After the Alluring Beauty Was Forced into a Political Marriage - Chapter 11

Lianzhi could sense that his elder imperial brothers, who usually acted so haughtily in front of him, seemed somewhat afraid of Lu Jingce, even though Lu Jingce was the youngest among them aside from Lianzhi.

Shen Lianzhi noticed that his eldest brother’s knuckles had turned bruised from the stone Lu Jingce had flicked. At this moment, the brother was grimacing while clutching the injury.

This was truly a major incident.

According to his usual temperament, the eldest brother would never let this go without causing a massive scene. Yet today, he merely gave Shen Lianzhi a resentful glare and left. Lu Jingce watched his retreating figure for a while before turning back to smile at Lianzhi.

“He will not bully you again, Fourth Highness,” Lu Jingce said.

Lianzhi remained in a daze. Hearing Lu Jingce’s words, he only gave a dull nod and lowered his head, saying anxiously, “Oh, this time, I am lucky you were here.”

Lu Jingce looked at him with half-lidded eyes. A smile appeared on his still-youthful face, a smile that was somewhat proud and cunning. “The Fourth Highness is mistaken.”

“It is not just this time. It will not happen again from now on.”

It seemed difficult to believe such a solemn promise coming from a ten-year-old child. But by some strange twist of fate, Lianzhi looked into those eyes, which were as dark and clear as black jade, and unconsciously entrusted his most precious trust to him.

Lu Jingce naturally took his hand and led him along the bluestone path. That hand, only slightly larger than his own, held him tightly, making Lianzhi feel a sense of peace for the first time.

As they walked, Lu Jingce asked him, “Do you want to study?”

Lianzhi was stunned for a moment and turned to ask, “What?”

“Study,” Lu Jingce said with a slight smile. “Do you not always stand by the window of the Imperial Study?”

“If you came to study, you would likely learn much better than the eldest prince and the others, would you not?”

Lianzhi’s face turned red. He shook his head vigorously. “I, I hardly know any characters.”

“You learn because you do not know them,” Lu Jingce said dismissively. He simply asked Lianzhi, “Do you want to study?”

Lianzhi was silent for a while, his head partially lowered and his gaze fixed on his toes and the raindrops splashing on the bluestone. After a long time, he finally nodded.

Lu Jingce’s laughter seemed to drift down from above. “That is good then.”

Shen Lianzhi did not understand, so he simply looked up at him. This brother, two years his senior, wore a smile as beautiful as a crescent moon, causing Lianzhi to follow him with a silly smile of his own.

Lu Jingce looked down at him. Shen Lianzhi had a small face and large eyes. He was skinny, but his eyes were bright and clear, reminding him of a snow fox cub he once raised.

Lu Jingce could not quite remember which vassal state the little fox had come from; in any case, the Empress Dowager had gifted it to him.

Actually, Lu Jingce had no great interest in such fluffy creatures, but the snow fox was so adorable that he truly liked it. He pampered the fox to the extreme, doing everything for it personally.

He loved the little creature’s eyes most of all; they were as clear and beautiful as glass. Once the fox became comfortable, it would stare at people with its whole heart.

Occasionally, Lu Jingce could even see his own reflection in those eyes.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last. The snow fox was accidentally let loose by a servant in the Princess’s Manor. Lu Jingce was truly heartbroken; it would not be an exaggeration to say he could not eat or sleep during the days the fox was missing.

He ordered people to search every street and alley. It was eventually found, but one of its eyes was blind and half of its tail was broken.

The snow fox was very loyal. Upon seeing Lu Jingce, it crawled into his arms with great grievance. Looking at the bloody, broken tail and the dull remaining eye, Lu Jingce no longer felt any pity; instead, he felt only intense loathing.

Ultimately, Lu Jingce ordered the servant to be beaten to death and drove the snow fox away. It was the middle of winter. Not long after being cast out, the snow fox starved to death, its corpse lying at the gate of the Princess’s Manor.

Looking at its stiff body, Lu Jingce felt a sense of “the fox mourning the rabbit.” He had the snow fox’s body collected and built a small tomb for it on the back mountain.

After that, Lu Jingce often thought of that snow fox. The Empress Dowager wanted to give him a few more, but Lu Jingce did not want them. Snow foxes were easy to obtain, but those eyes were hard to find again.

And now, he seemed to have found them again.

At that time, Shen Lianzhi was leaning against the edge of the bed. With that anxious demeanor, those clear and bright eyes, and a fairness that even filth could not hide, Lu Jingce almost instinctively felt a sense of pity for him.

“Are you hungry?” Lu Jingce smiled as he watched Lianzhi’s face flush, then continued on his own. “But I seem to be a bit hungry.”

“I must trouble the Fourth Highness to accompany me for a meal.”

Shen Lianzhi had never eaten such a sumptuous meal since birth. He nearly ate until his stomach burst. Lianzhi treated it as if it were the last meal of his life.

He stuffed food into his mouth regardless of his appearance. Before the pastry in his mouth was even swallowed, he reached for a fragrant roasted goose leg, his dirty sleeve brushing against the soup.

Lu Jingce’s spoon had just entered the bowl of soup. Seeing this, his movements paused.

Lianzhi noticed the hesitation and immediately felt incredibly embarrassed. He lowered his head as far as he could and set the goose leg aside. With his head bowed, he clearly saw his own filth and Lu Jingce’s magnificence.

But in the next moment, his nose caught the scent of meat. Lu Jingce held the goose leg up to his lips. Lianzhi looked up and saw the handsome young boy giving him a brilliant smile.

