“You’re overthinking it. How could I possibly be that kind of person?” Gong Ze said with an innocent look.
The system said that if it believed him, it would be an idiot.
“I’m really not lying this time. The main reason is to complete the main quest.”
The objective was to make the old woman get her just deserts without killing her, and to make the original owner’s hatred disappear.
Gong Ze had originally planned to take the Gong family’s money and leave, abandoning the old woman in Fenshan Village.
When the Cultural Movement came, the landlord class would become the root of all evil. That precious old woman, who had been served hand and foot her entire life, would then experience a miserable old age of daily labor and being pelted with rotten vegetables.
But for that to work, Gong Ze needed a legitimate reason to wash his hands of her.
“After all, the old woman is the original owner’s aunt by marriage. No matter how poorly she treated him in the past, the original owner can’t be unfilial to her—at least not openly,” Gong Ze explained to the system.
Because even though the old woman and the original owner weren’t blood-related, she was the principal wife of the Gong family. The original owner had to call her “mother.”
It was fine for the old woman to torment the original owner, but if the original owner tormented the old woman, people would criticize him.
That was the downside of traditional filial piety.
“If I just left her behind in the old house without a care, took the family’s money, and ran, then even if I was in the right, I’d be in the wrong. Word would spread, and I’d never be able to clear the original owner’s reputation.”
“So I need her to make a mistake—a big one that no one would forgive or sympathize with. That way, even if I abandon her, everyone will think she deserved it.”
But before Gong Ze could even set up the old woman, she had cleverly delivered herself to his doorstep.
Gong Ze: So lucky~
The system thought: Strange. Why does it look like this dark-hearted man is acting cute?
I’ve got something in my eye.
Rubbing (ノдヽ)
Shuisheng hurried in from outside. As soon as he entered, he closed the door and glanced left and right before reporting to Gong Ze what he had seen.
“I followed your orders, Second Master, and went to spy on the kitchen. I found that the leftovers from tonight’s meal hadn’t been given to the servants or put away. Instead, the old woman’s personal servant woman packed up all that leftover meat into a large container and took it away.”
Shuisheng continued, “At first, I thought the servant woman was trying to take it for herself, to bring it home to her family. So I secretly followed her. But instead of going home, she left the Gong residence with the big container of leftovers, sneaked all the way to a deserted grove, and buried the leftovers there!”
This was completely wrong.
Connecting this to the order Gong Ze had given him, Shuisheng immediately guessed that something was off about the food.
He looked nervously at Gong Ze. “Second Master, you need to find a doctor right away. I suspect the old woman is trying to harm you! No, this has to be addressed. Second Master, you’re the last male heir of the Gong family! Is the old woman insane?!”
But Gong Ze told him to stay calm first.
“I have a handle on this. Don’t say anything for now.”
“But…” Shuisheng was frantic.
He couldn’t understand how Gong Ze could be so composed when he knew the old woman was poisoning him.
Gong Ze waved him closer and said calmly, “The old woman has looked down on me since I was a child. Now she wants to kill me and take the Gong family’s wealth. I’ve known this in my heart for a long time.”
“Originally, I still hoped that Auntie and I could get along like a real mother and son, and that someday I could take her to the capital to enjoy her remaining years in peace. But… hah, she couldn’t wait that long.”
Gong Ze’s expression was sorrowful.
“Sometimes I really don’t know what I did to displease Auntie so much, to make her hate me like this.”
“Second Master…” Shuisheng looked at the man’s composed face and immediately felt a pang of bitterness and indignation on his behalf.
In Shuisheng’s eyes, Second Master was an exceptionally good man.
He was educated and handsome.
He was courteous and even-tempered—so much better than that illiterate, disgraceful eldest son of the Gong family.
Yet Second Master had lost his mother as a child and had lived under the old woman’s abuse. And now that he had grown up, the old woman wanted to poison him to death!
“That’s too much!”
Shuisheng’s face flushed red with anger as he clenched his fists.
