Chapter 16: Beast
Sheng Qianheng raised a hand to caress Chu Yi’s cheek…
(…) Chu Yi (…) tremblingly said, “A-Heng…”
Sheng Qianheng seemed to have developed a wicked idea (…)
Every movement was (…)
He turned his head to the side, exposing the back of his neck, and said unconsciously, “The back of my neck is uncomfortably hot. A-Heng, take a look.”
Only then did Sheng Qianheng’s gaze fall upon Chu Yi’s lotus-pink gland. He leaned in for a sniff. It wasn’t his Rain and Dew Period yet, so he couldn’t form a permanent mark.
But what if he used his own xìnxiāng to induce… arousal…?
He placed a light kiss on the back of Chu Yi’s neck, then wrapped his arms around his waist and flipped him over. Sheng Qianheng pinched Chu Yi’s chin and said in a low voice, “A-Yi, let me mark you, okay?”
Chu Yi couldn’t comprehend the meaning behind Sheng Qianheng’s words at all. His entire body tensed, his neck forced up as he unconsciously gasped for air. He could never get used to this size.
He was forced to kneel, a tingling numbness spreading from his knees. His fingertips randomly grabbed the soft pillow, stretching and curling, trying to alleviate the endless tingling sensation…
Looking up, he could vaguely see Sheng Qianheng’s arm propped up beside his ear, the contour of the muscles, as if he could feel the strong heartbeat that accompanied it, beating against his eardrum.
He didn’t know when his nose had been filled with the floral scent of Zhuǎnrìlián. He only felt his entire body was unusually hot, even his usually cool lower abdomen was burning.
He mumbled in a low voice, “It’s bulging…”
Sheng Qianheng almost surrendered at Chu Yi’s simple words. He chuckled softly and asked, “A-Yi, do you know what you’re saying?”
“Hot, uncomfortable…” Chu Yi felt it wasn’t enough.
Sheng Qianheng kissed Chu Yi’s gland, fighting the urge to bite down…
Chu Yi was jostled until his words became incoherent, mumbling Sheng Qianheng’s courtesy name, “Nianqing, Nianqing…”
Sheng Qianheng, courtesy name Nianqing.
Chu Yi, courtesy name Qingci.
It had been a long time since Sheng Qianheng had heard Chu Yi call him that. He immediately stopped all his movements, held Chu Yi tightly, and said in a low voice, “Call me that again.”
Chu Yi’s back was aching and his legs were weak, his lower abdomen rising and falling. “Nianqing…”
Sheng Qianheng: “Call me that again.”
Chu Yi: “Nianqing…”
Sheng Qianheng thrust erratically, wishing he could bury himself completely in Chu Yi’s embrace. “Brother, it’s been so long since I’ve heard you call me that.”
Chu Yi’s thoughts were a blur from the jostling. He unconsciously called out “Nianqing” countless times, until finally, he limply rested his head on Sheng Qianheng and fell asleep.
Outside, the night grew darker. The thin gauze on the window fluttered and fell with the evening breeze.
The stars hung high, dotting the quiet night sky.
Chu Yi didn’t know how many times he had been pulled into Sheng Qianheng’s arms that night, and how fiercely he had been restrained (…).
It wasn’t until he was carried out of the bathroom after his bath that he managed to open his eyes. His back pressed against the clean brocade quilt, and he felt an unreal illusion, as if he were floating on clouds. After a round of passion, his body and mind were completely exhausted, and even his eyes seemed to be covered in a layer of mist.
His throat was sore, his eyelids were red and swollen from crying, not to mention the mottled marks on his body. At this moment, he felt as if he had been disassembled and pieced back together, with not an ounce of strength left. He couldn’t even be bothered to move his fingertips.
(…)
Sheng Qianheng carried a cup of tea to the bed, slowly helped Chu Yi up, and coaxed, “Brother, have some water, okay?”
Chu Yi opened his mouth and drank greedily, finishing the cup in seconds.
