Tan Hua - Chapter 12

“Your Highness.”

Xiao Di was about to bow, but Jun Qiyu waved his hand forcefully.

“Get out.”

Xiao Di hesitated for a moment, not daring to disobey her master’s order. She only glanced worriedly at Song Liqing as she left.

In the room, only Song Liqing and Jun Qiyu remained, facing each other.

Song Liqing didn’t know what he was thinking. He only saw Jun Qiyu’s deep eyes, staring at him motionlessly, as if evaluating how to deal with him.

Song Liqing felt desolate. They could have been two innocent and open friends, but because of later biases, when they looked at each other, Song Liqing couldn’t find anything to talk about.

“Qiyu,” Song Liqing tried to find a topic of conversation, “In the Western Regions…”

“I wish I had never met you.”

Jun Qiyu interrupted abruptly, his gaze cold.

Song Liqing was stunned because these words actually came out of Jun Qiyu’s mouth.

“W-what?”

“I said, if I had never met you when I was young, none of this would have happened! I wouldn’t have to face you every day now! If I could turn back time, I would never have gone to the academy to meet you!”

Jun Qiyu finished speaking and had already forced Song Liqing back to the table.

Song Liqing’s back pressed against the edge of the table, and he leaned back, grabbing Jun Qiyu’s arm.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be constantly lectured by Father Emperor! You’re the root cause of it all.”

Song Liqing understood. Jun Qiyu’s sudden anger was probably due to going to the palace and receiving a lecture from the emperor.

“Qiyu, can we calm down and sit down to talk properly?”

“Sure.” Jun Qiyu showed a hint of a smile, a smile that seemed particularly sinister, “You find a chance to propose a divorce to Father Emperor, and I promise to have a good talk with you, and I can even treat you well, better than before, better than Hu Nu’er.”

Song Liqing immediately refused, “A divorce… but we’ve only been married for one day!”

“I can’t stand a single day arranged by others!”

Seeing his arrogant expression, Song Liqing finally understood some of his thoughts.

Jun Qiyu was like a young wolf revealing its ferocity, opening its claws, eager to declare its dominance and power, unwilling to be suppressed by anyone.

A rebelliousness bred by indulgence was much stronger than that of ordinary people.

So he asked, “Is it because you don’t like being arranged by others, using me as a tool to resist the emperor, or simply because you can’t stand being with me?”

Jun Qiyu was touched, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“Song Liqing, my Father Emperor forced me to read those damn sages’ books since I was young. I was unwilling, and if pushed too hard, I would rather tear up those damn books! You are just that kind of sour literati, whatever top scholar, I’m sick of it.”

It can be seen how much Jun Qiyu resisted this marriage. He couldn’t spend a single day with him, and Song Liqing couldn’t help but feel cold.

Song Liqing lowered his eyelids, hiding the sadness that was not appreciated, and just sighed softly.

“Qiyu, if you really despise me, just give me a divorce.”

“You know Father Emperor won’t agree! Only if you are willing to go and talk to him in person is there a possibility.”

Jun Qiyu grabbed Song Liqing’s jaw, forcing him to look up and meet his furious gaze.

“I won’t.”

“Say it again?” Jun Qiyu gritted his teeth, threateningly.

Song Liqing’s tone was unprecedentedly firm, “I will never propose a divorce, never leave you on my own initiative, unless one day I die. Because I love you, more than you can imagine.”

“You…”

Jun Qiyu didn’t expect him, the weak and gentle one, to be so stubborn. For a moment, he had no other way but to kill him for real.

“Fine, you’re willing to be the Crown Prince Consort, right? Since you’ve been honored with this title, you have to bear the responsibility of being the Crown Prince Consort!”

Jun Qiyu moved swiftly, clasping Song Liqing’s waist and squeezing him hard.

Song Liqing knew he was about to unleash his animal desires again, struggling to push him away.

“Qiyu… I’m not… ready yet.”

Song Liqing, inexperienced in matters of intimacy, had been tossed around until the early hours of the morning last night. How could he withstand Jun Qiyu’s uninterrupted demands now?

“It’s not up to you to decide.”

Jun Qiyu, naturally energetic, fueled by anger, acted rough and forcefully.

Suddenly, Song Liqing realized.

Oh, it wasn’t love, it was venting anger.

Including last night’s pleasant night, there was no blend of affection, just Jun Qiyu using him to vent his anger.

In an instant, Song Liqing lost all expectations and interest.

“No… mmph.”

Song Liqing’s words were cut off by Jun Qiyu’s lips.

“Serve me, this is your duty as the Crown Prince Consort, understand?”

Jun Qiyu was overbearing and unreasonable, without a shred of reason.

But Song Liqing felt only disgust because his lips had kissed someone else.

Even if Jun Qiyu’s lips came closer to seek a kiss, Song Liqing turned his head away.

“Dare you avoid me again?”

Song Liqing closed his lips tightly, showing a stubborn resistance.

“Oh, I see.”

Jun Qiyu looked at how Song Liqing tightened his limbs, standing there like a log, showing no signs of compliance, and understood.

“You learned this morning from Hu Nu’er that he and I had been intimate, and you were upset, right?”

“I do mind,” Song Liqing said, turning his head, “Love should be unique and the purest thing in the world.”

“Huh.” Jun Qiyu sneered, “If sharing a bed counts as losing one’s virginity, then last night, you gave yourself to me. So are you no longer the complete Song Liqing? Do you think that by refusing a few times now, you are a chaste woman?”

Song Liqing’s lips trembled with shame and indignation.

“Jun Qiyu, you… you’re just a bastard!”

This was the most serious insult Song Liqing could muster.

“You’ve known me for a long time, haven’t you forgotten how they used to call me?”

Little Tyrant, Little Demon, were all nicknames for Jun Qiyu when he was young.

In his struggle, Song Liqing was finally thrown onto the bed.

…

This wasn’t lovemaking, it was punishment.

It was a dual humiliation of mind and body.

For three consecutive days, whenever Jun Qiyu returned to the Qilin Mansion, he would inevitably torment Song Liqing to exhaustion, like a pile of mud, before finally relenting.

From resistance to numbness, Song Liqing was not resigned, but on his wedding night he caught a chill in the rain, and then was tortured like this, spending the whole day in a daze, sleeping all day long, only to be forcibly awakened by Jun Qiyu again and again.

But he never forgot one thing, that when it was dawn, he had to serve Jun Qiyu, bathe him, dress him, and serve him breakfast, because the Crown Prince had to return to court every day, attending the morning court.

He adhered to the role of the Crown Prince Consort, serving Jun Qiyu, personally accompanying him to the gates of the imperial palace.

Song Liqing watched as the courtiers hurried to the imperial palace, discussing matters concerning the country and the people, and couldn’t help but envy them.

Unfortunately, he had already been far from the court, and could only let Jun Qiyu stand in for him. He could console himself that his decades of studying hadn’t been in vain.