It happened so quickly that Shen Qingzhuo rushed forward like lightning, but he was still a step too late and couldn’t even grab a piece of clothing.
His heartbeat almost stopped for a moment, and then he suddenly came to his senses, turned around, and ran down the bridge to look for the person.
This stone bridge is not very high, but if his little disciple falls headfirst, he will be disabled even if he doesn’t die!
“I’m fine…” At this time, a familiar voice suddenly came from under the railing.
Shen Qingzhuo paused and came back like a whirlwind. He leaned on the railing and looked down. Sure enough, he saw his little disciple clinging to the edge of the bridge, trying to tilt his head to look at him. “Master, I’m fine!”
Shen Qingzhuo reached out to pull his little disciple up without saying a word. However, because he was too weak, he failed to pull the person up despite his great efforts.
He turned around breathlessly and looked at the young man standing next to him like a wooden stake, trying his best to maintain courtesy: “This Young Master, would you please lend a hand?”
The young man walked over quickly and said, “I’d be happy to do that.”
Soon, the two men worked together to pull the young lady up.
Xiao Shen’s first reaction when he landed was to shake off the young man’s hand, with an expression of extreme disgust on his face.
The young man was just about to ask if he had offended the lady again, but in the blink of an eye he saw the lady snuggling in the arms of the young master in green, with signs of being frightened and fragile written all over her body.
It was completely different from the stern look she had just given him.
“Master…” Xiao Shen grabbed his master’s collar tightly, his tone weak and pitiful. “I was scared to death, I almost thought I would never see you again…”
Shen Qingzhuo was startled. He stroked the back of his disciple’s head and comforted him softly, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
He held his little disciple in his arms, glanced at the young man, and nodded in thanks: “Thank Young Master so much for your help.”
The young man smiled and said, “It’s just a simple task. No need to worry about it.”
Shen Qingzhuo was just thinking about how to thank this kind-hearted young man when he heard Kong Qianhu’s loud voice coming from behind him: “Young Master, are you alright?”
Kong Shang was originally following them from a distance, but when he saw the Seventh Prince accidentally fall off the stone bridge, he hurriedly ran up.
“No problem.” Shen Qingzhuo turned slightly and said, “Thanks to this Young Master. By the way, may I ask your name?”
“Brother Lin?” Kong Shang took a closer look, and his anxious tone suddenly turned into surprise. “It’s Brother Lin? What a coincidence ah!”
The young man bowed and smiled, “Brother Kong Xian, it’s been a long time.”
“So you are old acquaintances.” Shen Qingzhuo’s eyebrows moved. “In that case, Kong Shang, introduce us?”
“My Lord, this is Lin Fengji, the legitimate son of Lord Lin, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.” Kong Shang introduced them to each other enthusiastically, “Brother Lin, this is Lord Shen.”
When the three words “Lin Fengji” came out, Shen Qingzhuo’s heart skipped a beat. This name…
As expected, the young man said in a gentle tone, “Brother Xian is too polite, just call me Jinyu.”
Shen Qingzhuo: “……”
Lin Jinyu, the legitimate son of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Lin Jingzhou, is one of the two male protagonists in the original book. According to the timeline of the original book, Lin Jinyu at this time had not yet chosen to serve as an official in the court, and his position as the Beizhen Fushi was now even replaced by him.
The young man in front of him is handsome and tall, with a gentle and low-key temperament. He is the kind of person who does not show off his talents but is actually well-versed in knowledge and resourcefulness, which is not much different from the image described in the original book.
Although his mind was full of thoughts, Shen Qingzhuo remained calm and said politely, “It is a privilege to meet you today. Young Master Lin even saved my people. I should hold a banquet someday to thank Young Master Lin.”
If his little disciple disguised as a man had not been present, he would have definitely had a good meeting with the hero of the original book. However, in order to prevent his little disciple from accidentally revealing his true intentions, he had to give up for the time being.
Lin Jinyu heard the hidden meaning in his words and replied slowly, “Don’t worry, there is a long time to go, and we will meet again if we are destined to.”
It’s a pleasure to deal with smart people. Shen Qingzhuo said goodbye again and walked down the arch bridge with the young lady in his arms.
Kong Shang also hurriedly bowed and said, “Brother Lin, I have official business to attend to today. Let’s meet again another day!”
Lin Jinyu stood where he was, watching the three people leave with a slight smile on his face.
***
On the carriage back to the palace, Xiao Shen was still dizzy and felt as if he was floating in the clouds.
Just now, his master clearly admitted that he was his person!
“Master…” The youth held the candy figure in one hand and moved towards him coquettishly, “I like Master so much ah!”
Shen Qingzhuo was stunned by his little disciple’s sudden confession, “What again?”
