Chapter 13: Peeping at a Bath
“A-Yi, I came here this time to sneak into your bedchamber in the middle of the night.”
Chu Yi continued to fumble for the sour fruits in his sleeve, but one unexpectedly slipped out. He tried to catch it but nearly lost his balance, which gave Sheng Qianheng, standing at the foot of the wall, quite a scare. “Don’t move! Don’t fall.”
Seeing that Sheng Qianheng was quite concerned for him, Chu Yi pretended to be about to fall. Seeing this, Sheng Qianheng took a few quick steps back, then ran forward and swiftly climbed up the wall, leaving Chu Yi dumbfounded.
Sheng Qianheng wrapped an arm around Chu Yi’s shoulder. “Sit tight. Since you want to admire the night view, I’ll watch it with you.”
Chu Yi turned his head to stare at Sheng Qianheng, having to admire his ability to lie without batting an eye.
He was clearly here to catch him escaping. Chu Yi broke free from Sheng Qianheng’s hand, shifted slightly to put some distance between them, and then said, “You didn’t even pick up that sour fruit that fell for me…”
“You like sour fruits? Tomorrow, I’ll have someone buy more from the streets.” Sheng Qianheng glanced at the sour fruit on the ground, then at Chu Yi’s seemingly displeased face. He had no choice but to jump down from the wall, pick it up, and quickly climb back up.
He wiped the sour fruit clean with his clothes and handed it to Chu Yi. “This one’s dirty. Better not to eat it, right?”
“Of course I know not to eat dirty fruit,” Chu Yi said, toying with the fruit in his hand. “So, did Your Majesty really come because you wanted to see me?”
The night had gradually turned as dark as ink. The moonlight spilled down, bright and clear, with a kind of cold beauty.
The two of them sat side by side on the wall. The night breeze was gentle, not as hot as during the day. It seemed to carry the scent of fresh grass, but it couldn’t blow away the silence in their eyes.
Sheng Qianheng looked into Chu Yi’s eyes and slowly took his hand. “Of course it’s true. You know I suffer from headaches. I came today because I realized that whenever I sleep with you, I can sleep soundly until dawn.”
Chu Yi was puzzled. Could he be a sleeping pill? If he was going to lie, he could at least come up with something more believable to fool him.
“I have such an effect?”
“You don’t believe me?” Sheng Qianheng saw the look of disdain on Chu Yi’s face, but he had no proof.
Chu Yi shook his head. How was he supposed to believe that? He wasn’t a fool…
“Sheng Qianheng, I am twenty-nine, not a nine-year-old child.”
Sheng Qianheng stared blankly at Chu Yi, not speaking for a long time. Chu Yi’s xìnxiāng seemed to have the scent of medicinal herbs. The faint medicinal fragrance could relax his state of constant vigilance and also had a sleep-inducing effect.
In other words, Chu Yi seemed to be his medicine, a panacea…
Since this escape attempt was hopeless, Chu Yi thought he could only find another opportunity. For now, he couldn’t complain to Sheng Qianheng about anything. The two of them were just testing each other…
“I’m going back to my room to rest. You should go back to the palace too.” Chu Yi lifted his leg and turned around, but he still didn’t quite dare to jump down directly. He had to look back at Sheng Qianheng for help. “Sheng Qianheng, I can’t get down…”
Sheng Qianheng couldn’t help but chuckle. He reached out and pinched Chu Yi’s cheek, teasing, “What? Weren’t you just telling me to go back to the palace? Now you’re asking me for a favor?”
Chu Yi felt the flesh on his cheek being squeezed, making his words unclear. “Are you going to help or not!”
Sheng Qianheng found Chu Yi’s exasperated look very amusing. “Of course I’ll help. But do you remember what I said before? If you ask me for a favor, you have to take some action.”
Chu Yi grabbed Sheng Qianheng’s wrist, pulled away the hand pinching his cheek, and bit down on it.
“Help if you want to, don’t if you don’t! I can get down myself! Move!”
Sheng Qianheng watched as Chu Yi tremblingly extended his leg, trying to reach the bricks on the wall, looking like a martyr going to his death.
