warnings
more brothel stuff, consent issues (lc -> cx) but not in a sexual contextChu Xia waited for a long time but Lu Cong didn’t move. He neither left nor did he step forward to check his identity.
If not for the system reminding him that Lu Cong was still standing at the door, he would even feel that the sound of opening the door just now was just his illusion, and there was no one but him here.
Lu Cong finally made a move. Instead of leaving the place as Chu Xia had hoped he would, he closed the door of the room and slowly approached Chu Xia.
Chu Xia’s heart tightened suddenly, and then it beat faster and faster. He couldn’t guarantee that this would be successful, but he couldn’t find any other suitable way in a short period of time, so he could only fight like this. Maybe Lu Cong wouldn’t carefully check everyone here and he could just wing it?
Lu Cong stopped by the bed and looked at the young man on the bed. The weird emotions that had just awoken in his heart had slowly dissipated, but what followed was an even less controllable emotion that swept through him.
At this time, he still hadn’t realised.
Xiao Tianheng pushed the door open and came in. Seeing Lu Cong standing by the bed, he said in surprise: “Ay, brother, why are you still here ah? I’ve been looking all over for you, what are you doing here?”
He looked past Lu Cong, and when he saw the person on the bed. He was taken aback for a moment, and quickly closed the door, saying, “So sorry to disturb, excuse me.”
Lu Cong ignored Xiao Tianheng and continued looking at the young man on the bed. His fair skin was littered with red marks. He didn’t know which man had left them there. A violent emotion slowly spread in Lu Cong’s heart. Chu Xia only felt a little cold, and hid himself beneath the covers once more.
What exactly does Lu Cong want to do now? What’s he staring at?
Chu Xia asked the system to help him see what was going on. His mask was really not very good-looking, and it was not possible for a person to stare at it for such a long time.
After a while, Xiao Tianheng cautiously poked his head inside again, and asked Lu Cong in a low voice: “That… Brother, since when were you a cutsleeve?”
Lu Cong turned his head and glanced at Xiao Tianheng. His expression was indifferent, and there was no trace of lust in his eyes. Xiao Tianheng blinked and could vaguely feel that it might be different from what he had imagined before.
But it was different how?
Relying on his poor imagination, Xiao Tianheng couldn’t think of a suitable reason, so he said to Lu Cong: “Then, I won’t bother you, it’s just that I didn’t find that dog thing.”
Chu Xia: “…”
Isn’t it a little bad for you to call me a dog in front of me.
The original owner was indeed quite a dog, and there were countless people who wanted to kill the original owner. Chu Xia realised that he had not thought things through today, and he should have let the secret guards come in with him.
Otherwise, if he was killed in the Nanfeng Pavilion without anyone noticing and his body was thrown into the wild forest to feed the dogs, no one would know.
With this thing on, it might even break a dog’s teeth.
Bad, bad.
“Not here either,” Lu Cong said lightly.
Chu Xia’s heart dropped smoothly. At least for now, Lu Cong did not recognise him.
Xiao Tianheng let out a sigh and scratched his head. He told them to continue and withdrew from the room.
There was no reason for Lu Cong to lie to him, so where the hell did the dog emperor go? There was no one on the second and third floors, only the first floor was left, but he’d taken a look just now and there were no suspicious people in the lobby on the first floor. Did the dog emperor know that they were coming and was deliberately avoiding them? When it was like this, he didn’t know what he was looking for.
But Xiao Tianheng couldn’t understand that Lu Cong would stay in that room.
Is there something special about that young man? He didn’t look very carefully just now and only vaguely remembered that there was something white on the young man’s chin. His brother shouldn’t be so fast.
Xiao Tianheng sighed slightly, no matter what, it would be good if Lu Cong could let Lin Mengyue go. He didn’t know how his Li’er was doing in the palace.
He would definitely find a way to rescue her.
Lu Cong stood by the bed and looked down at the young man on the bed. He still didn’t know what the man looked like, but he still stood there, as if possessed. He looked on for a long time and asked: “What’s your name?”
Chu Xia’s eyes were still pitch black, and he could vaguely feel Lu Cong’s shadow falling on him. No one recognized him anyway, so he said to Lu Cong: “Chu… Chu Xia.”
The two words Chu Xia turned and twisted within Lu Cong’s mouth until he finally spit out slowly: “Chu Xia?”
He asked further: “Is it the xià from summer (xiàtiān)?”
Chu Xia en’d. It had been a long time since he had heard anyone call him that. When he was at the System Centre, whether it was a subordinate, a colleague or a leader, he was always called Team Leader Chu, and when he was in these worlds doing his tasks, he used someone else’s name.
