His highness's Allure - Chap 59

Pei Zheng lightly hooked his fingers, and the man fell onto his back. He lay flat on the ground, staring up at the sky.

The intimidating figure placed his hands on his back and stood aside. People in the street heard the commotion, shuffled around, and made a little ring around the three of them, ready to watch an exciting show.

Pei Zheng and the man locked eyes. He shuddered involuntarily, quickly plastered a smile on his face, and tried to get up. But a foot suddenly stretched out from the side and stepped on his chest.

Cheng Feng’s boot pressed down hard, and the man spat a mouthful of fresh blood. The surrounding onlookers, frightened by this display, retreated several steps.

Cheng Feng was about to stomp down even harder, but a hand pulled at the corner of his robe.

“A-Feng, it’s fine, he didn’t do it on purpose…”

The man on the ground saw that this small man had a gentle disposition and knew how to reason with others. He hurriedly added on, tears in his eyes, “Young master, it was this lowly one1 who didn’t recognize your high status2 and bumped into you, please ask the elder master to be magnanimous, and spare this lowly one’s life!”

Cheng Feng didn’t move. He turned his head to look at Pei Zheng.

Qi Changyi also looked over at him, his gaze filled with pleading.

Pei Zheng didn’t say a word. He merely hooked a finger at Qi Changyi, who then obediently walked to his side.

Pei Zheng took his hand, snorted coldly, and left. Cheng Feng lifted his foot and followed the pair.

One of Qi Changyi’s hands was being held by Pei Zheng; the other was still clutching the torn lantern. The bunny ears on the lantern had snapped, and its thin white paper coat had wrinkled and shifted.

Pei Zheng wanted to take the broken lantern and throw it away, but Qi Changyi hugged it and refused to let go.

“This one is broken. We can buy another one.”

Qi Changyi caressed the drooping bunny ears, “But there wasn’t another one like this.”

Pei Zheng didn’t say anything more.

At this time, the crowd suddenly became even more raucous. A few cries of alarm rang out not too far away, and a few others who were shouting were frightened and backed away.

Pei Zheng grabbed Qi Changyi’s hand, but the two were suddenly squeezed apart by the crowd. Panicked, he immediately turned his head and saw that Qi Changyi had been pushed a few steps away from him. Before long, his little face was swallowed up by the lake of pedestrians.

“Cheng Feng!”

Cheng Feng, who had been following them the entire time, had also been pushed back by the suddenly nervous crowd, so he wasn’t far from Qi Changyi.

He tried his best to squeeze his way toward Qi Changyi. Unexpectedly, two black-clad, masked men at the front of the crowd suddenly rushed out, and made a beeline toward Qi Changyi.

Spiritual energy surged through Cheng Feng’s body. He quickly stepped forward and blocked them. He drew his sword and pointed it at the two figures, and bellowed, “Who are you?! You’ve got guts trying to cause a riot in the city: you might as well just surrender now!”

The two black-clad figures looked at Cheng Feng. They hesitated for a moment and did not reply before they drew their blades as well and charged at him.

Upon seeing the flashes and shadows of swords, the crowd was terrified. They began to flee frantically in all directions. Qi Changyi, who was originally behind Cheng Feng, was also forced farther away by the sea of people.

Pei Zheng shoved through the panicked throng and hurriedly tried to rush to Qi Changyi’s side but was suddenly stopped by a cold sword that slashed at his throat.

Several black-clad masked men surrounded Pei Zheng on all sides, creating a spiked cage of swords around him. Pei Zheng didn’t have any weapons on hand. His gaze immediately froze over.

“Lord Pei, it would be in your best interest not to move. You are not our target; as long as you cooperate, we naturally won’t hurt you.”

Pei Zheng’s eyes scanned the group of assailants surrounding him. They all appeared to be well-organized and skilled in martial arts. Judging by his understanding of… that man, it was crystal clear who had sent them.

