The general’s mansion was not called the General’s Mansion, but Dingguo^[1] Mansion, the house bestowed by Yan Mingting’s father when he was alive. But because the family had produced two famous generals, the common people were more accustomed to calling it the General’s Mansion.

Its master had fought on the battlefield all year round, and there were almost no people living there. Usually there were only some sweeping servants and the old housekeeper.

Housekeeper Qin had been working in the general’s mansion since he was a child. Perhaps he was getting old. He watched the little master follow the old general to kill the enemy since he was young, but before enjoying a day of blessing, he was given a legacy as an evil star by the people. Now he was twenty-seven. Other men at this age were already surrounded by children, and his family’s general was still alone.

As soon as the imperial decree of marriage was delivered to the mansion in these two days, he was overjoyed. But upon hearing that he was going to marry Zhao Yelan, he fainted from fright.

There was no telling what the general thought, but after receiving the news, he sent a letter to him instructing him to take charge of household affairs and wait for his return.

No matter what the masters were thinking, he always had to do his job well. He hastily ordered people to renovate the mansion, and it was really troublesome to tidy up this place that had not been inhabited for a long time.

When people told him that Zhao Yelan was coming, he was almost unresponsive and then fell down from the ladder. He patted his trouser legs, trotted to the main hall, and saw the powerful official who was rumored to do all kinds of evil. Black hair and snow-white skin, willowy posture. He didn’t look like a villain. He was clearly a fairy who went to the wrong place, right?

“Zhao, Zhao-daren?” Housekeeper Qin looked at him in astonishment. “You came to visit late at night, what is it?”

Zhao Yelan frowned and took a look at his body. Housekeeper Qin lowered his head and followed his gaze, and finding that his clothes were stained with dust, he patted them hurriedly.

“Stop patting.” Zhao Yelan raised his hand and waved it, then took a few steps back to get some distance from him and looked around. “Where is Yan Mingting?”

“Zhao-daren is here to find the general?” Housekeeper Qin was bewildered, and said aloud, “My lord, this is not in compliance with custom.”

“What custom?” 

“Before the wedding, newlyweds cannot meet.”

“Are you telling me the rules?” Zhao Yelan narrowed his eyes slightly, and when he saw him trembling, he turned his eyes away indifferently. “You take care of the affairs of the General’s Mansion?”

“Yes.” Housekeeper Qin nodded obediently. “But don’t worry, my lord, when you pass through the door, the ledger will be handed over to you.”

“I’m not interested.” Zhao Yelan gave Xiao Gao a meaningful glance.

Xiao Gao immediately took out a thick booklet and handed it to housekeeper Qin. “These are the daily food and clothing expenses for our family, please prepare them. In case there are some things that my lord doesn’t need in the betrothal gift, in order to avoid waste, we will send the required betrothal gift list tomorrow. At that time, you can prepare accordingly and save yourself some effort.”

Housekeeper Qin held the thick booklet, opened it tremblingly and glanced twice. Just like Grandma Liu^[2] entering the Grand View Garden, he said in amazement: “These……these are just daily necessities?”

“Naturally,” Xiao Gao said with a smile. “The bride price should not be neglected.”

“It’s a big matter, and this one is not the master, ah.” Housekeeper Qin cried with a thick face. “This is not a small sum. The General means for everything to be kept simple, just following formalities. After all, the General’s Mansion is not that rich……”

“Where’s Yan Mingting?” Zhao Yelan interrupted him to ask again. He turned his head to cough a few times, and the expression on his face was colder than when he first entered the door.

Xiao Gao immediately urged: “Our lord is not well due to the wind and the cold, and came all the way here. Why hasn’t the General come out to receive his guests?”

Housekeeper Qin quickly explained: “The General went to drink with his subordinates. Rest assured, my lord, as soon as the general returns, I will tell him about this right away……”

Zhao Yelan turned and left before he finished speaking. He sighed deeply, thinking that this was not a good thing, and that the General’s Mansion would be very lively in the future.

As soon as Zhao Yelan departed, Yan Mingting returned. Housekeeper Qin quickly informed the other party about this matter, and Yan Minging took the booklet, saying in surprise: “He was just here?”

“Yes, he also said that he would send someone to send the betrothal gift list tomorrow.”

“Betrothal gifts?” Yan Mingting recalled the scene just now and suddenly smiled. “Then I bumped into them.”

“Really? You saw him?”

“No, it was too dark for me to see him.”

Just now when Yan Mingting walked out of an alley, he saw a sedan chair coming from the direction of the General’s Mansion.

Just when he was wondering, the sedan chair passed in front of him. As it swayed up and down, the corner of the curtain swung and a white neck could be seen by candlelight inside the sedan chair. Then a slightly annoyed voice could be heard: “Add a few more agates and emeralds to the betrothal gift! Does he not have a lot of fine horses? Ask for a few more horses……cough.”

“Oh, how can this be good, ah.” Housekeeper Qin was very worried. When he thought about the General marrying such a money-grubbing person, he wanted to kowtow in front of the old general’s tablet and cry.

It was said that good people were given good rewards, so how come the Yan mansion had always been sparsely populated, and now it was still in an unprecedented situation?

“Uncle Qin, don’t worry. You’ve worked hard these few days, so go take a good rest.” Yan Mingting patted him on the shoulder.

“The matter of the dowry……”

“Leave it to me.”

It rained that night, and before the sedan chair arrived at the house, the rain fell on the ground like beans. Xiao Gao rushed to protect Zhao Yelan and return him home, but he was still drenched by the rain. Even after soaking in hot water, he was still a little dizzy when he woke up the next day, so he had to send someone and continue to ask for leave.

He had punished the Minister of the Ministry of Officials in prison, and didn’t go to court for two consecutive days. In the entire court, only Zhao Yelan dared to be so confident.

There was a smell of medicine in the room. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of it, there would always be new medicine poured into his stomach.

No one knew how long this body could last. He had taken medicine and didn’t want to continue lying down, so he leaned against the window and watched the rain outside smashing a flower in the courtyard to pieces.

A servant girl ran over holding an umbrella and tried to straighten the stem, but upon seeing it, Zhao Yelan stopped her and said, “Don’t touch it.”

The servant girl was puzzled: “My lord, this is the flower you planted yourself last time.”

“Leave it alone.” Zhao Yelan looked at the few petals that were about to fall from the stem. “Perhaps it deserves this fate, and it was lucky that it could survive until now.”

The servant girl had no choice but to clean elsewhere, and she had to tidy up the mansion as soon as possible. There was going to be a wedding in a few days, and she had to decorate everywhere.

Zhao Yelan sometimes looked at the rain, and sometimes glanced at the servants squatting under the eaves cutting paper, feeling a little irritable.

He was in a bad mood whenever it rained.

After a while, Xiao Gao ran back with a basket in one hand and an umbrella in the other, put the fresh fruit he brought today in front of him, and then went to the General’s Mansion without stopping to hand in the betrothal gift list.

Zhao Yelan looked at the things in the basket. It was another basket of fresh pears, big in size, juicy and thirst-quenching. But he had no appetite, so he just reached out to pick and choose and finally selected a pear with rotten spots. He broke it in half and took out a bamboo tube from within. Pouring out the note inside, he unfolded it, and a line of beautiful characters was revealed before his eyes –

The news of Yan Mansion was reported a few days ago. There’s really nothing new, but I was lucky enough to meet General Yan yesterday. His appearance is quite different from the rumors. I only needed to pay a hundred taels of silver to get a portrait of the general made for myself.

After reading it, he threw the note into the charcoal basin.

Yan Mingting hadn’t lived in the capital for a long time, and there was indeed very little relevant information that could be inquired about, but as for his appearance……it had nothing to do with him. Not to mention that he had seen the other person’s appearance with his own eyes, and he was really difficult to look at.

The rain was getting louder just then, and his mood was even worse. He thought a little self-defeatingly – he might as well be dead.

But it was just a fleeting thought. He’d had this idea many times, but ultimately, he always propped himself up with stronger thoughts of survival.

“Someone come, ah!” Half an hour later, Xiao Gao ran in from outside, yelling, and the others rushed over immediately, chattering nonstop.

“What’s all the noise about?” It was raining less now, so Zhao Yelan walked to the door to take a look and saw Xiao Gao holding a chicken in his hands. “Where did you get it?”

“The General asked me to bring it back.” Xiao Gao lifted the chicken a bit farther away with a sad face, a little afraid of this thing, and handed it to the maid next to him. The servant girl lost her grip for a moment and the chicken flopped to the ground, cooed a few times, and ran away shaking its chubby buttocks.

“What are you still doing!” Zhao Yelan said sternly.

As if waking up from a dream, everyone rushed to catch the chicken, and in an instant, the courtyard was in chaos.

Zhao Yelan’s face was darker than the dark clouds outside. He stepped out the door, looked around, and heard a sound getting closer to him. He turned around, and before he could see it clearly, he felt a fleshy object hit him.

He looked down.

“Coo, coo, coo!”

An old servant stepped forward to grab the chicken quickly, but the chicken was quiet for a moment, and then its buttocks bulged.

“Is this chicken’s butt about to explode?” Xiao Gao looked terrified.

The maids stepped back in worry and stared at the chicken curiously.

“No, it should be laying an egg,” said the old servant.

Zhao Yelan stretched out his hand in the direction of the door: “Throw it out for me.”

As soon as the words fell, there was something warm on his slipper-clad foot. An egg had rolled onto it. It was warm.

Zhao Yelan looked at the egg, then at the unclean chicken butt, and his expression changed abruptly.

The others wanted to laugh, but they held back and quickly grabbed the chicken and egg to escape.

“A bath and a change of clothes!”

Zhao Yelan soaked in the bathtub for half an hour, and the hot water was constantly refreshed, but his anger was not reduced.

“Did Yan Mingting say something when he gave you the chicken?” After changing his clothes again, he came to Xiao Gao to question him. He thought of the meeting many years ago, where the other party also stuffed a chicken into his hands and then hid to watch the joke, and only got angrier.