“Chu Xia…”
Hearing Lu Cong calling his name, Chu Xia’s face unconsciously showed a little smile, but his expression was completely covered by a mask and no one could see it.
But Lu Cong subconsciously felt that this person should be very happy at this time. He stretched out his hand and wanted to touch the person in front of him.
“No, don’t…” Chu Xia’s voice was thin, and it sounded as if he was afraid. He shrank into the bed, trying to avoid Lu Cong’s hand.
Lu Cong’s hand stopped in mid-air. He was scared of him?
Lu Cong didn’t know why, but felt a little uncomfortable. He asked Chu Xia: “Do you know who I am?”
Of course Chu Xia knew who he was, but he couldn’t show it at this time. He opened his lips and asked in a low voice: “Zhou, is it Mr. Zhou?”
Lu Cong’s brows frowned tightly. This Mr. Zhou was the man who just made love with him in this bed? These traces on his body were left by that Mr. Zhou?
“No,” he answered lightly.
“Is it Qian-yuanwai1?” Chu Xia asked again.
Lu Cong frowned even more, who was Qian-yuanwai?
Chu Xia laughed. His eyes were crooked and the face beneath the mask smiled like a cat who had stolen the fish. He was so disgusting to Lu Cong, Lu Cong should just leave ba.
However, after waiting for a while, he still didn’t hear anything from Lu Cong. Chu Xia sighed in disappointment and could only continue with his performance. He laughed out loud, suddenly realised, and told Lu Cong: “That must be Lord Zhao ba, why is Lord Zhao free today?”
Lu Cong’s eyebrows creased together so quickly he could have caught a fly. If his subordinates in the frontier saw his expression, they would hide away immediately, for fear of falling into Lu Cong’s hands and being skinned.
Lu Cong looked at Chu Xia, and finally his gaze stayed on his slender neck. How many men did he have?
That question was a bit ridiculous. He worked in the Nanfeng Pavilion, wasn’t it normal to have many clients?
Lu Cong was silent for a long time. When Chu Xia thought he would leave from here, his hand suddenly fell on Chu Xia’s face, as if he wanted to trace his appearance. Chu Xia didn’t have such an ability, but he didn’t know if Lu Cong had it. If it was found out that he was the dog emperor in their mouth, it was game over. He struggled immediately, trying to avoid Lu Cong’s hand, but there was already a wall behind him, and he couldn’t retreat any more.
“Don’t move,” Lu Cong ordered.
Don’t move, don’t move ah, brother! Chu Xia continued shaking his head, resisting his approach.
Finally, Lu Cong’s fingers landed on Chu Xia’s lips. Through a thin layer of fabric, Lu Cong’s temperature spread from his fingertips to Chu Xia’s cold lips.
His fingers did not move anymore, and Chu Xia calmed down.
Just wondering, was he flirting with him?
He waited for a while, but Lu Cong didn’t move his finger. Chu Xia opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and licked Lu Cong’s fingertips through the layer of fabric.
Lu Cong’s body stiffened slightly and he looked at Chu Xia with heavy eyes.
The system warned Chu Xia that Lu Cong’s expression looked like he was going to eat people.
Having learnt his lesson with the hunk system, Chu Xia didn’t fully believe the information given by the system, but whether Lu Cong would eat people or not, if he had been here all the time, he would definitely have no good fruit to eat.
“You are not Lord Zhao.” Chu Xia turned his head away. He pressed his voice and asked: “Who are you?”
Judging from his tone, it seemed that he was even more frightened. Chu Xia’s body kept shrinking back, trying to hide his whole body under the blanket.
Looking at this scene, Lu Cong felt another wave of displeasure in his heart.
Chu Xia had to be amazed by his acting skills, but why was Lu Cong still standing here? Could he have fallen in love with him at first sight? But without seeing his face, what kind of love was that?
“This sir, hurry and leave ba. When Mr. Zhou comes back later, he should be upset to see you here.” After Chu Xia finished speaking, he silently gave himself a thumbs up. He said this, so Lu Cong would definitely leave ba.
There some chaotic footsteps were faintly heard resounding on the hallway outside. Someone was cursing next door, but then the sound stopped abruptly, and soon after, someone stopped outside their room and asked: “Has this room been searched?”
Chu Xia’s hands gripping the quilt subconsciously tightened, and then he heard another person outside answering him: “…Don’t worry about who’s in there.”
In this way, he was completely relieved. He could probably escape today thanks to Lu Cong. After he returned to the palace, he must be rewarded well. He’d pack his wife and child together and give it to him.
The people outside had already left, and the Nanfeng Pavilion resumed its usual bustle. The sun was shining on Chu Xia. He was yawning, a little sleepy. He was halfway through his yawn when he suddenly heard Lu Cong asking him softly: “I want to see your eyes, can I?”
