Chapter 16 - Xiao Nong: Dock
Chapter 16 - Xiao Nong: Dock
The pleasure boat swayed gently with the waves, and silver lights flickered in the dark river. Amid the sound of rushing water, the moonlight was gradually hidden by dark clouds.
The secret guard who threw Lou Qingtang off the boat came back and wanted to report it, but was stopped by Zhan Rong who was guarding outside with his arms folded.
Just as he was about to explain, his extremely sharp hearing picked up the faint sound of the bed shaking in the room, followed by a low, sobbing sound like pain.
It was not very clear, nor was it intentional, but it made people blush when they heard it.
Zhan Rong's ears turned red with anger, and he immediately put on a fierce face and drove the people guarding around to the side of the ship. No one was allowed to approach the cabin.
Xiao Nong is a very generous person.
Whatever Zhong Yansheng wanted, he gave it to him.
Give a lot.
After most of the effect of the drug had dissipated, Zhong Yansheng's brain came back a little, and he realized belatedly that he had provoked a dangerous existence.
But he couldn't escape.
He had just gotten rid of the torture of the heat, but he fell into another long torture. His whole body was wet, but it was not because of falling into the water, but because of sweat.
Zhong Yansheng desperately wanted to escape, and when he was about to climb down from the big bed, he was dragged back by his fair ankles and pressed down hard.
He cried incoherently, begged the person on him in a low voice, and called him brother in the hope of getting away with it, naively thinking that he would be let him go.
But it got worse.
The difference in size and physical strength between the two was too great. Whenever Zhong Yansheng couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to run away, Xiao Nong could easily catch him back.
When he regained consciousness a little, the headband on his forehead was tied to his hands, and he was sitting on a loose robe with his long hair loose.
The wind and waves grew stronger in the middle of the night. The pleasure boat was swaying with the waves, and he was also swaying with the pleasure boat.
The outer robe draped over his shoulders slipped down, and the moonlight quietly crept into the cabin at some point, sprinkling all over Zhong Yansheng's body, as if he was covered with a layer of holy thin veil.
His shadow fell on Xiao Nong. It was clearly him looking down at Xiao Nong with a distracted gaze, but because of the size difference, he looked more like the one shrouded in the shadow.
The arch of his foot was stretched taut, and his sweaty fingertips wrinkled the scattered clothes around him, but he was too weak to let go. Finally, he collapsed into Xiao Nong's arms, sobbing, with his chin being lifted by the pinch again.
The tears on his cheeks were kissed away inch by inch, and then his swollen and hot lips. The man's voice was hoarse with a smile, as if to coax him: "Yuan Yuan, don't cry."
"You asked for it."
He was too much. Zhong Yansheng fell into his arms and could not escape. He could only gather his last bit of strength and angrily bit his neck hard. The bite was so deep that even some blood seeped out.
After biting it, it seemed to be scared and licked it with its tongue in a flattering manner.
Xiao Nong didn't say anything and pushed him down.
In the end, Zhong Yansheng fell asleep crying.
He burst into tears when he was touched, as if he had been severely bullied and felt extremely wronged.
Xiao stroked his pink, tear-stained cheek, which felt like some kind of cheese. He couldn't help but lean over and take another bite, and gently rubbed it with his teeth, causing Zhong Yansheng to frown and tremble in his sleep.
Sweet.
He doesn't like anything too fragile or too sweet.
But Yuan Yuan is a little different.
He had only killed over the years, but for the first time he actually had the desire to protect.
Xiao Nong wrapped the sweaty Zhong Yansheng in his arms, covered him with a quilt, immersed himself in the refreshing and moist breath, and closed his eyes peacefully.
The pleasure boat drifted on the river all night.
Zhong Yansheng also had a shaky dream all night.
He woke up in pain.
His whole body aches, even more sore than the day after he fell off the courtyard wall.
