The Prime Minister is Pregnant with Dragon's Seed - Chapter 16

Darkness blanketed the surroundings. Only the mourning hall in the distance glowed with flickering candlelight, casting eerie shadows on the white silk funeral drapes. The mourning hall guard’s head bobbed drowsily, he was already at his limit.

The night was chilly. Meng Zhou unconsciously tightened his arms around Chu Huaiyin’s neck, resting his head on his shoulder, his chin brushing against a hint of dew.

Wrapped in Chu Huaiyin’s cloak, he was carried into the Liu family’s garden. Below their feet was still that water, Meng Zhou thought was a man-made river. Its surface calm and undisturbed, a mass of inky blackness in the night like a bottomless hole that devoured all.

A lantern was shoved into Meng Zhou’s hand. Chu Huaiyin lit a fire striker and set the lantern alight before tossing the still-burning striker into the lake.

Infused with inner energy, the striker cut through the mirror-like surface like a sharp blade. The edges of the slash even shimmered white, like a heavy stone falling into the water, hitting the bottom of the lake with a thud, disturbing the slumbering creatures beneath.

Meng Zhou was completely confused by Chu Huaiyin’s series of actions, but in the next second, the sight before him left him shocked.

In an instant, dozens of glowing big red holes surfaced on the lake, slowly converging toward the stone platform where they stood.

Those things glowed with a terrifying red light. Their reflections shimmered on the water’s surface, eerily similar to the lantern in Meng Zhou’s hand. Then he realized that those red holes—they were eyes!

One could only imagine how massive the bodies lurking below must be.

“Crocodiles,” Meng Zhou murmured. He had nearly become food for these beasts. With his flesh and bones torn apart, leaving nothing but a pool of bl00d that would thin and fade by morning, vanishing without a trace.

Feeling the five fingers gripping his shoulder tighten, Chu Huaiyin pretended to let go of Meng Zhou’s hand.

The stone platform barely fit one person. Meng Zhou instinctively clung to Chu Huaiyin with all four limbs, wishing he could use his teeth too. In the end, he didn’t dare to be so unruly as to bite him, so he just gritted his teeth instead.

“I want you to swear right here that you will never recklessly put yourself in danger again.”

“Or what?” Meng Zhou looked around. Who would’ve thought he’d one day be forced to swear an oath to crocodiles as though they were gods?

“There is no ‘or what,’” Chu Huaiyin replied coolly.

“Then just throw me down now.” Meng Zhou fearlessly challenged him.

What an ungrateful fellow! Chu Huaiyin was so angry that he almost grant what he said when he heard Meng Zhou’s soft and serious voice.

“I, Meng Zhou, swear that from this day forward, I will never take risks on my own without Chu Huaiyin’s permission.”

Even someone cold-hearted could feel the genuine warmth from others. What’s more, Meng Zhou was a person of flesh and bl00d.

Living two lifetimes, this was the first time Meng Zhou felt truly cared for and cherished. He had experienced familial love through Jiang Yao’s life, but that felt so distant, like something he could never hold on to. Chu Huaiyin was different from Jiang Yao, though Meng Zhou couldn’t quite say how. Maybe… this was what people called great friendship?

Out of Chu Huaiyin’s sight, he secretly wiped the corners of his eyes, brushing away the tears chilled by the wind, leaving behind warmth born of sincerity.

“Getting bolder, daring to call this prince by name,” Chu Huaiyin’s voice was carried away by the wind, faint and unclear, but tinged with amusement.

He could tell this time was different from before. Meng Zhou wasn’t just giving empty words that he’d forget a moment later.

“What? Still not convinced?” Chu Huaiyin turned his head teasingly.

“I am! When have I ever been this sincere to you?” Meng Zhou felt wronged.

“Then why are you grinding your teeth…” Just as Chu Huaiyin got what he wanted, a realization struck him. His expression sharpened, and he leaped into the air, shouting, “Hold on tight!”

A full-grown crocodile lunged from the water like a starving beast, instantly occupying the space they had just vacated. Its powerful strike stirred up a gust of wind laced with stench and mist.

Had they been even a second slower, Meng Zhou’s back would have been bitten.

Chu Huaiyin landed swiftly, using the momentum of his descent to spin into a sweeping kick that knocked the crocodile back into the lake. The three-meter-long beast slammed into the water with a deafening splash, raising a wall of filthy water like a sudden rainstorm.

Meng Zhou immediately threw away the lantern. The wick floated in the water, its light gradually extinguishing. The darkness returned, and the crocodiles, blinded without a light source, sank back underwater one by one.

“Who’s over there?”

The commotion had alerted the patrolling guards, who stood at a distance, watching but not daring to approach.

“What else could it be? Probably a waterbird perched on one of the beasts and got eaten for its troubles.”

