Chapter 35 - 1#

“How did you buy it?”

Jingzhe said in a muffled voice, his nose red. It was because Rong Jiu had wiped it hard just now, and his whole face had been cleaned up.

He sat on the steps, holding the box as if it were a rare treasure, unwilling to let it go for a moment.

“After your family’s accident, all your property was confiscated. With some maneuvering, it was still possible to buy it.” Rong Jiu said lightly, glossing over the matter. “Although it can’t be registered in your name, you can go and see it when you leave the palace.”

Jingzhe looked at the land deed again and again. Leaving the palace was a distant matter, but holding this land deed, it seemed to have a certain weight that could be held in his hand.

Jingzhe said softly, “I never thought I would have such an opportunity…”

His voice gradually faded.

Rong Jiu: “Jingzhe, is there anything else you want?” His fingers, restrained and slow, touched Jingzhe’s ear. The sensitive area turned red with just a light touch.

The man’s elegant, slightly curled voice was somewhat bewitching. Especially when he was close, his low and pleasant voice was like a beating note.

Jingzhe rubbed his ears and carefully folded the land deed. He was lost in thought for a while, then said in a low voice, “Rong Jiu, can you… do something for me?”

He was a little embarrassed, and his words were tinged with a tense probing.

This was not easy for Jingzhe.

Asking for help from others seemed to be a very shameful thing, so much so that even opening his mouth was three parts weaker, with caution.

Like a small beast stumbling and lying at the mouth of a cave, ready to escape at any time.

If Rong Jiu refused him, Jingzhe would probably shrink back immediately, then curl up in the depths of the cave to lick his fur, comforting himself that this was to be expected.

“What do you want to do?” Rong Jiu’s eyes had a morbid paranoia, and the creepy chill was immersed in his tone, crushed into charming words, gently enveloping Jingzhe. “Jingzhe, say it.”

It was as if he was coaxing Jingzhe to reveal his deepest desires.

Jingzhe stammered, “I want to ask you to help me… go to the pond in the front yard of this house and fish around. You might find something.” He was silent for a moment, knowing that Rong Jiu had probably investigated his family’s affairs thoroughly, so he didn’t hide anything.

“If it’s still there… then it’s probably the reason for my family’s accident.”

Jingzhe looked at the land deed cherishly, then handed it to Rong Jiu.

Rong Jiu raised his eyebrows: “What for?”

Jingzhe: “You bought this, it’s yours now.”

Before Rong Jiu could get angry, Jingzhe said quickly.

“It’s not that I don’t like this gift, I like it very much.” He pursed his lips and smiled lightly. “But, I’m in the palace after all, and it’s not safe for me to have this.”

There were too many unsafe things in his room, and adding a land deed wouldn’t have made much difference.

But it was precisely because it was his family’s land deed that Jingzhe was so cautious.

Nowhere was safe, so it was better to leave it with Rong Jiu.

“I like it very much, I really like it, thank you Rong Jiu.” Jingzhe lowered his eyebrows. “When I have enough ability, I will take it back.”

Since it was a gift, he should accept it generously.

Although this gift was so precious that Jingzhe didn’t know what to do, he would not refuse it.

He was unwilling and did not want to hurt Rong Jiu’s feelings.

Judging from Jingzhe’s reluctant action of handing the land deed back to Rong Jiu, it didn’t look like he was refusing, but Rong Jiu’s aura became even more gloomy.

Jingzhe tilted his head to look at him, and was about to speak when he noticed that the wet spot on Rong Jiu’s clothes was very obvious. He said in embarrassment, “What should I do… your clothes are too obvious.”

If it was just the inner clothes that were wet, it would be fine. Jingzhe had made so many sets of clothes for Rong Jiu before, and had given away a few sets, so there were still some at the bottom of the box.

But this was the guard’s uniform on the outside… Jingzhe didn’t have the ability to sew that.

Rong Jiu: “It’s fine.”

Jingzhe had a bitter face. He said it was fine, but wouldn’t people see it at a glance if he walked out like this?

In such an awkward position, it was hard to say that he had spilled water while drinking.

He took out a handkerchief and wiped Rong Jiu’s chest in a futile attempt to cover it up. He originally wanted to tell him not to be unhappy, but his hand touched it, and he couldn’t take it off.

Rong Jiu laughed in anger: “Does it feel good to touch?”

Jingzhe subconsciously replied: “It’s very comfortable.”

Under the hard chest, he didn’t know how firm the flesh was. It was really enviable to touch. He also wanted to have such a body, well-proportioned and fit.

As soon as he said this, Jingzhe’s body stiffened. He looked at Rong Jiu little by little, and saw him raise his eyebrows, looking at him with a half-smile.

Jingzhe: “…”

Ahhhhh!

He withdrew his fingers with lightning speed, took a few steps back, stiffly and unnaturally said: “This is quite well-trained, how did you train it?”

The hands behind his back were nervously rubbing.

It was as if he could still feel the hard feeling.

