His highness's Allure - Chap 108
“What are you trying to do?!!”
Although Shen Huan’s sudden yell didn’t scare Pei Zheng. it startled Shen Shijiu.
“Shifu… why are you being so loud…”
Shen Huan brushed Pei Zheng’s hand away, before she pulled Shen Shijiu to her side, much like a cow protecting its calf.
“I’m not lending him to you! I already let you borrow him for a night, who knows if you… did something to him… last night!”
Shen Huan paused. She couldn’t find the right words, but she guessed that Pei Zheng wouldn’t have been able to do anything given his condition last night.
But today, it was different. At least for now, Pei Zheng looked as though he hadn’t been injured at all, although his face was still pale.
Shen Shijiu tugged Shen Huan’s sleeve, and whispered into her ear, “Shifu, we didn’t do anything last night, we just slept.”
Shen Huan’s eyes suddenly widened, and she raised her voice, “What did you say?! You slept together?”
Shen Shijiu nodded, “Yes, I was lying on His Lordship’s bed.”
“On his bed?!” Shen Huan was so angry that her beard had flown up, “Are you telling me that you slept in the same bed?”
Shen Shijiu knew that what he had done was wrong, so he lowered his head and didn’t make a sound.
Pei Zheng couldn’t bear to see him so aggrieved and pitiful, so he spoke up, “I told him to, he was just following orders.”
Shen Huan looked at Pei Zheng, and her thoughts bounced back and forth; things weren’t as simple as they seemed.
“Disciple, wait here.” Shen Huan turned and walked into the pharmaceutical room, “Lord Pei, please come with me.”
Pei Zheng didn’t hesitate and followed Shen Huan inside, before Shen Huan closed the door of the pharmaceutical room.
Shen Shijiu and Cheng Feng were both left standing outside the door, and glanced at one another.
“Lord Pei,” After Shen Huan closed the door, she asked bluntly, “I’d like to ask, where were you earlier?”
“Master Shen, you still refuse to reveal your true face?”
Shen Huan froze at his question. She coughed twice, “Lord Pei, what are you talking about? This old man doesn’t understand.”
Pei Zheng smiled, “Whether you understand me or not, only you know the answer to that, Master Shen.”
Shen Huan was flustered by his penetrating, seemingly omniscient smile, and unconsciously touched the mask on her chin; it fit well against her face, and nothing was exposed.
Shen Huan simply dropped the act1, and spoke in her natural voice, “That’s right. So what if I understand you? It’s never bad to be a bit more careful when you go out, so you can avoid running into those who harbor evil intentions…”
As she spoke, she gave Pei Zheng a sidelong glance, and saw that he was looking at her as well; the corners of his lips were slightly hooked.
This wasn’t right, didn’t the rumors say that Prime Minister Pei was ruthless by nature, and used the cruelest methods? She had obviously been referring to him as she spoke, yet he was smiling?
“So I guessed correctly,” Pei Zheng said, “Isn’t that right, Master… Ghost Doctor?”
For so many years, Shen Huan hadn’t shown her true face to anyone except her little disciple, but she trusted Pei Zheng; Pei Zheng wasn’t one of those unreasonable types.
Shen Huan could tell that Pei Zheng and her little disciple were connected by a mysterious past.
She suddenly had an idea; could the matter of her little disciple falling off the cliff be linked to Pei Zheng?
Shen Huan’s eyes scanned Pei Zheng with suspicion. No, she would have to investigate the matter on her own, in secret.
“Lord Pei, I’ve told you the truth, and you already had a clue about my identity, so let’s get down to business.” Shen Huan said, “Where did you go earlier? Why weren’t you in your chambers in the early hours of the morning?”
Pei Zheng’s gaze darkened, “I went to punish a criminal.”
Shen Huan suddenly recalled that she had once asked Li Yu about the new prisoner who had been taken to the secret dungeon. Li Yu then told her about the matter of Zhou Wu siding with the Second Princess in order to frame Shen Shijiu.
At that moment, Shen Huan was so angry that her gums were itching; she had been ready to charge into the secret dungeon and give that Zhou Wu a dose of Duan Hun San2.
