Chapter 6: Changing Clothes

 

When he woke up again, the morning light had started to dawn.

Wei Loan pretended to faint last night. The king was keen and perceptive. If he continued to act, there would be slip ups, so he might as well faint and end the conversation. He was carried back by the king.

The two of them slept on one bed, but they slept in two futons. Wei Lian was at first cautious and alert, but it was true that he had a fever. Because of his fatigue, he eventually fell into a deep sleep.

He woke to see the king's face right in front of him.

.....To be truthful, to see this right in the early morning is pretty frightening.

The King of Qin was born truly handsome. His features were flawless, and his eyelashes were each separate and long. He had a high nose bridge, and his lips were light and thin, right to the good point.

Wei Lian stared for a while, and Ji Yue opened his eyes, revealing a good looking pair of eyes.

His husky voice contained the pitch of a person who just woke up, his slightly upturned phoenix eyes were filled with clarity: "Are Gu's (my) looks to your liking?"

Wei Lian was startled.

When he reacted, he instantly set aside the covers, and kneeled and bowed on the other side of the bed, his voice containing a trace of nervousness: "King of Qin."

Ji Yue lazily propped up his body, and his black hair poured freely, looking very alluring.

He observed the kneeling youth with great interest: "Looks like you're finally awake."

Wei Lian's voice was low: "Last night.....were there any offenses?"

How could there not be any. Last night he gripped his sleeves and wouldn't let go, hugged him and called him mother, and wiped his tears on his body.

There wouldn't be anyone who dared to treat him like this in eight hundred years.

But Ji Yue didn't answer. Instead he teasingly said: "There were no offenses, but you did serve Gu (me) very well."

The youth's look was too serious when he was conscious, and was completely different from yesterday's cute and confused look. Ji Yue subconsciously birthed some bad taste and wanted to bully him into blushing.

As expected, Wei Lian looked bewildered.

.....Serve?

Ji Yue curled up his lips: "Last night you were very feverish, so you shouldn't have remembered. On this dragon bed, Gu (I) favored you."

Wei Lian: "....."

Cough, if Wei Lian didn't clearly remember what happened last night, he might've really believed him.

The King of Qin was first rate at speaking nonsense with such sincere eyes.

If the king knew how to act, then Wei Lian wouldn't yield much either.

Wei Lian quickly revealed a shocked expression, and his face turned slightly red, surfacing a bit of a lost look. 

"Embarrassed?" Ji Yue suddenly leaned his body over. His hair strands fell on Wei Lian's face, making him feel a bit ticklish.

Wei Lian instantly looked up. His eyes were flustered and his voice was hesitant as he wished to speak: "You....." (formal)

However, the king grabbed him by the chin.

Ji Yue's phoenix eyes slightly squinted, and took a closer look at Wei Lian's face, and praised: "What a good beauty."

"A beauty like you is born to enter the harem, and be favored under a man. The King of Chu took a pearl as a fish eye, letting you go unnoticed in the dust for so long in his palace. If Gu (I) were him, (I) would've tasted you long ago. "

Ji Yue's words were full of bad taste as he lightly spoke, each word was full of debasement.

Wei Lian felt Ji Yue's words were right; he was a truly a beauty. He always deeply agreed about this.

As for the rest of the words, he didn't put it in his heart for even a little bit.

The King of Chu's debauchery is not a secret in the seven kingdoms. The King of Chu is lecherous, and had once stolen his official's wife, which he then abandoned in the harem like common footwear. The former king also had a lady who should've been the consort dowager, but the King of Chu sacrilegiously conferred a title of lady, sinfully taking his own father's concubine.

Switching concubines between brothers (no blood relations) was even more common. Relationships between men were trending. Some of the kingdom's officials liked to play around with male prostitutes and then gift them to someone else when they were tired of playing with them. The King of Chu once received a boy toy from one of his officials. After favoring him, he discovered he was one of his concubine's younger brother. A brother and a sister sharing one husband was a story unheard of in the kingdom's lineage.

Relationships that were even more convoluted and strange also existed. Wei Lian coldly regarded all this in the Chu Kingdom for many years. Everything entered in his eyes, but he didn't say a word.

He never really met his so called father, and always carefully hid his looks. Otherwise with his depravity, no one knew if he would go after his own son.

It is funny to say that only when he was about to depart for the Qin Kingdom did he truly meet his father for once. After he saw how beautiful Wei Lian's looks were, his face clearly flashed across regret and lust.

Any of Wei Lian's lingering feelings disappeared.

With a foolish and self indulgent king like this, the fact that the Chu fell to Qin was rightly deserved.

