CH 32

The wind and rain stopped.

There was a delicate layered fragrance inside the bedroom curtain, hot and humid. Under the dim candlelight, a beautiful view came into sight.

Ni Lie gasped. The sweat from his temples slid down, dripping along the sharp lines of his chin soaking the snow-coloured skin under his wet body. His forehead against Li Yuanmin, the unbearable burning crack in his heart gradually calmed down. He lovingly kissed him: “Your Highness…”

The corners of Li Yuanmin’s eyes were moist, his face flushed, his lips a bright red colour, and his forehead hair messily glued to his cheeks like white jade, which gave birth to a completely different appearance from his ordinary everyday look.

There was a drop of tear hanging from his eye socket that was gently eaten by Ni Lie.

Just as he was about to pick him up, Li Yuanmin was already powerless to stop him: “Let me rest…”

In the end, he had suffered so much. Ni Lie’s eyes darkened. He embraced him, pulled out the messy mattress under him and threw it on the ground.

The two hugged each other like this, sweaty and sticky.

When he eased up a little, Li Yuanmin got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom, and called people to carry water in. His natural disposition was that he liked cleanliness. When the day was hot, it is common to bathe two or three times a night, so even if this was the second time tonight to carry water in, other people were not surprised.

Warm water dripped with hot air, and inside the tub, the two wiped each other.

“It’s dark now” Li Yuanmin touched his strong arm.

Ni Lie’s droopy eyes looked down at his face, “You became thinner.”

Li Yuanmin looked up at him and a tender feeling arose in his heart. He lifted his chin and kissed Ni Lie’s thin lips.

“How did you come back so quickly this time? ” Following the original plan, he shouldn’t be able to come back for at least another day.

Ni Lie said, “Zhang Long is looking over things there for me and it wasn’t important. The capital is too chaotic these days, I didn’t feel at ease and…”

His voice sank, tickling the core of his ear: “… I missed you almost to the point of going crazy.”

The young man’s rare bluntness made Li Yuanmin’s face slightly warm. Remembering those simple letters, he raised his eyes: “You didn’t say anything in your letter.”

Ni Lie did not reply, but only took his hand and placed it in his palm. There were traces left between the bed and couch just now on his wrists.

This kind of slender snow-white wrist was actually grabbed by him and turned purple.

He grabbed it and pressed it to the top of his head, endlessly.

Since the first taste of the two of them, Ni Lie had pestered him almost every day. But this time they separated for more than ten days, how could the enthusiastic and restless youth control it? It was like it was knocking on his bone, sucking his marrow dry and swallowing him down.

Ni Lie asked, “Did Your Highness ever miss me?”

He looked deeply at the person in front of him.

Li Yuanmin’s face brought out a smile, giving rise to a somewhat seductive look rather than something pure: “What do you think?”

He leaned in, wrapped his arms around his neck, gently pressed towards his ear and said, “Being exhilerated just now… You’re not the only one. ”

Ni Lie’s eyes trembled, his throat moved, and he immediately held his face with both hands then blocked his lips fiercely.

They’ve reunited again in half a month and Ni Lie refused to return to his own courtyard. It was the same for Li Yuanmin, who was reluctant to let him go. So, the two embraced and laid quietly on the couch bed.

Li Yuanmin suddenly said, “A Lie, are you willing to take over the county guards’ place?”

Ni Lie said, “Your Highness wants me to take over it?”

“ Yeah. ”

Ni Lie then said, “I am willing.” ”

The county guards garrison was an important local force, which had always been in the palm of the Xuntai government. But Ni Lie didn’t ask about his intentions and agreed so easily as if it was just a common matter.

Being tossed around from the capital to this frontier, they have always been chest to chest, back to back, no other third person could get in between them. In front of him, Li Yuanmin often felt a very solid and powerful indescribable feeling. He leaned toward him, pressed his cheek to Ni Lie’s warm skin, and felt that even if the trials and hardships ahead were serious and severe, he was full of courage.

He didn’t say anything else, only pulled over Ni Lie’s slightly rough palm and pressed it to the other side of his face.