“The General said that your health is too poor, so he would send you a chicken for nourishment.”

“Poor health?” Zhao Yelan sneered angrily. “Good, good, Yan Mingting. He’s insinuating that I don’t have the strength to restrain a chicken, right? Go and clean up the fallen flowers and willows in the yard and send them to that ugly, stingy old widower! Let him see what happens to things that die!”

In the lobby of the General’s Mansion, there was silence.

All the military leaders who were still discussing amongst themselves stared at the pile of dying flowers and willows on the table. Drops of water soaked the tabletop.

Yan Mingting: “What do these mean?”

He Cuizhang scratched his head: “Let me make a bold guess, could the fallen flowers and running water show his intention to be merciless?”

Yan Mingting: “Then what about these willow branches?”

“Broken willows……lovemaking?”

Everyone looked sideways at General Yan with complicated expressions.

General Yan stared at this pile of things for a long time, sighed, and worried: “This isn’t too good, ah. Could it be that a chicken made him secretly fall in love?”

– – – – – – 

The author has something to say:

Yan Mingting in Zhao Yelan’s eyes: Fat old pig spirit, ugly and picky old widower!

Zhao Yelan in Yan Mingting’s eyes: A strange man whose love was bought with a chicken.

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[1] Dingguo (定国) means “to stabilize the country.” ⮐

[2] This is a reference to the famous novel, ‘A Dream of Red Mansions.’ Grandma Liu was a woman from a peasant family, and was ignorant to the ways of the elite, which is what the author is portraying here. ⮐

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Chapter Three<<Table of Contents >> Chapter Five

The flow of people on the street gradually thinned, with the occasional officers and soldiers patrolling. When they saw a group of people squatting on the ground laughing uncontrollably, they came forward to ask what happened.

Zhong Yuehong pointed to the only one standing, but the man with the sad face said: “It’s nothing, it’s just that a short while ago……our elder brother was mocked.”

Yan Mingting rubbed his face, shook them off, and strode forward. Those people hurried to catch up again.

“I’m sorry, I promise I won’t laugh.” Zhong Yuehong wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and then patted the other brothers. “You stop laughing too.”

The group of people laughed and laughed for a long time without calming down. Zhong Yuehong said with emotion: “This Zhao Yelan can’t tell good from bad, how can he tell blatant lies? As for the General’s heroic face and appearance, the King of Lanling might feel ashamed when he sees it. How dare he say that you are the reincarnation of a pig spirit, pff –”

Yan Mingting turned around and glared at her. She immediately covered her mouth and laughed nonstop.

The others laughed again, and He Cuizhang said: “General, why didn’t you just go in and let him have a good look? Has he really seen you? Was he talking nonsense?”

“He’s seen me,” Yan Mingting replied.

Everyone went quiet, and then immediately scrambled to ask when did they meet, why did they meet, why didn’t he say anything?

Yan Mingting also did not expect that the person whom he met once when he was young would marry him in the end.

Ever since he could remember, he had been taken to the frontier with his father and almost never stayed in the capital.

There was only one time when his body was badly poisoned, his face was abnormally swollen, his eyes black and blue, and he had difficulty walking and needed support. The military doctor was at a loss, so his father took him back to Beijing to find an imperial doctor. While he was being treated at the mansion, he heard that the third prince had come to talk to his father.

In those few days, the princes all came to look for his father and win him over, but the situation was still unclear and there were constant wars at the border, so his father was very worried.

He was curious. Among the few princes, the third prince was not favored by the emperor, and his mother, an imperial concubine, passed away early. There was no support from any forces at all, so why come to grab that seat?

So he asked his servants to help him have a look, but just as he walked into the courtyard, he met a frail young man, his face as white as snow, who coughed three times for every two steps. He couldn’t stand watching it, and called for the person to stop. “Who are you? Why did you come to the general’s mansion alone?”

The young man saw his appearance and was taken aback for a moment, then replied: “This one is Zhao Yelan, he came with the prince.”

“Zhao Yelan.” Yan Mingting said this name once, spoke a few more words, and was urged by his servants to go back to the room and take medicine. He glanced at the man again, and ordered someone to catch a chicken from the courtyard and stuff it into Zhao Yelan’s hands. “Look how skinny you are, you would be blown away by the wind before you reached the battlefield.”

“I don’t go to war.”

Yan Mingting ignored him and walked to the end of the corridor. When he looked back, the young man was stiffly holding the flapping chicken wings, not sure what to do, brows almost knit together. He happily went back to his room.

“I don’t know if the chicken was fried or stewed in the end,” Yan Mingting muttered.

“What chicken? You ate so much just now, aren’t you full, General?” He Cuizhang asked.

“It’s nothing,” Yan Mingting said seriously, remembering that there was still proper business to address. “Go back early to rest and recharge your spirits. Remember to be careful when you go to court tomorrow, don’t bring those vulgar words to the court and make people laugh.”

These people had fought many battles with him, and the Emperor wanted to reward them for their merits, so they had returned to Beijing with him. There were still some of his subordinates who would continue to be stationed at the frontier, and he would also accept their rewards and make arrangements for their families.

“Then can we see Zhao Yelan’s true face tomorrow?” He Cuizhang eagerly said. “I want to see what the person who dared to make fun of our General looks like!”

Zhong Yuehong was not very happy: “I don’t like him, didn’t you hear what those common people said just now? How many bad things has he done? How can he be worthy of the General? Furthermore, the Emperor’s arrangement was aimed at the General just to trap him.”

Yan Mingting cast a stern glance at her: “This is the capital city, so be careful when you speak.”

Zhong Yuehong pouted: “I hate the capital city. I still have to finish visiting relatives before I go back to the barracks. I’ll be home soon, farewell, everyone.”

The next day, Yan Mingting got up before dawn, changed his clothes, shaved his beard, and took in his image in front of the bronze mirror. He didn’t look like a pig spirit at all. Only then did he go to court triumphantly. He not only wanted to see if Zhao Yelan’s appearance had changed, but also wanted to show him that he surpassed the King of Lanling’s attractiveness!

That was what the soldiers said!

Who knew that there were hundreds of civil and military people in the dynasty, and Zhao Yelan alone was the one he didn’t see. It was said that he was on leave due to illness.

Tsk, as expected, he was still the guy who coughed three times every two steps. He hadn’t improved at all.

The emperor lavishly praised the officers and soldiers, and also gave out promotions and rewards. It lifted people’s hearts, and the subordinates all looked excited.

When it was Yan Mingting’s turn, the Emperor was stumped for words for a moment, his eyebrows squeezed together. Then he smiled and said: “General Yan seems to be different from the rumors.”

At noon, the sun finally did something to dispel some of the chill. Zhao Yelan was bored lying in bed, so he went to sit in the courtyard and bask in the sun.

Xiao Gao had just come back with a basket on his shoulders, which contained freshly picked melons and fruits. He washed them and put them aside, picked up a pear and peeled it, and told him about the outside world: “Several people at the restaurant had their tongues pulled out last night, and the government is investigating this matter.”

Zhao Yelan took the pear calmly and asked, “What did you find out?”

“Somebody traced us here.”

“The person?”

“Gone.”

Zhao Yelan sneered: “Knowing perfectly well that the mastermind was here, they didn’t dare to come in and investigate?”

Xiao Gao laughed: “How could they have the courage? By the way, the emperor rewarded some more medicines, which have already been put into the treasury.”

“En.”

“The treasury is a bit bright today.”

“The night pearl.”

“Is it also a reward from the emperor?”

“En.”

“His Majesty treats you very well.”

Zhao Yelan smiled meaningfully. A worthless handkerchief was exchanged for a night pearl, was there a more cost-effective business than this?

Xiao Gao chose a few trivial things to say, and hearing that Zhao Yelan was drowsy, he was very worried: “I know you want to hear something about the court, but my ability is small and I can’t find out.”

“It’s fine, someone will come to talk.”

“Who?” Xiao Gao asked curiously.

“I don’t know, I also want to see who comes first.” Looking at the deserted courtyard, Zhao Yelan leisurely asked Xiao Gao to prepare some snacks and hot tea.

Xiao Gao naturally prepared them according to his preferences, and when he came out with a plate of snacks, he saw that officials had already come to visit in the parlor. He put the things down carefully and left. His lord was very clever!

“Zhao-daren, did you catch a cold today?” The visitor asked in concern.

“It’s just an old problem, Chen-daren. Please take a seat.” Zhao Yelan sat on the main seat and exchanged perfunctory greetings with him, a little impatient.

Over the years, he had been laying down plans for the emperor’s great cause, and he naturally also got to know a lot of people. After the emperor ascended the throne, he was deeply favored and trusted, and they more or less followed his example.

The gift of marriage in the past few days had made this group of people a little scared, suspecting that he would completely fall out of favor, so they were all watching the situation and waiting.

But this morning, the emperor said that Yu Junliang had died in prison, and the officials were surprised. He should have been executed in public according to law, but he had died quietly in prison like this. It was also rumored that Zhao Yelan had met him in the imperial prison, and once the two were connected together, it was known that this was Zhao Yelan’s good deed. But not only did the emperor not punish him, he also cared about Zhao Yelan’s health.

In this way, how could they not know that Zhao Yelan had not fallen out of favor, and that the emperor was constantly concerned for him?

It was reckoned that even if he was married to the great general in the future, he would still have influence inside the court.

So as soon as he came to court, Chen-daren from the Ministry of Officials came to visit him with a small gift.

“Why did Chen-daren seek me out?” Zhao Yelan was too lazy to pretend at politeness with him, and got straight to the point.

“Well……since Minister Yu died, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials is vacant……” Chen-daren hinted.

“Chen-daren is already an official. According to regulations, is it your turn to take office?” Zhao Yelan said flatly.

