Chapter 144: My Qilang
The Prince of Jiankang had begun to react. With an ashen face, he watched the hairpin in Chen Rong’s hand pus.h.i.+ng deeper and finally yelled, “Fine, I’ll let her out!”
He looked down at Chen Rong and frantically said, “Did you hear me? Get out, leave!”
Chen Rong did not move.
Her wrist continued to press down.
A small stab first sounded, followed by a stream of blood flowing from the prince’s throat. Though the stab was not deep, the threat of danger was nevertheless very real for a pampered man like the Prince of Jiankang.
He couldn’t stop himself from screaming in panic: “Have you gone mad, woman?! I told you to go, didn’t you hear me?”
w.a.n.g Hong and his men were listening to the development inside. As the guards were about to break into the room, w.a.n.g Hong waved his hand and faintly smiled, with gentleness and with a sigh. “Let her cool off, she knows her limits.”
They retreated behind him at his words.
Inside, Chen Rong weakly smiled to hear the Prince of Jiankang screaming in distress. Staring at him through her tired eyes, she pressed the hairpin deeper and coldly said, “You ought to thank w.a.n.g Qilang, Your Highness. You’d be a dead corpse by now if not for his arrival.”
Her voice was cold and ringing, and when she had spoken, she glared at him in disgust and threw the people in the corner a look.
As soon as she turned around to leave, the door was pushed opened to usher w.a.n.g Hong and his guards into her sight.
He was just in time to see Chen Rong slowly walk out.
She shook her foggy head when she saw him, but even then, her sight was so hazy that she stabbed her left wrist again. They all looked down at her porcelain wrist where they saw four wounds: one still fresh and the other three dried… It turned out she had been stabbing herself to stay sober.
w.a.n.g Hong’s eyes went to her wounds. He quickened his strides to reach her.
Without looking at her, he retrieved a handkerchief and gently bandaged her wrist. When he saw that his handkerchief was not enough to stop the bleeding, he tore his sleeve and placed the fabric on her wounds.
He was tender and careful, and did not let go of her hand after he finished his ministration.
Holding fast onto her hand, w.a.n.g Hong slowly looked up.
His pupils were as clear and as vivid as a lake in autumn. Chen Rong was also staring at him. Under the influence of the drug, her eyes were less cold and more dazed than usual. She would never look at him with such enamored eyes if she were sober.
w.a.n.g Hong suddenly pulled her into his arms
He closed his eyes and hoa.r.s.ely called, “Ah Rong, Ah Rong…”
Chen Rong stood still for a moment, and then broke from his hug and pulled away. But she was still tilting her head to dazedly look at him… so absorbed was her gaze, that she seemed to have abandoned all obstinacy and heartache to simply etch this love in her heart, foolishly showing it to the world.
Her gaze was too ardent, too pained, and too tragic… in this cold and absurd world, no one loved someone else this madly anymore.
w.a.n.g Hong suddenly felt his eyes stinging. He looked up. After some moments, he pulled her into his arms again.
He hugged Chen Rong tight and then let go, turned and went to the Prince of Jiankang.
He had only taken a step when Chen Rong held back his hand. She was still looking up at him like a little bird that was completely unlike her usual self. She looked a bit stupid, a bit vulnerable, and a bit intent all at once.
w.a.n.g Hong softly smiled. He took her into his arms and strode to the Prince of Jiankang.
The Prince of Jiankang’s minor neck wound had closed by this time. He stared at Chen Rong in a trance.
By the time w.a.n.g Hong neared, the prince suddenly sighed at the sky and said to the other man in a sincere voice: “I can never beat you.”
The dark fragrance was both a euphoriant and a hallucinogen. It kept people in a dream and open up their hidden desires while amplifying them tenfold. In addition to s.e.xual instinct, the user’s truest wishes would be in play. For this reason, there remained a trace of consciousness for those who used the incense.
