Chapter 0266: Starvation Is Not an Option, This Forces Him to Unleash His Ultimate Move

Perhaps realizing he had gone too far, Xie Jinyu pressed his lips together without speaking. In the dimly lit room, the emotions in his eyes were indiscernible, only the rustling of clothes could be heard, followed by the sound of footsteps as Xie Jinyu opened the door and left Taiji Hall.

Xie Chengze could no longer sleep either. He lit the candle by the bedside and paced restlessly around the room.

At this moment, Xie Chengze finally understood that he could no longer remain passive.

The consequence of being gentle and kind-hearted was being devoured by a beast trapped in the deep forest.

The 19-year-old Xie Jinyu might not have had any improper thoughts about him, but what the reborn Xie Jinyu was like, Xie Chengze had no idea.

He was different from Shen Yuan, completely overturning Xie Chengze’s understanding.

“Let me think…”

Xie Chengze raised his hand to his chin, pacing back and forth in the room for a long, long time…

Suddenly, he opened the door and said to the guards outside, “I want to see Cao Que!”

Perhaps because the Crown Prince had given some instructions, one of the two guards at the door actually left. Soon, Cao Que, who had been sound asleep, was summoned.

“Lord Cao!” Xie Chengze exclaimed as if he had found a lifeline, anxiously saying, “Quickly go and inform the Empress! The Crown Prince has improper intentions toward me!”

Upon hearing this, Cao Que was momentarily stunned, “What kind of improper intentions?”

Did it refer to usurping the throne? Or to imprisoning him?

Seeing Xie Chengze lower his head without speaking, his entire demeanor growing increasingly awkward, Cao Que shuddered, his expression also becoming unnatural. “Oh, oh, I see. I will inform the Empress.”

Cao Que soon sent a message, and along with it, brought the items Xie Chengze had previously requested.

Cao Qingran had Cao Que deliver a letter to him, on which only a few words were written:

“I told you to run back then, but you didn’t.”

Xie Chengze: …

A scream, like that of a groundhog, exploded in his mind.

How was he supposed to know that her “leave Jingcheng” back then meant this!

You ancient people, can’t you just say what you mean? Must you always speak in riddles?

You just don’t want to see me doing well!

Furious, Xie Chengze burned the letter.

He would go on a hunger strike! He would resist! He would stand up for himself!

…

…

…

Forget it. Rather than standing up for himself, it was better to make Xie Jinyu act like a decent human being first.

Wah wah, the food is so delicious.

Xie Chengze chewed the pastry in his mouth. The cakes on the silver plate, arranged with obsessive-compulsive precision, clearly revealed who had made them.

“Is it delicious?” Xie Jinyu brushed away the crumbs at the corner of his mouth with his fingertip, his gaze dark yet gentle. “As long as Second Brother behaves, you can have this every day.”

This was a threat—if he didn’t obey, Xie Jinyu would kill Su Qinghe.

Understanding the underlying meaning, Xie Chengze choked for a moment. He took a sip of tea to soothe himself before nodding. “Second Brother doesn’t dislike you, but Jinyu, do not harm innocent people.”

“Second Brother does not like tyrants. That is Second Brother’s bottom line.”

“And what happened last night—it’s best if it doesn’t happen again.”

Xie Jinyu stared at him silently. Just as Xie Chengze thought he wouldn’t get a promise, Xie Jinyu wrapped his arms around his waist, lifted him, and carried him to the bed.

“Alright.”

He promised, “As long as Second Brother’s eyes are only on me, I will not be a tyrant.”

Xie Chengze breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He shifted toward the outer edge of the bed, signaling for Xie Jinyu to sleep on the inside, then pulled out the storybook he had specifically asked Cao Que to bring from under the pillow.

This was Hu Lai’s rare, one-of-a-kind edition.

Xie Chengze leaned against the propped-up pillow, tugged the blanket over Xie Jinyu, and opened the first page of the storybook. A faint scent of ink wafted from it, and with one sniff and glance, it was clear this storybook was newly written.

In a gentle voice, he said, “Second Brother will tell you a bedtime story.”

Xie Jinyu clung to his thigh in a dependent manner, closing his eyes slightly. “Okay.”

Then, the young man’s soft, hypnotic voice began to read, word by word, “This story is called, ‘A Sickly Sweet Fake Sibling Relationship Leads to No Good End.’”

The story was exceedingly bleak. A young boy, beaten and abused by his parents since childhood, set a fire that killed them. Being young and ignorant, he didn’t realize the spring fire would spread and burn down the neighbor’s house as well. That night, the kind neighbor brother, who had always treated him well, also lost his parents.

The neighbor youth, believing it was an accident, pitied the boy’s plight and took him in as a younger brother. He single-handedly supported the boy, making a living for both of them. Unexpectedly, because of their striking good looks, the two brothers were sold by villains into a Prostitute House.

The boy, with his fierce and ruthless temperament, showed no fear of whippings or abuse, often giving the Prostitute House’s madam a headache. Meanwhile, the youth, being literate and eloquent, successfully won the madam’s favor. By writing poems for the house’s untouched courtesans, he helped many of them gain popularity.

Finally, he saved enough money to buy the boy’s freedom. The madam, not wanting to waste any more time on the boy, drove him away.

The youth had always dreamed of studying to become an official and doing practical things for the poor and suffering. Later, he aspired to climb even higher, to a position where he could save all young boys from such misery. But he was already trapped—everyone knew he came from a Prostitute House, and he could no longer pursue an official career.

So, he placed all his hopes on the boy, wishing for him to study and become literate, hoping he could ascend to a position of power.

The boy lived up to expectations and attained that position.

However, the first thing the boy did with his newfound power was not to benefit the world but to use his authority to reserve the Prostitute House and buy out the youth’s future time with clients.

Back then, to help the boy climb higher, the youth, under the guise of being a talented untouched courtesan, had interacted with many officials. He offered them strategies and advice, enabling them to pull strings for the boy. But the boy believed the youth was no longer pure, thinking the youth would rather debase himself to please those corrupt officials than touch him even once.

He had always indulged and doted on him so much, yet he refused to touch him.

The boy grew ruthless… Huh?

As Xie Chengze read on, he felt the plot was taking a rather unexpected turn. Flipping through the next several thousand words of explicit content, he silently chose to skip over it all at once.

Xie Chengze truly couldn’t understand why Hu Lai, a man with twenty-eight concubines, could write the intimate details between two men with such precision.

It was terrifying.

Perhaps, since ancient times, novelists have been all-capable.

“The boy didn’t understand the youth’s benevolence and great love, and the youth didn’t understand why the boy tormented him so, why he treated him as an object to be controlled at will, rather than as a person with his own autonomy.” Xie Chengze cleared his throat. “In the end, the youth, driven to madness, stood at the highest point of the Prostitute House and leaped to his death.”

“In the white snow, a massive blood flower bloomed, more crimson and glaring than the plum blossom jade hairpin the youth had bought for the young man with the first month’s salary he received after becoming an official.”

Xie Chengze lowered his head, looking at Xie Jinyu who had opened his eyes and was staring intently at him. He ruffled his hair and said, “Jinyu, have you grasped some insight from the story?”

Xie Jinyu lowered his eyelids, his tone heavy as he replied, “Second Brother is threatening me—that if I continue to imprison you, you will jump to your death.”

Xie Chengze: “…”

This rotten wood cannot be carved!

This unteachable youth!

This wall of dung cannot be plastered!

Damn it, don’t force me to unleash my ultimate move!!!