After I Faked My Death, the Dog Emperor Completely Lost His Mind - Chapter 4

Shen Yuheng’s profligacy was legendary. Everyone knew that the pampered youngest son of the Shen family was obsessed with male beauty, often carousing with like-minded men in the capital.

In truth, the original owner simply enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention and had never actually crossed any lines but even if he had tried to explain that, no one would have believed him. Such scandalous rumors were exactly the kind of gossip people loved to spread, and since it involved the prestigious Shen family, the stories traveled fast. Even Xiao Jin had heard of them.

After entering the palace, the original owner had brought Xiao Jin to his quarters and, upon discovering the stunning face hidden beneath the boy’s messy hair, had briefly entertained some wicked thoughts. However, Xiao Jin’s resistance had been so violent it nearly caused a scene in front of the servants. Feeling humiliated, the original owner never dared to try anything again.

But the current Shen Yuheng only wanted to give Xiao Jin a comfortable and decent set of clothes; Xiao Jin, however, suspected him of having ulterior motives.

Shen Yuheng felt incredibly wronged. He sighed and turned around. “I’m not interested in you, alright? Besides, what do you even have that’s worth my interest? You’re so thin I can’t even find two ounces of meat on you. You’re definitely not my type.”

Xiao Jin almost scoffed. Shen Yuheng looks down on him? Well, he looks down on Shen Yuheng too! Aside from a decent face, what was good about this man?

After a subtle silence, Shen Yuheng heard the faint rustle of clothing from behind.

The System asked cautiously: 【Host, isn’t that a bit hurtful? 】

“No, no, don’t worry.” He wasn’t interested in Xiao Jin, and Xiao Jin would be more than relieved to hear it.

Shen Yuheng leaned back in his chaise lounge, lazily waiting for Xiao Jin to dress. Because they were attending a banquet, this set of clothes was more complex than standard robes. Perhaps because he had spent time in the palace as a child, Xiao Jin managed to put them on quite quickly.

Shen Yuheng looked him over again and was finally satisfied. The red-and-black formal attire, though an older style, unexpectedly complemented Xiao Jin’s gloomy and eerie aura. His half-lowered eyelashes hid the emotions in his eyes, making him look like a red-scaled venomous snake quietly peering from the depths of its cave.

Actually, before seeing Xiao Jin in person, Shen Yuheng hadn’t expected him to be this handsome based on the original book. The descriptions there were mostly fierce and terrifying. Anyone reading those passages would imagine a rugged, sun-scorched, and violent tyrant. This misconception was likely due to Xiao Jin’s eyes piercing like a malevolent star, they made people feel a shiver of dread rather than awe at first sight.

But then again.

Shen Yuheng estimated Xiao Jin’s height and, before the boy could react, reached out and tapped the top of his head. He met Xiao Jin’s cold, angry glare with satisfaction.

Shen Yuheng wasn’t afraid of his staring. After dealing with forty “little buddhas” in a kindergarten, his specialty was handling cranky children. Feeling smug, he tweaked Xiao Jin’s nose, provoking the boy’s rage while simultaneously issuing a command: “At the family banquet tonight, stay close to me. Don’t leave my sight, do you hear me?”

“…” Xiao Jin’s face darkened as he asked hollowly, “Why?”

Xiao Jin’s gaze held a trace of scrutiny. He knew that if he was present, the Emperor wouldn’t summon Shen Yuheng to his bed. Yet Shen Yuheng still wanted to bring him? Why?

“If you don’t follow me, what else are you going to do? Start a fire or kill someone? If you cause trouble and His Majesty decides to blame me. I don’t want to be implicated because of you.”

It was a seamless excuse.

Having said his piece, Shen Yuheng acted as if he were done with Xiao Jin and flicked his sleeves to leave. After a few steps, he suddenly remembered something and looked back.

“…By the way, how are your hands?”