“It’s too late. I’m not going over there, that’s for sure.”

“The young master hasn’t fed them in days. Anything that moves gets torn apart without a trace.”

“Come on, let’s check somewhere else.”

…

Chu Huaiyin brought Meng Zhou back to shore and removed the soaked cloak.

Meng Zhou was still shaken. Listening carefully for movements in the water, he asked, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll come ashore?”

“There’s powder scattered all around the bank. They’re extremely repelled by it. They won’t come up.”

By all logic, for Chu Huaiyin to bring Meng Zhou to such a dangerous place, he would’ve made foolproof preparations. How could a crocodile have managed to lunge? Unless… Chu Huaiyin laughed and shook his head. Impossible.

The powder worked every time—except on pregnant women. The aura they unknowingly emitted weakened the powder’s effectiveness. But both he and Meng Zhou were men, so naturally, that wasn’t the reason.

Chu Huaiyin reassured himself. “I’ve got more of the powder on me. That one was probably just too hungry to care.”

Seeing Meng Zhou still dazed, Chu Huaiyin grinned. “Want to get revenge? I’ll wipe off the powder, and tomorrow when they crawl ashore, Liu Hongbao’s fatty, greasy flesh will be their favorite delicacy.”

Meng Zhou imagined the scene and shook his head.

Satisfying, but too cruel. There were still innocent people in the residence.

Chu Huaiyin pinched his cheek. “Then why are you standing there blankly? Waiting for me to carry you back?”

What, does he think this prince is a horse?

Meng Zhou let out a huge yawn.

“Fine, fair’s fair¹.” Chu Huaiyin squatted in front of him.

Meng Zhou climbed onto his back without protest. It really was comfortable here. He could fight dragons and tigers alone, but the moment he was beside Chu Huaiyin, he felt like his legs had turned to jelly.

Must be some kind of selectively triggered laziness.

“Is that what ‘fair’s fair’ means?”

“Mind your business.”

“It should be ‘if you send a Buddha, send him all the way to the West,’” Meng Zhou said as he lay on the back of the future emperor, cradling a half-bucket of knowledge while pointing at mountains and rivers.

“Say ‘Buddha’ one more time and see what happens.”

“No more, no more.” How could Meng Zhou completely forgot this matter.

He laughed, closed his eyes, and rested his head on Chu Huaiyin’s shoulder, slowly drifting off to sleep with the prince’s steady steps beneath him.

Chu Huaiyin placed the sleeping Meng Zhou on his own bed. The damp air inside made him frown.

He lived in this kind of place for over ten years?

As he let go, Meng Zhou instinctively curled up, dragging the blanket over his head, huddling against the wall.

A few strands of black hair peeked out from under the covers. Chu Huaiyin reached out, twirling them between his fingers. They felt soft—much more obedient than their owner. 

Chu Huaiyin wondered what’s going on in this person’s mind. This little kitten was always up to something. For a trivial matter, he was willing to shave his head. It would be hard to pet his hair if he was bald.

Meng Zhou was woken the next morning by the smell of food. Sniffing the air, he followed the scent and opened the door to see Ji Yang standing outside with a food box.

Ji Yang silently counted. He didn’t even reach ten before the door creaked open. He walked in familiarly, set the food box down, and pulled out… a bowl of water?

“This is for gargling.” Gargling with it will go better with the taste of fish.

“This is sliced fish congee.”

A bowl of fresh, steaming congee was placed in front of him. The blue-and-white porcelain bowl cradled the milky soup, soft rice grains hugging tender fish slices. It made his mouth water.

Before he could respond, a spoon was put into his hand.

This was the first time since coming here that someone had served him so thoughtfully. Normally, he would have washed up and gone to the bun shop to buy two steamed rolls.

The upper class life.

Meng Zhou suddenly felt a little envious of Chu Huaiyin.

The first spoonful entered his stomach, and his foggy mind started functioning again. He remembered being dragged out of bed last night to see crocodiles and getting forced into an oath.

And now this morning, such attentiveness.

Scare him, then feed him fish?

What was this, teasing a cat?

Grumbling internally, Meng Zhou kept shoveling food into his mouth voraciously.

Ji Yang explained, “This first time, the master sent me. Next time, another hidden guard will take over. You can tell him what you want, when you want to eat, and he’ll handle it.”

“Is Prince Huai always this generous with his aides?”

Ji Yang subconsciously shook his head. How could that be? Look, wasn’t his most trusted confidant sent here to deliver food early in the morning?

Then he thought the question came from Meng Zhou, he worried it might reflect poorly on Prince Huai and quickly nodded.

He nearly nodded his head off.

“He’s very good.” …Just, there’s a little favoritism.

Author’s Note:
Meng the Kitten: Great friendship—like Marx and Engels.