CPS Chapter 8: Lingguang (2)

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Xia Qing was completely stunned.

What the hell...

The "泉客" (Quan Ke) is another name for the mermaids?? Does that mean the dish "泉客當歸" (Quan Ke Dang Gui) is made from mermaid's meat?

He looked at Lou Guanxue in disbelief.

At that moment, a palace maid beside him lowered her head and softly urged, "Your Majesty, please proceed to the bathhouse."

Xia Qing swallowed his questions, nodded stiffly, and, under the service of the palace maid and guards, got into the carriage that would take him to the bathhouse.

It was March, the weather was turning warmer, but still chilly. Lou Guanxue had a delicate constitution, and Xia Qing could almost feel the constant, subtle pain that was not severe but torturous.

Inside the carriage, incense was burning, and soft bedding lay beneath the curtains.

The cool breeze from the fringed curtains carried the scent of white pear blossoms from the royal garden.

"Can I speak with you now?"

Xia Qing lowered his voice, afraid of being overheard.

Lou Guanxue leaned against the soft cushions and smiled. "Hmm. Actually, you can speak louder, it wouldn't matter if anyone hears."

Xia Qing: "Never mind, I can't stand being seen as crazy."

Lou Guanxue said nothing in reply.

Xia Qing hesitantly asked, "Did Yan Lanyu really made from mermaid?"

Lou Guanxe answered, "Yes."

Xia Qing shivered. "What the hell, can you really eat mermaid meat?"

Lou Guanxue replied, "The mermaid people were once the closest race to the gods. Of course, they can be eaten."

Xia Qing: "Then you..."

Lou Guanxue gave him a glance and seemed to know what he was about to ask. He lightly smiled, "Don’t worry, I don't eat it."

Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's good."

Lou Guanxue added, "It's too filthy."

Xia Qing: "Huh? Filthy?!"

The mermaid people are all so pale and white, how can they be filthy? How severe is Lou Guanxue's cleanliness obsession?

However, after thinking about Lou Guanxue’s earlier statement, Xia Qing sensed a cold, eerie tone. Hesitantly, he asked, "So, is eating mermaid common in Chu country?"

Lou Guanxue: "Not common. Mermaid meat is highly poisonous, dry, and hard to swallow. It requires a lot of precious medicinal herbs to detoxify, and the cooking methods and procedures are very meticulous. In all of Lingguang, perhaps only Yan Lanyu enjoys this dish." After saying that, Lou Guanxue smiled. "Now that you've met her, do you understand what kind of person she is?"

Xia Qing was momentarily stunned. He had always enjoyed observing people, but he never really understood others' minds.

When he observed people, he didn't try to guess their thoughts; he just quietly stared, as if he were looking at the sky, the earth, the flowers, or the grass—no different.

It probably sounds insane, right?! He thought to himself, and he couldn't even control his own eyes.

Prompted by Lou Guanxues question, Xia Qing forced himself to recall, picking out his most vivid impression. "Yan Lanyu seems to really like the little eunuch by her side, always asking him one question after another."

Lou Guanxue casually said, "It's the style of conversation she enjoys."

Xia Qing couldn’t believe it. "Doesn't she think that makes her seem warm and approachable?"

But after thinking about it more, Xia Qing, in his heart, couldn’t help but feel that Yan Lanyu probably did think so.

In fact, this "warmth and approachability" was more like an extreme form of arrogant provocation.

After speaking a certain statement, she would gently ask the person beside her some trivial questions, which were somewhat related to the previous topic but ultimately insignificant. After receiving a reply, she would smile contentedly and continue, as though she had listened to the other person’s opinion before expressing her own.

In reality, the decisions Yan Lanyu made and the questions she asked had nothing to do with one another.

This young Empress Dowager, with her "light and casual" decision-making and her "warm and approachable" demeanor, left no room for anyone to refute.

Her soft-spoken words in the spring breeze and drizzle might seem sorrowful, yet beneath them, there was an unmistakable coldness and an air of absolute authority.

It was even more suffocating than the direct pressure of brute force.

Xia Qing thought about how she and the little eunuch harmonized their conversation, and goosebumps appeared all over his body.

He muttered to himself, "Talking to her would probably drive me crazy."

Lou Guanxue, amused, asked, "Did she make you angry?"

Xia Qing shook his head. "How could I? I didn't listen to anything she said."

The bathhouse was located in the inner court.

There was a natural barrier formed by the stacked rocks, with a hot spring in the center, surrounded by pear blossoms. In March, the white petals fluttered like snowflakes, creating a misty, dreamlike scene, almost like a celestial paradise.

"Get undressed, I don’t want to bathe you," Xia Qing urged as soon as they got off the carriage.

The initiative in their contract was in Lou Guanxue's hands, after all, it was his body.

Lou Guanxue didn’t say anything, but his fingers gently touched Xia Qing’s brow.

The moment Xia Qing turned into a spirit, he felt as if he were soaring in bliss—no more pain, no more cold, and no need to maintain any formal posture to avoid slipping up! It was like he was light as a feather.

Lou Guanxue’s expression remained indifferent as he undressed and entered the bath.

Xia Qing sat on the pear tree closest to the bathhouse. As a well-mannered and sensible young man, he turned away when Lou Guanxue started undressing, playing with the pear blossoms for a while before turning back.

Now, they were like two grasshoppers on the same rope. Xia Qing felt a bit more familiar with Lou Guanxue and initiated a conversation.

"You’re fifteen, and you don’t have a single concubine in the palace?"

"Mm."

"Why not?"

"Because they’re dirty."

As expected of a goddess, everything he sees is dirty.

Xia Qing: "Then is there anything you don't think is dirty?"

Lou Guanxue tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Ask another question."

