The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 46

Outside the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, Eunuch Wang—the Emperor’s personal attendant stood guard. Upon seeing Xie Cheng, he flicked his horsetail whisk and bowed in greeting.

“His Majesty knew this matter would disturb the Prince and has already ordered a warm, medicinal soup to be prepared.” Eunuch Wang cast a subtle, fleeting glance at Jiang Yi. “The wind is biting out here; please, My Lord, come inside quickly.”

What happened behind those closed doors was a private matter. Jiang Yi understood this perfectly and stepped aside obediently. “Go on in, My Lord. I’ll wait for you out here.”

Xie Cheng gazed at Jiang Yi for a brief moment before giving a soft hum of affirmation. He handed the hand-warmer tucked in his sleeve to the younger man.

“Wait for me to come out.”

The wooden doors opened and shut, sealing away the candlelight, the scent of medicine, and the figure stepping inside. All that remained was the faint sound of the breeze brushing against the eaves.

Outside, Jiang Yi held the hand-warmer. Without a care for decorum, he sat down on the ground, his fingers twisting the jade pendant at his waist. Noticing Eunuch Wang’s scrutinizing gaze, he looked up and gave the old eunuch a wide, bright grin.

“Greetings, Eunuch Wang,” he said naturally.

Inside, the charcoal braziers were burning bright. Xie Cheng removed his cloak and hung it on a nearby rack.

As he had suspected, the rumors outside were gross exaggerations; the Crown Prince’s life was in no danger.

Beyond a screen embroidered with a hundred birds, the Crown Prince, Xie Qi, sat cross-legged on the bed. An outer robe was draped casually over his shoulders as he looked through a stack of official petitions.

He didn’t look like a man at death’s door at all.

“Zijue, you’ve come.” The Crown Prince turned to look at Xie Cheng, offering a faint smile.

“Not dead, and yet telling the whole world you’re dying.”

Hearing Xie Cheng’s blunt words, the Crown Prince merely laughed it off. “Drawing the snake out of its hole is a risky move, but it is the most effective. And I happen to be the perfect bait.”

Xie Cheng walked around the screen and sat in a soft chair placed by the bed clearly set out in anticipation of his arrival.

“Well? Have you found out who was behind it?” Xie Cheng asked.

The Crown Prince shook his head. “Not yet clear.”

“Then it seems your ‘death’ wasn’t very useful after all.”

The Crown Prince sighed and poured a cup of hot soup for himself. “Stop sniping at your Imperial Brother. Even though I intended to bait them this time. It truly was an accident.”

“An accident?” Xie Cheng took a sip of the soup.

The soup was brewed with various herbs; a heavy, bitter taste clung to it, making it quite unpleasant.

Xie Cheng’s palate had been spoiled by Jiang Yi’s cooking; this “common brew” simply wouldn’t do. He didn’t want to drink it, so he handed it back.

“Your sweetheart lives in that alley, so you must have stationed many personal guards nearby. What kind of assassins could overwhelm the elite of the Eastern Palace?”

The Crown Prince’s expression darkened at the mention of the alley. “A pack of arrogant fools daring to commit violence in the Imperial City. Once I find them, I’ll have their heads.”

“It seems Imperial Brother already has a plan.”

“I need your help with this, Zijue.” The Crown Prince leaned forward, placing a hand on Xie Cheng’s shoulder. “The two of us one in the light, one in the shadows will surely uncover the mastermind.”

“Fine,” Xie Cheng agreed.

The Crown Prince smiled again and sat back. “I’m sorry to make you make the trip, but if you hadn’t come, those outside wouldn’t have believed the act.”

“And then what?” Xie Cheng looked down, fiddling with the jade pendant at his waist, winding the tassel around his finger. “Do I need to go out and put on a crying performance for everyone?”

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. “If you are willing, I certainly won’t stop you.”

Xie Cheng:

“I sent Shu’er to a safe place. He is timid and shouldn’t see such bloodshed…”

Shu’er?

