Chapter 68: Drugging
Chu Yi subtly pushed away Sheng Qianheng’s hand, then turned to the student who had asked the question and replied, “In the classroom, I only answer questions related to teaching. You, stand up.”
He glanced sideways at Sheng Qianheng, handed him the ruler in his hand, and continued, “In the future, if anyone else asks such irrelevant questions like this one, he will be the precedent.”
Sheng Qianheng initially didn’t understand what Chu Yi meant. Only after Chu Yi’s soft reminder did he stand up, walk to the student’s side, and hit his palm.
Although no student in the class discussed him and Sheng Qianheng again, the rumors seemed to have spread invisibly.
Every time Chu Yi entered and left the classroom with Sheng Qianheng, he could always vaguely hear some gossip.
He could only pretend not to care. The innocent need no defense.
The January wind carried a biting chill, like countless invisible silver needles piercing the skin.
Even though Chu Yi was wearing a thick fox fur cloak, he still shivered in the cold wind. The hand warmer hidden in his robes gradually lost its heat, and he had no choice but to hand it to Lianfang.
He was now nearly six months pregnant.
These days, both Sheng Qianheng and Jiang Xinrui had been very well-behaved, almost never appearing in front of him at the same time.
Just as he returned to his residence, he saw Jiang Xinrui sitting in the main hall as if waiting for someone.
Chu Yi didn’t need to guess who he was waiting for. He pretended not to see Jiang Xinrui and walked straight past him.
But Jiang Xinrui stood up and blocked his path, saying slowly, “A-Yi, I want to talk to you.”
Right now, Chu Yi only wanted to go back to his bedchamber and warm his hands by the floor brazier. He had no mind to deal with Jiang Xinrui.
He looked up at Jiang Xinrui and asked, “Does it have to be today?”
Jiang Xinrui nodded solemnly.
Seeing that Sheng Qianheng was probably not at his residence, Chu Yi agreed.
He hadn’t seen any sign of Sheng Qianheng for the past two days, so he probably wouldn’t find out about him being alone with Jiang Xinrui.
“Let’s not stand here. Let’s go back to the room. My room, or?”
Jiang Xinrui naturally led Chu Yi to his bedchamber.
He knew that Chu Yi was afraid of the cold, so he immediately ordered a servant to brew a pot of hot tea and light the floor brazier for warmth.
He watched as Chu Yi slowly drank, then stood up, took out the deeds hidden in the wardrobe, placed them on the table, and said, “A-Yi, this is all my life’s savings.”
Chu Yi immediately interrupted Jiang Xinrui. “What do you mean by this?”
Lianfang, who was standing on the side, saw that there seemed to be some powder residue in the teacup. If it weren’t for some of it sticking to the tea leaves and not dissolving, she wouldn’t have noticed.
She faintly felt that this Jiang Xinrui was suspicious. He had been watching her master and Sheng Qianheng get very close every day but had done nothing, which made her suspicious.
Now, he had suddenly invited her master to his room. Lianfang always felt a faint unease. After whispering a few words to Moshu, Moshu took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and left Jiang Xinrui’s room.
Jiang Xinrui had wanted to pinch Chu Yi’s hand, but seeing his immediate dodge, he could only clasp his hands and continue, “A-Yi, I have come to find you on this trip, only to be with you. No matter what your identity is, I don’t mind… If you can’t accept me, it’s fine. Wherever you are, I will be.”
Chu Yi shifted his body slightly, trying to keep his distance from Jiang Xinrui. When he spoke, he tried his best to keep his tone calm, so as not to hurt Jiang Xinrui’s feelings.
“Brother Jiang, I thought you knew all these years that I only see you as my older brother, a close older brother of mine, Chu Yi. Just like my royal older brother… Between you and me, for Chu Yi, there are absolutely no other feelings. Even if Sheng Qianheng and I have a rift, it is impossible for me to have any possibility with Brother Jiang. Matters of the heart cannot be forced.”
Jiang Xinrui raised an eyebrow slightly, completely ignoring Chu Yi’s words. He estimated the time when the drug would take effect.
“A-Yi, feelings can be cultivated. I don’t need you to do anything for me. As long as you allow me to stay by your side, that will be enough!”
