15 Chapter 15
Are you...that sensitive?
Not only his clothes, but Su Lu's hair and cheeks were also completely wet.
Strands of her black hair, like brocade, clung to her cheeks.
His skin was so white, like the first handful of snow on a mountain peak.
Xie Yutang recalled how she had deliberately humiliated him, forcing him to kneel on the martial arts arena to pick up the sword she had thrown.
Snow should be high above, untouched by dust, so why did it fall?
Time and time again.
Su Lu held the umbrella perfectly, so not a single drop of the water that was poured over her head splashed onto her, but he himself was completely exposed.
It got completely soaked.
From Xie Yutang's perspective, his long, thick eyelashes resembled the eaves of a house during a rain shower, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to catch the falling water droplets.
But he was wearing a mask, and her fingertips, which should have touched his cheek, only touched the mask, causing both of them to pause in surprise.
Xie Yutang calmly withdrew his hand: "How did you end up in such a sorry state?"
He immediately bowed his head obediently: "It was my fault."
“What did you do wrong?” Xie Yutang’s voice was very soft. “The one who always makes you look so pathetic is me.”
She wasn't just talking about getting wet.
Su Lu gently stroked the umbrella handle with his fingers. Even though it was his mask that was being touched, his cheeks under the mask began to feel faintly hot.
He was somewhat at a loss for words, so he turned his head slightly and carefully folded the plain paper umbrella. The umbrella was covered in water, and he used his wrist with great restraint when folding it, so that not a single drop of water would spill onto Xie Yutang.
Xie Yutang's gaze, however, fell on his newly soaked cuffs.
She went to great lengths to send Lin Tan away, and had Huai Jin send a letter to Su Lu in advance, all in the hope of seeing him tonight.
She told herself that she needed to see him to ensure his loyalty because she had humiliated him too much during the daytime martial arts competition.
But Xie Yutang clearly knew that the anger and tyranny in his heart had strangely subsided the moment he saw him.
People always feel at ease with certainty.
Su Lu always managed to give her that precise sense of control just right.
His every move, every glance, even every breath, was subduing him and placing him under her control.
So she was soothed.
Hsieh Yu-tang said, "You need to change your clothes."
She couldn't let her guards shield her from the water while wearing soaking wet clothes.
But the guard hesitated, which was unusual for him: "...It seems there is nowhere here to change clothes."
indeed.
All the places where you could change clothes were closed. Even the owners, tailors, and employees were out enjoying the lanterns and gardens with their families. The only businesses still open, besides restaurants and teahouses, were—
Nanfeng Pavilion.
The madam was a woman of wide experience; even though the young man before her was wearing a mask, she could tell at a glance that he was a beauty, a top-tier beauty.
Moreover, the other person's clothes were completely soaked, revealing their broad shoulders and thin back, especially their narrow waist—
*Smack*
The madam mentally slapped herself.
calm.
I am a madam, not a client.
Sure enough, the entire three-story pavilion fell silent the moment he stepped through the door.
If eyesight had any tangible quality, this young man, whose clothes were soaked through, would probably have been seen through a sieve long ago.
He was called a young master, but his temperament was somewhere between a boy and a man, like the first snowflakes on a mountain peak—clean, crisp, and unripe, making one want to... soil them with the most despicable means.
"Little beauty, come with me. No matter the cost, I'll..."
A burly man with a large belly couldn't wait to embrace the snowy figure, but before his hand could even touch her waist, he cried out and shook her off.
A subtle silence fell over the surroundings.
What kind of place is this? A brothel.
She came to this kind of place soaking wet and still tried to act all demure.
It's pretty spicy.
The gazes from all around grew increasingly unrestrained.
"You blind fool, you dare touch...my people?"
Only then did everyone notice that there was a young woman beside this beauty. The woman was also wearing a veil. As she spoke, she reached out and easily pulled the slender waist that the big man couldn't even touch into her arms.
The madam quickly stepped forward, forcing a smile: "Miss, this is a brothel for male prostitutes. You must have come to the wrong place."
Xie Yutang acted as if he hadn't heard and went straight to the third floor: "I've booked the best private room. No one is allowed to come in and disturb us."
"Also, get a clean set of men's clothes."
Xie Yutang's embrace revealed thoughts from all directions.
Why can she hug him, but I can't?
A man who was about to make a move had just reached out his hand when he screamed as his arm was dislocated and he rolled to the ground.
Silence fell again.
The beauty was still being held in the arms of the veiled girl, and no one could see how he made his move.
