I, The Substitute, Am With The Main Character Chapter 23

Tonight, with no moon, people’s eyes were shining brightly.

“Oh?” He Xulan seemed to let out a light laugh, but that laughter didn’t seem like a laugh; it sounded chilling, and that’s how Xueya felt.

Xueya was cold all over but his face was burning, truly experiencing the extremes of cold and heat. He was feeling groggy, hearing He Xulan’s voice, thinking the other person wouldn’t believe him, so he added a few more words.

“I didn’t lie to you. His Majesty was praising me. His Majesty has the scent of dragon’s saliva on him. I got some on me that day… Mmm…”

The voice abruptly stopped. Xueya tried to push away the person above him, but he had no strength. He even felt the warmth coming from the other person’s body and couldn’t help but want to lean against them.

His teeth were pried apart, his tongue firmly sucked, and Xueya felt like he couldn’t breathe. He gripped He Xulan’s clothes tightly, his body starting to tremble uncontrollably. When he was finally released, he gasped for air.

He Xulan scrutinized the miserable figure beneath him.

Xueya had dressed up nicely for New Year’s Eve, even applied lipstick, but after being soaked in water, there was nothing left. However, upon closer inspection, a hint of peach fragrance could still be detected. In addition to that, there was also the lingering fragrance of plum blossoms between his lips and teeth.

His clothes were completely soaked, and the hairpin in his hair had fallen off somewhere. His black hair was scattered, a strand sticking to his pale cheek. His eyes were redder than before because of the discomfort from choking on water. Not only were his eyes red, but his lips were also red.

He Xulan looked for a while before leaning down again. Xueya only managed to hum once.

Xueya had never been so intimate with anyone. His mind was even more confused now. He felt like he had been kissed for a long time, and the person kissing him was not polite at all, not allowing him to dodge. Occasionally, they would let him breathe. Unable to endure it, Xueya desperately turned his face away and complained pitifully, “It’s not soft anymore, it’s swollen, all swollen.”

He glanced at He Xulan and saw that the other was still looking at him. He covered his lips with his hand in embarrassment.

Having bullied Xueya enough, He Xulan wasn’t planning to continue. He picked him up from the ground, hugged him close, and touched Xueya’s forehead, feeling the intense heat.

“Why… why did you kiss me?” Xueya suddenly asked.

He Xulan’s tone was calm. “Didn’t you say your tongue is very soft.”

“But… but you can’t kiss me, you can’t kiss me,” Xueya said.

He Xulan countered, “Then why can His Majesty kiss you?”

Xueya thought for a moment. “His Majesty is above everyone, so of course he can kiss me.”

“But the Empress Dowager is also above everyone. Since I am also above everyone, I can kiss you too.”

Xueya was confused by He Xulan’s words, thinking he made sense, but then shook his head. “No! You can’t kiss me!”

“But I already did,” He Xulan said calmly.

Xueya froze, then immediately wilted. “Oh, you’ve already kissed me, but… but His Majesty has never kissed me.” Feeling sorry for himself, he exposed his lie.

He Xulan brushed aside the strands of hair stuck to Xueya’s cheek. “Then I’ll compliment you. Your tongue is indeed very soft.”

Xueya’s face turned red all at once.

Suddenly, footsteps came from behind.

Without looking back, He Xulan said, “Have you caught them?”

“Yes, it’s General Lei’s men,” the person behind said softly.

He Xulan wasn’t surprised, as if he had already guessed. “Take care of it. Throw them into General Lei’s mansion.”

Upon hearing that someone else had arrived, Xueya struggled to lift his head from He Xulan’s arms. He leaned his chin against He Xulan’s shoulder and unexpectedly met the eyes of the person behind them.

This person… seemed familiar?

Ah!

It’s Yi Yefeng.

Xueya’s eyes lit up. He stared at Yi Yefeng tightly. If He Xulan hadn’t pressed his head down, he would have continued staring, as if Yi Yefeng were some rare treasure.

In Xueya’s heart, however, there was no rare treasure. Drunk as he was, his mind was blunt. He thought of something and said it, “You two are having an affair!”

Yi Yefeng: “…”

He Xulan couldn’t help but close his eyes. Ignoring Xueya’s nonsense, he said to Yi Yefeng, “You can leave now.”

Yi Yefeng didn’t leave immediately but glanced at Xueya, who could only see his head. “He will remember what happened tonight when he wakes up tomorrow.”

He Xulan just acknowledged with a sound.

After Yi Yefeng stood in silence for a while, he left. After he left, the palace people of Ningfu came quickly, protecting He Xulan and Xueya back to the palace. Xueya was held in He Xulan’s arms, covered with a fox fur, thinking about Yi Yefeng. He was put on a couch and was still thinking about it.

He let He Xulan undo his waistband. When his clothes were almost taken off, he suddenly grabbed He Xulan’s hand, “I know your secret.”

He Xulan used his free hand to undo his own robe. “Hmm?”

“You cuckolded the former Emperor!” Xueya accused firmly.

He Xulan raised an eyebrow at Xueya. “So what?”

Xueya’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected He Xulan to be so shameless. Just as he was dumbfounded, He Xulan had already stripped off his upper garments. His skin was fair as snow, with a well-defined waist and muscular back, his abs notably impossible to ignore.

It had to be said, clothed He Xulan and unclothed He Xulan seemed like two different people.

