Indulging in Carnal Desire
Chapter 255: [Emperor’s Story 7] Ya Zi

The two court eunuchs invited an imperial physician in haste and had even forgotten to report what happened to the master. By the time the imperial physician arrived, Jing Chen’s long endured abuse had finally come to light.

Consort Rong was furious upon catching wind of this, immediately sending the two eunuchs to be flogged to their deaths. Was this not telling all the citizens in the imperial city that the kindness she had shown back then, begging for forgiveness for the Sixth Prince, was merely nothing but a superficial facade?

Before they were given the harsh cane, the two eunuchs caused a big fuss around them, claiming with their lives that they had seen a ghost, that it was Benefactor Meng’s ghost who had ordered them to do this, and though Consort Rong harbored suspicions about their claims, it nevertheless, made her back seep out cold sweat.

Though rumors circling outside say that Benefactor Meng was frightened to death by the Sixth Prince’s monstrosity, Consort Rong knew that back then, it was her and Consort Shu who had killed her.

Back then, everyone in the rear court knew how much that slut was pampered to no end. Even though she was just a noble lady¹Noble Lady is a rank that’s lower than Consorts or Imperial Concubines. I’m not sure which dynasty this arc is based off of as the rankings can differ but you can check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Chinese_harem_system for a general idea., she had received all the Emperor’s affection, so everyone immediately assumed that once the Sixth Prince was born, he would become the most favorable choice as the heir to the throne, and Noble Lady Meng would also be promoted up a grade.

Even though Consort Rong did not look like the type of woman who would engage in messy rear court battles, she could already sense the imminent danger early on. As someone who came from an influential family, her clan had prepared several items for the sake of letting her win the struggles in the rear court. Naturally, a myriad of secret drugs were also included among them.

She secretly poisoned Noble Lady Meng, and the fetus in her stomach should have also miscarried as a result. However, an unexpected setback took place, and Noble Lady Meng merely gave birth prematurely, and even gave birth to a boy as well.

She originally resented the drug for being ineffective in her scheme, however, upon hearing that the baby boy was born with a defective appearance and was even loathed by the Emperor, she curiously went to Noble Lady Meng’s quarters but was exposed by Noble Lady Meng as the culprit of the crime.

As it turned out, she was not the only one who acted against Noble Lady Meng out of jealousy. Consort Shu had secretly slipped her poison in as well, and because the two poisons counteracted with each other, the fetus did not die in her stomach, rather, it was born with the poison itself, manifesting as an abnormality on his face.

Even though she couldn’t protect herself in time, Noble Lady Meng secretly gathered proof after being infected. And, now that she had gathered conclusive evidence, as long as she pulled them out, the two consorts, who had dared to plot murder against the son of the emepror, would not be able escape punishment for their crimes.

Noble Lady Meng had already used up all her strength while doing this, but she still wanted her son to survive. As such, she guaranteed Consort Rong that if she were to foster and take care of her child until he became an adult, she would not only conceal her involvement in the drugging incident, but she would even use her own life to turn the blame on Consort Shu for her. This way, Consort Rong would have two less thorns in her eye in one fell swoop. Besides, since her son was born with that kind of appearance, he was of no threat to the title of succession, so why not indulge herself in this little ploy?

As a result, Consort Rong agreed.

This was the truth behind the matter that happened in the past.

That was why when she heard Noble Lady Meng’s name being mentioned, Consort Rong was not frightened at all.

Even though she had agreed to their promise back then, she didn’t expect for the Sixth Prince to grow up with such a terrifying face, which was so much more than what she had imagined. Due to the Emperor’s sentiments towards the child as a result of Noble Lady Meng’s death, he sent him to her to be fostered. Everything transpired so quickly that it was also too late for Consort Rong to regret her actions and could only throw him to the side chamber, letting nature take its course, despite being known as a warm and caring mother for taking care of the Sixth Prince on the outside, even being praised by the Emperor from time to time.

