Ah Fei tried hard, wanting to curry favor with him, but his injured throat turned these two words into meaningless sobs.
Zhou Huaiyan didn’t notice this. He stretched out his hand, intending to take the little one out to eat. However, as soon as he lifted the cloak, his fingertips unexpectedly touched something.
It was slightly cool, soft, trembling, and bare-naked……
Zhou Huaiyan’s eyes showed a bit of surprise. He looked down again and found that the other party’s trousers, which he had held on to before, were no longer on. The muscles under his skin were stretched tight and very tense from the unfamiliar touch, continuously trembling.
—Probably because he’s feeling cold.
Zhou Huaiyan immediately came up with such a guess. He retracted his hand, wrinkled his eyebrows, and wrapped the cloak tightly around the kitten.
“Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”
——Of course, it’s for the convenience of the master to use him.
Ah Fei’s whole body was stiff, and his shoulders were still shaking. He lowered his head, wishing he could bury it in his chest. Zhou Huaiyan thought for a moment,
“Did you take a bath yourself?”
Hearing this, Ah Fei finally had a little reaction. He clutched his cloak tightly and responded softly,
“Mmn.”
Among the foreigners, slaves who were bought back could only be used for two purposes. One was to do hard work that required strength, and the other was to be kept at home as a servant. Therefore, Ah Fei naturally thought that when Zhou Huaiyan brought him to the room to take a bath, he must have planned to use him to serve him at night. So he washed himself carefully.
Very clean, very clean……
“Very good.”
Zhou Huaiyan rubbed his unkempt, fluffy, and soft curly hair, praising the kitten without hesitation. The candlelight was too weak, so he didn’t notice that the little slave’s face was already burning red and hot.
“Then hurry up and put on your clothes. I’ll take you to have a meal.”
With that said, the young man stood up, took off the clothes on the screen next to him, and handed them over.
Have a meal……?
Ah Fei abruptly raised his head—Master doesn’t need him now?
Seeing that the kitten was still motionless, Zhou Huaiyan was puzzled.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you know how to put them on?”
This was very troublesome. Having been served by the palace maids since birth, the Ninth Prince was not very familiar with dressing up others.
“How about I ask Hongdou to help you put them on?”
Ah Fei immediately shook his head again and again. There was a red hood on his head, which made him look exactly like a little rattle. Zhou Huaiyan couldn’t help laughing. He stood straight and put the candle on the table.
“Then put them on by yourself and come out.”
Before Ah Fei could come back to his senses, his arms were already stuffed with clothes. He stared blankly at the young man’s back. He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t make any sound.
He felt like a ball of wet cotton was blocked in his throat, feeling stuffy and constricted.
The little slave lowered his head and looked at the clothes in his arms, stroking them gently with his thin fingers.
Clean, warm, soft, and exquisite.
He had never… worn such fine materials…
Ah Fei’s eyes eventually turned red. He buried his face in them and took a deep breath. While in a trance, he discovered that the young man’s faint smell seemingly still lingered on it. It was very light, but very fragrant.
“……”
A moment after——
In the dark bathroom, the hoarse and muffled sobs of a cub sounded.
Oh wow I’m actually the first to comment. 🎉 Thanks for the update btw. 😊
Me: Side eyes Hongdou 👀 I’m not sure you should be breathing a sigh of relief it seems like you’re about to get into trouble.
Hongdou: Impossible ಠ,_｣ಠ
Me: Sips tea 👀 okie dokie
💚💚💚
Thanks for the chapter! 💚💚💚
Poor sweetie!!! Hopefully he’ll realize when his new cat mom says “cat”, he actually means the fluffy animal, not some twisted sexual slavery (not a statement on consensual petplay!! More power to you, peeps!)