Reborn into the Harem of the Enemy Nation’s Prince CHAPTER 25
Chapter 25: Outpouring of True Feelings
“Ajun… my Ajun…”
Chu Lianmo turned around, burying his face deep in his fingers, his voice somewhat hoarse.
“It’s this king’s fault for not protecting you… causing you to suffer so much hardship where this king didn’t know…”
Qi Xiaojun stared blankly at this scene.
In fact, when Princess Ping gave him the aphrodisiac, he and Chu Lianmo had not been in contact for a long time, so he naturally hadn’t told him about it.
He had been a hostage in Chu for eight years, but he had only interacted with Chu Lianmo for two or three years. When he was fifteen and Chu Lianmo seventeen, because of the incident of Consort Liang’s loss of favor, the two became estranged.
He really hadn’t expected that he held such weight in Chu Lianmo’s heart.
“Ajun… Ajun…” Chu Lianmo kept murmuring, as if he was crying, his voice gradually becoming choked with sobs, “You must hate me… you must have hated me when you died…”
“No!” Qi Xiaojun blurted out, “Why would I hate you?”
Chu Lianmo was immersed in his own emotions and didn’t notice Qi Xiaojun’s unusual reaction. “I couldn’t stop the emperor from attacking Qi… I couldn’t stop Chu Weide from going to the battlefield to kill you… I’m useless! I’m really useless!”
“Your Highness, don’t think that way!” Qi Xiaojun suddenly had the urge to tell him everything, but he managed to restrain himself. “You’re just an ordinary prince of Chu. There are some things you simply can’t control. I think His Highness Prince Xiao will understand.”
“…” Finally, Chu Lianmo realized that he was being too emotionally expressive in front of a concubine.
He immediately removed his hands from his face, regained his composure, and looked at Qi Xiaojun coldly, “Forget what happened just now, and don’t mention it to anyone. Otherwise, this king will cut out your tongue.”
Faced with this threat, Qi Xiaojun wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, he felt that Chu Lianmo, who was trying to hide his vulnerability with harshness, was a little… cute?
Yes, cute. That’s the word.
“I understand.” Qi Xiaojun smiled faintly at Chu Lianmo.
“What’s so funny?” Chu Lianmo asked with a stern face.
“Nothing. It’s just,” Qi Xiaojun touched his stomach, changing the subject, “We left without eating enough; it feels a little wasteful.”
Chu Lianmo was startled, then couldn’t help but smile.
Qi Xiaojun rarely joked with Chu Lianmo like this before, but now, in his eyes, he had once again regarded Chu Lianmo as a close friend.
At this time, Chu Lianmo realized that he hadn’t eaten much either. Although Princess Ping had been chattering endlessly, they had to stop eating and listen while she was speaking, and they couldn’t keep their heads down to eat, so they hadn’t actually eaten much.
“Let’s go, this king will take you to a restaurant for another meal.”
Then, Chu Lianmo took Qi Xiaojun to a well-known restaurant near the Princess’s mansion.
It was dinner time, and the restaurant was very lively, with voices rising and falling.
Chu Lianmo didn’t want to stay in the noisy main hall and wanted to take Qi Xiaojun to a private room on the second floor, but he suddenly noticed someone.
That person was Chu Tianlin, the younger son of Chu Weide.
He was being served by several beautiful girls while drinking and enjoying himself; one girl was serving him food, one was pouring him wine, and another was sitting on his lap.
This kid is quite playful for his age.
Qi Xiaojun couldn’t help but tease, “Do people in the Chu royal family like to surround themselves with a large number of men and women from a young age?”
“…Zhou Yun,” Chu Lianmo glared at him, “You’re very bold today.”
Qi Xiaojun smiled, “Your Highness doesn’t like me like this?”
“…” Compared to Zhou Yun’s previous reserved demeanor, Chu Lianmo’s heart did indeed prefer him like this. Because Qi Xiaojun had been so casual when he interacted with him back then.
“Alright, let’s eat.” Chu Lianmo sat down at a table in the main hall.
From this angle, he could observe Chu Tianlin’s every move.
A young woman was carrying a dish over. She was dressed in coarse cloth, but her beautiful appearance could not be hidden.
“Young Master, please.” The woman put down the dish and was about to leave.
“Oh!” Chu Tianlin suddenly grabbed her hand. “You’re quite pretty! Stay and keep me company.”
“Young Master, please behave!” The woman’s face turned pale with fright as she tried to break free. “I’m the innkeeper’s daughter. I’m only helping to serve dishes, nothing else!”
“Nothing else?” Chu Tianlin held the woman tightly with one hand, and with the other, he took out a stack of silver notes and slammed them heavily on the table. “Will you do it now?”
At this time, the innkeeper hurried over. Seeing so much money, his eyes lit up. “Cui’er, this young master is so generous, why don’t you keep him company?”
“Father! How can you be like this!” Cui’er was about to cry.
Chu Lianmo couldn’t stand it anymore and walked over. “Let go.”
“…Fourth Uncle?” When Chu Tianlin saw who it was, he could only obediently let go of the girl’s hand. “You’re eating here too.”
Chu Lianmo said coldly, “Apologize to this girl.”