Xia Qing, gradually forgetting the initial shadow of their first meeting, obediently changed the subject. "Oh, then what kind of concubine do you plan to choose?"

Lou Guanxue’s black hair floated gently on the water, her eyes closed for a moment. "You choose."

"I choose?!"

Xia Qing was so startled that he nearly fell off the pear tree. "You want me to help you choose a concubine?"

Lou Guanxue answered faintly, "I leave it all to you."

Xia Qing was dumbfounded. "What do you mean by leaving it all to me? Don’t tell me, after I choose a concubine for you, you’ll force me to sleep with her?!"

Lou Guanxue smiled. "That’s also fine."

Xia Qing was so scared that his hair stood on end. "No! I don’t want to! Forget it! Don’t even think about it!"

He gripped the pear branch tightly, gritting his teeth with a look of resistance, as if preserving his chastity was more terrifying to him than losing his life.

In fact, aside from being a bit of a mess when it came to observing people, Xia Qing also had another problem—his desire was like a fierce beast, and breaking his celibacy was like a monk trying to give up his vows.

It was really strange—he didn’t even understand why he was holding on to his virginity! Was it part of some spiritual cultivation?

Of course, there were many things he didn’t understand.

Lou Guanxue smiled ambiguously.

Her smile didn’t seem to have any special meaning, but Xia Qing felt a sense of humiliation.

He yanked on the nearby pear branch, grumbling, "What are you laughing at? Aren’t you the same?"

Then, thinking back to Lou Guanxue’s words at the Zhaixing Tower, "I can tell you're still a virgin," Xia Qing froze for a moment, then seriously analyzed, "So you look down on my virginity, but it turns out you’re the same. Oh, I get it now, Lou Guanxue I see, you’re not disgusted by dirt, you just... can’t get it up."

"That’s the reason why you want me to choose a concubine for you."

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. He was about to go all out with his mockery when he heard Lou Guanxue curiously ask, "Aren’t you clear whether I can get it up or not?"

Xia Qing: "…"

Xia Qing exploded. "Who the hell would pay attention to that when they’re on top of you?!"

Lou Guanxue: "Oh."

Xia Qing, holding back his anger, said, "I have absolutely no interest in your body!"

Lou Guanxue nodded and gave a faint smile. "Mm."

"…" Xia Qing gritted his teeth, feeling like he had been provoked again—he had to turn the tables!

Xia Qing thought for a moment, leaned against the tree, and casually said, "Actually, it’s not that I’m not interested. It’s just... it’s like that."

Lou Guanxue’s eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and through the misty smoke, her lips were a deep red, as if a ghostly presence was stealing hearts. Her voice was cold with a hint of hoarseness. "Like what?"

Xia Qing slowly responded, with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes, "You ask that? Sorry, I didn’t pay much attention. I just remember it being smaller than usual, so I wasn’t really used to it."

Lou Guanxue silently looked at him.

After a long pause, the goddess finally laughed.

"…"

Xia Qing was so furious that he wanted to slap him with the pear branch in his hand.

The conversation inside the bathhouse couldn’t be heard from the outside.

This new emperor of Chu was naturally very clean and detested having others close. A group of palace maids and eunuchs only dared to stand outside the pear tree in an orderly manner, holding wine, soap, and handkerchiefs, with their heads bowed in respect, their gazes never daring to wander.

The flying pear blossoms formed a curtain, blocking their vision.

Wen Jiao was probably the only one who dared to glance around.

He stood at the very back of the crowd, dressed in the attire of a eunuch. Raised in the Liang Kingdom, he had developed delicate white skin. The eunuch uniform was dark blue, making his slender neck and wrists even more apparent. His skin was smooth, his eyes dark, his lips pink, his lashes long and curled, and on his brow was a crimson mark. Or rather, it wasn’t exactly a mole, but a scar that looked like it had been made with a knife, a vivid red that was so small it was barely noticeable.

…Every year, the emperor would visit the Zhaixing Tower and bathe in the bathhouse to cleanse himself of any evil energy.

…This was the only opportunity to get close to him.

He had learned this information by spending a jade coin with the head eunuch and had secured the task of delivering refreshments.

Wen Jiao nervously held the tray, his heart racing. Every time he thought about the rumors of the young emperor’s cruelty, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

But when his gaze fell on his own frostbitten, delicate hands, a sense of grievance and discomfort surged in him.

He didn’t want to wait anymore, nor did he want to keep enduring hardship. In this palace, there was only one person who could protect him.

Wen Jiao thought of his mother’s last words, and his eyes involuntarily became moist.

"Jiao Jiao, live well. Don’t think too much about it. Revenge and grievances are just fate. All I want is for you to be happy."

His mother had been the most beautiful and gentle woman in the world, her eyes like a silver-blue sea, and her long hair like dark seaweed.

Be happy, live well.

He clenched his fists, swallowed, and took a deep breath.

"You should serve the wine, stop dawdling."

Someone quietly nudged Wēn Jiào’s arm.

He immediately snapped out of his memories, shrinking his neck, and closed his eyes to psych himself up. He knew he was good-looking, and this was his advantage. In the Liang Kingdom’s palace, whenever he wanted to win someone’s favor, he had always succeeded.

The pear blossoms brushed against his face, blending with the mist from the bathhouse.

Wen Jiao stepped forward, secretly eyeing the legendary ruler of the world.

Lou Guanxue’s appearance had been the subject of much conversation among the people of Chu.

Wen Jiao held his breath and slowly moved closer, only able to see the back of him.

The young emperor’s black hair flowed like a waterfall, his demeanor as pure as ice jade. His lashes, heavy with mist, seemed to quiver as he tilted his head, seemingly smiling.

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