SEHE Chapter 111

Investigation 

After a night of pleasure, Pei Yanci lay contentedly in Tang Xizhui’s embrace, eyes closed in languid drowsiness.

His muscles were loose and soft, not wanting to move even a finger.

His thoughts were drifting when cool lips pressed against his mouth—soft and supple, rubbing gently, persistently. One kiss after another, sometimes lightly pecking at his lips, sometimes tasting the corners of his mouth, the tip of a tongue licking, tentatively trying to slip inside.

Pei Yanci’s closed eyelids trembled and he smiled, his hand pinching the firm, flexible muscle at his waist. “Stop fooling around, go to sleep. We have things to do tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is a rest day, what could there be?”

Who was he trying to fool? Officials got one day off after the major and minor court assemblies.

Pei Yanci lay on his side, with Tang Xizhui holding him, his arm fitting perfectly into the hollow of his waist, fingers mischievously teasing from behind.

“Mm…” Pei Yanci whimpered as a tingling sensation shot up his spine from his tailbone, his body shuddering violently, skin tensing involuntarily.

Deep inside, the itch that had just gotten its first taste began to stir again.

Tang Xizhui chuckled lowly, then received a punch to the chest.

“Tsk—” He had to stop laughing, rubbing the sore spot with an aggrieved expression.

“Keep being presumptuous and I’ll strip your pants off.” Pei Yanci hooked his index finger into his waistband, threatening with a hum.

Tang Xizhui paused for a moment, then actively began untying his pants.

“What are you doing?” Pei Yanci jumped, pressing down on his hands to stop him. “I was joking.”

“Don’t you want to look?”

“What’s there to see?”

“It’s hot, I want to take them off.”

“It’s already autumn, how hot could it be? Keep them on.” Pei Yanci put on a stern face, patting his hand. “Be careful not to catch cold.”

Tang Xizhui laughed, using the small quilt to wrap up his bare back to prevent him from getting cold, then deftly undid the ties with one hand.

Hearing the rustling of fabric by his ear, Pei Yanci asked, “If I look, you’re not going to kill me, are you?”

“Are you still drunk?”

“……”

Tang Xizhui removed his inner pants and lay flat on the bed. After hesitating, he slowly spread his legs.

It was a humiliating position, representing that another’s gaze could freely examine every inch of his skin, while also meaning surrender, allowing the other person to do anything to him.

Pei Yanci opened his eyes and looked up to see Tang Xizhui’s expression was calm. He tried to resist but couldn’t suppress his curiosity, secretly raising his head to peek at his lower body.

Having dealt with eunuchs for nearly twenty years, he’d never actually seen what they looked like there.

“Look if you want to.” Tang Xizhui was amused by his furtive expression.

“You can’t take it back after I look.” He couldn’t beat him in a fight right now. “I don’t even want to look, you’re the one who asked.”

“Getting an advantage and still playing coy.” Nine-Thousand-Years scoffed, not minding at all.

Pei Yanci sat up wrapped in the small quilt.

Tang Xizhui’s legs were long and proportionate, with smooth muscle definition. His skin was deathly pale from long absence of sunlight, without a single hair, completely uniform in color except for the dormant, drooping appendage in the middle whose tip had a touch of tender pink.

On the left and right sides of his inner thighs were incision marks. After so many years, the scars had faded to barely visible.

“I heard the older you are when it’s done, the slimmer your chances of survival,” Pei Yanci said softly. “That’s why they prefer five or six-year-olds.”

“Mm.” Tang Xizhui responded lowly, not wanting to discuss this topic further.

Being willing to expose his incomplete, deformed body to another person didn’t mean he could accept those memories or accept himself this way.

It was only because this person was Pei Yanci.

Because it was him, he had this courage.

He had always been honest and open with him, so he too should give him at least this basic respect in bed.

Tang Xizhui bent his left arm under his head as a pillow, trying his best to ignore that bit of discomfort, making himself look at ease, as if he didn’t care about such things. Then he caught sight of Pei Yanci’s eyes rolling mischievously.

“Nine-Thousand-Years.”

His heart tightened. “What are you doing?”

He’d finally figured it out—when this person was in a good mood, he’d fervently call him Nine-Thousand-Years; when in a bad mood, he’d distantly call him Dugong Daren. Right now he looked like he was plotting something wicked.

Pei Yanci moved his right leg further to the side, staring at him with an expression of suppressed mischief. His body slowly moved toward his feet until he sat between his legs, then slowly bent down, prostrating himself.

