Chapter 36 – I want to bite the dog man back!
Zhao Qi tensed all over when Rong Tang embraced him like this, feeling waves of heat rising to his head.
This wasn’t their first intimate contact. Zhao Qi had been forcibly restrained by Rong Tang several times before, almost having his dragon egg squeezed to bursting. But until last night, no matter how close they were, he had never felt like this before. Normally, they were both men, and he was used to touching and joking around with his buddies, nothing serious.
However, everything had changed because of last night. He was no longer the carefree, happy straight guy he used to be; now, he was someone who had experienced both pain and pleasure with another man… a poor soul indeed. Just the thought that Rong Tang might be the one who had given him such conflicting feelings made him unable to meet those godly handsome looks head-on.
In his heart, Zhao Qi lamented: Ah, could it be that he no longer deserved the title of “straight guy”?
Before Zhao Qi could respond, Rong Tang tightened his grip a bit. “Zhao Qi?”
Zhao Qi struggled to maintain composure. “I’m afraid not.”
Rong Tang raised an eyebrow. “?”
“I am a sovereign of a nation. I meet many ministers every day. How could I possibly focus on just one person like you?” Zhao Qi said, “Unless we were stranded on a deserted island with no one else.”
Rong Tang smiled faintly. “That sounds nice.”
Zhao Qi couldn’t understand what was good about it. He couldn’t bear this ambiguous, uncertain atmosphere. Summoning courage, he turned around to meet Rong Tang’s calm gaze. “Rong Tang.”
“Hmm?”
Carefully choosing his words, Zhao Qi asked, “Last night, I drank too much. I don’t remember much. I didn’t do anything to you, did I?”
Rong Tang paused. “…”
Perhaps it was Zhao Qi’s imagination, but he felt that Rong Tang seemed a bit… shy?
Rong Tang cleared his throat lightly. “You called my name, and then I…” His gaze fell on Zhao Qi’s lips. “I didn’t expect you to bite so hard. I’m sorry.”
Instinctively, Zhao Qi covered his mouth. Indeed, he was right; his lips were bitten by Rong Tang. This was disastrous; his ideal image of Rong Tang as a celestial being was crumbling—how could a celestial man bite someone!
Rong Tang seemed amused by Zhao Qi’s reaction, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “It’s my lack of experience. It won’t happen again.”
Weakly leaning on the table, Zhao Qi sighed, “Yes, there won’t be a next time.” He would never repeat the mistake of last night. “After biting me, did you… do anything else to me?”
Rong Tang frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
The words “did you top me” stuck in Zhao Qi’s throat. His face flushed; he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Zhao Qi gave up and changed the subject. “Someone saw you meeting with the Prince Huai in the Imperial Garden.”
Rong Tang’s expression changed slightly.
“What did you both talk about?” Without waiting for Rong Tang’s answer, Zhao Qi continued, “Actually, I already know. Prince Huai has always wanted to rescue you from the palace. Yesterday, he probably brought it up again.”
Rong Tang did not deny it. “The palace banquet was crowded and noisy. He asked me to disguise myself as his attendant and seize the opportunity to leave the palace.”
“You didn’t agree because you knew I would let you leave the palace?” Zhao Qi asked.
“That’s one reason.”
“Are there other reasons?”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
Rong Tang looked at him. “You.”
Zhao Qi paused. “Oh…”
The two stared at each other for a long time. Zhao Qi tried to decipher something from the myriad emotions in Rong Tang’s eyes, but with his emotional intelligence, all he could see was Rong Tang staring at him like he was a fool, his expression bewildered and helpless.
”Your Majesty, let’s return to Yonghua Palace,” Rong Tang suggested, “that is where Your Majesty’s chambers are.”
”Hmm…” Zhao Qi almost agreed, “Let’s discuss it tomorrow. I’ll inform the Prime Minister tonight.”
Rong Tang’s tone was indifferent, “Your Majesty needs the Chancellor’s permission to decide where to sleep?”
”Exactly,” Zhao Qi complained, “You have no idea how tightly he controls me.”
After a moment of silence, Rong Tang compromised, “Alright. You can stay at Haiyan Hall tonight, but in the future, return to Yonghua Palace—I’ll wait for you.”
Zhao Qi thought Rong Tang believed both Haiyan Hall and Yonghua Palace were part of his harem. Tonight he would favor one person, and tomorrow he would need to favor another to maintain harmony in the harem.
After Rong Tang left, Zhao Qi turned over the paper with writing on it and, after careful consideration, circled the character ‘Rong’ of his name.
Before bed, Jiang Dehai helped Zhao Qi change clothes and noticed bite marks on his shoulder. “Your Majesty, does it hurt here?”
Zhao Qi shrugged. It did hurt a bit, but his whole body ached almost to numbness. The pain on his shoulder was nothing compared to somewhere else. “It’s alright.”
Jiang Dehai said worriedly, “These marks are deep. I saw blood.”
”Really?” Zhao Qi turned to look and couldn’t help but curse, “Damn, is that person even human?”
Jiang Dehai anxiously said, “Your Majesty, if these marks scar, what should we do?”
Gritting his teeth, Zhao Qi vowed, “Then I’ll bite back until he can’t function!”
Jiang Dehai sighed helplessly, “Let me apply some medicine for Your Majesty. There’s still plenty left of the ‘Jade Dew Snow Lotus Paste’ that Master Zhao Si brought last year.”
Zhao Qi snorted, “Zhao Qiao sells fake medicine. I dare not use his.”
