Chapter 47

His world was like a glass of water into which an effervescent tablet had been dropped, everywhere bubbling, fizzing and crackling sounds.

Gu Jun squeezed the handle of the lantern tightly. The smoothly polished bamboo section, without any barrier, pressed against his fingers, somewhat painful. He slowly withdrew his gaze. He didn't know where the other party had gone with the prefectural troop general, nor did he know how he himself had returned to the room.

By the time he recovered his senses, he was already sitting at the table. The lantern was placed on the tabletop, emitting a glow alongside the lamp set in the middle of the table.

His eyes were stung, a burning ache so intense he immediately closed his eyes, almost shedding tears.

After calming for a moment, he groped for the lamp and blew it out. Only then did he open his eyes. The dim, dusky environment was like a great mountain under the moon, giving him some sense of security.

He looked at the lantern, pondering what to do next.

Your Highness? Which Highness? As far as he knew, almost all members of the royal family were addressed as Your Highness.

"Still not asleep this late?"

The old, worn door made a tooth-grating sound. Someone pushed the door open and entered, steps steady, walked behind him, bent over, and embraced his waist.

Gu Jun smelled a faint tang of blood. Though long exposed to the wind, this smell still hadn't dispersed.

He turned his head to the side. His cheek felt the breath of the person behind him, steady and strong, warm and damp. But at this moment, what the other party brought him was not the tangled intimacy of mingled breaths, but rather a sticky, stifling annoyance, like being caught in a spider's web.

He quickly turned his head back, lowered his head, and tried to pry the other party's hands away, saying: "Let go of me. You have a smell on you, unpleasant." He found a reasonable excuse for his rejection.

The young man's nose tip pressed against him, lightly sniffing. A low, pleasing laughter seemed to come from his abdomen. "I don't find it so."

Gu Jun said: "You try changing the target." As soon as the words fell, he pressed his lips together. A member of the royal family—if angered, he could have his head fall to the ground in an instant. How could he dare speak to him like this? Regret surged in his heart, and he immediately said softly and gently, adding a sentence, "Your Highness, the person you're smelling is me."

The young man laughed again.

Gu Jun was lifted up by the person, changed to a different angle, and placed on the table. To the side, the lantern ended up at the foot of the table.

"Because of a status, you've become afraid of me?" The person before him lowered his eyes, quietly looking at him, and asked.

He didn't know if it was because he was no longer pretending, or because the change in status had endowed him with other colors, but in any case, Gu Jun felt a wave of the superiority and authority of a superior hitting him in the face.

He was trapped between the young man's arms, with nowhere to hide. Lowering his eyes, he looked at his own pale hand, where faint blue blood vessels were visible, and said: "Your Highness."

The young man responded with an "Mm," and said: "Lift your head and speak to me."

This was an order. Gu Jun didn't hesitate at all; he acted as commanded. The other party's gaze walked over his body. The lotus-root-colored clothes suited his complexion very well, making his entire person appear pale yet tinged with pink, healthy and lively.

The other party straightened his clothes: "In the future, make two more sets in this color. This looks very good."

He brushed aside a few strands of hair hanging down to his eye level. These days, with better food and clothing, his hair seemed to have gained a bit of luster as well. "When it grows a bit longer, tie your hair back with a hair cord."

What could Gu Yun say? He could only nod.

The fingers resting at his forehead slid down, stroked his face, pinched his chin, tilting his face up a few degrees.

The young man bit his lip, ground against it twice. Seeing his lip change from pale pink to rosy red, he retreated a little, pressed his forehead against the other's and said: "So afraid of me, how will you manage in the future?"

How to manage in the future...?

Although Gu Jun had guessed the other party wanted to take him home, that was merely a speculation, not the final outcome. Now hearing the other party pronounce the final judgment, his heart went completely cold.

He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but a foreign object entered his mouth. The former kissed him.

Perhaps because he was used to being deeply kissed, he surprisingly didn't put up intense resistance immediately, quietly waiting for the deep kiss to end.

It was truly strange. How could anyone like kissing? It wasn't comfortable at all.

Gu Jun let out a sticky sound. Bracing himself against the tabletop, he retreated a little. A hoarse voice of the young man sounded in his ear, mingled with a low pant: "You are willing to come with me, right?"

A "not willing" had already come to Gu Jun's lips, but looking at the other party's deep eyes, the words heavily sank back down into his stomach. He cautiously asked "Lin Yue": "They address you as Your Highness. Which Highness are you?"

"Originally the Ninth Prince, His Highness, now the Crown Prince. My surname is Chao, given name Yan, courtesy name Ziyu."

Gu Jun saw black before his eyes: "..."

The current heir apparent, fine! Fine! Fine! Hahahahaha, duped a big shot.

