Chapter 50 Blackening Level Rising! Blackening Level Up!

Chapter 50: Blackening Value Increases! Blackening Value Upgrades!

The shadow of death shattered all illusions for Ziyi in that moment, and also ignited her fury.

Perhaps harboring the same thoughts, she had sensed it long ago.

Her master, the master she regarded as her heaven, actually humbled himself and fawned over that fool of a crown prince!

Because she wanted to climb into her master's bed, she saw through his intentions at a glance—her master wanted to climb into that fool crown prince's bed!

Why! Why!

That fool crown prince, aside from having a handsome face and being a nation's crown prince, was there anywhere he could compare to her master?

Moreover, a nation's crown prince was her master's enemy!

How could her master submit to an enemy, to be humiliated and controlled by him!

She would never allow it!

Ziyi shouted with all her strength, "Master, you, wake up. The crown prince, he is not a good person. He wants to manipulate you. He has been asking us about your every move, controlling everything about you. He wants to use me to monitor you, master. He will harm you..."

Luo Yunchen slowly smiled, his fingers tightening.

With a "crack," Ziyi's eyes widened, and she stopped breathing.

Luo Yunchen wiped each finger clean with a handkerchief, then threw it to the ground, murmuring, "You're right, Crown Prince Brother has indeed made me suffer terribly."

Luo Yunchen raised his right hand, revealing a thin strand of black hair tied around his wrist.

Licking his lips, Luo Yunchen leaned in and placed a kiss on the black hair.

His enchanting red eyes narrowed, glimmering with lust: "Crown Prince Brother has made me unable to leave him. Away from him, I cannot breathe, I will burn to death, I will die of hunger and thirst!"

***

On Su Zheng's side, as soon as the system reported the terms "Ziyi" and "Master," he told it to stop.

This was clearly a meeting of allies; everything would fall into place naturally!

Su Zheng: "System, don't you think such a big target right in front of you is blinding your display screen?"

"..."

"Host, this might be a minor character; I neglected to verify their identity!"

"Host, wait a moment, I'll immediately look up this Ziyi!"

"Host, I found out—this Ziyi is the former palace maid who was saved by the male lead when he disguised himself as a palace maid back then.

She was later taken by the Fifteenth Princess Su Qiran as a toy to torment.

When she was barely alive, everyone thought she was dead and threw her out. The male lead happened to find her and saved her, so she pledged allegiance to him.

But at that time, she wasn't of much use. The male lead told her to first find a master in the palace and establish herself, so she'd been working hard toward that.

In the normal timeline, Ziyi ended up with the Crown Prince and secretly gave the male lead some intelligence about him. She had few appearances and a limited role—truly a minor character!"

"Also, in the buggy original timeline, Ziyi didn't even get a chance to appear!"

Su Zheng: "Alright, I forgive you. No need to keep making excuses for your incompetence."

"..."

The system went into a sulk!

Su Zheng left the bedchamber and headed for the hot spring, but a palace maid blocked his way.

Su Zheng recognized her as the only one who hadn't gone to attend to Heir Luo and had been left idle.

The maid curtsied: "Your Highness, are you going to bathe? I know some massage techniques—they're quite decent. Could I serve you during your bath, ease your muscles? I guarantee to make Your Highness feel refreshed."

Su Zheng thought she was probably anxious about having no work during her shift and came to him for a task.

After a moment's thought, Su Zheng nodded: "Xiaoyunzi, stay. You'll come with me."

As they approached the hot spring, Su Zheng dismissed the maid: "No need to help me undress. Go prepare some tea and snacks and bring them in later."

After the maid left, Su Zheng removed his clothes and changed into a bathrobe for the hot spring.

"Warning! Male lead's blackening value increased! Blackening value upgraded! Current blackening value: Level 8!"

"Warning! Male lead's blackening value increased! Blackening value upgraded! Current blackening value: Level 9!"

Su Zheng froze.

He wanted to curse!