“Nothing, I just like Master very much.” Xiao Shen licked the candy figure in his hand and then passed it to his master’s lips. “So sweet, Master try it.”
Before leaving the night market, Shen Qingzhuo found a small stall making candy figures, and he asked the master1It refers to the seller who makes the candy figure to blow up a cute puppy and give it to his little disciple.
His little disciple was not happy at first, but he said, ‘Look how cute this puppy is, just like you.’ His little disciple immediately took the candy figure happily, held it in his hand like a treasure, and it took a long time before he was willing to lick it.
Shen Qingzhuo took a look at the candy figure. The brown-yellow sugar had almost softened under the high temperature. His whole hand was covered with sticky syrup, which was a bit unbearable to look at.
But in order to take care of his little disciple’s self-esteem, he still lowered his head and gently licked the puppy’s head.
The bright red tip of the tongue flashed by, and when it was retracted, it licked the corner of the lips subconsciously. Xiao Shen was stunned for a moment and stretched out his hand uncontrollably, pressing the red and moist lips with his thumb.
“Hmm?” Shen Qingzhuo opened his eyelashes, a trace of confusion appeared in his peach blossom eyes.
Xiao Shen woke up from a dream and suddenly withdrew his hand. He explained in a low voice as if to cover up: “Master, your lips are stained with syrup, and I want to wipe it off for you.”
Shen Qingzhuo looked at his hands and said, “It seems like there’s more on your hands…”
Xiao Shen was speechless and simply stuffed his syrup-covered fingers into his mouth to avoid his master’s further questioning.
At that moment just now, he was obsessed with the idea of inserting his fingers between his master’s lips, just like what the strange man in his dream did to him….
“Alright, stop licking and wipe it with a handkerchief.” Shen Qingzhuo’s cleanliness obsession flared up again. He took out a white handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to his little disciple.
Xiao Shen took the handkerchief and silently wiped the stickiness at the base of his fingers one by one.
He had something to hide and didn’t say much along the way. Shen Qingzhuo leaned back in the chair sleepily and closed his eyes to take a nap.
The carriage drove smoothly into the imperial city, and when it arrived at Donghua Gate, they got off and walked back to the palace as usual.
Shen Qingzhuo planned to take his little disciple back to Jiuyue Pavilion first and help him take off his women’s clothes, but he didn’t expect to meet the patrolling imperial guards on the way.
“Who are you? Why are you walking here in the middle of the night?” A loud shout came from not far away, and he stopped helplessly.
Kong Shang replied loudly, “Lord Shen is here, Commander Qi can see clearly!”
Qi Xianlin was on duty tonight. When he heard that the person coming was Lord Shen, he immediately ran over and bowed: “It turns out to be Lord Shen. It’s me who has eyes but doesn’t recognize Mount Taishan2To fail to recognize someone important or someone’s great talent.!”
Both of them are commanders, but one is the commander of the Imperial Guard and the other is the commander of the Jinyiwei. No matter how incompetent Qi Xianlin is, it is still clear who holds more real power.
What’s more, as long as Pan Chong’s case is not resolved, he will always have a knot in his heart.
“Lord Qi is too polite.” Shen Qingzhuo bowed in return, “I had to leave the palace for something today and was accidentally delayed on the way, so I came back a little late.”
“Lord Shen is very busy with official duties, it is very stressed out ah!” As Qi Xianlin spoke, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the palace maid beside Lord Shen.
The night was dim, casting a hazy glow on the veiled palace maid. Her shy look with lowered brows and eyes was particularly endearing.
She’s just a little taller.
“Lord Qi has worked even harder.” Shen Qingzhuo was polite to him and quietly shifted his body to block his view of his little disciple.
Qi Xianlin came back to his senses from the beauty and asked boldly, “Lord Shen, may I ask, how is the progress of Pan Changgong’s case?”
Shen Qingzhuo replied calmly, “Why is Lord Qi concerned about the case of Beizhen Fushi?”
“Ah… I just asked casually, haha!” Qi Xianlin pretended to be dumb and then tried to flatter him. “I heard from the Seventh Prince that Lord Shen is a god at handling cases, so I was a little curious.”
Shen Qingzhuo frowned imperceptibly. “Really?”
That’s not right. When did his little disciple become so close to Qi Xianlin?
Just as he was about to continue asking questions, a hand gently tugged at his sleeves. He turned his head and found that his little disciple still had his eyes downcast.
Shen Qingzhuo did not ask further questions and bid farewell: “Lord Qi, please continue your inspection. It is getting late. I will return to the palace first.”
“Alright, alright, alright, Lord Shen, take care!” Qi Xianlin smiled and saw Lord Shen off, his eyes following the back of the beauty in pink without giving up.
Little did he know that at this moment Xiao Shen had already made up his mind to kill him.
Idiot! You actually exposed information that was unfavorable to his master in front of him.
