The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 51

Inside the kitchens of the Prince Zhao Manor, the rich aroma of chicken soup mingled with the sweet scent of fresh ingredients, rising in thick, swirling clouds of steam.

Jiang Yi stood watch over a bubbling clay pot, his expression tight with nerves. He held a small bowl in his hand, slowly tilting its contents into the broth.

The bowl contained nothing but common medicinal herbs, yet they were soaking in a thin, pale layer of blood that gave off a faint, metallic tang. As the blood dispersed into the soup, the golden liquid darkened significantly. Jiang Yi leaned in to take a sniff and immediately furrowed his brow.

“What’s wrong?”

Nearby sat a young man wearing a veiled bamboo hat Ye Shu, the close friend Jiang Yi referred to as “Qingzhu.” He was looking over a nutritional recipe Jiang Yi had written. Hearing the constant sighing, he looked up.

“The scent of blood is too strong,” Jiang Yi muttered. “The Prince won’t be able to stomach it.” He tried adding a spoonful of seasoning to mask it. The metallic smell faded slightly, but he knew if he added any more, the flavor would be ruined.

“Why don’t you just tell him the truth?”

“Tell him?” Jiang Yi murmured to himself.

If he were honest, the Prince would be even less willing to drink it. It was better to coax him into it under a white lie.

Jiang Yi covered the pot and sat down beside Ye Shu, resting his chin in his hands. “The Prince has a deep, frigid poison in his body that ordinary medicine can’t touch. Only my blood possessing a ‘Supreme Yang’ nature can slowly dissolve that toxicity.”

“I still think you should be direct with him.”

“I’ll think of a way to ask later.”

A Secret Warning

While waiting for the soup to finish, Jiang Yi scrounged up some pastries for Ye Shu. “Where have you been these past few days?”

“Elsewhere.”

“Where is ‘elsewhere’?”

“A safe place.”

“Stop hiding things from me,” Jiang Yi said, leaning back against his chair. “I’m not a fool. The scandals involving the Minister’s Estate have been the talk of the town. You think I haven’t heard a word?”

Ye Shu let out a long, slow breath. He removed his veiled hat, revealing a face that bore a striking resemblance to the Minister’s eldest son, Ye Feizhou save for a jagged birthmark on his right cheek that gave him a haunting appearance.

“No wonder Ye Qing wanted to get rid of you,” Jiang Yi noted. “He was terrified of you showing your face at the Estate.”

“That is in the past. There is no need to mention it,” Ye Shu replied calmly, seemingly untroubled by the drama.

“As long as you’ve moved past it. But you still haven’t told me where you’ve been staying or who you’re with.”

“Somewhere safe,” Ye Shu repeated, his lips sealed. “I came today primarily to give you a warning.”

Jiang Yi blinked. “About what?”

“You met with the Grand Priest a while back, didn’t you?”

Jiang Yi nodded, not denying it.

“What did he say?”

Jiang Yi’s expression soured. “He said some absolute nonsense. Utterly ridiculous things. I told him to shut his mouth, but I don’t know if he actually listened.”

“Do you really think they’ll just give up because you told them to?” Ye Shu looked at him steadily. “You might not know this, but Jiang Jingtian has been sneaking around the Imperial City for quite some time now.”

Jiang Yi’s fists clenched. “They.”

“Running away won’t solve anything.”

“I know.” Jiang Yi’s shoulders slumped, his eyes dimming with a layer of gloom. “I thought as long as I stayed here, they wouldn’t move recklessly. I thought they’d at least have some regard for me.”

“They are blinded by greed,” Ye Shu reminded him. “You know that better than anyone.”

“I’ll handle it.”

Ye Shu wanted to say more, but seeing the light fade from Jiang Yi’s eyes, he bit his tongue. “Just make sure you know what you’re doing,” he added.

Jiang Yi let out a heavy sigh. “How am I supposed to bring this up to the Prince?”

He was used to playing the role of the sunny, innocent companion in front of Xie Cheng. He instinctively wanted to shield the Prince from these dark, calculated power struggles.

“Just tell him directly,” Ye Shu advised.

“I need to lead into it! I can’t just… drop it on him,” Jiang Yi said, burying his face in his hands. “Besides, I haven’t decided if I even want him to know.”

“What are you worried about?”

“The Prince… his health is already poor. The cold poison hasn’t been cleared yet; he needs rest. He should be living a life free of worry a wealthy, leisurely royal who spends his days looking at flowers and composing poetry. He shouldn’t be tainted by these filthy affairs.”

He paused, his voice dropping to a whisper. “What if he gets dragged into this? What if it ruins his peace or puts him in danger?”

In his heart, Xie Cheng was the high-hanging, untainted moon pure and brilliant.

Ye Shu looked at Jiang Yi with a look of pure disbelief. To him, the Prince Zhao he knew wasn’t some “innocent little white flower.” Xie Cheng was a man of deep calculation and immense power, someone capable of turning the tides of the empire with a flick of his wrist.

There was likely nothing in the vast kingdom of Dongli that escaped the eyes and ears of the Prince Zhao Manor. Xie Cheng probably knew about Jiang Jingtian’s arrival before either of them did.

This idiot.

