Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 109

The other palace servants left the hall with the attendant helping the left prime minister out. The hall was suddenly empty.

Wu Jing, cautious of others, dared to speak only in a whisper. Now he could finally say something, but he just stared blankly at Ning Qinghong, trying to understand the meaning behind his words.

He finally asked in confusion, “Why do you want to hang me up?”

He didn’t realize how the statement related to anything and thus asked out of curiosity and confusion.

Ning Qinghong smiled faintly and gently explained, “Wu Wu hasn’t been affectionate with brother for two days.” His words were completely straightforward, “Since we have an agreement on vocabulary, we need to test its effectiveness first.”

When Wu Jing heard the term “affectionate,” his ears involuntarily turned red. It took him a while to connect those words with “hanging up,” and he immediately began to feel flushed.

He shook his head frantically, clenching his fingers tightly.

He was both nervous and scared.

“I—I really don’t want to.” Wu Jing reached out to tug at Ning Qinghong’s sleeve. “I’m not lying.” He buried himself in Ning Qinghong’s embrace, nearly climbing from the dragon throne to a nearby Tai Shi chair, seeking refuge in his arms.

“It’s what he said, not what I said.”

“Why do I have to be punished?”

“And I refused. I really didn’t lie to you. Can you… not play like that?” Wu Jing pitifully buried his face in Ning Qinghong’s neck, practically climbing into his lap, his face flushed red with distress.

He looked up, gazing at Ning Qinghong with pleading eyes, “I only like brother, only look at brother.”

He was so flustered that he babbled nonsensically.

He said all sorts of sweet things.

Ning Qinghong, holding him close, only half-embraced the young man’s waist, gently tapping the armrest of the Tai Shi chair with his fingers.

Wu Jing grew more anxious, leaning in closer, “I—I want to kiss brother, okay?”

The boy’s soft and warm body pressed close, willingly hugging and seeking affection, his words dripping with sweetness.

He clumsily extended his tongue, tentatively licking Ning Qinghong’s thin lips, mumbling, “Brother kiss.”

Tears were welling up in his eyes.

Ning Qinghong’s long fingers silently rested on Wu Jing’s clothing, pausing for a moment. Recalling the scene from the previous days when Wu Jing cried out, his entire body had been flushed and disoriented the entire night after.

The journey from the hall to the Yangxin Palace was a bit long, and since it was inconvenient to change clothes elsewhere, if anyone noticed, it would be a small matter if someone died, but if Wu Jing realized others knew, it would be necessary to console him.

He would likely be too embarrassed to leave the house for several days.

Ning Qinghong sighed lightly, releasing his grip, and gently leaned down to kiss him, “Then Wu Wu, be a good boy and open your mouth.”

Wu Jing’s eyelids were wet and hazy as he obediently opened his lips, “A kiss—”

He was gently kissed.

Wu Jing mumbled incoherently, breathing heavily, “I… give, um, brother, kiss.” The kiss made it hard for him to breathe through his nose, and he let out a few whimpers, “Don’t… don’t tease me like that.”

Ning Qinghong did not respond.

After a while, Ning Qinghong picked him up, and Wu Jing, still in shock, suddenly cried out.

It was too sudden, right there in broad daylight, in the large hall, a place for court discussions.

How could this happen… how could this—

He had never been so involved before. He was surprised that Ning Qinghong, who had only been helping him, would act so suddenly. These past two days, he had been applying ointments and using medicinal jade, keeping him constantly sticky and moist, with no hindrance or pain.

Wu Jing was afraid someone might come in, and he had previously clung tightly to Ning Qinghong, burying his face in his shoulder, stifling his sobs with just “woo-woo” sounds.

Eventually, he lost all consciousness, unable to hold back his cries, tears rolling down. After some time, he was covered with a fox fur coat and carried out.

As Ning Qinghong left the hall, Wu Jing buried his face in his arms, his legs weakly hanging down, his face flushed, breathing heavily, unable to remember any of the agreed-upon words from yesterday.

The fox fur completely covered the young man, preventing anyone from seeing his expression.

Ning Qinghong had a few damp handkerchiefs in his sleeve, discreetly holding them in his hand. He softly instructed, “The Emperor is asleep. Prepare the carriage to return to the residence.”