But it was all right now; it seemed that Pei Zheng had already taken care of this matter. She could also see the blood splattered on his outer robe; that boy probably suffered a terrible beating.
Others might not be able to detect it, but Shen Huan had always been very sensitive to blood, so even though Pei Zheng was wearing black clothing, she could still spot the messy strokes of dried blood.
“One more thing. I know that I shouldn’t even be asking this, but this pertains to my little disciple, so I hope that my Lord will answer truthfully.”
Shen Huan said with a stern expression.
Pei Zheng nodded lightly, “Feel free to ask.”
“I’ve heard that My Lord and the Second Princess have been engaged for three years, and that you two had almost finished the wedding ceremony. For now, we don’t need to talk about why this matter was dragged out for so long. But my Lord, why did you choose to break off the engagement now?”
Shen Huan stared straight into Pei Zheng’s eyes; her gaze was unavoidable, “Also, why did the royal family agree to it? Even though you were punished, that doesn’t mean they would allow you to completely break it off, right?”
Shen Huan smiled, “Please answer honestly, my Lord.”
At this moment, outside of the pharmaceutical room, Shen Shijiu was also questioning Cheng Feng.
“Guard Feng, how was His Lordship injured? Did His Majesty punish him? Why would His Majesty punish His Lordship? Did His Lordship make a mistake?”
Cheng Feng was very patient with Shen Shijiu, and his expression also softened a bit.
“Young Master Shen, His Majesty did indeed order His Lordship to be punished. Because no matter what, this matter will be made public, and His Lordship will be framed as the one at fault. His Lordship promised Her Highness the Empress that he would not pursue the matter of the princess’s adultery, so naturally, the Empress would agree to end the engagement, and the Second Princess would be taken back to live in the palace.
Whether Qi Bingzhi liked it or not, she would never have another excuse to return to the Prime Minister’s Manor in the future. At this point, she had probably understood; she would never have a place in Pei Zheng’s eyes. Even if Qi Changyi was gone, there was now a Shen Shijiu.
Cheng Feng conversed with Shen Shijiu for a little longer, and mentioned that he and Pei Zheng had gone to the secret dungeon earlier to punish Zhou Wu.
“Then, how is he doing right now?”
Cheng Feng’s expression was bland, “He’s probably already dead. He bled so much; if he’s not dead yet, he won’t live past tonight.”
“Ah… so that’s how it is…”
Deep down, Shen Shijiu still had a child-like personality; he was terribly pure and kind-hearted. When he thought of when Zhou Wu had just become an apprentice of the Imperial Hospital, and how many times Zhou Wu had helped him, he couldn’t bear it.
“Guard Feng…”
Shen Shijiu hadn’t finished speaking before Cheng Feng interrupted him.
“No.”
“But I didn’t even say what I wanted to say…”
“Then say it.” Cheng Feng said.
“Guard Feng,” Shen Shijiu continued, “Can you spare his life?”
“Are you done?”
Shen Shijiu nodded.
“No.”
Cheng Feng still spoke the coldest of words with an expressionless face.
Shen Shijiu’s little face visibly dimmed, and he looked a bit hurt.
The door of the pharmaceutical room finally opened.
Shen Huan came out first, wearing a beaming smile, followed by the handsome, elegant Pei Zheng.
“My good disciple, let’s go, we’re going to eat some good food!”
Shen Huan hung an arm around Shen Shijiu’s neck and pulled him toward the gate.
Shen Shijiu glanced back at Pei Zheng in confusion, before Shen Huan grabbed his chin and twisted it back around.
“What are you looking at?! Look at your master!”
Shen Shijiu pouted. What was so good-looking about the ugly mask that his shifu was wearing? It didn’t even have a tenth of His Lordship’s beauty.
“Shifu, where are we going?”
“Yi Pin Xiang!”
Shen Huan had already dragged Shen Shijiu to the gate of the manor, and was about to step out of it.
At this moment, Li Yu leaped in from out of nowhere.
“Wait! Where are you two going?! You are not permitted to leave!”
Li Yu ran over and blocked their path.
Shen Huan smiled and pointed behind her, “Your lord allowed it. You still dare to stop us?”
