Chapter 3: Ruthlessly Dealing With Qin Mei
"Forgive you?" Chu Lianmo's face was filled with a cold, ruthless smile. "This king has already strictly forbidden any underhanded schemes in the manor. Yet you are so brazen! Do you enjoy stripping people's clothes? Bring him down, strip off his clothes, and give him fifty lashes!"
"Your Majesty! Please spare me, Your Majesty!"
At this moment, Qin Mei's face had turned deathly pale.
Fifty lashes would be fatal for this delicate, martial arts-less young man. And the words "strip off" were equally fatal. After all, he was from a brothel, a performer not a concubine, so he still had some sense of dignity.
However, Qin Mei's constant kowtowing and begging could not save him. Two burly servants dragged him out, one of them brutally tearing off his clothes, stripping him naked and forcing him to kneel on the ground in the courtyard. The other servant raised the long whip and lashed his back and buttocks mercilessly.
Since Chu Lianmo had deliberately ordered "extra lashes", the servants showed no mercy, each lash drawing a spray of blood. In less than ten strokes, Qin Mei's previously fair and smooth buttocks and back were a bloody, mangled mess, with not a single intact patch of skin left.
If he wasn't afraid of killing him, Chu Lianmo wouldn't have minded adding more lashes.
He had no interest in listening to Qin Mei's agonizing screams any longer, only ordering the servants to gag him. Then, with a somewhat softened gaze, he looked at Qi Xiaojun, "You have been wronged. Are you satisfied with how this king has dealt with it?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for taking my side."
In reality, Qi Xiaojun himself had not suffered any real grievances in this regard. But since he now occupied the original host's body, it was only right for him to appease the original host's interests.
The poor Zhou Qin must have died from that high fever, allowing Qi Xiaojun's soul to take over his body. He could be considered a victim of Qin Mei's schemes.
Chu Lianmo gazed at Qi Xiaojun, who was thanking him in a calm tone and seemed to have a hint of pride in his eyes. He suddenly softly called, "Ah-Qin... you seem to have changed quite a bit from before."
His tone held no reproach, but rather a hint of appreciation.
Qi Xiaojun's heart trembled at the gentle "Ah-Qin".
He knew Chu Lianmo was addressing Zhou Qin, but in the past, his father the Emperor, his mother the Empress, and his elder brother had all addressed him this way.
His mother was long gone, and his father and elder brother were now as distant as strangers, with no chance of seeing them again.
At this, Qi Xiaojun's heart grew sour, and his eyes reddened slightly.
"Ah-Qin, what's wrong?" Chu Lianmo noticed the change in his emotions. "I didn't mean that in a bad way. Well, the day is late now, let's retire for the night."
With that, Chu Lianmo sat down on the bed.
"..." At this moment, Qi Xiaojun realized a grave problem - as Chu Lianmo's concubine, would he have to do certain things with him?
Even in someone else's body, he had no desire to do such things!
Just then, Chu Lianmo spread his arms.
...What's he doing? Wanting a hug?
"What are you standing there for? Hurry and help this king undress."
Oh, so it was just about undressing.
Relieved, Qi Xiaojun quickly stepped forward to untie Chu Lianmo's sash.
He could do these tasks, but he had some resentment - as a pampered prince, he had always been the one served by servants, never the one undressing others. How dare Chu Lianmo make him do this?
But now, if he were to rashly reveal his true identity in the Chu Kingdom, he would likely end up in grave danger. For the sake of survival, he could only endure this temporary humiliation.
Resentful as he was, Qi Xiaojun's movements were still quite skilled. The prince's attire was complicated, but he had worn similar elaborate clothing in the past.
"Oh, you've gotten much more adept at undressing than before." Chu Lianmo's lips curled into a slight smile, teasing, "This king still remembers how nervous and clumsy you were the first time I asked you to undress me... Have you been practicing in secret?"
Qi Xiaojun secretly "tsk'd" in his heart, thinking: Who would practice this for you?
But a sweet feeling that did not belong to him suddenly welled up in his heart.
He realized then that the original host had actually been in love with Chu Lianmo.
Alas, Chu Lianmo was just a heartless womanizer, destined to betray anyone who loved him.
It was no wonder the Chu Kingdom had no good people.
Qi Xiaojun had finished undressing Chu Lianmo by now.
Chu Lianmo climbed into the bed in his inner robe and blew out the candle.
Qi Xiaojun heaved a long sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to do that.
Searching the original host's memories, he found that Chu Lianmo had never actually been intimate with the original host either. The original host felt Chu Lianmo was disdaining him, which depressed him greatly.
Qi Xiaojun thought this was just fine.
But the question was - if Chu Lianmo didn't even touch him, why bring him into the harem?
Truly, the people of the Chu Kingdom were all ill.
Feeling Chu Lianmo's body heat and breath next to him, Qi Xiaojun felt somewhat awkward. He was not used to being this close to someone.
However, this body was already weak and just recovering from a major illness, so Qi Xiaojun gradually felt sleepy.
The next morning at the third watch, he woke up on time, as a prince was required to attend the early court audience every day.
When Qi Xiaojun woke up, Chu Lianmo was already being dressed by maids.
Seeing Qi Xiaojun sitting up, Chu Lianmo said, "Ah-Qin, why don't you sleep in a bit more?"
Yes, the original host usually slept in late since he had nothing to do all day.
But Qi Xiaojun had no intention of changing his self-disciplined habits. He started getting dressed, "I'm already awake, sleeping more won't help."
"Alright, then. This king has to attend to official matters." Chu Lianmo said, then left.
In fact, today was one of the seven-day rest days in the Chu Kingdom, so he didn't have to attend court. But Chu Lianmo was diligent in state affairs, and on rest days without other plans, he would busy himself in the study.
Thinking about how he now had no way to participate in any political matters, and might even be restricted from going out as a member of the Rui Wang household, a deep sense of sorrow welled up in Qi Xiaojun's heart.
"Your Highness..." he tentatively called out to Chu Lianmo, "May I go out for a stroll?"
Chu Lianmo paused, studying Qi Xiaojun with a curious gaze. "You never seemed to like going out before."
"...Yes, but I am still a man after all," Qi Xiaojun thought carefully about how to phrase it without giving himself away, "Being cooped up for too long is suffocating."
"You just need to let Zhang the manager know if you want to go out." Chu Lianmo didn't probe further.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Qi Xiaojun felt relieved. It seemed the Rui Wang household's restrictions on its inner members were not too strict.
"Speaking of which, this king happens to not have court today," Chu Lianmo suddenly seemed to have an idea, staring intently at Qi Xiaojun. "Why don't I accompany you on your outing?"
"...?!" Qi Xiaojun was startled.
He wanted to say: No need for that!
But as Zhou Qin, he obviously could not and should not say that.
Qi Xiaojun could only muster up the courage to say, "Thank you, Your Highness, for offering to accompany me."
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