Content Warning: Sexual intercourse
“Ah…” Xiao Chengjun couldn’t help moaning and arching his body on feeling that part of himself suddenly stretched to its maximum. The legs hooked around Lou Jing’s waist also began trembling slightly.
There were no pillows on the rugs. Xiao Chengjun had originally been propping himself up into a half-sitting position, but his hands and legs gave way when Lou Jing began moving vigorously. Lou Jing caught Xiao Chengjun as he fell backward, then pulled him into a sitting position and kissed his tightly pressed lips.
“Nn…” This position caused that hard member to penetrate even deeper than ever before, and Xiao Chengjun moaned a little, feeling like his whole body had been impaled all the way through. Lou Jing didn’t stop; he pushed himself even deeper into Xiao Chengjun.
Lou Jing gently bit Xiao Chengjun’s chin as he held him in his arms, nibbling lightly as he made his way down and found a little pink bean. He sucked at it and pulled gently at it with his teeth.
“Mm… it’s too deep…” Xiao Chengjun moaned softly, holding Lou Jing’s shoulders tight.
Lou Jing couldn’t contain himself any more. He wrapped his arms tightly around Xiao Chengjun and started moving quickly.
He’d travelled hard for a thousand li, using every trick he knew to speed up the journey, all so that he could hold the love of his life tightly in his arms a little sooner. Nobody could break them apart. Not evil court officials, not the Emperor, and not even the Heavens above!
Scarface had been gagged and tied to a tree. He looked in fright at the fifteen black-clad guards casually polishing and sharpening their swords around him.
Yun Shi’er had gone to look for food, and the remaining fifteen Youyun guards had formed a tight circle around the temple’s worship hall where their masters were in. At the same time, they were keeping a close eye on their prisoner.
The temple was very run down. The door was in shambles, and the windows barely functioned as windows. They couldn’t block out the sounds coming from the inside. Yun San and Yun Shiyi, who specialized in assassination, were used to keeping watch in the dark, and so the brightly lit areas like the the spots in front of the windows and in front of the door were guarded by Yun Jiu and Yun Yi. Ragged panting and suppressed moans sounded again and again from inside the temple.
The Youyun guards dearly wanted to see no evil and hear no evil, but they had keen senses by virtue of their training, and could only stare determinedly at the scudding clouds and bright moon in the sky when they heard these dubious noises.
When Yun Shi’er came back from hunting, he saw this very peculiar sight – all his comrades were staring into the sky like turkeys in the rain. He couldn’t help staring blankly at them in turn. The wild geese in his hands cackled angrily, breaking the silence in the temple yard.
Yun Jiu quickly signalled to Yun Shi’er, telling him to bind those geese’s mouths up. Yun Yi kicked Yun Wu and Yun Si, who were still staring into space. He gestured to them to go and heat up some hot water. The two obedient personal guards had no choice but to ride their horses up to that very dangerous worship hall to look for a pot to heat the water in.
They would still have to travel on horseback the next day, so even though Lou Jing and Xiao Chengjun wanted to do it some more, they held back, and cuddled each other as they lay down on the fur rugs.
Lou Jing gently caressed Xiao Chengjun’s body, which was still trembling gently, and rained small kisses down on his forehead. “I thought you’d be in the south of Jiangzhou by now. Why are you only in Xunyang?” he asked.
Xiao Chengjun took a few moments to get his breath back. After that, he slowly recounted the events of the past few days.
A large number of Qingzhou refugees had been chased into Jiangzhou. These refugees had obstructed their path the moment Xiao Chengjun and his guards had entered Yunyang, and they had no choice but to travel off Imperial roads. Lou Jing had guessed pretty accurately what happened to them, save that they had reached Yunyang ten days ago. As to why they had remained in Yunyang for so long, it was because Xiao Chengjun saw that Jiangzhou’s situation was getting from bad to worse, and had wanted to meet with the Military Councillor in Jiangzhou.
The officials’ positions within the prefectures in the Yu Dynasty were, in ascending order, the County Magistrate, the Prefectural Magistrate, and finally, the Prefectural Governor. The latter was in charge of all matters within the prefecture, and certainly couldn’t manage them all on his own. There was a layer in between the Prefectural Magistrate and the Prefectural Governor who were known as Councillors, and they functioned as the Prefectural Governor’s deputies.