His expression was strange a mix of a frown and a slightly shifty gaze. He actually looked like he was concerned. Xiao Jin, unsure why Shen Yuheng was suddenly being kind, furrowed his own brows in discomfort.

“They’re fine.” “Fine, my—”

Shen Yuheng knew chilblains didn’t heal in a day. Seeing Xiao Jin acting tough, he cursed the stubborn kid in his head. He glanced at Xiao Jin’s hands; to the naked eye, the cracks did look better than yesterday.

Shen Yuheng took two jars of salve from a nearby cosmetic box and shoved them into Xiao Jin’s hands. “Apply this every morning and night. Heal those ugly hands quickly so people don’t see them and think I’m abusing you.”

“If you need anything, send someone to the Internal Affairs Bureau. Our Shen family doesn’t lack silver; supporting one useless person is more than enough.”

Fearing suspicion, Shen Yuheng could only speak in these roundabout ways. Although his mission was to redeem Xiao Jin, he didn’t expect the boy’s favorability to skyrocket overnight. He just hoped that after Xiao Jin ascended the throne, he wouldn’t be torn apart by horses.

The jar of salve in Xiao Jin’s hand emitted the sickly sweet, enticing fragrance common to the Hall of Pure Clarity. It was the scent Consort Shen had always loved. But the scent currently radiating from Shen Yuheng’s body was a light, clear fragrance of tea.

Xiao Jin raised his own wrist; a lingering trace of that scent remained on his sleeve. Those hands that carried the tea fragrance were long, fair, and soft as if they had never weathered a storm or been touched by dust.

A scent that should have been calming instead sparked a violent urge in Xiao Jin’s heart—to crush that person, to drag him into the mire… and make him beg for life while unable to die.

After sorting out Xiao Jin, Shen Yuheng went to inspect the front and back of the hall. After a thorough search, he finally felt relieved this time, the Hall of Pure Clarity was safe.

The original book stated that the fire Xiao Jin started couldn’t be extinguished because small flints had been hidden in every corner of the hall. During the banquet, while the servants were away, the Hall was burnt to a crisp. However, Shen Yuheng had scoured the entire palace and hadn’t found a single flint.

Yet, his expression didn’t brighten. The fact that there were no flints meant the fire Xiao Jin had started in the original plot might have been a spontaneous decision. How could one boy set flints and start a fire so quickly on his own?

He knew Xiao Jin had many eyes and ears in the palace, but he hadn’t realized they were already in place! The original book mentioned that these were death-sworn soldiers Xiao Jin had personally trained during his years in exile ruthless men who would do anything for him. By manipulating them, Xiao Jin secretly controlled information on the Emperor and the other princes. He looked weak, but he already saw the whole board clearly.

The difficulty of this “redemption” mission had just increased significantly.

Shen Yuheng sat on the steps in front of the hall, gloomily tossing a jade pendant like a pebble. Suddenly, a crisp voice came from below: “Consort Shen.”

Shen Yuheng looked down and saw a young man dressed as a eunuch. He looked clean and refined, with a very friendly face.

“And you are?”

The little eunuch smiled shyly. “This servant is named Zhou Yuan. I used to be in Consort Yao’s palace. Xiao Linzi said he wanted to serve Consort Yao, so he swapped places with me.”

Consort Yao wasn’t a male consort, but like Shen Yuheng, she had entered the palace this year and was one of the Emperor’s favorites. It wasn’t surprising that the disloyal Xiao Linzi wanted to climb that social ladder, but.

Shen Yuheng looked Zhou Yuan over, testing him: “You worked in Consort Yao’s palace; why are you willing to come to my place to suffer?”

“This servant and Xiao Linzi are from the same hometown. We looked out for each other when we first entered the palace, so we are quite close.” Zhou Yuan grew bold enough to look up at Shen Yuheng. “Besides, this servant doesn’t feel like working for Consort Shen is ‘suffering’.”

