Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 92

 

What more could continue?

 

He had already kissed and hugged.

 

Wu Jing curled up on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, his brows and eyes full of pitiful distress, burying his head, shaking and not daring to look up.

 

He couldn’t control it; he was just scared.

 

When that wave of fear surged, he couldn’t maintain his usual calm, let alone his earlier feelings of pity or comfort.

 

Where was this kind of depression coming from?

 

Not only did he not care about his own life, but he also disregarded the lives of others.

 

Wu Jing thought depression was about being very sad, but Ning Qinghong’s emotions were calm, yet increasingly self-centered, though not solely focused on himself.

 

It was because he didn’t care about anything.

 

But now, things were a bit different from before…

 

Ning Qinghong exerted a slight force, slowly pulling up Wu Jing’s wrist.

 

Wu Jing tried desperately to shrink back but couldn’t resist at all. He was pulled halfway up, his eyes tightly closed in fright, his eyelids wet with tears, on the verge of crying.

 

In the next moment, he was gently embraced.

 

He was stunned for a moment, instinctively opening his eyes slowly, only to see the person close by. Ning Qinghong tilted his face slightly, kissed the moisture from Wu Jing’s eyelids, and murmured softly, “Why are you so frightened and pitiable?”

 

When that kiss fell on his eyes, Wu Jing instinctively closed his eyes again, dazed, his emotions blanked out, unable to react to the fear.

 

“You said so much before; were you trying to deceive me?” Ning Qinghong asked gently, his voice low.

 

Wu Jing came back to his senses and shook his head desperately, “No, I didn’t deceive you. It’s true, I didn’t lie to you.”

 

Ning Qinghong smiled lightly, “That’s good.”

 

He slowly stood up, but he didn’t let go of Wu Jing’s wrist.

 

Without being held, Wu Jing curled back down to the ground.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other person slightly turned away, looking down at him without turning his head, reaching for something.

 

“Click—”

 

The sound of something being opened.

 

Many objects suddenly fell onto the thick white carpet below, making a silent thud as they hit the ground. Wu Jing held his breath, his mind blank as he watched the items scattered on the floor.

 

The largest, almost the size of a baby’s fist, a hollow golden phoenix ball, rolled a few times on the carpet before coming to a stop right in front of him.

 

Although the dozen or so jade pillars didn’t roll far, they were scattered everywhere, along with the jade box containing ointment, all in disarray.

 

Ning Qinghong bent down slightly.

 

Wu Jing, with a blank mind, looked up at him and heard his voice, cold but gentle, “Wu Wu, choose one.”

 

There was an air of inevitability.

 

His eyes were smiling.

 

Wu Jing’s suppressed sobs were about to overflow. He hadn’t had time to explain when Ning Qinghong spoke again, “If you don’t want to, I do.”

 

“Since the words have been spoken, they must be kept.”

 

“Could it be that Wu Wu wants to deceive me with a few words?”

 

Wu Jing cried, shaking his head.

 

Ning Qinghong smiled, “Then you said you wanted to cheer me up.” He said, “Brother isn’t forcing you, right?”

 

This was indeed sophistry.

 

But Wu Jing’s terrified mind was completely confused, and he vaguely felt that what the other person said didn’t seem wrong.

 

The words were his own, and now he wanted to go back on them. While thinking of retracting, he also said he didn’t mean to lie.

 

It seemed that now, he wasn’t the one being bullied but was actually bullying someone else, and it indeed seemed that he was the one in the wrong.

 

Wu Jing cried so much that his nose turned red, breathing deeply, unable to speak, and he pitifully nodded.

 

Only then did Ning Qinghong release his hand and stand up.

 

Wu Jing quickly withdrew the hand that had been held, clutching it to his chest. He withdrew so quickly that he almost fell to the ground, unable to balance himself.

 

He barely managed to support himself, his fingers touching a small object that had fallen earlier. He immediately pulled his hand back in panic, retreating on his bare feet, using both hands and legs.

 

How pitiful.

 

Meanwhile, Ning Qinghong sat leisurely in an armchair, leaning back and resting on the armrests.

 

Ning Qinghong’s gaze was lowered, his face expressionless, casually observing the boy on the ground.

 

He even picked up a cup of hot tea from the desk, playing with it in his hand, and after a long while, he took a sip with a slight sigh, “If Wu Wu can’t choose, how about Brother helps you choose?”

 

Wu Jing remained in his previous crouched position, not daring to move, and now could only shake his head slightly with tears.

 

Ning Qinghong smiled slightly, “Then why hasn’t Wu Wu started?”

 

His tone was slow and seemed merely to be asking a simple question, as if not urging him.

 

Wu Jing dared not disobey, trembling and looking around. His breath shook as his gaze fixed on the thinnest jade pillar, about half an inch in diameter.

 

But that pillar was still relatively long.

 

Wu Jing looked at Ning Qinghong, who was leaning against the armchair, quietly gazing at the steaming tea.

 

The embarrassment that had almost made him die down a bit. He swallowed the tear-filled saliva and cautiously crawled towards it.

 

He stared down, his vision blurry, for a long while before he tremblingly touched it, his body heating up as he lifted the half-round handle at the end.

 

“Wrong.”

 

Wu Jing was startled, his hand shaking, causing the jade to fall again.

