It was rare to see the Chu Emperor suffer a setback, so Chu Yunge even found Pei Ji more pleasing to the eye. She had originally thought it followed the trope where the dominant one chased the submissive one, but now it seemed reversed—and Pei Ji even had that straight-laced manly righteousness about him.
She felt like watching the drama unfold. “Imperial Brother invited you specifically because he wants to drink alone with you. If this princess joins, Imperial Brother won’t be happy.”
Pei Ji immediately retorted, “How could Your Majesty? There’s no such thing as alone or not.”
At this point, he suddenly recalled how Chu Yunge had once slandered him. He gave the Chu Emperor an apologetic smile before leaning close to Chu Yunge’s ear, his tone laced with wariness.
“Princess, what do you mean? Why do you make it sound so suspicious when I’m just normally drinking with His Majesty? You’re not trying to slander me again by saying I like men, are you?”
“I’m a normal man. I absolutely don’t like men. Don’t overthink it.”
Men liking men—if it were outsiders, he wouldn’t understand but would respect it. But being misunderstood as liking hard, smelly men himself? He only felt a chill of disgust.
It was terrifying.
Chu Yunge looked at the expression on Pei Ji’s face and nearly burst out laughing.
If he knew right now that the Chu Emperor had feelings for him, it wouldn’t just be bristling like an angry cat—he’d probably vomit.
She hadn’t read the novel, only watched edited comic clips, so she didn’t know how Pei Ji could be turned gay. But at this moment, it seemed the Chu Emperor had a long road ahead.
She was happy to watch the drama, happy to see the Chu Emperor suffer setbacks, so she replied:
“Got it.”
Pei Ji let out a breath of relief. He was truly afraid Chu Yunge would overthink again. “That’s good.”
He paused for a moment. “Then, Princess, do you want to join us?”
He could dance with his sword while they drank some wine, letting Chu Yunge see what a real man was like.
“I have some excellent fruit wine. It doesn’t harm the body and helps calm the mind for sleep. If you’re afraid of nightmares or insomnia, there’s also me…”
At this point, Pei Ji’s face instantly flushed hot, but he couldn’t stop himself from eagerly awaiting Chu Yunge’s answer.
He lowered his head to look at her, holding his breath in anticipation.
Before Chu Yunge could respond, the Chu Emperor’s voice came from behind. “What secrets are you two whispering about?”
Ever since Pei Ji had been dragged into the Princess Mansion and learned what Chu Yunge had done, he hadn’t hated her much. But how had their relationship become this good now?
Chu Yunge lazily propped her chin and looked up. Pei Ji’s face was red as he gazed down at her, his eyes full of youthful affection. The scene was pleasing and ambiguous, but a vein throbbed on the Chu Emperor’s forehead. “You’re just going to leave Us here on the side like this?”
Pei Ji turned back and hurriedly apologized. “It was my negligence.”
But his gaze still drifted toward Chu Yunge.
Chu Yunge glanced at the Chu Emperor and yawned. “Imperial Brother rarely finds someone to drink with. I won’t disturb you all, or Imperial Brother will blame this imperial sister for being clueless again.”
“You’re the one who doesn’t want to go, yet you push the blame onto Us.” The Chu Emperor shook his head and quickly concluded, “But you must be tired today, and your shoulder is injured too. Just rest well.”
Pei Ji looked at Chu Yunge. “You’re injured? Is it serious? Why didn’t you say so earlier… Wait, were you applying medicine before?”
Because it would be improper to look, he hadn’t dared to stare. He hadn’t noticed anything unusual at all. The scene had been too stimulating, so he’d even overlooked the medicine.
He was such an idiot.
Chu Yunge watched Pei Ji’s two paws fidgeting in front of her, not daring to touch but full of worry. For some reason, she thought of a little dog circling its owner anxiously.
Pei Ji truly was a wondrous man. He could be a cat one moment and dog-like the next—a one-man cat-dog combo.
“It’s just a minor injury. You should go quickly.”
The big bad wolf behind you only wants to drag you back to his den. You’re dawdling and fussing over others—he’s about to bite you.
But Pei Ji wasn’t bent yet, so this bone would be tough to gnaw.
With the Chu Emperor waiting nearby, Pei Ji couldn’t say more and could only accompany him first to his courtyard.
