Chapter 42 | Arc 3.
Trying to rid himself of those complex thoughts, Gan Qi turned back to look at Qin Yiran. However, now that he was looking at Qin Yiran again, Gan Qi really couldn’t understand what he was thinking.
He clearly knew that Qin Yiran did not like him, and yet he continued to harbour such deep affection for her.
He clearly knew that Qin Yiran came into the palace with ulterior motives and not for him, and yet he kept deceiving himself into thinking that something could happen between them.
He clearly knew that nothing would come out of this, and yet he couldn’t give up, infatuated to the point of obsession, completely disregarding his pride and his usual style.
And at this point, he finally began to wonder, what had even captivated him so much in the first place, that caused him to be so tolerant and caring towards this woman??
Gan Qi closed his eyes, feeling like his past infatuation with Qin Yiran was all blurry like a dream, and only now had he fully woken up. And now that he was awake, he could only feel surprise and disdain at how ridiculous this whole thing was.
And sitting by his side, Qin Yiran was still throwing her little tantrum. She was eagerly waiting for Gan Qi to hurry and trip over himself to please her, so that she could finally dish out the punishment that the dog servant Lil’ Shun deserved.
However, after waiting for a while, the only words Qin Yiran received was a cold-sounding, ”Since you didn’t want to be with me in the first place, then earlier, why did you request to enter my harem?”
Qin Yiran was dumbfounded for a moment, and became vaguely aware of the fact that Gan Qi’s treatment of her seemed to be slightly different from the past. Undoubtedly, they were on the topic of Lil’ Shun’s punishment before, so how did the conversation turn to her?
Qin Yiran immediately became rather annoyed. Before, hadn’t he promised her all his love, and was extremely caring and tolerant towards her? And now look – she had just mentioned giving a small punishment to an insignificant servant, and his heart had changed so fast, turning the tables on her! This kind of despicable man, how could he ever be worthy of her heart?
Filled with irritation, Qin Yiran bit her lip and put on an expression of being deeply wronged, and yet she also maintain a haughty air. Raising her chin, she stated arrogantly, “This concubine has been in the palace for but a day, and your Majesty has already grown weary of her? That servant had offended this concubine, and all I wanted was to seek justice for myself. What’s wrong with that? And yet, at the end of the day, it seems that the Emperor is siding with that lowly servant, and not taking this concubine’s words seriously at all!”
The more that Gan Qi listened to Qin Yiran speak, the more he felt that he was utterly blind before. How could he have loved such a woman like this?? At this point, he really didn’t want to hear her voice anymore, and seeing her superior, haughty attitude only made him more annoyed. Therefore, he simply stood up and said, “If you ever decide you want to leave the Palace, then come and speak with Zhen. Zhen definitely won’t stop you.”
Having said that, Gan Qi didn’t even spare Qin Yiran a second glance before striding out of the room. Qin Yiran, with a face full of shock, was about to reach out and pull him back but in the end, she really couldn’t lower herself to do so. She could only bite her lip and stare full of disgust and vengeance at Gan Qi’s retreating back.
How could he… How could he treat me like this!! This time, I definitely won’t easily forgive him, even if he comes begging!
Gan Qi stormed out of Joyful Palace, but didn’t hurry to leave. Instead, he stood under the porch and stared with complex emotions at the frail, solitary figure that was still being drenched in the rain.
Whenever his eyes land on the other, Gan Qi is struck by the extremely strong urge to pull the other person into his arms and shelter him from all the storms he could face, but how could he – the king of a country – have such feelings for a servant?
That was impossible!
Gan Qi could only clench his fists tightly over and over again, barely able to suppress this surging impulse. He knew that he shouldn’t continue standing there, but it was as if his eyes were glued to the other, and he couldn’t move.
On one hand, Gan Qi actually frightened himself with how much attention he was paying to Lil’ Shun, but on the other hand, he found that despite how sudden, turbulent, and unreasonable these feelings were, he couldn’t bring himself to hate these emotions.
But, Gan Qi found that he couldn’t understand one thing – Lil’ Shun had been serving him all his life, so why had he suddenly developed such a strong, throbbing yearning for him just now?
But even if he couldn’t fully understand this, he knew that at the very least, these kinds of thoughts weren’t appropriate. However, just as Gan Qi had mustered up the willpower to tear his eyes away from the solitary figure under the rain, he suddenly saw that the frail physique swayed slightly, and then collapse backwards.
At that moment, before Gan Qi could even process his actions, he had already charged into the rain, completely disregarding his own status and identity. Before Su Yu fell down into the mud, Gan Qi caught him securely in his arms.
The moment that he held the other man in his arms, Gan Qi only felt that his heart instantly erupted in a sense of satisfaction, a satisfaction even more intense than the day he ascended the throne. This feeling came crashing like a river, strong and violent, and Gan Qi even felt some pain to his chest.
It would be nice to hold him like this forever, the thought came subconsciously to Gan Qi’s mind. However, as soon as he realized the terrible thought he’d been having, he became even more worried.
He looked down at the closed eyes and slightly quivering, pale face, and his mood turned to irritable panic in an instant. Even with a clear head, Gan Qi still didn’t think twice before picking up Su Yu and carrying him to his own palace, all the while yelling at the servants who had hurried over with an umbrella, “Quick! Call for a doctor!”
