Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 129

Wu Jing slowly tightened his arms, holding the person close. The tears he had been holding back still moistened his eyes. He didn’t cry, but buried his face in the other’s neck, breathing out hot, damp breaths.

 

He tried to calm his emotions.

 

Ning Qinghong stroked the dark hair on the back of the boy’s head, smoothing it gently. “Wu Wu, do you want to go out to play tomorrow?”

 

Wu Jing shook his head. “…I want to stay with brother.”

 

Ning Qinghong sighed softly. “Brother will accompany Wu Wu.”

 

Wu Jing paused for a long time, then shook his head again. “I… I don’t want to go out anymore.”

 

In the darkness, he seemed to hear a faint movement, and then his face was lifted, with the other’s lips softly kissing him.

 

Wu Jing was dazed by the kiss, tears wetting his cheeks. Between kisses, he heard Ning Qinghong’s soft voice. “Wu Wu, why are you so well-behaved?”

 

“Being locked up by brother for so long, I won’t hold a grudge. I remember only the good things.” Still deeply concerned about the person’s illness, Ning Qinghong paused and then smiled. “And now you want to stay close to brother, not wanting to leave and leave brother alone here?”

 

Wu Jing sniffled, his nose blocked, breathing through his mouth, and nodded helplessly.

 

He tilted his face up, groping in the darkness to kiss the other’s thin lips. After a soft “smack” sound, he whispered, “I don’t want to make brother worry anymore, I don’t want to separate from brother… I don’t want to make brother bleed again.”

 

Being this obedient made it hard not to soften one’s heart.

 

Ning Qinghong kissed him and asked softly, “Does Wu Wu want to be kept like this by brother?”

 

Wu Jing clumsily nodded and then shook his head. “No, no going out.” He grabbed Ning Qinghong’s hand in the blankets, wrapping his thin fingers around the other’s long fingers. Taking a deep breath, he felt his face burning with embarrassment and nervously took the initiative to hold the other’s hand.

 

Embarrassed, he tightly closed his eyes.

 

Wu Jing slightly separated, nervously trying to hold the other’s hand, whimpering, “Brother…”

 

Ning Qinghong’s movements paused slightly, holding the person’s palm and not allowing Wu Jing to continue pulling. With the distance so close, he could even feel the trembling breaths of the boy.

 

He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked gently, “Wu Wu, do you know what you are saying and doing?”

 

Wu Jing nodded, confused and dazed, stammering, “Yes, I know…”

 

Ning Qinghong’s voice held a hint of danger. “Does Wu Wu really want brother to make you like someone with a mental disorder?”

 

“Only remembering brother in my heart, and only recognizing brother in my mind.” He said, holding the boy’s hand, which finally began to move, placing it slowly in front of him, and softly continued, “At that time, it won’t be just this moment when you can’t control yourself. Every day, you will need to be padded with cloths, so that when brother just lightly holds your hand or kisses you, you won’t lose yourself.”

 

“By then, brother… will not even feel it, only asking for affection from brother.”

 

He omitted a word.

 

Wu Jing suddenly whimpered, frightened and curling up tightly, trembling continuously. He spoke through the nasal voice with a crying tone, shaking his head randomly, intermittently saying, “Brother… brother won’t do that.”

 

Ning Qinghong seemed to smile and did not respond.

 

When the boy lay limply on his shoulder, Ning Qinghong finally withdrew his hand, helped him out of his dirty clothes, wiped him with the clean parts, and then embraced him. “It’s too late. We’ll bathe Wu Wu tomorrow.”

 

He comforted softly, “Sleep now.”

 

Wu Jing, somewhat confused about why it stopped, fuzzily rubbed his face against the other, wanting another kiss.

 

He was pressed into the embrace and softly admonished, “Wu Wu.”

 

Wu Jing, feeling wronged, pouted and obediently went to sleep.

 

The next day, he woke up and was taken for a bath and to change clothes. After changing into clothes suitable for going out, he had been in the room with the heater for the past few days, wearing only thin summer clothes.

 

Today, he wore several layers of thick clothing, a crane cloak, and a warm mink coat, with a hand warmer stuffed into his sleeve.

 

Dressed neatly and warmly,

 

It was clear that he was going out.

 

Wu Jing nervously shrank behind Ning Qinghong, almost matching his every step, afraid to peek out. After being comforted for a long time, he wasn’t as scared.

 

Ning Qinghong spoke gently, “Wu Wu, don’t be afraid. Today we will go to the palace to meet a few masters. They will examine your facial features, and check your palm lines, and may take your pulse.”

 

He said, “Wu Wu just needs to sit there.”

 

Wu Jing looked at him and nodded.

 

Ning Qinghong continued softly, “Brother was a bit harsh the other day. Wu Wu is so well-behaved. If you were kept like that, what if you got sick from being stifled? Today we’ll see if there are other solutions.”

 

Wu Jing asked quietly, “Will brother be there?”

