Tan Hua - Chapter 9

Song Liqing suppressed his thoughts and couldn’t dwell on them.

 

But where could he stop?

 

Just thinking about it, before Jun Qiyu touched him, he had already been intimate with Hu Nu’er… and perhaps other people. Song Liqing’s mind was about to explode.

 

He felt nauseous.

 

Love should be pure, should naturally occur when feelings run deep, but Jun Qiyu could casually be intimate with anyone.

 

Then, what was he to Jun Qiyu? Was last night just because Jun Qiyu felt like it, another release of desire?

 

Song Liqing shivered all over, feeling like he was sinking into a stinking quagmire.

 

He originally thought that kissing was a manifestation of love, but now recalling the intertwining of lips and tongues with Jun Qiyu, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of nausea in his stomach.

 

Song Liqing covered his chest, staggering to a nearby vase.

 

“Ugh—”

 

Disgust, nausea.

 

He couldn’t help but retch.

 

But after a day and night without eating, he couldn’t vomit anything, only dry heaving and feeling miserable, tears streaming down his face.

 

“Why… Qiyu… even if you don’t love me, you shouldn’t indulge yourself like this, not cherish yourself…”

 

Song Liqing finally managed to stop the dry heaving, gasping for breath violently, burying his face in his hands.

 

Hu Nu’er patted his back.

 

“Oh dear, Crown Prince Consort, there’s no need to take it so seriously.” Hu Nu’er chuckled.

 

Song Liqing now loathed him, so he dodged his hand.

 

“You don’t understand at all.” Song Liqing stared at him fixedly.

 

Hu Nu’er shrugged. “Tsk, even if Your Highness is a crown prince, in ordinary noble families, young masters have already had intimate experiences with maids, tasted the beauty of love between men and women. Your Highness is not young anymore. Gaining experience from me, isn’t it making you feel better? Isn’t this a benefit for you?”

 

“Shut up!”

 

Song Liqing couldn’t bear to hear any more of this vulgar talk.

 

“You leave… Leave Qilin Residence and go back to your Western Regions!” Song Liqing didn’t want to see this person.

 

Hu Nu’er raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

 

“You’re driving me away?”

 

“Yes.” Song Liqing stared at him angrily. “You shouldn’t stay in my house.”

 

“That won’t do.” Hu Nu’er said confidently. “This Qilin Residence is Your Highness’s home, not yours. I am the crown prince’s slave. If you want me to leave, you have to ask His Highness if he agrees.”

 

“You…”

 

Song Liqing was so angry he couldn’t speak. He raised his hand, but stopped halfway.

 

What was he doing? Fighting like a street ruffian?  

 

Song Liqing lost his reason, so when Xiaoqin announced at the door, he didn’t react immediately.

 

“His Highness has arrived!”

 

The smug smile on Hu Nu’er’s face disappeared, and he suddenly raised his right hand, slapped himself hard on the face, then fell to his knees in front of Song Liqing.

 

Song Liqing was astonished, frozen in place.

 

And Jun Qiyu, with his hands behind his back, walked in with a cold face, just in time to see the scene before him.

 

Hu Nu’er grabbed Song Liqing’s clothes and started crying.

 

“Begging Master for mercy, please don’t drive Hu Nu’er away. Hu Nu’er has no place to go, and can only stay with Master. Master’s great kindness, Hu Nu’er will never forget, and will repay you by being a loyal servant!”

 

Song Liqing couldn’t escape, pushing his hands away, but Hu Nu’er held on tightly, pleading incessantly.

 

“Master, I am already orphaned, with only Master as my relative. If you find me bothersome, I can be a rough servant, I’m not afraid of dirty or tiring work, just please let me stay and give me food to eat, I beg you…”

 

Hu Nu’er raised his head, tears streaming down his face, looking very much like someone who had been wronged.

 

“No… you go away!”