“Ktf Aljcuhtbe Ugfofmaegji Xbnfgcbg lr lc atf Zlclrafg bo atf Eluta’r ojmalbc. Lf rajgafv tlr mjgffg lc atf Zlclrags bo Gfofcmf, jcv fnfc atbeut tf’r afmtclmjiis j mlnli boolmlji, tf’r nfgs rxliifv ja wjgalji jgar. Lf’r lc j teggs ab fjgc wfglar, yea tf’r uba cb qgbqfg qijc,” Wljb Jtfcupec rjlv, ogbkclcu tjgv jr tf atbeuta jybea ktja tf’v rffc lc Aljcuhtbe. Lf ofia lcmgfvlyis ogeragjafv bc rfflcu atf qiluta bo atf qfbqif, yea tf la kbeiv yf fcalgfis oealif obg tlw ab wffa klat rbwfbcf ogbw atf Zlclrafg bo atf Eluta’r mjwq.
“Then is the Military Councillor in your faction?” Lou Jing asked, reaching out to massage the knot between Xiao Chengjun’s brows. Inwardly, he was trying to figure out if his influence in Jiangzhou was sufficient to restrain this Prefectural Governor and stop him from doing more harm.
“Nn. That Military Councillor’s name is Lu Xiang. He’s Lu Tao’s elder brother,” Xiao Chengjun said, nodding. The Lu family held a military peerage and was considered part of the nobility. Otherwise, Lu Tao wouldn’t have been able to enter the palace to serve as the Commander of the Eastern Palace Guards. Lu Tao’s older brother was both a scholar and an excellent martial artist, and he had therefore risen to become the Jiangzhou Military Councillor.
The primary function of a Military Councillor was to oversee the other Councillors assisting the Prefectural Governor. Also, in times when the Prefectural Governor committed big transgressions, he had the power to impeach the Prefectural Governor as well. The Military Councillor was therefore someone with real power.
“What did Lu Xiang say?” Lou Jing asked. Spring nights were always a little cold, and Lou Jing used his outer robe to cover Xiao Chengjun’s body, then hugged him tight.
“Lu Xiang has already reported the situation in Jiangzhou to the Imperial Court, but it only said it would be sending a general here to help catch the mountain bandits,” Xiao Chengjun said, sighing. What was the point of sending a general here? Jiangzhou’s problems were not rooted in being unable to defeat the mountain bandits; they were caused by the Qingzhou refugees overflowing into Jiangzhou and destroying so many crop fields. There would probably be no wheat to harvest this year, and the problem would only keep getting worse if left unsolved. “Come to think of it, how did manage to get permission to come all the way here?” he asked Lou Jing, looking up at him.
Knowing this fellow, he would definitely have found some water-tight reason to travel to Jiangzhou. He would never let anyone get any handle on him.
Lou Jing’s lips curved into a smile, then kissed Xiao Chengjun’s swollen lips. “I am precisely the general you spoke about – the one sent by the Imperial Court,” he said smugly.
Meanwhile, the Third Prince was still left in the dark in the Capital, serving out his punishment of being grounded in his own residence.
The Chunde Emperor hadn’t been to Luanyi Palace for three days now. Chen Guifei couldn’t say anything to him, and could only resort to personally cooking a bowl of soup and sending it to the Panlong Palace at night.
Chen Guifei had been with the Chunde Emperor for many years, and she naturally knew what to say to make him happy. She didn’t say anything about the Third Prince, and just chatted with him about trivial matters until the Chunde Emperor’s spirits were lifted. It was only then that she moved on to her real agenda.
“I heard that your Majesty has grounded Duo’er,” Chen Guifei said, watching the Chunde Emperor’s face carefully as she tested the waters. “Pinqie doesn’t know what that child did wrong. I’m worried that your Majesty’s health will be negatively impacted if you’re too angry.”
The moment she mentioned this, the Chunde Emperor’s face darkened.
Chen Guifei was shocked. What the palace servants had told her was that the Emperor had found out that the Third Prince was trying to sell the Imperial Examination questions. However, he had not actually sold the questions yet, so it was surprising to her that he had been in a temper about this for so long. “The issue is indeed a serious one, and Duo’er was certainly foolish, but he didn’t actually do anything yet…” she said.
“He didn’t actually do anything yet? So he’s still thinking of doing something?!” the Chunde Emperor barked, immediately incensed when he heard this. “Zhen deposed the Crown Prince, and immediately after, he dared to come on to the former Crown Prince Consort! What does he want to do next – forcibly take his elder brother’s wife? Then what – marry a male wife and become the Crown Prince? Is that it?”