 

He heard Ning Qinghong behind him say, “Wu Wu hasn’t applied the ointment yet; don’t hurt yourself.”

 

Ointment? He couldn’t help but look up slightly.

 

The jade box fell right in front of him, within reach.

 

Wu Jing crawled a few more steps and carefully reached out to touch it.

 

Ning Qinghong said, “Wrong again, Wu Wu’s clothes are still on.”

 

Wu Jing exhaled a hot breath, his tears streaming down as he awkwardly fumbled with his delicate fingers, struggling clumsily.

 

It took a lot of effort.

 

The fox fur coat fell to the ground, revealing the white sea-buckthorn patterned outer robe he had changed into today. As it spread out on the carpet, it highlighted the boy’s snowy skin and black hair. Though slim, he was proportionate and beautiful.

 

The garments fell one by one, surrounding him in white. In the cold autumn air, his body trembled even more. The blush on his skin was visible to the person looking down from above.

 

It was clear that the blush on his face had turned a deeper shade.

 

The room had a heater burning with golden light, and a faint tea aroma lingered. Ning Qinghong was preparing tea, slowly grinding a precious tea cake into powder.

 

Wu Jing couldn’t bear it any longer. He picked up the white sea-buckthorn patterned robe and put it on, barely covering himself. Every movement made him look more pitiful, his face wet with tears, on the verge of crying out loud.

 

Ning Qinghong lifted the teapot, adjusted the lid, and poured the tea without looking up, saying, “Hiding something? Turn around.”

 

The robe he picked up seemed as if it hadn’t been picked up at all, making Wu Jing want to curl up even more.

 

He dared not disobey.

 

The boy leaned almost halfway onto the ground, his hair spread out. With some sweat on his brow, his tears continued to fall, soaking into his hair, some strands sticking to his soft face, and some even unintentionally caught between his lips.

 

Facing Ning Qinghong, he turned his face away, tightly closing his eyes, trembling all over, breathing through his mouth with a crying tone.

 

He was about to cry himself out but dared not actually make a sound, suppressing his sobs and whimpers.

 

Although Ning Qinghong had done nothing, not even touched him, it was incredibly humiliating, more so than any previous moment, especially since the person in front of him was calmly sitting in the armchair, nonchalantly adjusting the tea.

 

Only he himself was… in such disarray.

 

The jade box was opened, and Wu Jing clumsily applied the ointment, shaking it randomly from its approximate position. He didn’t know where it should be applied, so he just put it wherever he thought it might be.

 

This ointment was of the finest quality, sourced from the south. When applied, it melted upon contact with body heat, dripping and glistening on the fox fur carpet.

 

White with a hint of pink, it shone with an oily luster.

 

Wu Jing scraped the jade a few times but still didn’t know what to do. Crying, he said, “I—I don’t know how. You—please don’t drink it.”

 

So embarrassing, how could it be like this?

 

He was asked to do this and left unattended.

 

How could it be so unreasonable?

 

Ning Qinghong shifted his gaze, not avoiding or hiding, and said, “What don’t you understand?” He continued, “Wu Wu, move it down a bit more.”

 

Wu Jing, tearfully and with blurred vision, followed his instructions.

 

“Align it and grind in circles.”

 

“Don’t shake your hand if it’s off.”

 

The warm touch of the mutton-fat jade was not cold at all.

 

“Grind it until it’s soft, then apply it bit by bit.”

 

“Apply it, then use that end to explore.”

 

“Can you explore it?”

 

What more could he explore?

 

Wu Jing’s fingertips kept trembling.

 

Until he was completely exhausted and slumped on the ground, his hand slack, touching only a little, his eyes starting to glaze over. When he came to his senses, Ning Qinghong was beside him, crouching and reaching out as if to hold him.

 

Wu Jing’s grievances burst out all at once. Forgetting everything else, he clung to Ning Qinghong eagerly, sobbing, “Hold me, Brother.”

 

Ning Qinghong leaned down, speaking softly, “Brother will hold you now.”

 

Wu Jing finally found a place to curl up and hide, clinging to it longingly, almost finding his familiar position and burying his face, relaxing his entire body.

 

In the next moment, the boy in his arms suddenly cried out, desperately shrinking into Ning Qinghong’s embrace, using both hands and feet to clamber and cling to him.

 

Ning Qinghong held him, one hand comforting and the other holding him close, softly soothing, “Did Wu Wu feel wronged?”

 

Wu Jing’s limbs twitched uncontrollably, crying out in a pitiful manner, his speech incoherent, just gasping with his lips slightly parted and tongue sticking out.

 

“Wu Wu, be good, don’t be afraid, it will be over soon, alright?” Ning Qinghong gently patted his hair and back, “Brother knows you’re uncomfortable, stop crying.”

 

He spoke softly and tenderly.

 

Only when the boy relaxed did he stop his comforting.

 

Ning Qinghong embraced him, throwing the slippery jade to the ground. He looked at the boy’s vacant eyes and sighed, “How did Wu Wu make himself so pitiful?” He sighed, “You’re crying so much you can’t even catch your breath.”

 

Wu Jing’s body was still subconsciously trembling.

 

He was usually calm when ill, even now, he was soothing the boy with a calm demeanor, lovingly patting him, showing sympathy for how pitiful the boy was.

 

He then picked up a copper ball,

 

And spoke softly as he inserted it.