Chapter 45: Come Here, I’ll Wipe Your Face

October 10, 2022Merchie

Qi Changyi’s eyes flashed open. With trembling fingers, he removed the cold hand that obscured his vision.

Pei Zheng was sitting inside the wedding sedan, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

“Brother Pei, why, why are you here?”

Pei Zheng retracted his hand and stared at the red-clad little man, his eyes traveling from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

His skin was as fair and smooth as jade, his brows were soft and elegant.

His thin wrists were white as snow, pure and unsullied.

Even though his entire body was swathed in red, it didn’t look gaudy or cheap. Coupled with the rouge on his lips and his ladylike hair bun, he truly resembled a beautiful new bride.

“His Majesty ordered me to oversee the affairs of the marriage alliance. This is also an opportunity for me to meet with the barbarian clan leader. Of course I’d be here.”

Several officers’ voices could be heard from outside; everything had been checked. The city gate opened, and the imperial guards in the front rode out in an orderly manner.

Qi Changyi’s mind wandered off, and tears suddenly filled his eyes once more.

Pei Zheng’s eyebrows creased. He reached out to wipe his face again, but all he caught was a handful of air.

Qi Changyi scooted away and pressed himself against the side of the sedan; it seemed as though he was trying to avoid Pei Zheng. He wiped at his eyes with his sleeve and stubbornly raised his head, furiously blinking away tears.

Pei Zheng’s expression immediately turned gloomy.

He had spent a lot of effort reasoning with the Emperor in order to accompany the group to the borderlands. He wanted to make sure that he could take care of Qi Changyi along the way.

But this silly little man took his kindness for granted.

Everything he had said that night, it was all in vain. How could this little fool understand the meaning behind his words?

Pei Zheng suppressed his impatience with great effort and ordered, “Come here, I’ll wipe your face.”

“No need, I can do it myself.” Qi Changyi violently smeared his cheeks again, leaving red patches on his fair skin. “Brother Pei needn’t worry about it.”

“I’ll say it one more time. Come here.”

Qi Changyi’s heart was full of fear, but he still didn’t move an inch.

Pei Zheng’s eyes narrowed. In the past, if his expression had turned only the slightest bit unpleasant, the little man would quiver in fear and beg for mercy. What was going on now?

Could it be that he suddenly grew a pair once he left the Imperial Capital?

Pei Zheng reached out and grabbed the little man. Unexpectedly, he encountered a bout of resistance, though he hardly felt it.

But it did make his heart feel extremely unpleasant.

“What’s wrong, huh? You’ve just left the palace, and you’ve already decided to stop listening to me? Are you that eager to get away from me?”

Pei Zheng pinned the little man’s struggling arm with one hand and squeezed his chin with the other. His cold breath sprayed over Qi Changyi’s face.

“It’s, it’s not like that. Royal Father is sending me away to get married, so I have a husband now. Naturally, I have to keep my distance from other men.”

“Husband?” Pei Zheng sneered. “You’re quite fickle.”

“I, that’s what the momo told me to call him.”

“Then what about our promise? To never betray me and never leave me, was that all a lie?”

Qi Changyi’s jaw was sore, and he could hardly speak properly, “I didn’t know, I didn’t know that something like this was going to happen. If I had known, I definitely, definitely wouldn’t have said such nonsense.”

“Nonsense?” Pei Zheng’s eyes were frigid. The hand on the little man’s waist suddenly pressed down hard, and he had no choice but to fall straight into Pei Zheng’s chest.

Pei Zheng twirled a lock of silky hair between his fingers as he leaned close to the little man’s ear. “You want to keep your distance from me? I’d like to see you try.”

Qi Changyi’s body began to shake. He was trying so hard to forget about Pei Zheng, yet the other had no intentions of letting him go. But he was already on his way to marry someone else; he could no longer stay by Brother Pei’s side.

“Stop the sedan.”

Pei Zheng suddenly ordered.

The long procession of sedans and horses slowly ground to a halt. Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Prime Minister Pei, who had just come out of the prince’s wedding sedan.

Once Pei Zheng stepped out of the sedan, he lifted the curtain with one hand and dragged Qi Changyi out with the other.

They had reached the outskirts of the city; the roads were bumpy and rough.

Qi Changyi tripped over a protruding rock. His knees, which had not yet recovered from kneeling for so long, crashed to the ground, and his upper body keeled over in pain.

Li Yu rushed over, along with several other eunuchs and guards, but they were stopped by Pei Zheng’s cold voice.

“Don’t help him. Let him get up by himself. If you continue to pamper him, how will he be able to survive in the impoverished borderlands?”

Lord Pei had been ordered by the Emperor to oversee the affairs of the marriage alliance; his word was law, so no one dared to come forward to help the little figure that was slumped on the ground.

Qi Changyi laid on the ground for a while, until the pain in his knees lessened slightly. He slowly stood up and flashed a reassuring smile at Li Yu.

That smile was like a knife slashing into Pei Zheng’s eyes. It was the first time he had seen the little man smile today, but he never expected that it would be for a measly eunuch.

Someone rode over on horseback. It was Zhao Litang, who had been at the front of the line. When he saw Qi Changyi kneeling on the ground, he rushed over to see what had happened.

“Your Highness, are you all right? Should we call an Imperial Physician?”

Two Imperial Physicians had come along as well, in case of an emergency.

Zhao Litang was about to summon one of them before he was interrupted by Pei Zheng.

“No need. The sedan chair is too small, bring His Highness to the carriage in the back to rest.”

That carriage was Pei Zheng’s, would that mean that His Highness and Pei Zheng would be in there together?