“You…”

Before he could speak, Pei Yanci looked up at him. Seeing him stare unblinkingly, he suddenly smiled provocatively.

Tang Xizhui looked at those crescent-moon eyes full of bashful laughter, his whole body rigid as if pinned in place.

Pei Yanci watched his eyes as his mouth slowly lowered, drawing near. His eyes were filled with tenderness, mischief, and playful spirit.

He was like a thoroughly spoiled little cat, arrogantly raising his head, imperiously declaring he could do as he pleased.

Because he knew he had the right to do anything to this person without restraint.

Finally, he extended his crimson tongue and gently licked once.

Tang Xizhui’s mind exploded with a boom.

Complete blankness.

Yet he couldn’t suppress the trembling of excitement.

“Can you feel it?” Pei Yanci tilted his head, which felt a bit heavy, so he simply rested his cheek on his cool thigh, looking at him curiously.

Tang Xizhui shook his head.

But he was very happy.

Pei Yanci saw him look dazed for the first time—it was rather cute. He lowered his head to bite again when his body was scooped up and pulled forward.

“That’s enough.” Tang Xizhui held him, chin resting on his shoulder, voice low and hoarse.

“You don’t like it?”

“You don’t need to do this.” He closed his eyes. “It’s dirty.”

“I don’t care.”

“Mm, I know.” His life was worthless, so it didn’t matter what happened to him. “But you don’t need to do this.”

His voice was muffled, with a constrained nasal quality.

Held in Tang Xizhui’s embrace, Pei Yanci couldn’t see any expression.

But he knew—he was crying.

Silently sobbing, though his facial expression might still look the same as usual.

If he broke free now, Tang Xizhui would certainly let him go.

He pretended not to hear, hesitated, then wrapped his arms around his waist and held him tight with unprecedented force.

Everything seemed to return to calm.

They embraced each other, limbs intertwined, and fell asleep completely satisfied.

****

The next morning when Pei Yanci woke, the space beside him was already empty.

He stretched, put on his pants, casually grabbed a long robe to wear, and went out yawning.

Wushu happened to hurry out carrying sesame cakes. “Big brother, I’m heading to the Imperial Academy now. Great Scholar Xu has class this morning, I can’t miss it.”

“Alright.” Pei Yanci called a servant to bring him washing water, contemplating whether he should just have Wushu formally enroll. What was the point of always sitting in as an auditor?

Or maybe wait—after the new year they’d use new regulations for recruitment, and then Wushu’s family background issues wouldn’t matter.

Would there be risks with this? Wushu would be spending much more time with a group of male students, wouldn’t he?

Before he could think deeper, he heard Wushu call out “Brother Wang” at the door.

Then he heard Wang Lingche asking about his whereabouts, and soon the man came in.

Seeing him, he first respectfully bowed. “Worthy Younger Brother Yanci, I have news about what you asked me to investigate.”

(TL: 賢弟 — “worthy younger brother” / “virtuous younger brother,” a polite way to address a junior male)

“Oh?” Pei Yanci looked around. “Come into my room.”

The servants had already brought the washing water. The two had become familiar during this time, so he went straight to washing up.

As soon as Wang Lingche entered the room, he smelled a faint salty-fishy odor. As a fellow man, how could he not know? He couldn’t help feeling embarrassed. Thinking that at seventeen or eighteen, blood ran hot, and he wasn’t like himself—fasting, chanting sutras, pure-hearted and abstinent—he felt relieved.

“That Chief Overseer of the Elu Bureau seems unwilling to let people pry into his past,” Wang Lingche said quietly.

“The Wang family is a great clan—are you afraid of someone without roots?” Pei Yanci dipped a fine brush made from willow twigs in salt, brushed the inside and outside of his teeth, spat out the saliva, and said.

“Of course not,” Wang Lingche was unfamiliar with officialdom and had only heard the name, never witnessed the Elu Bureau’s brutal methods. “I’m afraid that if he finds out you were investigating, he might move against you. The Wang family will protect me, but won’t protect you.”

“Just tell me.” Pei Yanci lowered his head to rinse his mouth with tea.

“Tangxi is a surname from the northwest region. That area was once prosperous due to trade with the Western Regions. Later, during wartime, Great Xi seized those prefectures. Most people became Great Xi citizens, while some dragged their families south after defeat to remain Great Yu people. That Elu Bureau’s eunuch’s family was among the latter.”

