Chapter 0273: Tearful Xie Chengze, Gentle Yet Cruel Sheng Shihai

Xie Chengze hung his head low, huddled in the corner with a tearful expression. He stole a glance at Sheng Shihai from the corner of his eye and, sensing no murderous intent, managed to suppress his trembling. A flattering, ingratiating smile crept onto his face.

“Everyone knows Lord Sheng’s martial prowess is unmatched—you could single-handedly face a thousand troops. I’m merely a feeble young man who couldn’t even restrain a chicken. You could crush me with just one finger.”

His knees tapped rhythmically as he shuffled toward Sheng Shihai, widening his eyes earnestly as he vowed, “Give me one more chance! From now on, I’ll obey you in everything!”

Sheng Shihai let out two cold laughs, his gaze both mocking and amused. “Is that so? But it seems I’ve already given Your Highness one chance.”

This foolish Second Prince truly seemed to believe he could be easily deceived.

He thought Sheng Shihai wouldn’t notice the changes in him, wouldn’t detect his concern for the Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince, wouldn’t know Shen Yuan was secretly aiding the Crown Prince, and that Sheng Shihai’s eight years at court had been for nothing.

Yet Sheng Shihai felt no anger. Just as he gave every follower one chance, as long as they obeyed him dutifully, he naturally wouldn’t resort to ruthless methods to control them.

Take that Salt Administration Officer in the Salt Bureau, for instance. Sheng Shihai had explicitly ordered someone to tell him to soak the flower-stamped certificates in water, but the man had taken shortcuts and burned them instead, leading to his opium drug addiction.

Now, to obtain the drugs, he had no choice but to follow Sheng Shihai’s every command—or else endure unbearable suffering.

He had given Xie Chengze a chance too. He had sent out the body double he had painstakingly trained for fifteen years. This double was special—while most people’s hearts are on the left side of the chest, his double not only bore an uncanny resemblance to him but also had the rare trait of a right-sided heart. Sometimes, Sheng Shihai felt this was heaven’s blessing, a sign that he was destined to be emperor, which was why this double had been sent to protect him.

He had doted on Xie Chengze so excessively that he even exposed this double. He thought that if Xie Chengze showed even a shred of mercy and let the double survive with a breath of life, he could forgive his foolish yet pure-hearted nature.

But instead, Xie Chengze had severed the double’s tendons, stabbed his body full of bloody holes, and mutilated that right-sided heart beyond recognition.

How cruel.

How could such a person claim to be a feeble young man who couldn’t even restrain a chicken?

Sheng Shihai smiled faintly and beckoned with his fingers toward the fearful, fawning Xie Chengze, his tone as gentle as a swamp. “Come here.”

Xie Chengze quickly shook his head.

He was certain that if he went over, Sheng Shihai would strangle him.

Seeing Xie Chengze refuse, Sheng Shihai narrowed his eyes coldly, his expression darkening. “Xie Chengze, don’t make me repeat myself.”

As everyone knows, men across the world fear being called by their full names by their superiors.

Hearing his full name, Xie Chengze immediately scrambled to his knees, shuffling rapidly toward Sheng Shihai. Then he turned his back and bowed his head, exposing his pale nape.

His body stiffened rigidly as he shouted with the resolve of one facing death, “Then go ahead and strangle me! But don’t kill me all at once—what satisfaction would that bring? Keep me alive, and you can vent your anger multiple times!”

Being choked from the front was suffocating, but facing the other way was different—he could still breathe!

Xie Chengze’s little scheme was laid bare, making Sheng Shihai both amused and exasperated. He truly detested Xie Chengze to the core and had even imagined how he would torment him if the substitute died.

But when he actually saw him, he no longer wanted to kill him.

Sheng Shihai valued talent; he couldn’t bear to kill someone capable. For those who betrayed him or refused to align with him, he preferred to use drugs to control them, watching these proud individuals suffer the agony of addiction until they had no choice but to submit to him for the antidote.

He intended to handle Xie Chengze this way.

After all, this young man was skilled in wealth generation, governance, and even the development of firearms.

The man reached out and grasped the youth’s slender nape, flipping him over and pressing him onto the bed. His long fingers deftly untied the slipknot on the rope, then used it to bind the youth’s hands to the headboard, forcing him to stay on the bed.

He looked down at the youth, who dared not struggle, and gently brushed aside the stray hairs covering his eyes. His tone was tender yet cruel, “Be good, just endure it for a while.”

Xie Chengze didn’t understand what he meant.

Not until Sheng Shihai stood up, took out a multicolored incense from his robe, and placed it in the room’s incense burner.

Xie Chengze’s eyes widened in shock.

He struggled desperately, his wrists reddening from the thin rope, and roared in fury, “Sheng Shihai! How dare you!!!”

Sheng Shihai curled his lips slightly, casting a cool, indifferent glance his way before dropping the lit match.

A wisp of curling, delicate smoke rose gracefully from the incense burner—beautiful yet deadly.

“Sheng Shihai! Let me go!”

“Sheng Shihai! Put it out now!”

“Sheng! Shi! Hai! I swear eternal enmity with you!”

The youth’s furious but powerless shouts were cut off as the wooden door closed. The night grew deeper, and soon, those angry cries turned into low, suppressed gasps and panicked sobs that seeped through the narrow window crack, tempting the moonlight to peer inside—yet it could not penetrate the tightly shut paper window to glimpse the scene within.

Until dawn.

The window was thrown open, the incense smoke dissipated.

Sheng Shihai stepped inside to find the youth drenched in sweat on the bed. His beautiful, autumn-water-like eyes were red and pitiful from crying, his rosy lips bitten pale with tooth marks, and his hands blistered from the rope’s friction—a truly wretched sight.

His once neatly combed hair was now disheveled from constant struggle; the jade hair crown had fallen and chipped on the floor, dark strands clinging to his soaked neck and collar. He slept deeply, his furrowed brows twitching uneasily as if trapped in a nightmare.

Sheng Shihai placed a hand on his forehead—it was burning hot, his cheeks flushed crimson.

“Why make it so hard on yourself?”

He shook his head, stood up, and ordered an attendant to prepare cold water. Then, dipping a towel in the water, he personally wiped the sweat from Xie Chengze’s face and neck, placing the cool cloth on his forehead to reduce the fever.

“Others aren’t nearly this delicate.”

He hadn’t even used the premium incense on him, opting instead for the mixed blend. The premium kind was impossible to quit once addicted, but the mixed version could be overcome, and the physical pain was much milder.

He had used mixed fumigation out of concern that Xie Chengze’s stubborn temper wouldn’t withstand the pain, never expecting the young man would be so delicate that even mixed fumigation proved unbearable.

The towel on the youth’s forehead quickly grew warm. When Sheng Shihai reached to remove it, he heard the nightmare-ridden young man mumbling indistinct words that faintly resembled “Imperial Jade Seal.” Unable to hear clearly, he bent down to listen closer.

Just then, the youth who should have been deeply asleep suddenly opened his eyes and sank his teeth fiercely into Sheng Shihai’s ear.