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Zhao Litang gripped the reins and tried to maintain his composure. “Lord Pei, I’m afraid that would be improper…”

“There’s nothing improper about it.” Pei Zheng climbed into the carriage behind Qi Changyi. “General Zhao, your focus should be on performing your duties to the best of your ability. You needn’t worry about other things.”

The carriage door slammed shut, and the noise of the outside world instantly faded away.

The inside of the carriage was much larger than that of the sedan; a thick, plush blanket was laid out to reduce the bumpiness of the ride. There was a small desk placed inside as well, laden with tea and cakes, as well as a jug of wine.

The carriage finally began to move, and the queue slowly continued forward.

Qi Changyi’s knee was hurting more and more every second. He bit his lip and tried to endure the pain, but sweat still dripped down his forehead.

Pei Zheng saw how pale he was. He was about to lift the red skirt to check his injuries, but it was held down by Qi Changyi’s small hands.

His face was ashen with pain, but he was still thinking of “keeping his distance” from Pei Zheng.

“Brother Pei, please leave me alone, y-you can’t do the same things you used to, it would be bad if my future husband found out.”

Qi Changyi’s heart hurt so much as he spoke, he almost couldn’t breathe. His imagination ran wild, he had once dreamed that his future husband would be Brother Pei, but it was impossible now.

When Pei Zheng heard this, his heart was flooded with irritation.

Husband, husband, husband, that word rolled off his tongue quite easily, and he even continued to say that he wanted to keep his distance.

Don’t even think about it.

He grabbed Qi Changyi’s calf with force, and despite the little man’s struggles, lifted the red skirt. His slender fingers began to trace Qi Changyi’s bare leg.

The softness and smoothness beneath his fingers made Pei Zheng’s body freeze for a second. He couldn’t help but pinch down a little harder.

He pulled the dress up even more, and a pair of swollen red kneecaps were exposed. In addition to a few scrapes from the fall earlier, there were also patches of bluish-green bruising.

“How did this happen?”

Qi Changyi whispered, “I-I went to go find Royal Father, but he didn’t want to see me, so I kneeled outside to wait for him. Later, Fourth Bro-“

When Qi Changyi thought of his Fourth Brother, he also thought of the words that Zhao Litang had spoken to him.

Pei Zheng never liked him, he was only a substitute for Fourth Brother.

He hurriedly retracted his legs and pulled down the skirt. Qi Changyi immediately retreated to the other end of the carriage, shoved his head into his knees, and curled into a little ball.

Only in this position did he feel a slight sense of security.

The smooth skin between his fingers slipped away. His fists clenched, and the last dregs of Pei Zheng’s patience finally ran out. He leaned forward and clamped the little man’s chin again.

“Not listening to me again? I haven’t punished you in a while; your wounds are all healed, so you must have forgotten the pain by now, right?”

Qi Changyi felt that his chin no longer belonged to him. He already heard the crisp sound of Pei Zheng’s fingers squeezing his bones; it felt as though they were about to be crushed to dust at any moment.

“Uh…nnn…”

“I’ve taken care of you for so long, yet you are so eager to leave me for this faceless, nameless stranger. You’ve already disobeyed me so many times. Your Highness, you sure played me well.”

Pei Zheng’s grip did not loosen as he reached downwards, rummaged through the blanket, and pulled out a long chain.

The crisp, clinking sound made Qi Changyi’s entire body shudder in fear.

Pei Zheng tied his hands together and wrapped the other end of the chain around the little desk that was fixed to the carriage. No matter what he tried, he wouldn’t be able to break free; he could only sit in front of the desk in forced compliance.

Qi Changyi’s wrists were wrapped tightly by the chain, so red chafe marks would appear frequently on his thin, white skin. He was unable to free himself, so he had no choice but to sit at the desk with red eyes and a lowered head.

Seeing how obedient he was, Pei Zheng calmed down a bit. He leaned back onto the edge of the blanket and slowly closed his eyes.

“Pour me a cup of tea.”

Qi Changyi hesitated for a few moments, so Pei Zheng yanked the chain impatiently, jerking his wrists hard.

Qi Changyi trembled as he poured the tea, and placed the tea cup in front of Pei Zheng.

“Serve it to me1.”

Qi Changyi lifted the cup to Pei Zheng’s mouth. However, the chain on his wrists was too heavy, so his hands were trembling, and tea splashed out onto Pei Zheng’s robe.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Qi Changyi quickly wiped the soaked area with his sleeve.

Pei Zheng gently took his hand, before he tapped a finger onto his own lips. “Serve it to me with this.”

Qi Changyi thought for a moment about the meaning of these words and quickly understood. His ears flushed bright red.

He stuttered, “N-no, we can’t, I can’t do that, Brother Pei, please just drink it yourself…”

Pei Zheng’s eyes were gloomy. Before the little man could finish his sentence, he reached out, pinched his cheeks with one hand, grabbed the cup of tea from off the desk, and poured it straight into his mouth.

Qi Changyi choked violently, and dark tea spilled down his throat and onto his collar. There was still a little bit left in his mouth that he hadn’t swallowed yet.

Pei Zheng’s fingers tightly pinched the little man’s face, and his thin lips collided with that alluring red mouth.

 

Notes

Sorry this one i just, i just fcked it in its ass as well

I’m thinking of changing Pei-gege to Brother Pei because fourth brother is actually fourth gege and that sounds ridiculous so yeah

The real issue here is why Pei Zheng brought a chain with him I’m so confused by this man

Also why did I say grew a pair lmao I’m sorry that’s the only thing that came to mind

Thanks for reading~ as always, let me know if there’s a problem

1. What he actually said was “喂我” ‘feed me’. I couldn’t stop laughing when I looked at that I don’t know why hghahahahaha

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