The Young Marquis is Ruining the Court! - Chapter 12

Chi Zhou waited for a long time, but no response came from Xie Jiu.

The sensation at his fingertips was soft and smooth. When he first pinched the chin, it was meant to be playful, a bit of flirting, but since the person whose chin was held remained silent, simply staring at him quietly, Chi Zhou began to feel a sliver of indescribable awkwardness.

It was as if he had only just realized how bold his actions were.

He felt that he had been a bit off since he woke up today. Perhaps it was because he’d finally managed a rare good night’s sleep, making him feel a little overexcited.

Chi Zhou wanted to withdraw his hand, but he felt that doing so now would make him look like a coward. He couldn’t lose face in front of Xie Jiu two days in a row.

“Woof, wu…”

Just then, a faint bark came from beside them. The sound was low and piteous, as if the creature were frightened.

Chi Zhou’s grip instantly slackened, and his body went rigid.

In almost an instant, the roles between him and Xie Jiu reversed. Xie Jiu tilted his chin to escape the hold, turned, and completely shielded Chi Zhou within the shadow of his own hooded cloak, leaving only half of Chi Zhou’s face visible.

Chi Zhou’s body followed the movement, the sensation at his fingers vanished, and he couldn’t help but blink, not quite understanding the current situation.

Only then did Xie Jiu seem to remember something. He lowered his head and knitted his brows, looking at the black ball of a puppy following at their heels.

Before leaving the house, the little thing had been whimpering and scratching at the study door. In a moment of softness, Chi Zhou had let it out.

Perhaps the animal was intelligent enough to know it had done something wrong last night, it had been quiet throughout the journey. It was only just now, seeing the two of them standing in the alley for so long without moving, that it let out a small bark to urge its master to keep going.

The puppy caught Xie Jiu’s attention. He frowned at it for a moment, then used his foot to nudge the dog to the side furthest from Chi Zhou. Then, he wrapped his arm around Chi Zhou’s shoulder and guided him forward.

Chi Zhou was stunned. He wanted to say that being this protective was a bit of an overreaction.

Last night was an accident. A strange sense of overlapping space had hit him, which was why he’d been scared by a newly weaned puppy. In the broad daylight, he only found the dog cute. His earlier reaction was just a lingering stress response he hadn’t yet adjusted.

But Xie Jiu didn’t give him a chance to explain. He led him straight to the end of the alley and stopped before a deep red wooden door. He stepped onto the threshold and struck the door knocker.

Chi Zhou: “?”

“What are you doing?”

“Returning the dog,” Xie Jiu said without a second thought.

Chi Zhou froze, immediately reaching out to grab his sleeve, trying to fight for the puppy. “There’s no need. Didn’t you like it quite a bit?”

He had only met Xie Jiu twice and had never seen him show a particular interest in anything. This puppy was the only living creature he had seen by Xie Jiu’s side. If he didn’t like it, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to pick up a newly weaned pup.

And…

Chi Zhou looked down at the puppy, then at Xie Jiu’s hand.

And he hadn’t even seen Xie Jiu hold the dog yet.

A “cat” holding a “dog,” just thinking about it was a treat for the eyes.

Chi Zhou felt a tiny bit of self-disdain for his thoughts, but then heard Xie Jiu ask, “Do you know what it will become when it grows up?”

Chi Zhou: “Hmm?”

He looked down, carefully inspecting the puppy again as it lay on the ground with watery eyes, whimpering. He asked a soul-searching question, “Can it actually grow up?”

He had thought the dog was like those breeds he’d seen in modern times that stayed tiny and cute for their entire lives.

Xie Jiu said, “It’s a wolfhound. It will grow to be as high as your waist. Its parents were hunting dogs from the grasslands, capable of tearing out a stag’s throat in one bite.”

“Chi Zhou, do you really think I can raise it? Knowing how afraid of dogs you are?”

Chi Zhou fell silent instantly.

The morning light spilled into the alley, painting the red door with a layer of gold, creating a warm and striking palette. Chi Zhou stared at the puppy that barely reached his ankle, suddenly remembering another wolfhound named Jin Ge.

Xie Mingjing had lived in the predatory imperial palace as a child and was later forced to marry into the Ningping Marquis Mansion, becoming the laughingstock of the capital. In the original novel, he had only two or three friends in his entire life, and none of them met a good end.

The author seemed to have poured all their malice and expectations onto the protagonist, destined to use the deaths of those close to him to fuel his growth over and over again. So much so that in the end, when Xie Mingjing ascended the throne, he had only a wolfhound for company. Only that beast could occasionally receive a shred of warmth from the young Emperor’s touch.

The original book didn’t specify when Xie Mingjing got Jin Ge. The wolfhound’s first appearance was during an autumn hunt. At that time, Jin Ge was already a massive dog, muscular and powerful. Running through the forest, it had snapped the throat of a white fox in a single bite. Xie Mingjing had picked up the prey in a pool of blood, patted Jin Ge’s head, and then presented the fox to Emperor Chengping to be made into a cloak.

There was very little tenderness between them. The closest thing to a family-like scene was later on, when Xie Mingjing was in the borderlands. By a campfire, Jin Ge stayed by his side on guard, being fed pieces of meat carved by Xie Mingjing’s own hand.

But it was not human.

Chi Zhou had never raised a pet, so it was hard for him to imagine what a fierce wolfhound meant to the later Xie Mingjing, after his family ties were severed and his friends were dead, when every step he took was on the edge of a bloody blade.