Xie Cheng rubbed his arms, suddenly feeling a chill. He tried calling out “Yi’er” in his mind.

He got goosebumps.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was the type to ramble incessantly once he started talking about his beloved.

Xie Cheng stood up and draped his cloak back on. “Since Imperial Brother is fine, I shall take my leave.”

“Eh? Zijue, why the hurry?”

Without turning around, Xie Cheng replied, “I’m going back to figure out how to cry well enough to deceive everyone.”

The Crown Prince couldn’t help but laugh.

But as he laughed, he suddenly covered his mouth with his sleeve and began to cough violently. His face turned deathly pale. When Xie Cheng turned back, the Prince had coughed up blood onto his palm.

Xie Cheng stepped forward. “What is this?”

“I  cough, cough…” The Crown Prince forced a smile, waving his hand weakly. His breath was ragged as he spoke. “A minor injury. Just  just a small wound, nothing serious.”

“Where were you hit?”

The Crown Prince coughed for a long while before recovering. “On the back of my neck. Just a scratch.”

Xie Cheng frowned. Before the Prince could react, he brushed aside the man’s loose hair. There, on the back of his neck, was a wound about an inch long, seeping pitch-black blood.

The wound wasn’t long, but it was deep enough to see the bone.

“Lin Ji said the wound looked poisoned, but the Imperial Physician saw it and found nothing. It shouldn’t be an issue,” the Crown Prince said. Then, he tapped his forehead. “Look at my memory. One more thing—I know you like that hostage from Pingyang, but the Shaman Tribe must be guarded against…”

Xie Cheng didn’t respond. He was staring intensely at the wound.

This aura.

It was Gnas.

The night was thick, and a waning moon hung in the sky, casting a dismal light. It wasn’t bright; rather, it looked like it was covered in a grey film, looming over the back garden.

In the desolate courtyard, the shadows of the rockeries were stretched long, looking like crouching monsters. The silence was terrifying; not a soul was in sight.

Ever since the news broke that Prince Xian had lost favor after attempting to assassinate Prince Zhao, the vast Prince Xian Manor had become a wasteland in just a few days.

Xie Cheng leaped down from the high wall, landing as light as a falling leaf, making no sound.

There was the smell of blood.

It drifted through the air in thin threads, as if intentionally leading him.

Following the scent, Xie Cheng wove through the overgrown grass and stopped before a rockery. By the faint light, he saw a figure curled in a crevice, heavy breathing mixed with suppressed groans of pain.

The person seemed to have noticed his approach. When Xie Cheng’s shadow fell over him, the man slowly looked up.

The face was familiar—Prince Xian, Xie Yuan.

But the eyes were those of a stranger. Or rather, to Xie Cheng, those eyes were far too familiar.

They held a deliberate, innocent harmlessness, like a child’s, but hidden deep within was a profound greed a greed for everything, a desire to swallow the entire world and keep it for himself.

Xie Cheng stood silently, his gaze cold.

When Xie Cheng didn’t respond, “Prince Xian” cautiously reached out a hand to touch the tip of Xie Cheng’s boot, pulling his face into a careful smile. “Father…”

He wasn’t very good at smiling; his face remained stiff. “Father,” he whispered again.

Xie Cheng’s brow furrowed. He withdrew his foot half an inch, leaving the hand hanging in the air. This tone made it easy for him to draw a connection this loathsome creature was imitating Jiang Yi.

“Father?”

After a long silence, Xie Cheng spoke in a low, heavy voice:

“E.”

“Have you played enough?”

Gnas froze instantly.

His expression twisted violently. He gritted his teeth, pushing himself up from the ground. “E?” His voice suddenly became high-pitched and piercing. “You actually called me that?!”

Gnas clutched his head tightly, his bulging eyes bloodshot. “Why? Why?! I was your first child!”

“You weren’t,” Xie Cheng replied instantly. His tone was filled with his usual impatience.

Impatience.

