Dandere General and his Lord

17. Drunk

“A’Feng, you were actually able to come out to see me.” Mo Qiao Sheng was pleasantly surprised as he led A’Feng inside. 

A’Feng followed, walking slowly behind him. He lightly sat down on the chair, those attractive brows knitting slightly. 

Mo Qiao Sheng’s heart sank as he sighed and poured him a cup of water. 

“When I left that day, I ran into Weibei Marquis at the gate. He appeared to be very discontent with me, so I was cautious since he might take his anger out on you. Sure enough, it’s still….” 

A’Feng held the thick porcelain cup and twisted it in his hands. He mumbled to himself in a low voice. “Master, he’s becoming more and more excessive. I don’t know how long I can endure.” 

His other hand tightly clenched onto his clothes until the blue veins on the back of his hand bulged out. He was silent for a moment before he lifted up his head and looked at Mo Qiao Sheng. “A’Sheng, can you help me?” 

There was a rarely seen, soft expression on A’Feng’s ever unchanging cold face. “Can you give me a chance to meet with Marquis Jin Yue? I…. I’ll try to see whether I can get him to like me.” 

Mo Qiao Sheng looked at those beautiful phoenix eyes for a moment, before finally averting his gaze. 

“I’m sorry. I can’t conceal anything from the Master or do anything that might go against his wishes.” 

But I will look for an opportunity to ask Master for help and ask him whether he could buy you from Weibei Marquis.

This was a matter that made things extremely difficult for Mo Qiao Sheng. He felt that he did not have the qualifications to beg his Master for anything and was uncertain whether he would be able to get his Master’s consent. 

So, he did not verbalize the latter half of his sentence. 

A’Feng’s head hung down and he laughed mockingly at himself. “It’s fine. You don’t have to brood over it. I won’t make things difficult for you.” 

He turned over the cup in his hand. “Do you have any wine? Master will return home in two days. I’m afraid it will be hard for us to see each other again.” 

“Yes. Wait for me.” 

Mo Qiao Sheng turned around and retrieved a small pot of wine from the cupboard. 

He poured wine into the two cups that were resting on top of the table. 

They clinked their cups together in silence. 

Both of them drank silently, their hearts filled with bitterness. 

After drinking his cup of wine, Mo Qiao Sheng started to feel somewhat dizzy. He propped himself up against the table and threw back his head, looking at A’Feng with astonishment. 

Soon after, he lost control of his body. 

A’Feng caught his body as it collapsed before supporting him to lie down on his bed. 

Mo Qiao Sheng sank into a deep sleep. 

A’Feng stood by the bed as he looked sorrowfully at this brother who held no defenses before himself. 

“Forgive me. If I don’t do this, I will die.” 

He picked up the bottle of liquor and splashed it evenly on the bedding. 

It was already late at night when Cheng Qianye finished her inspection at the river embankment. 

She couldn’t help sneaking out to the outer courtyard where Mo Qiao Sheng lived as soon as she returned to the mansion. 

It was already a well known secret in the City Lord’s Mansion that the Lord went to meet the humble slave every day after he returned to the mansion. 

The rumour that Mo Qiao Sheng had replaced Xiao Xiu as the Lord’s most favoured “male pet” had also been spread amongst them. 

I’ll go take a look and see whether that poor little boy has had anything to eat today and check whether he’s hungry again.

Cheng Qianye made up an excuse for herself. She entered the room in high spirits, smiling as she called out to the man sitting at the table with his back to her, “Xiao Mo.” 

In a second, her smile froze on her face and her steps halted. 

This man’s colour is wrong! 

It was not the sapphire blue colour of Mo Qiao Sheng, but an unfamiliar wine red. It could also be counted as a beautiful colour, but it was mixed with a dense ashy black which made it appear lifeless and turbid. 

“Who are you?” Cheng Qianye questioned sternly. 

She drew back a step, ready to call out for the guards at any moment. 

The man sitting in front of the desk turned around and he prostrated himself with his hands folded, giving her the most humble of salutes. 

Cheng Qianye had a little impression of him. She vaguely recalled that he was a slave from Weibei Marquis’ side. Perhaps the man was an old friend of Mo Qiao Sheng. 

She did not spot any emotional colours on him that implied any malevolence, so she relaxed her apprehension. 

Sweeping her gaze across the room, she caught sight of Mo Qiao Sheng who was lying down on the bed, his appearance placid without any peculiarity. 

“Who are you? What’s wrong with Qiao Sheng?” 

“Reporting back to the Marquis. This slave belongs to Weibei Marquis and is called A’Feng. This slave is an old friend of Qiao Sheng’s and we share some feelings together. Thinking that we would be parting ways soon, we wound up forgetting ourselves and drank a bit too much. Qiao Sheng is not good at holding his liquor and he just fell asleep.”

Cheng Qianye strode forward to check on Mo Qiao Sheng. She saw that he was sound asleep, his whole body smelling of wine, allowing her to dissolve the uneasy thoughts in her heart. 

“Marquis, please don’t punish him, everything is A’Feng’s fault.” 

A’Feng raised his head, exposing his beautiful face which was like a peach blossom, his eyes appearing to contain autumn water. He looked at Cheng Qianye bashfully as he spoke softly to her. 

“If Marquis does not disdain this slave, A’Feng can take Qiao Sheng’s place and serve you.” 

Cheng Qianye turned back to look at him and saw that the man’s long black hair was spread out in the moonlight, his clothes messy. 

His long hair was slightly curled and full of charm, his shoulder wrapped in a white bandage. The moonlight from outside the window was slanted on his skin, leaving him half shadowed and exposing the purple bruises that covered his body, exhibiting a cruel yet soul-stirring sort of beauty. 