Sheng Qianheng was afraid he would choke and didn’t forget to tell him to drink slower. Chu Yi had no strength to argue with him and could only roll his eyes.
Sheng Qianheng is relying on his youth to be so unrestrained. He’ll be impotent sooner or later!
The emperor’s wedding was a joyous occasion for the whole nation.
This was the first consort Sheng Qianheng had taken. Although he hadn’t directly established an Empress, all the rites were conducted according to the protocol for an Empress’s enfeoffment.
The ministers of the court all knew that the emperor doted on Consort Hui and guessed that there would be good news of an imperial heir soon. Perhaps Consort Hui would be made the Empress before long.
These past few days, Chu Yi had been intermittently conscious for a while before falling back into a stupor. He had developed a fever again. In his muddled state, he had never felt so weak.
It was only after three days that he was barely able to wake up and get out of bed to wash.
During this time, Sheng Qianheng had been considerate, washing his body, feeding him, and even serving him tea and water himself.
Chu Yi didn’t care that as an emperor, he didn’t need to serve others, and made things as difficult for Sheng Qianheng as possible.
Sheng Qianheng also knew that he had been too demanding on their wedding night, making Chu Yi suffer these past few days.
Imperial Physician Xu, after taking Chu Yi’s pulse, repeatedly warned that they needed to be moderate in their carnal activities and not be debauched just because they were young and vigorous.
On this day, the imperial physician came to take Chu Yi’s routine pulse. Chu Yi sat at the low table and extended his hand as usual.
He saw that the young physician had his head bowed extremely low. Chu Yi found it strange. Usually, it was Imperial Physician Xu who came. Today, it was a new face.
He took a closer look and saw that it seemed to be Jiang Xinrui, whom he had met once in Yangxin Hall. Chu Yi immediately dismissed all the maids. When only the two of them were left in the hall, he asked in a low voice, “Vice Minister Jiang?”
Jiang Xinrui slowly looked up at Chu Yi. In an instant, his eyes welled up with tears. He reached out to touch Chu Yi’s face. “A-Yi, you’re really still alive…”
Chu Yi instinctively dodged. He looked at Jiang Xinrui and asked, “Why are you here?”
Jiang Xinrui immediately reined in his emotions and whispered, “I was afraid that Sheng Qianheng would bully you, so I took advantage of Imperial Physician Xu’s leave of absence and disguised myself as a young physician to come and see you. Firstly, I wanted to confirm if I had mistaken you in Yangxin Hall that day. Secondly, I wanted to see if Sheng Qianheng is treating you well.”
Chu Yi couldn’t figure out Jiang Xinrui’s feelings for him, nor did he know if he was sent by Sheng Qianheng to test him. He could only probe, “Sheng Qianheng treats me very well. But you… you and I… we…”
Seeing Chu Yi’s suspicious look, Jiang Xinrui had no choice but to tell him the secret he had buried in his heart for many years. “A-Yi, we were allies in the past. You don’t believe me…”
“Ah…” Seeing Jiang Xinrui’s look of disbelief, Chu Yi covered his mouth and feigned a wronged expression. “But how can you expect me to believe you?”
Jiang Xinrui squatted in front of Chu Yi, hesitating for a long time. “A-Yi, you know that I was originally on the former Crown Prince’s side. We schemed for the former Crown Prince for many years. You have to believe me. I know you have no feelings for me now, but I only ask one thing: are you willing to stay in this deep palace?”
Fearing there were ears on the other side of the wall, Chu Yi looked at Jiang Xinrui’s reddened eyes and couldn’t help but feel a sting in his own. He hoped Jiang Xinrui wasn’t deceiving him.