Zhong Yansheng opened his eyes dazedly, and the things in his sight shook slightly before becoming clear after a moment.
He felt warm as he lay on a bed. The veil was hanging low, so he couldn't see the furnishings outside, but the sky was already slightly bright.
There was still some warmth on the outside of the bed, and his waist still felt numb from being held by someone.
The person who had held him and slept all night just left.
After this thought popped into his mind, Zhong Yansheng suddenly felt cold all over. He sat up with a hissing breath, and the quilt slipped down. He looked down at himself, his face turned pale.
From chest to shoulders, the porcelain white skin was covered with bruises and purples from being pinched, bitten and kissed, leaving marks of varying depths. Without lifting the quilt to look inside, one could guess what the miserable state of other parts of the body was, perhaps even more miserable than what he could see.
There were even thin red marks from the binding on both wrists.
With an indescribable feeling, the memory of last night gradually returned.
He jumped off Meng Qiping's boat. It wasn't Meng Qiping. Fortunately it wasn't Meng Qiping.
Who was that?
He drifted far away with the current and was rescued onto another pleasure boat, where he met... his brother.
A pair of dark blue eyes suddenly flashed through my mind.
Blue eyes that were staring at him with a wicked smile and full of desire.
Zhong Yansheng turned his head in a daze and saw the white gauze and red headband tangled together on the pillow.
The headband that was worn last night was tied on his hands, and this white veil should have covered the eyes of the person he called brother.
The man he called brother... he saw the face.
Under the moonlight, the face was as handsome and upright as a sculpture. In the semi-light and semi-darkness, he looked like an evil spirit. His contours were much deeper than those of ordinary people, and he had a bit of alien style.
The pair of eyes that were revealed were blue.
He was sick, have a special status, cannot see anyone, and live in a villa outside Beijing...
Perhaps, possibly, it's not just the one from Huai'an Marquis' Mansion - the real young master whom I may never have met.
There is another person who is feared by many and has enormous power.
Zhong Yansheng felt dizzy for a moment, and his mind was blankly reviewing every detail of his interactions with Xiao Nong over the past month. He recalled many things that he found strange but had never thought deeply about.
A villa that is too large to meet the standard, cold subordinates who call themselves subordinates, and servants who come and go in the study without a trace.
He wore luxurious robes and had an extraordinary aura. He read something at his desk every day, casually writing and scribbling with a pen.
The sword was held to his neck when they first met, and the flying knife flew over his head when they second met... probably both times were done with real murderous intent.
All the unreasonable things that Zhong Yansheng felt were unreasonable in the past, and he would occasionally have doubts, but because he firmly believed that the person in front of him was the real young master, he forcibly suppressed all the unreasonable things. Now all of them came to his mind and pointed to one name.
Xiao Nong.
Xiao Xianwei.
His Royal Highness Prince Ding.
…When they first met, he dared to call him brother, how could Xiao Nong dare to respond!!!
Are you just idle? Why do you want to pretend to be his brother... No!
Zhong Yansheng thought numbly that Xiao Nong had never pretended and might not even know who he was. He had always misunderstood him.
He remembered that time in the restaurant, other people said that Prince Ding was poisoned by the barbarians outside the Great Wall, which might be the reason why he had been wearing gauze and sitting in a wheelchair.
The memory of last night was very confusing, but Zhong Yansheng clearly remembered that when he regained consciousness, he was sitting on Xiao Nong.
So after the drug took effect, he was confused and... raped the disabled Prince Ding?
Zhong Yansheng shuddered.
Finished.
Not only did he find the wrong brother, he also got into huge trouble.
His Royal Highness Prince Ding didn't kill him while he was sleeping. Did he want to wait until he woke up before killing him?
Zhong Yansheng was very panicked.
He looked towards the door with a weak gaze, not daring to delay any longer, and climbed up with tears in pain, pushed aside the gauze curtain hanging on the ground, picked up the messy robe on the ground, and put it on carelessly.