Chu Yi shook his head slightly. He pushed the land deeds and silver notes that Jiang Xinrui had placed on the table back in front of him and said, “Brother Jiang, I have no intention for you. Why must you be like this? Besides, I’m still carrying another’s child in my belly…”
Jiang Xinrui reached out and gripped Chu Yi’s wrist tightly, giving him no chance to break free. His tone was already a little colder. “I am willing to treat your child as my own. We can have another one in the future!”
Chu Yi twisted his wrist, only feeling a pain from his wrist bone that made his brows furrow. He said tremblingly, “You’re mad! I only want this one child in my lifetime! Jiang Xinrui, you will find a good person. Your good person is not me!”
Jiang Xinrui took a deep breath, loosened his grip slightly, and his tone returned to normal. “A-Yi, I was in a bad mood just now. Don’t mind me. I was just thinking, since you’re not willing to accept Sheng Qianheng, then why don’t you look at me? Are these nearly ten years of friendship all fake?”
Jiang Xinrui’s xìnxiāng was like the breath of the first snow, almost scentless… He slowly released his xìnxiāng, and the scent spread, gradually lingering around Chu Yi.
Chu Yi only felt his thoughts suddenly become chaotic, his heartbeat no longer steady, and his body temperature also quietly rising. He faintly felt the fetal movement in his belly become more frequent and gently reached out to soothe the child in his belly.
He only felt that Jiang Xinrui would not let him go easily today. For now, he could only appease his emotions. “Brother Jiang, even if there is no possibility between me and Sheng Qianheng, you still have to give me some time to accept you, right?”
The corners of Jiang Xinrui’s lips seemed to curve up slightly. He reached out to caress Chu Yi’s cheek and said, “A-Yi, is Sheng Qianheng’s permanent mark still on your body? Why don’t you get rid of it?”
The moment he was touched by Jiang Xinrui, the hair on Chu Yi’s arms stood on end, and every inch of his skin resisted. He argued, “I’m pregnant. I can’t remove the permanent mark yet.”
He had had the thought of removing the permanent mark before, but according to the imperial physicians in the palace, it was extremely dangerous for a pregnant person to remove a permanent mark. Almost no one could save the child in their belly. And when removing the permanent mark, one could not use máfèisàn. One could only endure it…
Jiang Xinrui used the pad of his thumb to hook open Chu Yi’s collar, and the permanent mark directly fell into his eyes. He chuckled twice and asked, “A-Yi, I can help you remove the permanent mark. Are you willing to give it a try?”
Lianfang, who had been standing by Chu Yi’s side, saw Jiang Xinrui become more and more presumptuous and said, “Your Highness…”
Jiang Xinrui immediately glared at Lianfang and gestured for the servant he had brought to make a move.
Before Chu Yi could react, Lianfang fell straight down. He wanted to look back but was held by the chin by Jiang Xinrui and couldn’t move.
After signaling the servant to take Lianfang away, Jiang Xinrui finally spoke, “Now that no one can disturb us, A-Yi, are you willing to form a permanent mark with me?”
Chu Yi only felt his vision grow hazier, and the heat from the back of his neck made his thoughts even more chaotic. Only then did he belatedly realize that Jiang Xinrui had drugged him. He had thought Jiang Xinrui was a gentleman, but he never expected him to be such a despicable villain!
In order to find a chance to escape, Chu Yi had no choice but to continue acting. “Brother Jiang, I still have a permanent mark on me. What are you planning to do?”
Jiang Xinrui leaned down, drew close to Chu Yi’s gland, and took a deep breath. So his xìnxiāng is Danshen. This was the scent he should have smelled back at the sacrificial ceremony, but Sheng Qianheng had intercepted it!
On the day of the sacrificial ceremony, he had long prepared a potent drug obtained from that sinister cult. It was said that it could forcibly differentiate anyone, regardless of their designation, into a Kunze, and that intercourse with them would inevitably lead to pregnancy.
He had used his position to arrange for him and Chu Yi to share a room and had put the drug in the tea.
Who would have thought that after Chu Yi drank the tea, he would be carried away by Sheng Qianheng! The hatred of having what was his stolen away—today, he would reclaim it.
