Today, the Guide Prince, Haifei, who had been bedridden at the Imperial Hospital for years, returned, bringing with him a Sentinel. In no time, the palace servants ran around, spreading the gossip like wildfire.
Little Recluse went to see the Empress first, while Jun Ye sat in a wheelchair, being pushed into the recuperation room by the palace’s majordomo.
Upon entering the resting room, the enthusiastic steward immediately led Jun Ye to a recliner covered with a pink cartoon-printed blanket, and bowed to ask for permission.
Jun Ye could still walk a few steps on his own, but being treated like a sick child made him feel awkward and unwilling to lie down.
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Just as he was about to refuse, he noticed the elderly steward’s hair, now graying, reminiscing about how much the young Prince used to love this recliner when he was a child, and how the Empress would reminisce about him while looking at it, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.
The elderly steward and the servants, holding little snacks and plush toys, all had tears in their eyes as they looked at Jun Ye.
“…”
Jun Ye silently stood up from the wheelchair, startling the elderly steward who quickly rushed forward and grabbed Jun Ye’s arm.
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The elderly steward, with a kind smile, quickly helped Jun Ye back into the recliner.
Jun Ye: “…”
The elderly steward smiled kindly, and the servants gathered around.
Before long, Jun Ye was surrounded by various stuffed animals.
Jun Ye’s expression was a bit torn.
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Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long before he heard somewhat urgent footsteps.
Dressed in a golden gown and white gloves, the imposing Emperor Empress entered, with dozens of exquisite gems shimmering on his body under the light, like overly decorated blades.
The basketball-sized blue glittering jellyfish floated beside the Empress, and dozens of ribbon-like tentacles danced with its movements.
The Empress was a male Guide who didn’t reveal his actual age from his appearance, exuding a fierce air all over, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, and skin as white as a freshly painted wall.
The steward and the servants tactfully withdrew, leaving Jun Ye submerged in plush toys, facing the Empress emitting the glow of gemstones.
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Most dreaded was the sudden silence in the air…
Little Recluse was absent, evidently indicating the failure of their conversation.
Jun Ye quickly thought about what to do next.
Being together was definitely a must; they had already marked each other mentally. More importantly, Little Recluse, as another task target, despite being a completely different type, still fit his taste very well.
The person in front of him was his father… or perhaps mother?
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Jun Ye looked at the male Guide standing in the distance, feeling a bit uncertain.
The Empress walked to the sofa opposite Jun Ye, gathered his outer robe, and sat down, shoulders straight, eyes meeting Jun Ye’s evenly.
This posture, rather than that of an Imperial Empress, resembled more of a military officer.
This military officer was probably not very good at dealing with family members.
From Jun Ye’s perspective, the Empress remained calm, while the jellyfish had quietly drifted to the back of the sofa, its dozens of tentacles intertwining together.
The two stared at each other, neither speaking until Jun Ye’s brows suddenly furrowed, a familiar impulse rising to his throat.
The Empress’s figure moved, almost teleporting to the recliner where Jun Ye was curled up amidst a pile of plush toys, his eyes fixed on Jun Ye nestled in the toy heap, his gloved hands tightly gripping the arms of the recliner.
The jellyfish floated above the recliner, its tentacles spreading out in all directions, as if wanting to embrace the person on the recliner, but those tentacles stopped about ten centimeters above Jun Ye’s body.
For several minutes of relentless coughing, Jun Ye’s body instinctively curled up, each cough shaking the plush toys scattered over him.
After a long time, Jun Ye gasped heavily, clutching at his chest.
Just as he struggled to lift his head from the pile of toys, he collided with the Empress’s pale face and sea-blue eyes.
The Empress’s gaze swept over Jun Ye’s body, then he stood up straight and walked to the nearby table, returning shortly with a cup of warm tea in a gold-bottomed silver-patterned cup.
Jun Ye glanced at it, then turned over and climbed out of the toy heap, sitting up and accepting the tea handed to him by the Empress, sipping it slowly with his head bowed.
Jun Ye still didn’t know what exactly was wrong with him. The only thing he knew was that he was physically weak and would cough violently at the slightest movement.
It was as if, as soon as he covered his mouth with a white handkerchief, after coughing, he would see blood blossoming like plum blossoms.
Jun Ye sipped his tea, occasionally coughing lightly.
The Empress stood silently beside the recliner, while the jellyfish seemed slightly restless, circling around this area.
When Jun Ye finished the tea, the Empress took the cup and turned to pour another cup.
Jun Ye: “…”
He silently accepted it.
Just as Jun Ye thought this father-(mother) -son meeting would pass in the silence of tea-drinking, the Empress spoke up, “Haifei, are you sure you want to bond with Xiu Si?”
Jun Ye was momentarily stunned before realizing that “Haifei” and “Xiu Si” were their respective names.
It was only then that he realized he had never mentioned names to Little Recluse. It seemed that subconsciously, he didn’t think names mattered, as long as it was that person.
Which… person?
That was equally unimportant.
“I am sure,” Jun Ye replied solemnly, looking at the Empress.
The Empress fell silent again, and the restless jellyfish stopped moving, its long tentacles intertwining with each other, almost forming a knot.
Jun Ye somewhat understood the Empress’s mood. After all, a Guide son who was so frail, it seemed like any Sentinel could easily bully him and he wouldn’t be able to get up.
After some thought, Jun Ye picked out the largest plush toy from the pile and held it out to the Empress with both hands.
The Empress: “…”
Taking the plush toy that had nothing to do with him, the Empress looked deeply into Jun Ye’s eyes, and finally, without saying a word, walked away, holding the plush toy.