Now that the two eunuchs had exposed her actions, the image she had carefully cultivated for many years had crumbled in an instant.

However, since the matter had already happened, Consort Rong could only blame herself for being too negligent, simply not having the slightest regret for not caring about him in the past at all. While ordering the imperial physician to nurse the Sixth Prince back to health, she tirelessly begged the Emperor who had just caught wind of the news for forgiveness.

Even though certain rules had prevented the Emperor from visiting the sick, and after pretending to ask mercy for a while, allowing the matter to pass, Consort Rong eventually realized that the more Sixth Prince grew, the more she couldn’t keep him cooped up in the rear court forever. If she nurtured him properly, perhaps she might even be able to turn him into a useful dog.

Since then, Consort Rong’s attitude had undergone a transformation. She pushed all the fault of her neglect to those two eunuchs and quickly arranged for two new ones to properly attend to the Sixth Prince, even solicitously asking about his well being every day.

He was just a child after all, a child who was particularly deprived of affection at that. Towards such warmth being shown to him, there was no doubt that he would easily fall prey to it.

Consort Rong felt confident on the inside that she would definitely cultivate a loyal dog out of him.

Furthermore, the Sixth Prince did not let her expectations down, and just after a few years, he grew up to become an excellent person if one were to disregard his face.

After entering the imperial academy, in less than 3 years, the Sixth Prince had managed to obtain all the imperial tutors’ high praises. Every word he wrote was as valuable as pearls, criticizing the shortcomings of the current times as his Six Class did not lose to all the other princes who had been studying since young, becoming proficient in rites, music, riding, archery etc.

In order not to frighten other unsuspecting people, whenever the Sixth Prince had to appear before them, he would always carry with him a half mask to firmly cover up the terrifying half of his face.

The mask was as thin as a cicada’s wing, while silver feathers were used in its base. On the surface was a gold embroidery of a wolf with fierce dragon horns holding a sword in its mouth, looking quite dignified and fiendish. However, the other half of his face displayed a sword-like eyebrow, appearing extremely handsome, neutralizing the demonic air he had with him, making one feel as though his mask suited his face extremely well.

One person previously asked Jing Chen why such a mighty image was drawn on his mask and Jing Chen merely responded. His body was that of a dragon, having its horn on its forehead. However, his character was a foolish one, so he thought himself undeserving of the dragon’s body, merely wishing to become a sharp sword in his father-emperor’s hand, a loyal wolf who expanded territories for the king, guarding his home and defending the country.

When these words reached the Emperor’s ears, his steely dragon face bloomed in great joy. When this reached Consort Rong’s ears, she merely thought that the wolf signified Jing Chen’s allegiance to her.

But, was this truly the case?

While Jing Chen was saying these words, the mental image of a little eunuch laying on the table, drawing on the mask as the eunuch prattled on, surfaced in his mind.

“Sixth Prince ah, do you know what this slave is drawing?”

“This mythological animal is called Ya Zi. Legend says it is a mighty beast. Its body carries a silver sword with it and is fairly powerful as though it could swallow the moon whole. It is also quite dignified as though it has the power to control the sun. It could subdue and kill every evil incarnation, so it‘s so amazing. Sixth Prince will also become as amazing as it in the future!”

He wore the mask, and seeing the stunned look in the little eunuch’s eyes, he smiled and rubbed ‘his’ head.

At present, he had already grown taller than her, but this little eunuch still treated him as a child all the same.

How could he not know of this?

Ya Zi² was one of the dragon’s sons, and though it was of dragon descent, its body looked like that of a wolf’s. Just as it was about to be abandoned, its mother pleaded for mercy, and so its life was spared.

He was certainly like the Ya Zi.

A meal bestowed out of goodness must be repaid, and similarly, the wrath of a Ya Zi must be repaid.

He would never forget the kindness of those who treated him well throughout his entire life, yet as for those who bullied him, no matter how long he endured them for, there would come a day where he would pay them back for what they had done.

[Completed]