The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 47

Rain began to fall again that night. As the saying goes, “Every autumn rain brings a new layer of cold”; after days of relentless drizzle, winter was fast approaching.

Inside the bedroom, the charcoal fire burned with increasing intensity. High-quality silver-silk charcoal was delivered to the Zhao Prince’s manor in steady succession. It produced no unpleasant smoke, yet the room felt stiflingly hot.

Xie Cheng wore only a plain silk inner robe. The front ties were left undone, hanging loosely off his frame. Bathed in the room’s dry heat, his skin was slick with sweat.

It was a cold sweat.

He was still freezing deep in his bones, though he didn’t let a hint of it show on his face.

“You’re sweating so much, Your Highness.”

A bare arm reached across his chest.

Perhaps because the plains of Pingyang were vast and scorched by a relentless sun, the contrast between their skin tones was striking. The tanned arm brushing against Xie Cheng’s pale skin was impossible to ignore. It looked like a vibrant poplar tree suddenly taking root in a field of pristine snow, an uninvited but undeniable presence.

Xie Cheng looked down at the arm draped over him but didn’t push it away. Being held like this was, after all, quite warm. He reached up to brush his long, loose hair behind his shoulders so it wouldn’t stick to his damp skin.

Seeing no rejection, Jiang Yi grew bolder. He spread his fingers, tracing the lean muscle of Xie Cheng’s torso. He hadn’t even done anything yet, but his own face flushed a deep red. He leaned in, rubbing his face against the nape of Xie Cheng’s neck, murmuring “Your Highness, Your Highness” over and over.

“Jiang Yi.” Xie Cheng shot him a warning glance over his shoulder. “Keep still.”

Jiang Yi paused, but only to nuzzle into Xie Cheng’s sweat-dampened hair at his temples. He nipped at the Prince’s earlobe, mumbling, “You have no idea, Your Highness… after years of soaking up the Pingyang sun, I’ve saved up enough heat to sweat out every bit of your coldness.”

He pressed a kiss to Xie Cheng’s shoulder. “Do you feel the warmth yet?”

“No. I feel two layers of sweat sticking together. It’s filthy.” Xie Cheng tried to pull the arm away, but it didn’t budge.

“It’s not filthy at all.”

Jiang Yi kissed his way to the curve of his neck. His hot breath made Xie Cheng shudder slightly. In that brief moment of concession, Jiang Yi’s lips met his, and they became entangled.

With nowhere to put his hands, Xie Cheng rested them lightly on Jiang Yi’s thigh, eventually digging his fingers in with a sharp pinch.

In certain moments, they were not perfectly in sync.

Xie Cheng preferred to be the one in control composed, deliberate, handling everything with a steady hand from start to finish. Jiang Yi, however, was driven by pure, hot-blooded passion. He released everything in a rush, sometimes bordering on reckless.

Yet, whenever Jiang Yi seemed on the verge of using brute force, he would suddenly turn incredibly docile, putting on a pitiful, puppy-like act. Xie Cheng always found it easy to forgive him then. After all, the ultimate control always remained in the Prince’s hands.

Soon enough, the pale bed curtains fell, pooling in layers on the floor. Sweat soaked the sheets this time, it wasn’t a cold sweat. A genuine warmth finally began to flow through Xie Cheng’s limbs.

Xie Cheng suddenly sat up, sweeping his hair back once more. He pulled a silk ribbon from somewhere and tied his hair back loosely. A few stray strands still framed his face, swaying gently with his breath.

Jiang Yi lay on the bed, watching him with a stunned expression, his Adam’s apple bobbing unconsciously.

“Don’t move.”

Xie Cheng reached out and gave the back of Jiang Yi’s head a firm but gentle swat. His fingers slid forward, cupping Jiang Yi’s chin and forcing him to look up.

This position left Xie Cheng completely exposed to his gaze. Jiang Yi stared up at the Prince, whose features looked even sharper and more ethereal with his hair tied back. His breath hitched.

Outside the curtains, the candlelight flickered in the draft, casting their silhouettes in a soft, hazy blur.

“You were holding me so tight just now,” Jiang Yi panted, his voice raw and undisguised.

He had been biting down on a piece of Xie Cheng’s inner robe to keep quiet—Xie Cheng had shoved it into his mouth because he was being too noisy—but now it fell aside.

“I love it,” Jiang Yi whispered, rubbing his face against the “prize” he had claimed. He hovered over Xie Cheng, his back a map of smooth, moving muscle. He couldn’t help but nip at a corner of the silk robe again.

I love him so much… what do I do? My ears are going to pop. My tail is going to start wagging.

“Stop biting that. Again?”

Xie Cheng tried to snatch the robe back.

“Do you still want to wear this one?” Jiang Yi asked half-articulately.

Xie Cheng looked at the garment. It was a wrinkled mess, the collar dampened with moisture. It looked far from clean.

“Fine. Keep it.”

Xie Cheng rolled off him and sat at the edge of the bed, letting out a long, slow breath. Jiang Yi immediately crawled after him, nipping at his ear. “Does Your Highness wish to bathe?”

“Yes,” Xie Cheng replied.

“Wait here. I’ll go get the hot water.”

Jiang Yi received his “order” but didn’t leave immediately. He lingered to pepper Xie Cheng’s cheek with kisses before finally striding behind the screen, throwing on Xie Cheng’s outer robe as he went.

Xie Cheng sat on the bed, waiting in the fading warmth.

A quarter-hour passed, and Jiang Yi hadn’t returned. Instead, the voice of his guard, Shui Shi, came from outside the window. “Your Highness, a secret message from the Hidden Pavilion.”