Seeing how indignant Shuisheng was on his behalf, Gong Ze smiled and continued his manipulation. “Since she’s being so cruel to me, I won’t hold out any hope of reconciling with Auntie anymore.”
“That’s right. That’s how it should be,” Shuisheng nodded in understanding.
Even if the old woman was Second Master’s aunt by marriage, she was trying to kill him now. Such a malicious elder didn’t deserve Second Master’s filial heart.
Gong Ze continued, “But I’m still alive and well. Even if I make a fuss about this, she can just insist that the poison got into the food by accident while cooking.”
Gong Ze’s head drooped dejectedly.
The stray locks of hair falling over his forehead and the melancholy shadow in his eyes were enough to break one’s heart.
He said to the indignant Shuisheng, “Sigh. I can’t stand her behavior anymore. So I plan to turn her scheme against her…”
After Gong Ze told him the plan, Shuisheng immediately chose to help him.
To punish the malicious old woman.
But even if her evil deeds were eventually exposed for everyone to see and she was reviled, Second Master’s own body would still suffer harm in the process.
Shuisheng’s eyes reddened with distress. He couldn’t understand why Second Master had to endure this suffering.
“If Miss Lu found out, how heartbroken she would be.”
“Thank you, Shuisheng.” Gong Ze smiled bitterly and palely. “So I hope you can keep this a secret.”
So tragic.
Wuwu.
Their Second Master was so tragic.
Shuisheng lowered his head and wiped his eyes. “Alright. Shuisheng will definitely not disappoint Second Master’s expectations!”
·
Before going to bed that night, Gong Ze noticed that his stomach ached and his head hurt. He knew it was the effect of the poison. He pretended not to notice and went to sleep as usual, without going to Lu Youling’s place.
The next morning, the old woman prepared another lavish breakfast.
Gong Ze put on an expression of ignorant gratitude, sat down, and ate and drank as usual.
At the head of the table, the old woman clicked her prayer beads, her smile growing increasingly kind.
After the meal, Shuisheng followed the old woman’s personal servant and found that, sure enough, she had packed up the leftovers again, secretly left the Gong residence, and buried them in the grove.
This time, probably because the accumulated dose was higher, Gong Ze noticed a metallic taste in his mouth. His stomach pain intensified. His eyes became bloodshot. He had chest pain, and his throat was also swollen.
The early symptoms were somewhat similar to getting overheated. If the person being poisoned hadn’t been Gong Ze, an ordinary person might have just thought they had eaten too much rich food.
In reality, these were all signs of arsenic poisoning.
Arsenic is arsenic trioxide.
Highly toxic, and easy to buy.
During dinner, Gong Ze “casually” complained to the old woman that he seemed to be getting overheated. He didn’t feel well, his head hurt, and he wanted to eat something lighter.
The old woman was secretly delighted, but she put on a kind expression and said, “Alright, alright. If you want vegetarian food, tomorrow your aunt will have the kitchen make some vegetarian dishes.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Gong Ze thanked her naively.
Seeing that he was completely unsuspecting, the old woman grew even more smug.
When night came, Gong Ze made his way to Lu Youling’s house under Shuisheng’s cover. As soon as he stepped through the door, Lu Youling hugged him glumly and asked unhappily why he hadn’t come yesterday—he had waited for so long.
“My head suddenly started hurting yesterday, and I wasn’t feeling well. That’s why I didn’t come.”
Gong Ze cupped Lu Youling’s face in his hands, listened to him pout and grumble, and explained softly with an amused, tender expression.
“You were sick?”
All thoughts of anger fled Lu Youling’s mind. He immediately began to examine Gong Ze.
Gong Ze, however, deliberately held his hand, preventing him from feeling his pulse. He spoke casually, “It’s nothing, probably just getting overheated from eating too much rich food these past couple of days.”
“Then let me make you some kudzu root powder to drink. I picked the kudzu roots myself from the mountain.”
