After Being Reborn as the Chief Eunuch Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Extra 8

In truth, there had been no real need for Second Young Master Qin to ask Qi Jingchuan to keep that matter confidential for him.

For one thing, throughout the entire military camp on the outskirts of the capital—and likely even across the whole capital—hardly anyone cared about whether he and Qi Jingchuan had sparred, much less would anyone be so bored as to gossip about who won or who lost. For another, Qi Jingchuan was not someone who talked excessively, nor would he ever spread such a matter around.

Unfortunately, Second Young Master Qin was young and inexperienced, his mind filled entirely with that small scrap of pride of his. He never thought any deeper, and that was precisely how Qi Jingchuan managed to turn the tables on him.

Second Young Master Qin always kept his word. Having dug a hole himself, he had no choice but to jump right into it. Qi Jingchuan had no reason to refuse either, and could only accept gladly and cooperate to the best of his ability. As a result, from that day onward, Qi Jingchuan no longer felt any particular attachment to the scenery outside the capital and was promptly dragged back to the capital city by Second Young Master Qin.

“Eating, drinking, having fun—just say the word. What do you like?” Second Young Master Qin said as he stood at the entrance of the post station, waving his hand grandly and patting the heavy money pouch at his waist.

When it came to “eating, drinking, and entertainment,” Qi Jingchuan displayed a thorough ignorance, leaving all room for initiative to Qin Zheng.

Thus, Qin Zheng became exceedingly generous, planning to take Qi Jingchuan and thoroughly enjoy the capital from top to bottom.

Although his original intention was to repay Qi Jingchuan for keeping his secret, once they truly arrived in the capital, he treated Qi Jingchuan like a friend who had traveled from afar, earnestly fulfilling his role as host.

“I’ll take you to eat at all the best restaurants in the capital first,” Qin Zheng said to Qi Jingchuan. “But the two of us only have two stomachs, so if we want to eat everything, it’ll probably take a few days. Today, we’ll just go to the very best one.”

Qi Jingchuan looked at Second Young Master Qin and said, “There’s no need to go to such expense.”

“How can this be called going to expense?” Qin Zheng replied with a frown. “You came all the way from Liang Kingdom to our Great Yu. I have to make sure you properly taste our delicacies from mountains and seas, so that when you go back to Liang Kingdom, you won’t only remember that grilled fish whenever you think of your time in Great Yu.”

Hearing this, Qi Jingchuan seemed to think of something and laughed softly. “That really is hard to forget.”

As he said this, his gaze fell on Qin Zheng’s face. The youth’s features were sharp and well-defined, his expression brimming with undisguised enthusiasm. His jet-black eyes were like a clear pool, utterly free of any murkiness. Qi Jingchuan liked Qin Zheng’s eyes very much; he always felt that the boy’s temperament mirrored them—clean, pure, and filled with the sincere earnestness unique to youth.

“Hey, what good food does Liang Kingdom have?” Qin Zheng asked.

“A lot. Next time you go, I’ll take you around to try them,” Qi Jingchuan said.

Qin Zheng’s eyes immediately lit up. “Is Liang Kingdom far?”

Having spent a long time in the army, Qin Zheng naturally knew where Liang Kingdome was and how long the journey from the capital would take. It was just that he had never traveled far before, so he couldn’t quite visualize that distance clearly.

“If you want to go, then it wouldn’t be considered very far,” Qi Jingchuan said.

Qin Zheng looked at Qi Jingchuan and felt that there was a hint of emotion in the other man’s eyes that he couldn’t quite understand. Before he could look more closely, Qi Jingchuan had already shifted his gaze away.

After finishing their meal, Qin Zheng took Qi Jingchuan strolling through the street-side shops. The two were full of food and drink.

Qi Jingchuan usually dressed very simply. He didn’t even wear a jade ornament on him, which, in the eyes of Second Young Master Qin—who was accustomed to dressing himself up rather extravagantly—was something truly unbelievable.

How could a prince of a nation be so low-key?

And so, Qin Zheng decided to get Qi Jingchuan a few things…

“Do you like jade belts?” Qin Zheng asked as he led him into a jade shop. He casually picked up a jade belt that looked extremely “valuable” and held it up to Qi Jingchuan’s waist to measure it.

The shop owner immediately recognized a big customer and hurried over with a smile. “Young master, you have a fine eye. This jade belt is the treasure of our shop. Ordinary young masters without the right background or taste wouldn’t have the fortune to encounter it.”

“How much?” Qin Zheng asked casually.

Just as the shop owner was about to answer, Qi Jingchuan raised his hand and said, “I’m not used to wearing jade belts. Let’s forget it.”