 

Ning Qinghong said, “Brother will meet with a priest alone and will come to find Wu Wu after that, okay?”

 

Wu Jing reluctantly nodded.

 

Once they got into the carriage with the heater, he took off the big cloak, climbed into Ning Qinghong’s lap, sat on him, cuddling and snuggling. He occasionally buried his head and rubbed his face, and finally, with dissatisfaction, tilted his face up, wanting another kiss.

 

After the kiss, he stubbornly kept his face buried, waiting for the other to wipe it clean.

 

It had been quite some time since he had that, and although Wu Jing’s emotions had stabilized and he wasn’t as afraid, he had become more clingy.

 

When they arrived at the palace, Ning Qinghong tidied up his disheveled clothes, then led him down from the carriage, and only stopped once they reached the Imperial Study in the Yangxin Palace.

 

Wu Jing stayed in the main hall. Since the matter was confidential, no one could stay to serve him, so the servants waited far outside the door.

 

But the room couldn’t be left unattended, so the door was kept open, and the attendant stood by the stairs. By simply looking up, they could know if anything happened inside.

 

Wu Jing anxiously looked at the person accompanying him. Then he looked at the abbot in a monk’s robe who was already elderly, and another old master in a Daoist robe.

 

The two masters indeed did as they were told, observing his facial features, palm lines, and then fell silent.

 

Ning Qinghong comforted the boy, patting his back. “Wu Wu, wait here for a moment.”

 

Wu Jing sat on the dragon throne behind the imperial desk, hesitating and nodding, watching anxiously as the people entered the side hall. After that, he could no longer hear any sounds.

 

Before he could react, the two immersed masters began to speak. The Daoist priest asked, “Was there anything unusual when His Majesty left this place?”

 

Wu Jing shook his head in silence.

 

The abbot also asked, “What about before returning here?”

 

Wu Jing thought for a moment and said truthfully, “I first had a dream where I could smell his scent… I didn’t see him, but I woke up. Then I suddenly felt very tired, and when I woke up, I came back.”

 

The abbot said, “His Majesty’s thoughts are lingering, allowing a dreamlike encounter.”

 

The Daoist priest added, “If it weren’t for this, even with all the means at His Majesty’s disposal, he wouldn’t be able to sense even a fraction of it in the dream.”

 

The abbot asked, “Does His Majesty still have unresolved familial or friendly ties?”

 

Wu Jing hesitated before answering.

 

The Daoist priest stroked his beard and said, “Yes, yes.”

 

The abbot shook his head. “His Majesty’s lingering ties in the other realm make it difficult to heal this soul-splitting condition. Either one must stop yearning for it here, sever the causation, or use external objects to stabilize the soul.”

 

Wu Jing felt dizzy. “So… it’s still very possible that I will go back again.”

 

The two men nodded in agreement.

 

Wu Jing appeared somewhat dazed, not knowing what to think. Suddenly, he asked, “Can I bring things from the other side here?”

 

The abbot replied, “That is naturally impossible.”

 

Wu Jing asked again, “Then how… can I return?”

 

The two men paused for a moment.

 

Wu Jing swallowed nervously. “If I could return more freely… or could I bring things or people from this side over there?” He whispered, “Can you tell me? I won’t cause any trouble; I just want to know.”

 

The side hall door was slowly pushed open. “Where does Wu Wu want to go?” Ning Qinghong, still carrying a faint smell of blood, asked calmly with an unchanged expression.

 

Wu Jing immediately fell silent. He didn’t know what had happened and could only see that behind Ning Qinghong was an elderly man in a black cloak, holding a small porcelain bottle with a crimson edge.

 

He was stunned, vaguely sensing something but unable to understand it clearly. He even forgot how to speak properly.

 

The elderly man spoke with an unusual accent, “There is a solution to the question posed by your country’s emperor, but it involves significant wear and tear—”

 

Ning Qinghong slightly raised his fingertip, made a gesture, and said softly, “Masters, please come back tomorrow.”

 

The three of them exchanged glances for a moment, silently bowed, and the elderly man presented the porcelain bottle, saying, “This bottle is for you.”

 

Ning Qinghong took it, thanked him, and placed it on the desk.

 

Shortly after, the three of them left, and Ning Qinghong made another gesture. The attendant waiting at the stairs hurried forward to tightly close the door of the Imperial Study.

 

The heavy, ornate wooden door slammed shut with a loud “bang,” startling Wu Jing back to his senses.

 

Since it was daytime and the study was not lit, the room became dark as soon as the door was closed. Even Wu Jing, despite his usual dullness, could sense that something was wrong, but Ning Qinghong’s demeanor was very normal and natural, leaving him somewhat confused.

 

Ning Qinghong bent down and picked him up, his voice gentle. “What did Wu Wu ask just now?”

 

Wu Jing felt a bit reassured and, for some reason, swallowed nervously. “I didn’t ask anything.” He then anxiously sniffed at Ning Qinghong, “Why does brother smell of blood?”

 

Unexpectedly alert.