warnings (with spoilers)
fake backstory about a “ruined” appearance and political schemes also, chu xia gives lu cong a hand job but it is so incredibly vague i actually had to read the paragraph thrice to get it and even now i’m not completely certainChu Xia lowered his head, not daring to look at Lu Cong in front of him. He nodded and en’d softly.
He felt that his visit to Nanfeng Pavilion today was the result of a brief lapse of judgement. This was like washing himself and sending himself straight to the tiger’s mouth. At the beginning, the tiger happened to have a cold, and his eyesight was not very good, so he did not recognise that this was a delicious piece of meat. By the time he reacted, he was afraid that there wouldn’t even be bone residue left of him.
Chu Xia looked at the floor tiles under his feet. If he couldn’t make Lu Cong give up on him this time, he would consider getting rid of this identity completely.
It just so happened that he had accumulated a lot of points in the first two worlds. There should be no problem with redeeming two golden fingers. Once he was back in the palace, he’d look into it.
Lu Cong pinched his chin, and Chu Xia’s eyes once again reflected his appearance. He asked Chu Xia: “Do you like that Zhou-gongzi that much?”
Chu Xia pursed his lips and said nothing, but his eyes were filled with sadness. His reaction already told Lu Cong the answer.
Lu Cong felt a pain in his heart and asked Chu Xia: “That Zhou-gongzi of yours, who is he?”
Chu Xia shook his head. In order to protect his lover, he would not reveal any information to the fierce-looking man in front of him. He said, pained: “Don’t ask, sir, I will not say anything.”
The boss looked at the two of them not far away and was filled with admiration. If not for the current situation, he would have wanted to give Chu Xia a round of applause for his acting skills. It was almost a pity he wasn’t a worker. Maybe he’d be interested in teaching the men here. With this acting ability, why worry that their Nanfeng Pavilion wouldn’t be able to catch fire1 in the capital.
Lu Cong was not a person who would force other people’s emotions. If you like someone, you like them, and if you don’t, you don’t. After all, feelings that come through force are not true.
Back then, Lin Mengyue abandoned him and wanted to marry his younger brother. Later, when she failed, she married into the palace. He never wanted to change Lin Mengyue’s mind or find a way to prevent this from happening. He just hoped that Lin Mengyue would return his mother’s pendant.
But the man in front of him was different. Even though he knew there was another person in his heart, Lu Cong still hoped that that person could become him one day.
Chu Xia could only love him. He had to love him.
This emotion was violent and unfounded. He didn’t like this □□ controlling feeling, which made him feel like he was no longer himself.
The man in front of him, this male prostitute, had such a huge impact on him. In a sudden moment, Lu Cong would even think, if Chu Xia died now, could everything go back to how it was?
Chu Xia’s eyelids twitched suddenly. A strong murderous aura enveloped him. Did Lu Cong want to kill him? He thought his identity had been revealed, but soon the murderous aura disappeared without a trace.
The hostility in Lu Cong’s eyes gradually dissipated. He took a step back, sat down on the chair, raised his head and asked Chu Xia: “You like him. But does he care about you?”
With Lu Cong looking directly at him, Chu Xia felt a bit guilty and thus lost some of his confidence. He nodded and said: “Naturally.”
Lu Cong unhurriedly asked: “Since he likes you, why doesn’t he redeem you from here?”
The corner of Chu Xia’s mouth fell a little. Why does this brother have so many questions? Has he been possessed by a hundred thousand whys? He replied to Lu Cong: “Zhou-gongzi said that when he saves enough money next spring, he will buy me back my freedom.”
Having reached this point, there should be no need to ask further, but Lu Cong was still unwilling to let go. There seemed to be a voice in the dark telling him that he must get this person.
Lu Cong suddenly laughed, but there was no emotion in his voice.
The good and the bad, the joy and the ire, all disappeared in his laughter.
Chu Xia: “…”
Can you please stop laughing out of nowhere, brother, it sounds so scary.
Lu Cong stood up, took a step forward, took Chu Xia’s hand, and led him to the second floor. “If he really likes you, let him come to me and tell me.”
The corners of Chu Xia’s mouth twitched. He was speechless. Sure enough, he would have to use another thousand lies to cover up one lie and he didn’t even know if these thousand lies would be able to completely conceal the matter from Lu Cong.
He thought Lu Cong shouldn’t be like this. Lin Mengyue didn’t love him, and he never bothered her. Why did he become so difficult to deal with when he was here?
Lu Cong brought Chu Xia to the room where they first met. He sat on a chair and stared at Chu Xia for a long time without speaking. Chu Xia, who didn’t dare expose too much in front of him, kept his head down, neither speaking nor moving.
After an unknown amount of time, the shadow reflected on the ground seemed to change direction and Chu Xia heard Lu Cong say to him: “Accompany me for two drinks.”