A chosen one of heaven like the Crown Prince, having been deceived once, I'm afraid his patience is already exhausted. He doesn't hold it against me only because I have a life-saving talisman—I'm beautiful. But if my real gender were exposed, no matter how beautiful I am, it wouldn't matter. Who would go to bed with a man?

If he were to find out his girlfriend was a cross-dressing male, he himself would run two miles away, cursing, blocking, breaking up, the whole set in one go.

Gu Jun thought: This time, even growing a hundred heads wouldn't be enough to chop off.

"Answer my question." Gu Jun's earlobe was pinched.

Gu Jun came back to his senses, his gaze drifting, and said: "Of course I am willing to go with you."

Go my ass. Even if beaten to death, I wouldn't follow him.

Let alone the gender issue, he also didn't want to enter the Eastern Palace.

Once inside the Eastern Palace, becoming the Crown Prince's concubine, his whole life's honor and disgrace would be entirely tied to the other party, having to compete for favor with others.

If the other party is happy, he lives well; if the other party is unhappy, hundreds of methods await him. Not only that, but a pack of snobbish servants, lining up, would also make trouble for him.

He didn't discriminate against servants; it was just an objective assessment.

In short, there was no need to hesitate now. Confessing the truth would make him a fool. He needed to choose the best option: leave immediately.

Anyway, he could also earn money now, and not just small money, but big money. A shopkeeper—two taels of silver a month, with no upper limit. He could handle the position of rouge shop shopkeeper; he should be able to handle shopkeeper positions elsewhere too.

Chao Yan withdrew a little, staring at him.

Gu Jun's back prickled under his gaze, and he said: "...What's wrong?"

Chao Yan touched his cheek and said: "No need to force yourself."

Gu Jun's eyes lit up. Trying his best to suppress his joy, he said: "Your Highness, do you mean you don't really want me to go with you?"

He lowered his head, both hands covering his eyes. His eyes lifted, his sight passing through the not-so-obvious gaps between his fingers, looking at the other party, pretending to cry.

"I did deceive you, but it was out of necessity. How can you just abandon me and leave? Fine, if you don't want me, I won't force it. But if we part ways, you have to leave me some things, right? I don't want much. The clothes I've worn, you leave them for me. Don't cancel the house lease. Give me a string of copper coins..."

Before the words finished, Chao Yan pulled away his hands.

Gu Jun was still fake crying. Caught off guard when his cover was pulled away, he froze on the spot, genuinely sobbing for a moment, but still no tears rolled out.

Chao Yan looked at him with a smile, though the amusement wasn't very obvious: "Pretending."

Gu Jun couldn't tell if he was pleased or angry. Ingratiatingly, he leaned in and gently kissed the other party.

Chao Yan said: "What did you deceive me about?"

Gu Jun thought: You already know everything, yet you're still asking me. Gu Jun scratched his palm and said: "I deceived you into thinking that we had privately pledged ourselves to each other for life and that you were my husband. Actually, that's not true. I was just a stranger who dragged you out of the river and wanted you to support me."

Speaking of which, this could also be considered confessing the truth, just confessing part of the truth.

This part of the truth, the moment the other party's memory recovered, he should have known it. Whether he confessed or not, it likely wouldn't affect the other party's final decision. After all, it wasn't anything important. When truly accounted for, he was just working to repay the debt of saving his life.

"Quite bold," Chao Yan said. "Anything else?"

Gu Jun hurriedly shook his head.

A second time. I gave you sufficient sincerity, yet you still don't tell me the truth. Even the Eastern Palace, you are unwilling to go with me. Am I not worthy of trust? Could it be that I would treat you poorly? Could you possibly live better outside than in the Eastern Palace?

Chao Yan's smile completely faded. He grabbed the little liar's waist and leg, lifting the person up.

Gu Jun was startled. Out of conditioned reflex, he wrapped his arms around the other party's neck and his legs around his waist. Immediately after, he heard a muffled sound. Right after, his butt suddenly started to hurt.

His eyes widened, and he abruptly looked at Chao Yan. After looking for a while, he knew deep down that no matter what, he couldn't confront the Crown Prince. Suppressing his anger, he wriggled and slid downward.

Chao Yan held him tight. Gu Jun wriggled but couldn't move, staying meekly in the young Crown Prince's embrace.

"Think carefully before you speak some words. Earlier, I said 'no need to force yourself' meaning only that you don't have to force yourself to respond to things I like. As for the Eastern Palace, you must come with me. If you can't accept it, then find a way to accept it."

Gu Jun thought: You damn Crown Prince, too domineering.

The damn Crown Prince weighed him in his arms and sighed: "Listen closely. Life in the Eastern Palace is very good; it can nurture you well."

...

The next day, the damn Crown Prince went out.

Gu Jun lay on the bed and touched his own butt.