Pei Zheng also walked over. He was still weak, so he couldn’t walk too fast, otherwise, his wounds would cause him terrible pain.
Li Yu looked at Pei Zheng in disbelief, but Pei Zheng nodded.
“Move aside.”
Although Li Yu was unwilling, he obediently shifted to the side.
Shen Huan led Shen Shijiu out of the Prime Minister’s Manor, walking with an arrogant swagger. Due to how unrestrained and improper her posture was, many nearby pedestrians looked over at her. Those belonging to the Prime Minister’s Manor always spoke and acted with caution. They would leave as quickly as they arrived. So no one had ever seen someone like Shen Huan walk out of the manor’s gate.
Although Shen Huan said that she didn’t care about the Prime Minister’s Manor, she rather liked the feeling of being revered and admired by a crowd of people.
Pei Zheng walked behind the two of them, his eyes fixed on that slender, petite figure, following his every movement.
And there were also several people behind Pei Zheng. Cheng Feng and Li Yu were on either side of him, and behind them were eight of the manor’s guards.
The group walked through the street. Even if the commoners around them didn’t know who these people were, judging by their attire, and the mighty fleet of guards behind them, they knew they weren’t ordinary people, and collectively carved out a pathway for the group.
After being pinned under people’s eyes for so long, Shen Huan’s entire body felt stifled; it was like she was like a new piece of merchandise that had been put on display.
She halted in her footsteps, and so did Shen Shijiu. Then Pei Zheng stopped; Cheng Feng lifted a finger, and all the guards behind them stopped as well.
Shen Huan turned and glanced back, before she said to Pei Zheng, “My God, Lord Pei, can’t you be a bit more low-key? Could you have those guards spread out? Or have them follow a little farther behind? Having this battalion with you is like telling everybody ‘I’m rich, please rob me’.”
“All right.”
Pei Zheng glanced over. Cheng Feng had the guards behind him spread out and follow from a distance.
Shen Huan tutted. It was as though everyone was listening to her orders. Having the power to command others felt absolutely wonderful.
She sighed as she patted her dazed little disciple, who was walking beside her. The saying ‘fortune favors fools’3 really was true.
It was getting late; it was almost dinnertime.
Shen Huan asked Shen Shijiu, “My good disciple, are you hungry?”
“Shifu, I’m not really that hungry right now.”
Shen Huan continued to press him, “Hm? You’re not hungry, Di-sci-ple?”
She blinked her eyes at Shen Shijiu.
Shen Shijiu finally understood, “Shifu, I’m hungry.”
Shen Huan nodded in satisfaction, “What a coincidence, your master is hungry too. Then let’s go get some dinner.”
Right at this moment, the group arrived at the door of Yi Pin Xiang. Enticing fragrances wafted endlessly from inside.
Shen Huan took a big step, and was the first to walk inside.
The last time she had taken Shen Shijiu to this place, she was too cheap to order anything too expensive. Now that they had a gold mine with them, they could buy the entire restaurant without blinking an eye. Shen Huan definitely wasn’t going to save him any money.
Besides, that man was eagerly coveting her little disciple. His goal was just too obvious; everyone would understand it at a glance. Everyone except that little fool.
Notes
Family gatheringgg
All we need now is Jiang Yubai, speaking of him, where is he?! The author told us that there would be more Chengbai, and I’m still waiting T-T
Thanks for reading~
1.破罐子破摔了 (pò guàn zi pò shuāi): ‘throwing/shattering an already broken jar’, to ignore one’s mistake, or allow it to worsen.
2.鸡鸣五鼓断魂散 (jī míng wǔ gǔ duàn hún sàn): It’s a type of medication, for… sweating (?) But the real effect of it is that it makes people sleep; the first part of the name 鸡鸣五鼓 means ‘a rooster’s call and five drums’, which is what it would take to make someone wake up from this drug. 断魂散 means ‘to break the soul and scatter it’.
3.傻人有傻福 (shǎ rén yǒu shǎ fú): ‘fortune favors fools’. It refers to people who are naive, sincere, and treat others with kindness, so others will be more willing to truth and help them in return.
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