“There are quite a few people who are greedy for this seat, ah. Although I am the left official^[1], there is also the right official. What’s more, the right official has been contradicting you at court meetings. If you let him take the position, it would be a great disadvantage to you……Zhao-daren, you must speak a few words for this old minister in front of the emperor, ah.” Chen-daren cupped his hands. “If there is anything I need to do in the future, just ask me to do it.”

The corner of Zhao Yelan’s mouth twitched: “I’m well aware of the situation and will naturally intercede for you, but this is still the emperor’s decision and I don’t know what will happen in the end.”

“Of course.” Chen-daren wiped the sweat from his forehead. “As long as you give me a few good words, this matter will probably be settled. At that time, I will definitely prepare a big gift and visit in person.”

Xiao Gao sent the left official away, and welcomed the person from the Ministry of Revenue. He refreshed the teacups again, and before leaving, he heard his lord say: “I’m well aware of the situation and will naturally intercede for you, but this is still the emperor’s decision and I don’t know what will happen in the end.”

Several distinguished guests came to the house that afternoon one after the other. Xiao Gao was accustomed to it and kept busy, not stopping until it was time for dinner. He couldn’t help squatting beside Zhao Yelan and giggling: “My lord, you are really good at talking. If you keep running circles around these people, I will be able to recite that sentence.”

Zhao Yelan glanced at him, then knocked him on the head. “If you can’t speak, you mustn’t speak.”

Xiao Gao covered his mouth with a smile.

After eating, Xiao Gao carried over a basin of hot water for him to wipe his hands. Zhao Yelan was taking a stroll in the courtyard, devising plans while digesting food, when he suddenly thought of another thing: “Why hasn’t the person from the general’s mansion come yet?”

“Ah?”

“Didn’t they come to discuss the marriage proposal yesterday? Where are they?”

“Oh, the old housekeeper sent someone to deliver a message, saying that the general is busy with household affairs, so he would not come over, and it’s better to keep things simple when the time comes.”

Xiao Gao wrung out the handkerchief and was about to hand it over, when Zhao Yelan stepped forward angrily and kicked the basin over.

“Simple? Why should it be simple?”

Half the water poured out and the basin was still spinning on the ground. Xiao Gao hurriedly supported it, and said weakly: “Maybe he doesn’t want the publicity?”

The basin was kicked over by Zhao Yelan again. He took the handkerchief and wiped his hands vigorously, his cold eyes narrowed: “How dare he disdain me as if I’m an ugly person? I, Zhao Yelan, have a big household and great influence. It is my first marriage, how can it be casual? Prepare the sedan chair, let’s go to the general’s mansion to see this old pig spirit!”

– – – – – – 

The author has something to say:

Yan Mingting: I am heroic and valiant, surpassing the King of Lanling!

Zhao Yelan: You old pig spirit.

Yan Mingting: Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

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[1] “Right” and “left” here denote rank, and right is higher than left. For example, the prime minister would be a right official and the deputy prime minister would be a left official. ⮐

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Chapter Two<<Table of Contents >> Chapter Four

The fact that Ye Ci was lagging behind in Tiancheng Private School had been widely circulated within the Huo family. This sort of famous and noble family that had existed for hundreds of years looked down on ignorant and uneducated playboys. Mediocre offspring implied a drop in social class and opened the door to family decline. Therefore, “the family head’s little gentleman is naturally dull” had become a topic of conversation for those side relatives who coveted the family estate.

Knowing that Ye Ci’s ranking at the end of the term had improved by more than 150 in one go, Lin Yao couldn’t hold back. She was anxious to show off to others and let loose her belly full of anger at this small matter. It just so happened that Huo Changyu had his birthday in July, so she happily held another family banquet, using Lao Huo as her tool. Half the focus of the banquet was on birthday celebrations, and the other half was to celebrate Ye Ci’s academic progress.

“……Xiao Ci, you are too modest, what mid-to-low rank? Besides, can the middle and lower ranks for Tiancheng and those of ordinary schools really be considered the same concept?” Beside the dining table, Lin Yao affectionately held Ye Ci’s arm and eloquently refuted his ‘mid-to-low rank’ theory. “Furthermore, you took a break from school for more than a year to take care of your mother, and in the past six months, you’ve managed to make up over a year of progress.  Your subsequent improvement will only be faster, and you’ll work even harder. It goes without saying that you’ll get into the top 30 or 50 in your grade with no problem at all. Don’t you think so, Tinglan?”

Huo Tinglan was using serving chopsticks to fill Ye Ci’s plate. Hearing this, he first affirmed Ye Ci’s learning ability: “En, there would be no problem, in theory.” After saying so, he glanced at Ye Ci and gently comforted him, “But Xiao Ci doesn’t need to stress too much over rankings……”

There was no need to set rigid requirements for himself.

He had originally wanted to reduce the pressure on Ye Ci, but Ye Ci had been exaggeratedly praised by his elders and entrusted with high hopes, thoroughly flattered. Before Huo Tinglan finished speaking, that little head had already nodded toward Lin Yao several times, and issued a military order: “I will try, try harder. In the second semester of, of the third year of high school……I will definitely be able to enter the top 30 in my grade!”

His path couldn’t be blocked.

Huo Tinglan smiled.

“Is that right?” Lin Yao’s maternal love overflowed, and she smiled gently. It was rare for her to lower herself to serve someone, but she raised her hand to lift the lid of the small cup of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall^[1] and called, “Xiao Ci, taste the stew first, it won’t be fresh once it cools down……”

This child was so obedient, and had a rare innocence that made people everywhere fond of him. It was no wonder that her son’s temperament had changed drastically in the past few months, and he protected this person like the flesh of his heart.

There was only one point where he was lacking.

When this child talked……it wasn’t very eloquent.

It shouldn’t be difficult to correct stuttering these days, right?

Lin Yao took a sip of the soup, slightly worried, and wanted to wait until the banquet was over to find a chance to bring it up. But after thinking about it, she was afraid that hearing such a thing would hurt the child, so she had to suppress her thoughts for the time being.

The family dinner lasted nearly three hours.

During the banquet, Huo Changyu was urged by Lin Yao as the birthday star to invite the guests present to toast Ye Ci’s academic progress. Ye Ci was afraid that not drinking would be disrespectful, so he urgently asked the nearest waiter to pour him a small half glass of some kind of wine, and then got up and drank it all in one gulp.

The wine tasted fine and bitingly cold, and the alcohol content seemed to be quite high. Ye Ci had a hunch that it would get worse.

After drinking and sitting down to see Huo Tinglan looking at his wine glass with narrowed eyes, Ye Ci was sure that something was going to go wrong.

Sure enough, the wine was served extremely fast.

When Lin Yao took out the jadeite bracelet passed down to her by Huo Changyu’s mother in front of the Huo family members, and handed it over to the husband of the current family head according to family custom, Ye Ci was already drunk.

Fortunately, he was a well-behaved drunk, not prone to wild drunken behavior. If it weren’t for the dull eyes, one wouldn’t be able to tell that he was inebriated. When Lin Yao spoke to him, he let out a soft sound from his throat.

Lin Yao also hadn’t imagined that he would be that far gone. The corners of her mouth lifted up and she couldn’t press them back down. With men on the left and women on the right, she took Ye Ci’s left hand and put the jade bracelet on him.

Taking advantage of the rare vacation time, Ye Ci had promised Lin Yao before the family banquet that he would stay for a few days and talk with her.

After the banquet, Huo Tinglan took him out of the banquet hall with the intention of letting him take in the night breeze and walk for a bit to sober up, and walked back to the main house through the garden.

The gardeners had retired for the night, and the garden was quiet. Ye Ci was simulated by the alcohol, and his gait became more lively as he walked in front of him in a provocative and tempting manner. Lin Yao liked flower art, and there were many exotic flowers and plants in the garden. Ye Ci patted this and touched that, like a curious kitten. Huo Tinglan wore his formal coat on his forearm, following unhurriedly with a smile on his face.

When the two passed by a flower wall, Huo Tinglan casually glanced at the top of the wall and raised his hand, calling to Ye Ci: “Xiao Ci, look – –”

It was late and the garden lights were all on, shining brightly to illuminate the good things on the flower wall – – 

A rare variety of rose.

The petals transitioned from bright golden red to cream, and didn’t look like a real flower. If it was photographed and posted on the internet, there was a high probability that it would be called a photoshopped image.

The current temperature was no longer suitable for the cultivation of this delicate and expensive flower variety. For some reason, this one bloomed exceptionally tenaciously.

Ye Ci raised his head, opened his watery apricot core eyes, and looked over.

“Is it pretty?” Huo Tinglan asked, looking at him with great interest.

He pointed at the flower to show him, just to tease out his innocent and surprised expression.

“Pretty.” Ye Ci blinked. “Huo-shushu, do you like it?”

“I like it.” Huo Tinglan answered casually, solely admiring the face against the wall of flowers.

As a result, with such a distraction, Ye Ci tugged his sleeves smartly and suddenly rushed a few steps toward the flower wall. Stepping on the red and white bricks exposed between the vines, he jumped up in a parkour style. His right hand firmly grasped the top of the 3.5-meter-high wall, and taking advantage of the brief pause, he grabbed the rose with his left hand and flew down.

He still wore the jade bracelet on his left wrist.

This bracelet could fetch tens of millions at the auction house, but due to his ignorance and drunkenness, he just jumped up and down like this while wearing it.

Anyone who hadn’t met him would think he was some family’s young master who had been spoiled by lack of discipline.

Huo Tinglan couldn’t tell what state of mind he was in, but he suddenly smiled.

Ye Ci stood firm on the ground. He was so drunk that his mind was muddled, but he also vaguely understood that he had acted cool just now. However, he didn’t know what effect being cool would have, and whether it would move the heart of the person he liked. Seeing Huo Tinglan looking at him and smiling, he revealed a hint of pride amidst his shyness and handed the rose to Huo Tinglan, saying in a small voice: “If you like it, I’ll give, give it to you.”

He was a boy ingratiating himself to his sweetheart.

And his sweetheart was his favorite person.

All of this was hazy like a dream.

