Chapter 18: Trendy Venting There seems to be a line from a TV series...
There seems to be a line from a TV series, oh, that's what it said: "You, a servant, don't feel sorry for yourself, but instead pity your master?"
Cheng Qianyue felt like she must have just had a brain fart. Even though this man was treating her well now, he had a long history of tormenting her before. He might have enjoyed his erratic behavior, but she and the people serving him outside were terrified.
Logically, she shouldn't have pitied him, but seeing his mad and broken state, she still felt a pang of pity.
Why?
Because compassion and kindness are instincts, and some people are just like that by nature. It's like how you can't help but give money to a beggar, can't help but help an elderly person sweeping the streets late at night, and can't help but buy some sausages to feed stray cats and dogs.
It's only human nature.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but sigh. She was too close to him, close enough to see all his pain, so even if she were in a sea of fire herself, she couldn't help but empathize with him.
As the saying goes: love is separation, resentment and hatred, greed, anger and ignorance, and desires are not fulfilled.
No one can escape these things, and she was no exception; she had a little bit of all of them. Unfortunately, the Second Prince did too, and even more so than her. Thinking about it this way, it seems that once they were free from their social status, they were all just ordinary people; they seemed to be the same.
Cheng Qianyue gently patted him to lull him to sleep, thinking as she did so: She was not some all-powerful saint; she had no ability to solve his pain. All she could do was comfort him in times like these.
(In any case, she's now bound to him, and no matter what his life brings, she can't escape him.) So as long as he doesn't bully her like before, she'll treat him wholeheartedly. After all, who wants someone they're with every day to be a moody lunatic? What's the difference between that and sleeping with a bomb in their arms? And if that bomb explodes, they certainly won't die, but the people around them will definitely perish.
"Yinreng." She lowered her head and called him by his name in a defiant manner, gently kissing his forehead. "Be strong. If you're like this now, what will happen if you're deposed or reinstated later? You'll go completely insane!"
In the middle of the night, Cheng Qianyue was half-awake and vaguely felt someone watching her. She wasn't surprised at all, because she was quite used to sharing a bed with Yinreng. She slowly raised her hand and patted his shoulder as if to comfort him.
Then she felt a hand moving under her, with a warm, sticky, wet sensation.
Um?
Cheng Qianyue's mind cleared up considerably, but because she was so exhausted from sleeping, she could only ask vaguely, "Master? What are you doing?"
She should have kept quiet until she asked, because once she did, he became aggressive and ended up picking her up in his arms.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't utter a sound at all. Her scalp tingled, and she couldn't help but sob, "Master, Master, please slow down."
Yinreng stared intently at her infatuated state, panting heavily as he said, "Call my name."
At this moment, all notions of treason and rebellion lost their power. She couldn't care less about anything else, and with her eyes blurred, she responded to him intermittently, "Yin...Yin...Reng." The only response she received was a howling thunder and lightning.
After a moment, Cheng Qianyue could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Her remaining brain circuits couldn't quite figure out why things had developed in such a strange way, and then she noticed that Yinreng was looking at her with bright eyes again.
No way... that's her silent cry.
But it was clear that Yinreng didn't want to let her off so easily. Fortunately, this time she wasn't seriously injured; she felt as if she had been moved from a volcano to a hot spring. After an unknown amount of time, he finally called for water, then took a thin blanket and carried her behind the screen to wash.
"I really went too far tonight," Cheng Qianyue thought to herself. At this moment, her thinking ability was almost zero, and she fell into a deep sleep amidst a jumble of confused questions.
The next morning, she was sore all over, especially her lower back and abdomen, as if she had done a hundred or eighty sit-ups. Yinreng seemed to have a change of heart and let her eat breakfast in bed.
He didn't mention anything about what happened yesterday, and personally brought her soup to feed her. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and he looked radiant; it was clear just by looking at him that he was in an extremely good mood.
Cheng Qianyue reluctantly played this childish game with him. At the same time, she also felt that since he had tormented her yesterday, serving her food today was her way of making amends. When he ladled out a spoonful of soup and brought it to her, she obediently lowered her head and ate it.
The small bowl of rock sugar, white fungus, and lotus seed soup wasn't much, and she finished it in no time under Yinreng's care. After she finished the soup, Yinreng put down the bowl and asked her if she wanted any more steamed buns.
"Yes, of course I want it!" Cheng Qianyue was bolder than ever at this moment, and even ordered some dishes: "I'm not full yet, I want to eat both savory and sweet snacks."
Yinreng looked at her and smiled. After he finished smiling, he just glanced to the side. Jingshun, who was in charge of ordering the food, lowered his head and began to announce the names of the pastries.
"This morning's sweet snacks include: jujube paste and yam cake, honey and osmanthus cake, and fried milk buns. Savory snacks include: bamboo shoot and pork filling buns, vegetable filling buns, and bamboo-shaped solid small steamed buns."