“Um…” Chen Guifei was completely caught off guard. Wasn’t this whole thing about leaking the Imperial Examination questions?! How had it turned into forcibly taking Xiao Chengjun’s wife?
The Chunde Emperor thought that Chen Guifei didn’t share his concerns, and he got angrier and angrier the more he thought about it. He pointed at her and started shouting. “That idiotic fellow is the way he is now because you raised him badly! I am completely embarrassed by him!” he shouted.
Chen Guifei immediately knelt to admit her faults. “Pinqie was wrong,” she said.
The rumour in the palace after that was that Chen Guifei had brought soup to the Panlong Palace to meet with the Emperor, but had instead been roundly scolded and chased out.
The Third Prince, who was still grounded at this time, heard that Lou Jing had been given the title of a second-ranked Protector General and sent to Jiangzhou on a mission. He also heard that the Imperial Examinations had commenced without a hitch. It was only then that he realised that what his Father Emperor was angry about might not be his attempt to leak the Imperial Examination questions!
Xiao Chengduo felt like he was being suffocated. He’d flirted with Lou Jing back then, it was true, but there was no evidence of it whatsoever. He could just deny everything that Lou Jing accused him of. Now things were a mess – because of his own guilty feelings, he’d admitted to the wrongs the Emperor accused him of without actually confirming what they were. If he tried to explain himself now, it wouldn’t hold an ounce of credibility.
“Damn it all!” the Third Prince cursed, pacing back and forth in his mansion. “Go, send a message to my mother…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a palace eunuch came to inform him that Chen Guifei had fallen ill, and had specially requested an Imperial favour to allow him to enter her palace to visit her. Xiao Chengduo was very pleased about this, thinking that his mother must have some plan to share with him in order to counter this problem. He changed his clothes and went into the palace without delay.
Chen Guifei was really ill. Her father was the Minister of the Right, and she was kept well updated on things that happened in the Imperial Court. When she put two and two together, it was very clear what had happened – she and her son had both been played by Lou Jing, and now, the Emperor didn’t even want to see her. Earlier that morning, some of the high-ranked consorts had come over to visit her after greeting the Empress, and they’d made many cold, jeering remarks about her current predicament.
“Jiejie, don’t be sad. His Majesty has just eaten some Immortality Pills and his stamina is like a lion’s! Of course he’d want to have a taste of the young ones. Don’t worry, he’ll remember you again after a while.”
“That’s right. Jiejie has been his Majesty’s favourite for so many years, and it’s only been one or two days. Plus, you’ve gone and made his Majesty irritated…”
What these ladies were saying, essentially, was that she was old and undesirable now, and when she saw that the Emperor had shown favour to some of the younger beauties in the palace, she got jealous and hastily went to the Panlong Palace to try and win the Emperor’s favour again. Unfortunately, she failed, and even got castigated by the Emperor for trying.
Chen Guifei had been so angry that her temples nearly exploded, but she couldn’t think of anything to say in her defence. She suddenly felt short of breath, and then her vision went black. An Imperial Physician was summoned, and his diagnosis was that her liver was too heaty.
“Mother, I was just about to ask someone to send you a message…” the Third Prince said in a happy tone. Chen Guifei started fuming the moment she heard it, and smacked Xiao Chengduo hard on the back.
“You stupid fool!” Chen Guifei ground out. Not satisfied, she slapped him another two times across the face.
The servants quickly left the room and closed the doors. The Third Prince didn’t dare to make another sound until he saw that his mother had calmed down.
“Mother, I was foolish…” the Third Prince said, frightened.
Chen Guifei sat down, panting hard. When she finally calmed down, she looked up at Xiao Chengduo, who looked like a great injustice had been done to him.
“Was it that male slut of the Lou family who seduced you?” she asked. She had really underestimated that young fellow back then. That sultry face of his had managed to not only hook that stodgy fellow Xiao Chengjun, he’d also managed to ensnare her own son!
“Absolutely not,” the Third Prince said, chagrined. “It was I who was attracted to him and behaved foolishly…”
“He’s already been married once. There’s nothing good about him. Even if men don’t have any virginity to speak of, this won’t be remembered well in the history books,” Chen Guifei said, intensely irritated with her son’s stupidity. “Now is a critical time. You make sure you keep a firm grip on yourself.”