“I’ve been training since I was a child.” Rong Jiu said lightly. “Among the martial arts masters who taught me in the past, there was one who was my uncle.”

Jingzhe keenly sensed that this “uncle” who appeared in Rong Jiu’s mouth for the first time should be a different person. His voice still sounded cold and indifferent, but there was still a little warmth left.

It was completely different from the gloomy chill when he mentioned his parents in the past.

Jingzhe: “Your uncle, cares about you very much?”

Rong Jiu: “It’s difficult to interfere in family affairs, but it’s still acceptable.”

Jingzhe raised his eyebrows, with a smile at the corners of his eyes.

Rong Jiu reached out to touch it, his fingertips brushing against the corner of his eye, leaving a faint red mark, but he didn’t use too much force, for fear of shattering this fresh pleasure.

“Why are you so happy?”

He sometimes didn’t understand, how could a small thing make Jingzhe so happy?

How can people be so easily satisfied?

Jingzhe: “When Rong Jiu was young, besides his parents, there were still people who cared about you. This makes me happy.” He said frankly with his hands behind his back.

People cannot choose their parents, their origins. If they come into the world completely unhoped for, it is indeed extremely painful.

Jingzhe couldn’t help but feel sorry for Rong Jiu.

…But at least he knew that in the distant past, not everyone was stained with cruel blood, and did not give Rong Jiu even a little warmth.

This little thing was enough to make him happy.

Rong Jiu: “Crying one moment, laughing the next. Your emotions are changeable, more so than the summer rain.”

Jingzhe said dissatisfiedly: “No matter how unpredictable I am, I can’t compare to you, Rong Jiu.” When he handed over the land deed just now, Rong Jiu’s cold chill seemed to want to kill someone. That’s what you call turning your back on someone!

If it weren’t for the fact that Jingzhe had gradually gotten used to Rong Jiu’s ever-changing temper, wouldn’t he have been scared to death?

Rong Jiu held the box in one hand and said slowly: “You really don’t want to keep it with you?”

Jingzhe covered his eyes: “Don’t tempt me anymore, take it back quickly.” Of course he wanted to keep it with him, but it wasn’t safe!

Rong Jiu’s hand flipped deftly and put the thing away.

Only then did Jingzhe breathe a sigh of relief, and heard Rong Jiu’s slightly cold words: “Make another request.”

Jingzhe looked up blankly.

“I’ll take back the land deed. Your request is insignificant, make another one.”

Jingzhe suspected that Rong Jiu hadn’t listened to him at all just now.

Did Rong Jiu think that if he temporarily handed back the land deed for safekeeping, it was equivalent to the gift not being sent out? Didn’t he see all the emotion Jingzhe had just now?

And how was that request insignificant!

This was a huge risk. If the things found really involved Huang Qingtian and the Huang family, it would mean going against the entire Huang family.

Did Rong Jiu understand the value of this danger!

Jingzhe: “No.”

He felt that the land deed was the best gift.

“You can have one.” When Rong Jiu’s thin lips were pursed, they revealed a bit of unapproachable gloom. “You must think of another one.”

Jingzhe couldn’t understand: “I liked the thing you gave me just now very much. There’s no need for more.”

Can this gift be forced on someone?

“Not greedy enough, no ambition, you should have more desires.” Rong Jiu said persuasively, as if teaching an ignorant child. “You should use me.”

Jingzhe was too gentle. By the time he realized this on his own, it would probably be a hundred years later. Rong Jiu didn’t have that much patience.

Jingzhe was choked, and looked at Rong Jiu with difficulty.

“You want me to, use you?”

“The person who loves you can be a pawn at your command, and a close friend will be the most solid shield.” Rong Jiu’s calm voice was filled with a strange, creepy coldness. “Grasp their weaknesses, step on their hidden pain, you should use everything you can use.”

Jingzhe shook his head with some difficulty.

“You can’t do it?”

He nodded.

Rong Jiu nodded calmly: “Then start with me.”

Jingzhe shook his head in horror.

The speed was very fast.

Rong Jiu: “Jingzhe, it’s a waste not to use the power that is close at hand.” He sighed. “This will make you weak.”

Jingzhe tried hard to keep up with Rong Jiu’s thoughts, but to no avail. Maybe this is the difference between a pervert and a normal person?

Jingzhe complained in his heart, and seized on Rong Jiu’s last sentence: “Rong Jiu, what are you worried about?”

“Gentle people are prone to premature death.” Rong Jiu said expressionlessly, his tone too calm and cold, like a frozen layer of ice. “When you encounter danger, you should push out all the people you can use and who can cover for you.”

Rong Jiu lowered his head, a faint shadow falling on his face. His voice was clearly extremely cold, but it inexplicably made people tense. Underneath it was a suppressed, yet intensely crazy emotion.

All the forbearance and restraint barely maintained a normal facade. But that grim madness seeped out from his words, making people shudder.

Jingzhe: “…I can’t, do that.”

He couldn’t do that, and couldn’t even imagine what he would be like if he became that kind of person.