For Cheng Qianyue, filled buns are just another name for steamed buns. Just hearing Jing Shun announce the names of the snacks made her mouth water. She immediately said, "I want buns with bamboo shoots and pork, and also fried milk buns."
The bamboo shoot and pork filling buns are made with a mixture of corn and wheat flour, and are round and golden in color, looking like cornbread. The fried milk buns are similar to condensed milk steamed buns, which are fried, coated with a layer of milk skin, and then sprinkled with a thick layer of icing sugar.
One dish is salty and the other is sweet, but both are quite strong in flavor, just like Cheng Qianyue's favorite.
When the two plates of steamed buns were served, Yinreng picked up a meat bun with his chopsticks and brought it to her mouth, while his other hand was still below to catch it.
Wow, so considerate!
As Cheng Qianyue sighed inwardly, she took a bite of the bamboo shoot and pork filling. The filling was so juicy that the juice dripped down her chin before she could even suck it out, and even onto Yinreng's hand.
Cheng Qianyue had regained her senses by this time. When she saw that his hands were dirty, she immediately wanted to get up and apologize, but Yinreng was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and teased, "Look at what you're eating. Even a child who has just learned to eat eats better than you."
Seeing that he wasn't angry, Cheng Qianyue didn't want to make a big deal out of it. She looked up at his expression and said apologetically, "This servant forgot to suck out the juice." She didn't dare to ask him to feed her anymore and quickly said, "This servant will do it herself."
Yinreng handed her the chopsticks in his hand, took the handkerchief Chen He offered to wipe his hands, and watched her intently as she ate half of each of the two plates of steamed buns.
After finishing breakfast, Cheng Qianyue felt it was inappropriate to stay in bed any longer, so she said she wanted to get up. However, Yinreng disapproved and put on a stern face, "Didn't you say you were tired and your back hurt? You're staying here to rest, and you're not allowed to go anywhere."
Although he had a stern face, the corners of his mouth were still smirking. Cheng Qianyue wasn't afraid of him being like that, but she didn't dare go against his wishes either, so she said, "Then this servant will sleep a little longer." A thought flashed through her mind—wouldn't it make him seem more capable if she slept here? Of course, he was indeed very capable.
Cough cough.
Cheng Qianyue returned the compliment by saying, "I was really tired yesterday and didn't want to move at all." But she regretted it as soon as she said it, because there were many people in the room, and she had actually said that in front of everyone! How was this any different from playing a small theater in public?
After realizing what had happened, Cheng Qianyue blushed and stammered, "I, um, I'm going to sleep." As she spoke, she hurriedly tried to pull at the curtain next to her.
Once she drew back the curtains, she couldn't see anyone else, so she pretended she hadn't said those words.
Before she could react, Yinreng grabbed her hand, his eyes overflowing with tenderness, and whispered, "What are you shy about?" He glanced around, and everyone else lowered their heads and obediently pretended to be pillars.
He cleared his throat and instructed the servants, "Move the dining table to the study." Then he patted her hand and said, "Go to sleep. I'll wake you when lunch is ready."
The room was soon empty except for Ruoyun, who stood guard at the door. Everyone else had gone to the study to serve him his meal.
Cheng Qianyue lay on her back on the bed. Combining the doubts from last night with the strange events of this morning, she suddenly realized. Oh, this man had vented all his resentment through their lovemaking last night.
Wow, your way of venting is really trendy!
At noon, Yinreng came to wake her up as promised. Actually, Cheng Qianyue had been awake for a while, but she had been lying there without moving. Since Yinreng wanted to wake her, she would wait for him to do so. She wouldn't argue with him over such a trivial matter.
During lunch, Yinreng frequently served food to Cheng Qianyue, and her rice bowl was never empty. This was the first time she had ever received such treatment. Cheng Qianyue looked at him incredulously and said softly, "Master, you treat this servant so well."
Yinreng just smiled, and after he finished smiling, he continued to serve her. He thought he would treat her even better. Actually, he had heard everything last night; he heard her call his name and hear her say that she hoped she could be strong.
He was like a tree on the verge of decay, welcoming the gentle spring breeze, and his heart was filled with sweetness and courage.
He, Yinreng, the Crown Prince of the Qing Dynasty, a Manchu warrior, could not and did not want to become a pile of mud. Moreover, he did not want to hide in a woman's arms like a coward; he wanted to stand up and not be looked down upon by a mere princess!
Just as the atmosphere was just right, Chen He came in after receiving a report from outside and told the Emperor in detail about how the Emperor had allowed the two princes to visit Xian'an Palace.
Cheng Qianyue saw Yinreng pause for a moment, his chopsticks hanging in mid-air. This was a good thing, she immediately assessed the situation and hurriedly said, "Father and son are naturally related, it's clear His Majesty is thinking of you."
Father and son are naturally related...
Yinreng silently recited these four words in his heart.
Father Emperor, is that really how you feel?
A note from the author:
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As usual, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the version released is a censored version. [laughing and crying with facepalm]
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