Chapter 9

Chu Huaiyin was desperate to ferret out that Chunshu fellow. Something about the man felt inexplicably familiar, but the moment he used his lightness skill, his energy grew unsettled. An unfamiliar heat surged up from the soles of his feet, burning especially fiercely in one particular place. Chu Huaiyin immediately realized he had been drugged, but his years of martial training had given him exceptional willpower. As long as he did not exert himself, he could use his internal energy to keep it under control.

That balance broke when he heard a cry for help, broke down a door, and found Meng Huaihan collapsed on the floor. That foul incense assailed him again, and Chu Huaiyin's breathing immediately grew heavier.

Barely conscious, Meng Huaihan saw Prince Huai and leaned toward him as though clutching at her last lifeline.

The overpowering fragrance flooded his nose. If Chu Huaiyin still could not tell what was wrong, he would have died on the battlefield long ago without even an intact corpse.

He kicked the crazed Meng Huaihan away. Veins bulged on his forehead, but clarity returned to his eyes.

Should he call Meng Huaihan stupid or clever? Had it been someone else-the second prince, for instance-he might have spent a night of passion with her today, gaining a beautiful wife along with the wholehearted backing of the powerful Left Chancellor.

Perhaps someone in this world could make Chu Huaiyin submit, but it certainly was not Meng Huaihan.

Meng Huaihan refused to believe Chu Huaiyin could remain clearheaded so close to her. Gritting her teeth, she threw caution aside and moaned as she tried to rub her soft breasts against him.

Chu Huaiyin did not let her touch so much as the hem of his robe. He dodged aside and kicked the door shut. Caught off guard, Meng Huaihan crashed into it and slid to the floor. As the drug began taking effect, she rubbed against the door, letting out sticky, muffled moans.

Ji Yang appeared just in time. "Master, should I fetch an imperial physician?"

"I'm going to find Meng Zhou. Have Imperial Physician Wang meet me there." A storm brewed on Chu Huaiyin's face. Meng Zhou had eaten even more than he had; there was no telling how he was doing.

A shifty-looking man poked his head around the back door. Hearing a woman's panting cries, he repeatedly betrayed a curious, lecherous look.

"Master, this..." Ji Yang gestured for Chu Huaiyin to look behind the door.

"Leave it."

"Yes." Ji Yang lowered his head, understanding that his master was thoroughly enraged this time. When commanding his troops, his master had always been least tolerant of soldiers gathering to hire prostitutes or molesting respectable women. Military orders were absolute. Offenders received fifty strokes at best and lost their heads at worst.

Meng Zhou sat awkwardly in his chair, cheeks flushed and breathing labored. Someone knocked outside. "Second Young Master, the master sent me to bring you longevity peaches."

Meng Zhou's voice imitation skills were masterful, and he was particularly sensitive to voices. This maid sounded very familiar. He had heard her somewhere before, but definitely not in the Meng residence.

He had a fair idea that Meng Huaihan had set him up. Extremely annoyed, he dragged his weak body over and peered through the crack in the door.

Sure enough.

A few days earlier, while following Boss Huang, he had seen this woman in a brothel. He had nearly been discovered then and fled blindly to hide, only to overhear the madam berating her: she was already a ruined flower, riddled with disease before she had even earned enough money, and no client dared request her.

"Young Master, Young Master, open the door." Hearing no movement inside, the woman began pushing the door.

Chu Huaiyin had not locked it when he left. Meng Zhou braced his body against it, and before long, his whole body was flushed and streaming with hot sweat. His hair and eyelashes looked as though they had been drenched in dew.

Quite apart from his lack of interest in women, medical care in this ancient era was so poor that he absolutely could not touch this woman. Doing so would ruin his entire life.

Meng Huaihan truly was vicious.

Meng Zhou had never wanted to use any means to take revenge on Meng Huaihan. In modern times, she would be an underage girl. Ultimately, the Meng family's tangled, wretched relationships all stemmed from Meng Fushan treating women like dirt and his children without affection. Had he been wrong to make Meng Fushan his target?

The door banged under her pushing. If she had not been a thin, sickly woman, Meng Zhou truly could not have held her back in his current state.

"Whatever... Meng Huaihan gave you... I'll give you... double..." Meng Zhou clawed at the floor with all five fingers, almost digging out a brick.

The woman slowed for a moment, but immediately recalled Meng Huaihan's threats. Her tone grew more urgent. "Young Master, I won't hurt you!"

Meng Zhou silently cursed her shamelessness. He might have believed her if he had never been to the brothel and seen her.

His body grew weaker and weaker. As the stalemate continued, his vision darkened. Every breath drained his strength, never mind dealing with a grown adult.

Meng Zhou's voice was so hoarse he could barely speak. The woman pushed forcefully but restrained herself from making too much noise, and their covert struggle failed to draw the attention of anyone outside the courtyard.

His straight back gradually bowed. He could no longer hold the door, and the gap widened. He was about to suffer utter defeat in this contest.

In his daze, he remembered Chu Huaiyin saying, "I'll be right back."

Would he really... come back?

