Arc 3: Chapter 24
The son of Prince Yanping was frightened in an instant and cold sweat ran down his back. His eyes scanned his surrounding environment and found it strange. This was not the Ministry of Justice’s prison.
Seeing that Jiang Qian was dressed in a crimson robe, a terrifying thought came to his mind-- the imperial prison.
The son of Prince Yanping was no fool. He knew that he should’ve been imprisoned by the Ministry of Justice and then exiled at dawn, but now finding himself in the imperial prison, it was clear what actually happened to him.
He pretended to be calm and tried to squeeze out a sneer: “Jiang Qian, His Majesty exiled me to the north. You selfishly changed the prisoner and brought me to the imperial prison, you are violating the holy decree! This is the crime of deceiving the emperor!”
Jiang Qian sat in the master chair and ignored him. His slender fingers raised his tea cup and he took a slow sip.
The imperial prison was cold and wet, and the stench of rot and blood was infused into the air all year round. Even the steam of the tea carried the faint smell of metal.
Jiang Qian’s eyelashes were like a raven’s feathers, and his eyes were dark and cold. The color of his robe was deep red, as if it was stained with blood.
Jiang Qian put the tea cup down, but he still didn’t say anything. He leisurely played with the jade pendant that hung on his waist. It was a piece of fine jade that had exquisite lotus patterns carved into it.
The son of Prince Yanping thought that Jiang Qian was deliberately ignoring himself to humiliate him.
His heart surged with anger and he thought impulsively that his worst ending was just death. He said: “Jiang Qian, when you were in Prince Yanping’s mansion and trampled under my feet, I didn’t expect there to be today. There are few people in the world who can endure humiliation and fear death like Lord Jiang. But seeing Lord Jiang’s unbounded glory today, I can see that being greedy to live and fearing death is quite useful.”
Seeing Jiang Qian finally turn to look at himself, the son of Prince Yanping suddenly felt a little more confident. He continued to say: “I remember that when you were named liuyuan, your two elder brothers like to show off everywhere. Say, if they knew that in a few short years you would become a second-ranked court official, they would’ve been carried away with happiness right?”
Jiang Qian still didn’t speak, and the son of Prince Yanping calmed down a bit. As if he were talking to himself, he said: “But I don’t think so. After all, before you became such an honorable figure, you took off your clothes and lay under the little prince. If your two brothers were still alive, they would’ve already been angered to death by you.”
“To tell the truth, I was hoping to see some drama between you and Lin Yuan, like a dog biting a dog. Who knew that nothing would happen. I was thinking, was it that you lay under Lin Yuan for so long that you couldn’t stand up anymore?”
His words became more and more malicious: “You should have said it earlier ah. I had forgotten that these things existed. Jiang liuyuan is as handsome as Pan An, I should have sold you to a brothel after I tortured you enough. Seeing that you served the little prince so comfortably, you would’ve also performed very well in that sort of place, maybe everyone would compete to spend a night with you.” t/n Pan An was known as one of the best looking men in chinese history
Jiang Qian supported his cheek with his hand and his dark eyes stared at the son of Prince Yanping. His pupils were full of indifference, and his voice was low, without a hint of temperature.
“Sir, seeing the slave that used to kneel in front of you who you could humiliate at will now stand high above your reach, you must feel very unhappy right now.”
Jiang Qian’s lips curved and he said: “The matter of being a male pet is the only point for you to comfort yourself. You probably thought that when I went to Prince Chu’s mansion, the little prince would only treat me like a servant and favor me for fun.”
“You really have some imagination. It’s a pity ah, you’re mistaken. The little prince and I are in love with each other. One day, I will hire a matchmaker and gather hundreds of chests of dowry. Then I will choose an auspicious day to have my little prince marry into the Jiang family.”
The son of Prince Yanping was in disbelief: “How is that possible? The little prince… how can he be willing? He’s a prince, he’s a man… how…”
When Jiang Qian talked about Lin Yuan, a gentle smile appeared in his eyes: “The little prince adores and treasures me. He lets me make all of the decisions, what can’t be possible?”
For the past few years, as the son of Prince Yanping saw Jiang Qian rise in the ranks with burning jealousy, he continuously comforted himself that regardless of how proud Jiang Qian was, he still had to be forced to lie under a man and cheaply sell himself.
Only now did the son of Prince Yanping realize that Jiang Qian was actually happy. He actually lived happily with the little prince like husband and wife.
