SEHE Chapter 12

The Spring Palace

“We just met last night.” Pei Yanci was puzzled.

He still had unfinished business – what use was there in seeing him now?

“Dugong Daren wishes to see you.” The man still repeated this same phrase, even his tone remaining stiffly unchanged.

Pei Yanci felt helpless and could only signal for him to lead the way, but saw the other party pull out two black cloth strips from his chest.

“Daren’s orders.” Perhaps fearing he would resist and waste unnecessary effort, the man said a few extra words in explanation.

Pei Yanci’s mouth twitched.

A moment later, his eyes were covered with a blindfold, his hands bound behind his back, and he was helped onto a horse carriage by that man.

Initially, Pei Yanci tried to secretly memorize the route, but later discovered the carriage was circling around the district several times. Knowing this was to prevent him from remembering the way, he stopped paying attention.

Could this person really be so idle as to make a move against someone as insignificant as him?

After an unknown period, just as Pei Yanci was beginning to feel drowsy, a voice came from outside the carriage.

“Get out.”

He shuffled to the edge of the carriage, his arm suddenly grabbed by a hand, and his whole person was brought down.

The smell at his nose tip wasn’t right.

He couldn’t see, but the surrounding air was clearly not circulating well. He could feel the place was narrow and cramped, the footsteps echoing deep yet muffled, surrounded by damp stuffiness filled with the stench of sweat and decay. He could almost feel the subtle discomfort of insects crawling across his skin.

It was like being in a long-neglected secret passage.

He uneasily moved his arm, and the hand gripping him loosened slightly. The voice that spoke was still from the person who had brought him.

“We’ll be there soon.”

“Are you sure your Dugong didn’t secretly drag me into his prison?”

The man didn’t answer immediately, seeming to think for a moment before saying: “I don’t know.”

How refreshingly honest.

So he was indeed in the Elu Bureau prison.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know where the prison was located – why make it so mysterious?

With this thought, a trace of fresh blood’s fishy stench reached his nose. As their footsteps drew closer, the smell became increasingly heavy.

Not far ahead to the side, someone was groaning tunelessly, painful yet restrained, mixed with indescribable pleasure. Through a wall, he couldn’t hear clearly, but some indescribable friction sound was softly responding. Suddenly, from the same direction, someone let out a low roar.

Before he could listen more carefully, a dangerous exotic fragrance wafted over.

“This lord said this appearance suits you.”

A sinister voice sounded by his ear, the ending tone rising like a hook scratching at people.

A cold, slender finger squeezed between his bound hands and the cloth strips, and with one hook from that finger, his whole person fell backward.

Pei Yanci staggered a step and fell sitting onto two pressed-together thighs, his back and left hand leaning against a solid, firm chest.

A strong exotic fragrance came over, domineeringly occupying his nasal cavity and throat, a sweet-spicy taste surging up his throat.

Pei Yanci couldn’t help but cough once, only then remembering that after smelling it for so long, his nose had become dully numb, and he had begun to accept this nauseating smell. So when he smelled the fragrance, he instead felt uncomfortable.

“Shh.”

A cool fragrant breeze brushed past his neck, and his pink lips were pressed against by an upright finger.

The steady breathing by his neck rhythmically washed over his most sensitive skin. The forest-cold sensation from his skin made him want to tremble.

People are always afraid of the unknown.

Especially dangerous and treacherous unknowns.

He felt the weight of the other’s chin on his left shoulder. “Why were even your hands tied up?”

He seemed to sense that in the darkness, a coiling venomous snake was silently opening its fangs toward him.

“You’re even more like a little slave now.”

Pei Yanci: “……”

“Nine-Thousand-Years Daren, what instructions do you have for this humble one tonight?” He was still busy returning to the Crown Prince’s Mansion to sleep. Having been busy all day, he had no energy to deal with him.

During their conversation, he again heard the muffled groaning of pleasure from before, as if another cycle had begun.

He unconsciously turned his head toward that direction, still wanting to confirm, when he heard a voice come close to his ear.

“Do you like this sort of thing?” His voice was deliberately slow and light, hoarse and bewitching. “Have you done it before?”

Pei Yanci’s ear was tickled by his breath, rarely turning red. “Nine-Thousand-Years Daren should like it more.”

Having lost his investigation tools, he still wanted to watch others’ spring palace – he must be jealous.

“Do you know who it is?”

“I don’t know.” The surroundings were quite stuffy, and his neck began to seep fine beads of sweat, sliding down his skin and soaking into the overlapping collar.

Tang Xizhui’s gaze became increasingly deep and unfathomable, his tone slightly tense as he uttered a name.

“Song Suixi.”

Noticing the slight stiffening at the corner of the person’s mouth beside him, he said even more delightedly, “He is Fang Hongchun’s prized disciple, and also the nephew of the genius professor Song Qi’an from Qingcheng Academy. Among that group of captured candidates, his status is barely presentable. Now fallen to such a state – what a pity. I wonder how heartbroken his teacher and uncle must be.”

If Song Suixi was tortured and ruined by the eunuch faction in prison, or even killed himself unable to bear the humiliation, then how should he proceed with the next few steps?

Was Tang Xizhui threatening him for the small actions he had taken behind the Crown Prince’s back today? Or telling him to give up those little schemes?

Pei Yanci’s palms secretly broke into sweat.

At some point, his middle finger was pointing at Pei Yanci’s spine, extending downward point by point. You never know when he might suddenly exert force and snap him in half.

“They all say scholars are noble and can’t bear any defilement, but this lord finds their humiliated and resentful eyes quite beautiful.” He laughed lowly, the sound echoing by his ear bones like a ghost. “The higher the status, the prouder the character, the better the taste when humiliating them. Guess who this lord most wants to throw into the Elu Bureau prison right now?”