When Qi Jingchuan was at court, he did wear a jade belt, but in daily life he disliked such cumbersome accessories. Moreover, Qin Zheng’s manner right now made him look far too much like a ‘fat lamb waiting to be slaughtered.’ Qi Jingchuan couldn’t bear to let him spend too much money on things like this.

“Don’t like jade belts? Then let’s switch to something else…” Qin Zheng put the belt down, walked over to the side, picked up a jade pendant, and asked, “How about jade pendants? If you like them, I’ll get you a few. I see several here with pretty decent patterns.”

As he spoke, Qin Zheng began selecting them. The shop owner, seeing his tone and bearing, immediately knew this was no stingy customer and naturally had no intention of letting such a ‘fat piece of meat’ slip away. Moreover, after noticing the look Qi Jingchuan gave Qin Zheng, he seemed to grasp something as well and quickly stepped forward, saying, “Young master, you have excellent taste. The two jade pendants in your hand are the finest in this shop. Fine jade should be gifted to a kindred spirit—these pendants truly suit this young master’s temperament perfectly.”

“Right? I think so too,” Qin Zheng said, and after speaking, he held the jade pendant in his hand up to Qi Jingchuan’s waist to compare.

Qi Jingchuan’s build was tall and robust, even a little taller than Qin Zheng. Coupled with his handsome features and refined, uncommon bearing, it was impossible to conceal his natural nobility no matter how one looked at him. The jade pendant Qin Zheng had chosen appeared somewhat ostentatious and did not quite match Qi Jingchuan’s temperament, yet when it was actually placed at his waist, it did not seem out of place at all.

This was probably what people often meant when they said that with good bearing, even wearing a sack would look good.

Qi Jingchuan looked at Qin Zheng and wondered inwardly whether this youth was truly foolish or only pretending to be. A jade belt or a jade pendant—were such things something that could be given away so casually? Even the jade shop owner had already spun an entire imagined drama based on Qin Zheng’s actions, yet Qin Zheng himself looked completely at ease, utterly unaware that there might be anything inappropriate about what he was doing.

“Let’s take these two. What do you think?” Qin Zheng asked, holding the two jade pendants up toward him.

Qi Jingchuan looked at him and lowered his voice. “Are you sure you want to give me jade pendants?”

“Of course I am. Do you want them or not?” Qin Zheng asked again.

Qi Jingchuan had originally intended to refuse, because this sort of gesture was far too easy to misinterpret. Yet after hesitating for a moment, his gaze fell on the boy’s face, filled with open expectation, and for reasons he could not explain, he ended up nodding. Seeing him nod, Qin Zheng simply assumed that he approved of his taste and was immediately delighted.

“Boss, wrap these two up for me,” Qin Zheng said.

Qi Jingchuan hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself, and could only watch as Qin Zheng paid the silver and then pressed the wooden box containing the jade pendants into his hands.

“Please take care, young masters. May the two of you have a long—” The jade shop owner began a blessing, but halfway through, Qi Jingchuan turned and cast him a glance. The look carried a trace of sharpness that was hard to detect, yet it struck the owner like a sudden insight. He hurriedly changed his words and said, “May the friendship between the two young masters last forever!”

After the two left the jade shop, Qin Zheng was about to drag Qi Jingchuan into the gold shop next door.

Qi Jingchuan had now fully witnessed just how “generous” Second Young Master Qin could be and was having a hard time coping with it, so he said that he was tired and wanted to rest for a while.

Thus, Qin Zheng took him to a teahouse.

The capital was full of scholars and refined gentlemen, so the teahouse did very good business, and the main hall on the first floor was crowded.

Qin Zheng considered that Qi Jingchuan was, after all, a prince, and worried that the crowd might jostle him, so he requested a private, elegant seat on the second floor.

An elegant seat had its advantages—quiet and sparsely populated—but for Qi Jingchuan, whose mind was elsewhere, this atmosphere instead felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Second Young Master Qin, do you know what it represents to give someone a jade pendant?” Qi Jingchuan asked.

“Of course I do. I’ve read it in books…” Qin Zheng said solemnly. “‘You give me a peach of wood, I return you fine jade. This is not repayment, but a wish to remain on good terms forever’!” He then added, “Surely Your Highness hasn’t never read this? Are the books you read in Liang Kingdom different from ours?”

Qi Jingchuan looked at Qin Zheng, the depth of his gaze darkening, yet he did not respond for a long while.