By the time Su Yu woke up again, it was a whole day later, and he had also returned to his own small courtyard. Su Yu blinked a few times, until his eyes adjusted, and saw that it was still dark outside.
His eyes swept over the room, and he caught sight of a lower-ranked eunuch crouched at the end of his bed, head down and asleep. Only he lived in this small courtyard, so the man in front of him must have been sent by Gan Qi to look after him.
After figuring out his condition, Su Yu closed his eyes again and summoned the little ball with his mind. Round Ball instantly awoke from hibernation, and it jumped up and down on Su Yu’s head, worriedly saying, “Master Host, you finally woke up! How are you feeling now? Is there any discomfort?”
Luckily, Su Yu had his eyes closed, or else he would have directly swatted the little ball out of the air and onto the ground.
“I’m fine, my hand’s just a little itchy.” Other than having a headache, weakness of the limbs, and feeling soft all over, Su Yu really did feel very good. So why did the prop that Round Ball had redeemed for him have such strong side effects?! [T/N: His hand is itchy to give Round Ball a beating]
Hadn’t they agreed that he would just look extremely frail, and then faint??
So what was this now, why was he lying in a bed, feeling sick enough to actually vomit?
Hear the sound of gnashing teeth, the little ball whizzed away from the Su Yu, trembling, and it hastened to explain, “Master Host, don’t be so angry! I redeemed another F-grade cold pill for you after you fainted, so right now, you’re….”
“And why did you do that?” Su Yu’s voice became even more harsh.
The little ball’s heart was full of fear, “Because after Master Host fainted, the Male Protagonist unexpectedly called a doctor for you. If the doctor had found that you were only unconscious, and had no other issues, then that would have given away everything. So I just, ying ying ying, Master Host, it was for your own good that I bought this prop for you!”
Having said all that, the little ball started sobbing. Knowing how evil its host’s tastes were, he would definitely get bullied very badly! This poor little cabbage would surely die very miserably!
Su Yu’s eyebrow grew even more pinched, but although his face was still a little gloomy, he stopped reprimanding the little ball. After while, he rubbed his temple and stated, “Your explanation is minimally acceptable.”
The little ball was astounded by this sudden benevolence, and it happily cried out, “Master Host, so you don’t blame me?!”
Although it did indeed have a good reason for doing this, it was also true that it hadn’t consulted Su Yu before spending his points and exchanging for the prop, which was a clear violation of the system code of conduct.
Master Host actually didn’t mind that it had taken initiative, what a wonderful host! Round Ball instantly became happy and hopeful for the future, shining and glittering with joy.
Su Yu didn’t pay the foolish little ball any more attention, and instead closed his eyes, slowly trying to adapt to his headache.
The little ball saw that Su Yu did not speak, and so it carefully complimented, “Before, I was wondering why Master Host wanted to run into the rain, but it turns out you were actually planning this whole scheme! Did you know? When you fell, the Male Protagonist’s expression was truly terrifying! Although his IQ is not there, the Male Protagonist still cares about you, Master Host! And I have to admit, your trick this time was very effective!”
Su Yu finally reacted, but only to sneer. “And what if I say, I only chose to go into the rain to calm myself down, in case in a fit of uncontrollable temper, I decided to just kill the Female Protagonist and be done with it?”
“………” How does it continue the conversation now? What can it do, its host doesn’t play by the game rules! Round Ball began to feel a little desperate.
Su Yu didn’t wait for the ball to respond. Bearing through the headache, Su Yu slowly opened his eyes and awakened the other eunuch, asking, “What time is it?”
The lower-ranked eunuch rubbed his drowsy eyes and stood up respectfully, “It’s been about four days since you’ve fainted, and the Emperor had some special instructions to pass along once Han Gong Gong wakes up. His Majesty said that for these coming days, you do not have to go serve him – it’s more important to nourish your body back to health. [T/N: Gong Gong is how you respectfully address a high-ranking eunuch.]
Hearing the address “Han Gong Gong,” Su Yu’s eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. He secretly took a deep breath to calm down and slowly sat up. The lower-ranked eunuch hurried to help, “Han Gong Gong needs to use the washroom? This servant will assist you.”
“No,” Su Yu waved his hand, his voice a little stiff, “Help me up, I’m going to go serve the Emperor.”
The lower-ranked eunuch looked at Su Yu with bewilderment, “The Emperor has commanded that these days, Han Gong Gong doesn’t have to….”
The lower-ranked eunuch’s voice trailed off, because Su Yu had already stood up and was glaring him into silence. The other quickly bowed, and then began assisting Su Yu with his clothing. On the other end, Su Yu’s head was still in pain, and he was also currently being nagged by Round Ball.
“Master Host, I know that the Male Protagonist right now has no IQ and you must keep an eye on him in order to feel reassured, but you can’t neglect yourself! Your body is very weak right now!” The little ball tried to stop Su Yu, who appeared as if he completely didn’t care about himself. “Or how about I redeem a F-grade recovery pill for you? This way, your body can make a full recovery immediately!”
Su Yu ran a hand down his clothes, the corners of his mouth curving into a meaningful small smile, “No need, this condition right now is perfect.”
Translator: Lone Wolf Translations