The word was like a poisoned needle, a sharp thorn.

Gnas began to thrash about uncontrollably. He moved like a newborn infant, limbs stiff and clumsy, looking incredibly ridiculous. He screamed “Why?” over and over again.

“Why can you let the past go for them? You personally gave those people new names, called them good children and sweet babies. Why? Why?”

“You won’t even. You won’t even call me Gnas.”

So noisy.

Xie Cheng struck him on the top of the head with a fist, granting his wish. “Gnas. Shut up.”

Prince Xian’s head was dented inward by the blow, but it quickly swelled back up. Black mist began to pour from his eyes and ears, threatening to burst the body open.

“Gurgle, gurgle.” The black mist circled happily, blowing bubbles.

But Xie Cheng had no intention of letting it go. He looked at it as if it were a piece of deformed fruit. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

Just as a power not of this world gathered in his palm, ready to crush the mist, the black cloud suddenly vanished without a trace.

M-Master, New Leader? What was that thing? System 222, silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

E, Xie Cheng replied simply.

What?

It is Calamity.

222 understood only halfway. That’s terrifying.

Yes. Feeling he hadn’t emphasized it enough, Xie Cheng added, Do not go near it.

It is a disgusting, filthy thing. It’s what I hate most in this life. Do not approach it.

Xie Cheng emphasized it once more.

The servants in the Prince Xian Manor were lazy; Xie Cheng walked out through the main gates quite openly.

“My Lord.”

Jiang Yi’s voice came from the corner behind him. Xie Cheng turned and saw a head peeking out. He was dressed entirely in black, with a black cloth covering his face, but Xie Cheng could still tell he was smiling. The corners of his eyes were tilted up in happiness.

Xie Cheng brushed his sleeves. “Come out.”

“Someone will see us,” Jiang Yi whispered.

“Let them see.”

Jiang Yi glanced left and right before quickly pulling Xie Cheng into the dark corner. He confessed before being asked: “Prince Xian is unconscious. Everyone will think you did it.”

“I did do it.” Xie Cheng pulled the black cloth off the man’s face. “Also, when did you follow me?”

“I didn’t! I didn’t! I listened to you and waited outside the whole time,” Jiang Yi lied through his teeth.

“Do you need me to help you remember what you just said?” Xie Cheng’s gaze shifted down, lingering on Jiang Yi’s filthy boots.

With that much mud, did he fall into a pit?

“My Lord, I was just worried.” Jiang Yi tugged at Xie Cheng’s sleeve. “I stayed far away. One leap and I was over the wall; I didn’t waste any time.”

“What did you hear or see?” Xie Cheng asked.

“I saw you standing in the moonlight like an immortal from the heavens. I’ve only ever seen someone like that in paintings.”

Jiang Yi hugged him from behind, his fingers lightly twining through Xie Cheng’s hair. “I was thinking then… when will my hair turn as white as yours?”

“By the time your hair turns white, we will both be old.”

“Even when we’re old, you will still be as graceful as ever.”

Xie Cheng let out a soft laugh.

Jiang Yi rested his chin on Xie Cheng’s shoulder. “My Lord, can you call me ‘good child’ or ‘sweet baby’?”

Xie Cheng: “…” That creature’s voice was too loud; Jiang Yi had indeed overheard something.

Silence. Stillness.

Jiang Yi blinked, drawing out his words. “My Looord—”

“I never call people that,” Xie Cheng stated.

“But I heard it,” Jiang Yi muttered. He hadn’t heard clearly, only catching a few words specifically, that his Prince had called someone that.

“It was just his imagination,” Xie Cheng explained.

Jiang Yi’s arms tightened. If not for Xie Cheng’s health, he would have squeezed himself into the Prince’s body. He threw a very practiced tantrum. “I want to be called ‘sweet baby’.”

His voice was muffled, carrying a stubborn, nasal whine.

“Good”

Xie Cheng exhaled softly. “Good Jiang Yi.”

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