“This is the Imperial City. Don’t think that you can escape so easily.”

“Lord Pei needn’t worry about that. We have our ways.”

The black-robed man who just spoke thought that Pei Zheng would no longer be a threat. His gaze flashed, and a few more figures appeared in the distance. In mere moments they had rushed to Qi Changyi’s side, picked him up, and turned to leave.

Pei Zheng took advantage of the short distraction; he reached out and grabbed the sharp blade resting on his neck, before violently pulling it out of the black-clad man’s hands.

His hand had been cut deeply by the sword, and blood was dripping all over the hilt, but he didn’t seem to feel any pain.

Pei Zheng raised the blade; no matter how skilled those men were in martial arts, they were no match for him, and several of them were severely wounded in just a few strikes.

A few drops of blood splattered on Pei Zheng’s face, sliding down the curve of his face and sharp chin.

With his sword in hand, he was about to chase after the black-clad man who had jumped onto the rooftop in the distance but was suddenly blocked by another figure.

Pei Zheng’s eyes narrowed. This obnoxious, righteous3 face belonged to none other than that little eunuch, Li Yu.

Li Yu saw that Pei Zheng’s eyes were a malevolent red; his body shook violently in fright, but he straightened his neck and didn’t move aside.

Pei Zheng slapped him and was about to walk away, but his legs were suddenly hugged tightly in a familiar fashion.

Blood oozed in a thin line from Li Yu’s mouth. After being tortured in the Prime Minister’s Manor, he had been sent back to the palace. Who knew how he had suddenly appeared in the bustling Imperial Capital.

Pei Zheng’s arm was already raised high; as long as he stabbed downward, he would be free to leave.

But the blade in his hand was hesitant; he thought of the small man who had protected this eunuch so many times. If he died, Pei Zheng knew that the little prince would be so sad and heartbroken that he wouldn’t even know what to do with himself.

No, I can’t kill him.

Pei Zheng’s arm slowly returned to his side, and he restrained himself to merely kicking Li Yu aside.

There was no doubt in his mind that Li Yu would be unable to withstand this kick. Unexpectedly, the eunuch’s grip did not loosen in the slightest; it actually tightened.

“Lord… Pei, I beg you… just… let him… let him…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Pei Zheng rammed his foot into Li Yu’s stomach. Although it hadn’t been a killing blow, it was still enough to make Li Yu faint from the pain.

All of Li Yu’s internal organs probably shifted from that kick; his limp hands were easily shaken off by Pei Zheng.

He had only been delayed for a brief moment, but the black-clad man on the rooftop had long since vanished.

The sword in Pei Zheng’s hand fell to the ground. He stared into the distance and didn’t say a word. A gloomy, fierce aura filled the air around him.

Cheng Feng managed to repel the rest of the black-clad assailants and also suffered a minor injury. He knelt on one knee behind Pei Zheng.

“Master, it was this subordinate’s carelessness that allowed His Highness to be kidnapped. Please punish me as you see fit.”

“Your punishment can wait till later.” Pei Zheng turned around and stared at Cheng Feng with cold eyes.

“Tell everyone that there are assassins in the city and that the entire Imperial Capital is now under martial law. I’d like to see who’s got the guts to steal my man.”

That night, the gates to the Imperial City were closed. Only a small door was left open, and those who passed through it were all carefully checked before they were let inside.

The streets were teeming with imperial guards, each dressed in a suit of armor; their torches cast an orange glow over the stone pathways as they searched every corner and house.

Those who didn’t know the reason for this could only speculate wildly; they really had no clue what kind of calamity had befallen them.

“Hey, I heard that His Majesty was assassinated in the palace, and the assassin escaped; the whole city’s after him!”

“That can’t be it, I heard that the Prime Minister, Lord Pei, was the one the assassin was after. It seems that he stole one of Lord Pei’s precious treasures; only then did His Majesty allow him to mobilize the entire city’s imperial troops.”