He could not give up. At the very least, he had to find a way to make Chu Huaiyin hear him, although Meng Zhou had no idea how far away Chu Huaiyin had gone or whether his hidden guards had left with him.

Finally abandoning the door, Meng Zhou propped himself against the floor and shifted a few inches, stretching out a leg to hook a vase stand. The rotten wooden stand wobbled halfway around. Crash- the vase fell to the floor.

Almost simultaneously, a startled cry rang out and the door burst open. Meng Zhou tightened his grip on the dagger in his boot.

The next moment, he was effortlessly lifted into someone's arms. The man holding him had steady arms, broad shoulders, and a startlingly hot embrace. "Don't be afraid."

Chu Huaiyin had returned.

Ji Yang carried Imperial Physician Wang straight from his home, leaving the old man bristling and glaring with fury. Chu Huaiyin laid Meng Zhou on the bed and cooled him with a cloth soaked in cold water.

After taking his pulse, Imperial Physician Wang pondered for a moment. "This drug is potent. It can only be relieved, not suppressed."

Stroking his beard, he glanced at the grim-faced Prince Huai. "In this humble subject's opinion, Your Highness also..."

With aphrodisiacs, the more disreputable their source, the more potent and impossible to counter they were. Who knew what sort of people Meng Huaihan dealt with every day?

Chu Huaiyin's expression darkened. Ji Yang considerately offered, "Shall I find a woman? No, two?"

Seeing his master's face darken further, he abruptly understood something, hoisted the imperial physician up, and ran.

The door closed, leaving the room silent except for their breathing, each heavier than the other's.

Meng Zhou breathed rapidly, his almond-shaped eyes shimmering with moisture. A faint rouge-red flush colored his fair, translucent skin. His face resembled a ripe apple; who knew whether a bite would yield a crisp, refreshing sweetness or a soft, yielding one?

Little kitten Meng revealed a different allure. Chu Huaiyin's gaze stuck fast to him, impossible to tear away. Suddenly, he remembered their first meeting: Meng Zhou's half-slipped bridal robes, red silk against snow, and disheveled black hair.

Although shock had dominated his mind then, thinking back carefully, Meng Zhou's features and voice had all been etched into his heart.

Fate was wondrous. It seemed they had returned to that moment, but this time, Chu Huaiyin would not merely be surprised.

His Adam's apple bobbed, his blood surged, and he nearly failed to restrain his impulse.

Just then, Meng Zhou could not hold back a moan. It was not the deliberately feigned seductiveness he had used at the Wang residence. His real voice was even more naturally, innocently enticing.

He had still been able to endure it a moment ago. Now he could not.

"Shall I find you a woman?" Chu Huaiyin's voice was frighteningly low and hoarse. Despite his words, his body showed not the slightest intention of leaving the bed.

Perhaps the sense of safety from being scooped into Chu Huaiyin's arms at that critical moment still lingered in his heart. Meng Zhou felt he must have had his head caught in the door to murmur, "Why bother? Won't you do?"

Please don't find me a woman.

The war god of countless young women's dreams in the capital. Sleeping with him wouldn't be a loss.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Afraid he had misheard, Chu Huaiyin confirmed each word separately. His hold on Meng Zhou abruptly tightened. Only when Meng Zhou gave a muffled groan did he let go. Looking at the ring of red marks left behind, even his eyes reddened.

Startled by his abruptly raised voice, Meng Zhou regained his senses, only for the arm around him to tighten with a brute's lack of restraint. Though hardly in the right, he boldly shifted the blame in a small voice. "You fed it to me."

Prince Huai really was being terribly wronged.

The thought of having fed Meng Zhou one mouthful after another... made Chu Huaiyin's breath stop short.

"Don't regret this."

Regret, my ass.

Meng Zhou had never dated anyone in either of his two lives. He did not know whether the drug or Prince Huai was stimulating him more, but he was even a little excited. He rolled against Chu Huaiyin, then turned over and pinned him beneath him.

His eyes sparkled as he stared fixedly at Chu Huaiyin. "I'll make you feel good."

Chu Huaiyin let Meng Zhou undo his belt, his dark gaze locked on his face. Once he had nearly finished, Chu Huaiyin caught both of Meng Zhou's paws in one hand.

His nails were sharp, making him thoroughly unsuited to being on top.

The Court of Judicial Review had been so busy lately that Meng Zhou had not even had time to tend his nails.

Chu Huaiyin moved, reversing their positions in an instant. "Better let this prince do it."

His reasoning was sound and irrefutable.

As the other man's body pressed forcefully against him, Meng Zhou suddenly stiffened, regaining his composure in a second. "Wait! Let's try something else..."

Prince Huai truly was... exceptionally gifted.

"Don't you think it's a little late to say that now? Hmm...?" The final sound vanished between their meeting lips and tongues.

Little kitten Meng was mercilessly suppressed and repeatedly kneaded, leaving him only able to angrily put his claws to another use.

Ji Yang waved the hidden guards surrounding Meng Zhou's little courtyard farther away, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and silently crouched in another tree to keep watch. He felt something of an old mother's gratification, along with a little bitterness.

We all hunkered down in the barracks together, but you got your first taste of meat ahead of us.