And when did he start raising Jin Ge?

Did he start training it only after it was grown, or did he, like his “Jiu Jiu,” bring home a little puppy from a friend’s house?

Chi Zhou’s thoughts drifted. By the time a creak came from the door, he had instinctively grabbed Xie Jiu’s wrist. “Keep it.”

Xie Jiu looked down at the wrist held by Chi Zhou. He neither agreed nor refused, simply staring at the point where their skin touched.

The door swung fully open. Someone stood behind it, wearing wooden clogs and loose-fitting robes. The belt was tied carelessly at the waist, providing no structure at all.

“I knew it was you, my lord ancestor. What is wrong with you? You spent all yesterday afternoon bothering me, and now you’re knocking again first thing in the—”

The young man’s voice cut off abruptly. His drowsy eyes widened as he looked at Xie Jiu, then at Chi Zhou. For a moment, he was speechless.

He didn’t quite dare to speak. After all, there had been a similar situation before. Chi Zhou had dragged Xie Mingjing to his door in the middle of the night, shouting, “What kind of useless trash are you? I told you I’d be back in a few days and asked you to look after Jiu Jiu, and you let him get so injured he’s nearly crippled?”

He had felt very wronged. What could he say?

The reason the Sixth Prince was nearly crippled was because the Young Marquis Chi had a sudden whim to go to the training grounds to watch the imperial students practice archery. Seeing Xie Mingjing on horseback, he had grabbed a bow and arrow without a word and shot the horse in the leg, causing the prince to fall.

He was often curious how Xie Mingjing, that black-hearted man, acted like a dog only in front of Chi Zhou, letting himself be ordered around and toyed with without ever truly getting angry. One should know that for those in court who offended Xie Mingjing, being stripped of rank and exiled was the lightest outcome.

Heaven knows where an unfavored prince got such talent and cunning.

The sun climbed higher. At the alley entrance, a vendor sold green rice balls from a shoulder pole. Before the red door, the three of them stood in silence, looking at one another in a bizarre standoff.

Finally, another tiny bark came from the ground. The young man at the door tentatively spoke, “You two, knocking on my door this early in the morning while holding hands… did you come here specifically to show off?”

Chi Zhou finally realized how inappropriate their current state was and moved to let go.

But before he could, Xie Jiu reversed his grip, seizing Chi Zhou’s wrist instead. He casually nudged the puppy on the ground with his foot. “Giving it back.”

His words were cold and ruthless, but his movement was incredibly gentle.

Someone who didn’t know better might have thought he was trying to kick the dog into a disability, but the little thing didn’t feel any pain. It even had the audacity to roll over onto its back, trying to rub its belly against his foot.

Lu Zhongyuan closed his eyes in exasperation and scolded coldly, “Giving it back? It’s only been one night and you’ve already raised it to have the same temperament as you. Like hell you’re giving it back.”

Hearing this, Chi Zhou looked at the black dog circling Xie Jiu’s calf, then looked at the elegant “big cat” beside him. He really didn’t see how they had the same temperament.

He couldn’t help but protest, “They’re not alike at all.”

Lu Zhongyuan’s scolding stalled. He looked at Chi Zhou, then shifted his gaze to Xie Mingjing. In the moment their eyes met, the latter gave a slight nod.

Lu Zhongyuan: “…”

Great, Young Marquis Chi is acting up again. This time it’s even weirder, he actually seems like a decent person.

So, he straightened his clothes, cleared his throat, and said with pointed intent, “When you took it, you said you’d raise it for a lifetime. Now you’re bored and tired of it and want to send it back? There’s no such logic in the world.”

He looked at Chi Zhou with a smile. “Don’t you agree, Young Marquis Chi?”

Chi Zhou was thinking of how to convince Xie Jiu to keep the dog. Hearing this, he immediately nodded. “Exactly so.”

He didn’t notice Xie Jiu glaring at Lu Zhongyuan, nor did he see Lu Zhongyuan raise an eyebrow in a very pleased expression when he agreed.

“Marquis, when you have time, advise your Jiu Jiu. It’s not good to act this way. It’s fine to treat me like this, but if he treats others the same way, who knows how much trouble he’ll cause,” Lu Zhongyuan added.

Chi Zhou had been happy a second ago that this man was helping him convince Xie Jiu, but hearing this, his brow furrowed. He pulled Xie Jiu behind him, took a step forward, and said, “He just took one dog. If he doesn’t want to raise it, he’s returning it to you instead of dumping it on the street. How does that translate into a character issue?”

Chi Zhou looked Lu Zhongyuan up and down, retorting in the same tone, “To think you are his friend. Don’t you know what kind of character Xie Jiu has? How can you spread such slander? It’s fine to say this to me, but if word gets out, people will say you’re a two-faced gossip and refuse to associate with you.”

Lu Zhongyuan: “…”

Wait, he only said one thing!

He couldn’t help but look at Xie Mingjing, who was being protected behind Chi Zhou, only to see a smile curving the man’s lips.

Lu Zhongyuan immediately looked up at the sky, wondering if the sun had risen from the west.

Xie Mingjing shook his wrist slightly and said in a very soft voice from behind Chi Zhou, “Brother, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”

Lu Zhongyuan: “…”

Which part did he say wrong? What is the difference between this man and the dog on the ground?

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