Chapter 37
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The bitterness on his tongue was suppressed, replaced by the honey-like sweetness.
Jiang Juan felt a bit better, but he had already bitten Xue Fangli’s finger. After some thought, he decided to bite it again.
This time, Jiang Juan bit lightly, his teeth grazing gently, more playful than vengeful.
After he had enough, he tried to push the finger out with his tongue.
In the humid atmosphere, Xue Fangli should have withdrawn his hand, but the softness at his fingertips made him hesitate.
When one push didn’t work, Jiang Juan tried several more times. However, no matter how hard he used his tongue, it was as weak as a cat’s strength, unable to move the finger at all. Jiang Juan had to look up at Xue Fangli.
He held the finger in his mouth, lips slightly parted, looking bewildered, unable to understand why someone would rather be bitten than withdraw their hand.
After watching him for a while, Xue Fangli smiled slightly, “Are you done biting?”
Jiang Juan nodded gloomily. He had bitten enough, but His Highness was too cooperative, so it didn’t feel like he had gotten his revenge at all.
Xue Fangli withdrew his hand and casually glanced at it. His finger was slick with saliva, and the tingling sensation from where Jiang Juan’s tongue had touched lingered.
Many unspeakable desires were triggered in that moment.
Without a word, Xue Fangli pinched his fingers together, took the handkerchief offered by the maid, and wiped his hand slowly.
Jiang Juan chewed on the candied fruit, mumbling, “It was bitter, but you didn’t tell the truth, lowering my guard on purpose.”
Xue Fangli’s tone was leisurely, “If I didn’t coax you, would you have taken it?”
Jiang Juan was indignant and corrected him, “You tricked me into drinking it, not coaxed.”
Xue Fangli raised an eyebrow, looking at Jiang Juan with a low chuckle, “Understood, next time I’ll coax you.”
He seemed genuinely receptive, but Jiang Juan was not satisfied. Hearing there would be a next time, he immediately flopped onto the bed, lying flat like a joyless fish.
“Get up, it’s time to eat.”
Unnoticed, the maid had already served the dishes. Jiang Juan sat up slowly, only to be pulled by the waist, with Xue Fangli lifting him onto his lap again.
Jiang Juan: “…”
He looked up and asked quietly, “Your Highness, didn’t you promise not to keep carrying me?”
Xue Fangli paused, then calmly replied, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Today, your heart condition just flared up, you’re still weak.”
“Alright then,” Jiang Juan reluctantly agreed.
Despite everything, Jiang Juan cooperated on his last day as a human pillow, sitting in His Highness’s lap and accepting the various foods offered.
But as he ate, Jiang Juan suddenly bit down on his chopsticks.
“What’s wrong?”
Xue Fangli frowned, “Why do you like biting everything?”
Jiang Juan felt that Xue Fangli’s accusation was unreasonable. He hadn’t bitten anything else, but that wasn’t the point. He asked curiously, “Your Highness, you’re only feeding me and not eating yourself?”
Xue Fangli replied flatly, “I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Jiang Juan looked at him, picked up a piece of Eight-Treasure Tofu with his silver chopsticks, and offered it to him, “You do have an appetite.”
Xue Fangli lowered his eyes but still showed no intention of eating. Jiang Juan had to add, “Your Highness, my chest still hurts.”
He then dramatically touched his chest, “You’re not a fairy, you can’t just drink dew.”
Xue Fangli met his gaze. The youth’s words sounded like a threat, but his furrowed brows and worried expression showed genuine concern and affection. It was so pure that Xue Fangli felt himself almost drowning in it.
After what seemed like a long time, Xue Fangli finally relented. He lowered his head and, with a look of reluctance, took a bite.
Jiang Juan felt quite accomplished with his reverse feeding success. Just as he was about to feed Xue Fangli more, Chief Steward Wang returned.
After bowing, Chief Steward Wang softly asked Xue Fangli, “Your Highness, His Majesty sent me to ask…”
He lowered his head, “When you were younger, you seemed quite interested in painting and often created artworks. His Majesty wants to know if any of those paintings….. are still around?”
Xue Fangli’s gaze flicked up, his expression indifferent as he looked over.
Though his face showed no change, there was a hint of coldness and mockery. Despite bowing his head, Chief Steward Wang felt a chill in his heart and couldn’t help but shrink a bit.
