Xueya thought he had misheard and blinked his eyes open in confusion. Upon seeing the bright yellow dragon embroidery, his sleepiness vanished instantly, and he began to struggle to get out of Cui Lingjing’s embrace.
But Cui Lingjing’s hands were firmly clasped around Xueya’s waist, preventing him from moving.
Looking at He Xulan standing not far away, Cui Lingjing, who normally would have pushed Xueya away without hesitation, didn’t feel like doing so today. On the contrary, he held the young man even tighter and affectionately kissed his cheek.
“What are you afraid of? Godfather is the gentlest person and won’t hold anything against you,” Cui Lingjing said.
***
When Xueya rushed into He Xulan’s study, He Xulan was standing with his back to the desk. Xueya’s pace slowed for a moment, but then he quickened his steps and ran to He Xulan’s side, grabbing his sleeve. “Brother, I didn’t know that was the Emperor! I was just sleeping there. I thought it was you carrying me.”
As he spoke, he secretly observed He Xulan’s expression.
He Xulan’s face was emotionless, but Xueya knew that this expressionless look meant He Xulan was in a very bad mood.
In his mind, Xueya cursed that dog emperor, Cui Lingjing, several times over.
He had been sleeping peacefully in the corridor when Cui Lingjing suddenly decided to pick him up and kiss him. Back when they were in Fengrui Palace, Cui Lingjing never kissed him, so why was he doing it here?
But no matter how much he cursed Cui Lingjing, it was still up to him to calm He Xulan’s anger.
Looking pitifully at He Xulan, Xueya pleaded, “I’m telling the truth, I’m not lying. I even washed my face.”
He Xulan lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on Xueya’s right cheek. Noticing his gaze, Xueya quickly turned his right cheek towards him. “Brother, I washed it.”
“Huang Dexing, bring water,” He Xulan ordered coldly.
In a short while, Huang Gonggong came in with a basin of water. Always good at reading the situation, he set the basin down and made a hasty exit, not pausing even for a moment.
Looking at the basin of water, a bad feeling flashed through Xueya’s mind. But before he could say anything, He Xulan lifted him onto the desk.
He Xulan soaked a cloth and began to wipe Xueya’s face. At first, Xueya endured it, but after He Xulan had changed the water more than a dozen times, he couldn’t bear it any longer and whimpered in pain, “Brother, stop… If you keep going, my face will be raw.”
At that, the cloth finally left his face.
When Xueya saw He Xulan’s dark expression, he trembled slightly, wondering if he should have waited until He Xulan had cooled down before coming. But the housekeeper had taught him that when a guest is angry, you should soothe them right away.
But right now, Xueya didn’t even dare to speak, let alone look directly at He Xulan, and kept his head slightly lowered.
Suddenly, he felt He Xulan’s hand undoing his robe.
Startled, Xueya instinctively tried to jump off the desk, but He Xulan was stronger, and he found himself pinned firmly to the table.
***
This time, Xueya finally understood what it meant to be teased with a calligraphy brush. Dazed and disoriented, he could only cover his lips with his hands. By the time he was lifted off the desk, he could barely stand, let alone walk, and could only sit on He Xulan’s lap.
He Xulan carefully selected a clean undergarment and used it to wipe Xueya’s thighs. As for the boy’s bellyband, it had long since been dirtied beyond recognition.
The boy in his arms was soft as if he had no bones, his eyes moist with desire, his skin white with a blush of pink.
“Dirty,” He Xulan suddenly said.
Xueya, still dazed, was startled for a moment. Following He Xulan’s gaze, he looked towards the desk, and his face instantly turned bright red.
After a long pause, Xueya stammered, “It… it wasn’t me.”
He definitely didn’t wet himself!
***
Cui Lingjing’s interference ended with Xueya unable to walk, which only made him more reluctant to enter He Xulan’s study or to fall asleep anywhere, for fear of being picked up by someone other than He Xulan again.
