Gu Huaiyu was so incensed that he let out a soft, mocking laugh. He gripped the reins, using the handle to tap Pei Jingyi’s cheek with moderate force. “You still dare to provoke me?”
Pei Jingyi stared at him intently, his tongue pressing against the inside of the cheek that had been struck red. He suddenly flashed a grin. “How could I dare provoke the Lord Chancellor? It’s just that my weapon is quite delicate. It took a kick from Your Lordship last night and it’s still aching…”
The smile vanished from Gu Huaiyu’s lips. He stared at the man coldly for a moment before flicking his wrist. The reins whipped around the copper hook on the front of the carriage, tightening with a few swift loops.
He stepped into the carriage, throwing back a single command without looking behind him: “Drive.”
The driver didn’t dare delay. He cracked the whip, the horses whinnied, and the wheels began to spin rapidly, kicking up sprays of white snow.
The reins suddenly snapped taut. Pei Jingyi was jerked into a stumble, but he immediately steadied himself. Instead of falling, he broke into a sprint, keeping pace with the carriage.
Having spent his life in the military, running ten miles with a full pack was a daily routine in the Bingzhou camps. Keeping up with a four-legged beast on his own two feet was well within his capabilities, and he even managed to laugh aloud.
Hearing that unrestrained, boisterous laughter, Gu Huaiyu’s brow furrowed.
Yun Niang sat in the corner of the carriage, her eyes wide. She covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief, not daring to utter a word of persuasion.
Gu Huaiyu’s fingertips traced the patterns on the hand warmer. He lowered his eyes and gave a cold order through the curtain. “Faster.”
The whip cracked again, and the horses galloped like the wind.
Pei Jingyi was thrown forward by the sudden surge of speed. In the instant before he could faceplant, he braced himself with both hands and used the momentum to flip over. He landed skillfully on his back in the snow.
The reins remained taut, dragging him forward. Snow sprayed everywhere as he carved two long trenches through the white drifts.
“His Lordship truly knows how to dote on me!” he shouted, his laughter mingling with the wind and snow to reach the carriage clearly. “Lying down is much more comfortable!”
The corner of Gu Huaiyu’s mouth twitched. If you think lying down is comfortable, then stay there.
Yun Niang blinked several times before whispering softly, “Why does General Pei always have to upset the Lord Chancellor?”
Gu Huaiyu’s lashes fluttered, but he couldn’t find a single word to say.
What was he supposed to say?
That the beast was so audacious he dared to brandish his spear in his presence?
That not only did he “erect his weapon,” but he also did it right in front of him…
Seeing that he wouldn’t answer, Yun Niang waited a while before quietly lifting the curtain to peek outside.
As they moved out of the mountains, the snow thinned, revealing jagged, exposed gravel.
Where the reins dragged him, mottled bloodstains now traced a startling red path across the snow.
The clothes on Pei Jingyi’s back had long since been shredded, exposing mangled flesh. Faint outlines of his tattoos were visible through the gore, a sight that made one’s skin crawl.
Veins bulged on his forehead from the agony, and cold sweat mingled with the melting snow running down his face. Yet he gritted his teeth, refusing to make a sound as he allowed the reins to drag him along.
Only when Gu Huaiyu’s anger had subsided slightly did he speak toward the curtain. “Stop.”
The driver immediately pulled the horses to a halt. The steeds whinnied, their front hooves pawing the air.
Gu Huaiyu stepped down from the carriage onto the mounting block. The snow crunched softly under his silk boots as he walked toward the man covered in blood and snow.
There wasn’t a patch of intact skin left on Pei Jingyi’s back. He lay flat on his back in the slushy mud and snow, his chest heaving violently.
He looked up at the approaching Gu Huaiyu, and somehow, he still managed to pull his lips into a smirk. “Does Your Lordship feel sorry for me now?”
Gu Huaiyu looked down at him with disdain. He gave a non-committal “Mm” before pressing the toe of his boot onto Pei Jingyi’s cheek, grinding it down lightly. “Is it still comfortable?”
The boot left a wet print on Pei Jingyi’s face, mixing with blood and the fine scratches from the gravel. This face, already born with a wild handsomeness, now looked even more dissolute.
“It’s not,” he groaned, rubbing his cheek against the sole of Gu Huaiyu’s boot. He complained in a low voice, “It hurts like hell. Your Lordship’s heart is truly ruthless.”
Gu Huaiyu sneered. Had he said it was comfortable, he would have dragged him for several more miles. Gathering his mink-lined cloak, he leaned down and lowered his voice. “Pei Du, you are the first person who has ever dared to pleasure himself in front of me.”
Pei Jingyi’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Truly?” he asked hoarsely with a laugh.
Gu Huaiyu was speechless. Was there anyone else besides this beast who would even think of such a thing?
“Truly,” he answered with forced patience. The toe of his boot slid down to Pei Jingyi’s chin, pressing against his Adam’s apple and forcing him to tilt his head back at an uncomfortable angle. “I have truly spoiled you, to let you become this insolent.”
Pei Jingyi gasped for breath, staring straight at him. “I didn’t want to,” he said calmly. “But Your Lordship is also a man—”
“Do you not understand that kind of pain? When you can’t help it, when if you don’t find release, you feel like you’ll go mad in the next heartbeat?”
Gu Huaiyu truly did not understand. He applied more pressure with his boot. “I am talking about you doing it toward me…”
With so many people watching, he was the Chancellor of the Empire; he couldn’t bring himself to say the words “erecting your weapon” in public.
Pei Jingyi was being choked by the boot, but he didn’t try to move away. “Is Your Lordship referring to the way it was pressing against you back then?”
As he spoke, he suddenly gave a sharp thrust of his hips.
Though the surrounding guards were looking his way, they had no idea what was being said. They simply assumed Pei Jingyi was uncomfortable on the ground and was stretching his limbs.