Chu Xia had already seen these drinks in Nanfeng Pavilion, and he didn’t really want to drink this stuff anymore. After all, he couldn’t relieve it after drinking it, so he could only feel uncomfortable by himself.
“What’s wrong? You don’t even want to have a drink with me?” Lu Cong raised his eyes and looked at Chu Xia.
Chu Xia felt vaguely that he was being threatened. He sat down opposite Lu Cong, picked up the wine glass, and took only a small sip. Lu Cong didn’t mind either. He seemed to be just looking for someone to have a drink with him.
After only a few cups, a blush appeared on Lu Cong’s face, and his gaze lost focus, as if he was drunk.
He didn’t speak and just drank. Chu Xia put down the wine glass in his hand and stared at Lu Cong for a while. It was strange that the villain could have a bad drinking ability.
After two more glasses of wine, Lu Cong was in a daze, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was already drunk.
He poured himself another glass of wine. Chu Xia was not sure if Lu Cong would go crazy when he was drunk. He boldly reached out and grabbed Lu Cong’s wrist and persuaded him: “Don’t drink ba.”
Lu Cong paused for a moment, looked up at Chu Xia, then obediently put down the wine glass in his hand, and said in a low voice: “En. I won’t drink any more.”
His behaviour reminded Chu Xia of Lu Cong when he was a child. He was well-behaved and obedient. Unfortunately, his father and mother never had mercy on him.
Chu Xia sat next to Lu Cong and patted him gently on the back. Lu Cong seemed to be a little sleepy. His eyelids drooped, the wine glass in his hand tipped over, and some wine spilled on his hand, but he didn’t react.
Chu Xia searched around the room, but couldn’t find a clean handkerchief, so he pushed the door open and went out.
After Chu Xia left, Lu Cong raised his head. His eyes were clear, where did that half-drunk look go? He propped his head and looked in the direction of the door.
Chu Xia was different from the others at Nanfeng Pavilion. On his body there was almost no trace of effeminateness or prostitution. Coupled with the weirdness of the boss when Lu Cong said that he was going to book him that day, Lu Cong would naturally have doubts about Chu Xia’s identity.
He didn’t think that Chu Xia was specially sent to set him up. After all, what happened that afternoon was really a coincidence, but… who exactly was Chu Xia?
So far, Lu Cong had not associated Chu Xia with that dog emperor even once. Although he had yet to see what he looked like, eyes like that would never appear on that idiot ruler’s face.
Thinking of the gentleness that appeared in front of him just now, Lu Cong’s eyebrows gathered a little. Was he like this to just him, or was he like this to everyone?
Thinking of this, Lu Cong felt ridiculous again. There was still a Zhou-gongzi in Chu Xia’s heart and he was dreaming to think of monopolising this gentleness.
After a while, Chu Xia came back and saw Lu Cong still lying on the table. He took a wet handkerchief and wiped the wine stains on the back of Lu Cong’s hands, and removed the wine glasses and bottles together.
He heard Lu Cong’s voice shouting in a low tone: “Uncomfortable…”
Chu Xia cleared the table and came to Lu Cong’s side. He leaned down and took a look at his face. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, he asked: “Where do you feel uncomfortable?”
Lu Cong didn’t say anything, but repeated it again in a hoarse voice. The blush on his face deepened, and there was a trace of confusion in his slightly opened eyes.
Chu Xia seemed to suddenly understand why he was feeling uncomfortable.
I told you not to drink, you didn’t listen, now you feel uncomfortable, who do you blame!
But Lu Cong did look a bit pitiful right now. When Chu Xia faced the villain, it was probably because he knew that this was his task object, so he was extremely soft-hearted.
Chu Xia helped Lu Cong lie down on the bed. Lu Cong held his hand and refused to let go, looking straight at Chu Xia with both eyes. If he was sober, Chu Xia could still reason with him, but now, no matter what he said, Lu Cong wouldn’t listen.
Chu Xia took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, and somewhat reluctantly untied Lu Cong’s belt.
Lu Cong’s breath gradually became heavier. After a long time, Chu Xia’s fingers became a little stiff. Lu Cong was finally satisfied. He leaned against the pillow behind him and sighed comfortably. Chu Xia stopped and looked at his hands, feeling like crying but lacking tears. Who could help him out?
In the room, Lu Cong leaned forward, hugged Chu Xia, and put his head on Chu Xia’s shoulder.
The strong smell of musk spread slowly in the room. Someone was sighing softly. The warm breath lingered around them. Lu Cong closed his eyes. After a while, his breathing became even, as if he had fallen asleep.
Chu Xia laid him flat on the bed, adjusted him to a more comfortable position, and then sat on the edge of the bed, boringly flipping through the erotic album in the cabinet in the room.