Clothed, he was fresh and elegant, like a celestial being. Unclothed, he exuded an aggressive aura, akin to a demon.

He Xulan leaned over towards Xueya on the bed, his hazel eyes unexpectedly sinister. “What is Cui Pei? He should consider himself fortunate to have died early.”

Cui Pei was the posthumous name of the former Emperor.

He spoke and then lifted Xueya from the bed, both entering the bath together.

Xueya was frightened by He Xulan’s earlier remarks, momentarily speechless. He stared blankly in the water, gradually feeling drowsy. His eyelids slowly closed.

Later, it seemed someone lightly tapped his face awake. They tried to feed him something, but he resisted. They insisted it would help him sleep, so he reluctantly drank it, finding it not bitter.

***

The next day, when Xueya woke up, he felt uncomfortable all over, his head heavy, and his throat sore. Strangely, his tongue felt numb. He rubbed his neck, feeling disoriented.

He was in his own bed now, but why? 

He remembered waiting under the viewing tower yesterday, feeling too cold and sneaking into the Shuixi Palace for a drink. Then he headed towards the viewing tower…

Xueya froze. He remembered being pushed into the water by someone, but he didn’t remember anything after that—how he got back here or anything else. It was a complete blank.

As Xueya struggled to recall what happened last night, the door suddenly swung open.

Someone entered.

“Who?!” Xueya nearly died last night and was now terrified of any sound or movement.

“It’s me, Little Pingzi. You’re awake,” said the eunuch who had cared for Xueya before.

Little Pingzi hurried to Xueya’s bedside, lifted the curtain, and looked inside. Seeing that Xueya was indeed awake, he quickly hooked the bed curtain closed with a bronze hook. “You’re finally awake. The Imperial Physician came earlier, and I was worried about how to get you to take your medicine.”

Xueya looked at Little Pingzi and asked tentatively, “What’s wrong with me?”

“Don’t you remember?” Little Pingzi looked surprised. “You accidentally fell into the water last night. Luckily, the patrolling Imperial Guards found you and pulled you out.”

Xueya furrowed his brow. The Imperial Guards saved him? Why did he have no memory of it?

Perhaps he was dizzy and couldn’t remember.

“Did they catch the person who pushed me yesterday?” Xueya recalled the most important thing.

Little Pingzi exclaimed, seeming not to understand Xueya’s meaning.

Seeing Little Pingzi’s reaction, Xueya suddenly understood. Little Pingzi probably didn’t know someone had pushed him into the water, so asking him was pointless.

Who could it have been?

Xueya thought for a moment and thought of He Xulan.

Was He Xulan sending someone to kill him? The poison He Xulan had given him last time wasn’t enough to kill him, so did he try again?

Thinking of this possibility, Xueya felt chills all over. After drinking the medicine, he had been lying in bed, only to be visited by Cui Lingjing.

When Cui Lingjing entered, the room fell silent, as if no one was there, not even the lights. The palace attendants serving Cui Lingjing immediately came in to light them, fearing that the inferior charcoal would smoke Cui Lingjing out and quickly replaced it with silver-bone charcoal.

Cui Lingjing carried a soup ladle in his hand and slowly walked to the bedside. Seeing a bundled figure in the bed, covered tightly, not even a strand of hair showing, he raised an eyebrow slightly. “Still not awake?”

Little Pingzi waited at the door and, hearing this, immediately replied, “Your Majesty, he woke up in the afternoon.”

Xueya suddenly heard Cui Lingjing’s voice, initially suspecting he misheard. As he realized he hadn’t, he pulled the blanket down a bit, revealing his eyes.

Seeing Cui Lingjing, Xueya’s eyes quickly reddened.

Cui Lingjing observed Xueya’s behavior and knew this guy was about to act spoiled again. He turned his head slightly. “You all can leave.”

The attendants obeyed and left, closing the door behind them.

“You’re still sulking. On the first day of the New Year, you caused such a fuss in Fengrui Palace that I had to summon the Imperial Physician. Not punishing you is already showing mercy.” Cui Lingjing sat down by Xueya’s bed, his words sharp.

Xueya considered himself lucky to have survived. With a heart still anxious, he didn’t like Cui Lingjing’s cold words. He pulled up the blanket and covered his face again.

Seeing this, Cui Lingjing found it curious. He had mocked Xueya many times before, but each time, the other had been clingy and soft, sticking close. This was the first time Xueya had thrown a fit.

He reached out to pull Xueya’s blanket. Xueya resisted, but he was already weaker than Cui Lingjing, especially now that he was sick. With a tug or two, the blanket was pulled away.

Cui Lingjing had wanted to continue mocking him, but seeing Xueya’s flushed cheeks and teary eyes, obviously sick, he pursed his lips and changed his words. “Alright, I’ve teased you enough. I just returned from outside to see you. Aren’t you pleased?”

Xueya glanced at Cui Lingjing. “Where did Your Majesty come back from?”

Cui Lingjing replied, “From the Empress Dowager’s place. He’s also ill today.”

Huh?

Xueya perked up instantly. “The Empress Dowager is also ill?”

“Yes, and he has caught a cold just like you,” Cui Lingjing said, looking somewhat puzzled. Suddenly, he reached out and touched Xueya’s face, gently caressing it, and spoke in a very soft voice, “Could it be that your appearances are so similar that you even get sick together?”