“No…”
Lu Cong didn’t mean to actually ask for Chu Xia’s permission, so Chu Xia’s refusal didn’t mean anything to him.
He found a pair of scissors from the drawer of the cabinet. The ice-cold scissors were put to Chu Xia’s eyes. Chu Xia squinched his eyes shut and couldn’t help thinking, if Lu Cong found out that he was the dog emperor, would he stab the scissors into his eyes?
Thinking of that scene, Chu Xia’s eyes ached. His fingers tightly grasped the mattress under him, and the blue veins on the back of his hands bulged.
Lu Cong chuckled and asked him: “Why so timid?”
Chu Xia didn’t speak. He was not sure if Lu Cong would recognize him from these eyes. He was short of breath, and even his chest fluctuated violently.
With a slight click, the fabric in front of his eyes was cut open, Chu Xia still closed his eyes tightly, thinking to himself that as long as he didn’t open his eyes, Lu Cong would not be able to see anything.
“Open your eyes.” Lu Cong’s voice rang in Chu Xia’s ear, like an order. He instructed: “Look at me.”
Chu Xia’s thick eyelashes trembled, and a small shadow was cast in the sun.
“If you still don’t open your eyes, I’ll take off your mask.” There was a little smile in Lu Cong’s voice, he seemed to be in a good mood at the moment.
This threat did work well for Chu Xia. Even if Lu Cong was 30% or 40% likely to recognize him with his two eyes exposed, if he took off the mask, Lu Cong would have to be blind to not recognise.
Chu Xia opened his eyes. At first there was only a thin gap, but later when Lu Cong said nothing, he dared to open his eyes completely.
Lu Cong has been standing by the bed. When he cut the cloth on his eyes just now, he bent down a little, and he still maintained this posture now. This was the first time that Chu Xia saw Lu Cong up close, and it was more to his liking than what he saw upstairs just now. It was a shock to Chu Xia. At such a time, in such a place, and in such an atmosphere, it really was unreasonable to not go for a round.
However, thinking of the lock on his body, Chu Xia’s expression couldn’t help but darken.
Lu Cong had been looking into his eyes since he opened his eyes. These eyes were not particularly outstanding, but they were very comfortable, as if they were the same as he expected, but before that, he had never imagined what his eyes would look like.
Now these eyes clearly reflected his appearance, and he was the only one in them, an indescribable satisfaction welled up in Lu Cong’s heart.
But then he saw the marks on his neck, and the disappointment in Chu Xia’s eyes.
Lu Cong thought, why is he unhappy? Because he’s not who he wants to see? His fingers gently brushed over Chu Xia’s eyes, and for some reason, he suddenly said to Chu Xia: “You have to remember me.”
Chu Xia didn’t say a word. Lu Cong in front of him was his mission object, and he would never forget it even if he wanted to.
He sniffled, and said pitifully to Lu Cong: “Go away ba, Mr. Zhou is really coming back later, he will beat me when he sees you here.”
But the more he was like this, the less Lu Cong wanted to leave from here, he wanted this person to be completely in his own hands.
There was already a bit of crying in Chu Xia’s voice, and a thin mist of water appeared on his eyes. He looked at himself with an extremely pitiful expression.
Lu Cong suddenly couldn’t bear it, he went out of the room, closed the door, but didn’t leave immediately. He leaned against the door with his arms around his chest, frowned, recalling everything he had done just now. It was as if he’d been bewitched. Every word and every action was out of his control.
He still hadn’t seen the young man’s face
Chu Xia?
Chu Xia…
In the room, Chu Xia saw that Lu Cong was gone, and finally let go of his fears completely. The system was complimenting him, Team Leader Chu is amazing, to think of such a way to fool the villain.
Chu Xia rubbed his forehead. If he was so great, he wouldn’t be such a coward.
The great Emperor pretending to be a common whore of the Nanfeng Pavilion, tsk tsk.
The boss came from the stairs. Lu Cong saw him and directly told him: “The one inside, I took him.”
“Ah?” The boss was stunned for a moment. “But he has been given–”
The boss’s voice stopped suddenly. He saw Lian Zhu, who was supposed to be in this room, laughing at the corner of the stairs with his lover. Then who was the person inside?
The boss said to Lu Cong: “Wait a minute, let me ask him what he thinks.”
The boss opened the door and walked in, seeing that Chu Xia was taking off the mask on his face, he was a little confused, there seemed to be no such person in their Nanfeng Pavilion.
Chu Xia raised his head when he heard the noise, and exchanged a glance with the boss. Seeing those eyes, the boss suddenly remembered the first masked man who came to Nanfeng Pavilion today, whom he still thought was very lovely.
What are you guys playing at, really interesting.