He knew well that His Highness disliked bringing up old matters. However, he had to follow orders.
Xue Fangli didn’t respond, and Chief Steward Wang could only wait.
In the prolonged silence, the clinking of a spoon against a bowl echoed. Jiang Juan raised it to Xue Fangli’s lips, continuing his reverse feeding mission, “Your Highness, have some soup.”
Chief Steward Wang was taken aback.
“Your Royal Consort—!”
Although he had only met Jiang Juan twice, Chief Steward Wang had a good impression of him and couldn’t help but try to stop him, “His Highness doesn’t like…”
He paused. As the chief eunuch, Chief Steward Wang knew his boundaries and what should or shouldn’t be said.
He had intended to mention that His Highness had a severe aversion to food. If he wanted to eat, he would do so himself. Most of the time, he only ate out of necessity, forcing himself to maintain his strength and energy. If His Highness didn’t want to eat, no amount of good intentions from His Royal Consort would help; it might even anger him.
When His Highness got angry, no one could handle it, and His Royal Consort, already suffering from a heart condition, couldn’t afford to be frightened.
“Huh?”
Jiang Juan looked up, confused, at Chief Steward Wang.
Chief Steward Wang couldn’t say anything directly, so he just shook his head at Jiang Juan. Jiang Juan didn’t understand his meaning and, after a moment’s thought, decided that his arm was too tired to keep holding up the spoon.
“Your Highness,” Jiang Juan said, “Please drink, my hand hurts.”
Xue Fangli slowly lowered his eyes, looking at the spoon as if it were something he loathed. Seeing his displeasure, Chief Steward Wang couldn’t help but worry for Jiang Juan.
The Royal Consort really was—really was—what exactly? Chief Steward Wang hadn’t yet thought of the right words when he saw their prince coldly lower his head and unhappily drink the spoonful of chicken soup.
Chief Steward Wang: “?”
His Highness actually drank it?
What shocked Chief Steward Wang even more happened next. After drinking the chicken soup, Xue Fangli looked up and asked Jiang Juan, “Does your chest still hurt?”
Jiang Juan blinked and, without feeling guilty at all, said, “It’s hard to say. If Your Highness finishes this meal properly, it probably won’t hurt. But if Your Highness doesn’t eat well, it might still hurt.”
Xue Fangli: “…”
“Understood.”
Xue Fangli glanced at him with a half-smile, fully aware of Jiang Juan’s true intentions. He picked up the silver chopsticks and, though not very hungry, tasted a bit of everything.
Jiang Juan asked somewhat regretfully, “Your Highness, you don’t need me to feed you anymore?”
He actually found reverse feeding quite enjoyable—forcing His Highness, who had no appetite, to eat was very satisfying.
“No need,” Xue Fangli said calmly. “If you hold it for too long, your hand will hurt again.”
Jiang Juan responded with an “Oh.” If he wasn’t needed to feed, then so be it. He turned back to Chief Steward Wang and asked, “Wang Gonggong, what were you going to say earlier?”
Chief Steward Wang looked at Jiang Juan, then at Xue Fangli, who was elegantly eating, and after a long pause, he shook his head and smiled, “Nothing, I must have misunderstood.”
He truly hadn’t expected that their prince, who usually had such an aversion to food, would eat what the Royal Consort fed him.
Even more unexpected was that His Highness would start eating voluntarily to avoid upsetting the Royal Consort.
Jiang Juan seemed to accept this explanation and nodded.
Having been fed earlier, he was almost full, but since he was still held in Xue Fangli’s arms and couldn’t leave, he busied himself with poking at the pastries. Not long after, when Xue Fangli put down his chopsticks, Jiang Juan suddenly said, “Your Highness, are those paintings Chief Steward Wang mentioned still around? I’d like to see them too.”
Chief Steward Wang held his breath.
He finally thought of a term that perfectly described the Royal Consort.
— Mention a pot that doesn’t boil (talking about someone’s sore spot).
But no matter what, it wasn’t the Royal Consort’s fault. After all, he wasn’t aware of many things.
What Chief Steward Wang had come back to ask for, on behalf of His Majesty, was actually a portrait of Beauty Yu.
This time, Chief Steward Wang dared not say anything more, afraid of making things worse, so he stood silently with his hands down.
“Your Highness?”