Huo Tinglan’s heart was a mess, and he reached out, intending to pick up the rose, but touched Ye Ci’s hand by chance.

He couldn’t help caressing the back of his hand, rubbing it almost lustfully and then moving up to caress the strong, thin wrist – – as white as the moon, surrounded by the thin, delicate green color of something that only the orthodox “daughter-in-law” of the Huo family could have.

A wife.

Ye Ci was afraid of hearing such gender-reversed titles.

He had differentiated into an Omega, which was the “female” sex at gland level, so the “male” nature of his body structure had become his bottom line. He was so sensitive to these things that he couldn’t even crack a joke about them.

If it really happened, he wouldn’t be angry with Huo Tinglan, but he would be listless for a long time and lose his energy, with the downtrodden look of a man whose masculinity had been damaged. So Huo Tinglan only made this kind of joke once, and after he said it, he regretted it so much that he hugged the little gentleman for a long time and couldn’t bear to do it again even on pain of death.

But this kind of address was indeed thought provoking, and when he mouthed it silently, it made him burn.

“Huo-shushu……” That sort of touch was too strange. It wasn’t normal. Ye Ci was so embarrassed that he wanted to withdraw his hand, but he was looking forward to Huo Tinglan picking up his rose, so he had no choice but to let it hover there in a dilemma and allow the other to be frivolous.

“Let’s go back to the room.” Huo Tinglan finally took the rose, wrapped Ye Ci’s hand completely in his palm, and dragged him toward the main house quickly.

The room they were staying in had already been prepared, and Ye Ci was tossed down by him. Their red faces and hot ears rubbed together, and Huo Tinglan repeated what he did to Ye Ci’s left hand a few moments ago from his head to his toes.

Ye Ci was rubbed by him until he couldn’t see straight. With some drunkenness and reddened eyes, he couldn’t even struggle to resist, and gave a weak groan.

At present, this was as far as they could go.

“Here……” Huo Tinglan stood up and covered Ye Ci’s abdomen. The cool linen was warmed by the palm of his hand, looking soft and smooth. His Adam’s apple rolled and he asked in a low voice, “Has it grown?”

Ye Ci asked in confusion: “What, what’s grown?”

Inside that flat belly……

He didn’t know how far that secret cavity had grown, or if it was mature enough to bear a permanent mark.

This was different from the glands. He had no way to judge with his sense of touch and naked eyes, so he could only rely on Ye Ci’s own perception or go directly to the hospital for a test.

And before confirming this, he couldn’t do anything.

Besides, taking advantage of the moment when Ye Ci was drunk and hazy to take this step was just……inexcusable.

He believed that every major breakthrough in a relationship happened when both partners were at least sober and lucid.

Fearing that Ye Ci would have a hangover and a headache, Huo Tinglan asked someone to bring over sobering soup and a small vase.

He put the rose in a vase and fed Ye Ci the sobering soup all at once, then coaxed the little drunken cat to change clothes and wash, falling asleep with his arms around him. He hadn’t given deliberate instructions, so when a servant cleaned the guest room, they only spread out one blanket, and he was happy to cover up under the same blanket as Ye Ci.

Soothing tequila pheromones and the sweet scent of roses permeated the quiet night.

Perhaps because of so much physical contact that day, and because they slept with their arms around each other intimately in the same bed……

At three o’clock in the morning, Ye Ci woke up from a beautiful dream.

He dreamed of Huo Tinglan again like last time.

The back of his neck felt hot, the sweet and sticky scent of vanilla filled the room, and his heart was beating wildly.

He had already sobered up from the wine.

If there was even a remnant of drunkenness, it was scared off when he realized that something was wrong……

And when Ye Ci became more conscious and realized that they were not even at home, but at Huo Tinglan’s parents’ house, this bad turn of events became doubly unfortunate.

Ye Ci bit his lips until they turned white, then sneakily lifted the quilt.

He was drenched in sweat, and……there were traces of dampness on the sheets.

“……”

He was finished.

He would rather die.

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[1] Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, 佛跳墙, is a high-protein delicacy named for its rumored ability to entice vegetarian Buddhist monks away from their temples to sample the meat-based dish. ⮐

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Chapter Thirty-Five<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Seven

Zhao Yelan paused, and his brow furrowed slightly: “Yan Mingting has returned to Beijing so soon?”

The border war had been chaotic for several years, and neighboring countries had continued to invade. Yan Mingting’s family had two generations of generals, stationed at the border all year round. They had made great military achievements and had long become the stabilizing force of the Xuan Dynasty. Beijing received the good news last month that Mongolia, the most disobedient country in the north, had finally surrendered, willing to cede land and pay tribute for peace.

At this point, the border was finally at peace. The Emperor’s noble face was exultant, and he immediately ordered the army to return to court.

Counting the days, there should still be a few days before they returned to Beijing.

“It wasn’t the general who came, but the old housekeeper of the general’s mansion, who is quite an amiable fellow. He came to discuss the details of your marriage. If you are not in the mansion, I will let him go back first,” Xiao Gao replied.

“He……” Zhao Yelan was at a loss for words, and asked in confusion after a long moment, “The people in the general’s mansion just gave up like this? How can Yan Mingting be obedient?”

Xiao Gao sighed: “Can he be disobedient? This is an imperial decree, my lord. Let alone General Yan, you also have to act honestly and sincerely……”

Zhao Yelan glanced at him, and Xiao Gao immediately covered his mouth.

It was dusk when he arrived at the palace, and the setting sun fell on the red walls of the palace as it slowly sank.

Zhao Yelan came to the side hall unimpeded. The man in the dragon robe was still reviewing the official memorial.^[1] He had a well-proportioned appearance, sharp eyes, and majesty in his gestures. Zhao Yelan cupped his hands respectfully: “Minister Zhao Yelan has seen Your Majesty.”

“Without outsiders, there is no need to be polite,” Zhao Xuan^[2] said without raising his head. “Come here, the ink is out.”

Zhao Yelan approached slowly, picked up the ink stone, and skillfully grinded the ink.

For a while, no one spoke, and there was only the faint fragrance of ink lingering around. After a long time, Zhao Xuan took the initiative to speak: “Are you angry about the marriage?”

“This humble minister dares not.”

Zhao Xuan glanced at him sideways, and the other party lowered his head and concentrated on studying the ink, showing no emotion.

They had known each other for many years, after all, so how could Zhao Xuan not know that he had resentment in his heart? His tone softened: “I didn’t know that the guoshi would calculate such a divinatory trigram.”

It was said in the divinatory trigram that the abnormal movement of celestial phenomena were changes in the eight trigrams. Yin and yang were out of balance, and lest society become disturbed, a person born in a yin year, on a yin day, at a yin time must be combined with someone who was born in a yang year, with a yang moon, at a yang time. Only then could the eight trigrams^[3] be corrected.

As soon as this trigram came out, all the officials in the court thought of Yan Mingting. Even though he seldom showed up in front of everyone, he was notoriously masculine, outliving his parents and younger brother. There were two marriages before, and the brides passed away one after another before the wedding. Even the dog at home died strangely. It was honestly terrifying.

Although General Yan was a victorious general and was loved by the people, that didn’t mean that they were willing to marry their daughters to him. Who knew if they would receive their daughter’s body before she could enjoy the blessings of being the general’s wife?

What’s more, General Yan was ugly, rude, and domineering, and no woman in Beijing was willing to climb that high.

In the end, Zhao Xuan realized that Zhao Yelan was a person with a yin year and a yin day.

“General Yan has agreed to this marriage,” Zhao Xuan said.

Zhao Yelan scoffed: “The emperor’s decree is difficult to violate. Even if Yan Mingting disagrees, does he dare to seize the loyalty of his ancestors to disobey the imperial decree?”

Zhao Xuan stopped writing and closed the memorial: “It seems that you disagree?”

“This minister dares not.”

“Why don’t you dare? You went to the prison in a grandiose manner and let Yu Junliang commit suicide. I wanted to interrogate him more, but good for you, you directly let him die and hand over the criminal charges he personally signed.” Zhao Xuan gazed at him. “How dare you.”

Zhao Yelan bowed his head and replied: “This minister has no choice but to apologize with death. Please, Your Majesty.”

“What a joke, are you really asking for death? Others don’t know, but how could I not know? Zhao Yelan, you want to live more than anyone else. No one cherishes life more than you.” Zhao Xuan sneered and took two steps closer, and said word by word: “You rely on the fact that I have already granted you a marriage, and the whole world knows about it. It is impossible to grant you death, so you dare to act recklessly!”

Having been exposed, Zhao Yelan was even calmer, and smiled lightly: “Then, thanking the Emperor for his grace.”

Zhao Xuan’s expression was complicated, and after a long time, he sighed as if exhausted: “Ah, sometimes being too smart is not a good thing.”

Of course Zhao Yelan knew, otherwise he wouldn’t have been given in marriage to a man haunted by a curse. No matter how much the emperor trusted him, he would also be afraid. On the one hand, he used him to eradicate dissidents, but on the other, he must also guard against his power.

Now that the throne had been stabilized, he was no longer needed, but he still required him to bear some infamy.

How could Zhao Yelan not know that compared to death, being given a marriage was considered a blessing in misfortune?

Zhao Xuan said: “In the end, Yu Junliang was going to be executed anyway, so why did you need to do this?”

“I wanted to see him die in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t wait a day, lest a long delay cause complications,” Zhao Yelan said.

Zhao Xuan knew the secret, but still shook his sleeves angrily: “You are getting more and more undisciplined and out of control.”

Zhao Yelan took out a brocade handkerchief from his bosom, handed it to him, and said softly: “This is woven by the embroiderers of Su. Giving this piece to His Majesty, ba, don’t be angry with this one anymore. If you hurt your body, this minister will be very sorry.”

Zhao Xuan looked down at the handkerchief.

“In the future, Your Majesty, please take good care of the body of the dragon, so that the descendents are endless and good fortune stretches for thousands of miles.” Zhao Yelan lifted the hem of his clothes, knelt down, and said loudly, “Long live the emperor, long live, long live.”

