Chapter 16: Scrub and apply medicine

After running barely a dozen steps, Lin Xiaoque spotted the grand procession of Emperor Xiao Juan approaching.

Ignoring the danger of charging horses, he rushed into the middle of the path, threw out his arms, and shouted at the top of his lungs,

“There’s a tiger! Save him!”

Recognizing him at once, Xiao Juan reached down with one hand and hauled him onto his horse.

Looking toward the mountainside and seeing that there truly was a tiger, the emperor immediately drew his bow and loosed an arrow.

Dozens of men surrounded Xiao Juan—generals and imperial guards alike.

The generals moved in to hunt the tiger, while one of the guards carried Yun Muhe out of the hunting grounds.

Lin Xiaoque trembled uncontrollably.

Tears continued to stream down his face without him even realizing it.

The emperor held him in his arms.

Rather than scolding him for entering the hunt, he simply cupped his face and gently wiped away his tears.

There were tears on his cheeks, but also Yun Muhe’s blood.

His hands were stained as well.

Xiao Juan frowned in slight distaste. He simply sliced off a piece of his own sleeve and used it to wipe Lin Xiaoque clean before finally feeling satisfied.

“You’ve got quite the nerve, blocking a galloping horse.”

“If it had been anyone else, I would’ve ridden straight over them and trampled them into the mud.”

He pulled Lin Xiaoque closer and patted the back of his head.

“So now you know fear? You’re shaking so badly you can’t stop.”

“And yet you still dared provoke a tiger.”

As Xiao Juan stroked his head, he noticed the trembling had suddenly stopped.

At first he thought the boy had finally grown braver.

Only then did he realize Lin Xiaoque had fainted.

The emperor carried him back to the imperial villa, ordering the generals to finish off the tiger.

“Skin it, gut it, strip out its bones.”

“We’ll roast it tonight.”

The guards followed the emperor as he departed.

One of them also carried Yun Muhe away.

Seeing that the emperor had given no instructions regarding the unconscious heir, the guard simply delivered him back to the courtyard where he was staying.

Poor Zhuifeng watched helplessly as Lin Xiaoque was carried away by the emperor.

The tiger had left him covered in wounds.

Chunks of flesh had been torn from his body, and the pain made him bare his teeth.

All he could do was struggle back to his master’s side.

If not for his years of experience charging through battlefields, another horse would have died long ago.

Proud despite his exhaustion, Zhuifeng slowly made his way home.

The moment he reached his master’s residence, he could hold on no longer and collapsed.

The servants of Marquis Wei’s estate were horrified when they saw the marquis’s horse in such a miserable state.

They ran frantically to summon the accompanying military physician.

Inside the emperor’s bedchamber.

Lin Xiaoque slept restlessly.

He had already been bathed and treated with medicine.

The emperor had refused to let his own eunuchs handle the task, instead ordering Xie Zhichi to attend to him.

Xiao Juan said,

“Didn’t Qie Yunu fancy you?”

“The poor thing.”

“I’ll give him a little reward.”

“Even if he’s unconscious, let him experience what it’s feels like to be cared for by you.”

Of course, the emperor wasn’t so careless as to leave the unconscious Lin Xiaoque alone in a room with Xie Zhichi.

What if Xie Zhichi decided to drown Qie Yunu in the bath?

That would be far too great a waste.

So Xiao Juan willingly took on the role of overseer himself.

Warm steam filled the room.

Lin Xiaoque remained completely unaware as his clothes were removed.

Xie Zhichi carefully bathed him, dried him, then carried him back to the bed.

The emperor inspected him.

There were bruises along his arms, likely from overexertion.

The worst injury was the raw abrasion on the inside of his thighs, no doubt caused by riding.

As Xie Zhichi applied medicine to the wound, Lin Xiaoque, despite being unconscious, instinctively tried to push him away.

Emperor Xiao Juan caught his wrist.

“You’re both men.”

“What are you so shy about?”

Seeing Lin Xiaoque frown in discomfort, Xiao Juan pushed Xie Zhichi aside and took over himself.

As he spread the ointment, he suddenly laughed.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve ever applied medicine to someone.”

Since he’d already come this far, he might as well see it through.

He even dressed Lin Xiaoque himself.

After gently patting his cheek, he ordered Xie Zhichi to summon the imperial physician.

When the physician entered, the emperor was already holding Lin Xiaoque in his arms.

Keeping his head lowered, the physician pretended to see nothing.

Pretended to know nothing.

He convinced himself this was merely a father’s affection for his child.

The emperor lifted Lin Xiaoque’s hand for the physician to examine.

The physician spoke at length.

The emperor heard none of it.

He only stared at Lin Xiaoque’s pale face before suddenly pinching his cheek.

A little red looked much better.

