Your Majesty, Please Be Obedient - Chapter 6

While speaking those words, Pu Tingsong had already selected the clothes and was leading him inside. Jiang Qiyan looked up slightly, his gaze falling upon his Master’s fingers. His Master’s fingers were bony and well-proportioned, with neatly trimmed nails that were clearly well-maintained. The temperature of his Master’s fingertips was somewhat cool, likely due to the cold weather. It seemed that in order to hold the boy’s small hand, his own hand had been exposed to the chilly wind seeping through the gaps in the window.

Suddenly, upon realizing this, Jiang Qiyan wanted to let go. His own small hand was covered and was not cold at all, as the temperature of his Master’s palm was very warm. However, the back of his Master’s hand and his fingertips would be cold.

“Come,” Pu Tingsong said as he sat by the couch, looking at him with a smile. “Did you not want to help me change?”

“Here,” Pu Tingsong said as he pinched the waistband and handed it to him. He even closed the boy’s fingers around it to ensure he had a firm grip. “I am leaving the waistband to you.”

The waistband is being left to me. This sentence felt like a heavy responsibility, giving Jiang Qiyan an instant sense of mission. Master has entrusted his waistband to me, Jiang Qiyan repeated in his heart. He tightened his small hand and solemnly stepped closer. He leveled his gaze with Pu Tingsong’s powerful waist and began to untie the belt with great focus.

Pu Tingsong sat with his legs apart. The easily frightened little rabbit stood right between his knees, causing him to smile. The little rabbit was so dazed that he had no idea of the danger. At this moment, if Pu Tingsong were to simply close his legs, his little Qiyan would be trapped inside with no way to escape. However, he would not close his legs. Just as a skilled beast tamer knows how to balance tension and relaxation, Pu Tingsong etched a sense of boundaries into his every move. He would teach his little Qiyan, bit by bit, how to approach him.

Jiang Qiyan carefully folded his Master’s waistband and placed it by the bed. Only then did he look up at his Master to wait for the next instruction. But as soon as he raised his eyes, his gaze became flustered. His Master was leaning back, creating a bit of distance between them.

Does Master dislike my proximity? But his eyes are clearly full of smiles.

Jiang Qiyan suddenly had a desperate urge to touch his Master, just to see if his Master truly disliked it. Yet, he still did not dare and remained hesitant. His small hand trembled as it rose slightly. He wanted so badly to touch him. But after rising only an inch, the small hand quickly retreated. It was not allowed; Master might get angry.

Jiang Qiyan felt his Master watching him. The gaze moved from his hand back to the top of his head. Before long, he heard a light laugh.

“What are you doing?” Pu Tingsong asked. A large hand gripped the boy’s slender wrist. “Do you want to touch me?”

The boy’s face turned red instantly. His Master grabbed his hand and pressed it directly against his waist.

“How is it?”

A buzzing sound filled Jiang Qiyan’s head. His mind went blank, and he instinctively stepped back, wanting to flee. Then, he felt the scorching heat coming from his palm. For some reason, he found himself unable to move his feet.

“Using my waist to warm your hands? You certainly know how to enjoy yourself.”

Jiang Qiyan’s heart hammered like a drum. He stole a glance at his Master’s eyes. His Master was smiling and showed no sign of reprimand. Instead, he looked at the boy as if watching a play.

Master is laughing at me. The moment this thought appeared, Jiang Qiyan let go of Pu Tingsong’s abdominal muscles and tried to leave the space between his legs in a panic. Pu Tingsong did not stop him. He simply stood up, removed his loose outer robe, and changed into a new one himself.

Jiang Qiyan stood not far away, his eyes unable to stop drifting toward Pu Tingsong. His Master’s figure looked so lonely. His Master’s father had been executed when his Master was only nine years old. His Master must have lived alone all these years. He lived alone, ate alone, and faced the storms of the imperial court alone. Perhaps he should not have run away. He should not have left his Master alone.

Pu Tingsong turned his back to arrange his inner garment when he suddenly felt something soft pressing against his leg. He looked down slightly toward his right. The child was holding the new outer robe with one hand while hugging his Master’s leg with the other. The boy’s small face was pressed against the outside of his leg, which explained why it felt so soft.

Pu Tingsong stroked the boy’s small head in a good mood and took the outer robe to put it on. Jiang Qiyan stole a few glances and knew his Master was happy. If doing this makes Master happy. Jiang Qiyan mused to himself, becoming so lost in thought that he did not even realize when he was picked up.

By the time he regained his senses, they were already in the dining hall. Perhaps due to the servants’ carelessness, there was only one chair at the dining table. Is it because I just arrived and am being ignored? It did not matter. He was already used to being disregarded.

When his mother died, his Imperial Father had told him, “I shall treat it as if you have gone with her.” From that day on, his father never questioned anything about him again, truly treating him as if he were dead. He had moved to the new Empress’s quarters, thinking that if he behaved well, his new mother would be kind to him. His new mother had been very good to him when she was still his aunt. She used to buy him many small toys. But why did she become so indifferent after becoming the Empress? Whenever he approached, she would beat him in a frenzy and tell him to go be buried with her sister. Later, she stopped beating him. It was replaced by a cold statement: “This palace does not wish to care for him.”