It wasn’t until the evening that Lu Cong woke up, said goodbye to Chu Xia, and left the Nanfeng Pavilion. Chu Xia sat in front of the window and watched his figure disappear at the end of the long street. The boss came in from outside and asked Chu Xia: “Chu-gongzi, what are you going to do?”
Chu Xia placed a hand on his forehead and replied: “Let me think about it.”
Why did Lu Cong take a fancy to him? To fall in love at first sight, you have to at least see the face. It could be that he had recognised him, but that reaction didn’t seem like Chu Xia had been recognised.
Chu Xia’s original plan was to use a golden finger to completely obliterate his identity, but now he was a little hesitant. His mission was to appease the villain, and doing something like this seemed like it would be pouring oil on the fire.
Even if he wasn’t taking the mission seriously, it also wasn’t good to dance around on Cong’s head.
What if he stopped being the emperor and came to the Nanfeng Pavilion to be a worker?
Chu Xia chuckled coldly. Then he was kicked in the head by a donkey.
After thinking about it, it wasn’t impossible. The emperor didn’t act like an emperor at all. He was subject to control everywhere, and he had to worry about being plotted against all the time. It was better to be a prostitute and just relax.
But if Lu Cong figured out who he was, the end result would probably be that he could no longer be the emperor and also, he’d be dead.
How could it be so tragic?
Chu Xia changed his clothes and secretly returned to the palace. After returning to the palace, he first ran to the imperial kitchen and found some pastries to pad his stomach. In passing, he told the imperial chef some new dishes and asked the imperial chef to try making them.
After leaving the imperial kitchen, Chu Xia hadn’t taken two steps before he heard someone call him from behind, “Your Majesty.”
He turned his head and saw the well-dressed imperial concubine quickly walking toward him. Chu Xia was startled and almost made to run away.
Thinking of his identity, he stood firmly on the spot and told the imperial concubine: “Slow down, be mindful of the child.”
The imperial concubine smiled and the rays of light from the sky fell on the silk and satin on her body, shining brightly. The emperor obviously still cared for her, so why did he ignore her in this period? She couldn’t understand him.
“I am here to see Your Majesty.”
Chu Xia told the imperial concubine to rise from her kneel in an unusual manner and asked: “Imperial concubine ah.”
As soon as he called out, the imperial concubine said angrily to him: “Your Majesty used to call this servant Yu’er.”
“Ah, this…” Chu Xia was silent for a long time. He really couldn’t say Yue’er, so he simply changed the subject and asked, “Is there anything the imperial concubine has come to see me for?”
The imperial concubine said to Chu Xia: “I haven’t seen Your Majesty for several days. I miss you.”
Chu Xia was really not used to dealing with girls, least of all with this girl who had a close relationship with the original owner. He calmly took half a step back, putting some distance between himself and Lin Mengyue and explained to her: “I have been busy with state affairs during this period and have neglected you a little. It is my fault. You should take good care of yourself.”
“This concubine will.” The imperial concubine did not believe that this idiotic ruler would one day work hard for state affairs, but he intended to hide it from her and she had nothing to tell him. In the end, she could only advise Chu Xia with concern: “Your Majesty, you should also take good care of yourself.”
Chu Xia responded perfunctorily and hurried back to the palace with a group of palace attendants.
The imperial concubine looked at Chu Xia’s retreating figure and fell into deep thought. The emperor must be hiding something from her.
Chu Xia tried to be a better emperor, but the officials did not give him this opportunity at all. As soon as he opened his mouth, whether it was black or white, there was a lot of flattery, but as for someone who did useful things, there was not one.
If he was given a period of time to carry out a major overhaul of the court, there might be some chance of turning the tide, but he wouldn’t have time.
Hopeless, it was really hopeless. It was better to work in Nanfeng Pavilion.
Chu Xia had been dragging it out with such a mentality and ran to the Nanfeng Pavilion outside the palace after the morning session. Lu Cong would come every day, drink three glasses of wine every day, and sometimes Chu Xia would suspect that he was deceiving him.
Lu Cong never heard Chu Xia mention that Zhou-gongzi again. He seemed to have completely cut off contact with that person. Lu Cong had two more drinks today, and after drinking he read two pages of the erotic album with Chu Xia. Chu Xia had always been unruly in this matter, and made comments directly in front of Lu Cong, which sounded like some kind of invitation.
So when Chu Xia helped him go to bed, Lu Cong turned over and pressed Chu Xia under him, and his fingers fell on his belt.
Chu Xia put his hands on his chest and refused: “No, you can’t.”
As he refused, he sighed silently in his heart, what a villain, but it’s a pity that he can’t do it.