Wang Lingche continued. “Their ancestors were quite well-off. After selling their ancestral property and moving south, life became tighter, but with good management, everyone in Great Yu lived well—they shouldn’t have ended up poorly. Unfortunately, his father was a complete scoundrel—eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, everything. When the eunuch was still young, he squandered what little ancestral wealth remained and racked up massive debts. The three or four concubines kept at home were all for venting his anger on. I heard the eunuch was also beaten terribly as a child.”

“His name is Tang Xizhui. At the very least, you can call him Dugong, or Nine-Thousand-Years.” Pei Yanci set down the tea bowl heavily.

Not understanding why he said this, Wang Lingche still changed his address. “Later, Nine-Thousand-Years’ father heard from some disreputable friend that palace eunuchs who became successful could demand entry to ancestral tombs after death and extort plenty from their families. So he tied up Nine-Thousand-Years and sold him into the palace. Though there’s also a version where he drugged Nine-Thousand-Years unconscious, and when he woke, his lower parts were already gone and he was already in the palace.”

“What about his mother? She didn’t care?” At least he was a male heir, and they weren’t so poor they couldn’t survive—how could she allow someone to abuse her own child like that?

“His mother was a Western Regions dancer. Before he entered the palace, his father strangled her to death.” Wang Lingche shook his head, raising his palm to recite a Buddhist verse. “For such a person to ultimately be killed by Nine-Thousand-Years’ own hand was karmic retribution.”

Pei Yanci wrung out a cloth and roughly wiped his face.

He’d heard similar stories from others a thousand times, but with Tang Xizhui specifically, his heart felt blocked and moved.

Because it was him, it was different.

“Don’t tell anyone else about this matter. After today, forget it yourself, understand?” Pei Yanci instructed quietly.

After a long silence with no response, he turned his head to see Wang Lingche staring dumbly at his neck.

He quickly pulled his collar up and cleared his throat.

Only then did Wang Lingche snap back. “Ah? Alright.”

Looking at Pei Yanci’s face again—his eyes shimmering and bright, the corners still carrying a trace of red, lips also impossibly rosy and moist.

His face flushed red with embarrassment.

He’d never experienced such things, never seen anyone disheveled and exposing indecent kiss marks.

Having only read sage books and chanted mystical Buddhist verses, how could he know such worldly pleasures?

“I-I’ll go outside first. Come out after you’re dressed.” Wang Lingche felt like he’d encountered the seductive fox spirit his mother always scolded about. He hurried out in a panic, as if a moment’s delay would trap him inside the room.

Hearing his tone, Pei Yanci felt as if he was being accused of impropriety. He was speechless.

This man was in his twenties—surely he hadn’t shared a bed with anyone yet?

****

Tang Xizhui quietly slipped into his own residence, walking briskly to return to his room when a red figure rushed at him—his adopted son.

“In such a hurry to be reincarnated?”

“I just want to be reborn under my adoptive father’s knees, ideally as a biological son.” Huo Cun smiled obsequiously.

“This lord has no interest in bearing his own.” Tang Xizhui snorted arrogantly, then for some reason thought of something and laughed to himself. “I’m not like you lot.”

“……”

His adoptive father was having some kind of fit again, but Huo Cun knew he was in an excellent mood—even bringing up the issue of offspring could make him laugh.

As if the obsession that had once become a nightmare was slowly dissipating.

“Well then, what matter brings you to me?”

“Adoptive father, following the clues you provided last time, this son investigated Pei Daren’s background.”

Tang Xizhui’s smile slowly faded. “What did you find?”

“The founding emperor who supposedly ate dragon meat as a child—I searched through hundreds of years of records and found nothing.” Huo Cun said with difficulty.

“Oh?” Tang Xizhui narrowed his eyes slightly.

“However, over two hundred years ago, at the end of the Great Wu dynasty when heroes rose up everywhere, there was one rebel army whose leader claimed he ate dragon meat as a child and was destined by heaven. Unfortunately, he was defeated not long after by the founding armies of Great Yu and Great Xi, and that emperor died too.”

“No descendants? The descendants didn’t found a nation?”

“None heard of. I even searched for kingdoms of just a few thousand people—it wasn’t them. Speaking of founding nations,” Huo Cun shook his head, “that warlord’s rebel army once designated their country as Great Tao.”

TL/N:

It is Tangxi. Should I change TXZ’s surname to Tangxi from now on? wuwu