Chapter 1624 – Accepting Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (Thirty-six)
An Huan took the medicine as prescribed and also had Hua Yuan deliver the fertility brew to the Xichang Princess, which she was required to drink three times a day.
The Xichang Princess was unaware of An Huan’s inability to conceive and had no notion of the fierce effects of the medicine she was taking. Living under someone else’s roof, she had no choice but to comply. However, in recent days, An Huan had shown an unprecedented vitality in their intimate encounters, leaving her quite overwhelmed.
In her heart, she held a sliver of hope.
If she managed to bear a son, would not An Huan’s heir be her own child?
Driven by such thoughts, the Xichang Princess had grown increasingly affectionate towards An Huan, and An Huan, too, was not averse to showering her with more affection.
Little did anyone know, all this was orchestrated by Hua Yuan.
He was playing a grand game, a scheme that left everyone else scratching their heads in utter confusion, pulling strings up to the sky.
No one suspected that advising An Huan to rein in his troops and hand over two states to Jiang Pengji was also part of his plan—not merely to deplete Jiang Pengji’s resources but to buy time for his own layouts. What grand design had Hua Yuan set in motion? Was he just dressing Jiang Pengji up in a green hat? No, no, he wasn’t that banal.
Hua Yuan’s plan was known only to himself and two others.
One was the Old Doctor, who was caught in Hua Yuan’s clutches.
The Old Doctor knew that Hua Yuan, as a subordinate, intended to make a fool of An Huan.
The other was the Xichang Prince, who was regarded as Hua Yuan’s favored male companion among outsiders.
The Xichang Prince not only understood Hua Yuan’s aim to humiliate An Huan, but he also knew precisely how this humiliation was to be executed.
Digressing a bit, this Xichang Prince still retained a shred of pride, which caused him to misjudge the chaotic circumstances outside Xichang. After facing defeat with Jiang Pengji, he foolishly came to try his luck with An Huan, resulting in losing both himself and his sister.
When he realized that Hua Yuan intended for him to become a male companion, he nearly fainted from rage.
In this era, it was quite common for wealthy young masters to keep a few male lovers for entertainment, as many of their book boys also served a similar role to concubines. While accompanying their young masters in studies and daily life, they also warmed beds and satisfied desires. Not every book boy played this role, but it was a prevalent practice among the aristocracy.
The lengthy exposition was merely to express that same-sex relationships among men were indeed quite common during this time.
Aside from the fact that no man would openly marry another man, many primary wives and concubines simply used these ‘dog boys’ for procreation. To use the audience’s sarcastic comments—this was presumably what was referred to as “true love.”
The Xichang Prince despaired at the thought of becoming a male companion, resorting to flattering other men for affection.
But then—
Hua Yuan actually showed him no interest and often regarded him with a mix of astonishment and disgust.
As time went on, the Xichang Prince forgot the humiliation of being a male companion and was faintly incensed—was he really this unattractive?
Hua Yuan coldly remarked, “You’re just a mere mortal. To take you to bed? I fear it would soil me.”
The Xichang Prince nearly toppled over in fury upon hearing this.
Before the royal family’s downfall, he was quite famous in the capital; how could he be deemed mere mortal?
And how was Hua Yuan any better that he would find him dirty?
Hua Yuan saw through his thoughts.
With a sneer, he said, “The harmony of yin and yang is the rightful path of humanity. Why take the loathsome path meant for waste, dirty or not?”
Believing himself to be “Liu Xi” at heart, Hua Yuan, despite having a more masculine essence than most women, preferred the opposite sex. Alas, given that this body was male, “she” had to hold her nose and accept it, altering her sexual orientation in the process.
Hua Yuan simply couldn’t accept sullied ways, meant to expel refuse.
The Xichang Prince wasn’t afraid of losing his rear but did fear catching a disease.
When he acquired Hua Yuan’s mindset, the Xichang Prince felt another wave of fury rise.
How could a dignified prince ever care to be a male companion?
This plebeian Hua Yuan truly believed himself to be something special.
Before long, he realized that playing nice with such a person was far less appealing than simply submitting to become a subservient male companion.
One day, Hua Yuan made an exceedingly chilling request of the Xichang Prince.
The Xichang Prince was stupefied, unable to respond for quite some time.
“You… what did you just say?” His face turned pale with fear, his expression filled with disgust and revulsion as he looked at Hua Yuan, as if gazing at a ghost. “I’m not having relations with my sister! She’s your lord’s concubine, and you are urging another man to engage in an immoral relationship with her… It seems you harbor some grievances against your lord.”
He couldn’t believe it—this man was actually suggesting that he do something unspeakable with his blood relative.
Not only that, but he also insisted that she must become pregnant.
“You’ve lost your mind!”
However, Hua Yuan regarded him with a gaze that seemed to pierce through to his very heart.
“What are you laughing at?”
“It’s quite amusing to hear such words from you,” Hua Yuan derisively responded. “Does the so-called royalty still hold respect for human ethics?”
In this era, people were obsessed with bloodlines, much more so for the aristocracy, to which the royal family was often considered nouveau riche. Marrying within one’s family was common to ensure a pure bloodline, and illicit relations among royal descendants were far from rare.
The Xichang Prince, born of a lowly royal family, was resistant to the idea of such incest; it opened Hua Yuan’s eyes wide.
Hearing the mockery in Hua Yuan’s tone, the Xichang Prince brimmed with indignation.
Hua Yuan chuckled, “If I were you, I wouldn’t be so foolish as to make the choices you have.”
“You think I’m foolish?”
Compared to the inconceivable web that Hua Yuan had spun around An Huan, the Xichang Prince felt rather inadequate but certainly didn’t consider himself foolish.
“Is it not foolish? This is the only existing opportunity for you to escape your degradation. If I were you, I’d seize it tightly, secure my position, and then plot my next moves. Should the child in the Princess’s womb be yours, apart from you, the Princess, and me, no one else would know. People would only believe the child belonged to Duo Xi Gong. Under such circumstances, your only obstacle would be Duo Xi Gong’s adopted son. Once that adopted son is disposed of, the future Young Master title will surely belong to a child with pure Xichang blood…”
Hua Yuan’s words stirred both longing and fear within the Xichang Prince. What kind of heart did this man possess?
“A weak child with a strong mother, if anything happens to Duo Xi Gong, wouldn’t the one reaping the benefits ultimately be you?”
The Xichang Prince, gritting his teeth, could barely enunciate, “The one benefiting is clearly you.”
Hua Yuan replied nonchalantly, “Of course it would be me, for this is my game! But if you manage to kill me, then you will have won, right? Young man, this chaotic world is far from the ease you imagine. Deceit is everywhere, and only those who strategize until the end can stand unyielding. Temporary humiliation and adversity are nothing! The pen of history always belongs to the victors.”