“Ah? Apologize to her?!” Chu Tianlin looked incredulous.
“What? Do you want this king to tell your grandfather and let him teach you a lesson?”
“…No, no!” Chu Tianlin was usually fearless, just like his father, but he was still somewhat afraid of his grandfather. Because Emperor Chu Wen also thought that his father had spoiled him, and he would seize every opportunity to correct his behavior.
“I’m sorry.” Chu Tianlin could only say a few words resentfully to the girl.
“It’s alright, it’s alright!” Cui’er heard them mention “Fourth Uncle” and “Grandfather” just now and knew that these people were not ordinary people. How could she dare to argue with them?
“Fourth Uncle, you eat slowly; I’ll go first.” Chu Tianlin said, and then scurried out of the restaurant.
A brocaded young master who had been drinking and eating with Chu Tianlin also slipped away.
Chu Lianmo snorted coldly and returned to his seat.
Qi Xiaojun frowned slightly and said softly, “Your Highness, are you just going to let Chu Tianlin off?”
Chu Lianmo sighed helplessly and said softly, “He only grabbed the girl’s hand and said a few teasing words. Besides, even the girl’s father agreed, so it’s a minor offense. It’s too difficult to severely punish a grandson of the Emperor.”
Qi Xiaojun thought it made sense too. This kind of offense, let alone a grandson of the Emperor, even for wealthy young masters, it’s difficult to be severely punished by the authorities. Perhaps they would just be fined some money or imprisoned for a few days. Fining money is nothing to Chu Tianlin. If Chu Lianmo insisted, it would seem like he was deliberately picking a fight with his nephew.
However, since Chu Tianlin has this habit, it’s possible that he might do something more excessive one day.
Then, it would be a good opportunity to deal with him and Chu Weide.
…Wait a minute. Do they have to wait until he makes a big mistake to deal with him?
Qi Xiaojun suddenly had an idea. “Your Highness, do you know who that person was beside him just now?”
“He looks familiar, but I don’t quite remember. It should be one of his friends.”
“This kind of person should be easy to bribe, right?” Qi Xiaojun smiled mysteriously and whispered a few words in Chu Lianmo’s ear.
Chu Lianmo’s eyes also lit up after hearing this.
He immediately sent people to investigate the information about Chu Tianlin’s friend.
Soon, he found out that the person was Liu Jun, the brother of the Crown Princess Liu Min, who was also a spoiled young master. Because he was now related to Chu Tianlin, he spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun with him.
Liu Jun was the type who would do anything for money, and it wasn’t a big deal, so he readily agreed to the request of the person sent by Chu Lianmo.
After two days, he mentioned to Chu Tianlin, “There’s a new pretty boy at Xiangnan Building, his looks and figure are simply amazing, everyone is rushing to see him.”
Xiangnan Building was a brothel. Chu Tianlin enjoyed both men and women.
“Really?” Chu Tianlin was immediately interested. “Then let’s go and see.”
So, the two of them excitedly went to Xiangnan Building.
People there were discussing the new pretty boy, saying how handsome he was, how beautifully he danced, completely arousing Chu Tianlin’s appetite.
After much anticipation, the pretty boy, known as Tingqin, finally appeared on the second floor of Xiangnan Building.
Tingqin did have a charming figure, dressed in revealing clothes. Under the partially obscured veil, his pretty face was vaguely visible, and one of his snow-white thighs was half exposed.
Coincidentally, Tingqin was performing a seductive dance. He took off a piece of clothing with every dance move, arousing Chu Tianlin’s desire even more.
“I want him to keep me company!” Liu Jun shouted first.
“I’m sorry, young master,” the madam came forward, looking somewhat embarrassed. “This Tingqin is a pretty boy, he only sells his art, not his body, and he doesn’t accompany guests individually.”
“In a brothel, and you’re still upholding chastity?” Liu Jun looked unconcerned, directly taking out a large stack of silver notes. “This is a thousand taels of silver, is it enough?”
“I’m sorry.” Tingqin spoke from upstairs, his voice pleasant, “No amount of silver will do.”
“Is that so?” At this time, Chu Tianlin finally couldn’t help but speak, “Do you know who I am? Whoever I want, who dares to refuse? – You all listen clearly, I am the only grandson of the current emperor, the future emperor of Chu!”
As soon as these words came out, everyone present was startled.
Tingqin seemed quite surprised as well. After hesitating for a moment, he reluctantly said, “Then I can accompany the young master to drink and chat, is that alright?”
“Good, let’s go!”
Chu Tianlin was immediately excited, leaped onto the second floor using light skills, and took Tingqin’s hand into the room.
Tingqin was no longer as unrestrained as before, appearing somewhat restrained. Sitting at the table, he picked up a bunch of grapes, peeled one with his slender, fair fingers and ate it, wiping the crystal-clear droplets from his lips, and then peeled another one and put it to Chu Tianlin’s lips, “Young Master, please.”
Chu Tianlin swallowed his saliva and grabbed his hand, sucking his finger. “I don’t want grapes, I want you!”
After saying this, he pressed Tingqin onto the table and went to kiss his lips.
“Young Master!” Tingqin struggled desperately, “We agreed to just drink and chat!”
“This young master just wants to do something else!”