The Third Prince was still rather unwilling to give this up. In his opinion, there wasn’t a single person amongst the nobility who could match up to Lou Jing. Why was it that Xiao Chengjun could have such a good man but he couldn’t?
Chen Guifei wasn’t angry any more, and she felt her heart ache for her son. “Don’t worry. Mother will find an even better person for you to marry,” she said placatingly.
At this very moment, whilst Chen Guifei was full of murderous thoughts about Lou Jing, the subject of said murderous thoughts was happily cuddling his husband as he roasted a wild goose in the temple.
Earlier, Lou Jing’s stomach had started speaking in a loud voice whilst the two of them were holding each other intimately on the rugs and chatting.
“Are you hungry?” Xiao Chengjun asked, smiling as he pinched Lou Jing’s cheek.
“Nn. When we found Yun Jiu’s markings outside the city, we were intending to ride through the night to get to Linjiang,” Lou Jing said, nodding and putting on a pitiful look. The last few days, Xiao Chengjun had always spent his nights in Linjiang. One could cross the river from Linjiang, and it wasn’t very far from Xunyang City. Anxious to meet his husband, Lou Jing had skipped many of his meals in favour of travelling, and when he saw Yun Jiu come out to make the markings, he’d followed him back to the temple. That was how he’d found Xiao Chengjun.
“Ask them to whip something up, then,” Xiao Chengjun said, sitting up and buttoning his messy clothes. As he said this, it crossed his mind that the Youyun guards had probably heard everything that happened in the worship hall given how dilapidated the temple was. His ears couldn’t help turning red. He had really behaved too impulsively and wantonly today.
Lou Jing curled his body up and wrapped his arms around Xiao Chengjun’s bare waist, nuzzling all over it.
“Master, the hot water is ready,” Yun Yi said. As the leader, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and interrupt the couple with this report.
Lou Jing got up reluctantly, then went to collect some warm water. He hugged his husband as they both cleaned up and got their clothes in order. He then called everyone in.
Yun Shi’er had already plucked and cleaned the wild geese that he’d brought back with him, and they were all ready to be roasted.
As Lou Jing roasted the wild goose, he instructed his guards to bring Scarface in. He had some questions for that fellow.
Content Warning: Sexual intercourse
“Ah…” Xiao Chengjun couldn’t help moaning and arching his body on feeling that part of himself suddenly stretched to its maximum. The legs hooked around Lou Jing’s waist also began trembling slightly.
There were no pillows on the rugs. Xiao Chengjun had originally been propping himself up into a half-sitting position, but his hands and legs gave way when Lou Jing began moving vigorously. Lou Jing caught Xiao Chengjun as he fell backward, then pulled him into a sitting position and kissed his tightly pressed lips.
“Nn…” This position caused that hard member to penetrate even deeper than ever before, and Xiao Chengjun moaned a little, feeling like his whole body had been impaled all the way through. Lou Jing didn’t stop; he pushed himself even deeper into Xiao Chengjun.
Lou Jing gently bit Xiao Chengjun’s chin as he held him in his arms, nibbling lightly as he made his way down and found a little pink bean. He sucked at it and pulled gently at it with his teeth.
“Mm… it’s too deep…” Xiao Chengjun moaned softly, holding Lou Jing’s shoulders tight.
Lou Jing couldn’t contain himself any more. He wrapped his arms tightly around Xiao Chengjun and started moving quickly.
He’d travelled hard for a thousand li, using every trick he knew to speed up the journey, all so that he could hold the love of his life tightly in his arms a little sooner. Nobody could break them apart. Not evil court officials, not the Emperor, and not even the Heavens above!
Scarface had been gagged and tied to a tree. He looked in fright at the fifteen black-clad guards casually polishing and sharpening their swords around him.
Yun Shi’er had gone to look for food, and the remaining fifteen Youyun guards had formed a tight circle around the temple’s worship hall where their masters were in. At the same time, they were keeping a close eye on their prisoner.
The temple was very run down. The door was in shambles, and the windows barely functioned as windows. They couldn’t block out the sounds coming from the inside. Yun San and Yun Shiyi, who specialized in assassination, were used to keeping watch in the dark, and so the brightly lit areas like the the spots in front of the windows and in front of the door were guarded by Yun Jiu and Yun Yi. Ragged panting and suppressed moans sounded again and again from inside the temple.