Jiang Qiyan felt sad again. He did not understand why he was usually so strong, yet he turned into water the moment he was near his Master. In short, he was crying again. He cried silently, his tears falling cautiously. He held them in his eyes until he could no longer contain them, and then they overflowed. Once they accumulated, the tears fell in a long string. He began to shake, looking as though he were at the peak of sorrow, unable to be any sadder.

Pu Tingsong was about to pick up his chopsticks, but seeing the boy cry, he helplessly withdrew his hand and used his sleeve to wipe the tears. “Why are you crying again? Do you not like Master holding you? Fine, fine, stop crying, dear Qiyan. You have cried enough today. You cannot cry anymore.”

Pu Tingsong turned him around so that the boy was facing him while sitting on his lap to be coaxed. “The clothes I just changed into are about to be soaked. If I let you keep crying like this, I will eventually have nothing left to wear.”

With a light sigh, Pu Tingsong rubbed the boy’s face. “If you do not like being held, should I have someone bring another chair?”

How could I not like it? Jiang Qiyan shook his small head and looked at his Master with tearful eyes. “No. I like it.”

“If you like it, why are you crying so hard? It cannot be that you are too moved, can it?” Pu Tingsong gently pinched the boy’s small nose. “Let us make an agreement. From now until the meal is over, you are not allowed to shed a single tear. Here, pinky swear.”

His Master’s pinky finger curved into a hook right before his eyes, waiting for the boy to hook his own small finger onto it. He actually wanted to cry a bit longer, but he wanted his Master’s finger even more. Jiang Qiyan gradually stopped his tears and hooked his small hand on.

“Children must be honest. Once we pinky swear, you are not allowed to cry,” Pu Tingsong said as he picked up the chopsticks and bowl to feed him. He nestled in his Master’s arms, trying his best to hold back tears and eating obediently.

Once his stomach was full, his Master tapped his forehead. “Alright, you may cry now.”

Jiang Qiyan did not cry. Instead, he smiled. It was a beautiful smile, revealing his small, sharp, white, and clean teeth. His Master was very good to him. Therefore, all the things from the past were over. If they did not want him, then he did not want them either. He only needed his Master.

It seemed that from this moment on, there was nothing else in Jiang Qiyan’s eyes. Only his Master’s face remained in his pupils. His gaze would always fall upon his Master, whether it was a corner of his clothing or a single feature of his face.

After the meal, his Master carried him back to the room. A bathtub filled with hot water stood behind the screen, with white steam rising from it. He obediently opened his arms and allowed his Master to strip him until nothing was left.

Pu Tingsong scanned him with a calculating gaze, from his head to his toes. The child was soft, and his flesh felt like a glutinous rice ball; it would surely be fun to knead. His bare body was left entirely exposed for his Master to see. Jiang Qiyan felt a sense of shame after the fact. His toes curled instinctively, and the cool air touching his skin caused a layer of goosebumps to rise.

“Master,” he called out tremulously.

It was not just because of the cold, but also due to a sudden, inexplicable fear. It was too similar. The way his Master looked at him just now was too similar to the way he used to look at the cloth doll his aunt had given him. Back then, he had also enthusiastically stripped the doll’s clothes, looking it over with great interest and stroking every inch of its skin. Then, he had untiringly changed its outfit time and time again.

Eventually, he grew tired of it. When his aunt gave him a new doll, he never touched the old one again. Even now, he did not know if that doll had been thrown away or if it was left somewhere gathering dust.

Master will eventually get tired of me too, right?

Jiang Qiyan became uneasy again and grabbed his Master’s sleeve. Pu Tingsong said nothing. He simply picked the boy up and placed him into the bathtub. The water was somewhat deep, and because the boy was so small, he could not touch the bottom even if he stood on his tiptoes. A great panic caused him to grip that sleeve tightly. It was his only support at the moment. If his Master withdrew the sleeve, he would drown in the wooden tub.

“Are you that afraid?” his Master asked in a joking tone.

So, everything just now had been an illusion. His Master was clearly still the same gentle and thoughtful person. Jiang Qiyan breathed a sigh of relief and replied in a soft voice, “Yes. Master, help me.”

“Alright,” Pu Tingsong said, his smile deepening. He used one hand to support the boy’s bottom so he would not sink, while the other hand used soap to cover the boy’s body in bubbles.

In truth, there was a bathtub in the manor specifically for children, which was much shorter than this one. Pu Tingsong’s gaze was obscured by the steam, making it dark and unclear. But if he used that one, how would little Qiyan realize that his Master was his only support?

You are in the water, drifting unsteadily, liable to sink at any moment.

Pu Tingsong’s smile was laced with many hidden meanings. Only by taking the initiative to beg me or by gripping my hand tightly do you have the possibility of surfacing.

Jiang Qiyan’s eyes were blurred by the mist, and he could not see just how complex his Master’s gaze truly was. His Master’s hand stroked him gently, washing away the bubbles and carefully rubbing his already clean body. His Master’s touch was so light that he actually enjoyed it. He hugged his Master’s left arm and began to drift off to sleep.

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