When his hand touched the dragon-patterned embroidery on the clothes, Xueya suddenly realized that the person pressing down on him was the emperor, his path to wealth and power. Despite his dizziness, he forced his eyes wide open and stared intently at the person above, making Cui Lingjing feel uncomfortable.
Cui Lingjing frowned, “What are you looking at?”
Xueya couldn’t help but smile, but remembering that Cui Lingjing disliked his smiles, he quickly wiped it away. “Is Your Majesty going to… favor this servant?”
It was the first time Cui Lingjing encountered someone so direct, rendering him speechless for a moment. Seeing Xueya’s fox-like eyes staring at him, he sneered, “You wish.”
Xueya was startled. Seeing Cui Lingjing about to get up, he quickly wrapped his arms around Cui Lingjing’s neck, “Didn’t Your Majesty just…,” he stopped halfway, seeing the emperor’s glare, and quickly changed his words, “A kiss would be nice too.”
Cui Lingjing squinted, then harshly pinched Xueya’s face, “Does it hurt?”
Xueya winced, retracting his arms to cover his face, feeling aggrieved, “It hurts.”
“If it hurts, then the dream should be over,” Cui Lingjing said, getting up. He lightly exhaled, then turned to look at Xueya still lying on the couch, “Aren’t you getting up?”
Xueya climbed off the couch, still holding his sore face. He couldn’t understand why Cui Lingjing, who had initiated the intimate contact, would suddenly turn hostile. The madam at the brothel had only warned that men would turn their backs after leaving the bed, never that they would do so as soon as they got in.
He stared at Cui Lingjing in confusion, his gaze slowly drifting downward. Cui Lingjing noticed this and immediately snapped, “What are you looking at?!”
“Nothing, nothing at all,” Xueya quickly retracted his gaze but couldn’t help but wonder if Cui Lingjing had some kind of ailment in that regard. If so, it would explain why Cui Lingjing hadn’t selected any concubines.
Wait, could it be that Cui Lingjing and He Xulan…?
Was it that Cui Lingjing wanted to be the one on the bottom?
Xueya blinked and slowly moved closer to Cui Lingjing, “Your Majesty.”
Cui Lingjing’s expression flickered with a trace of unease as Xueya approached, “What are you trying to do now?”
Xueya hesitated before saying, “If Your Majesty needs, this servant can also…”
He paused.
“Also what?” Cui Lingjing looked at Xueya.
Xueya rephrased his words as carefully as he could, trying to be tactful since no man liked admitting to a physical ailment, “This servant can serve Your Majesty in any position, as long as Your Majesty requires.”
Xueya thought that he, being a man, could also be on top, but he didn’t expect that right after he said those words, he would be thrown out.
Standing outside the tightly shut palace doors, Xueya replayed his words in his mind. They seemed fine to him—he was perfectly capable of being the one on top. So why did Cui Lingjing throw him out?
He felt that Cui Lingjing’s expression when sending him away wasn’t one of anger.
For the next several days, Xueya didn’t see Cui Lingjing. Even when he tried to position himself in Cui Lingjing’s path after court, someone always called him away for a task just as he was about to encounter him.
Unable to utilize his charm, Xueya decided to approach He Xulan instead. If he couldn’t get through to Cui Lingjing, he’d start with He Xulan. He now had a new goal: to mimic He Xulan. If he could imitate He Xulan well, Cui Lingjing might look his way more often when he couldn’t pursue He Xulan.
After several visits to Ningfu Palace, Xueya noticed that He Xulan was either writing, painting, or playing the qin. Xueya could play the qin, but his writing and painting skills were poor. Resting his chin on the table, he watched He Xulan paint. He had been sitting there for a long time, and He Xulan had not paused once.
He Xulan was painting landscapes again.
“Brother Empress Dowager, is painting difficult?” Xueya couldn’t help but ask.
He Xulan’s tone was gentle, “Not difficult.”
“Oh,” Xueya said.