Rubbing his twitching forehead, Su Zheng asked the system: "System, what's going on? What happened to the male lead again? Wasn't he in the midst of intimate pleasure? How did his blackening value drop back to zero overnight?!"

Before the system could respond, Su Zheng guessed: "Could it be that Ziyi wasn't a virgin? And the male lead, being a traditional man, can't accept that?!"

"..."

The system decisively ignored Su Zheng's question and said directly: "Just now, the male lead suddenly came looking for you. When he didn't find you, Xiaoyunzi said you had taken that palace maid to the hot spring. Then the male lead's expression instantly changed—he became furious, his blackening value shot up, and he disappeared!"

Su Zheng: "Vanished? How did he vanish?"

"He's coming here..."

Su Zheng: "Coming here? Who?"

Before the system could reply, Su Zheng felt a cold, dark shadow rapidly approach and press down on him.

Just as Su Zheng turned to look, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, trapping him in an icy embrace.

The icy sensation made Su Zheng shiver involuntarily.

Su Zheng instinctively struggled and shouted, "Who is it? Let go!"

But soon, a familiar scent and voice calmed him down: "Who did you think it was, Crown Prince Brother?"

So Luo Yunchen had vanished and come here?!

Su Zheng stopped struggling and asked, "Why did you suddenly come here?"

"Does Crown Prince Brother not want me to come? Who did you want to come instead?"

Sensing that Luo Yunchen's words carried a hidden meaning, Su Zheng followed up: "And that palace maid?"

Luo Yunchen's arms around Su Zheng suddenly tightened, holding him in a firm grip that left him unable to move an inch.

He buried his face in Su Zheng's pale neck, brushing lightly, breathing him in, hovering.

He gave an innocent, harmless smile: "Her? She wanted to serve someone, so I sent her to serve the late emperor! Brother Crown Prince, did I treat her well?"

"Warning! Host's male lead's darkening value increased by 5 points, current darkening value at 88%."

Su Zheng: "..."

So, you went crazy because of a palace maid, and the one I brought at that?

Su Zheng sensed that if he kept asking, today's darkening points would go through the roof.

He stopped asking, lowered his voice and coaxed: "Did you come looking for me for something? How about you let go of me first, and we can talk properly."

"No! Brother Crown Prince is being so bad! If I hadn't come, would Brother Crown Prince have let someone else touch you?!"

"Or maybe Brother Crown Prince actually wanted her to touch you!"

"Where would Brother Crown Prince let her touch you? Here, here, here, or..."

As Luo Yunchen spoke, his thin lips brushed one by one over Su Zheng's neck, collarbone, and earlobe.

At each spot, he left a heavy kiss.

Finally, he stopped at Su Zheng's thin lips, his breath spilling over the tip of Su Zheng's nose, his whisper like a murmur: "...Here?"

Su Zheng's face changed. He was about to speak.

But Luo Yunchen didn't give him the chance.

Ferociously, madly, he chased and intercepted, giving Su Zheng no opportunity to escape.

Like he was venting frustration, or as if he had finally caught his prey and wanted to mark it heavily before devouring it.

Su Zheng was taken aback by Luo Yunchen's sudden aggression. His breathing grew labored, and out of desperation, he bit down hard.

The coppery taste of blood flooded his mouth.

"Ow!" Luo Yunchen winced in pain, paused, and slowly released Su Zheng's lips.

But Su Zheng knew he'd messed up.

The enticing scent of Luo Yunchen's blood wafted, seeping into Su Zheng's nostrils.

A little, but enough to cloud Su Zheng's mind.

Luo Yunchen obviously realized this too, and now he was no longer impatient.

Exhausted, Su Zheng closed his eyes and rested his head on Luo Yunchen's shoulder, in a tired voice: "Luo Yunchen, what exactly do you want?"

"You really don't know, Brother Crown Prince? Brother Crown Prince had me drugged, and you don't have to take responsibility?"

"Brother Crown Prince, you made me suffer so badly I nearly went crazy!"

"I sent you a woman! Was one not enough to counteract the drug?"