And the drug today was a forbidden medicine from the sinister cult. Once it took effect, feeding the victim his blood could forcibly reverse the permanent mark. Afterward, only he could satisfy Chu Yi and overwrite the original mark. In short, this drug was a top-grade aphrodisiac, amplifying a Kunze’s mating instincts during their Rain and Dew Period to the extreme, leaving them completely pliable…
His fingertips gently scraped across Chu Yi’s gland. Jiang Xinrui found Chu Yi’s trembling body incredibly amusing.
“A-Yi, are you willing to seek pleasure with me? Does Sheng Qianheng usually satisfy you? How many times have you two been intimate? Why did it take so long to get pregnant? If it were me, I’m certain I could have gotten A-Yi pregnant with my child in one go.”
His pupils gradually lost focus, and only a blurry figure remained before him. Chu Yi felt as if he were a string puppet, with no strength left to resist Jiang Xinrui.
He could only stammer, “What… on earth are you… trying to do?”
Jiang Xinrui looked at Chu Yi’s face, fantasizing about how he would only be able to find pleasure beneath him in the future, and became extremely excited.
He picked up Chu Yi and threw him onto the bed. He watched as Chu Yi curled into a ball, clutching his belly, tears streaming down his face, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Jiang Xinrui reached out to take off his clothes. Just as he was about to climb onto the bed, he was stabbed from behind.
The hidden guard, Suifeng, had been secretly protecting Chu Yi these past few days but had been unexpectedly blocked today. He had been searching from the rooftop. When he saw the situation in Jiang Xinrui’s room, he immediately broke in from the roof and drew his saber with the speed of lightning.
Sheng Qianheng had originally thought that Chu Yi would gradually change his opinion of him, but it seemed he was still taking that xìnxiāng-suppressing pill.
He seemed to treat him and Jiang Xinrui with no difference.
If he had to point out one thing that made him more competitive than Jiang Xinrui, it was that he could freely enter and leave Chu Yi’s bedchamber.
Every night, he would climb through the window into Chu Yi’s bedchamber. Chu Yi seemed to turn a blind eye to him and would fall asleep as usual.
Even though he always had his back to him, at midnight, Chu Yi would slowly snuggle into his embrace. Sheng Qianheng would immediately hold his Kunze tightly, deeply afraid that he would run away again.
These past few days, he faintly felt that his Passion Tide Period was about to arrive. Since Chu Yi was still taking the medicine, he couldn’t release his xìnxiāng.
But during his Passion Tide Period, his xìnxiāng was not under his own control. He had no choice but to stay away. He would go and see Chu Yi after he had gotten through his Passion Tide Period.
He stayed in the residence next to Chu Yi’s and locked himself in his room, using the stolen personal clothes of Chu Yi to relieve himself alone…
After an unknown number of times, he collapsed onto the bed, gasping for air. He longed to hold Chu Yi.
Sheng Qianheng’s mind was filled with the image of Chu Yi’s swollen belly. The desire he had just relieved seemed to be coming back again.
After quietly leaving Jiang Xinrui’s bedchamber, Moshu immediately left the residence, intending to go to the palace to find the King. But on second thought, if Jiang Xinrui had malicious intentions, by the time he went to the palace and back, his master would probably have already been…
He turned to look at the residence next door and, in a moment, rushed in.
Moshu asked sharply, “Where is your master?”
There were not many servants in the residence, but they all knew that Sheng Qianheng had recently ordered that no one was to disturb him.
Moshu didn’t care what Sheng Qianheng’s reason was. If he didn’t go and save his master, there would be no possibility between Sheng Qianheng and Chu Yi.
Sheng Qianheng, who had originally locked himself in his bedchamber, heard Moshu’s commotion, immediately draped on his clothes, and came out of the room. “What’s wrong with Chu Yi?”
Moshu tried his best to be brief. He hadn’t even finished speaking when Sheng Qianheng turned and rushed out of the residence.
Sheng Qianheng rushed straight into Jiang Xinrui’s room. He looked at the flushed Chu Yi on the bed and immediately rushed forward.
He didn’t even notice the already fallen Jiang Xinrui. He only cared about pulling Chu Yi into his embrace and asked, “A-Yi, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”
Chu Yi could vaguely make out that it should be Sheng Qianheng. “Sheng Qianheng, what took you so long?”
Translator’s Notes
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Máfèisàn : An ancient Chinese anesthetic, famously attributed to the physician Hua Tuo. It was a powder mixed with wine.