“Nine Heavens Courtyard.” The Chu Emperor looked at the plaque. “It suits you.”
He sighed casually. “My imperial sister is willful and made you suffer grievances. Now you’ve even been poisoned. We apologize to you on her behalf.”
Pei Ji forced a smile. He’d always thought His Majesty was helpless because he doted on the princess. But after seeing how the siblings interacted, he found the whole thing suspicious.
Given the Chu Emperor’s attitude toward the princess—visiting late at night without announcement, guards who seemed entirely his people—he could easily control the princess. Sending Pei Ji back before the poisoning would have been a single word from the Chu Emperor.
But he hadn’t.
Pei Ji lowered his eyes. “Your Majesty needn’t do this. The grievances between the princess and me can be resolved by us alone.”
Since the Chu Emperor hadn’t intervened before, there was no need for him to apologize on Chu Yunge’s behalf now, or to meddle.
He poured the wine. “Please, Your Majesty.”
The Chu Emperor lowered his gaze to the wine cup. “If Little Marquis doesn’t resent my imperial sister, then We can breathe easier.”
Pei Ji toasted the Chu Emperor but didn’t respond, nor did he mention Chu Yunge again.
The two had known each other since childhood. Though they’d separated later, they’d always kept in touch.
The Chu Emperor had been frail as a child, and Pei Ji had even taught him boxing to build his body.
As they reminisced about the past, the mood gradually warmed. The Chu Emperor yearned for the jianghu Pei Ji described and had Li Chengzhe fetch a sword case, saying he wanted to gift Pei Ji a sword, learn swordsmanship from him, and dance swords together.
Pei Ji had originally planned to dance sword for Chu Yunge. Dancing with the Chu Emperor and teaching him wasn’t a big deal.
But when he saw the sword and felt the Chu Emperor’s hand on his shoulder, Pei Ji inexplicably felt uncomfortable.
Even the idea of dancing swords together with the Chu Emperor started to feel off.
He didn’t know if it was the influence of Chu Yunge’s talk about men liking men, or his own desire to dance sword for her, but suddenly he didn’t want to show his sword dance to anyone.
Not even the Chu Emperor.
It just felt weird to have the Chu Emperor holding a cup of wine and watching him.
“Your Majesty, blades have no eyes. As the Nine Dragons Supreme, you mustn’t take risks.”
Pei Ji refused, citing the emperor’s safety, and even quickly summoned Wen Xin and Wu Kui at top speed. “These two attendants of mine have followed me through the jianghu. I trained them personally, and they’re somewhat famous there. Let them dance sword for you.”
This completely cut off any chance of him dancing for the Chu Emperor.
Wen Xin and Wu Kui danced with full effort, but the Chu Emperor, who had been enthusiastic before, had no interest in watching them. He only chatted with Pei Ji, his eyes rarely on the two performing wholeheartedly—instead, they kept drifting to him.
Pei Ji felt a bit unhappy for Wen Xin and Wu Kui, and found the Chu Emperor truly strange.
The Chu Emperor’s words and actions weren’t problematic on the surface, but for some reason, Pei Ji just felt off. What should have been normal ruler-minister interactions suddenly felt uncomfortable. In the end, this dashing jianghu hero became more proper than anyone, turning polite and distant.
No matter how the Chu Emperor tried to get close, it was useless—the closer he got, the more Pei Ji pulled away warily.
The Chu Emperor quickly restrained himself. When he was somewhat drunk, he suggested sleeping with feet touching, chatting through the night until dawn. Pei Ji refused with excuses like “I dare not” and “Your Majesty, my feet stink.”
He couldn’t accept it.
Even if he was the supreme ruler, Pei Ji still couldn’t accept it.
Might as well kill him.
The Chu Emperor leaned against Pei Ji’s bed, rendered speechless by the “stinky feet” remark. In the end, he chuckled and shifted inward, patting the bed.
“Then no feet touching. Side by side it is.”
He smiled faintly as he said it.
Pei Ji: “…”
Side by side? Side what by side?
Chu Yunge had poor sleeping posture—he’d even mentioned it to her. Not to mention the Chu Emperor, a stinky man.
Sleeping side by side with him? Might as well kill him!
Why was Heaven punishing him like this!
And he was smiling—what was he smiling about?
Why did the Chu Emperor have to say that with Chu Yunge’s face? He’d have nightmares!