The aristocrats had no shortage of women who were willing to be bedded or a shortage of drugs to choose from. Once any aphrodisiac took effect, a chaste widow could easily become a wh.o.r.e. The only reason dark incense was favored by the aristocrats was because even under its effect, the woman would retain her personality despite being controlled by her desires.
The prince’s eyes involuntary glanced at Chen Rong taking cover in w.a.n.g Hong’s arms. “This woman is too obsessed, but that makes her worthy of cheris.h.i.+ng.”
At this point, he softly recounted with a faraway look in his eyes: “My mother used to look at my father the same way… Too bad she wasn’t smart, so she easily got thrown into the brothel by the queen. Even in her death, my poor mother never received any pity from my father.”
The Prince of Jiankang suddenly threw his head back in laughter. His wound ruptured, blood gus.h.i.+ng out. “Fleetingly in the east, fleetingly in the west, our souls linger, when will we rest? When will we rest…?”
He ignored both w.a.n.g Hong and the bleeding on his neck, flapped his sleeves and madly raced out, his crazed laughter and mourning song still ringing as he went.
Staring after the Prince of Jiankang and the large number of guards who had arrived because of his hysterics, an advisor came to w.a.n.g Hong’s side to quietly say: “Qilang, let’s go.”
Another advisor came forward. He raised his clasped his hands to w.a.n.g Hong: “My lord, we couldn’t hope for a better result.”
w.a.n.g Hong nodded, coldly smiling in the direction the Prince of Jiankang had left.
They turned and walked out.
When they exited, Prince Ying’s guards gave way to let them through.
Before long, w.a.n.g Hong was carrying Chen Rong onto his carriage.
The vehicle steadily drove out.
This translation belongs to hamster428.
In the carriage, Chen Rong nestled in w.a.n.g Hong’s arms, still looking up at him. It was as if her subconsciousness wanted to look at him to her heart’s content, enough to fill her with his image from the past to the future, enough to last her an entire lifetime.
w.a.n.g Hong turned to give his guards orders before looking down at Chen Rong.
His arms tightened around her when he saw her enamored eyes.
Enveloping her in his arms, w.a.n.g Hong placed his face to hers. “Ah Rong?”
“Hmm?” Chen Rong dazedly replied.
w.a.n.g Hong smiled to hear her soft reply. He kissed her brow and asked, “Ah Rong do you love me?”
Chen Rong was still holding onto his sleeves in her trance. When she heard him ask, she murmured back, “I do.”
w.a.n.g Hong bloomed into a smile.
He placed his lips on her eyelid, softly asking: “Then will you come home with me?” Seeing her foggy eyes, he gently explained, “To the w.a.n.g family, where I am.”
Chen Rong tilted her head and looked at him as though she didn’t understand. After a good while, she murmured, “Home?” She shook her head, her smile silly and childlike, “Qilang, are you groggy? I have no home.”
She giggled while stroking w.a.n.g Hong’s smooth chin.
As her fingers strummed his skin, she murmured, “My lord, you look just like my Qilang.”
w.a.n.g Hong froze at her words. He softly repeated, “My Qilang?”
Of course Chen Rong couldn’t answer him in her trance. She dazedly looked at him, her small hand unconsciously sliding into his robe.
She pulled at his clothes through her murmurs: “You’re not another man, you’re my Qilang…” She appeared to be persuading herself to relax. After saying this a few times, her body slumped down.
She clung onto his arms, her right hand had slid from his lapels into his chest. When her searing hand made contact with his icy cool skin, Chen Rong made a relieved mewl. Pressing her face against his chest, she continued to murmur: “He’s not another man, he’s Qilang… my Qilang.”
As she repeated this sentence over and over, her face burned redder and redder, her breathing becoming more erratic.
At this moment, w.a.n.g Hong tipped her chin and forced her to look up.
His jade-like face was slightly ruddy now. He had just held Chen Rong’s face when his belt was loosened. A creamy warm hand snaked to his lower abdomen.