Feudal Dregs - Chapter 54

While Li Ming'an suffered in prison, back at the Li residence, Old Master Li flew into a rage. Dr. Liu hastily prescribed two doses of medicine, which he drank before gradually calming down.

Li Ming'an's mother had it the hardest. Gentle and meek by nature, she had lived cautiously in the Li household since her arrival, every step taken with care. Unlike Lady Li, the old master's official wife from a powerful family, or Third Madam Bai, whose family had risen in influence during turbulent times—ensuring Bai's security—the Zhao family had declined year after year.

Zhao was a concubine-born, fortunate only in bearing a son. Li Ming'an was her sole hope of survival in this vast, treacherous mansion. Yet he was born with weak eyes, his temperament both like hers and not. She doted on him, shielding him at every turn, wishing he could remain a swaddled infant under her meticulous care.

Deep down, she knew overprotecting him would harm him, but she couldn't help it. The Li household was a den of wolves—her son, soft as a lamb, wouldn't survive without her.

Li Ming'an was nothing like his brothers, Li Mingzheng and Li Yuqing. He lacked their sharp edges, often lost in impractical dreams and foolish talk. Once, he told Zhao, "The country won't stay like this forever."

Amused, she asked softly, "Then what will it be like?"

At the time, she was sewing a button back onto his shirt while watching him lounge on a rattan chair. Youthful and full of vigor, his eyes alight with hope, he sat up cross-legged, pondering before answering, "By then, Mother could leave the Li residence and see the world."

Zhao smiled. "That's impossible. I'm a woman—how could I go out in public? And... I couldn't walk that far."

Her bound feet made every step slow.

Li Ming'an frowned. "What's wrong with being a woman? Girls go to school now. Women and men are no different. Women can choose who to spend their lives with—no foot-binding, no arranged marriages. Free love, education if they wish. Women can achieve greatness too."

He spoke slowly, as if lightly glimpsing the future world, and continued, "Then we'll have an enlightened government where no one dares to bully us. No invasions, no wars, no famines, and no beggars or displaced people. Everyone will be equal, living happily with enough to eat and roofs over their heads."

Zhao Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Where did you hear such things?"

"Books say so, and so does my teacher," Li Ming'an replied.

Zhao Shi looked at him and smiled, "When has there ever been such a good time? Since ancient times, people have been divided into ranks—from emperors and generals down to peddlers and runners. That's how it's always been."

"What's so special about emperors and generals?" Li Ming'an retorted. "We don't even have an emperor now."

Unconcerned and somewhat indignant, he made Zhao Shi laugh. This version of Li Ming'an seemed so naive and endearing to her. Though her son couldn't compare to Li Mingzheng or Li Yuqing, he was kind and gentle, and for that, Zhao Shi was content.

Somehow, Zhao Shi suddenly wondered if she had been wrong. Should she have been stricter with Li Ming'an, like Old Madam Li, pushing him to fight and compete? Should she have shaken him awake from his dreams, taught him to dream less, avoid standing out, and not be so naive?

Each day felt like a year to Zhao Shi. Old Master Li claimed he wouldn't intervene, but even a vicious tiger wouldn't harm its own cub—Li Ming'an was still his flesh and blood. Yet, given Old Master Li's temperament, Li Ming'an was bound to suffer in prison. Zhao Shi thought perhaps he needed some hardship to grow up, but she also worried the jailers might mistreat him, that Li Ming'an wouldn't be able to endure it.

For every day Li Ming'an spent in prison, Zhao Shi suffered sleepless nights. Within a few days, she had visibly lost weight. She had gone to the police station once, but the officers spoke evasively and refused to let her in. After futile persistence, she relented and slipped them a hefty bribe, hoping they would show Li Ming'an some kindness.

Zhao Shi once ran into Lan Yu by chance. She had come to beg Old Master Li to save Li Ming'an, and it was Lan Yu who relayed the message. Looking at the pale, frail woman before him, Lan Yu said softly, "Fifth Concubine, please go back."