Qin Zheng had never been to Liang Kingdom and did not know whether people there studied the same texts as he did. Seeing Qi Jingchuan look at him like this, he assumed the other truly had not read it, and kindly explained, “What people call returning a peach with a plum—in our Great Yu, giving someone a jade pendant also carries the meaning of courting love. But the two of us are grown men, so of course we don’t fuss over that. Didn’t I give you two pieces? In the future, if you have a girl you like, you can borrow flowers to present to the Buddha and give the other one to her.”

Hearing this, a fleeting, almost imperceptible emotion passed across Qi Jingchuan’s face, and then he said, “Do you know what people in Liang Kingdom give as a token of affection?”

“What is it?” Qin Zheng asked.

Qi Jingchuan said, “Young men in Liang Kingdom all go hunting. We keep the fang from the first wolf we ever kill and give it to the one we love as a token, promising to protect them for the rest of our lives.”

“A wolf fang?” Qin Zheng asked with clear curiosity. “Then where is yours?”

Qi Jingchuan glanced at him and said, “Next time I’ll bring it and let you see it.”

Qin Zheng laughed and said, “Then you’d better hurry. If in these next few years you find someone you love and give that wolf fang away, wouldn’t I never get to see it?”

“If you want to see it, I’ll keep it for you,” Qi Jingchuan said.

“There’s no need to go that far, hahaha,” Qin Zheng said, taking it as a casual joke. “Your Highness’s lifelong happiness is far more important.”

Qi Jingchuan’s gaze rested on Qin Zheng’s face as he spoke seemingly without intention, “Next time, I will definitely bring it for you.”

“Haha, then you might as well just give me your wolf fang. Later, I’ll buy you a few more jade pendants, and you can take them back and give them to the girl you like,” Qin Zheng said half-jokingly.

Qi Jingchuan looked at him, smiled faintly, and did not refute him.

Over the next several days, Qin Zheng took Qi Jingchuan around to eat, wander, and buy things every single day… it could be said that they covered most of the capital.

“I’ve taken you everywhere I could think of. The only place we haven’t been is…” Qin Zheng pointed to a spot about half a street away and said, “the brothels. Do you want to go?”

Qi Jingchuan looked at him and asked, “Do you like going there?”

“I don’t like it. The people inside are all unfortunate souls. I don’t want to seek pleasure there,” Qin Zheng replied.

Qi Jingchuan was momentarily stunned and looked at Qin Zheng, clearly not expecting such words to come from the boy’s mouth.

At first glance, this youth seemed very simple, as though one could see through him at a single look. Yet after spending more time together, Qi Jingchuan felt that perhaps he did not fully understand him after all.

After a long pause, Qin Zheng spoke again. “But if we’re not going there to seek pleasure, going in just to have a drink is still fine.”

Qi Jingchuan neither agreed nor objected, so Qin Zheng made the decision on his own and took Qi Jingchuan to a brothel.

There were many brothels in the capital, but considering Qi Jingchuan’s status, Qin Zheng did not take him just anywhere. Instead, he brought him to the Jiao Fang Department. The people who came and went there were mostly officials whose identities could be verified, and compared to other places, there were fewer unsavory characters.

As soon as the two entered the Jiao Fang Department, someone came forward to greet them.

Qi Jingchuan was quite surprised by this, not having expected that Qin Zheng actually had acquaintances here.

“Second Young Master Qin, you haven’t come by in a long time!” A woman who seemed quite familiar with him stepped forward to greet him.

“I’ve been staying in the army more than in the capital these days, so I couldn’t spare the time to come,” Qin Zheng replied quickly.

The woman did not say much more and led the two of them upstairs to a private room.

Wherever Qin Zheng went, many women greeted him, and from time to time someone would also tease him with a few less-than-proper jokes. Still, it was clear that although Qin Zheng was familiar with them, his relationships with these women never crossed any boundaries.

“Bring some good wine and good dishes. There’s no need for attendants,” Qin Zheng instructed after entering the private room.

Before long, the wine and dishes were brought in, and Qin Zheng personally poured a cup of wine for Qi Jingchuan.

“The wine here is brewed by the Jiao Fang Department itself. You can’t drink it anywhere else in the capital. Try it,” Qin Zheng said to him.

Qi Jingchuan lifted the cup and took a sip, then asked, “Do you come here often?”

“My father has an old acquaintance whose family fell from grace. His wife and daughter were sent to the Jiao Fang Department,” Qin Zheng said. “My father often sent people to take care of things. Once, out of curiosity, I followed along…”

Before coming, Qin Zheng’s youthful curiosity had likely been his main motivation, but because of that old acquaintance’s wife and daughter, he ended up seeing a different side of the Jiao Fang Department. Everyone said this place was filled with song, dance, and pleasure, a rare haven of delight, but Qin Zheng did not see it that way.