The Youyun guards dearly wanted to see no evil and hear no evil, but they had keen senses by virtue of their training, and could only stare determinedly at the scudding clouds and bright moon in the sky when they heard these dubious noises.
When Yun Shi’er came back from hunting, he saw this very peculiar sight – all his comrades were staring into the sky like turkeys in the rain. He couldn’t help staring blankly at them in turn. The wild geese in his hands cackled angrily, breaking the silence in the temple yard.
Yun Jiu quickly signalled to Yun Shi’er, telling him to bind those geese’s mouths up. Yun Yi kicked Yun Wu and Yun Si, who were still staring into space. He gestured to them to go and heat up some hot water. The two obedient personal guards had no choice but to ride their horses up to that very dangerous worship hall to look for a pot to heat the water in.
They would still have to travel on horseback the next day, so even though Lou Jing and Xiao Chengjun wanted to do it some more, they held back, and cuddled each other as they lay down on the fur rugs.
Lou Jing gently caressed Xiao Chengjun’s body, which was still trembling gently, and rained small kisses down on his forehead. “I thought you’d be in the south of Jiangzhou by now. Why are you only in Xunyang?” he asked.
Xiao Chengjun took a few moments to get his breath back. After that, he slowly recounted the events of the past few days.
A large number of Qingzhou refugees had been chased into Jiangzhou. These refugees had obstructed their path the moment Xiao Chengjun and his guards had entered Yunyang, and they had no choice but to travel off Imperial roads. Lou Jing had guessed pretty accurately what happened to them, save that they had reached Yunyang ten days ago. As to why they had remained in Yunyang for so long, it was because Xiao Chengjun saw that Jiangzhou’s situation was getting from bad to worse, and had wanted to meet with the Military Councillor in Jiangzhou.
The officials’ positions within the prefectures in the Yu Dynasty were, in ascending order, the County Magistrate, the Prefectural Magistrate, and finally, the Prefectural Governor. The latter was in charge of all matters within the prefecture, and certainly couldn’t manage them all on his own. There was a layer in between the Prefectural Magistrate and the Prefectural Governor who were known as Councillors, and they functioned as the Prefectural Governor’s deputies.
“Ktf Aljcuhtbe Ugfofmaegji Xbnfgcbg lr lc atf Zlclrafg bo atf Eluta’r ojmalbc. Lf rajgafv tlr mjgffg lc atf Zlclrags bo Gfofcmf, jcv fnfc atbeut tf’r afmtclmjiis j mlnli boolmlji, tf’r nfgs rxliifv ja wjgalji jgar. Lf’r lc j teggs ab fjgc wfglar, yea tf’r uba cb qgbqfg qijc,” Wljb Jtfcupec rjlv, ogbkclcu tjgv jr tf atbeuta jybea ktja tf’v rffc lc Aljcuhtbe. Lf ofia lcmgfvlyis ogeragjafv bc rfflcu atf qiluta bo atf qfbqif, yea tf la kbeiv yf fcalgfis oealif obg tlw ab wffa klat rbwfbcf ogbw atf Zlclrafg bo atf Eluta’r mjwq.
“Then is the Military Councillor in your faction?” Lou Jing asked, reaching out to massage the knot between Xiao Chengjun’s brows. Inwardly, he was trying to figure out if his influence in Jiangzhou was sufficient to restrain this Prefectural Governor and stop him from doing more harm.
“Nn. That Military Councillor’s name is Lu Xiang. He’s Lu Tao’s elder brother,” Xiao Chengjun said, nodding. The Lu family held a military peerage and was considered part of the nobility. Otherwise, Lu Tao wouldn’t have been able to enter the palace to serve as the Commander of the Eastern Palace Guards. Lu Tao’s older brother was both a scholar and an excellent martial artist, and he had therefore risen to become the Jiangzhou Military Councillor.
The primary function of a Military Councillor was to oversee the other Councillors assisting the Prefectural Governor. Also, in times when the Prefectural Governor committed big transgressions, he had the power to impeach the Prefectural Governor as well. The Military Councillor was therefore someone with real power.
“What did Lu Xiang say?” Lou Jing asked. Spring nights were always a little cold, and Lou Jing used his outer robe to cover Xiao Chengjun’s body, then hugged him tight.