Despite his words, Zhao Qi still let Jiang Dehai apply the medicine. He didn’t want any reminders of his life’s stains on his body.
As Jiang Dehai applied the medicine, he commented, “These bite marks have two circles. Did that person feel one bite wasn’t enough and had to add another?”
The cool ointment was comforting on his skin. Zhao Qi half-closed his eyes and muttered angrily, “Damn scoundrel.”
Jiang Dehai asked, “Your Majesty, I saw you circled the character ‘Rong’. Does this mean the ‘scoundrel’ is Young Master Rong?”
Zhao Qi shook his head, “I’m not completely sure yet. But…” He licked the corner of his split lip, wondering if Rong Tang had taken his first kiss.
Because of the ointment on his shoulder, Zhao Qi could only sleep on his stomach. The feeling of pressure on his chest was uncomfortable, making it feel like he couldn’t breathe even in his dreams.
Suffocating, hot, he tossed and turned in bed, his cheeks flushed, sweat pouring down like rain, his long hair sticking to his face, blocking his view.
A pair of cool hands touched his forehead. It was like a lost wanderer in the desert seeing an oasis, eagerly leaning towards the person and murmuring vaguely, “Help me take it off… so hot…”
Without hesitation, those hands skillfully removed his last piece of clothing. Yet he was still not satisfied, still hot. He knew only the man beside him could help.
The man’s fingers brushed his cheek, coming slowly to his slightly open mouth. His tone was cold, “If no one else touched you, how did this happen?”
He didn’t understand what the man was saying, instinctively taking those slender fingers into his mouth, kissing them to please.
The man’s breathing grew heavier, suddenly flipping him over from behind, covering him, gripping his shoulders, sternly asking, “And this? How did this happen?”
Zhao Qi shook his head, “I don’t know, I don’t know…”
”If I hadn’t arrived in time, you…” The man didn’t finish his sentence, instead stripping himself, turning Zhao Qi’s face towards him, and biting his mouth roughly, covering the previous marks.
Wide-eyed, Zhao Qi stared blankly. Besides the fluttering gauze, he couldn’t see anything. The voice in his ears made his heart race even more, even the man was amazed at his response. “You like this so much, hmm?” He whispered by Zhao Qi’s ear, lightly laughing, “It’s so wet here.”
…
Startled awake from his dream, Zhao Qi gasped for breath, realizing he was drenched in sweat. A voice sounded beside him, “Awake?”
Seeing the person sitting by the bed, Zhao Qi was momentarily stunned, unable to distinguish between dream and reality for a while before saying, “Brother?”
In the faint light, Xiao Shiqing’s face seemed clouded, “Hmm. Just got back, came to see you. Your face, very flushed.”
Zhao Qi used the back of his hand to feel the warmth on his cheeks, “A little.”
Xiao Shiqing frowned, “Are you feverish?”
Zhao Qi wiped his sweat, “I don’t think so. I just had a, uh, nightmare.”
”A nightmare?” Xiao Shiqing chuckled, “A nightmare that looks so amorous. Your Majesty truly is talented.”
Zhao Qi forced a dry laugh, “N-nothing like that. What time is it now?”
Xiao Shiqing poured a cup of tea and handed it to him, “Just past midnight.”
Taking a sip of the cool tea, Zhao Qi felt much better, “It’s so late already. Has Brother been busy?”
Xiao Shiqing replied, “Chen Li has identified the poison that afflicted the Western Xia Crown Prince.”
Zhao Qi hurriedly asked, “What poison?”
”Feng Return Powder.”
Zhao Qi was taken aback. He knew this poison; it was a secret drug of the Grand Jing Palace, typically used to execute imperial concubines, hence its name “Feng Return”.
”So, you’re saying the one who poisoned the Western Xia Crown Prince is someone from within the palace?”
Xiao Shiqing nodded slightly, “That’s a possibility. But if you were the culprit, would you use such a blatantly identifying poison?”
Understanding dawned on Zhao Qi, excitement rising, “This is a setup, an attempt to sow discord between us and Western Xia!”
Xiao Shiqing ruffled his hair, “You’ve thought this through. You’ve learned a lot recently.”
Zhao Qi smiled awkwardly, “Brother, should we inform Western Xia about this?”
”Yes.”
Zhao Qi was surprised for a moment, then quickly realized, “Anyway, if we don’t say it, the one who poisoned will find a way to let Western Xia know. It’s better if we tell them ourselves.”
”Mm.”
Zhao Qi looked worried, “But the people from Western Xia won’t think this through. Once they learn about Feng Return Powder, they’ll surely escalate the situation.”
Xiao Shiqing casually replied, “Let them make a fuss. You don’t need to worry about it. Taking care of your health is more important.”
Zhao Qi suddenly recalled the scenes from his dream earlier, cautiously probing, “Brother, why do I need to take care of my health? I’m not sick.”
Xiao Shiqing glanced down at him, “Didn’t you say your waist hurts?”
”Oh, right.” Zhao Qi felt embarrassed, “It’s my waist, haha, getting old, you know.”
He must have been overthinking. There’s no way Xiao Shiqing, the dignified Prime Minister, could be that scoundrel who would say embarrassing things like “flooding”…
After studying him for a moment, Xiao Shiqing suddenly said, “I haven’t given you your birthday gift yet.”
”Oh,” Zhao Qi grinned, “I thought you forgot.”
”I didn’t.” Xiao Shiqing handed him an exquisite sandalwood box, “Open it and see.”
T/N: There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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