From that point on, he carried a sense of compassion and came by from time to time to look after the girls he was familiar with.

Later, as he visited more frequently, he became friends with many of the women here, though whenever he came, he only drank wine and never did anything else.

“How is the wine?” Qin Zheng asked.

“It’s good,” Qi Jingchuan replied after taking another sip.

“Today is my eighteenth birthday. You have to drink a few more cups—don’t ruin my mood,” Qin Zheng said, then poured Qi Jingchuan another cup.

Qi Jingchuan was taken aback and asked, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“If I’d said it earlier, would I have had you prepare some grand gift for me?” Qin Zheng laughed. “Actually, after spending the past couple of years mostly in the army, it’s been a long time since anyone’s played around with me like this. Everyone has their own things to be busy with—the soldiers are busy training, Wang Ye is busy assisting His Majesty with state affairs. Only I have nothing I seek, just idling about.”

As he spoke, Qin Zheng drank a cup of wine and said to Qi Jingchuan, “I get along well with you. These past few days, rather than me accompanying you, it feels more like you were accompanying me.”

“Do you like me accompanying you?” Qi Jingchuan asked.

“Yes,” Qin Zheng said with a smile. “Your Highness, next time you come to the capital, you must go to the outskirts to find me.”

Qi Jingchuan looked at Qin Zheng and was silent for a moment before saying, “In three days, the delegation will be leaving the capital.”

“Yes, I’ve heard,” Qin Zheng replied. “When the time comes, I’ll go see you off outside the city.”

Qi Jingchuan nodded. Seeing this, Qin Zheng felt an inexplicable sense of loss rise in his heart.

That night, Qin Zheng drank quite a lot. The two had originally planned to return to the post station, but there were many girls in the Jiao Fang Department who were familiar with Qin Zheng. Worried that he might catch a chill if he returned late after drinking too much, they arranged two guest rooms for them.

Afraid that Qin Zheng might have no one to look after him in the middle of the night if he vomited, Qi Jingchuan stayed in the same room with him.

Qi Jingchuan helped Qin Zheng lie down, but he himself tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Whether it was because he was about to leave the capital, or because of what Qin Zheng had casually said to him earlier that day, Qi Jingchuan only felt his thoughts in turmoil, and an inexplicable heat seemed to rise through his body as well.

Just as he was about to get up and go outside for some air, Qin Zheng suddenly rolled over and wrapped an arm around him.

Qi Jingchuan took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Don’t mess around.”

“Heh heh…” Qin Zheng was not fully asleep. Now half-awake, he looked at Qi Jingchuan, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol. “I’ll mess around if I want. What, are you going to hit me?”

Knowing he had drunk too much, Qi Jingchuan did not want to argue with him. He reached out to pull Qin Zheng’s hand away, but Qin Zheng deliberately held on, even provoking him recklessly with his words. “Tell me, if we fought while drunk, who do you think would be better?”

“You want to try?” Qi Jingchuan asked.

“How would we try?” Qin Zheng asked, his face full of curiosity.

They were very close. As Qin Zheng spoke, his alcohol-laced breath brushed against Qi Jingchuan’s neck, throwing Qi Jingchuan’s breathing into slight disarray. Qi Jingchuan lowered his head a little and looked at him, saying, “Let’s just forget it…”

Before he could finish the sentence, Qin Zheng suddenly tilted his head up to look at him.

The distance between them closed abruptly, Qin Zheng’s nose almost touching Qi Jingchuan’s lips.

In that instant, Qi Jingchuan’s mind exploded with a loud buzz, and his rationality briefly deserted him.

Acting on instinct, he leaned in and kissed Qin Zheng on the lips.

“You—!” Qin Zheng stared at him in disbelief, his head spinning. He did not know which string had been plucked wrong, but at that very moment, a competitive urge was stirred in him. Unwilling to be outdone, he leaned in and kissed Qi Jingchuan back.

“So this is what you meant by fighting?” Qin Zheng asked.

Qi Jingchuan’s gaze fell on the boy’s flushed lips, and he said softly, “Do you want to try again?”

After speaking, without waiting for the boy’s reply, he leaned in and kissed him once more.

In his muddled state, Qin Zheng felt as though a door had suddenly been opened, granting him a fleeting glimpse into a world he had never encountered before.

The sensation carried a hint of novelty and excitement, yet it did not repulse him.

And so, buoyed by the effects of alcohol, he almost instinctively yielded and responded to Qi Jingchuan’s second kiss.

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