Luo Yunchen chuckled lowly at this, then sighed helplessly: "Brother Crown Prince, how many times do I have to say it for you to believe? I have no interest in them.

Even while drugged, I didn't want them. I only want Brother Crown Prince.

Let Brother Crown Prince take responsibility with himself.

Give yourself to me, all right?"

Completely fed up, Su Zheng refused coldly: "No. I don't have feelings for you."

Luo Yunchen's face immediately fell!

For a moment, the air was dead still.

After a moment, Luo Yunchen laughed again, murmuring softly: "So what? I like Brother Crown Prince, and that's enough!"

He ran his tongue along the corner of Su Zheng's lips, in a tempting voice: "Brother Crown Prince, it hurts. Help me stop the bleeding, please?"

In the end, Su Zheng couldn't stop his mind from going hazy.

**

When Su Zheng came to, he found himself half-naked, his hands bound behind his back, forced to lean over the pool edge.

Luo Yunchen pressed against him from behind, encircling him, his breath hot on Su Zheng's ear: "Brother is awake. I almost couldn't control myself! But for our first time together, I wanted you to be present for it too!"

Su Zheng knew he couldn't win, couldn't talk sense, couldn't resist, so he shouted: "Guards!"

But no matter how many times he called, there was no response outside the hall.

Luo Yunchen smiled: "Brother can rest assured. Shout as loud as you want—nobody's coming to interrupt us."

Su Zheng sneered: "Fine, really my good brother Chen Di! I entrusted the Eastern Palace to you, and this is how you push me aside, turning me into your plaything? After this, will you just off me without warning one day and take my place?"

"No matter what Brother thinks, I'll never hurt you. I only want Brother to stay by my side forever, with me, never leaving me!"

Su Zheng was stunned: "Are you insane?! Luo Yunchen, you can't trap me forever. Aren't you afraid that once I get the chance, I'll tell Father Emperor what you've done? You'll end up worse off than me!"

Luo Yunchen didn't flinch: "Whether Brother believes me or not, the Eastern Palace is still in Brother's hands. Today I'm determined to have you. Tomorrow, if Brother is willing, you can take back the Eastern Palace and hand me over to His Majesty for whatever punishment you see fit!"

He knew Su Zheng had no desire for him, but somehow, even though Su Zheng didn't like him, he had always been lenient with him.

Today, he was betting on that leniency!

He wanted to see where Su Zheng's bottom line was, to see just how far he could push him!

"You—!"

Luo Yunchen pressed closer, breathing heavily, lifting Su Zheng's chin and lowering his head to kiss him.

"Mmph!"

When the kiss ended, Su Zheng's eyes were slightly red, tears welling up instinctively.

His voice came out broken, like a whisper: "Luo Yunchen, don't make me... hate you."

The water rippled layer by layer, stirring up patches of ripples.

Luo Yunchen bent down, pressing kiss after kiss onto Su Zheng's nape and back, each one a mark belonging only to him.

Burning, bright red, like red spider lilies in bloom, slowly draining his vitality.

"Let Brother hate me. If I have your hatred, Brother will forever think of me, forever watch me!"

"Brother Crown Prince, you are mine. Forever and always, you belong to me alone!"

Su Zheng lowered his head and bit down on Luo Yunchen's arm, biting down with a vengeful force, his teeth sinking in as a clear tear silently streaked down his cheek.

His mind was groggy, sometimes lucid but unable to recall how long he had been awake, sometimes unconscious, unable to remember how many times he had blacked out.

The little wolf's voice came, now near, now far, sometimes low, sometimes husky, sometimes alluring.

Forcing him to say:

Saying, "A Zheng likes A Chen."

"A Zheng promised to always stay with A Chen, never to leave him."

"A Zheng swore that no one but A Chen would ever touch even a single strand of his hair."

If only Su Zheng had been a bit more lucid, had even a shred of strength left, he would have lunged at him and bit him to death!

In a daze, Su Zheng felt himself being lifted, then placed onto a bed—soft and secure.