“If I say I’m not willing, can you risk the crime of exterminating nine generations of your family to help me escape? I’ve already been recorded in the imperial register and palace history…”
Jiang Xinrui was about to say more, but there seemed to be a noise outside. He pinched Chu Yi’s wrist and pretended to take his pulse. “Her Ladyship has been recovering well these past few days. A few more doses of medicinal soup will suffice. This subject will take my leave now…”
Jiang Xinrui packed up his medicine box. Before standing up, he whispered in Chu Yi’s ear, “Wait for me…”
Chu Yi covered his ears. He didn’t like others getting so close to him. The scent on this Jiang Xinrui seemed to give him a slight headache.
He didn’t need to look up to know it was Sheng Qianheng. As soon as he finished with state affairs, he would run to this Jingyang Palace.
Sheng Qianheng strode up to Chu Yi. Seeing his tear-filled eyes, he asked, “Why are you crying?”
Chu Yi wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and sighed, “My back hurts terribly.”
Sheng Qianheng took the opportunity to sit down beside Chu Yi, letting him lean comfortably against him as he rubbed his back. He looked down at the mark on the back of Chu Yi’s neck, the corners of his lips turning up.
Chu Yi enjoyed Sheng Qianheng’s service, closing his eyes and resting his head on his shoulder. These past few days, he always felt a sense of panic and unease whenever he was away from this tyrant.
Now that Sheng Qianheng was by his side, that sense of unease was instantly swept away. He had asked Imperial Physician Xu about the reason before. The physician had only said it was caused by lack of sleep and overthinking.
Feeling the warmth gradually spread from the massage on his lower back, he felt much more comfortable and started to chat with Sheng Qianheng. “Your Majesty, how are the court affairs these days?”
Sheng Qianheng did not shy away from Chu Yi’s continued participation in political decisions; on the contrary, he relied on him even more. “Recently, the border of the Qian Kingdom has been unstable. There seem to be signs of rebellion.”
Chu Yi thought about the geographical location of the Qian Kingdom, its territory in the southwest corner. “Your Majesty, this subject remembers that in about half a month, the envoys from various countries will come for an audience. It wouldn’t hurt to test the Qian Kingdom’s strength then.”
Sheng Qianheng: “A-Yi is thinking the same as Zhen.”
Chu Yi gave a faint smile and shifted his position. “Your Majesty, this subject is tired today and wants to rest.”
These past few days, Chu Yi’s spirits had not been high. Sheng Qianheng simply attributed it to his overexcitement on their wedding night.
He picked up Chu Yi, placed him on the bed, and only left after coaxing him to sleep.
Chu Yi didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he always felt as if Sheng Qianheng’s thing was still inside his body. Every time he got out of bed, he felt an indescribable sensation with every step.
He had nothing to do all day in Jingyang Palace. Sheng Qianheng was busy with court affairs and hadn’t visited Jingyang Palace for three or five days.
Chu Yi’s body had more or less recovered. He was sitting in front of the bronze mirror, combing his long hair and preparing for bed. He inadvertently noticed the bite mark on the back of his neck. He called for Ruotao and asked, “Ruotao, look, is there a scar on the back of my neck?”
Ruotao carefully parted Chu Yi’s hair. She remembered Sheng Qianheng’s specific instructions to temporarily conceal Chu Yi’s identity as a Kunze. “Your Ladyship, there is indeed a scar. Should I ask the Imperial Hospital for some scar removal cream?”
Chu Yi shook his head. “No need.”
A man didn’t need to worry about a little scar on his body. But if Sheng Qianheng found it annoying, that would be for the best!
Chu Yi slept soundly through the night.
The next day, the imperial physician came for his routine pulse check. Chu Yi noticed Jiang Xinrui, disguised, following behind Imperial Physician Xu.
He hadn’t seen him for many days and had almost forgotten about Jiang Xinrui’s offer to take him out of the palace.
With Imperial Physician Xu present, Jiang Xinrui couldn’t talk to him.
While Chu Yi feigned a headache and had Imperial Physician Xu write a prescription, Jiang Xinrui took the opportunity to approach him.
The next moment, who would have thought that Sheng Qianheng, who hadn’t been here for three or five days, would be striding into Jingyang Palace.