“This Pei Zheng is always fucking up the Imperial Court. We already know that he looks down on us, but he’s really crossing a line, disrupting our daily lives over some object! When is His Majesty going to expel him?”

“Bah! Don’t speak so brazenly. If he hears you, you’re sure to lose your head!”

At this time, a squad of neatly arranged imperial guards happened to march by, and the people chattering away immediately fell silent and made themselves look obedient.

At the end of the group was Pei Zheng, riding on a tall horse.

The commoners didn’t recognize him, but he had heard every word.

Cheng Feng glanced at Pei Zheng’s expression and asked carefully, “Master, do you want me to…”

He slid a finger over his neck. Pei Zheng contemplated it for a while, before he shook his head, “Forget it.”

In the past, if someone gossiped about him, Pei Zheng wouldn’t let them off lightly. But now, he was shocked at his own self-restraint and magnanimity.

It was only because he had something far more important on his mind at the moment.

The Imperial Capital was huge. They had searched most of the city, but there was still no sign of the prince.

Pei Zheng’s face was calm and collected, but inside, his heart was empty and restless.

When was the last time he had felt this way? Like his heart had been hollowed out from the inside, and anything that was left had rotted, corrupted, and become completely lifeless.

At this moment, several lead guards ran over, ready to report the progress of their tasks.

“Reporting to my Lord, we were unable to find him.”

“My Lord, we didn’t find him over here either.”

“My lord, this small one didn’t see him over there either.”

Pei Zheng was furious. He lashed his whip, and it wrapped around the nearest lead guard. He dragged him over, looked down at him, and spoke in a frigid voice.

“Useless things! Keep on searching, search until you find him! Otherwise, I’ll punish you all one by one! Now fuck off!”

The lead guards all affirmed the order, and hurriedly ran off once more.

One last person arrived a little after. He shouted loudly, “My Lord! Something’s going on here! Near the southern end of the city, there are traces of those black-clad men!”

At those words, Pei Zheng pulled the reins tight; he whipped the horse hard as he sped toward the southern part of the city.

The mighty battalion of imperial troops also followed suit; they were but a dense mass of torches in the distance.

***

Qi Changyi didn’t know what he had bumped into; he had fainted as he was being hoisted onto someone’s back. He vaguely remembered seeing Pei Zheng holding a sword, his hands covered in blood.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an abandoned temple in the wilderness; it was run down to the extreme. There was only a pile of rubbish and a few old straw mats on the floor.

Qi Changyi caressed the destroyed rabbit-lotus lantern beside him. Not only were the rabbit ears completely broken off, but the red lotus on top was smashed, and the flame inside had long since been extinguished.

His nose turned warm, and warm tears dripped from the corners of the little prince’s eyes. He hugged the lantern in his arms, wetting it with tears.

He really was useless. He couldn’t protect anything, not even this ruined lantern in his hands.

A few black-clothed figures suddenly appeared beside him, and slowly gathered into a group.

Qi Changyi was terrified. His body shook, and he shrank backward, “You guys… who are you… why… why are you kidnapping me…”

Several of the black-clad men took off their masks. They didn’t look like shifty-eyed criminals. Instead, they all had an air of righteousness and vitality.

“We’re not kidnapping you. We’re saving you.”

Notes:

Sorry, this is another overdramatized title; the real thing was more like ‘who dares to steal someone from my hands’ but that ain’t right to me

I just…I just laughed when they appeared, it was so funny, this poor boy can’t ever catch a break ;-;

Thanks for reading~~

1. 小的 (xiăo de): When you’re talking to someone of higher status, you refer to yourself as ‘lowly one’

2. 不识泰山 (bù shí tài shān): I made this note before, but this idiom basically means not knowing when you’ve met someone of great importance

3. 大义凛然 (dà yì lǐn rán): Awe-inspiring and righteous, standing strong in the face of adversity in the pursuit of justice