An amorous light illuminated his gaze as he glanced at Cheng Qianye with a shallow smile.

If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Cheng Qianye would have found it hard to believe that a man could have such a lovely and touching appearance, being so unabashedly beautiful.

Nonetheless, Cheng Qianye felt slightly discomfited. She could see that behind his sunny exterior, he was overflowing with a thick ashy black denoting his crushing defeat and despair.

She sighed and took off her overcoat before draping it over his admittedly beautiful shoulders, which had nevertheless turned pale from the cold.

A’Feng was mystified. He had hardly failed in this sort of situation where he had made the first move.

His body, which had become somewhat stiff from the cold, was suddenly enveloped in a warm coat. Two spotlessly white hands reached over and tightened his collar before gently patting him on the shoulder.

By the time his soul made its way back to his body, Marquis Jin Yue had already left, his voice still seeming to echo in the room.

“Don’t force yourself to do this kind of thing.”

Cheng Qianye fled back to the inner courtyard, stroking her face that seemed to be burning.

Mommy! These beautiful men from these ancient times keep undressing in front of me and offering their bodies to me. It’s really unbearable!

She suddenly recalled that Mo Qiao Sheng was alone in there and felt rather uneasy.

Therefore, she beckoned and stopped Xiao Xiu who just so happened to be passing by and instructed, “Xiao Xiu, there’s a man from Weibei Marquis’ side in Qiao Sheng’s room right now. Qiao Sheng is drunk so you take a few people over and have a look. Don’t let anything happen.”

_________

Mo Qiao Sheng was having a nightmare. He dreamt that he had returned to the study of his first master, Wu Xueli.

He was kneeling on the ground and the broken inkstone was right in front of him. There was a crowd of people encircling him, all of them stretching out their hands as they pointed their fingers at him and yelled in unification, “It was him, he did it!”

Mo Qiao Sheng was seized with terror as he desperately tugged at his master’s robe. “It wasn’t me, Master! It really wasn’t me!”

Wu Xueli’s expression was sinister and terrifying. “Take off his pants and give him a 100 strikes with the rod before selling him off to the brothel!”

“No, master, please believe me! It wasn’t me, don’t!”.

Wu Xueli’s face suddenly transformed into Marquis Jin Yue’s face, his expression gentle and amiable as always. Mo Qiao Sheng’s heart was just on the verge of settling down.

However, he heard his voice say freely, “Qiao Sheng, since everyone says it was you, then there’s nothing I can do about it either. I’ll have to sell you.”

Mo Qiao Sheng’s whole body was drenched in cold sweat. He rolled out of his bed and discovered that it was already daytime.

He recalled the circumstances of the previous night and felt his mind burst with pain. He didn’t know whether he felt more pained or angered.

He swiftly got dressed and walked apprehensively towards the master’s inner courtyard. He was unaware as to whether something might have happened last night that might have aroused his master’s displeasure, leaving him at a loss on how he should face his master.

Xiao Xiu stopped him halfway on his journey and said, “Qiao Sheng, haven’t you been having a bit too much contact with Weibei Marquis’ people recently?”

Xiao Xiu wrinkled his brows. “You got drunk last night and actually let an outsider stay in your room. Don’t you know that the Lord goes to look for you everyday? Fortunately, My Lord wasn’t disturbed. You wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility if you cause the Lord to be unhappy.”

Mo Qiao Sheng had no justification and bowed his head to admit his mistake.

Zhang Fu happened to pass by at that moment and mediated smilingly, “Qiao Sheng’s care for his old friends is only natural. In any case, Weibei Marquis will also be returning to his fiefdom in two days.”

Both men knelt down and made their salutations at Zhang Fu’s presence.

Zhang Fu gently continued, “Nonetheless, Qiao Sheng, you must bear in mind that you are already a person who belongs to the Lord. Take note of your position and have less contact with those people. Your Lord must be your first priority, don’t you think so?”

Mo Qiao Sheng lay prostrate on the ground, his guilt weighing heavily on him.

Sure enough, two days later, Cheng Qianye bade adieu to Weibei Marquis before he set off.

She held a farewell banquet in the City Lord’s mansion in his honour.

At the banquet, Mo Qiao Sheng ran into A’Feng once more.

A’Feng was murmuring something softly to Xiao Xiu within the shadows outside the hall.

Once he saw him, A’Feng merely shot him a cold glance before turning away without saying another word.

“Qiao Sheng, Qiao Sheng, I was just about to look for you.” Xiao Xiu called out to him. “Come help me carry this. This meal box is too heavy.”

Xiao Xiu was carrying two meal boxes in his hands as he grumbled, “Lu Yao actually got food poisoning today of all days and can’t get out of bed. The whole kitchen is in disorder and even the people serving the food aren’t any good. I can’t rest assured, we must handle My Lord’s food personally by ourselves.”

Mo Qiao Sheng took both of the proffered meal boxes before asking in puzzlement, “Do you know A’Feng?”

“That day when you were drunk, My Lord said there was a stranger in your room and he didn’t feel assured so he sent me to look after you and I met him then.” Xiao Xiu walked beside him and rubbed his arm. “We ran into each other by coincidence just now and said hello. Speaking of which, My Lord is really considerate and attentive towards you.”

Presently in the banquet hall, there were well-known generals and officers from both sides sitting with each other as they exchanged cups and toasted each other, the atmosphere extremely harmonious.

Xiao Xiu and Mo Qiao Sheng both knelt down by Cheng Qianye’s side.

Mo Qiao Sheng opened the meal box and carried out the food.