[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 31
The bun that had been in Shiliu’s mouth fell with a soft plop onto the opened first page of the book.
“Ah!” she exclaimed, quickly picking up the bun and using her sleeve to wipe the greasy stain smeared across the cover of the storybook.
Then she stared somewhat conflictedly at the large, meaty bun, glistening with oil and fragrant with filling. It had only one bite taken out of it, and now it had taken a tumble—should she keep eating it or not?
“If you dare eat that, I’ll throw you out the window.”
Li Xuanci’s cold voice came from above. She looked up to see the undisguised disdain in his eyes, clearly visible.
Half an incense stick’s time earlier, Shiliu had carefully selected the steaming meat bun from among many snacks, grabbed a new storybook, and sprawled on the bed, ready to read—the picture of carefree bliss.
Now, the bun had fallen on the book, smearing grease everywhere, leaving her with sticky hands, unable to read or eat, and being threatened with getting thrown from the second-story window.
She felt a little annoyed.
Why was this King of Hell here to ruin her mood again?
Shiliu sighed quietly to herself and could only obediently place the bun with a single bite missing on the stool beside her.
Li Xuanci watched speechlessly as she placed the large meat bun on the wooden stool, finding it hard to bear, and averted his eyes.
As a result, his gaze fell on the storybook in her hand, its cover clearly displaying four characters: Appreciating Flowers Treasures.
Before leaving the palace, Li Xuanci had been raised deep within the inner court by the late Emperor, who doted on him greatly. So-called forbidden areas were like open ground to him, and many of those places always hid what were called forbidden books.
They sounded mysterious, but in reality, they were nothing more than unofficial histories of previous dynasties, incendiary texts, secret records of clever mechanisms, and among them, no shortage of lewd phrases and spring palace paintings.
So, just from the title, he knew this wasn’t proper reading material.
Li Xuanci glanced at Shiliu, who was still dazedly sprawled on the bed. Her lips were shiny with meat juices from the bun, and she was looking up at him from below, making her eyes appear especially round. Her hair was a mess, loosely piled on her head without any order.
Utterly foolish.
The thought of such an idiot reading spring palace paintings struck him as both absurd and contemptible.
Li Xuanci reached out swiftly. Before Shiliu could react, the book was snatched from her hand.
She didn’t understand what was happening. First, he wouldn’t let her eat the bun, and now he was taking her storybook? She hadn’t even read it yet! She had finally picked one that looked somewhat interesting, thinking she could learn more about flowers and plants to take back to the mountain.
And now, before she could even start, this guy had ruined it again.
While she was glaring at him furiously, Li Xuanci had already roughly flipped through the book. The more he read, the more inscrutable his expression became.
“Lazy is one thing, gluttonous is another, but are you also an èr yǐzi?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Shiliu’s first reaction was to refute, “Wh-where am I that lazy?”
She didn’t refute the gluttony part, though.
Seeing Li Xuanci’s eyebrow arch higher and higher, Shiliu finally asked belatedly, “What’s an èr yǐzi?”
Li Xuanci replied flatly, “If you read this book, you’re an èr yǐzi.”
“What’s wrong with learning more about flowers and plants?” Although Shiliu didn’t know what èr yǐzi meant, she trusted that nothing good ever came from Li Xuanci’s mouth.
Li Xuanci’s raised eyebrow lowered. He realized he was probably talking to a brick wall—no, to a pig. This person seemed completely clueless.
Appreciating Flowers Treasures — the title was so blatant. A few random pages clearly showed scenes of two men entangled.
Yet here she was, talking about “learning more about flowers and plants.” She really was the most hopeless fool.
“Confiscated,” Li Xuanci said mercilessly. As he turned to leave, he didn’t forget to sweep up the other erotic books from the table as well.
“Why?” Shiliu was indignant. Taking one was bad enough, but clearing them all out was just too much.
“Because you’re putting it on my tab.”
That one sentence rendered Shiliu speechless.
When the door snapped shut, Shiliu was so angry she thrashed around on the bed, like a crab dropped into hot water, rolling noisily.
So mean! Hateful, hateful, truly hateful! He wouldn’t let her eat the bun, and he stole her storybooks!
Fuming, she buried her face in the pillow. When she found out Li Xuanci’s favorite food, she would tie him up, dangle it right in front of his eyes, and just leave it there—never let him eat it!
This was the most cruel punishment that Shiliu—who ate radishes in winter, bamboo shoots in summer, and meat all year round—could conceive of in her heart.
(Author’s Note:
Èr yǐzi (二椅子) is a derogatory term in northern dialects, originally referring to androgynous or effeminate individuals. Here, it’s used to imply Shiliu might be interested in male homosexuality (duànxiù). (This term is not polite; its use here is based on the male lead’s historical background and character setting and is not intended to insult or discriminate against any individual with specific traits. If it causes offense, I sincerely apologize.)
Appreciating Flowers Treasures (《品花宝鉴》): This novel centers on the spiritual connection and love between the young nobleman Mei Ziyu and the male opera performer Du Qinyan. It contrasts upright, sincere love like theirs with the debauched, lustful attachments of merchants, commoners, and spoiled young masters, aiming to convey a moral lesson.)