Picked up
KEIGHTY: Special thanks to Bloom21 for the ko-fis! ( ˘ ³˘)💚 (Extra Chapter 2/2)
Looking at the kitten’s red-hot face, which was practically smoking, Zhou Huaiyan couldn’t help but frown.
Is the charcoal fire inside too vigorous?
Perhaps it’s because kittens who were born in the north are more resistant to cold. Was the temperature in the room too hot for him?
He thought with uncertainty.
Ah Fei was timid, so the young man didn’t stare at him anymore. But just when he was about to look away, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the sweet hawthorn soup sent back from the kitchen.
“Eh……”
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that since the assassination, his uncle had never forced him to drink medicated food. Zhou Huaiyan propped up his chin with one hand, recalling Hongdou’s explanation about the medicated food: she said that they had found a new physician and was afraid that he would take too many medicines, so they suddenly switched to food supplements.
——Obviously, they were lying to him.
But why?
The young man couldn’t think of a good explanation at the moment.
Stopping the medicated diet must’ve been because his uncle thought that the current medicated diet was not only useless but also harmful to him. Did someone tamper with the medicated diet?
Zhou Huaiyan could only think of this answer at the moment.
During the three years of his uncle’s patrol in the north, the border areas seemed to be peaceful, but in fact, the foreign tribes were still eyeing the Great Zhou like a tiger eyeing its prey. The reason they were holding back was because of Duke Wei’s existence. Three hundred thousand cavalry troops marched across the three continents in the north. Even the emperor had been afraid of them for decades, let alone the foreign king.
Zhou Huaiyan had reason to believe that if the last assassination was truly orchestrated by the foreigners, it couldn’t have been just a minor skirmish. Once successful, Foreign King Qu Pingye would likely immediately invade the south, putting the entire Great Zhou in imminent danger.
It was just that the assassination was obviously not the work of the foreigners.
Last time, Zhou Huaiyan didn’t tell his uncle that perhaps the assassins weren’t targeting him, but rather himself. The assassin who broke into the carriage showed no surprise upon seeing him, as if he had known about it in advance.
But, who would have thought that Duke Wei’s people would come to take the Ninth Prince out of the palace?
Of course, there were also Duke Wei’s people and the palace’s people with them.
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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Seeing that his master had no intention of using him immediately, Ah Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his head and looked at the nightclothes on his body.
He didn’t know whether it was intentional or not, but when the new maid gave the clothes to Ah Fei, she specifically said: This was what His Highness wore when he was fifteen years old.
Ah Fei recalled what the maid had said at that time, and for some unknown reason, his cheeks burned fiercely. He lowered his head and couldn’t help but touch the slightly longer cuffs.
It appeared that, even at the age of fifteen, the master was taller than him.
Men in the Zhou Dynasty were generally around 1.7 meters tall, so Zhou Huaiyan, who was now 1.8 meters tall, often stood out among the crowd, looking more like a crane standing among chickens.
Sometimes, Zhou Huaiyan couldn’t help but wonder if the reason the emperor didn’t like him was because he was too tall.
After all, the emperor was only 1.75 meters tall in shoes.
Ah Fei was unaware of the numerous stories surrounding his master’s height. He only knew that, among the Zhou people, his master stood out as one of the tallest individuals he had ever encountered.
Naturally, foreigners gravitate towards strength, with tall men being particularly favored and popular within the tribe.
At this moment, the soft nightclothes fit against his skin, his body heat and scent seeping through. It was likely that this piece of clothing once snugly embraced the master’s body in the same manner, ages ago, every night.
Ah Fei couldn’t help but think about what the young man would look like wearing these nightclothes. However, he had never seen the fourteen-year-old Zhou Huaiyan, so he couldn’t imagine it at all. Hence, he could only bury his face in the crook of his arms and take a breath quietly.
Too bad. He didn’t know whether it was because it had not been worn for several years or because the servants had washed it too much, but Ah Fei no longer smelled a scent similar to that of the cloak. This discovery made him feel a little disappointed. But he still knelt quietly by the bed and waited.
He looked at the maids, who were busy coming and going in the room. He found that they were sorting out the bedding and the clothes the master would wear tomorrow. They also carried many hot-water bottles, stuffing them into the quilt.
Apart from that, Ah Fei did not see any strange objects. Moreover, the master did not make him drink any strange drugs.
The kitten’s nervous and restless heart finally slowed down a little,
“What’s occupying your mind so deeply?”
