Chapter 133 Scandalous

Chapter 133: Scandalous and Depraved

Cheng Ge's Adam's apple bobbed nervously, and a cold sweat beaded on the back of his neck.

Son of a bitch! Fucking Yun Xunyu!

His eyes darted. He licked his numb lips and forced himself to reply calmly, "Your Highness, I... I ate some wild fruit, and my lips swelled up..."

"Wild fruit?" Zhou Zhan squinted suspiciously. "What wild fruit could make your lips swell up like that?"

"They were... red..." Cheng Ge gestured vaguely toward a bush in the distance. "It tasted sweet and sour, but who knew..."

Before he could finish, Yang Guanlan suddenly spoke up, "I've heard some people react badly to certain fruits—break out in a rash, and sometimes it can kill 'em."

Zhou Zhan panicked. He nervously held Cheng Ge's face.

He stared at Cheng Ge's swollen mouth, and pulled him to go.

"You can't just eat whatever roadside fruit you find! Come on, let's find the doctor."

Cheng Ge: "..."

Cheng Ge quickly waved his hand, "See, no rash. I'll be fine after a quick rest."

"No way. What if something's wrong? Let the doctor check you so we can relax."

Cheng Ge pulled his hand free. "Your Highness, really, it's fine. We'll be returning to the hunting grounds soon.

His Majesty put me in charge of the hunt. If he catches me missing, I'll be in trouble."

Zhou Zhan frowned upon hearing this and couldn't help complaining.

"Father's really something. He knows you're frail and still dumps this on you. He must be losing it."

Cheng Ge's eyes went wide.

"Your Highness, please watch your words!" Cheng Ge was fed up. "If you wanna die, don't take me with you!"

If Zhou Mingqi hears that, we'd all get beaten—not just the Crown Prince.

Zhou Zhan also realized he had misspoken. He glanced around, his eyes landing on Yang Guanlan.

Yang Guanlan: "..."

Yang Guanlan pretended to dig in his ear, turned away, and muttered to himself.

"Oh man, my ears have been weird lately. I can't hear right. Must be earwax."

Zhou Zhan nodded, satisfied, and turned to smile at Cheng Ge. "Relax, just you and me."

Cheng Ge: "..." Ha, real smart.

"Here, take this. Rations are stingy here. Figured you were still hungry." Zhou Zhan said, pulling a wrapped snack from his shirt and handing it to Cheng Ge.

Cheng Ge was startled. He took it instinctively and opened it to find a few pieces of pastry.

"I specially saved these for you this morning. Try some." Zhou Zhan looked at him expectantly.

The royal hunt was a kind of training for the young royals.

Apart from basics, you couldn't even bring extra servants.

And the kitchen provided fixed food rations for each person.

Except the emperor, nobody—no matter who—could get extra. That was the rule.

To be honest, Cheng Ge was a little moved. This guy really was a true friend.

He grabbed Zhou Zhan's wrist tightly, tears in his eyes.

"Your Highness, I'll never forget this meal, not even when I die."

With that, he pinched a piece of pastry and shoved it into his mouth, the sweetness spreading across his tongue.

"Your Highness, would you like some?" Cheng Ge asked perfunctorily.

"I don't—" Zhou Zhan started to refuse as the pastry was offered to him.

But before he could finish, the hand pulled back fast, like 'Alright, I'll eat it myself.'

Zhou Zhan: "..."

Cheng Ge was truly starving. He didn't know what modesty was—only food mattered.

Zhou Zhan watched him eat, finding it a bit adorable. His gaze unconsciously fell on Cheng Ge's lips.

His upper lip curved like a bow, full lower lip like a cherry, glossy and inviting...

Zhou Zhan swallowed hard. The scene from the woods flashed through his mind.

If his guess was right, Yun Xunyu's sweetheart was a man.

He knew some guys were into guys, and Zhou Zhan always looked down on that.

Just imagining two men being intimate disgusted him.

But now, strangely, if it were Cheng Ge, it didn't seem so bad.

"Muyu, I just saw the Third Prince of Nanling with a guy at..."

"Cough!!!" Cheng Ge choked on the pastry, coughing hard, face bright red.

Zhou Zhan quickly patted his back to help him catch his breath. "I just said it casually. Why are you freaking out?"

Cheng Ge: "???"

Cheng Ge's heart nearly stopped. He looked at Zhou Zhan in panic.

What did he mean? Did this kid find out? Was he testing me?

"Your Highness! You must be seeing things! How could two men..." Cheng Ge's face turned red.

Zhou Zhan saw he didn't believe him and said, "Why would I lie? I saw it with my own eyes.

...

If I hadn't walked closer, they'd have done something shameless right in broad daylight!"

Cheng Ge: "!!!"

What do you mean by "all over each other"? Which eye of yours saw us being all lovey-dovey and not wanting to let go?

I damn well rejected them, okay! If you keep spreading rumors to ruin my reputation, don't blame me if I off the Crown Prince.

"For real?" Cheng Ge tried to calm himself down and asked cautiously, "Your Highness, besides the Third Prince, who was the other person?"

Zhou Zhan shook his head. "Someone was blocking them, so I didn't get a good look at their face."

Cheng Ge was secretly relieved, but pretended to be curious: "This Third Prince of Nanling looks like a talented gentleman; who would've thought he had that kind of taste."

Zhou Zhan secretly glanced at Cheng Ge and spoke cautiously, "So what does Muyu think about this matter? Two men..."

"Such behavior from the Third Prince is truly totally immoral and against the natural order! If it were me, I'd never do something so disgraceful and shameless!" Cheng Ge said with a serious face.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhan started to say something but stopped, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Oh, is that so? Which exactly of these scandalous, shameless things have I done, Lord Cheng?"

Hearing this familiar voice, a chill ran down Cheng Ge's spine.

He slowly turned his head and saw Yun Xunyu poking his head out from the barracks behind him, looking at him with a half-smile.

Cheng Ge: "..."