The son of Prince Yanping seethed in anger at being played, but then he thought of a point that made him suddenly laugh. “Jiang Qian, even if you and Lin Yuan like each other, so what? You are the only one left in the Jiang family and Lin Yuan is the only heir to Prince Chu’s mansion. Is he planning to mount a woman like a dog to have children?”
He laughed louder and louder, and his expression distorted: “Jiang Qian ah, Jiang Qian. Lin Yuan has been lying under for so many years, can he still be with a woman? He probably can’t? He can’t even be called a man, right?”
Jiang Qian slowly sat up straight and his eyes darkened like an evil spirit rising from hell. He had not reacted to anything that the son of Prince Yanping had said until now. This time, his bottom line was crossed.
He said lowly: “Originally, I was planning to just return what was done, no more and no less, because you don’t deserve my time and energy. But now it seems that it’s far from enough. I must double, no, return it ten-fold in order to match your words.”
Jiang Qian ordered his subordinates to bring over the torture tools and place them in front of the son of the Prince Yanping. The yaman explained the use of each torture tool in detail.
The son of Prince Yanping knew that Jiang Qian was serious about using these tools on himself. He suddenly panicked and jerked out and wanted to rush out.
The guards quickly subdued him and the son of Prince Yanping struggled on the ground crazily. His face was pushed against the blood-stained floor and he shouted desperately: “Jiang Qian! Kill me! Just kill me quickly! I tortured you so much, you must want to kill me to relieve your hatred! Kill me, I’mbeggingyoujustkillme! Kill me!”
Jiang Qian walked over and his clean boots stepped on the son of Prince Yanping’s hand. He squatted down and the shadows enveloped him: “The people who enter the imperial prison are all the same. They all beg for death. But it’s a pity, death is the greatest gift in this place. I advise you to not be delusional.”
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Leaving the imperial prison, Jiang Qian didn’t return to Prince Chu’s mansion immediately, instead, he arrived at a place a block away from Prince Chu’s mansion.
The house was the mansion Emperor Liang bestowed on him when he was appointed admiral. It was luxurious, but still a little smaller than Prince Chu’s mansion.
The housekeeper held up the lamp and led Jiang Qian to the yard.
If anyone from Prince Chu’s mansion was here, they would definitely recognize that the yard looked exactly the same as the little prince’s garden.
Jiang Qian didn’t go in. He asked the housekeeper: “How long until this place will be ready?”
The housekeeper answered: “According to the lord’s designs, there is still some inadequacy. I’m afraid it will take another half a year to complete.”
Jiang Qian gave a faint ‘en.’
When Jiang Qian returned to Prince Chu’s mansion, he found that Lin Yuan was still waiting for him.
Jiang Qian hadn’t had the time to bathe and change his clothes yet. The faint smell of blood still lingered around him and he stopped in his tracks.
Lin Yuan was wearing a loose inner robe and he stretched out his arms to Jiang Qian. He said softly: “Hug, Jiang Qian.”
Jiang Qian hesitantly raised his hand and then put it down. He couldn’t let the blood and death from the imperial prison taint Lin Yuan, not even half a shadow was allowed. He just said gently: “Sui Sui, be good. I just came back and I haven’t cleaned yet. I don’t… want to dirty you.”
Lin Yuan quite liked to see Jiang Qian dressed in his court robes, but Jiang Qian rarely wore this outfit in front of him. He wanted to have a few more looks.
“It’s okay, if we get dirty, we can go take a bath.” Lin Yuan stepped onto the ground barefoot and looped his arms around Jiang Qian’s neck. He pressed his lips against the other’s and said: “Jiang Qian, you look really good wearing that robe.”
Jiang Qian hated this robe that he exchanged with other people’s lives, but a little bit of gloom in his eyes dissipated when he heard Lin Yuan’s words.
“Does the prince really think so?”
Lin Yuan nodded and licked Jiang Qian’s lips: “Jiang Qian, let’s do it wearing this outfit next time okay? I’ll wear the prince’s court robes, and you wear the admiral’s court robes.”
Lin Yuan said this not only because he wanted to do it, but also because he wanted to comfort Jiang Qian. And the best method of comfort he knew was to hug and kiss the other.
Jiang Qian lifted Lin Yuan up and walked over the wardrobe and took out the prince’s court robes and smiled: “No need to wait for the next time.”
Lin Yuan ‘ah’-ed in surprise. He didn’t expect that Jiang Qian was still in the mood to roll in the sheets tonight, but that was fine too. This way, Jiang Qian wouldn’t be able to think about other things.
Lin Yuan hugged Jiang Qian and said unknowingly: “Okay~”