Zhao Xuan was taken aback. His brows furrowed even tighter as he watched Zhao Yelan raise his head. His face was like a crown of jade, and at that moment, that shallow black mole seemed to be able to speak, telling of its owner’s unreconciled feelings and the wishes he couldn’t voice.

Zhao Xuan stretched out his hand, and when he was about to touch his cheek, he withdrew it abruptly and gave a faint sigh: “Why did you have to be a man?”

Zhao Yelan remained silent, lowering his eyes to suppress all emotions.

It was time for dinner, and people from the Empress’s palace came to invite the Emperor to have a meal.

Zhao Xuan subconsciously looked at Zhao Yelan. Bowing his head, Zhao Yelan retreated.

Before he left, Zhao Xuan heard his coughing and ordered the imperial physician to deliver some precious medicinal materials, and also gave him a newly acquired night pearl from the treasury.

Back at Zhao Mansion, Xiao Gao immediately ran over, waiting upon Zhao Yelan to wash and eat. There was more food on the table than usual. Xiao Gao was afraid that he would be in a bad mood, so he asked the kitchen to prepare more. After eating, he suggested: “My lord, do you want to go out while you digest? It is said that the new storyteller in Huichun Building is very good at telling stories.”

Zhao Yelan said: “I think you’re the one who wants to hear it.”

Xiao Gao rubbed his hands in embarrassment. “It’s true that I haven’t been there in a while. Sir, aren’t you feeling bored?”

Zhao Yelan looked up at the moon. Thinking that he didn’t know how many happy days were left, he agreed.

Xiao Gao changed him into thicker clothes, just in case. He brought another hot-water bottle, laid a cushion in the sedan chair, called a few maids and servants, and rushed to the largest restaurant in the city together.

It was the busiest time in the night market. Zhao Yelan opened a corner of the curtain, looking at the people coming and going, calling out loudly to friends and companions, and the men and women meeting each other shyly in private.

He turned his head sideways, glanced out of the corner of his eye, and a group of people in front of him caught his attention. There were five or six people in total. One of the women was beating the man next to her as he was helpless to fight back. The other people didn’t intend to step forward and help, but instead watched while laughing and joking.

The tallest man among them, with his back to him, was holding tanghulu in his hands and pointing out the woman’s moves as she beat people.

The sedan chair passed by the pedestrians. Zhao Yelan lazily lowered the curtain, not noticing that the person who was eating tanghulu suddenly turned his head.

“General Yan, what are you looking at?” The lieutenant general followed his line of sight and saw only an exquisite sedan chair, saying jokingly, “Are you looking at some girl?”

“Did you smell a fragrance?” Yan Mingting’s nose twitched. 

“Chicken drumsticks! I smelled it earlier.” The woman stopped, and the beaten man finally stood up, covering his face as he said, “Auntie, please save me some face in public, so many people are watching.”

“It’s not the smell of chicken drumsticks.” Yan Mingting opened his mouth, and then opened it again.

Several subordinates were waiting for him to speak, and it took a long time before he opened his mouth to say, “Achoo!”

Several people: “……….”

“Very pungent.” After speaking, Yan Minging bit off the last hawthorn berry. “Let’s go, ba, where is that most delicious restaurant you mentioned?”

The lobby of the restaurant was full of guests, and the storyteller was telling stories about the supernatural. When the xingmu^[4] was slapped, all kinds of strange stories floated out from his mouth, causing people to clap their hands in applause.

The cheers downstairs were intertwined with the festive sound of wine bowls colliding, but the second floor room was in sharp contrast to it, quiet, secluded, and peaceful. There was a guqin in the room, and Xiao Gao was about to order a qin girl to come in, but Zhao Yelan stopped him.

“Let’s listen to the story today.”

“Okay.” Xiao Gao opened the door, threw a silver ingot at the storyteller downstairs, and shouted, “Speak louder!”

The storyteller’s voice was indeed louder. He happily turned around, almost bumped into someone, and quickly apologized as he just went into the room.

The moment the door opened, a scent wafted out.

“Achoo!” Yan Mingting, who had a keen sense of smell, subconsciously looked sideways and only caught a quick glimpse of a man in purple clothes, well-dressed, leaning lazily on a chair with his eyes closed to rest his mind. He wanted to take another look, but the door was already closed.

“General, are you suffering from a cold?” The lieutenant asked in a low voice.

“No.” Yan Mingting rubbed his nose, and walked into the next room.

An hour later, the people downstairs gradually dispersed. The storyteller’s throat was about to start smoking, and someone booed after getting drunk: “Storyteller, you only talk about mountain spirits, but no one has ever seen them. Can you tell us about people we know?”

“What does the guest wish to hear?”

“I just want to hear about the marriage granted by the Emperor.” The man became emboldened by drink, and he dared to say any sort of nonsense while drunk. A dubious smile grew on his face: “What kind of thing is this, a man marrying a man? What kind of hole method is used in the bridal chamber?”

As soon as this remark was made, everyone roared with laughter, and no one noticed that the two private rooms on the second floor were opened at the same time.

The storyteller said: “Since ancient times, yin and yang have been in harmony, and everything is at peace. But there is no saying that there is anything wrong with yin and yin, or yang and yang. Since the great guoshi said it is possible, then it naturally doesn’t matter.”

“Then tell me, can General Yan put Zhao Yelan in order? Zhao Yelan ordinarily does all sorts of evil. He was only granted a marriage this morning, and he went to the imperial prison in the afternoon to kill Yu Junliang, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials.”

Everyone else started whispering to each other, and someone picked up on it: “I have personally seen him kill people in the street. The blood splashed all over his body, and he was still smiling!”

Zhao Yelan curled his lips and opened his eyes. “The tea is gone.”

Xiao Gao hurriedly poured tea for him. Hearing the people outside begin to criticize Zhao Yelan’s crimes in turn, he was about to close the door angrily when he heard the topic change to another person.

“If you want me to say it, don’t be afraid. According to General Yan’s fate, Zhao Yelan might be suppressed before he passes through the door.”

Everyone laughed and bluntly said that General Yan was evil-natured enough, and killing Zhao Yelan as soon as possible could be regarded as benefitting the common people.

Xiao Gao heard someone walking next door and they seemed to be coming out, so he quickly closed the door and asked with a sad face: “My lord, is General Yan really an evil star?^[5] Will something happen if you get married?”

A few people outside the door paused in their footsteps, and they couldn’t be blamed for eavesdropping. They had really good ears and immediately guessed who the person in this room was.

Yan Mingting naturally heard it too. He turned his head to look at the closed door, but couldn’t see the figure inside, only hearing a cold and emotionless voice: “Let’s see who kills who first, ba.”

The expressions of several subordinates were very delicate as they secretly looked at Yan Mingting. Yan Mingting raised his eyebrows, and was about to knock on the door when he heard the young man ask: “Haven’t you met him once, my lord? Is he really the same as in the rumors, with a hideous Rakshasa^[6] face?”

Zhao Yelan fell into silence, recalling the scene when he met Yan Mingting many years ago. The surrounding spring flowers were brilliant, but the person in front of him……

“Indeed, unbearably ugly. I have never seen such an ugly person. It could be that he is the reincarnation of a pig spirit^[7],” Zhao Yelan said flatly.

Pig, pig spirit? !

Several people outside the door opened their mouths wide at the same time, and then closed them tightly together for fear that they would laugh out loud, and looked at their general with trembling shoulders.

The majestic general slowly clenched his fists, waved viciously into the air twice, then turned around and strode away.

– Damnit, he had never suffered such a serious injury on the battlefield!

– – – – – – 

The author has something to say:

Get them married in five chapters!

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[1] This memorial is official correspondence from the officials to the Emperor. ⮐

[2] The Emperor has the same surname as Zhao Yelan, and it even uses the same character. This shouldn’t be because they are related in any way, but there could be another reason for it. I haven’t read far enough ahead to find out though! ⮐

[3] I recommend reading up on the eight trigrams here if you want more details on this cosmology. ⮐

[4] The xingmu (醒木) is a small hardwood block used by storytellers to smack the table in order to attract the audience’s attention. ⮐

[5] Lone star, or evil star (天煞孤星)  refers to the lonely star of Tiansha, a star that brings disaster. ⮐

[6] Rakshasa (罗刹) is a Buddhist demonic poltergeist. ⮐

[7] The term used here is actually closer to ‘pig essence,’ which is an insult that basically means someone is fat like a pig and full of themselves, but “essence” here can also mean “semen,” so interpret this insult as you will. ⮐

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Chapter One<<Table of Contents >> Chapter Three

It was February, and there was a chill in the early spring air. The cold, moist air penetrated into the ground, making it even more frigid. Several jailors heated up some wine and sipped it to warm their bodies, but they didn’t dare to drink too much. The guards in this prison were all criminals, and didn’t dare to be sloppy in important matters.

With wine warming their throats, there must be something to go with the wine for flavor, so the chatterbox was opened. From food and clothing at home to prisoners in the prison, they chatted one by one, and there was no telling who brought up the rumors outside recently.

“Have you heard? Two days ago, there was an abnormal natural disaster. Mount Tai shook and roared like thunder, and some people said it was a punishment from God.”

This matter caused a stir in Beijing. The shaking of Mount Tai was a sign of the country’s fate, and the new emperor was not a direct descendent. His mother was originally a palace maid without any influence, but he was the one who ascended to the imperial throne. Less than a year after being crowned, his reign had not yet been firmly established, and for such a celestial phenomenon to appear, it was feared that the heavens were dissatisfied.

“It’s not good to talk nonsense about this business. Be careful, if it spreads, it will be a matter of losing your head,” one person whispered cautiously.

“Did the emperor go to pray for blessings?”

This was the custom. Whenever there was a change in celestial phenomenon, the emperor would go to the altar and pray to heaven to show his sincerity.

“Why not, he just returned to court yesterday. It’s just that when the big event was done, there were still some aftershocks, which made people panic outside.”