He quickly climbed over the wall and then held out his hands. “Jump down. I’ll catch you.”
Chu Yi certainly wouldn’t let himself be at a disadvantage. Since Sheng Qianheng had offered, no one could be blamed.
He jumped toward Sheng Qianheng, crashing right into his arms.
Although Sheng Qianheng caught Chu Yi steadily, he still stumbled back a few steps. He reached out and cupped the back of Chu Yi’s head. “Since you didn’t want my help but took my goodwill, I’ll take my payment myself.”
Chu Yi had just recovered from the darkness of having his vision blocked by Sheng Qianheng’s clothes when, the next second, Sheng Qianheng’s palm covered his eyes.
His sight was taken away. When their lips met, he tried to resist, but it unexpectedly went just as Sheng Qianheng wished.
Sheng Qianheng drove straight in, gently sucking on every inch of Chu Yi. As their saliva mingled, Chu Yi deliberately bit his tongue. Not only did this fail to stop Sheng Qianheng’s misbehavior, but it seemed to excite him even more.
A faint taste of blood spread between their lips and tongues. Chu Yi felt his thoughts become even more uncontrollable…
The hand that had been tightly gripping Sheng Qianheng’s lapel gradually lost its strength, slowly wrapping around his neck and responding faintly.
When Sheng Qianheng released him, Chu Yi could only gasp for air, leaning against Sheng Qianheng’s chest with no strength to move.
He said intermittently, “This is… a forced sale…!”
Sheng Qianheng steadied his own breathing, his fingertips gently kneading Chu Yi’s earlobe. “A-Yi, you can kiss me back. I wouldn’t bear to bite you. The principle of respecting one’s teacher is something you taught me since I was a child…”
Chu Yi lifted his leg and stomped hard on Sheng Qianheng’s foot several times before heading toward the bedchamber.
Since he had climbed out the window, he naturally had to climb back in the same way.
The first time is raw, the second is familiar. After entering the room, Chu Yi turned to look into Sheng Qianheng’s eyes and shrugged slightly. “Your Majesty, we are not to meet before the wedding. Although we have already broken the taboo, I must still ask Your Majesty to go back. This subject still believes in these things.”
Before Sheng Qianheng had a chance to reply, he immediately took down the support pole and closed the window.
Since his ascension, Sheng Qianheng had never been given the cold shoulder like this. He looked at the closed window and laughed in exasperation…
He had no choice but to climb over the wall again, get back into the carriage, and enter the Chu residence through the main gate.
Chu Yi’s desire for a bath was genuine; he had also worked up quite a sweat dealing with Sheng Qianheng.
He scanned the room and saw that Ruotao was not there. He figured she must have gone to report to Sheng Qianheng and had not yet returned.
He took off his clothes again and sat down in the bathtub.
The water temperature was just right, instantly relieving the fatigue from a day of high alert.
Chu Yi closed his eyes and rested his head on the edge of the tub. He heard the sound of the door opening and figured it must be Ruotao. “Ruotao, add some more hot water.”
He heard the person pick up the bucket, stand behind him, and slowly pour the hot water in from the side of his shoulder.
As the water temperature rose, Chu Yi let out a comfortable sound without realizing it~
Sheng Qianheng had walked straight toward Chu Yi since entering the room. Seeing him bathing and nonchalantly calling for Ruotao to add water, he felt a sense of unease.
He didn’t make a sound, picked up the bucket of water, and slowly walked behind Chu Yi. From his height, he could see every detail of Chu Yi’s body with perfect clarity.
Perhaps because of the hot water, Chu Yi’s skin was tinged with a faint lotus-pink. With every breath, the scenery on his chest caught Sheng Qianheng’s eye.
Chu Yi felt the water was getting too hot and was about to look back at Ruotao. “That’s enough, you can go… down…”
But when he looked back, he saw Sheng Qianheng dressed in black casual clothes. He quickly covered his chest with his hands. “Why is it you?”
(No inappropriate descriptions, just a normal bath! Reviewer, please be lenient.)