The temperature of his palm, from his cheeks, has gradually soaked into his heart.

***

The day of the Lingnan riots was unremarkable, the weather was sizzling hot, and the sun rose very early. It was no different from the past.

Inside the messy room, the morning sun sprinkled in from the shabby wooden window, shining brightly on his eyelids. Yuan Fu turned over with difficulty. Soon after, there was a burst of sharp pain inside his head. It hammered a few times, he muttered a few words, then opened his eyes, and saw a naked lady on his side with the covers covering up to her stomach, looking at him in panic.

Yuan Fu frowned, where did this woman come from?

He had always lingered around brothels and if he encountered any good woman with a good look on the street, he would occasionally touch a few or simply use the power of his father’s court to invade and tarnish his way in. So, this time, which good family’s woman’s bed is he lying on now?

He sat up, looked at the person in front of him, and saw that although the woman looked frightened, he could see many colours on her face. She was similar to a typical pretty daughter of a humble family. He stared at her then smiled and moved closer to her, lusting to tear the cover off from her body.

“My love, what is the use of this thing? After yesterday’s loving affection, why bother to fall out with me and become hostile like this?  Or is it because I didn’t serve you well last night?”

“Shameless!” The woman had tears in her eyes, as if she was ashamed and angry, “You defiled my innocence, I won’t let you off even if I become a ghost!”

After the words fell, she rushed to charge her head to the wall. This shocked Yuan Fu and he promptly hugged her. The woman struggled, tearing her heart and lungs to cry out. Under this kind of move, he suddenly recalled the events from last night.

Coming back from drinking wine at Chun Feng building, he suddenly felt an urgency in his belly, so he hurriedly found a remote alley to release himself. Amidst the pattering dripping sound, suddenly this woman passed by. She saw him and seemed to be frightened, so she walked a few steps. After that, she unexpectedly turned back and gave him a shy smile. The woman was born beautiful, under the hazy moonlight, she was even more delicate. Yuan Fu had drunk wine, so at the moment he was aroused by this smile and half of his body went soft. The wine influence got to his head, his body started to become hot from head to toes, then he pulled up his pants, relieving himself and hurriedly followed up.

The woman did not go very fast, as if she intended to wait for him, Yuan Fu was overjoyed. How could he know that when he just came to relieve himself, he would unexpectedly meet a beautiful woman like this? He immediately followed behind her with a fire burning in his heart…

Perhaps it was because the tipsy feeling gradually rose, he wasn’t clear what happened afterward.

Looking at the chaste woman before his eyes, he vaguely felt that something was wrong. He was about to pull her hand to ask a question when the door slammed open.

A group of strong men rushed in, each looking like fiends. Seeing the scene in front of him, the leader was even angrier. He grabbed Yuan Fu’s clothes, slapping him left and right until he started to see stars and the core of his ear was like gongs.

He didn’t have time to defend himself, when he was suddenly thrown to the ground, and was beaten up by everyone!

The door of Xuntai’s mansion was knocked open early in the morning. Cao Shiye hurriedly came out from inside. Seeing the person with a shrunken face and a swollen nose on the ground, he almost did not recognize that it was young master Yuan. He immediately waved his hand to have the two guards to follow up, and hurriedly stomped over.

Several bearded men stood in front of him and blocked his way.

Cao Shiye raised an eyebrow and said angrily, “Where did you wicked people come from to have the impertinence to treat young master Xuntai this ruthlessly!?”

The big man who took the lead spat out, “What young master, he’s just a wicked b*stard who took advantage of a good family’s daughter! Today I brought this man here in order to ask Xuntai Daren to make everything clear and to see if he will get to the bottom of the adultery and rape matter! ”

Although it was early in the morning at this time, because the weather was hot and dry after the afternoon, the people of Lingnan would always come out to do their things before dawn. At this moment at Zhu Qie main street, there were already many pedestrians rushing to and fro. When they saw the commotions in front of the Xuntai mansion, they naturally surrounded around to take a look.