“Then why did the emperor return to court?”

“Because the guoshi^[1] had made a calculation that to solve this problem, they needed –” The man lowered his voice as he spoke, and the others quickly moved their heads closer to hear him say in secret: “This issue is too absurd, they actually needed the Deputy Prime Minister and General Yan to……”

Before he could finish speaking, the gatekeeper outside suddenly ran in and announced: “Deputy Prime Minister is here.”

Several people’s faces tensed up, and they quickly hid the jug and looked at the dark entrance with trepidation.

The guard opened the door, a little light fell on the ground, and a pair of white boots stepped through the light to enter the darkness.

The footsteps were neither light nor heavy, but they made everyone present nervous for no reason, fearing that if they breathed too loudly, they would startle this powerful person from the palace.

No one knew the origin of Deputy Prime Minister Zhao Yelan. By the time the world discovered his existence, the competition for the throne had reached an intense stage. Several princes showed remarkable ability, but Zhao Yelan was hiding behind the third prince, helping him defeat the crown prince and other princes. The details of the bloodbath during this time were no longer studied, but the throne that did not conform to destiny had always been stained with blood. It could be assumed that this person had also done many dirty things behind the scenes.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he made no secret of his favor. He had been promoted to a noble position and been awarded with countless gold, silver, and jewels and was already the most well-known figure in the dynasty.

It should be said that most of the common people just heard about Zhao Yelan’s notoriety and cursed him in private, not having a chance to see the real person, but to these jailors in the prison, he was already an old acquaintance.

The interrogation methods in the imperial prison were varied and cruel, and it could be said that there was torture everywhere. When ordinary people came in, just stepping through the door would make their legs tremble. As it happened, this frail and weak-looking Zhao Yelan knew more about torture than even the prison guards. During interrogations, it was as if the king of hell had come into the world, and even if someone could save their own life, they wouldn’t be able to save their skin.^[2]

Before the person approached, a strong fragrance wafted through the cold, humid air. The jailors couldn’t help but want to lift their noses and sniff a few more times, but for fear that doing so would offend their superior, they had to wait in place in a well-behaved manner.

Presently, Zhao Yelan, dressed in brocade, stood in front of them and looked around arrogantly.

A newly arrived jailor was a little afraid. He usually heard a lot of people mention the bad things Zhao Yelan did, counting them by the bucketload. Terrified and curious at the same time, he raised his head to take a fearful glance and his whole person froze in place.

He saw that the visitor had a beautiful face and a pair of eyes like the bright moon, attracting people’s interest for no reason at all, but hiding an inexplicable shadow that made it difficult to approach. Cold and aloof, with an indifferent manner, he was not like ordinary people and was incompatible with this stinking prison cell dimly lit by candles.

He was actually even more beautiful than the first son of the capital, the jailer inwardly slandered.

“Zhao-daren,^[3] who do you want to interrogate today?” The prison boss had seen him many times, and approached him respectfully to inquire. The forced smile on his face trembled, and his expression was stiff.

Zhao Yelan frowned slightly, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, and covered his mouth and nose.

The prison boss immediately understood that this man once again disliked the wet, smelly environment. Every time he came here in the past, he always carried a different fragrance on his body. Those who were ignorant assumed he had just come out of a low-grade brothel.

Putting on a show of fanning the surrounding air with his hand, he faced Zhao Yelan as he walked inside: “I wonder if Zhao-daren has brought the token?”

At these words, Zhao Yelan took out the emperor’s token from his bosom: “I’m going to see Yu Junliang. You all wait here.”

Everyone received the order, led him there familiarly, and then retreated in silence.

The person in the cell was lying on the floor, disheveled. When he saw the person outside, he quickly got up, grabbed the bars with both hands, and said through gritted teeth: “Zhao Yelan, you wronged me!”

“Speak prudently, Yu-daren. You and I work together, why would I harm you?”

Zhao Yelan smiled slightly. There was no trace of it on his face, but Yu Junliang was annoyed by his appearance.

Back then, it was Zhao Yelan who came to win him over to the party of the third prince. He promised prosperity and wealth, but now he couldn’t even keep his official position and was charged with treason by Zhao Yelan.

“Where is the emperor, I want to see the emperor! I was wronged!” Yu Junliang shouted loudly, hitting the bars with both hands.

“Yu-daren, why bother? With a bright future ahead of you, how could you be so foolish as to conspire with the former crown prince?” Zhao Yelan said.

“I’m not conspiring! You clearly asked me to visit the former crown prince in Bieyuan!” The veins on Yu Junliang’s forehead were throbbing, and he wished he could rush out and split his mouth. “You villain, how dare you slander me! Wait until I get out, I will definitely not let you have a good death!”

“Let’s see if there is such a day.” Zhao Yelan smiled and tossed a scroll inside. “Take a look, ba. Read the whole thing.”

Yu Junliang squatted down and unrolled the scroll. The crimes he had committed were counted in detail above, but he was not guilty of the ones that were punishable by ransacking his home and exterminating his family.

“What does this mean?”

“Did you think the emperor was ignorant to what you were doing?” Zhao Yelan said.

Yu Junliang’s hands trembled as he looked at the densely packed list of crimes, such as soliciting prostitutes and offering bribes. Even the nonsense he said after drinking was recorded in the scroll. His face was horrified: “You, you……but I never conspired!”

“But you did go to see the former crown prince, and you came back that night and read aloud, ‘Xuanhe Palace, cold smoke and decaying grass.’ Xuanhe Palace is now the emperor’s library, don’t you know?”

“I just drank wine for a while and recited two poems casually! You actually sent someone to follow me to this extent, if you want to condemn me, you’ll just frame me at will! I want to see the emperor!”

“The emperor is busy with other affairs, so he doesn’t have time to come here to see you. If you sign the document now, you will save yourself the pain of interrogation and I will give your family a way out. After all, you have committed a serious crime of the Nine Clans,^[4] ah……” Zhao Yelan looked at him condescendingly, carefully appreciating his expression of pain and struggle. A smile slowly bloomed at the corner of his mouth.

After a long time, Yu Junliang said in a hoarse voice: “Where’s the writing brush?”

“I came out in a hurry and didn’t have time to bring my writing brush.” Zhao Yelan walked to the side, casually took a dagger from the torture rack on the wall, and threw it in. “How about this?”

With shaking hands, Yu Junliang drew blood from his fingertip, dripping it on the list of crimes.

“Zhao Yelan, there is still one thing I don’t understand. Can you clear up my confusion?”

“Speak.”

“I chose to live in harmony with you, so why do you want to kill me?”

Zhao Yelan didn’t answer until Yu Junliang became impatient. He looked at him with a pair of bloodshot eyes, like a desperate mad dog, but he was trapped in a cage, struggling in vain.

Seeing his appearance, Zhao Yelan was slightly satisfied and opened his mouth: “When the late emperor was still alive, he once put forth a charge of treason and punished the entire family of the Marquis of Anqing, involving more than 20,000 people. You were one of the executioners.”

Yu Junliang was shocked: “Are you a descendant of the Marquis of Anqing?”

“No.” Zhao Yelan shook his head and approached to say, “I am your father.”

Yu Junliang was silent for a moment, and then flew into a rage, hurling insults at him one after another. Zhao Yelan listened idly, as if appreciating music. The corners of his mouth curled, and after that voice became hoarse, he reminded: “Time is running out. I didn’t expect Yu-daren to be thinking of me in his last moments, it’s really a great honor.”

“Zhao Yelan, you must die a miserable death!”

“Then I will definitely take the respected wife and young children to visit you in the underworld together.”

Yu Junliang lost his temper.

The jailers waiting outside heard the yelling within and wanted to go in and see the situation, but they also feared that they would be convicted of making a mistake, which was not something they could afford.

While they panicked, the voice inside finally stopped and they heard Zhao Yelan say, “Come here!” They entered in an orderly manner and saw that Yu Junliang had committed suicide in his cell, with blood streaming from his neck.

The prison boss was thinking that Zhao-daren’s kung fu was getting better and better. He didn’t even need to call the person in charge of interrogation, and he killed a person directly through the cell door, which was really high.

After the jailer opened the door, Zhao Yelan walked in and picked up the blood-stained list of crimes. Covering his nose with a handkerchief, he walked outside without looking back: “Clean this up.”

The new jailer glanced at his back in terror. It was a pity that such beautiful hands really killed people invisibly, ah.

It was not much warmer outside than below. As soon as Zhao Yelan walked out, a eunuch came forward to clothe him: “Zhao-daren’s body is weak, don’t catch a cold.”

“I have no further business.” Zhao Yelan coughed twice, and handed over the list of crimes to him. “Take it to the emperor.”

“The emperor is in the side hall, and he called you to meet him.”

“I’ll go back to the mansion and change my clothes. It wouldn’t be good if I offended the dragon.^[5]”

The eunuch saw a few drops of red on his shoe, and some wet blood on his hand from the list of crimes. He was wiping it casually with his head down, and with a strange sense of beauty. The eunuch gave a sharp smile: “When you are finished, I will trouble Zhao-daren to make another trip.”

Zhao Yelan smiled calmly. After sitting in the sedan chair, that smile immediately disappeared and he closed his eyes for a while before returning to the mansion.

Although it was the end of the year, the weather didn’t get warmer, and he feared the cold. After returning to his room and washing his hands, he sat by the charcoal stove to dry them.

The servants came in to bring new charcoal and took the clothes he had changed out of to be washed. The sound of footsteps continued, but Zhao Yelan seemed to be in a trance, sitting still as he watched the faint flames struggling to emerge. Yu Junliang’s last words still lingered in his ears – 

“Zhao Yelan, aren’t you afraid? The hound is cooked after it catches the rabbit.^[6] I only did a few things for His Majesty, and I ended up like this. How much did you do for him? How much blood is on your hands? Do you think you can live with peace of mind?”

Live with peace of mind?