He Xulan glanced at him, “Do you want to learn? I can teach you.”
Xueya was initially delighted but then waved his hand, “I’m very clumsy, I won’t be able to learn.” Though he said he couldn’t learn, his eyes remained fixed on He Xulan’s painting, betraying his words. He Xulan, seeing this, lowered his gaze and continued painting, “Alright.”
Xueya hadn’t expected He Xulan to be so unyielding to his hints. He grew anxious but, having claimed he was too clumsy to learn, felt it inappropriate to ask He Xulan to teach him again. So he just watched He Xulan with wide eyes.
After a few more strokes, He Xulan looked at Xueya again.
Meeting He Xulan’s gaze, Xueya’s expression became even more hopeful, silently pleading to be taught.
“Come here.”
At He Xulan’s words, Xueya jumped up from his seat and immediately went to He Xulan’s side, smiling brightly but still saying, “Brother Empress Dowager, I’m really clumsy, please don’t scold me later.”
He Xulan chuckled, “I just need you to look at the painting for me; why would I scold you?”
“Huh?” Xueya was stunned.
“Come, tell me how this looks,” He Xulan pulled him in front, his hand passing over Xueya’s waist to gesture at the painting on the table. Xueya, realizing He Xulan only wanted him to look at the painting, couldn’t muster a smile. He glanced at the painting and then lowered his head, “Brother Empress Dowager’s painting is naturally good.”
His insincere praise made He Xulan raise an eyebrow.
“Is that so? Then tell me what’s good about it?”
Xueya remained unenthusiastic, “Everything is good.” He quickly added, “I need to go; the emperor’s selection of concubines should be about finished today.”
The selection process had started a few days ago. Although Cui Lingjing, as the emperor, was reluctant, he had to personally participate since he currently had no empress to assist him, and He Xulan, being a man, couldn’t take on that role.
Before Xueya could leave, He Xulan pressed his shoulders down, seemingly sighing with a hint of helplessness, “You’re really hard to tease. I’m teaching you to paint; aren’t you staying?”
Xueya glanced at He Xulan, the corners of his mouth lifting, “I won’t leave.”
When he smiled, his fox-like eyes curved charmingly.
He Xulan hummed in acknowledgment and handed the brush to Xueya, “Hold this.”
Xueya did as told and looked at the table, “Brother Empress Dowager, do you have any fresh paper?”
“Paint on this,” He Xulan’s words surprised Xueya again.
“On this?” Xueya quickly shook his head, “I’ll ruin it.”
“It’s fine if you ruin it; besides, I’m here. Hold the brush properly,” He Xulan said.
Xueya had no choice but to comply. However, he still worried over the painting, not knowing where to start. After staring at the painting for a while, He Xulan’s hand reached around from behind, gently holding his, “See here? You can add a few strokes to make the mountain look more realistic.”
The voice of the other person was soft, entering his ears.
Xueya was led by He Xulan in this way to paint, though in truth, he hardly did anything—He Xulan held his hand and painted. But as he watched the painting become more beautiful and complete, he couldn’t help but feel happy, thinking that he had contributed to it.
“Is that all it takes to make you happy?” He Xulan suddenly asked.
Xueya murmured, “Back in the housd, those painting instructors didn’t want to teach me. They said I was unbelievably clumsy.” He left out the part where they also said that heaven had only given him a handsome face and nothing else. That remark had infuriated Xueya to no end.
After all, the most famous young gigolos in their house didn’t rely solely on their looks; it was their talent, personality, and artistic skills. If looks were all that mattered, that most famous gigolo would have barely made it into the top ten, let alone the top five.
Lost in his happiness, Xueya didn’t notice how close he was to He Xulan now. He was shorter than He Xulan, almost held in his arms.
“Let’s stop here for today,” He Xulan released Xueya. “Today was just a trial. It doesn’t count as starting to learn. Come earlier tomorrow. Did you take the key to the east side gate?”