It had been somewhat painful right after the spanking, but now it didn't hurt at all. Taking off his clothes and twisting his head to look, there weren't any marks either.

No wonder parents spank children only on the butt. As the youngest child in the family, he had never been hit since childhood, although the main reason was he only stirred up trivial, harmless things that never reached the level warranting a spanking.

Gu Jun dressed neatly, pulled open the door a crack, and peeked out through the gap.

The two attendants still stood straight as poles at the doorway.

The damn Crown Prince hadn't said when they would return to the capital, but presumably it wouldn't be more than a few days. After all, matters in Zhu Yang County were settled and only needed to be wrapped up. He had to find an opportunity to leave in time.

But it looked very difficult.

Not to mention the two attendants were dutiful and responsible; there were also several people in the shadows, though he didn't know the exact number.

Yesterday, when Jiang Sanniang brought the Zhao family woman to beg him, they swooshed into view. After confirming there was no danger, they swooshed back into hiding. He hadn't had any chance to count how many there were.

An injured person like him, how could he sneak away under the eyes of so many people? And how could he sneak away without these people being punished because of him? He didn't want to implicate them.

Right, there was also the matter of the Zhao family woman, which he still hadn't told Chao Yan about.

His helping the Zhao family woman wasn't just out of sympathy; there was also a tiny bit of compensatory sentiment.

Zhao Shuilai had faults, but his wife and children were innocent. No matter what, they were indeed implicated. However, he only bore a portion of the responsibility, so he just wanted to compensate them a little.

—The Zhao family woman wouldn't know he was the killer. The person who could tell her had already been killed by her. As for that female kidnapper, regardless of whether she suspected him of killing Zhao Shuilai, the Zhao family woman was unlikely to meet her. From the time Chao Yan asked the county office to deal with her until today, so many days had passed, and the county office hadn't sent any word back. That meant the other party had long since left Zhu Yang County.

Come to think of it now, it was better not to help.

Lin Yue was Crown Prince Chao Yan. Given his current situation, helping would be equivalent to harming.

Gu Jun asked one of the attendants to deliver a message to the Zhao family woman: he couldn't help.

After hesitating further, he also had the attendant deliver a message to Jiang Sanniang: don't be too kind-hearted.

Just from hearing Jiang Sanniang's account of the Zhao family woman's actions, he knew the other party was definitely no ordinary person. But whether she did it for herself and her child, or for her husband, that was unknown.

In any case, those she dealt with were all his enemies, so his impression of her wasn't particularly bad.

This time, not helping the Zhao family woman—he didn't know what the other party might do. Gu Jun didn't want Jiang Sanniang to get dragged into it.

Gu Jun felt myriads of things tangling around him, unbearably tired. Worriedly, he ate breakfast and sat by the river in a daze. Breakfast was also at the restaurant. Gu Jun, harboring anger, didn't think of anything else. He just went and ate upon hearing the restaurant had ordered it.

One tael or ten taels, what did it matter to him! He wanted to eat the damn Crown Prince into poverty!!!

Wait... eat... He thought of how to leave.

In the evening, Chao Yan returned. The two went to the restaurant together for dinner. At the dinner table, Gu Jun stretched out his hand and asked him for money.

Chao Yan asked, "What do you need money for?"

Gu Jun said, "I want to buy some things. Your Highness, I don't need much. Ten taels."

Chao Yan took a sip of congee, lifted his eyelids, and glanced at him calmly.

Gu Jun extended a hand, opening it: "Five taels."

Chao Yan was silent.

"Your Highness, you can't give me not even a single coin." Gu Jun tugged at his sleeve, speaking in a coaxing tone. His voice was naturally on the softer side, and when he coaxed, it was like a dish of honey, sticky and sweet.

"I want money, I want money, I want money. I won't just buy for myself; I'll buy for you too, good things! Just share a little money with me. I'll love you for my whole life!" He put on the same energy he used when his allowance ran out and he begged his older brother for more.

Chao Yan was still wearing his previous clothes. He fished inside his sleeve and felt out a single copper coin, placed it on the table, pressed his index finger on it, and pushed it towards Gu Jun.

Gu Jun: "..."

I said you can't give me not even a single coin, so you give me one coin?

You cheapskate!

I've never seen such a stingy Crown Prince! Though I haven't seen any other Crown Princes either.

Gu Jun was so angry he turned sideways, his back facing the damn Crown Prince. His courage was truly great. A smile surfaced at the bottom of Chao Yan's eyes. He beckoned Ning Fu, who was standing nearby, took the money pouch from him, and handed it to Gu Jun. He didn't carry money when going out.

Gu Jun's anger instantly dissipated. He pounced over and hugged the Crown Prince: "Your Highness is so good." After hugging for a moment, he ran off.

Chao Yan watched his retreating figure and whispered a few words to the attendant assigned to protect Gu Jun.