Everyone then realized that he had shown mercy to the first man, but he would not be so lenient with any more who did not know their place.
For a moment, even though everyone coveted this stunning beauty, no one dared to step forward.
The madam tried to stop her again, but the beauty stretched out her long hand and handed over some silver.
The madam glanced at the man while receiving the money and couldn't help but shudder—
Among those who came here were many high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Even the highest-ranking official she had ever met in the capital was not as terrifying as this casual glance.
"I originally wanted to keep a low profile..." Xie Yutang sat down on the couch in the room, rested his chin on his hand, looked at the person in front of him with a half-smile, clicked his tongue lightly, as if he was a little annoyed, "You attract so much attention wherever you go."
She hadn't been unaware of the scene just now, but—the only place with men's clothes, a place to change, and still open—was "Nanfeng Pavilion."
"Luckily, this face is covered up, otherwise it would be even more troublesome."
Xie Yutang beckoned to Su Lu, watching her guard walk step by step to her, his knees lightly touching the ground, and quietly kneeling down in front of her.
She was unhappy with the distance he was sitting at.
"Closer."
Su Lu pursed his lips, carefully moved forward a little bit on his knees, but the distance was almost the same as not moving at all.
Xie Yutang narrowed his eyes unhappily.
"Your subordinate is covered in water, and I fear I may soil Your Excellency—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xie Yutang leaned forward, reached out and hooked his finger firmly onto his perfectly sculpted jawline.
She used to find the mask an eyesore, but now—
"That's right, such a beautiful face shouldn't be shown to others."
Su Lu fell silent the moment she touched him, his chin held tightly in her hand, not daring to move an inch, only his long, drooping eyelashes trembled slightly: "...This subordinate may wear a mask from now on."
That's what I meant.
Xie Yutang smiled.
He really knows how to satisfy her desire for control.
"That won't do. If such a beautiful face is covered up, what will I see? Besides—"
Xie Yutang held the man's chin in place with one hand, and used the other hand to remove his mask, enjoying the feeling of that perfect face being revealed little by little under his hands.
"I have such a handsome person by my side, of course I have to show him off. It's most satisfying to see others jealous of me but unable to do anything about it."
These weren't exactly kind words, but the boy didn't seem to mind, only his long, drooping eyelashes trembled a few times.
Xie Yutang examined his face like an object, and he complied with her every whim.
Xie Yutang liked this look, and according to her personality, she would definitely tease him a few more times, but he had behaved too well today, and she didn't want to be too mean.
The thin blouse on the low table was folded neatly. It had been delivered by the madam herself, who said it was a newly made garment that had only been washed once and had never been worn.
Xie Yutang clasped his hands and took out the Jade Skin Cream from his pocket, placing it on the low table: "Keep this, and apply it yourself if you have any injuries in the future."
Once you step onto the martial arts testing platform, it's impossible to come down unscathed. Even someone as skilled as Su Lu would inevitably suffer some injuries.
The boy's gaze lingered on the bottle of medicine for a moment, a flicker of light in his eyes: "Master... brought this medicine specifically for me?"
"Of course, the medicine from the patrol battalion can't compare to this."
Xie Yutang smiled and was about to get up and go behind the screen when his sleeve was pulled.
Su Lu's gaze was calm as he looked up at her. The young man pursed his thin lips, seemingly shy about what he was about to say: "...Would you like Master to apply the medicine for me?"
...
Although it wasn't the first time Xie Yutang had seen it, he couldn't help but sigh that this body truly had the qualities to make all the guests on the three floors of Nanfeng Pavilion arouse lust at first sight.
She picked up some ointment with her fingertips and applied it to the wound on his back.
The muscles under the fingers trembled slightly.
"pain?"
"……no."
Xie Yutang then applied the ointment to the bruises on his waist.
The moment her fingertips touched her skin, her narrow waist almost stretched into a full bow.
"Are you badly injured?"
"……no."
Now even his voice is a little hoarse.
Xie Yutang recalled that when she brought the boy back from Happy Valley, she applied medicine to him, and he would tense up all over at the slightest touch, turning red from his neck to his ears.
It must be a very sensitive body.
They're afraid of pain, but they won't admit it.
Xie Yutang thought that although her guard was embarrassed to admit that he was afraid of pain, he was very honest in other aspects. She didn't need to press on his wounds to force him to admit anything like last time.
So Xie Yutang lightened the pressure of his fingertips even more, and even blew air very gently onto the wound.