Jiang Juan tugged at Xue Fangli’s sleeve, looking at him with wide, curious eyes. “I really want to see them.”
Xue Fangli’s tone was very calm, devoid of any extra emotion, “It’s been many years. I’ve forgotten where they are.”
Jiang Juan, uncharacteristically persistent, asked, “Could you look for them a bit more?”
Xue Fangli: “There’s nothing worth seeing.”
Jiang Juan: “But I still want to see them.”
He shook his head, his voice softening almost unconsciously.
It was so soft that it seemed to melt into one’s heart.
Why did he like to act so coquettishly?
Xue Fangli stared at Jiang Juan without immediately responding. Seeing no reaction, Jiang Juan reluctantly let go of his hand, slowly furrowing his brow, and covered his chest again, “Your Highness, I think I’m feeling uncomfortable again.”
Xue Fangli lowered his eyelids and stared at him calmly.
Chief Steward Wang: “…”
The Royal Consort really did use his illness to his advantage.
His Highness had indirectly refused his request by saying he had forgotten where the paintings were, but the Royal Consort still wouldn’t give up. From the beginning, even when Chief Steward Wang mentioned the matter, His Highness didn’t respond because he didn’t want to retrieve the paintings.
This time, Chief Steward Wang truly didn’t think His Highness would give in.
After all, those were his mother’s paintings, and he hated his past intensely.
With that thought, Chief Steward Wang sighed silently.
But in the next moment, Xue Fangli finally spoke, his voice casual and his tone indifferent.
“Then let’s see them,” Xue Fangli said. “I’ll have someone fetch the paintings.”
Chief Steward Wang was utterly astonished by his words.
His Highness had actually agreed?
The Royal Consort wanted to see the paintings, and His Highness actually consented?
Jiang Juan, unaware of the deeper implications, smiled brightly and said sincerely, “Your Highness, you’re so kind.”
Xue Fangli looked down, a faint smile playing on his lips, “Next time, this excuse might not work.”
Jiang Juan blinked his eyelashes innocently at him, “What excuse? I really don’t feel well.”
Xue Fangli glanced at him before standing up to instruct someone, and Jiang Juan immediately took the opportunity to ask Chief Steward Wang, “Eunuch Wang, what were you going to say earlier?”
“What does His Highness not like?”
Chief Steward Wang was taken aback again, then realizing something, asked with a mixture of amusement and disbelief, “Your Royal Consort, you wanted to see the paintings just to send His Highness away and ask me about this?”
Jiang Juan nodded, “I had the feeling you had something important to say.”
Chief Steward Wang: “…”
How should he put this?
He had merely intended to remind the Royal Consort that His Highness had issues with eating, but in the Royal Consort’s presence, it didn’t seem to be a problem.
Yet, the Royal Consort, unaware of the full story, had inadvertently touched upon a deeper issue, which His Highness surprisingly agreed to.
Reflecting on this, Chief Steward Wang’s expression grew complex. Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to inform Jiang Juan, he carefully chose his words, “His Highness has some deep-seated issues with food, related to his mother.”
“When His Highness was young…”
Not knowing how to phrase it, Chief Steward Wang hesitated, but Jiang Juan recalled something and asked, “Did his mother ever feed him flesh and blood?”
Chief Steward Wang was startled, “You know about that?”
Actually, it was even more than that.
In a low voice, Chief Steward Wang continued, “For various reasons, Beauty Yu treated His Highness poorly. Besides feeding him flesh and blood, she often poisoned him…”
When Xue Fangli returned after giving instructions, he lazily wrapped his arms around Jiang Juan. This time, Jiang Juan didn’t protest being held.
Xue Fangli, surprised that Jiang Juan didn’t object, looked him over a few times. Jiang Juan curiously asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xue Fangli pondered and said, “Nothing.”
Jiang Juan responded with an “Oh” and lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought. After a short while, he suddenly asked, “Your Highness, why do you dislike eating so much?”
Xue Fangli paused, recalling something, and responded nonchalantly, “I’ve had enough.”
Jiang Juan’s eyelashes fluttered as he looked up, his eyes filled with pity and sorrow, as if he understood all the suffering and the pain behind it.
Jiang Juan gently grasped the hand resting on his waist, “Your Highness, you’re lying.”
He spoke very slowly, “Your Highness, I feel really uncomfortable.”
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