During the day, Xueya continued to wander idly. Finally, at night, just when he managed to exchange a few words with He Xulan, his clothes were removed once again.
He wanted to protest, but after a few weak objections, all he could do was moan softly.
That night, just as Xueya let out a barely suppressed sound, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Three knocks, then silence.
He Xulan’s movements halted. After looking toward the door for a moment, he withdrew his hand, wiped the suspicious dampness with a silk cloth, and whispered to Xueya, “You should sleep now, don’t wait for me.”
Xueya, his foxy eyes glazed over, sat up instinctively upon hearing He Xulan was leaving.
With that movement, the robe hanging precariously from his shoulders slid down to his elbows. He Xulan glanced at him, pulled the robe back up, gently pried Xueya’s arms away, and wrapped him in a blanket. “Be good and go to sleep.”
There was no way Xueya could sleep. He kicked the blanket off and clung to He Xulan, refusing to let him go. “Brother, where are you going?”
But He Xulan was determined to leave. Gently but firmly, he pried Xueya’s arms away. “I’m going to the study. I’ll be back late, so don’t wait for me, just sleep.”
With that, he left, leaving Xueya alone in bed.
Xueya sat there for a while, finally realizing He Xulan had really gone. Looking down at himself, he was so angry he grabbed the pillow beside him and threw it to the ground.
But throwing the pillow wasn’t enough to vent his frustration.
He had heard the knocking earlier, too. What was He Xulan doing running to the study in the middle of the night instead of sleeping with him?
After thinking for a while, a sudden thought struck him, and he remembered a person—Yi Yefeng.
Xueya hadn’t forgotten seeing Yi Yefeng in Ningfu Palace once before.
Based on his dream, Yi Yefeng liked He Xulan. Could it be that they were secretly doing something together now? Could it be that He Xulan hadn’t taken him on the spring hunt because he was afraid Yi Yefeng would get jealous?
Last time, he had begged He Xulan several times to punish Yi Yefeng, and only then did He Xulan agree.
He couldn’t let the two of them be alone together. What if Yi Yefeng badmouthed him?
He had already given up Cui Lingjing for He Xulan.
A few days ago, Cui Lingjing had held him, and he had pretended to be pitiful, asking Cui Lingjing not to come find him anymore. If He Xulan abandoned him now, he would have nothing to show for it, like drawing water with a bamboo basket—everything would be in vain.
With this sense of crisis, Xueya hurriedly put on his clothes, determined to go to the study and drive away that little vixen, Yi Yefeng. Just as he reached the door of the study, he saw Huang Gonggong.
Huang Gonggong was startled when he saw Xueya and hurried over. “Xueya, are you hungry? If you’re hungry, I can have the small kitchen make you something to eat.”
Xueya dodged Huang Gonggong’s hand that was trying to pull him away. “I’m not hungry. Is the Empress Dowager inside?”
He glanced toward the study, where a faint light was glowing.
Huang Gonggong hesitated and didn’t answer, so Xueya continued, “I know the Empress Dowager is inside. Huang Gonggong, let me in, I have something to say to the Empress Dowager.”
“Oh, talk about it tomorrow. The Empress Dowager is busy right now.”
Huang Gonggong’s words only made Xueya more certain that He Xulan was meeting with that little vixen. His eyes flickered, and suddenly he looked in another direction and gasped. Huang Gonggong was tricked, thinking someone was there, and quickly turned to look. Xueya seized the opportunity and rushed to the study door.
The door was locked, and Xueya couldn’t push it open, so he pretended to sound pitiful and called out, “Brother Empress Dowager, I had a nightmare.”
Huang Gonggong hurriedly tried to pull Xueya away. “Be good, Xueya, go back to bed.”
Xueya refused to leave, and just as he was in a standoff with Huang Gonggong, He Xulan’s voice finally came from inside the study. “Let him in.”