Lu Youling didn’t suspect a thing. He turned around and bustled off to brew the medicine.
Since Gong Ze only said he was overheated, Lu Youling didn’t use the spiritual spring water.
Gong Ze sat by the earthen bed, drinking the kudzu root powder. Lu Youling walked over and sat on his lap, asking him with a grin if it was bitter.
Gong Ze raised an eyebrow. “You’ll know if it’s bitter once you taste it.”
Then he lowered his head and kissed Lu Youling.
The empty bowl was set aside. The slightly sweet liquid passed between their tangled tongues and lips. Amidst their heavy breathing, Gong Ze blew out the candle and tightened his arm around Lu Youling’s waist.
Lu Youling’s whole body burned with arousal. The last thread of rational restraint in his mind snapped instantly.
Unable to bear it any longer, he wrapped his arms around Gong Ze’s neck, looked at him earnestly, and breathed heavily.
“Gong Er, let’s do it!”
After all, his boyfriend was as innocent as a blank slate when it came to matters between men and women. Gong Ze couldn’t even tell the difference between a man’s chest and a flat-chested woman’s bust.
As long as he didn’t completely undress and used the darkness as cover, Gong Ze probably wouldn’t discover he was actually a man.
Don’t think it’s absurd.
There had been real cases like this in modern news.
And that cross-dressing guy had been dating three unlucky men at the same time. After sleeping with them, he claimed he was pregnant and demanded a bride price. How ridiculous was that?
Lu Youling figured that if others could do it, why couldn’t he?
He thought slyly, My old-fashioned boyfriend is upright and conservative. Once he’s had his way with me, can he really avoid taking responsibility?
He was sure he could turn Gong Ze.
Hee hee.
“Gong Er~”
Lu Youling bit his lower lip and pulled Gong Ze’s hands into his embrace. With his other hand, he stroked Gong Ze’s abdominal muscles, which were slick with a thin layer of sweat from their earlier intimacy.
His heart burned with desire.
“…No, we’re not married yet.” Gong Ze’s forehead was covered in sweat from his restraint. He struggled painfully, refusing to hold him.
“I don’t care!” Lu Youling, anxious for Gong Ze to have him, immediately said.
“Still no.”
Gong Ze pulled Lu Youling’s pants back up. He clenched his teeth, enduring the urge to pin him down, and said hoarsely, “Be good.”
Lu Youling was terribly disappointed. “Fine.”
It seemed there was no way today.
Who could blame his boyfriend for being such a gentleman? Sigh, he never thought he’d one day be frustrated by his boyfriend being too good a person.
Lu Youling had to settle for letting Gong Ze kiss him thoroughly to make up for his loss.
Perhaps he was also feeling unsatisfied. The man picked him up and pressed him against the wall, kissing him so fiercely that he barely had time to breathe. His tongue and lips went numb.
Those large hands seemed ready to crush him. Lu Youling couldn’t handle it; he tilted his head back. Every inch of his mouth was forcefully licked and explored.
It was torture, but it made Lu Youling feel like he was dying of pleasure.
They messed around for a long time before finally lying down on the bed and falling asleep in each other’s arms.
Lying in the arms of the sleeping Gong Ze, Lu Youling’s cheeks were flushed as he savored the memory of what had just happened. He hid his underwear under the bedding.
Wow.
His boyfriend had been so fierce just now. Clearly, his invitation had aroused his desire.
It felt like they would tumble together at any second.
And yet, even then, Gong Ze had still held back. It made Lu Youling not only shy but also deeply moved.
Of course… there was also a little anticipation~
#############################
Lu Youling let out a quiet giggle and burrowed back under Gong Ze’s blanket.
In the darkness, he propped his chin on his hand and happily admired his boyfriend’s handsome face. His finger gently traced Gong Ze’s sleeping features as he muttered softly:
“Hehe, just you wait. Sooner or later, I’ll have my way with you~ And when I do, there’s no way you can deny it~”
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