The steward and the servants flooded in once again.
Jun Ye felt a bit bewildered as the Empress left like that, unsure if his bribe had succeeded.
The entire day passed, and Jun Ye didn’t see the Empress or Little Recluse, even after he finished dinner.
Assisted into his wheelchair by the steward, Jun Ye listened as the steward prattled on, from how to use the automatic wheelchair to where the emergency supplies were placed in the prince’s bedroom. Jun Ye vaguely felt something was off.
The steward stopped outside the prince’s bedroom, bowing and asking, “Does His Highness know how to operate the wheelchair?”
Jun Ye felt even more puzzled, but nodded truthfully. After being lectured so many times, he could even feel the emergency alarm hidden in the wheelchair’s secret compartment with his eyes closed.
But why was the steward so eager to tell him all this?
Surely, security in the palace wasn’t so bad that even the prince could be attacked?
With Jun Ye’s confirmation, the steward released the wheelchair handles and stepped back.
Jun Ye: “…”
Was this a signal to just leave him at the door?
Something was definitely not right…
Jun Ye controlled the wheelchair to move forward and placed his hand on the sensor next to the door.
Click—
Unlock successful.
As Jun Ye was about to push the door, he heard the steward standing at a distance remind him again, “If you need any tools, you can check the first drawer by the bedside or contact me directly through the mainframe.”
Jun Ye: “…”
This was really suspicious…
Raising his hand, Jun Ye pushed open the door.
Inside the room, there was a soft orchid light, like seawater illuminated by moonlight in the deep night, swaying with gentle ripples of light and shadow.
On the bed in the center was someone.
A familiar figure.
Jun Ye paused for a moment, all his doubts connecting together, suddenly making sense.
Controlling the wheelchair to glide in, closing the door, the tranquil space was filled with the breath of two people.
Approaching little by little, the figure on the bed became clearer and clearer.
That person was lying flat on his back, in a spread-eagle position, his posture very stiff.
Bound with military-grade ropes, of course, he was stiff.
Jun Ye stopped at the edge of the bed, abandoning the wheelchair under the gaze of the man on the bed, and climbed onto the bed.
The man on the bed was none other than Little Recluse, who had been missing for most of the day.
At this moment, Little Recluse’s limbs were spread apart, bound in the middle of the bed with ropes, and his sturdy muscles displayed a special charm under the blue light.
“Xiu Si?” Jun Ye called out, his gaze full of interest as he examined Little Recluse on the bed from head to toe.
Little Recluse was bound to the bed, and Jun Ye wondered if this counted as succeeding in the negotiation with the Empress.
There was a faint tremor in the broken light at the bottom of Xiu Si’s eyes. He pursed his lips and nodded, then glanced away.
Bound by ropes, stripped of his clothes, with only a thin sheet covering his waist and abdomen, this kind of posture was too shameful to be looked down upon by a partner who had once been mentally bonded. This made Xiu Si very uncomfortable.
“This is to prevent injury to the Guide,” Xiu Si reminded himself quietly in his heart.
Jun Ye reached out and tugged at the black binding rope around Xiu Si’s wrist. The rope was tied tightly, leaving red marks on the man’s wrists.
“Is this at the Empress’s request?” Jun Ye asked as he examined the way the rope was tied.
Xiu Si looked at Jun Ye with a somewhat puzzled expression, then nodded, adding, “I consented.”
Jun Ye didn’t pay any more attention to him, focusing on untying the knots.
It seemed that whoever tied the knots was very mistrustful, as a reef knot had been tied into a half-hitch knot under absolute tension. Even though Jun Ye knew the correct method of untying, he still couldn’t untie it after pulling and tugging for a long time.
Xiu Si watched silently as Jun Ye struggled, until he saw Jun Ye’s palms turning red from the friction, and quickly spoke up, “Tied by His Majesty himself. He used to be a lieutenant general in the military, so it’s tied very tightly… you… don’t have to worry.”
Jun Ye, already feeling awkward about his weak body, became irritated at this point and snapped.
With a toss, he dropped Xiu Si’s hand, feeling annoyed. “Don’t you feel any pain yourself?”
Xiu Si fell silent, looking at his own numb hands, then glanced cautiously at Jun Ye, soothingly saying, “It doesn’t hurt, and it’s not tied very tightly…”
“…”
Jun Ye reached out and pinched the clearly congested palm of the man, not believing a word of what he said.
But even with his weak strength, he couldn’t untie the ropes…
A flash seemed to pass through his mind, and Jun Ye suddenly turned his head to look at the bedside drawer.
If tools were needed… just open the first drawer by the bedside.
Although he knew that this “tool” was more likely something else, Jun Ye still climbed over with a try-it attitude, reaching out to pull open the drawer.
Lubricant, no.
Small whip, no.
XX medicine… no.
After rummaging through the entire drawer, Jun Ye didn’t find the tools he needed. Meanwhile, Xiu Si , who was watching by the side, had started to breathe heavily, his heartbeat accelerating. His gaze fell secretly on the taut buttocks of the Guide lying on his side, unable to help but swallow his saliva.
If it weren’t for being tied up, Xiu Si would probably have already pressed up against him.
How could such strenuous exercise be left for the frail Guide to complete?
At least… he could manually help the little Guide with lubrication.
At the thought of being the second to touch the Guide’s body, even if it was his own Guide’s fingers, Xiu Si felt both jealous and uncomfortable.
Everyone in this arc is kinda…. special…. I guess lmao