Zhao Yelan smiled lightly as if mocking himself, and got up and walked to the table. He raised his hand to caress the golden silk item placed on top of it. The brilliant golden light was unique and unmatched. This was an imperial decree.

An absurd decree.

After a stick of incense, the sky was getting dark. He had just changed his clothes and was about to go out when he happened to meet Xiao Gao, a servant who had just returned with a basket in his hand that was packed with freshly picked pears. He hurriedly said: “My lord, you are back. When you went out just now, people from the General’s mansion came and said they wanted to talk to you about getting married.”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The author has something to say:

Opening the text, la. Long time no see. 66 red envelopes will be given to everyone in the comment area~

【Knocks on the blackboard】

The cuties who pay attention to the correct three views can avoid it first. The characters are like this, don’t abuse the characters and the author. A courtier must act like a courtier, he kills without batting an eye, greedy for power and money. Cruel, merciless, and black-hearted, abstaining from emotion has been his hobby for many years.

Zhao Yelan: Are you polite? ?

(Xuanhe Palace, cold smoke and decaying grass – – From Liu Kezhuang’s “Recalling Qin’e Mei Xie.)

Translator’s Note: Hello, all! This is my first time translating this sort of novel, and the plethora of footnotes are already killing me. But! It’s a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I am.

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[1] The guoshi is the teacher of the state. ⮐

[2] 不死也叫人扒了几层皮: This is an idiom that basically means receiving major harm or a significant loss. ⮐

[3] The suffix -daren (大人) is a title of respect for male members of nobility. ⮐

[4] A crime of the Nine Clans refers to killing nine generations, including the four above and the four below. In ancient times, entire families were wiped out if one member committed a serious crime. ⮐

[5] The ‘dragon’ here refers to the Emperor. ⮐

[6] To cook the hound after it catches the rabbit is to get rid of someone after he has served his purpose. ⮐

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Table of Contents >> Chapter Two

Summary:

Chapter 1	Chapter 33	Chapter 65
Chapter 2	Chapter 34	Chapter 66
Chapter 3	Chapter 35	Chapter 67
Chapter 4	Chapter 36	Chapter 68
Chapter 5	Chapter 37	Chapter 69
Chapter 6	Chapter 38	Chapter 70
Chapter 7	Chapter 39	Chapter 71
Chapter 8	Chapter 40	Chapter 72
Chapter 9	Chapter 41	Chapter 73
Chapter 10	Chapter 42	Chapter 74
Chapter 11	Chapter 43	Chapter 75
Chapter 12	Chapter 44	Chapter 76
Chapter 13	Chapter 45	Chapter 77
Chapter 14	Chapter 46	Chapter 78
Chapter 15	Chapter 47	Chapter 79
Chapter 16	Chapter 48	Chapter 80
Chapter 17	Chapter 49	Chapter 81
Chapter 18	Chapter 50	Chapter 82
Chapter 19	Chapter 51	Chapter 83
Chapter 20	Chapter 52	Chapter 84
Chapter 21	Chapter 53	Chapter 85
Chapter 22	Chapter 54	Chapter 86
Chapter 23	Chapter 55	Chapter 87
Chapter 24	Chapter 56	Chapter 88
Chapter 25	Chapter 57	Chapter 89
Chapter 26	Chapter 58	Chapter 90
Chapter 27	Chapter 59	Chapter 91: Epilogue
Chapter 28	Chapter 60	Chapter 92: Postscript
Chapter 29	Chapter 61	Extra 1: Birthday
Chapter 30	Chapter 62	Extra 2: Family
Chapter 31	Chapter 63	Extra 3: Afterwards
Chapter 32	Chapter 64	Extra 4: Old Friends

Even More Extras

Extra 5: Memories	Extra 8: Faking Death (1)	Extra 11: Faking Death (4)
Extra 6: Age	Extra 9: Faking Death (2)	Extra 12: Faking Death (5)
Extra 7: In Good Health	Extra 10: Faking Death (3)	Extra 13: Faking Death (6)

Ye Ci’sexpression showed embarrassment. “If, if I sleep together with you, I……” He was shy, but contradictorily straightforward. “I’ll be too, too excited to sleep.”

“Too excited to sleep with me?” Huo Tinglan repeated with a smile.

Phrased in such a way, if Huo Tinglan didn’t know how pure Ye Ci’s words were……

Ye Ci nodded carelessly, and wanted to slip away again.

“Huo-shushu will coax you to sleep.” Huo Tinglan hugged him. The scoundrel pressed his upper body against him, enfolding him as he moved toward the master bedroom, continuing to coax and tease, “Shall I sing you a lullaby?……”

Ye Ci wasn’t strong enough to resist as he was pulled once again against the swell of ample pectoral muscles. After all, he had the mindset of a young adolescent boy. Consciously eating other people’s tofu, he didn’t dare to move. His face swifty turned red, his vision became unfocused as he yielded after making a show of resistance, and he retreated again and again until his knees knocked against the edge of the bed and bent. He fell on his back with a thud.

This scene was a bit comical. Ye Ci was stunned for a moment, then laughed. Huo Tinglan also laughed, taking the opportunity to lower his head and peck his lips.

Ye Ci was about to struggle again, but a big hand was already pressed against his ribs through his pajamas. As if knowing where his weak point was, it directly attacked his most ticklish fifth rib.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci exclaimed, curling up like a cooked shrimp. 

At first, he silently endured and twisted his body to avoid the tickling, his jaw and the corners of his lips drawn tight. However, the nerve reflex triggered by tickling could not be resisted by willpower. His efforts were in vain, and he laughed: “Stop, stop it, ha ha, Huo-shushu……”

He usually smiled a lot less. First because there was an element of deliberately pretending to be strong and cold, and second because if a pretense was kept up for a long time, it would unknowingly become the new norm. That face was habitually flat toward outsiders, and although he was obedient and soft toward Huo Tinglan, he didn’t smile much.

Therefore, such laughter was rare. A pair of dimples and a row of neat white teeth could be seen, like a ray of light breaking through the clouds in the blue sky.

Huo Tinglan looked slightly stunned, and suddenly leaned forward and kissed him.

He liked it so much. The tip of his tongue entered, as if to draw out a bit of honey.

This kiss could still count as pure, but it was so affectionate and loving that Ye Ci was more embarrassed than ever.

It seemed that in Huo Tinglan’s eyes, he had become something soft and loveable, which was inconsistent with his view of himself.

He hurriedly suppressed his smile, hiding the dimples. In order to dispel the enchantment that made him blush and caused his heart to beat fast, he lightly rubbed Huo Tinglan’s ribs in turn to show that they were just joking around.

Huo Tinglan grabbed his hand and helped him poke his body, saying with half a smile, “I’m not ticklish.”

“You, you really aren’t?” Ye Ci didn’t believe it. How could anyone not be ticklish?

He tried again, and Huo Tinglan leaned on a few pillows with a half-reclined posture, holding in a smile as he indulged him.

Maybe it was because of his physique as a top Alpha. Ye Ci experimented and tested. The neck that would make ordinary people giggle when touched, then the armpit. Huo Tinglan didn’t even respond, but on the contrary, Ye Ci’s little paws drew apart the dark blue nightgown.

Perhaps due to the excitement, there was sweat on his body and the warm light illuminated his light honey-colored muscles with a delicate glow. It was an extremely attractive male body.

The playful energy suddenly dissipated. Ye Ci rushed to withdraw his hand as if he had invited misfortune, and his face turned even redder.

The atmosphere was just right. Huo Tinglan leaned closer and kissed him lightly, like sipping strong wine.

From cautious to lingering.

Huo Tinglan decided to impart some new knowledge to his young lover.

“……Open your mouth, baby?” he asked, testing the waters.

The tip of the tongue brushed between the lips.

Wet and slightly cool.

Ye Ci trembled and shrank back vigilantly: “……Open my mouth?”

With this reaction from him, Huo Tinglan had the illusion that he had become a kidnapper.

He colored on Ye Ci’s white paper with a tone that was as upright as a popular science article, but the content was shameless: “Open your mouth to let our tongues touch each other, this is a real kiss……” He looked as if he had suffered a loss. “The previous ones don’t actually count.”

With their foreheads touching, he held up that confused and flustered face and first made contact that would not make Ye Ci feel uneasy. Shallow kisses, words of love, rubbing their ears and temples together, brushing the corner of the jaw and earlobes with his fingertips. He saw that Ye Ci’s mood gradually changed from apprehensive to hazy, and then to unfocused……like a kitten that had inhaled too much catnip, dazed by the drug, he obediently poked out the tip of his tongue from between his teeth.

There was a star of water on it, soft and bright.

Huo Tinglan lowered his head and seized it all at once.

“Wu……”

In just a few minutes, like a spoonful of condensed honey, fine and flexible, stretched to infinity……

His tongue was sucked numb.

Ye Ci covered his mouth. As if he had no face to see anyone, he drilled into the pile of pillows with a glowing red blush: “I can’t, can’t kiss any more, Huo-shushu.” He felt around and pulled something out of the pocket of his pajama pants. “I didn’t sleep well yesterday because of your, your wild kissing, and I was so sleepy in class. Today I ate……half of this.”

He opened his hand, and in his palm was the leftover half of a peppermint. Printed on the package were the exaggerated words, “Strong and cool, instantly freezes the brain.” 

Ye Ci’s small face wrinkled, and he complained in a bright and youthful manner to his needy lover: “It’s, it’s spicy, hotter than wasabi……” He twisted out a piece and muttered, “If you kiss, kiss me with all your strength again, I’ll……”

Huo Tinglan almost laughed out loud.

What was this……

A suicide attack?

So cute.

In front of him, Ye Ci’s cold, hard shell had been removed more and more cleanly.

He didn’t just act soft toward him, but was obedient to him.

But he was still able to complain a little bit like he was doing now, using mint candies to joke with him……with the vivacity and liveliness that a boy of his age should have.

If it wasn’t for Ye Ci’s academic considerations, he would definitely escalate.