“Lu Xiang has already reported the situation in Jiangzhou to the Imperial Court, but it only said it would be sending a general here to help catch the mountain bandits,” Xiao Chengjun said, sighing. What was the point of sending a general here? Jiangzhou’s problems were not rooted in being unable to defeat the mountain bandits; they were caused by the Qingzhou refugees overflowing into Jiangzhou and destroying so many crop fields. There would probably be no wheat to harvest this year, and the problem would only keep getting worse if left unsolved. “Come to think of it, how did manage to get permission to come all the way here?” he asked Lou Jing, looking up at him.
Knowing this fellow, he would definitely have found some water-tight reason to travel to Jiangzhou. He would never let anyone get any handle on him.
Lou Jing’s lips curved into a smile, then kissed Xiao Chengjun’s swollen lips. “I am precisely the general you spoke about – the one sent by the Imperial Court,” he said smugly.
Meanwhile, the Third Prince was still left in the dark in the Capital, serving out his punishment of being grounded in his own residence.
The Chunde Emperor hadn’t been to Luanyi Palace for three days now. Chen Guifei couldn’t say anything to him, and could only resort to personally cooking a bowl of soup and sending it to the Panlong Palace at night.
Chen Guifei had been with the Chunde Emperor for many years, and she naturally knew what to say to make him happy. She didn’t say anything about the Third Prince, and just chatted with him about trivial matters until the Chunde Emperor’s spirits were lifted. It was only then that she moved on to her real agenda.
“I heard that your Majesty has grounded Duo’er,” Chen Guifei said, watching the Chunde Emperor’s face carefully as she tested the waters. “Pinqie doesn’t know what that child did wrong. I’m worried that your Majesty’s health will be negatively impacted if you’re too angry.”
The moment she mentioned this, the Chunde Emperor’s face darkened.
Chen Guifei was shocked. What the palace servants had told her was that the Emperor had found out that the Third Prince was trying to sell the Imperial Examination questions. However, he had not actually sold the questions yet, so it was surprising to her that he had been in a temper about this for so long. “The issue is indeed a serious one, and Duo’er was certainly foolish, but he didn’t actually do anything yet…” she said.
“He didn’t actually do anything yet? So he’s still thinking of doing something?!” the Chunde Emperor barked, immediately incensed when he heard this. “Zhen deposed the Crown Prince, and immediately after, he dared to come on to the former Crown Prince Consort! What does he want to do next – forcibly take his elder brother’s wife? Then what – marry a male wife and become the Crown Prince? Is that it?”
“Um…” Chen Guifei was completely caught off guard. Wasn’t this whole thing about leaking the Imperial Examination questions?! How had it turned into forcibly taking Xiao Chengjun’s wife?
The Chunde Emperor thought that Chen Guifei didn’t share his concerns, and he got angrier and angrier the more he thought about it. He pointed at her and started shouting. “That idiotic fellow is the way he is now because you raised him badly! I am completely embarrassed by him!” he shouted.
Chen Guifei immediately knelt to admit her faults. “Pinqie was wrong,” she said.
The rumour in the palace after that was that Chen Guifei had brought soup to the Panlong Palace to meet with the Emperor, but had instead been roundly scolded and chased out.
The Third Prince, who was still grounded at this time, heard that Lou Jing had been given the title of a second-ranked Protector General and sent to Jiangzhou on a mission. He also heard that the Imperial Examinations had commenced without a hitch. It was only then that he realised that what his Father Emperor was angry about might not be his attempt to leak the Imperial Examination questions!
Xiao Chengduo felt like he was being suffocated. He’d flirted with Lou Jing back then, it was true, but there was no evidence of it whatsoever. He could just deny everything that Lou Jing accused him of. Now things were a mess – because of his own guilty feelings, he’d admitted to the wrongs the Emperor accused him of without actually confirming what they were. If he tried to explain himself now, it wouldn’t hold an ounce of credibility.
“Damn it all!” the Third Prince cursed, pacing back and forth in his mansion. “Go, send a message to my mother…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a palace eunuch came to inform him that Chen Guifei had fallen ill, and had specially requested an Imperial favour to allow him to enter her palace to visit her. Xiao Chengduo was very pleased about this, thinking that his mother must have some plan to share with him in order to counter this problem. He changed his clothes and went into the palace without delay.
Chen Guifei was really ill. Her father was the Minister of the Right, and she was kept well updated on things that happened in the Imperial Court. When she put two and two together, it was very clear what had happened – she and her son had both been played by Lou Jing, and now, the Emperor didn’t even want to see her. Earlier that morning, some of the high-ranked consorts had come over to visit her after greeting the Empress, and they’d made many cold, jeering remarks about her current predicament.