As he was putting on the robe, a strange feeling came up again. After realizing what it was, Zhong Yansheng's body suddenly stiffened. He pursed his lips tightly, and the redness of shame spread from his ears to his neck.
I didn't take a shower last night.
The strange feeling spread from his thighs to his calves, making Zhong Yansheng's scalp numb, his eyes hot, and he almost wanted to cry. With trembling fingertips, he tried to tie his belt, only to find that it had been torn into two pieces. He had no idea where the long piece had gone, and the short piece would easily fall apart when tied together, so he needed to find something to tie a knot.
Zhong Yansheng turned his head, his eyes wandering between the headband and the white gauze belt beside the pillow, and a broken picture flashed through his mind.
He had his wrists tied with a headband... and was sitting on top.
His vision was burned for a moment, and Zhong Yansheng didn't dare to look at the headband again. He hurriedly grabbed the white gauze ribbon, tied a knot around the short belt, leaned against the window with weak hands and feet, pushed open the crack and looked in.
Not far from shore.
It was still early and there were no other boats around. This was a room on the first floor of the houseboat, so even if something fell into the water, there wouldn't be a lot of noise.
Zhong Yansheng looked at the cold river surface, tightened his clothes, and imagined the scene of facing Xiao Nong soberly…
He was thin and skinny, and fell into the water lightly like a fish. His voice blended with the waves and did not disturb anyone.
When swimming from the pleasure boat to the shore, Zhong Yansheng almost exhausted all his strength. When he was almost reaching the shore, his leg cramped, but fortunately he managed to climb ashore.
He didn't dare stay here any longer. He took a short break, quickly identified the direction, and then limped away.
Fortunately, this river surrounds the capital city, and the pleasure boat did not float out of the city. After Zhong Yansheng walked for a while, he saw more and more people talking, and the streets were already bustling with shouts in the early morning.
Zhong Yansheng's clothes were disheveled, covered in dust and mud, his hair was disheveled, and his head was buried deeply. If you didn't look closely, he looked no different from other beggars on the street, and no one paid attention to him.
Having expended too much energy last night, some parts of his body were still aching. Zhong Yansheng walked with a buzzing head and unsteady steps. Before he nearly fainted, he finally groped his way back to the street he had walked on yesterday and found a familiar carriage in an alley.
Yun Cheng's eyes were dark, and he squatted beside the carriage in a worried look. It was obvious that he had not slept all night. When he heard the voice, he raised his head and jumped up immediately, overjoyed: "Master! You are finally back! I looked for you all night last night, and just wanted to go back to inform the master and the mistress...Where have you been?"
When they went to Yunzhongfang yesterday, Zhong Yansheng specifically told Yuncheng that if there was any problem, he should jump off the boat and avoid it. No matter what happened, he should wait for him and not report to the Marquis' Mansion immediately.
Yun Cheng spent half the night wavering between listening to Zhong Yansheng and not listening. He was so frightened that he had a lot of questions to ask, but Zhong Yansheng really didn't have the energy to speak or explain. He felt like he was going to faint at any moment. He shook his head half-heartedly, his voice hoarse, "Don't ask for now."
He looked exhausted, his clothes were still wet around him, his hair was disheveled, and his face and expression were unclear.
Yun Cheng didn't dare to ask any more questions, and nodded quickly**: "Master, I will help you get on the carriage."**
Zhong Yansheng bit his lip and made a judgment: "Yuncheng, we can't keep this carriage. Just leave it here."
During this period of time, Yun Chengdu had been wearing a mask and driving this carriage to take him to Changliu Villa. Prince Ding's people must know him, and it would be easy for them to find him by relying on the carriage.
Judging from Xiao Nong's attitude before, he seemed to be unaware that he was the eldest son of the Huai'an Marquis's Mansion, otherwise he would not have had such a strange attitude... Fortunately, he did not say too much about the situation at home, so it would not bring disaster to the Marquis' Mansion.