If this thing on his body was put on by Lu Cong, and was seen by Lu Cong today, wouldn’t it all be revealed? Even if it hadn’t been put on by Lu Cong, it would be embarrassing if someone saw it.
Lu Cong frowned. When he saw Chu Xia for the first time, he had Zhou-gongzi, Qian-yuanwai and Zhao-daren in his mouth. His hand fell on Chu Xia’s slender neck and he asked him: “Since anyone can sleep with you, why can’t I?”
Chu Xia cursed in his heart, and it took him a while to realise what everyone meant. He whispered: “It’s different, it’s not the same…”
“How is it different?” Lu Cong pinched his chin and asked.
Maybe it was because he had made up that Zhou-gongzi, the Qian-yuanwai and Zhao-daren, that Lu Cong really wanted to sleep with him. Chu Xia moved his lips: “…It’s just not the same.”
Lu Cong’s heart softened for some reason. His fingers fell on the mask and asked him: “Let me take a look at you, alright?”
Chu Xia lifted his hand and placed it on his mask. He looked straight at Lu Cong and asked:” Didn’t you promise not to?”
Some time ago, Chu Xia told Lu Cong that his appearance was ruined and he did not want to show it to others, so he wore a mask. He hoped that Lu Cong would not force him. Lu Cong just learned that he’d cut ties with Zhou-gongzi, so he naturally agreed.
It was precisely because of this that Chu Xia dared to run out of the palace day after day. Today this thing wanted to go back on his word. Chu Xia wanted to bite him.
Seeing him staring at him, Lu Cong followed the outline of the mask and moved his fingers up to his temples little by little.
Angry?
Lu Cong wanted to laugh a little, and hugged Chu Xia. “No more looking, I won’t look anymore.”
Anyway, he could recognise him just by looking at his eyes.
Perhaps one day, he would believe that he wouldn’t dislike him because of his appearance, and then he’d be honest in front of him.
“You stay with me and sleep for a while.”
Lu Cong lay down with Chu Xia in his arms, as if only by his side could he get a little peace that he had never had before.
Chu Xia was worried and told Lu Cong: “No moving around.”
Chu Xia really couldn’t believe this was something he could say.
That broken lock is harming me! Harming me!
Lu Cong en’d and he slept soundly, but Chu Xia couldn’t sleep. He supported his head with one hand, and gently traced Lu Cong’s eyebrows with the other hand.
He failed to make a decision on the matter between Chu Xia and Lu Cong early on, so he delayed it day by day until now.
Lu Cong still wanted to redeem him from the Nanfeng Pavilion. Chu Xia returned to the palace and thought for a long time. If he really returned to his general’s mansion with Lu Cong, it would be equivalent to completely abandoning his identity as emperor. This emperor was useless, but just disappearing from the palace like this, he was afraid there would be a lot of chaos.
Chu Xia felt that this matter required careful consideration. He did not refuse Lu Cong, but only told Lu Cong that he would consider it.
In the palace, the imperial concubine heard that the emperor was leaving the palace today, so she summoned her lover into the palace. The two of them chatted with each other for a while, and finally got down to business.
They had drugged the dog emperor so that when they wanted him to die, he would die. They were just afraid that after the dog emperor’s death, Lu Cong would get up to something. They originally hoped to use the emperor’s hand to get rid of Lu Cong, but the emperor somehow didn’t even want to see the imperial concubine during this period of time, let alone listen to the imperial concubine’s ploys to get rid of Lu Cong.
“I heard that Lu Cong recently fell in love with a young man and would always go to a Nanfeng Pavilion.” He paused, kissed the concubine on the shoulder, and continued, “How about we capture that young man and threaten him?”
The imperial concubine was a little suspicious and asked: “It’s just a prostitute, can he make Lu Cong give in?”
“In any case, he’s just a whore and can’t cause much trouble. If Lu Cong doesn’t care, we won’t suffer much of a loss. If he cares, that’ll be even better. We’ve caught his weak spot and we worry that he will be disobedient.”
The imperial concubine didn’t think this method was very wise. If she didn’t do it well, she would only alert the enemy. And if she really wanted to catch Lu Cong’s weakness, it should be her.
Otherwise, Lu Cong wouldn’t have struggled in the frontier for so many years without even daring to come back and see her.
The imperial concubine couldn’t help but chuckle when she thought of this.
When the man saw him smiling, he couldn’t help but kiss him again. He dismissed the concubine’s worries and said: “Don’t worry, I’ll pin the blame on the dog emperor. If Lu Cong investigates the matter, in the end he’d only find out that it was the emperor’s men who did it.”
notes:
1. to catch fire: to become popular/get business
it is so funny (tragic) how the imperial concubine could have had pretty much any man in this world and proceeded to go for the man who will dismiss her valid concerns. i can excuse treason but i draw the line at lacking self-respect
jam translations 