No one had mistreated him.

Why was his face always so pale?

“Disobedient.”

“So sickly, yet you still insisted on riding.”

“You even managed to get yourself hurt.”

“How foolish.”

The physician personally went to prepare the medicine.

Xiao Juan then instructed Xie Zhichi,

“Get on the bed.”

“Warm his feet.”

“The poor thing.”

“He’s freezing.”

“He must have been terrified.”

Xie Zhichi remained motionless.

Xiao Juan’s expression darkened.

“If you won’t serve my Qie Yunu…”

“Then go serve my Wulan.”

“Let’s see whether you’ll still be this silent after being trampled beneath horse hooves.”

Wulan was Xiao Juan’s black horse.

Just as its name suggested, it was both black and insatiably greedy.

It demanded the finest fodder and the finest stable.

Otherwise, it would rather starve or freeze to death than settle for anything less.

Yet Xiao Juan adored that temperament.

After all, it was his horse.

If he wished to build it a palace of gold, who could stop him?

Without another word, Xie Zhichi climbed onto the bed.

He loosened his robes and used the warmth of his abdomen to warm Lin Xiaoque’s icy feet.

Watching his silent expression, Xiao Juan ordered,

“Take off your mask.”

Xie Zhichi silently obeyed.

“Hiding from the daylight.”

The emperor sneered.

“Like some wandering ghost.”

“You could’ve been my favored consort.”

“But instead, you insisted on becoming my s*ave.”

“Xie Zhichi… Xie Zhichi…”

His fingers brushed lightly across Lin Xiaoque’s lips.

“If Qie Yunu hadn’t pleaded for you…”

“I truly would’ve liked to have you castrated.”

“They say pork tastes better after the boar’s been gelded.”

“I imagine the same would apply to you.”

Faced with such humiliation, Xie Zhichi answered with nothing.

Only silence.

The emperor had never expected a reply anyway.

He continued leisurely,

“My Qie Yunu hasn’t touched anyone yet.”

“He’s already this old, and still a virgin.”

Releasing Lin Xiaoque, Xiao Juan gently laid him back on the bed before looking at Xie Zhichi.

“What about you?”

“Would you like to serve him?”

Xie Zhichi froze.

Raising his eyes to the emperor, they burned with hatred.

A smile rested on Xiao Juan’s lips, but his gaze was ice cold.

“When Qie Yunu grows tired of you…”

“I’ll reward you to the guards.”

“Let a thousand men mount you.”

“Then you’ll understand just how merciful I’ve been.”

“Get out.”

Xiao Juan no longer cared to look at him.

Xie Zhichi’s chest rose and fell violently.

For one brief moment, he wanted nothing more than to perish together with the emperor.

But in the end, he endured.

He fastened his robes, put his mask back on, and stepped down from the bed.

“Stop.”

Xiao Juan’s voice rang out.

“I said get out.”

“Not walk.”

“Crawl.”

“Or have you forgotten how?”

“Shall I have someone teach you again?”

The agony and humiliation of the Punishment Pavilion came crashing back over him like a falling axe.

For an instant, Xie Zhichi wondered if he had never escaped that place at all.

His legs wavered.

When he opened his eyes and saw that hateful emperor still standing before him, he finally dragged himself back from the abyss of despair that threatened to consume everything.

Expressionless, Xie Zhichi knelt.

Then, neither hurried nor slow, he crawled toward the door.

Seeing this, Xiao Juan’s expression only grew colder.

He seized Xie Zhichi by the hair.

His breathing was heavy.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

“Will you obediently lie in bed and beg for my favor…”

“Or remain on the ground as my dog?”

Xie Zhichi simply stayed where he was, allowing the emperor to grip his hair.

He said nothing.

At last, Xiao Juan let go with a cold snort.

Returning to the bedside, he tucked the blanket more securely around Lin Xiaoque.

Noticing the cheek he had pinched had indeed turned slightly red, he picked up the ointment again and gently rubbed it over the mark.

“Pale is pale.”

“You’re not a ge’er.”

“You don’t need rouge.”

As the ointment spread, the redness gradually faded away.

His hand came to rest against Lin Xiaoque’s forehead.

For some reason, at that very moment, he thought of his late father, who had passed away many years ago.

When his father had still been alive, whatever Xiao Juan desired—

before he even had to speak, with nothing more than a glance—

his father would place it before him.

His father had wished for him to have many children.

Now he already had thirteen.

Perhaps that still wasn’t enough.

Perhaps he should have even more.

Only then would his father be content in the underworld.

Xiao Juan lifted Lin Xiaoque into his arms once more.

Just as his own father had once held him.

His fingers gently traced Lin Xiaoque’s brows and eyes.

For the first time, there was no trace of contempt or the desire to toy with him.

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