“Lianzhi, you are so playful,” Lu Jingce said, pretending to be mature. “You have made your perfectly good clothes all dirty.”

“I punish you to finish this entire goose leg,” Lu Jingce said with a smile.

Later, Lianzhi would taste countless delicacies, but no dish ever tasted better than that goose leg.

Since that day, he finally had a place in the Imperial Study. The Internal Affairs Department finally stopped withholding his monthly allowance. The eldest prince finally stopped staring at him to vent his anger.

Lianzhi could finally wear good clothes and eat his fill. Lu Jingce even brought him countless rare treasures from around the world.

For many years, he did not experience “hunger and cold” again.

When Shen Lianzhi woke up, his face was wet with tears. He did not know if they were shed last night or during his dream.

The couch was damp and cold. He was alone; Siqin Bari was nowhere to be found.

Shen Lianzhi felt a dull ache all over his body. He lay on the couch with hollow eyes for a while before grabbing the furs on the bed to slowly sit up.

Xiao Anzi and several servants brought him hot water. Shen Lianzhi told them to turn around while he moistened a cloth to wash himself.

Lianzhi remembered that when he lay down yesterday, the animal skins were dry and soft. But now, they were clumped together by something, feeling like countless soft thorns against his skin.

His fingers brushed over the furs and suddenly stopped at a certain spot. Lianzhi’s slender fingers parted the clumped fur, revealing a mark hidden beneath the surface: a smear of red about the size of a thumb.

Shen Lianzhi abruptly withdrew his hand and covered his mouth. A surge of sharp pain came from the bottom of his stomach. The filthy memories of last night, which had faded with his dream, came rushing back once again.

He felt as if he were once again enveloped in that hot, damp pool. In an instant, it felt as if his entire body were covered in dense leeches. He looked down and could almost see the dark, damp marks left behind by them.

“Ah!” Shen Lianzhi’s eyes widened. He grabbed the nearby cloth and rubbed himself desperately, using so much force that his skin turned red. The skin grew redder and redder, nearly seeping blood.

“Highness, Consort, Consort,” Xiao Anzi, seeing that Shen Lianzhi had not come out from behind the curtain for a long time, could not help but pace forward anxiously. Upon parting the curtain, he saw Shen Lianzhi clutching the cloth and rubbing himself in a self-punishing manner. He was instantly terrified. “Consort, what are you doing?!”

The cloth was snatched away. Lianzhi sat slumped on the couch, gasping for breath. He turned his head to look at Xiao Anzi, his eyes red. “Xiao Anzi.”

“This servant is here.”

“What day is it today?”

“It is, February 17.”

After hearing this, Shen Lianzhi was silent for a while. After a long moment, Xiao Anzi heard his muffled voice. “I want to go home.”

Xiao Anzi’s eyes showed sorrow as he changed his wording: “Highness, the grasslands are your home.”

Shen Lianzhi stared at him for a while. That look, which could be called despair, made Xiao Anzi panic. He felt a belated sense of regret. Perhaps he should not have said that, even if it was the truth.

Lianzhi rose abruptly. He was barefoot and wearing only a single inner garment. He walked past the line of servants holding clothes without a glance, heading straight for the sheepskin trunks piled high in the corner.

Lianzhi raised his hand. His whole body was sore, but he forced out a surge of strength to push over the mountain of trunks. The top trunk fell, one after another, crashing down like the world was ending, amidst the cries of the servants.

The trunks burst open, and gold and silver spilled out. Lianzhi ignored the brilliant light and searched directly for a sword. Amidst the screams of the crowd, Lianzhi pulled the sword straight out with a sharp metallic clang.

“This is not my home,” Lianzhi said with red eyes, holding the sword across his neck. “I do not want to stay here. I want to go home.”

“I want to go home!”

The servants were in a panic, their hands losing strength as the items they held fell to the floor. The royal tent was a mess, with Xia speech and their broken Han language mixed together. “Consort, you must not”

Shen Lianzhi was oblivious, his eyes merely red. “Let me go!”

Two servants glanced at each other and scrambled outside to ask the Shanyu to return and make a decision. However, before they had gone far, their expressions changed and they retreated backward. “Great King.”

Both of Shen Lianzhi’s hands were shaking as he tried his best to hide his fear. He had been timid since childhood and had never caused such a scene. Although his intention was to draw Siqin Bari over, now that the man had actually returned, he could not stop his fear.

Shen Lianzhi did not turn his head. Though Siqin Bari was young, his aura was overwhelming. No one in the royal tent dared to speak, and it was completely silent within the dome. Lianzhi clearly heard the sound of Siqin Bari’s footsteps on the furs as he walked toward him.

He had just returned from outside, bringing a gust of chilling wind with him. Shen Lianzhi vaguely smelled a scent of blood, which made his skin crawl even more.

“Do not, do not come over,” Shen Lianzhi swallowed. “Otherwise, I will, ah!”

A sharp pain suddenly came from his wrist. Siqin Bari’s cold hand grabbed his wrist like an iron pincer. The pain was so intense that Lianzhi almost thought his wrist would break. The sword fell from his hand, hitting the ground with a clang, quietly announcing his failure.

Shen Lianzhi did not look up. He heard Siqin Bari’s mocking laugh from above.

“Shen Lianzhi,” Siqin Bari said deeply. “You even dare to put on such a performance in front of this King?”

“Do you believe that this King will actually kill you?”

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