“The most noble in status in the Great Yu Dynasty.”

“His Majesty’s dragon body isn’t as good as a young one.”

“The one about to become most noble.”

“Are you listening to some rumors?” He somehow produced a fan from his hand, fanning intermittently, adding some coolness to the stuffy room. “Are there still people in court bold enough to gossip about this lord?”

There were plenty of those.

“Gu Jiuqing only wins in status. This one surnamed Song is young and vigorous with good stamina. Those eyes of his, tsk, really make one’s hands itch, wanting to personally gouge them out.” He became more excited as he spoke.

“Nine-Thousand-Years Daren, I’ve never heard that Song Suixi is an old man.” Pei Yanci said calmly, moving his hands and discovering they had been untied at some point.

The breath falling on his neck paused.

Then his shoulder lightened, and low laughter came from above his head.

Cold fingers squeezed between the black cloth and his skin. The next moment, the cloth covering his eyes was lifted up, sliding to his forehead.

The surrounding light was very dim, with only a few eternal lamps and a square of leaked light carved out ahead. Pei Yanci’s eyes still squinted uncomfortably.

The black shadow before him gradually became a silhouette, and Tang Xizhui’s seemingly smiling face became increasingly clear.

Like a mesmerizing butterfly fluttering before his eyes in the dark night, each colored scale reflecting dreamlike blue light, but the next moment it would shatter to dust in his hands, becoming white ashes.

Dugong Daren patted his cheek with the fan.

The fan bones were suddenly grabbed.

“Your courage is growing.” Tang Xizhui wasn’t annoyed, appreciating his alertness even in confusion.

Pei Yanci blinked several times before finally seeing clearly the appearance of the person before him.

Tang Xizhui wasn’t wearing a mask tonight. At the corner of his right eye was outlined a blue-silver gradient butterfly tear pattern. He wore a mist-blue robe with white edges, the hem and bottom meandering with gradient blue-white Epiphyllum flowers – ethereally treacherous, gorgeous yet cold, yet full of flamboyant evil.

The sounds from next door became increasingly melodious and enchanting, softly entering the ears.

Pei Yanci released his grip, avoided his gaze, and stood up from his legs.

But that light opening was specially made for someone sitting. He could only walk forward a step, half-crouching to peek.

Next door was an elegant boudoir where an old man was entangled with a middle-aged woman, already fallen into a delirious state of passion.

Looking at where he was staying, it was a dark room.

They weren’t in a prison cell, but in the room next to someone else’s.

The dignified Chief Overseer of the Elu Bureau was actually peeping at an old man having s*x!

Pei Yanci: “……”

No matter how unconventional, having lived twenty-eight years in his previous life, he had never done such a thing.

Could this Chief Overseer have some shame?

“Next time we’ll need to find young ones.” Tang Xizhui’s beautiful face was propped on his hand, saying regretfully, “Even with your eyes covered, I still couldn’t fool you.”

This wasn’t deception – it was clearly testing his future plans.

This wasn’t the main point.

“What are we doing here?”

“Don’t you think this is better to watch than picture books?” Tang Xizhui’s tone was full of exploratory meaning as he produced an album from somewhere and handed it to Pei Yanci.

Pei Yanci reached out to take it – it was a spring palace album.

“……”

The men and women in the pictures had vivid expressions with every detail clearly visible – clearly the work of a master.

Glancing at the name: Xiao Yu.

“Do you like it? I’ll give it to you.” Tang Xizhui said generously.

“No need.” Pei Yanci threw it back to him like a hot potato.

He was young and vigorous with strong fire – looking too much would be unbearable.

Unlike a certain someone.

“Then what do you like?” Tang Xizhui asked.

“Nine-Thousand-Years, you haven’t agreed to cooperate with me yet. I’m just a servant of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, not worthy of your such concern.”

“Before reaching cooperation, doesn’t this lord need to understand in advance the possible partner for cooperation?”

“Didn’t Nine-Thousand-Years Daren send people to follow me?” Pei Yanci said. “There’s no concealment – this is all of me.”

Those strange feelings that appeared from time to time during the day weren’t illusions – they were all eyes of the Elu Bureau.

“Is that so?” Tang Xizhui’s eyes dangerously narrowed, but the corner of his mouth slightly hooked up. “You’d better know that this lord very much dislikes the feeling of being deceived.”

“Nine-Thousand-Years can freely investigate. My background and history shouldn’t be difficult for people of the Elu Bureau.”

“You’re very confident.” Tang Xizhui’s eyelashes lightly blinked. With his slightly tilted head movement, the blue butterfly painted on his pale skin seemed to come alive and tremble lightly. “Haven’t you ever thought that your family fell to such a state because of this lord?”

As Chief Overseer of the Elu Bureau, his cruel methods and persecution of loyal officials were notorious.

Pei Yanci smiled, saying carelessly, “Would the Dugong above ten thousand people fear revenge from this small humble slave?”

Tang Xizhui said playfully, “Looking at you, this lord is more convinced that your family didn’t produce any good people.”

He rarely judged someone correctly.

“Too bad I lost my memory.” Pei Yanci said. “No matter how much old hatred and resentment, it’s all in the past.”

He was telling Tang Xizhui that no matter whose persecution had caused the original body’s family to be convicted, he wouldn’t pursue it.

“A ruthless character – this lord likes it.” Tang Xizhui’s gaze carried faint admiration.

Outside the dark room, someone bowed toward their direction with cupped hands.

“Dugong Daren.”

Pei Yanci looked over in confusion.

At some unknown time, the two people on the bed had already stopped breathing.