Zhao Shi's eyes were red as she murmured, "Five days... How can the master be so heartless..."

Lan Yu replied, "He won't abandon the Third Young Master."

Zhao Shi gazed at Lan Yu—the young man stood straight in his long gown, his expression calm. She knew of her son's feelings for him, and her heart grew complicated. After a long pause, she curtsied and said quietly, "Thank you... Ninth Concubine, could I trouble you to..." She hesitated, unable to voice her request, but Lan Yu understood immediately. "I can't speak up for him," he said.

Zhao was taken aback for a moment. When their eyes met, an unspoken understanding passed between them. Since the Eighth Concubine had been drowned in the well, Old Master Li had grown increasingly paranoid. Now that he was furious with Li Ming'an, if Lan Yu spoke up for him and aroused the old man's suspicions, it would do neither of them any good.

Zhao stood there for a while before nodding silently and slowly walking away.

Lan Yu watched her retreating figure, momentarily lost in thought, then let out a soft sigh.

"Worried about the third young master?"

On the bed, two sweat-slicked bodies pressed together. Li Mingzheng's broad chest pressed against Lan Yu's bare back, enveloping him entirely in his embrace. With a deep thrust, Lan Yu trembled and let out a cry. Li Mingzheng traced his sweat-dampened chest, where his nipples had already hardened. He pinched one until it reddened, and when he applied more pressure, Lan Yu arched his chest in pain, only for his lower half to clench even tighter around him. Li Mingzheng groaned in pleasure, thrusting his thick length deeper.

"Li Mingzheng," Lan Yu panted, his voice laced with mockery, "why do you always bring up other men in bed?" He added, "Do you just like imagining me being fucked by someone else?"

Li Mingzheng's gaze darkened, but he said nothing. Instead, he slid his fingers into Lan Yu's mouth, pinching his soft, wet tongue. Unable to close his lips, Lan Yu could only take the relentless thrusts while those fingers fucked his mouth. Drool spilled from the corners of his lips, his cheeks flushed with arousal, and instinctively, his tongue flicked against the man's long, powerful fingers. Muffled moans spilled from his throat.

Li Mingzheng fucked Lan Yu until he came, but he himself held back, withdrawing his cock only to flip Lan Yu onto his back, pressing his legs down and plunging back into that twitching, clenching heat. He fucked deep and hard, his balls slapping against Lan Yu's slick, reddened flesh, until the entire lower half of Lan Yu's body felt molten with pleasure, swollen and aching.

His sweat dripped onto Lan Yu's face, blurring his vision. Blinking through wet lashes, Lan Yu finally focused on Li Mingzheng's face. The man was as unreadable as ever, even in the throes of passion—his brows slightly furrowed, his gaze fixed on Lan Yu with a deep, predatory hunger. Sweat trailed down the sharp line of his jaw, exuding the raw, mature allure of a man consumed by desire. Lan Yu's heart skipped a beat, and his walls clenched around Li Mingzheng's cock in response. Li Mingzheng paused, then suddenly gripped Lan Yu's trembling thighs and drove into him with brutal force, each thrust battering against his cervix, drawing out gushes of slick.

Their eyes remained locked, neither willing to look away. Li Mingzheng's Adam's apple bobbed—he had the sudden, overwhelming urge to kiss Lan Yu.

To kiss him, to claim him, to tangle their tongues and taste every inch of his mouth and throat.

Then, without warning, Lan Yu lifted his arms and wrapped them around Li Mingzheng's neck, brushing his slightly parted lips against the corner of the man's mouth in a lingering caress. He nipped lightly and murmured, "I'm not worried about him."

"I want you," Lan Yu breathed, his words curling like a soul-stealing blade into Li Mingzheng's mouth—into his very soul.

The thunderous pounding of his heart nearly deafened him. Li Mingzheng seized Lan Yu's chin and crushed their lips together in a fierce kiss.

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