As soon as the door opened, Xueya saw Yi Yefeng.
It was Yi Yefeng who opened the door.
Xueya hadn’t expected his guess to be right, and his eyes widened, almost like a rabbit ready to pounce. As he warily stared at Yi Yefeng, he walked into the study.
He Xulan sat behind the desk.
Xueya sized up both of them. Seeing that their clothes were neat, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly walked over to He Xulan’s side. “Brother Empress Dowager, I’m scared to sleep alone.”
As he spoke, he moved to sit on He Xulan’s lap.
He Xulan’s expression shifted slightly, and he called Xueya’s name softly.
Sensing that He Xulan wanted to push him away, Xueya became even more convinced that he had made the right decision in coming here. Yi Yefeng had only been here a short while, and already He Xulan didn’t want him sitting on his lap. If he left these two alone all night, wouldn’t he be sent to the laundry room by tomorrow?
“I’m not leaving,” Xueya declared, glaring at Yi Yefeng as he tightened his arms around He Xulan’s neck.
He Xulan frowned slightly, but after a moment, his expression softened. “Fine, you can stay, but you mustn’t talk, understood?”
Hearing this, Xueya nodded. He thought, As long as I’m here, Yi Yefeng won’t dare to seduce He Xulan right in front of me.
“Continue,” He Xulan said, looking at Yi Yefeng.
Yi Yefeng cast a glance at Xueya before saying, “The governor of Dongdan Prefecture is not dead. My men saw him near the border, and we have captured him alive.”
He Xulan pondered for a moment. “He shouldn’t have any soldiers with him now, right?”
“He claimed to have privately raised an army, but he doesn’t have the tiger tally.”
“If he really had raised an army, he wouldn’t have fled to the border. Handle it as you see fit, and pass the information to the Lei family,” He Xulan instructed.
Yi Yefeng nodded and began discussing another matter. After a while, his voice suddenly paused, and his gaze shifted to Xueya, who had fallen asleep at some point. Curled up in He Xulan’s arms, Xueya was fast asleep, one hand clutching He Xulan’s sleeve.
He Xulan picked Xueya up and carried him out, placing him on the bed in the sleeping quarters. Just then, Xueya woke up again. He grabbed He Xulan’s clothes. “Brother, where are you going?”
After waiting a moment without hearing a response, Xueya wrapped his arms and legs around He Xulan. “You can’t be alone with him; he’s a bad person.”
He Xulan remained silent, gently patting Xueya’s back as if soothing a frightened rabbit. After a while, Xueya slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep. The next time he woke up, it was already morning.
Xueya didn’t understand what He Xulan and Yi Yefeng had been discussing, but in his mind, Yi Yefeng had become his number one enemy. Although Cui Lingjing liked He Xulan, it was clear that He Xulan didn’t care much about Cui Lingjing. But Yi Yefeng was different. He Xulan often met with Yi Yefeng in private, and when Xueya called Yi Yefeng a bad person, He Xulan didn’t agree with him.
So, the next time Xueya saw Yi Yefeng in Ningfu Palace, he didn’t hesitate to take off his embroidered shoe and hurl it at Yi Yefeng’s head.
Being skilled in martial arts, Yi Yefeng reacted quickly. He tilted his head and easily dodged the “weapon,” then turned his sharp gaze toward Xueya, who was hiding behind a pillar.
Xueya hadn’t expected Yi Yefeng to dodge so easily, nor did he expect to be discovered so quickly. But he wasn’t fazed. He hopped out from behind the pillar on one foot, chin raised defiantly. “You, pick up my shoe.”
Yi Yefeng didn’t move.
Xueya bit his lip and glanced around, realizing that they were the only two people there. He started to feel a bit afraid, but he didn’t want to back down in front of Yi Yefeng. Gritting his teeth, he decided to act tough.
“If you don’t pick it up, I’ll tell Brother Empress Dowager and have him punish you!”
