The hidden guards pinning him down jolted in alarm. They hurriedly caught his drooping head and supported his body, their expressions grave.
How had this boy moved so quickly? In their grip, he had felt so weak and slight, even more helpless than the bookish scholars out on the streets, yet he had snatched the weapon from the crown prince's hand and attacked him.
It was simply unbelievable.
"Your Highness, this man cannot be allowed to remain at your side."
The crown prince looked at the unconscious boy with his head hanging low, his expression unreadable for several seconds, as though confirming something. Once he was certain he could no longer hear those treasonous thoughts, he considered for a moment and said:
"Consort Shen went to such lengths to send him to me. How could I possibly slight her?"
"Yes. This subordinate will take his leave."
With that, the guard was about to hoist the unconscious boy onto his shoulder and carry him away, but the crown prince said, "Leave him here. There are all sorts of people outside. If he dies, Consort Shen will be whispering into Father's ear day and night again."
His gaze shifted to the small puddle of red blood on the floor, and his mood grew somewhat savage.
"Fetch Physician Liu."
"As you command."
Once the hidden guards left, only the unconscious Shen Yangge, his face pressed against the floor, and the crown prince, whose fathomless gaze had never left him, remained in the hall.
[Beep, beep, beep... beep, beep, beep-]
Hm?
Oh, mosquitoes.
System 615: [...]
Shen Yangge shifted and hissed in pain. Both shoulders burned. If he could not still feel them, he would have wondered whether his arms were ruined.
He opened his eyes to a scene of utter devastation. All around where he lay were shards of glass, crystal, and pottery, along with torn fragments of famous landscape paintings.
He was stunned.
Holy shit, what happened here?
He pushed himself upright and looked around in bewilderment.
At last, he spotted the source of the problem.
On the steps at the front of the hall, the crown prince sat with his head lowered, dressed in wide sleeves patterned with clouds. His long, pale hands still clutched two porcelain vessels, one large and one small.
-What's wrong with this bastard? Why does this place look like this? What happened while I was unconscious?
System 615: [Sorry, host. We were partly responsible for your sudden loss of consciousness. There was a problem with the database.]
That was not what he wanted to ask. What he wanted to ask was...
-Was I out for a long time? Why does he seem even crazier? Is he still conscious?
System 615 fell silent for a moment before saying: [You were unconscious for an hour and a half. The male lead spent an hour in a frenzy.]
Perhaps he was imagining it, but he felt the system was holding something back, as though it had not told him everything.
"You."
Clunk.
Shen Yangge's body trembled involuntarily. This time, it was not because this body belonged to its original owner. He genuinely felt terror coursing through him.
He had only ever seen the crown prince completely lose his mind in the novel, but that passage had been such a disastrous stain on the book that the author had been forced to rewrite it after complaints and reports. Still, everyone who had read the early version knew.
They knew just how deranged the crown prince became when he lost all reason.
What stuck with him most was how the crown prince had used a knife to strip the skin and flesh from a palace maid who tried to climb into his imperial bed, inch by inch. He had pulled out her bones, smashed them one by one with a hammer, and mashed them into a bowl of crushed bone and meat to feed the dog kept in the rear courtyard.
And the person who had raised that dog was none other than the palace maid he had skinned and butchered.
The crown prince slowly raised his lowered head. His bloodshot, red eyes stared straight at Shen Yangge, filled with an indescribable madness that made his scalp prickle and sent chills down his spine.
With every passing second, Shen Yangge could not help holding his breath. His body had barely begun to retreat when a broken shard of porcelain pierced his palm.
He pulled his hand back in pain.
The crown prince said, "You."
This was the second time he had spoken, and again, it was only that single word.
Shen Yangge pressed down on his bleeding wound. -I don't want my meat mixed with crushed bones and fed to a dog, even if...
This body was not entirely his to begin with.
Suddenly, the crazed crown prince stepped down and strode toward him. Just as Shen Yangge was about to get up and flee, he seized both his arms in a crushing grip, lowered his head without a word, and sank his teeth hard into that smooth, pale neck.
"Ah..."
-Holy fucking shit! You goddamn... fucking dog!
The book had never said this bastard went around biting people when he lost his mind! Had someone fucking swapped him out?
The pain was killing him.
Shen Yangge wanted to push away the head buried against his neck, but his hands were restrained. Unable to do anything, he could only endure the man's biting and sucking.
When he simply could not break free, Shen Yangge gave up.
Dejected, he started chatting with the system in his head.
Anything to distract him from the pain in his neck.
System 615 felt guilty. After all, they were partly responsible.
[Host, I'm very sorry we couldn't help you.]
-I just want to know when he'll come to his senses.
[He already has.]
He has? Then why is he still biting me?
Shen Yangge said weakly, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Could you let go of me first?"
If he had not been afraid of getting electrocuted, Shen Yangge would have launched straight into a torrent of abuse, wishing this fine man a lifetime of a hundred and eight births, every baby born without an asshole.
Hm? What... The pain is one thing, but why does it feel a little ticklish? And why is there something soft?
Before he could think it through, Shen Yangge was shoved away. The force sent him toppling backward into a pile of broken porcelain vases and glass shards. His hands and back were pierced, and blood from wounds large and small slowly soaked into his grayish-blue robe.
"Hiss..."
Shen Yangge sucked in a sharp breath, grimacing in pain.
The crown prince hesitated for a moment, then asked, "You're not dead?"
"Huh? Your Highness, what are you saying?"
He had clearly only fainted earlier. Why would this bastard ask him that? Had the system really hidden something from him?
The crown prince pulled him up from the floor and casually plucked several porcelain shards from his flesh. "In a little while, I'll have someone escort you back. Tomorrow, at this hour, I expect to see you here."
He stared at him.
Shen Yangge was furious. He had survived, only to get bitten by a dog, and worst of all, he could not even bite back. What kind of bullshit was that?
Now he had no choice but to put on a frightened act and offer the crown prince an insincere thanks. "I... thank Your Highness."
The crown prince took something from his sleeve and offered it to Shen Yangge.
"This is..."
A handkerchief?
For fuck's sake, does he think I'm some little girl or a lovestruck fool? Does he think a handkerchief makes up for biting me?
Shen Yangge concealed the indignation in his eyes and suppressed his emotions, thanking him again in a flustered voice. "I thank Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Then he reached out to take the white handkerchief from the crown prince's hand.
He tugged, but it would not budge. He tried to snatch it, but could not wrest it away either.
Shen Yangge ventured, "Your Highness?"
Instead, the crown prince pressed the handkerchief against his bleeding neck, allowing no refusal. The meaning hidden in his eyes was truly frightening.
I'd love another update reminder today, too. Good night, lovelies~ ❤️
Before you continue