***
After returning to Jiuyue Pavilion, Shen Qingzhuo summoned the secret guard to help his little disciple remove his makeup and then take off his complicated palace dress.
The youth was wearing a white undergarment and rolling around on the bed like a puppy. “Ah! I finally changed it back! If I wear it any longer, I’ll be suffocated to death!”
Shen Qingzhuo leaned on the couch and teased his little disciple: “But Master thinks you look so comfortable in female attire, it doesn’t seem forced at all.”
“Master!” Xiao Shen sat up with his upper body straightened and complained with a pout, “Master, you only know how to bully me!”
“Master bought you so many candies tonight, and they were all wasted?” Shen Qingzhuo lazily supported his forehead. “Master obviously loves you so much, but you still say that Master bullies you, you conscienceless little wolf cub.”
The little wolf cub corrected his mistakes immediately and climbed down from the bed, kneeled down at his master’s feet, and put his face on his master’s knees. “Alright, I was wrong, Master loves me the most.”
“En.” Shen Qingzhuo responded and asked suddenly, “When did you become familiar with Commander Qi?”
“Ah?” Xiao Shen was stunned for a moment and responded very quickly, “Isn’t he from the Empress Dowager’s family? I often walk around Changshou Palace and occasionally run into him. The Empress Dowager wanted me to get closer to the Qi family, so I had to be perfunctory with him.”
“So that’s how it is…” Shen Qingzhuo seemed to be thinking about something, and he agreed with his explanation. He then reminded him, “This person has evil intentions and is intricately related to Pan Chong’s case. Try to have less contact with him.”
Xiao Shen put his heart back, rubbed his cheek against his master, and responded obediently, “Alright, Master.”
It was too late. After running back and forth for most of the night, Shen Qingzhuo was exhausted. He didn’t have the energy to rush his little disciple back to Changle Palace, so he let him stay overnight.
Xiao Shen lay on the floor, tossing and turning but unable to fall asleep.
The scenes that happened in the night market kept replaying in his mind like a revolving lantern. Finally, after an unknown amount of time, his eyes slowly closed.
When he fell asleep, he entered into the familiar dreamland again.
His heart began to beat violently, beating against his chest. He was filled with fear but also with a deep expectation.
He soon discovered that this dream was much milder than previous ones.
On the messy dragon bed, a man with the same face as him was lying at the head of the bed, while his master was lying on his chest with his clothes wide open. The atmosphere is unusually quiet and peaceful.
After a moment, the man bit the tip of his master’s small and delicate ear and said something in a whisper. The white jade-like earlobe instantly turned as red as blood.
His master rubbed the man with a humming voice and nodded obediently.
The man quickly got up from the bed, took a red robe as thin as a cicada’s wing, and returned to the dragon bed.
Xiao Shen’s eyes widened instantly. What is this?
Could it be that…
As he expected, the man hugged his master affectionately, took off his messy undergarment with his own hands, and then put the thick and bit by bit transparent red yarn on his master…
The youth couldn’t move his body, and the force of swallowing became heavier and heavier, but he could only watch the vivid scene…
He was possessed. He imagined his master wearing women’s clothes during the day and had such an outrageous dream at night.
The master in the dream was much more docile than the previous times. He allowed the man to toss and turn him, but his crying voice was still pitiful…
Suddenly, Xiao Shen’s eyes went dark. When his vision became clear again, he was surprised to find that he had entered that man’s body.
However, at this moment that man was standing barefoot in the middle of the hall, smashing everything he saw to pieces.
“Search! Search for Zhen!” He heard his own furious voice, like a beast trapped in a cage, roaring anxiously. “Seal off the palace, seal off the imperial city, seal off Shengjing! Not even a bird is allowed to fly out!”
The leading guard retreated tremblingly. He fiercely pulled off the jade pendant from his neck. His eyes were as red as a devil crawling out of hell. He gritted his teeth and said word by word, “Master, you lied to me again… Shen Qingzhuo, you lied to me again!”
“Shen Qingzhuo!” A heart-wrenching roar broke out of his throat, and Xiao Shen suddenly opened his eyes.
The next moment, a pair of jade-like feet dropped from the bed and kicked him lightly. “What are you shouting about?”
Shen Qingzhuo’s peach blossom eyes were hazy with sleep, and his tone was a little grumpy. “Are you looking for a fight? How dare you call Master by my name so early in the morning?”
Xiao Shen came to his senses completely and took the opportunity to get up and hugged his master’s feet, admitting his mistake sincerely: “I was wrong, Master…”
The author has something to say:
The Master: The little disciple who does not respect his master deserves to be beaten.
The Wolf Cub: I woke up from a nightmare. I don’t even have time to be emo, and I have to try my best to appease my master. Awooo…