A familiar voice came from above.
The young man’s hand waved in front of his eyes. His swaying, slender fingers reflected the yellowish candlelight, revealing a beautiful luster like warm jade.
I’m thinking about how to serve you later……
Ah Fei answered subconsciously in his mind, but the next second, he suddenly reacted and looked up abruptly to see Zhou Huaiyan’s face.
“……! ! !”
The kitten was stunned. His beautiful emerald eyes widened slightly as he stared at him, extremely nervous.
But then, Ah Fei seemed to feel that it was disrespectful to look directly at his master like this. He hurriedly lowered his head again, and his wandering eyes subconsciously fell on the young man’s outstretched fingers.
——Very long.
“……”
Seeing the kitten’s face suddenly flush red, Zhou Huaiyan touched his forehead with some concern,
“Do you have a fever?”
“……”
The kitten was stunned and immediately wanted to shake his head, but he didn’t dare to avoid the young man’s hand and could only freeze in place. His breathing was rapid, spreading a bit of warmth on Zhou Huaiyan’s wrist.
Fortunately, Zhou Huaiyan’s prolonged illness turned him into a doctor, enabling him to naturally distinguish between a common fever and a fever from illness.
“There should be nothing wrong, so let’s go to bed now.”
As soon as his voice fell, the maid waiting outside quickly came forward to help lift the bed curtain.
Zhou Huaiyan, fearing the cold, had his servants arrange multiple hot-water bottles on the cotton-padded mattress every night in advance to warm the entire bed. Subsequently, they would remove them whenever the master went to bed, leaving only a small one to ensure that he wouldn’t get cold in the middle of the night.
“Take the small one too.”
The young man suddenly spoke.
Upon hearing this, the maids paused momentarily but, without objection, swiftly took away all the hot-water bottles.
As they left, they couldn’t help but glance at Ah Fei, who was kneeling on the ground.
It was not uncommon for princes, nobles, and even the gentry and wealthy individuals to keep good-looking boys and girls at home. Despite the challenges of living in a refined society, many people still enjoy showing off and even comparing themselves to each other.
After all, in this era, catamites were something only the upper class could have. In a sense, it was also a manifestation of financial resources and power. But they were surprised that the Ninth Prince would actually keep a barbaric foreigner.
Now, Ah Fei was extremely thin, and his face had not yet developed. Only his emerald-like eyes deserve to be called brilliant.
Zhou Huaiyan once carefully observed Ah Fei’s eyes. When viewed up close, his eyes appeared short and round, with the outer corners slightly turned upward. His eyelashes were not long, yet extremely thick, giving the impression of wearing a very black eyeliner at first glance.
Under the light, the emerald-green pupils resembled a piece of top-grade glass jade, brimming with sparkling radiance—pure, clear, and exceptionally beautiful.
——Extremely like Cuicui’s almond-shaped cat eyes.
But, in fact, according to the aesthetics of most Zhou people, Ah Fei’s current appearance fell short of meeting the standards for a beautiful boy.
The kitten naturally knew this because, although his eyes were rare, they weren’t eye-catching among foreign races. He was even classified as the lowest-class slave because of his curly hair.
The moment the two parties brushed past each other, Ah Fei noticed the look in the maid’s eyes, even though they didn’t say anything in front of Zhou Huaiyan.
Yet he had already seen too many looks like those of disdain and disgust.
His earlier fantasies and joy were like bubbles, completely bursting at this moment.
He lowered his head in embarrassment, suddenly wanting to hide himself.
Perhaps the master just noticed his unique appearance and decided to try him out on a whim. After tonight, he would be thrown back into the iron cage tomorrow.
Ah Fei couldn’t help but touch his dry body. It wasn’t smooth. There were even many scars, making him feel extremely ugly.
But just now, he was actually still thinking about receiving his master’s favor. With such an ugly body, how could he dare to think about it at that time?
Ah Fei’s hands clenched tighter and tighter. His throat seemed to be blocked by something—stuffy and astringent.
Until——
“Why aren’t you still coming up?”
“……Eh?”
Ah Fei subconsciously raised his head, but before he could react, the young man’s hand passed beneath his armpit.
The next second, his body soared into the air.
He was truly like a cat that was picked up and taken to bed by his master.
On the bed……
Ah Fei: “……?!!”
♥️♥️♥️
Poor kitten’s going to be really confused when his master just pulls him up to snuggle. Or sleep at the end of the bed
Body pillow heater acquired