Because Xueya had been visiting frequently, He Xulan had the palace servants give him the key to the east side gate, allowing Xueya to freely come and go from Ningfu Palace.
“I’ve got it,” Xueya put the brush back on its stand. Actually, he wanted to continue painting, but he felt He Xulan’s tone had been somewhat cold just now, so he decided to say he was leaving.
He Xulan didn’t try to stop Xueya from leaving, just nodded.
Seeing He Xulan’s reaction, Xueya became even more convinced that he hadn’t misjudged. He Xulan was indeed being cold towards him.
Why?
This question plagued Xueya in bed at night, tossing and turning. He had finally managed to get closer to He Xulan. Why was He Xulan suddenly distant? Could it be that He Xulan, like those instructors, despised his lack of talent in painting?
Xueya suddenly sat up. No, he couldn’t let He Xulan become distant from him. If Cui Lingjing didn’t pay much attention to him and now He Xulan was ignoring him too, how could he ever mimic He Xulan? He hadn’t learned anything yet.
In the end, he might just end up wrapped in a shroud in his dreams.
Thinking this, Xueya got up and grabbed a cloak, wrapping it around himself. It was nearly late autumn now, and there was a chill in the air at night. Sneaking out of his room, he reached the palace gate and hid behind a red pillar, watching the face of the night guard. He quickly called out to one of them.
“Liang Mu.”
The guard named Liang Mu turned to see Xueya hiding behind the pillar and immediately walked over. “What are you doing out here?”
Xueya smiled at Liang Mu. “I want to go out for a bit. Could you help me?”
Liang Mu frowned. “What are you doing out at this hour? You can go out during the day, but in the middle of the night…”
Before he could finish, Xueya grabbed his sleeve. In the darkness, Xueya’s hand was practically glowing white. “Liang Mu, could you please help me? I want to visit the Empress Dowager. I want to learn painting. During the day, His Majesty is present, and I can’t stay long in Ningfu Palace. At night, if His Majesty is asleep, I can sneak back to Ningfu Palace without fear of being caught.”
Liang Mu was the head guard, a man introduced to Xueya by He Xulan. He Xulan was worried that it would be inconvenient for Xueya to enter and exit Fengrui Palace, so he introduced Liang Mu, the little brother of a former friend, before entering the palace.
Liang Mu was still somewhat hesitant, but Xue Ya had made up his mind to sneak into Ningfu Palace in the dead of night. Unless Cui Lingjing appeared, he wouldn’t give up. So he softened his voice and said, “Liang Mu, please help me. I’m relying on you. Liang Mu, Liang Mu…” Seeing that the other party still wasn’t giving in, he tried a different approach, “Brother Liang Mu, good Brother, I beg you.”
Liang Mu was dark-skinned, so his blush wasn’t very noticeable. Though his colleagues often joked with him by calling him “good brother,” it was the first time he had heard someone use such a soft voice to call him that. He almost immediately surrendered, saying, “Alright, I’ll let you out, but you must come back quickly, understand?”
“Yes,” Xue Ya replied promptly.
Once outside Fengrui Palace, everything went smoothly. He used the key to unlock the small door on the east side of Ningfu Palace, then made his way to the door of the sleeping quarters. The night guard was startled to see him. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t the Empress Dowager send for me? Didn’t you know?” Xue Ya retorted, urging, “Quickly open the door. The Empress Dowager is waiting for me inside.”
The two palace attendants hesitated. “But all the lights are out inside.”
Xue Ya gave them a look of exasperation. “That’s exactly why. If the lights are out, no one will know the Empress Dowager is waiting for me. The fewer people who know, the better. If you don’t open the door now and the Empress Dowager ends up falling asleep waiting for me, and I wake him up later, neither of us will have a good outcome.”
The two attendants were intimidated and hurriedly opened the door halfway.
Suppressing a smile, Xue Ya stepped into the inner hall. It was pitch dark inside, but he made his way to the inner chamber, guided by the moonlight coming through the window, and successfully reached He Xulan’s bed.
