The light in the tent was dim, but the exposed skin was as fair as snow.
Xueya didn’t completely remove his clothes; he held onto the hem of his shirt with one hand, only allowing the collar to open. But it was enough for He Xulan to see what was underneath. He was extremely embarrassed now, his head too ashamed to lift, and his voice was as low as a mosquito’s. “Brother Empress Dowager, I didn’t lie to you.”
After he finished speaking, he wanted to close his clothes again, but a hand reached out and grabbed his hand.
He Xulan’s voice was low. “The Emperor ordered you to wear this?”
“Yeah, the Emperor said I must wear it.”
Xueya received this order. Although Cui Lingjing rarely saw him, he thought about crawling into Cui Lingjing’s bed all day, afraid that if the other person found out he wasn’t wearing it when he took off his clothes, he would be punished. So every day, he obediently put it on.
He glanced up at He Xulan, seeing the other slightly lowering his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking, hesitatingly said, “Brother Empress Dowager, I didn’t lie to you, so there’s no need to touch anymore, right?”
“You didn’t lie to me, but that has nothing to do with touching your belly. You touched me, so I should touch back, right?”
He Xulan lifted his eyelids calmly at these words, looking at Xueya. He grabbed Xueya’s hand that was pulling down his clothes and lightly tapped the back of Xueya’s hand with his fingertip.
Xueya hadn’t expected He Xulan to want to touch back. He pursed his lips, suddenly feeling that He Xulan wasn’t very generous. But he had no choice. After all, he was the one who touched He Xulan first, so he could only let go of his clothes.
As the clothes loosened, the inner garment became more revealing.
A silver-red mandarin duck dudou hung delicately on the slender shoulders of the youth, clearly an image that should not be proper, but Xueya was handsome enough, and his skin was as tender as lychee flesh.
Fair and smooth, making one wonder if water could be squeezed out.
The discordant pairing mixed together, making it even more unforgettable. He Xulan remained silent, released Xueya’s hand, and instead reached into the dudou. His fingers were slightly cool, causing the young man to shiver slightly from the cold.
“Cold?” He Xulan asked.
Xueya looked up at He Xulan. He wanted He Xulan to stop touching his belly, so he showed a pitiful look in his eyes. “Mm.”
But He Xulan’s hand didn’t stop; he simply stretched out his other hand to Xueya. “Come under the blanket.”
Seeing this, Xueya could only lie down under the blanket. Having his belly touched like this was uncomfortable and felt strange. He endured for a while but couldn’t help but say to He Xulan, “Brother Empress Dowager, could you stop?”
“But Xueya just touched for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. I haven’t touched yet. Xueya, everything must be fair, right?” He Xulan was unusually difficult to persuade tonight.
Xueya’s eyes became even more aggrieved. His earlobes were red, and now even his cheeks were flushed with red clouds. Looking so pitiful, if seen by others, they would probably only want to bully him more. But he didn’t realize this and only wanted He Xulan to spare his pitiful belly. “Brother Empress Dowager, my stomach… my stomach feels uncomfortable.”
“How does it feel uncomfortable?” He Xulan asked.
Xueya pursed his lips. “It’s a very strange feeling.”
He Xulan seemed to chuckle, but Xueya couldn’t be sure because the laughter was too light.
“A strange feeling?” He Xulan’s tone seemed amused. “Then I won’t touch your belly anymore.”
Upon hearing this, Xueya couldn’t help but feel relieved. Just as he was about to say how good Brother Empress Dowager was, he felt the hand on his stomach move through the dudou and reach his back, causing the skin touched to tremble slightly.
He Xulan’s hand stopped at the thin strap, and his fingertips hooked it lightly. Xueya was bewildered by He Xulan’s series of actions, and just as he didn’t know what to do, He Xulan pulled up his inner garment. “Go to sleep.”
He said gently, reverting to the He Xulan who was easy to talk to before.
Xueya breathed a sigh of relief and quickly put his clothes back on, hiding the dudou inside securely.
The strange feeling just now made him somewhat unsure how to face He Xulan. However, when he looked over at He Xulan, he found that the other had already closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep.
Xueya was stunned for a moment, then closed his eyes and began to sleep.
He was indeed tired at this moment.
Young people always liked to sleep, and Xueya was no exception. Back in the house, there was no easy way to wake him up. He was heavy with sleepiness, and it seemed like someone was calling him, but he couldn’t open his eyes no matter how hard he tried. He found the voice annoying and complained in a daze, “Don’t make noise, let me sleep a little longer.”
This bed was really soft and comfortable, even softer than the bed in the house. The bed he slept in the Fengrui Palace was hard and uncomfortable.
“If you don’t wake up soon, it will be dawn.” The annoying voice continued.
Xueya was annoyed by the noise and couldn’t help kicking in the direction of the sound, then covered his head with the blanket. Finally, everything around him quieted down. When he woke up again, he sat up groggily and found himself still on He Xulan’s bed, scared out of his wits. Especially when he lifted the curtain and found the outside was already bright.
