Chu Chu tugged on Xiao Jin Yu's sleeve and whispered, "Wang Ye, you'll give him New Year's money, right?"
"Hmm?"
Chu Chu pointed at the broken wooden door on the ground. "It's the New Year, and he doesn't even have money to repair the courtyard gate."
Xiao Jin Yu frowned slightly as he glanced at it, but before he could speak, Steward Tian hurried out upon hearing the commotion, his face a mix of surprise and delight. "Prince An, you've come!"
Xiao Jin Yu's voice was low and stern. "What happened to the door? Were you really waiting for me to repair it?"
Steward Tian quickly waved his hands. "No, no... It was my prince's order not to repair it..."
Xiao Jin Yu raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"This... how would this old servant dare to ask..."
"Where is he?"
Steward Tian opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, sighed, and then said, "He's inside. Please go and see him, try to persuade him... He's been like this all along—who can bear it?"
Like what all along?
Xiao Jin Yu frowned slightly. The guards hadn't reported anything unusual—what could possibly be wrong...
Entering the building and pushing open Xiao Jue's door, Xiao Jin Yu understood at a single glance.
Xiao Jue's bedroom was arranged so that the bed was directly visible upon opening the door. As the door swung open, they saw Xiao Jue lying completely naked on the bed, with an equally unclothed woman straddling his knees. Her hands lifted his frail waist high as she buried her head between his emaciated legs, engrossed in sucking. The woman's panting mingled with lewd, wet sounds, yet Xiao Jue remained as calm as if the body being serviced belonged to someone else.
No wonder the guards hadn't reported anything unusual—a single session of intercourse had dragged on until now...
As the door suddenly swung wide open, the woman was startled. She hastily released Xiao Jue, pulled the quilt over herself, and shrieked, "Who... who are you people!"
Xiao Jue lazily turned his head on the bed, completely indifferent to his skeletal body being exposed to everyone's gaze, and said nonchalantly, "Seventh Uncle, my apologies for not welcoming you properly..."
The woman, pale with fright, knelt on the bed wrapped in the quilt and kowtowed repeatedly. "Seventh... Seventh Prince, a thousand years to you!"
Xiao Jin Yu's face was terrifyingly dark. "Get out."
"Yes, yes..."
Without even having time to put on her shoes, the woman wrapped herself in the quilt and fled through the back door of the bedroom.
Chu Chu stood frozen in place. It wasn't until Xiao Jin Yu had entered and pulled another quilt over Xiao Jue's icy body that she snapped out of her daze and hurried to Xiao Jin Yu's side.
Xiao Jin Yu glared darkly at Xiao Jue. "Who is that woman?"
Xiao Jue curled his lips and lightly licked them with the tip of his tongue. "A concubine, an embroiderer... Beautiful, isn't she?"
Xiao Jin Yu took a deep breath and spoke slowly in a heavy tone. "How has your health been these days?"
"Good or not..." Xiao Jue sneered, staring at Xiao Jin Yu's legs, and said word by word, "Seventh Uncle, you're only slightly less crippled than I am. You're just as much a useless person—you have no right to pity me..."
☆ 52 Four Happiness Meatballs (XI)
Chu Chu had originally been watching Xiao Jue cautiously.The last time she saw him, he was leaning on the couch, wrapped in a fox fur, motionlessly staring at the chessboard. Chu Chu hadn’t paid any attention to his body at the time. But just now, when the door opened and she caught a sudden glimpse of his full figure, she noticed that his frame was exceptionally well-proportioned—slender, balanced, and upright, yet full. However, due to prolonged immobility, the flesh below his waist had severely atrophied, dragging the upper half of his body into a shocking state of emaciation. All that remained was this elegant skeleton, wrapped in pale, thin skin, as fragile as a sheer white gauze that would tear at the slightest touch.
Watching him being tended to by that beautiful woman, Chu Chu felt a strange sensation, as though the upper half of this man was still struggling to live with great effort, while the lower half had long become a corpse exuding decay.
Chu Chu had seen many dead bodies, but this was her first encounter with such a living corpse. It sent chills down her spine, raising goosebumps all over. She huddled cautiously behind Xiao Jin Yu’s wheelchair, watching silently.
Suddenly hearing such words from this living corpse, Chu Chu felt as if her heart had been viciously squeezed. The pain jolted her awake, and she leaped forward, standing beside Xiao Jin Yu as she glared furiously at Xiao Jue. "He’s nothing like you!"
Xiao Jin Yu’s expression remained unchanged, though his brow furrowed slightly. He raised a hand to gently hold Chu Chu back. "Chu Chu..."
A cold smile hung on Xiao Jue’s gaunt, sunken face as his deep, mocking gaze fixed on Chu Chu. "Not like me? How is he not like me... You haven’t touched him yet, have you? Do you know how severe his rheumatism is... Sooner or later, he’ll be worse off than I am..."
"You’re lying!" Chu Chu was both furious and anxious, her face flushing bright red. "He’s fine! Much better than you... far better than you!"
Before Xiao Jin Yu could speak, Xiao Jue’s smile deepened. "Fine? If he weren’t the prince, if he didn’t hold such power... would he still be fine?"
"He is fine! No matter what, he’s fine!"
Xiao Jue burst into laughter, his body trembling with it. "No matter what... Fine... Let me tell you, marrying a cripple is the best... You can do whatever you want with him, have your way in everything... You haven’t tried it yet, have you? It’s not hard... Just like what you saw earlier. Go on, try it. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can always ask the embroideress to teach you..."
"Xiao Jue!"
Chu Chu, initially so angry she nearly covered Xiao Jue’s mouth, was startled by Xiao Jin Yu’s sharp rebuke. She quickly turned to look at him and saw his face deathly pale, his hands gripping the wheelchair armrests so tightly his knuckles cracked, his gaze cold and sharp as a blade fixed on Xiao Jue, who was laughing breathlessly.
"Wang Ye..."
Xiao Jin Yu stared at him for a long moment as Xiao Jue’s chest heaved with ragged breaths, interspersing his gasps with harsh, grating laughter.
"I will not return. Take care of yourself."
Only after they left the courtyard and boarded the carriage did Xiao Jue’s laughter, which sounded more like weeping, finally fade away completely.
The sky was heavily overcast, but not as dark as Xiao Jin Yu’s expression.
The guards helped Xiao Jin Yu lie down on the bamboo couch inside the carriage. As soon as the carriage began to move, Chu Chu leaned over the couch, taking his cold hand in hers as she looked at him cautiously. "Wang Ye, please don’t be angry."
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