“What?” Jiang Yi asked, confused by his friend’s silence.

“Nothing.” Ye Shu poured himself a cup of tea to steady his nerves. He muttered under his breath, “You’re being sold off and you’re still happily counting the money for the merchant.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said your soup is ready.”

“Oh! Right!” Jiang Yi jumped up to kill the fire. He rushed off with the pot, his voice echoing back, “I’m taking this to the Prince. Make yourself at home leave whenever you like!”

Ye Shu: 

The Silent Treatment

When Jiang Yi returned to the bedroom with the soup, he didn’t find Xie Cheng tucked away in bed, asleep. Instead, the Prince was sitting up, draped in an outer robe, idly flipping through a book of stories.

“My Lord, you’re awake?”

Xie Cheng ignored him, his eyes trailing over the pages. He was reading about local anecdotes and street gossip, but his gaze was vacant, as if he were merely staring into space.

“I made some chicken soup. Would you like a few sips?” Fearing the Prince might not have an appetite yet, Jiang Yi set the soup on the warming brazier.

He pulled up a low stool and sat naturally by the bedside, reaching out to take the book from Xie Cheng’s lap. “My Lord, shall I read to you?”

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the page, Xie Cheng abruptly pulled the book away.

Jiang Yi’s hand froze in mid-air. He looked up, stunned.

Xie Cheng still refused to look at him. He tossed the book aside and, under Jiang Yi’s frantic gaze, grabbed the quilt and rolled over, turning his back to him.

He didn’t say a word, but the coldness radiating from his back felt like a layer of frost.

Belatedly, Jiang Yi realized he was angry. This wasn’t just physical discomfort; it was a heavy, suffocating mood that made Jiang Yi’s heart skip a beat. He leaned over the bed anxiously.

Why is he angry? Was it because he had been gone too long? Because he hadn’t read to him earlier? Or was it something else?

“My Lord.” Jiang Yi reached out, his fingers hovering over Xie Cheng’s shoulder before he pulled them back, helpless. “I was wrong. Please, don’t upset yourself.”

Xie Cheng pulled the quilt tighter, burying his head further, offering nothing but a cold shoulder.

“Are you upset that I went out?”

Xie Cheng: Silent Anger.

“Qingzhu said he had something important to tell me, and he couldn’t stay long. That’s the only reason I went to see him.”

Still silence.

That wasn’t it.

Jiang Yi tugged gently at the quilt, his mind racing with panic. Suddenly, it clicked.

The Prince looked like he had been awake for a while. If he had stepped out for air and passed by the kitchen, he could have easily overheard their conversation.

The Prince heard everything.

Jiang Yi turned pale. All the worries he had kept bottled up to protect Xie Cheng had been exposed.

The Prince wasn’t angry about the “what” he was angry that Jiang Yi would rather share those burdens with Ye Shu than with him. He was angry at being kept in the dark.

Xie Cheng hated being lied to more than anything.

Realizing this, Jiang Yi felt a wave of tenderness and guilt. He leaned closer, resting his chin lightly on Xie Cheng’s shoulder like a stray dog begging for forgiveness, tugging at the Prince’s sleeve.

“My Lord, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just.  I didn’t know how to say it.”

Seeing that Xie Cheng didn’t push him away, Jiang Yi nuzzled against his cheek. “I really didn’t do it on purpose. I was afraid you’d be worried, or that you’d find me.  bothersome.”

“Hmph.” Xie Cheng wasn’t buying it.

But since he had finally reacted, Jiang Yi softened his voice even more. “I truly know I was wrong. From now on, no matter what happens or what I’m thinking, I promise you’ll be the first to know. I won’t hide a thing.”

“Liar.”

Xie Cheng finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and dry, carrying the weakness of his illness. This man had made the same promise before, and he hadn’t kept it.

Jiang Yi was willing to pour his heart out to an outsider, but when it came to his Prince, all he offered was a bowl of soup and a wall of silence.

It felt like losing control. It felt like being excluded.

Xie Cheng hated that feeling, especially when it came from his own “possession.” Everything about Jiang Yi was supposed to be linked to him, controlled by him, and carried by him.

Not by some stranger.

“My Lord” Jiang Yi continued to explain, his voice full of the frantic desperation to please that Xie Cheng knew so well.

“I should have told you first,” Jiang Yi whispered into his ear. “Ever since the Grand Priest came, I’ve been terrified. I’m afraid of dragging you into my mess. If those people commit sins, I should bear the blame, not you. I didn’t want to burden you. I was so scared you’d despise me if you knew.”

“But I wouldn’t have kept it from you forever. I planned to handle it all first, and then tell you everything.”

As for how to “handle” it.

Jiang Yi lowered his head, murmuring into Xie Cheng’s ear, “I will personally bind Jiang Jingtian and hand him over to the dungeons. Even if the Emperor demands I pay for those crimes as a slave, I will find a way to stay by your side forever.”

Silence fell over the room once more.

Xie Cheng could feel the warm, hurried breath against his ear and the slight trembling of Jiang Yi’s body as he pressed against him.

Finally, Xie Cheng spoke.

“Whatever is on your mind, you tell me first.”

“Because,” he added darkly, “I will be the one to solve it for you.”

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