“Jiejie, don’t be sad. His Majesty has just eaten some Immortality Pills and his stamina is like a lion’s! Of course he’d want to have a taste of the young ones. Don’t worry, he’ll remember you again after a while.”
“That’s right. Jiejie has been his Majesty’s favourite for so many years, and it’s only been one or two days. Plus, you’ve gone and made his Majesty irritated…”
What these ladies were saying, essentially, was that she was old and undesirable now, and when she saw that the Emperor had shown favour to some of the younger beauties in the palace, she got jealous and hastily went to the Panlong Palace to try and win the Emperor’s favour again. Unfortunately, she failed, and even got castigated by the Emperor for trying.
Chen Guifei had been so angry that her temples nearly exploded, but she couldn’t think of anything to say in her defence. She suddenly felt short of breath, and then her vision went black. An Imperial Physician was summoned, and his diagnosis was that her liver was too heaty.
“Mother, I was just about to ask someone to send you a message…” the Third Prince said in a happy tone. Chen Guifei started fuming the moment she heard it, and smacked Xiao Chengduo hard on the back.
“You stupid fool!” Chen Guifei ground out. Not satisfied, she slapped him another two times across the face.
The servants quickly left the room and closed the doors. The Third Prince didn’t dare to make another sound until he saw that his mother had calmed down.
“Mother, I was foolish…” the Third Prince said, frightened.
Chen Guifei sat down, panting hard. When she finally calmed down, she looked up at Xiao Chengduo, who looked like a great injustice had been done to him.
“Was it that male slut of the Lou family who seduced you?” she asked. She had really underestimated that young fellow back then. That sultry face of his had managed to not only hook that stodgy fellow Xiao Chengjun, he’d also managed to ensnare her own son!
“Absolutely not,” the Third Prince said, chagrined. “It was I who was attracted to him and behaved foolishly…”
“He’s already been married once. There’s nothing good about him. Even if men don’t have any virginity to speak of, this won’t be remembered well in the history books,” Chen Guifei said, intensely irritated with her son’s stupidity. “Now is a critical time. You make sure you keep a firm grip on yourself.”
The Third Prince was still rather unwilling to give this up. In his opinion, there wasn’t a single person amongst the nobility who could match up to Lou Jing. Why was it that Xiao Chengjun could have such a good man but he couldn’t?
Chen Guifei wasn’t angry any more, and she felt her heart ache for her son. “Don’t worry. Mother will find an even better person for you to marry,” she said placatingly.
At this very moment, whilst Chen Guifei was full of murderous thoughts about Lou Jing, the subject of said murderous thoughts was happily cuddling his husband as he roasted a wild goose in the temple.
Earlier, Lou Jing’s stomach had started speaking in a loud voice whilst the two of them were holding each other intimately on the rugs and chatting.
“Are you hungry?” Xiao Chengjun asked, smiling as he pinched Lou Jing’s cheek.
“Nn. When we found Yun Jiu’s markings outside the city, we were intending to ride through the night to get to Linjiang,” Lou Jing said, nodding and putting on a pitiful look. The last few days, Xiao Chengjun had always spent his nights in Linjiang. One could cross the river from Linjiang, and it wasn’t very far from Xunyang City. Anxious to meet his husband, Lou Jing had skipped many of his meals in favour of travelling, and when he saw Yun Jiu come out to make the markings, he’d followed him back to the temple. That was how he’d found Xiao Chengjun.
“Ask them to whip something up, then,” Xiao Chengjun said, sitting up and buttoning his messy clothes. As he said this, it crossed his mind that the Youyun guards had probably heard everything that happened in the worship hall given how dilapidated the temple was. His ears couldn’t help turning red. He had really behaved too impulsively and wantonly today.
Lou Jing curled his body up and wrapped his arms around Xiao Chengjun’s bare waist, nuzzling all over it.
“Master, the hot water is ready,” Yun Yi said. As the leader, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and interrupt the couple with this report.
Lou Jing got up reluctantly, then went to collect some warm water. He hugged his husband as they both cleaned up and got their clothes in order. He then called everyone in.
Yun Shi’er had already plucked and cleaned the wild geese that he’d brought back with him, and they were all ready to be roasted.
As Lou Jing roasted the wild goose, he instructed his guards to bring Scarface in. He had some questions for that fellow.