“Are other people’s lives not important?”

He might not care about the lives of strangers, but that didn’t mean he would… plunder.

“Of course it’s not important,” the man’s voice was filled with harsh malice, and the violent killing intent was no longer concealed. “No one’s life is more important than yours.”

He grabbed Jingzhe’s shoulder, his dark eyes filled with a thick irritability, with a suppressed cruelty.

“Never have the stupid idea of dying for anyone,” the sharp words seemed to see through Jingzhe’s heart. “Anyone who survives because of you, I will personally break their necks.

“You save one, I’ll kill one.”

…

In the end, Jingzhe didn’t make a request, but was forced to agree that the next time they met, he would have to state what he “wanted”. This made him a little resentful.

Because of Rong Jiu’s words, Jingzhe also asked Rong Jiu to kill fewer people in return.

Although Rong Jiu’s expression looked a little strange at that time, he did agree.

…What’s so strange, is killing someone something that can be done so casually?

Jingzhe sighed whenever he thought of this.

It’s not that he didn’t know what Rong Jiu was worried about, but he couldn’t do what Rong Jiu “taught” him.

To become a cold and ruthless person… like Rong Jiu? Jingzhe thought, but Rong Jiu wasn’t that kind of person either.

Rong Jiu has feelings.

At least Rong Jiu likes him.

Jingzhe suddenly understood.

Fear is born from love. It is precisely because Rong Jiu cares about him that he has also become Rong Jiu’s weakness?

As Rong Jiu said, once you grasp someone’s weakness, you can easily control them.

And he cares about Jingzhe’s life.

For this reason, he hoped that Jingzhe would become more selfish, more unscrupulous, and become a… person who could use others without hesitation.

Let alone saving people, Rong Jiu hoped he would learn to kill.

Jingzhe pouted. Okay, but even so, there were very few people he would risk his life to save. Once there was such a person, it must be someone he cared about very much… How could this be? Did Rong Jiu think so far ahead, so prescient?

Jingzhe was a little崩溃 when he thought about how their topic had gone off on a tangent that even eight horses couldn’t pull back.

Weren’t they talking about birthday gifts at the beginning?

“Quick, quick, bring the person in!”

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the Directorate of Palace Maintenance. Even Jingzhe, who was in the room, lost in thought while handling his affairs, heard it. He put down his brush, and rushed out in a few steps, only to see several eunuchs carrying a bloody person in.

Jingzhe frowned at the smell of blood.

He walked over quickly, and the noisy scene quieted down. After seeing him, the surrounding eunuchs and attendants took the initiative to part, allowing Jingzhe to see the person inside.

“Lai Fu!”

Jingzhe was greatly surprised. The little eunuch who was beaten to a pulp was actually Lai Fu!

“What’s going on?” Jingzhe squatted down and felt Lai Fu’s pulse. It was so weak that it was almost non-existent. “Was he punished?”

He looked at Lai Fu’s almost beaten-up lower back and buttocks, with an unbearable expression on his face.

The ones who carried Lai Fu back were the attendants who were usually closer to him.

One of them said with a sob: “We, we just met the Empress Dowager’s carriage on the palace road. Lai Fu was just a little slow in kneeling down, and the matron of Shoukang Palace said that Lai Fu was disrespectful to the Empress Dowager, and held him down and beat him twenty times.”

The punishments in this harem can’t just be counted, you have to see what the superior thinks.

If they didn’t intend to harm the person, then even if they were beaten thirty times, they would be fine after resting for a while. But if they really wanted to beat someone to death or cripple them, let alone twenty strokes, even five or ten strokes would be enough.

Right now, Lai Fu’s situation was the latter.

Lai Fu’s situation was too serious, and Jingzhe didn’t dare to act on his own. He went to invite Jiang Jinming over.

But even if Jiang Jinming came, he could at most offer a few words of comfort and have someone carry Lai Fu to a room to rest. But his injuries were so serious that just resting would not be enough to heal him.

Jiang Jinming sighed and called a little eunuch over, and gave him some instructions.

Jingzhe watched the person go out and said in a low voice: “The Director is kind.”

Just now, Jiang Jinming had asked the little eunuch to go to the Imperial Pharmacy. It was impossible for them to invite an imperial physician with their status, not even a medicine boy who ran errands. But based on the injuries, describing them a little, and then prescribing some medicine, was still somewhat feasible.

As long as they could pay.

This money, it was obvious that Jiang Jinming intended to pay.

Jiang Jinming sighed: “I’m just seeking peace of mind.” He had just seen Lai Fu’s injuries. Even if he could recover, his body would definitely be left with serious consequences.

Jingzhe: “Director, the Empress Dowager is merciful, how could she do such a thing…”

He hesitated and didn’t continue.

It didn’t matter whether the Empress Dowager of Shoukang Palace was merciful or not, but the appearance she put on was like this, so at least on the surface, she definitely couldn’t do such a cruel thing.

This was also why it was the matron of Shoukang Palace who came forward, not the Empress Dowager.