He hadn’t even put on his shoes, rushing outside. Halfway there, he saw He Xulan sitting in the outer hall reading a book and suddenly stopped. He Xulan heard the movement and slowly raised his eyes, seeing Xueya standing not far away, calmly saying, “If you’re awake, go wash up first. I’ll have someone come in.”
Xueya looked outside, panic written all over his face. “Would… would His Majesty already know?”
“Don’t worry. Go wash up first, then go to the warm pavilion for breakfast.” He Xulan’s words reassured Xueya a little.
He Xulan called in servants to attend to him. Xueya used to have a little boy serving him in the building, but after entering the palace, he no longer had that. It had been a long time since he had been served by others, and he cherished this feeling. He didn’t even want to lose it.
When he became Cui Lingjing’s beloved, there would be even more people serving him. He would use as much of these fragrant sachets and soft cloths as he wished.
Xueya intended to comb his own hair, but the two palace attendants serving him took over the task. In the end, Xueya didn’t do anything except cooperate by extending his hand and tilting his head.
Led to the warm pavilion, breakfast was already prepared, and He Xulan was waiting inside.
Approaching, Xueya lowered his head to look at the clothes he was wearing today, a new outfit. “Brother Empress Dowager, this clothing…”
“Made for palace maids, does it fit well?” He Xulan spoke while looking at Xueya.
The clothes prepared for Xueya by Cui Lingjing were all very bright in color, while today Xueya wore a frost-colored outfit. It lacked some brightness but had a sense of freshness.
Hearing that it was made for palace maids, Xueya felt a bit embarrassed. “It fits well.”
He Xulan seemed to understand his thoughts. “It’s newly made, never worn before. Sit down and have your meal.”
Relieved to hear that no one had worn it before, Xueya sat down at the empty seat and carefully examined the elaborate breakfast on the table, which was even more refined than the last time.
“Since I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, I had the kitchen prepare more. It’s fine if you don’t finish everything.” He Xulan picked up a piece of crispy egg yolk pastry with the public chopsticks and put it into Xueya’s bowl. “Eat.”
This meal was undoubtedly the most sumptuous one Xueya had ever eaten. In the house and even in the Fengrui Palace, he had never had such a good meal. He ate until his belly bulged, reluctantly putting down his chopsticks. Only then did he belatedly realize that he had eaten so earnestly that he had ignored He Xulan beside him.
He Xulan seemed not to have eaten much, only feeding him.
Feeling uneasy, Xueya couldn’t help but look cautiously at He Xulan, but He Xulan seemed unconcerned. It was only after Xueya finished eating that He Xulan picked up his chopsticks and began to eat the breakfast.
These were the leftovers from Xueya’s meal.
Xueya watched He Xulan eat somewhat dazedly. He suddenly couldn’t quite understand why He Xulan was being so good to him. No one had ever cared for him like this before. After He Xulan finished eating, Xueya hugged He Xulan sincerely for the first time.
“Brother, you’re so good to me.” He buried his face in He Xulan’s neck, his voice muffled.
Perhaps He Xulan was truly the older Brother sent by heaven. His mother died early, and his father was unknown. He grew up in places like the Fengyue Courtyard, where no one genuinely cared for him. Now, with He Xulan, he felt a warmth he had never experienced before.
If… if Cui Lingjing didn’t like He Xulan, that would be even better.
***
The incident of sneaking into the Ningfu Palace that night passed calmly. Cui Lingjing was completely unaware of it, and other palace attendants did not come to ask Xueya why he wasn’t there that night. Only Liang Mu treated him much colder than usual.
Normally, Liang Mu would smile when he saw Xueya, but now he wore a cold expression, as if Xueya owed him a lot of money.
Xueya didn’t want to sour his relationship with Liang Mu and tried to approach him, but Liang Mu didn’t pay much attention to him. Xueya was upset by Liang Mu’s coldness, feeling a surge of anger for a moment.
But he was just a minor captain of the guards. Did he really need to serve him like this?
Humph.
Angrily, Xueya ran to the Ningfu Palace, wanting to speak ill of Liang Mu to He Xulan. However, when he arrived, He Xulan was unusually absent, and only a young eunuch stood outside the hall. The young eunuch recognized Xueya and directly let him in.
“Something came up in the former dynasty, and the Empress Dowager went over there.” The young eunuch explained.
“Then I’ll wait here.” Xueya intended to sit on a chair and wait for He Xulan to return. Suddenly, he thought of scaring He Xulan a little, so he pulled the young eunuch over. “I’m going to hide under the table later to give Empress Dowager a surprise. Don’t tell him I’m here, okay?”
The young eunuch nodded quickly. “Got it.”
Seeing that the young eunuch understood, Xueya took out a few copper coins and handed them over. “This is for you.”
Every day in the Ningfu Palace, Xueya addressed He Xulan as “Brother Empress Dowager,” as if He Xulan had truly become his older Brother. Feeling pleased with himself, he acted like a master. When he turned to enter the hall, the young eunuch who received the copper coins clicked his tongue and muttered disdainfully, “What a character, pah.”
Unaware of the young eunuch’s actions, Xueya hid under the table, arms crossed, eagerly awaiting He Xulan’s return.