Zhong Yansheng suddenly wanted to abandon the carriage, Yun Cheng exclaimed "Ah", because the leasing company still had twenty taels of silver as collateral.
But he always listened to Zhong Yansheng, and seeing that he was so determined, he didn't ask why, but decisively left the carriage and reached out to help Zhong Yansheng walk together.
There was excessive physical contact all night long, on the waist, legs, and even ankles, as if there was a big, strong hand holding him tightly.
Zhong Yansheng's eyelashes trembled violently, and he avoided Yun Cheng's hand. Under Yun Cheng's surprised eyes, he guiltily hid his hand in his sleeve again to cover the red mark on his wrist: "No, I can do it myself... Let's take the small road and return home quickly."
Zhong Yansheng was in a daze, and Yun Cheng also felt inexplicably flustered. When he left in a hurry, he completely forgot that there was something in the carriage.
When Zhong Yansheng staggered and panted as he ran back to the mansion, Xiao Nong, wearing only a loose outer robe, stood at the bow of the pleasure boat, listening to the report from the people below. His lazy face, which had just woken up, gradually turned into impatience: "It took so long to report the movements of those useless people."
Zhan Rong knew very well why Xiao Nong was impatient. The prince had glanced towards the cabin several times: "...I know I was wrong."
It was obvious that you were afraid of waking up the person in the room, so you insisted on listening to the report from a distance.
Xiao Nong didn't say anything. He rubbed the deep bite mark on the side of his neck with his thumb and thought casually.
We went a little too far last night. There was no hot water on the houseboat, so we didn't give Yuan Yuan a bath.
He won't get sick, will he?
But Zhong Yansheng slept too restlessly. He would hum in grievance if touched. If the pleasure boat was docked, and he was picked up, he would probably wake up again.
Xiao Nong still felt a little guilty for keeping the other person up so late last night.
After thinking about it, Xiao Nong was too lazy to continue listening to what those useless people in the court were doing. He could guess what was going on, so he interrupted his subordinates and ordered, "Tell the kitchen to cook fish soup and porridge, and boil some medicine to prevent typhoid fever."
Last night he fed Zhong Yansheng the anti-typhoid medicine specially made by Lou Qingtang. Lou Qingtang praised the pill to the sky, but Xiao Nong was still not reassured.
He recalled Zhong Yansheng's extremely thin back and waist. It seemed that except for some flesh below his lower back and on his thighs, the rest of his body was so thin that it was heartbreaking.
I have to take good care of his body in the future so that I can hold it more comfortably.
Xiao Nong took two steps towards the cabin, then stopped, lowered his eyes and thought, and added: "Cook some more eight-treasure sweet soup."
Zhong Yansheng felt very hot last night and kept saying he was thirsty.
If you like sweet cakes, you should also like sweet soup.
Zhan Rong was stunned. It was the first time in his life that he found his master so considerate. He wanted to laugh but didn't dare to: "Yes."
After instructing Zhan Rong to prepare some clean clothes, Xiao Nong walked to the door of the house. Thinking of the beautiful face that was rosy and sleeping in his arms in the morning light when he just woke up, he curled his lips, opened the door, and prepared to go back to bed and hug Zhong Yansheng to sleep for a while.
As soon as the door opened, Xiao Nong stood still.
Noticing that Xiao Nong did not enter the house, Zhan Rong sensed something was wrong and asked cautiously, "Master, what's wrong?"
After waiting for a while, he didn't hear Xiao Nong's voice. He secretly glanced into the room and was shocked.
The cabin windows were wide open, and the morning breeze filled the room with coolness. The gauze curtains fluttered, and the clothes on the floor had disappeared.
The room was empty.
The little bird flew away.
Xiao Nong stared at the empty bed for a while, then bent over to pick up the headband that had floated to his feet, and said two words expressionlessly: "Dock."