Sheng Qianheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He felt a wave of heat rise from his lower abdomen, rushing to his head in an instant. His ears buzzed… In a flash, a warm stream gushed from his nasal cavity. He subconsciously raised a hand to wipe it, and his fingertips were stained with a touch of bright red~
Chu Yi had nowhere to run and no clothes to cover himself. He could only lower his head to avoid looking at the tyrant, his hands doing their best to cover the scenery on his chest. But the next second, he noticed a red bloom spreading on the surface of the water. He slowly looked up and realized that Sheng Qianheng was actually having a nosebleed.
“Your Majesty, the weather is getting hotter, and the air is dry. You must still take care of your dragon body…”
Sheng Qianheng tilted his head back slightly, closed his eyes, and focused on trying to breathe slowly to calm the churning heat in his body. But the surging heat was like a stubborn rock, stubbornly lodged in his body, refusing to dissipate.
He quickly turned his back. “You wash first. I’ll go take care of this.”
Chu Yi was in no mood to soak in the bath anymore. He took the towel hanging on the rack, wiped the water droplets from his body, and put on his inner robe, making sure all the ties were securely fastened before peeking his head out from behind the screen to look for Sheng Qianheng.
He’s not in the room? Did Sheng Qianheng go out? But I didn’t hear the door open.
He slowly walked to the clothes rack in front of the bed, put on a cloak, and quickly walked to the door of the bedchamber, asking the maids outside, “Did anyone come in or out just now?”
The maids all shook their heads. “Apart from Miss Ruotao, no one has come in or out.”
Chu Yi nodded. “You may all withdraw. There’s no need to stand guard here.”
On second thought, Sheng Qianheng would probably make these maids keep their mouths shut. Since he had slipped away in embarrassment, he could only pretend nothing had happened. But how much had Sheng Qianheng seen…
But for now, there was no way to escape, so he could only prepare for bed. Chu Yi had also come to understand these past few days that as long as he didn’t defy Sheng Qianheng, they could get along peacefully. Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it.
He surveyed the room one more time, and only after confirming that Sheng Qianheng was really gone did he take off his cloak and get into bed.
He was already exhausted, and almost as soon as he lay down, he was off to see the Duke of Zhou.
Sheng Qianheng frantically climbed over the wall, out of the Chu residence, and back into the carriage. The head eunuch saw him covering his nose with his hand and hurriedly asked, “Your Majesty, what’s wrong?”
Sheng Qianheng: “Find an imperial physician. Zhen bumped my head, and my nose won’t stop bleeding.”
The head eunuch was puzzled. “The Chu residence naturally has its own physician. Why didn’t Your Majesty have Consort Hui call for one?”
The moment the nosebleed started, Sheng Qianheng couldn’t think of such things. He was only concerned with not losing face in front of Chu Yi.
“So much nonsense. Go find a doctor.”
After dealing with the nosebleed, Sheng Qianheng looked at the main gate of the Chu residence and sighed deeply. Chu Yi must have realized he was deceiving him but didn’t expose him on the spot, likely to save his face as the emperor. It was he who had judged a gentleman by his own petty standards.
Having fled over the wall in a panic, Sheng Qianheng, in order to preserve his dignity as an emperor, had no choice but to climb over the wall and into the Chu residence again.
When he entered Chu Yi’s bedchamber, Chu Yi was already sound asleep, a faint medicinal scent emanating from the back of his neck.
Sheng Qianheng tiptoed to Chu Yi’s bed, wrapped his arms around him, and fell asleep.
The next day, at the chén hour, Ruotao stood outside the bedchamber door and said, “Your Highness, it’s time for the morning meal.”
Chu Yi frowned and raised a hand to rub his eyes, only to find that his hands and feet were unexpectedly restrained. He lifted his leg and kicked the culprit right off the bed!
Translator’s Notes
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Golden Crow : A mythological three-legged crow associated with the sun in Chinese mythology. “The golden crow hanging high” is a poetic way of saying the sun is high in the sky.
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Duke of Zhou: “Meeting the Duke of Zhou” is a common Chinese idiom for falling asleep or dreaming.
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Chén hour : This is the period from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the traditional Chinese timekeeping system.