She felt she had done her best for him, but after applying the ointment, the expression on the boy's face startled her.
His eyes were red, his nose was red, and his thin lips were bitten until they were almost bleeding. Not to mention his ears and neck, his forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat. He looked like... like he had just traversed thousands of miles of mountains and torrents.
"Are you... that sensitive?"
Xie Yutang stared at him for a long time, and then became somewhat speechless.
That's too much of a fear of pain.
She was already very light.
Given his appearance and the location, people might assume...
Xie Yutang cautiously raised his hands: "You're the one who told me to apply this."
Perhaps it was too embarrassing, the boy, who was always impeccably polite and never made a single mistake, simply buried his face in his arms in despair and said in a very soft voice: "It has nothing to do with the master, it is... my fault."
The last syllable still trembled slightly.
After a moment's pause, the boy finally stretched out his slender fingers and hooked the clothes on the low table.
The male prostitute's clothes were indeed different from those of ordinary men. His slender waist was outlined in a very seductive way, and the thin gauze fabric was semi-transparent, like a lone, dust-free mountain peak shrouded in light smoke.
That was Shan Jianxue, the god of war general who had fought his way in and out of the frontier battlefield seven times without ever being defeated, and the young Prince Muqing who single-handedly took on dozens of experts from the patrol camp with ease. Who in the world knew that he could be so soft and almost fragile?
He laid himself bare before her, completely unguarded.
"……Owner?"
Since Xie Yutang hadn't given any response or instruction for a long time, Su Lu had no choice but to kneel down in front of her again.
He finally managed to pull himself out of his disheveled state, his eyes still unsure of where to look, when he noticed Xie Yutang's fingers, hidden in his sleeve, playing with a string of thin gold chains.
The boy paused slightly in his breathing.
Everything that just happened was his own doing. He only hated himself for being too greedy, which led him to such an undignified situation. He had finally managed to climb out, but the thin chain struck him down again, knocking him back into the pit.
Xie Yutang suddenly didn't want to be a good person anymore: "Woyu said that even if I tied you up and raped you, you wouldn't resist with a single finger. Is that true?"
Her question, so bold and intrusive, caught me completely off guard.
Su Lu's Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
"What I'm doing to you now has far exceeded what one would do to a guard, hasn't it? Why aren't you resisting?"
...
"say."
The young man turned his head slightly: "I have said that I belong to you entirely, and you can do... anything you want."
"Including... taking your life?"
Xie Yutang narrowed her eyes and suddenly grabbed his neck.
So thin, yet the pulse beat rapidly beneath her palm, while the person beneath remained motionless, even raising their chin to expose more of their vulnerable throat to her.
"You are afraid."
"……No."
"Then why is this place shaking?"
Xie Yutang looked at his eyelashes.
The boy closed his eyes briefly, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Yes... I'm afraid."
He was afraid of her getting any closer, afraid of her touching him, even... afraid of her looking at him.
Perhaps because the water from the street hadn't been wiped off, her long, thick eyelashes still had some moisture on them.
Although Xie Yutang acts wickedly, she rarely pushes people to this point. The reason for this is that she is also experiencing unknown hesitation and inner conflict.
The poison of a thousand ants gnawing at her heart, the pain of a sharp blade piercing her soul—she dared not forget, could not forget.
Knowing full well that the path ahead is one of endless torment...
Xie Yutang exerted force.
Since betrayal is intolerable, it's better not to give him the opportunity to betray.
The man beneath her grasp began to struggle to breathe. His fingers, which had never struggled in the slightest, slowly lifted. Xie Yutang thought he was about to struggle, but then he noticed that the sleeve of his other robe was being tugged very gently.
She lowered her eyes, puzzled.
The boy's slender fingers hooked the thin gold chain from her hand, and then wrapped it around her wrist, which was gripping his neck.
Xie Yutang paused.
He wrapped the delicate golden chain around her porcelain-white wrist with a reverent gesture, like a silent yet solemn vow.
Xie Yutang's long eyelashes fluttered, and a flurry of snowflakes fell before her eyes.
On the racecourse, the boy knelt straight down in front of her, a blood-stained gold chain locked around his jade-colored neck, his palms clasped together, holding the other end of the chain.
She understood that vow.
—I will not leave, I will always be by your side. The chain around my neck will always be in your hands, you will always have absolute control over me, anytime, anywhere, if even one finger of mine resists, you will break my neck.
The hand gripping the boy's neck suddenly loosened.
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