Cao Shiye saw that the situation was not good and he hurriedly handled the man: “If you have things to say then say it inside, why bother standing in broad daylight shouting and yelling to make people come and watch this joke?”

“Making jokes?” That man seemed to be holding back his anger, “Laozi exactly wants people to look at me as I make jokes in broad daylight! It’s a pity that the woman I’ve married not even for half a year yet has been cruelly tormented by this beast!”

When Cao Shiye heard this, his scalp immediately felt numb. He naturally knew the absurdity of this little lord of his. It’s fine if it’s in other regions, but this was Lingnan. Although Lingnan region’s custom is quite open and the men and women’s guard against each other were not as serious as other places, the people’s concept of homesteads was prudent. If their wives were insulted, it was considered to be a big problem. A few days ago, the drunken man who had sullied someone’s wife was hanged to death in Qian county.

Sure enough, as soon as the man’s voice fell, the crowd of onlookers buzzed and turned their heads to whisper to each other.

Yuan Fu, who was dying on the ground, sobered up, saw Cao Shiye in front of him. He immediately struggled, and cried out, “Shiye save me!”

How could he still care about what was graceful or not? His tears were flowing. He struggled to get up but someone immediately stuffed a rag into his mouth, and the man who was detaining him on the side slapped him twice and angrily said: “Even if the Emperor comes, he still needs to give us an explanation!”

The man was still yelling and shouting to the side and speaking until he was stimulated again, he nearly went to punch the person.

Cao Shiye was afraid that he would be beaten into a cripple, so he hurriedly shouted angrily to his side: “What are you doing? Are you waiting until someone’s life is gone?! ”

Several guards rushed up to protect Yuan Fu, but the men would not let them, and for a while, several people pushed and shoved.

In the meantime, the people’s anger was mixed with Yuan Fu’s screams, and everything was chaotic.

Seeing the onlookers growing more and more, Cao Shiye’s forehead was producing a layer of sweat. He knew that he must take Yuan Fu away first, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. With a wave of his hand, all the guards standing by in the courtyard came down. A few of them came back and forth, after all, there were so many people. After, those men were controlled and pressed to the ground.

Yuan Fu relieved himself with great difficulties. He staggered to his feet, grimaced in pain and spat. He limped forward and stomped on the people on the ground, remembering the beatings and humiliation he had suffered during these few hours. Now with the anger going to his head, he pulled opened his bow with both hands and rewarded the man who was the leader of the group with a few slaps.

“You wicked bastard! Me taking an interest to your woman is thinking highly of you! Now that you fell into my hand, let’s see how I will forgive you!”

The man’s eyes furrowed, and he roared like crazy.

The onlookers basically understood the ins and outs of the matter. Because of the implementation of the new law and the neglect to the barbarians wreaking havoc, the people had already endured their anger for a long time. When they saw that the only son of the Xuntai mansion Daren was so rude and unreasonable like this, simply regarding the people as ants to trample on, at the moment, everyone was casting side glances one after another. Some people who couldn’t take it anymore also came up to accuse him more.

Yuan Fu sneered, nodded, and pointed at those few people and said: “Good, good, good, if there is more then we will fine more. Let see if anyone else will dare to speak for these b*stards, I will cut off your flesh as punishment! I don’t believe that I can’t deal with a few of your lowly lives!”

His words did not fall, when his face was stimulated with pain. An egg had smashed into his face, filling his face with stickiness and filth.

Before he could open his mouth to yell, a few more eggs and rotten vegetables came rushing in, smashing him all over.

The crowd was full of anger and they cursed with rage.

“You only know how to bully people!”

“Is there any law in this place now?!”

“Xuntai government is actually abusing commoners like this, where are the laws!”

“Beast!”

“At this time, Yuan Fu did not dare to shout anymore. He quickly hid behind a group of guards, trying to push himself: “Do…do you guys want to rebel!”

Seeing that more and more people were surrounding him, Cao Shiye was so shocked that his back was soaked. He quickly ordered the guards and his party to quickly retreat to the mansion gate, slammed it, and quickly closed the door tightly.