_

The King of Qin used words to try shame him, but he didn't know that Wei Lian's skin was already as thick as the city walls. There were no waves in his heart when he heard this; he even kind of wanted to laugh.

But he still needed to pretend to be thin skinned, and he looked aggrieved and ashamed as he said: "King of Qin——”"

"You have already entered Qin, so you are no longer Prince Lian and instead the Qin Palace's Wei Shijun." Ji Yue stroked his face, "Remember your own identity, what should you call Gu (me) by?"

Wei Lian's voice was astringent: ".....Your Majesty."

Ji Yue put down his hand: "Very good."

Wei Lian looked down again: "Wei Lian....."

"This is not what you should refer to yourself as."

Refer? Refer as what?

According to the rules of the Qin Palace, the queen, the four consorts, and the three ladies referred to themselves as Qie. The rest of the concubines referred to themselves as Bi (slave girl).

Shijun is equivalent to a regular concubine.

But he was a man.

Did he really need to refer to himself as a slave?

A prince who flowed with the blood of kings has fallen to a slave's position?

Wei Lian's long eyelashes drooped down, looking a bit fragile.

He pushed down a strand of dangerous intent.

No matter what he would not be able to say that debasing word.

Wei Lian could bend and stretch (endure and give up), but he had a bottom line. He was willing to seduce the King of Qin to live a better life. He was willing to be under another man because he himself would also take pleasure in this, and there wouldn't be any loss.

But as a slave, he was not willing.

Not to mention if he really did follow whatever the king asked of him, he would also lose interest in him.

Wei Lian considered for a moment, and respectfully replied: "This official shall solemnly remember."

_

He referred to himself as an official.

Ji Yue "Oh'd" as a reply, and his end remark grew higher in tone: "Gu (I) originally thought the normal you is less amusing than the you last night. It is Gu (I) who thought wrong."

"Wei Shijun, you are a very interesting person." It wasn't known if Ji Yue was praising or mocking him, "Courageous beyond all others."

Wei Lian gently said: "Your Majesty has overpraised."

Ji Yue ambiguously smiled. He didn't accuse Wei Lian of overstepping his boundaries with how he referred to himself.

He stood up from the bed, and raised his arms horizontally: "Help Gu (me) change clothes."

The King of Qin should go hold court now.

Wei Lian silently got off the bed. After a night's sleep, he was already fine since he had a good body foundation.

Although his body was thin, his height was about the same as the king. He lowered his eyes to avoid gazing at each other.

The official court clothing is thick and heavy. Wei Lian was unaccustomed to the procedure, so it was inevitable to be rough.

"You haven't served anyone before?" Ji Yue raised his brow.

Wei Lian shook his head: "No."

He was the prince of kingdom. Even at the time he was insulted and abused the most, no one dared to make him serve them and change their clothes. 

Those psychologically distorted eunuchs were both daring and cowardly. They dared to step him into the mud, but didn't dare to actually demand him to serve them however they liked.

When he lowered his head to tie the king's clothes, the king abruptly grabbed his hand: "Wei Lang's pair of hands were born so pretty." (Lang is an endearment for male lovers)

"Wei Lang" these two words almost gave Wei Lian an entire body of goosebumps.

Wei Lian wanted to take back his hands, but the king started to lightly scratch his palm, and asked: "It's just that why are there calluses?"

Wei Lian paused, and quietly said: "Although this official was a prince, but life in the Chu Palace was not good. During childhood, (I) often helped the eunuchs of the palace complete tasks for some food and money.....these calluses formed while working at that time."

He said it half truth half lies.

It was true that his life was that hard back then, and even worse than what he said.

He worked hard for the eunuchs, and his skin wasn't as soft and smooth as a regular rich young master.

At that time, a child's palm was soft and fragile. His skin would often be scraped and blood would flow everywhere, but he could only endure. Those despicable and lowly people would take pleasure in abusing a noble prince for fun, forcing him to call himself a slave, and forcing him to kneel and bow his head on the ground.

Wei Lian once threw all his pride away just to beg for a mouthful of food.

To live on.

Only the dangers in the shadows and darkness could refine his heart and mind into what it is today.

Afterwards, this pair of hands held a sword.

The sword was bloodied as he killed all those who mistreated him.

Those people died without a sound, and no one knew it was him who did it.

Everyone knew the Qin Chang King- tyrannical and immoral, his smile contained knives, he killed people without blinking.

But they didn't know Prince Lian- graceful and elegant as a jade, an honorable gentleman——

Killed people like killing cockroaches.

Translator's Note: 

I know the shivers. Just don't cross those two, and you'll be fine. There is one more chapter till this book turns from vinegar into cotton candy. Just bear on.

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