Indulging in Carnal Desire
Chapter 251: [Emperor’s Story 3] Eat strawberries

What kind of a face was that? It was just a child of 8 or 9 years old, however, half of his face was covered with criss-crosses akin to an elder’s face covered in wrinkles, whereas the other half was smooth and shiny, appearing extremely handsome. But, what made one tremble with fear was his pair of striking red eyes, his dark pupils were enclosed within red that replaced the whites of his eyes, making him look like a terrifying demon.

The boy saw Chu Jiao’s stunned expression and turned his body away out of habit, peering at her with the half of his face without any abnormalities, while the hideous side was hidden within the shadows, away from people’s eyes.

He knew that only through this way would he be hit less. If he scared or angered this little eunuch, he might not receive any food for the next few days.

I’m hungry… so hungry.

He hastily stuffed the tree roots he had just dug up into his small mouth and stared at Chu Jiao expressionlessly.

“Sixth Prince, those are tree roots! You can’t eat them!” The moment Chu Jiao saw what the child was innocently putting into his mouth, she quickly tried to stop him.

The boy slowly put down the hand holding the roots, no longer eating them. His hand then secretly reached towards the back, placing the roots into the sward. Years of harsh experience had already taught him that if he did not obediently heed their words, he would have to take a beating. And, that was why, despite going hungry to the point where his stomach started to hurt, he didn’t dare eat more and only silently wished for the little eunuch to leave quickly, so he could continue his meal.

How could Chu Jiao know that the child had such thoughts? She merely walked forward and softened her expression.

The system had just reminded her that this was the male lead.

She felt a bit incredulous at first but was rather more distressed when she calmed down. In the beginning, she assumed that the boy was treated coldly and looked down upon with disdainful eyes due to his birthmark, but seeing the boy’s current appearance, she realized that it was even worse than she had ever imagined. She could only wonder how much torment this boy had to endure in this palace where the strong trampled on the weak.

Even if he could massacre everyone in the future, the him right now was just a powerless and helpless child.

Children’s feelings were quite sensitive. Chu Jiao thought to herself. Her earlier reaction of surprise towards his appearance must have hurt his feelings, making him feel remorseful.

“Sixth Prince, look,“ She casually walked towards the little boy and crouched down, amiably reaching out the bowl in her hands and gently saying, “These are strawberries conferred by the emperor. They’re sweet and delicious. Why don’t you give them a try?”

The boy cast Chu Jiao a glance before promptly lowering his eyes.

The little eunuch who came today wasn’t one of the people who came by before. But, was this their new cunning way of pranking him? He cast a quiet look at the big red strawberries in front of him and couldn’t help but recall the bitter experience he had the previous year.

At that time, two eunuchs delivered a plate of bright red fruit, saying that the emperor had granted it in celebration of his birthday. At that time, he was extremely hungry and thirsty, so he immediately took one and stuffed it into his mouth without a second thought. The two eunuchs didn’t outrightly mock him like they did before. Instead, they watched him eat it completely with a sneer. He didn’t leave a single piece behind, including the tough green skin of the red fruit. After he finished eating them all, those two eunuchs suddenly burst into laughter, telling him that they were called watermelon and it was a fruit where you only eat the pulp and not the skin.

Later on, he had a stomach ache for 3 agonizing days, but he would still often recall the sweet taste of those watermelons.

This time, what kind of trick were they going to play on him?

The boy expressionlessly thought to himself this, however, his hand headed straight for the strawberries.

Nevermind. If his stomach was going to hurt, then so be it. He had already gotten used to this kind of treatment. Moreover, it was rare to see such food being conferred to him.

“Aii, don’t use your hands!”

Chu Jiao looked at his dirty black fingers and lightly smacked the boy’s hand, making the strawberry fall on the ground.

The boy hooked the corner of his lips up into a smirk. See, he already knew that this wouldn’t lead to anything good. As expected, the eunuch had probably come to tease him.

“Sixth Prince, you haven’t washed your hands. If you eat them like this, you’re going to get a tummy ache,” Chu Jiao then regretted her actions. She had momentarily forgotten the difference in their social rankings. Right now, she was just a lowly slave who shouldn’t act towards her master, “Why don’t you let this slave feed you, okay?” It was inconvenient to draw water now, but since her hands had just been washed before she came over, they were comparatively a lot cleaner.