First, they took a sedan chair out of the palace, then changed to a carriage. The horses were unsteady, and Ning Qinghong used his unoccupied hand to cover Wu Jing’s slightly open mouth.

He muffled the sobs in his palm, and the saliva that couldn’t be swallowed filled his hand.

After about half an hour of the bumpy ride, they arrived at the Ning residence. Ning Qinghong carried Wu Jing out of the carriage and instructed the attendant to prepare lunch without following them.

He then slowly took Wu Jing back to the main courtyard.

They did not go to the bedroom but turned towards the bathhouse. Once the bathhouse door was closed, Ning Qinghong pulled out the damp handkerchief and continued to listen to Wu Jing’s cries.

He skillfully used the dirty handkerchief from his sleeve to cover Wu Jing’s face, the handkerchief becoming wet again.

Although it wasn’t stimulating, it had become a habit, and he couldn’t help but let some moisture leak out afterward.

Ning Qinghong wiped him clean with a furrowed brow.

After the bath, Wu Jing, no matter how gentle the movements, was still suffering. He finally, in a state of panic, clambered up into the bath, shaking his legs in the water, and struggling to free himself from Ning Qinghong’s fingers, collapsing onto the ground with a limp waist. Fortunately, the jade tiles were regularly cleaned, so even though he was wet, he wouldn’t dirty them.

Still, regardless of the water stains on his body, he lay there in a daze, gasping and contracting his breath.

He whimpered, trying to swallow his sore throat, and after a while, finally relaxed, curling up on the floor.

After Ning Qinghong finished washing up, he put on a white coat, lifted the boy from the floor, dried him with a handkerchief, and changed into another white coat.

Wu Jing, dressed in new clothes, was then taken to another place to rest until lunchtime. Throughout the journey, he remained quietly nestled in Ning Qinghong’s arms.

After a long while, Wu Jing, still sobbing, said, “I really didn’t lie to you. I won’t listen to him.” He spoke through his tears, feeling deeply wronged.

Ning Qinghong, with a half-hearted smile, gently asked, “Does Wu Wu think brother is punishing you?”

After a moment, the boy in his arms gave a small nod.

It’s not a punishment, but…

He was carried from the palace to outside, his face completely red with embarrassment. Isn’t that a punishment?

How could this be—

“Wu Wu has been very good today.”

“It’s brother’s fault; I couldn’t hold back.”

Wu Jing found a new point to complain about, “I—I’m good, but you bully me.” He was holding back his tears, finding it hard to breathe, “You can’t do this.”

He felt utterly wronged.

The suggestion wasn’t his own, and he had refused it immediately. After everyone left, he still obediently clung to Ning Qinghong, afraid he might be angry.

Yet, he was subjected to such suffering for no reason.

“I’ve only just recovered; I haven’t eaten much meat. I was even thinking about what to have for lunch. It’s all your fault, saying, saying that tonight… that thing.”

“You’re just deceiving me, making me anxious.”

Ning Qinghong could only comfort him, “It’s brother’s fault.” He responded to each of Wu Jing’s complaints with a gentle laugh, “It’s not that you can’t eat meat, as long as it doesn’t harm you, you can eat it.”

Wu Jing lifted his tear-streaked face, “Really, really?”

Ning Qinghong reassured him, “Brother isn’t lying to Wu Wu.”

Wu Jing hesitated, “Then, about tonight…”

He was trying to get more.

Ning Qinghong paused, hinting, “There is a piece of red silk in the storeroom, which was collected during the previous house search. Wu Wu doesn’t need to worry.”

Wu Jing quickly said, “I’m not talking about that.” He stammered, “I mean, can we… skip it?”

The documents brought from the palace were placed in the study, and they were on their way there, which was only about a quarter of an hour.

The study was an important place in the residence, and the servants would not usually stay there. Ning Qinghong arrived with hot tea being served inside.

Before entering, he spoke without reservation.

“Skipping it is possible, but how long does Wu Wu want to skip it?”

Ning Qinghong’s words implied that eventually, Wu Jing would have to face it, while Wu Jing hoped to avoid it entirely.

Wu Jing, dazed, continued along with Ning Qinghong’s words, “Then the latest?” He mumbled, “As long as it’s not today…”

As their figures gradually moved away, Wu Jing’s voice grew quieter, and the topic was only dropped once they entered the study.