He didn’t know what Zhou Yuan was really thinking, but the boy’s words were sweet. Zhou Yuan was older than Xiao Linzi, appearing to be in his twenties about the same age as Shen Yuheng before he transmigrated.

Shen Yuheng nodded nonchalantly. “Then remember to swap your nameplate with Xiao Linzi. You’ll work for me from now on.”

Zhou Yuan looked up in surprise. It was said that Consort Shen was temperamental and eccentric; he had prepared himself for harsh treatment, yet Shen Yuheng was unexpectedly easygoing. He wasn’t sure if it was a temporary good mood or something else.

Zhou Yuan went to the Internal Affairs Bureau to get his nameplate and returned just as Shen Yuheng was preparing to leave for the banquet. From a distance, Zhou Yuan saw Xiao Jin standing behind Shen Yuheng and was taken aback.

“This servant will prepare another sedan chair…” “No need, this is fine.” Shen Yuheng seemed tired; he let out a yawn and stepped directly into the palanquin.

Zhou Yuan watched in shock as Xiao Jin stepped into the same palanquin. Wasn’t it said that Consort Shen hated traveling with the Ninth Prince? This.

He wasn’t the only one; at the banquet later, many people would surely have the same question. But Shen Yuheng didn’t care what they thought; he only cared about staying alive.

The palanquin moved steadily. Shen Yuheng acted as if Xiao Jin didn’t exist, sitting opposite him with his eyes closed to rest. There were only the two of them in the palanquin; no matter how bold Xiao Jin was, he wouldn’t dare kill him here, right?

Shen Yuheng didn’t sleep soundly; he constantly felt a pair of eyes staring at him, as if wanting to carve the flesh from his bones. Gradually, the surrounding sounds became noisy.

Woken by the commotion, Shen Yuheng rubbed his eyes and saw Xiao Jin looking out the window at something. For some reason, there was a look in his eyes Shen Yuheng hadn’t seen before an unsettling gleam.

Shen Yuheng also looked out. With just one glance

Beside the red walls on a narrow palace path, a palanquin lay overturned. Standing next to it was a young beauty with dust on his robes and tears in his eyes. Though he was a man, he looked utterly pitiable. Next to him were several little eunuchs kneeling on the ground, pleading for mercy.

Shen Yuheng’s heart skipped a beat.

Isn’t that the protagonist Shou, Su Cheng?!!

Sensing a change in the main plot’s progress, the System immediately came online: 【Host! Main plot triggered!】

Shen Yuheng nodded inwardly. As the “Shou” of a melodramatic novel, Su Cheng was almost as miserable as Xiao Jin. He had a poor background, was slow-witted, and lacked favor in the palace, holding only the low rank of a Cairen (Talented). Like Xiao Jin, even the lowliest eunuchs bullied him.

With the family banquet tonight, someone must have tampered with his palanquin, causing him to fall and get injured. This scene was originally Su Cheng’s solo plot, but they had happened to run into it. He had to admit, the “Gong” and “Shou” of the original book truly shared a deep fate.

Shen Yuheng thought for a moment and came up with a plan. He pushed aside the curtain and called out to Zhou Yuan: “Zhou Yuan, find a physician to check on Talented Su. As for the banquet, if he still wants to go, find someone to help him there.”

Zhou Yuan nodded in agreement.

“By the way, remember to say the Ninth Prince ordered it. Don’t mention me.”

Zhou Yuan looked confused but still agreed: “This servant will see to it immediately.”

Inside the palanquin, Xiao Jin looked at Shen Yuheng with suspicion and scrutiny.

Shen Yuheng added, “A person from a background like Talented Su’s should definitely not be associated with me. He and the Ninth Prince are a much better match.”

Xiao Jin: “…” Truly an idiot.

Shen Yuheng, however, breathed a silent sigh of relief. His mind was sharp! If he could help Xiao Jin and Su Cheng reach a Happy Ending while he himself stayed invisible, wouldn’t his chances of survival be much higher?