Xie Cheng figured Jiang Yi had probably been intercepted by someone. Otherwise, knowing that boy’s personality, his boisterous, laughing voice would have reached the room long before he hit the door.

“Don’t show me. Just speak,” Xie Cheng said.

Shui Shi bowed his head outside the window, lowering his voice. “The Hidden Pavilion reports traces of the Wizu tribe in the Imperial City.”

“Wizu.” Xie Cheng’s expression didn’t change. He looked past the curtains toward the window. “Someone from the Pingyang royalty sneaked in?”

“Your Highness, the Lord of Pingyang has already surrendered. By the Emperor’s grace, he has been titled the Prince of Pingyang. The one who sneaked in is the Pingyang Heir, Jiang Jingtian.”

“The Pingyang Heir”

Xie Cheng repeated the title, his voice dropping an octave as his gaze turned icy.

“The legitimate eldest son is living as a hostage, scraping by in this dangerous city, while they have the leisure to appoint a new ‘Heir’ back home? And soon, they expect to enter the capital in glory?”

Shui Shi remained silent.

“Since they have surrendered to our Great Dongli, they must follow our rules. Who gave them the audacity to appoint an Heir without permission? Without a formal petition to the Emperor, they dare use such a title? Their loyalty seems… lacking.”

“Should we inform the Emperor?” Shui Shi asked.

“Such a trivial matter needn’t trouble my Royal Father.” Xie Cheng leaned back against the cushions. “Go investigate this ‘Heir’ who entered the city illegally.”

“And if he has ulterior motives?”

Xie Cheng’s voice was flat. “Kill him on the spot.”

Late into the night, the sound of the night watchman’s clapper echoed again.

Jiang Yi hurried back in, pushing the door open with his shoulder while balancing a copper basin. Hearing someone sitting up behind the curtains, he immediately started whining. “Annoying! So, so annoying!”

“Who’s annoying?” Xie Cheng asked.

Jiang Yi set the water down behind the screen and noticed Xie Cheng was flipping through a book of miscellaneous tales.

“That Niu Dazhu who lives in Pear Blossom Alley!”

Xie Cheng didn’t look up. “You mean Niu Dazhu from Peach Blossom Alley.”

Jiang Yi slapped his forehead. “Oh, right! Peach Blossom Alley. That’s the one!”

“He’s a total pest,” Jiang Yi complained. “I was trying to hurry back, but he grabbed me and insisted on a duel. I told him I wasn’t interested, but he wouldn’t let go. He actually drew a sword on me!”

“Are you sure it was him?”

“Of course! I’d know that face anywhere.”

“I should hire a Taoist priest for you tomorrow.”

Jiang Yi tilted his head. “Huh?”

“Niu Dazhu was a spy in this manor,” Xie Cheng said, finally looking up with a smirk. “Shui Shi executed him a while ago and dumped his body in the back hills. Silly boy… you saw a ghost.”

Jiang Yi:

The candlelight suddenly flickered.

Clang! Jiang Yi’s foot hit the copper basin. He lunged toward the bed, entangling himself in the curtains and Xie Cheng’s arms in a frantic scramble.

“Y-Your Highness…” his voice trembled against Xie Cheng’s chest. “He… he gave me some pastries yesterday! Don’t scare me like that! I’m terrified of ghosts!”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“It was.  really a ghost?” Jiang Yi tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

Right on cue, a bird shrieked outside.

Jiang Yi clung tighter, wrapping his arms and legs around Xie Cheng like a vine. “Demons and monsters, begone! Our Prince is a star deity descended to earth! He has… he has royal purple aura protecting him.”

Xie Cheng stared at the “demon/monster” currently clinging to him and patted his shoulder. “Let go.”

“No, no, no!”

Xie Cheng went silent for a moment. “Actually, that was Wang Dazhuang from Peach Blossom Alley. He looks like Niu Dazhu, but they aren’t related at all.”

Jiang Yi buried his face in Xie Cheng’s chest, squirming. “You tricked me! You big bully!”

“Get up.”

“I won’t!” Jiang Yi looked up, his smile turning sly. “You’re bullying me too much, Your Highness. I’m going to bully you back…”

In his rush to push Xie Cheng back into the bed, Jiang Yi completely forgot about the weight limits of the furniture. There was a sudden, thunderous CRACK.

The entire bed collapsed.

In a cloud of dust and splinters, Jiang Yi froze.

He saw Xie Cheng sprawled among the broken slats and scrambled to pull him out. “Ah! Your Highness! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I really didn’t!”

His voice grew smaller and smaller.

Xie Cheng’s face was thunderous. He stumbled to his feet, a torn piece of bed curtain still tangled in his hair. He gripped a jagged piece of the broken bedframe. “Jiang… Yi.”

“I really didn’t… OW!”

Jiang Yi’s head took a very real hit from the piece of wood.

“Calm down, Your Highness, please!” Jiang Yi fussed over him, trying to massage Xie Cheng’s shoulders. “I didn’t expect it to break like that.”

“Get lost.”

Xie Cheng shoved him away and grabbed a fresh inner robe from the rack. He hadn’t intended to change yet; he had imagined them washing up and then snuggling into a warm, cosy bed together.

But now, Xie Cheng wanted nothing more than to hang this brainless idiot from the rafters and give him a thorough thrashing.

“Your Highness…” Jiang Yi hugged him from behind again. He held him tight, his hands behaving for once, but his mouth started up with the nonsense again. “Good boy, good boy… don’t be mad, my good boy…”

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