The quiet boy gave her a wary look. The people from back then feared getting close to him, saying that they didn’t want the demon to steal their bodies. Wasn’t this little eunuch afraid of him at all?

He nodded his head in hesitation as his body turned tense, afraid that the person would suddenly hit him or give him a hard kick.

Chu Jiao picked up another strawberry and carefully pinched off the leaves before delivering it to the boy’s small mouth.

The boy’s chapped lips finally made contact with the fresh dew on the strawberry as he couldn’t stop himself from swallowing a mouth of saliva. He cautiously opened his mouth and bit the tender strawberry.

The sweet juice burst forth in his mouth, and the boy’s eyes grew wide in surprise from the unique taste, quickly gulping down the pulp into his stomach. He then looked at Chu Jiao impatiently, waiting for the next piece to be fed to him.

Chu Jiao gazed at the boy’s fervent eyes looking at herself, waiting to be fed, and couldn’t help but smile. This soft red-eyed appearance looked just like a little rabbit.

She wondered if the male lead would remember this dark history once he grew up!

She carefully plucked the leaves off the strawberry while telling him, “Sixth Prince, you don’t need to swallow it that quickly. Chew the pulp in your mouth a little slower into pieces and then gulp it down your stomach. Otherwise, if you eat in haste, you won’t be able to digest it properly, and you’ll easily get a stomach ache.”

Even though the boy did not utter a word, when he ate the next few pieces, his chewing speed visibly slowed down.

Seeing him compliantly follow her words, Chu Jiao pursed her lips into another smile, revealing two sweet dimples.

The boy lifted his head and cast her a glance once again. This was the first time he felt somewhat close to a person in his entire life. If this little eunuch delivered food to him everyday, he felt as though he could be able to swallow even the most unpalatable food.

Even though Du Juan picked out only the soft and ugly looking strawberries for the Sixth Prince to eat, none of them had gone bad. Their conditions were just not good. Fortunately, the little boy did not seem to mind and thought them to be extremely sweet.

When the last piece had entered his mouth, Chu Jiao slowly withdrew her hand, “Alright, it’s finished. If the Sixth Prince eats too much, you won’t be able to eat your dinner later.”

However, the boy felt reluctant to part with the sweet taste, so his two little hands suddenly grabbed Chu Jiao’s wrist, taking her by surprise.

He held her fair fingers, raising his head and sticking out his tongue, carefully licking the juice on Chu Jiao’s finger clean, not letting a single drop remain.

“Sixth Prince, you…“

Chu Jiao originally wanted to reprimand him for his impetuous behavior, but seeing the boy’s eyes filled with earnest hunger for food, she could only feel sad.

He definitely had a harsh life, which made him treasure each and every bit of food.

“Sixth Prince, if you like to eat sweet things, this slave will think of a way to bring you some snacks,” Chu Jiao couldn’t help but make a promise to the unfortunate child, “However, you can’t tell anyone about this, okay? It will be our little secret!”

The boy’s lips squirmed. He hesitated for a long time before he finally gave into the temptation, “Alright, our little secret.”

Chu Jiao smiled sweetly and held the young boy’s finger, hooking her little finger with his, “Pinky swear on keeping it for a hundred years!”

“Pinky… swear… on keeping it for a hundred years!” The boy repeated the promise after her.

“Alright. This slave should leave now,” Chu Jiao slowly lifted her head and looked at the sky, “See you again, Sixth Prince!”

When her figure had disappeared at the end of the corridor, the boy lowered his head and looked at his own pinky, curiously curling it open and closed.

He then bent down and relentlessly searched the grass for a while, picking up the strawberry Chu Jiao had made him drop.

Soil coated the surface of the strawberry and he was about to put it in his mouth when he suddenly recalled the little eunuch’s words. And so, he slowly stood up and walked towards the pond at the side, rinsing the strawberries. Seeing the soil washed away, he finally stuffed it into his mouth in content.

And for the first time in his life, he was looking forward to tomorrow.

————–

Little White Rabbit Jing Chen: Powerless and helpless? Hehe. (Crack. Breaks the neck of a little sparrow.)

[Completed]