Knowing that Lu Cong had already arrived downstairs, Chu Xia put the mask back on his face and asked the boss: “What’s the matter?”
The boss smiled and said: “The young man who just left here said he wanted to have you.”
Chu Xia: “…”
Lu Cong must be sick ba! He didn’t learn well and ran away to the Nanfeng Pavilion to get the prostitutes.
“What do you think?” Seeing that Chu Xia didn’t speak, the boss asked again: “Why don’t you go outside and talk to him?”
Chu Xia sighed. Although the original owner was an emperor, the power in his hands had been emptied a little bit over the years. Most of the military power was in the hands of Lu Cong. The original owner also had an army in his hands, but due to neglect of supervision over the years, he was left with a bunch of good-for-nothings. Bumping into the army in Lu Cong’s hand was equivalent to just giving them some experience.
Of course, if the original owner had been a more reliable emperor, Chu Xia wouldn’t be here.
Chu Xia thought for a moment, no matter what, let’s deal with today for now. He said to the boss: “Agree to it first ba.”
“Then will you come again in the future? If you don’t come again, he won’t be able to find you. I’m afraid he will tear down my Nanfeng Pavilion.”
Chu Xia found a few yinpiao and put them on the table, and said to the boss: “Then you can build a new one.”
The boss: “…”
“If you say that, I can only tell the truth to that young man.”
Chu Xia’s mask was already put on, he stood up, looked down at the boss in front of him, chuckled lightly, and asked him: “You know who I am?”
This aura really made people tremble, but thinking that his Nanfeng Hall couldn’t just be destroyed like this, he smiled and said to Chu Xia: “The young man outside probably doesn’t know who you are either ba.”
Chu Xia: “…”
Chu Xia raised his hand and patted his forehead several times in a row. The boss threatened him with Lu Cong, so he had to submit.
This emperor’s too useless.
Chu Xia finally nodded. “Alright, alright. Go ahead and answer it ba.”
Anyway, Lu Cong didn’t see what his entire face looked like, and when he got back, he would find someone who looked like him, send it over, and fool him.
After Lu Cong, Xiao Tianheng, and the people they brought had left, Chu Xia changed his clothes and went back to the palace.
As soon as he returned to the palace, someone from the palace came to him and told him that the imperial concubine was begging to see him outside. Chu Xia was frightened in the Nanfeng Pavilion today. He really didn’t deal with the imperial concubine, so he told the palace people to let her go back.
After receiving the reply, the concubine did not leave, but stood still, bowed her head and thought, what happened to the emperor recently?
The palace people went in to report to Chu Xia again, but the imperial concubine was unwilling to leave.
Then she should wait outside ba. Chu Xia waved his hand and thought for a while before ordering to bring a chair and an umbrella to the imperial concubine.
After all, the girl had just become pregnant, and though he couldn’t give her any spiritual comfort, he still had what he should have in material terms.
He also thought about what had happened in the Nanfeng Pavilion and Lu Cong saying he wanted to have him.
What was Lu Cong thinking? Did he recognise him as that dog emperor and deliberately try to humiliate himself in this way?
It shouldn’t be ba. The villains are all people who are out of low-level tastes and cannot do such out-of-style things.
Then why? Did he really fall in love at first sight?
Thinking of this, Chu Xia couldn’t help laughing.
If that was the case, he was rather miserable. He fiddled with the lock on his body. Who the hell put this thing on him?
In the general’s mansion, Lu Cong returned to the mansion and processed the official documents sent from the frontier in the study. A secret guard came in and reported to Lu Cong: “The concubine in the palace is pregnant.”
Lu Cong hummed lightly, but there was no other response.
The secret guard was curious about what Lu Cong’s plan was. When Lu Cong received the imperial edict calling him back to the capital in the frontier, everyone knew that the foolish ruler wanted to get rid of Lu Cong. They felt wronged in Lu Cong’s stead and thought they might as well use this occasion to overthrow that incompetent emperor, but Lu Cong said he wanted to come to the imperial Capital to see the situation.
From when Lu Cong was assassinated in the capital to when they learned that the dog emperor had used Qingya Pass to make a deal with a foreign tribe, the secret guard knew that this failure of an emperor wouldn’t live for more than a few days.
The secret guard asked Lu Cong, “General, when shall we attack?”
Lu Cong put down the official document in his hand, tapped his fingers on the table twice, and said, “Wait a few more days.”
Wait a few more days, without them taking action, there will naturally be other people who want the life of the foolish ruler.
notes:
1. qian-yuanwei: yuanwei is an (outdated) address for a landlord or someone rich (fun fact, the qian is the same as in qian ming iirc)
someone give this man an oscar. and a key.
jam translations 