 

Song Liqing pushed him away in terror. He hadn’t done anything, yet Hu Nu’er’s tears made him inexplicably guilty, as if he were truly the one who had mistreated Hu Nu’er.

 

Jun Qiyu had already stood in front of Song Liqing, his face full of frost.

 

With a cold expression, he grabbed Hu Nu’er’s arm and helped him up.

 

Hu Nu’er turned his head, crying even more pitifully.

 

“Master, why did you come?”

 

“If I didn’t come, I wouldn’t witness such a spectacle!”

 

Jun Qiyu snorted, then pulled Hu Nu’er into his arms.

 

“Don’t cry.”

 

Jun Qiyu gently wiped away his tears, then tenderly caressed his swollen face with a few finger marks.

 

“Master, I-I’m not in pain.” Hu Nu’er said weakly.

 

Jun Qiyu comforted him in a gentle tone, “How could you not be in pain? It’s so swollen, it might even break, Xiaoqin, go get some medicine.”

 

Xiaoqin obeyed and left.

 

Song Liqing watched as Hu Nu’er acted spoiled in Jun Qiyu’s arms, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart.

 

The kind of tenderness Jun Qiyu showed him was something Song Liqing didn’t have and could never reach.

 

“Master… sniff… ” Hu Nu’er continued sobbing, “If Master won’t give me a way out, then just kill me. I’m unfamiliar with the capital of Jingguo. Without Master, I have no will to live. I just beg you not to sell me to the Qinglian Pavilion…”

 

When he heard the words “Qinglian Pavilion”, Jun Qiyu’s expression became even colder.

 

The Qinglian Pavilion was the place where Song Liqing’s adoptive father, Hong Lian, ran fireworks. It was the largest entertainment venue in the capital.

 

“Is this how you assert your authority?” Jun Qiyu’s first words to Song Liqing.

 

“I… ” Song Liqing denied vehemently, “I didn’t say anything to him like that.”

 

Jun Qiyu was furious. “You didn’t? Who told him to leave? Who just struck him? Am I deaf or blind?”

 

Song Liqing now understood what it felt like to be unable to defend oneself.

 

He opened his mouth, but couldn’t say a word.

 

He felt weak, his arms hanging limply.

 

“He’s new here. If it weren’t for you saying you wanted to sell him to the Qinglian Pavilion, how would he know about that filthy place?!”

 

“I didn’t say that.” Song Liqing bit his lip. “I just said for him to leave Qilin Residence and go back to the Western Regions…”

 

Jun Qiyu interrupted him angrily, “I didn’t know that this Qilin Residence is all under your control? I only found out that you’re two-faced, so I instructed Xiaoqin. Luckily, Xiaoqin went for help early, otherwise I might not have seen him! Even the Empress can be deposed, can’t I replace a Crown Prince Consort like you?”

 

Song Liqing’s heart ached, and he didn’t argue anymore.

 

He felt cold all over, as if he were falling into an abyss, letting the sense of powerlessness spread throughout his body.

 

When someone doesn’t love you, all your explanations are just sophistry.

 

He fiddled with his sleeves, trying hard not to cry. He had already cried enough in front of Jun Qiyu, which would only annoy him.

 

Love isn’t about who cries the most.

 

Seeing Jun Qiyu scold him but not really punishing him, Hu Nu’er touched Jun Qiyu’s chest.

 

“Master, don’t be angry. If you harm your body and ruin your relationship with the Crown Prince Consort, it’s not worth it for a lowly servant like me…”

 

“Lowly servant?”

 

Jun Qiyu cast a suspicious glance at Song Liqing.

 

“Wasn’t that what you said?” Jun Qiyu said angrily. “Song Liqing, do you think you’re noble just because you’re attached to a dragon and a phoenix? In the end, aren’t you just the son of a prostitute!”

 

The son of a prostitute…

 

Song Liqing trembled, his blood freezing in an instant.

 

Author’s note:

 

Talking tough feels good for a moment…