However……

“Understood.” Gentleman Huo Tinglan smiled and captured the mint candy, covered Ye Ci with a blanket, and tucked in the corners. He reached out and turned off the light, saying softly, “Sleep well, good night.”

This time he really didn’t do anything else, and lay down a few centimeters away from Ye Ci.

The two people’s breaths mingled, and the scent of tequila enveloped them heavily in the quiet night.

Being a natural “leader and commander,” the pheromone secretion of an Alpha’s glands would undergo various subtle changes due to fluctuations in the Alpha’s mood, enabling the pheromones to have different effects on the immediate environment according to the Alpha’s needs.

Such as in this moment. Huo Tinglan took the initiative to suppress some of his needs, and the tequila scent was obviously softer than usual. The compositions that could awaken an Omega’s desire were rare, and most had soothing and calming effects.

Ye Ci’s heartbeat, which had been soaring at 180 beats per minute a short while ago, became more relaxed.

Between the soothing pheromones, the 100% genetic matching, plus the fact that he hadn’t slept well last night and was seriously sleep-deprived……even sleeping pills wouldn’t have such a strong effect.

Ye Ci’s eyelids were sore and heavy.

“I promised to put you to sleep.” Huo Tinglan stroked his hair. “Sleep, ba.”

. . . . . .

The final exam for the second semester of school was scheduled for the 7th and 8th of July, and there would be three days off after the exam. After the results were released, the approved high school seniors would usher in the most precious lengthy vacation of the coming year – a full 20-day summer vacation.

This kind of vacation schedule was a bit harsh, but considering that he was about to enter the sprint stage of the third year of high school, Ye Ci had no complaints.

He had officially moved into Huo Tinglan’s room. Aside from the night they confirmed their relationship, which had gone a little out of control, Huo Tinglan was appropriately behaved and didn’t let falling in love delay important matters. In this final exam, Ye Ci had advanced by more than 100 places in his year group. Although he was still at the middle to lower level, considering Tiancheng’s environment of fierce competition and staggeringly high costs, Ye Ci’s ranking in the province would definitely not be bad. At least his undergraduate courses had reached a point of stability. In the next year, if he maintained this momentum and speed of progress, as long as he reached the middle of his year group, the entrance examination would not be a problem at all.

Besides……his potential should be higher than that.

After the results were released, at the last class meeting before the summer vacation, the head teacher called him out and praised him, and also presented him with a “Star of Progress” certificate on behalf of the school. 

That afternoon, Ye Ci returned home with his transcript and certificate of merit. The first thing he did was to stammer and recount to Huo Tinglan what the teacher had praised him for, so that he could hear it word for word.

“……Xu-laoshi said it like that.” After Ye Ci’s retelling, the corners of his lips were half-raised. He tried to appear calm so as not to seem too childish in front of his lover, or excessively excited over such a small score. But he didn’t know that when he glanced at Huo Tinglan, his eyes were as bright as a little wolf’s, and his ears were almost pricked up.

Like a child waiting to be praised.

“That’s really great, you’ve made significant progress.” Huo Tinglan smiled, first giving overall affirmation before spreading out the six test papers one by one, and discussing in detail the areas where Ye Ci was particularly excellent. “Your math test is the best this time, and that is not only reflected in the score.” A blue and gold lacquered fountain pen tapped the math answer sheet, pointing to the penultimate question. “Your problem-solving methods are clear and concise. I only taught you a simple solution to this type of question once last month, I didn’t expect you to remember it……it shows that you not only have a high degree of comprehension, but also listen carefully.”

“You also performed well in physics……”

“Chemistry……”

He single-handedly held an award ceremony for Ye Ci.

After being praised for the second half of the sequence, Ye Ci almost couldn’t even sit in his chair.

He had never received such a high level of praise in his life. He felt like he had asked for a little red flower and was buried by a shipping container of little red flowers. But Huo Tinglan’s demeanor and tone were serious, the praise was well-founded, and there was no edge of teasing or ridicule.

“Huo-shushu.” He couldn’t hold back anymore. Wiping his red face, he quietly refuted, “You’re exaggerating too, too much. If I’m really as good as you say……like this, I can be, be admitted to a prestigious school next year.”

Huo Tinglan looked straight at him, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said what should be said: “With your qualifications, you can of course set a prestigious school as your goal. Your foundation is a bit poor, but it has recovered a lot in the past few months. You are so smart and eager to learn, plus it’s a whole year in the future, I think the odds are good……” As he spoke, he smiled softly and joked, “Why, does our Xiao Ci dislike prestigious schools?”

Ye Ci quickly shook his head. He was amused, and when he finished laughing, his eyes were hot and sore.

“In twenty days, you’ll be a senior in high school.” Huo Tinglan carefully smoothed the corners of the papers and the answer sheet and chatted with him. “Any thoughts on majors or schools?”

He would not restrict Ye Ci, and would at most give him some guidance.

As long as he didn’t go into formula racing……he could do anything he wanted.

Ten mathematicians couldn’t calculate the area of his psychological shadow regarding formula racing.

“I have some, some basic……ideas.” Ye Ci hesitated, and whispered, “I’m interested in, in manufacturing pharmaceuticals……”

The clinical trial in San Francisco that Ye Hongjun was participating in had been going on for four weeks. According to the latest test results, she did indeed show signs of improvement. Follow-up tests would take a long time, and whether she could recover was still inconclusive, but this was already a pleasant surprise.

“I’ve been, been thinking about this for a while.” Ye Ci clenched his fingertips, his eyes bright as he spoke of his dreams. “My mom was able to get, get treatment this time mainly because……you provided her with, with such good……conditions and access. But many people don’t, don’t have this ability. The imported medicines we used before were all……terribly expensive. I think I will study, study medicine in the future, so maybe I can help those kinds of people, and let them all use cheap and, and effective medicine.”

The bitterness of being seriously ill, he understood too well and empathized with too much. He earned his way out of the quagmire through untold hardships, and wanted to turn around and help someone else – – with his own strength.

Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, he said: “It’s a pretty, pretty childish idea, I know it’s not that simple.” When he raised his eyes, there was a glistening light in them and a sort of simple kindness. It was the look of those who had witnessed suffering without losing their heart. “It’s just……a general direction to work towards, don’t laugh at me.”

Huo Tinglan looked at him, and his heart was so soft that he didn’t know how much more he could love and adore him.

“It’s not childish at all,” he said firmly, and stood up.

They were in the study room, talking about life goals……this was a serious occasion and an upright topic, but his impulses were inexplicably ignited.

“I just don’t, don’t know if……the salary in this line of work is high or, or not.” Ye Ci was still making these small calculations in his head. When a man had a family and a house, he couldn’t just think about himself. “I also want to make, make a lot of money in the future and spend it on you and my, my mom……”

Huo Tinglan hugged him then with a reckless and unbridled energy that didn’t match his usual demeanor. With his chest and abdomen full of hot steam, he pressed against him, sweeping away the pile of papers and awards, and pushing him onto the desk in the study. Still on the right side of their unspoken rules, he warmly promised in his ear: “Just study what you want, don’t worry about anything. I’ll invest in you and help you with your projects, okay, baby? Alright?”

“Ah……um, alright……” Ye Ci obediently let himself be kissed while blushing, and felt like an actor who had gone to the wrong set in a daze.

He and Huo-shushu just now……weren’t they just talking about a serious topic?!

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Chapter Thirty-Four<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Six

This night passed in chaos for Ye Ci.

In the first half, after a round of sparring, he was thoroughly kissed above the neck.

He was embarrassed, nervous, and excited, and sweated profusely all over.

After all the tossing and turning was over, Ye Ci was too ashamed to sleep on someone else’s bed while covered in sweat, so he took a shower in the bathroom connected to the master bedroom. After rushing to finish up, he smelled of the same sea salt and cypress wood as Huo Tinglan. This probably hit the man’s possessive nerve again, and he was firmly held in his arms through two thin blankets. 

His cheek was squeezed against a firm pectoral muscle, and Ye Ci was so alarmed that he didn’t even dare to blink, for fear that if he brushed it with his eyelashes, he would make himself a scoundrel. He also thought over and over – – Me and Huo-shushu are really together, it can’t be more true! He was sometimes embarrassed, sometimes throbbing, sometimes in disbelief, and like galloping horses, his thoughts couldn’t stop for half a second.

Therefore, it was not until early morning that he cultivated a little drowsiness and snuggled up to Huo Tinglan to sleep.

At six o’clock in the morning, the alarm on his cell phone rang.

But Ye Ci was too sleepy to open his eyes.

Drowsiness was like heavy black velvet wrapped around his body. The blackout curtains deceived his biological rhythm, the atmosphere was dark and comfortable, and the handmade mattress padded with long horsetail hair and cashmere gave him a sense of comfortable support and envelopment. There was also that tequila fragrance that lingered in his nose, making Ye Ci feel at ease upon smelling it……His eyelids weighed over a thousand pounds, and Ye Ci was so sleepy that he didn’t know what was going on.

“Wake up, it’s time for school……Xiao Ci?” The alarm was too noisy, not soothing enough. Huo Tinglan turned it off and twisted Ye Ci’s earlobe gently, then scratched the tip of his nose. He saw that Ye Ci subconsciously blocked his hand and then itched the place he had scratched, repeatedly performing this act of “a kitten washing its face” in a half-asleep, half-awake state.

“Huo-shushu……” To avoid harassment, Ye Ci hid his smooth, peach-pink face in the pillow and begged, “Just, just five minutes……p-please……”

He acted spoiled without realizing it, as sweet as a spoonful of honey.

Huo Tinglan would have been perfectly happy to let him have a lie-in.

In his difficult and struggle-filled past, how many times had he had the experience of refusing to get up because of sleepiness?

They could be counted on one’s fingers.

This was especially true when his mother was sick. If he didn’t work hard, she would suffer from poverty and even go hungry. A scrawny boy in a baggy convenience store uniform, with white skin and dark bags under his eyes, he would diligently carry over a dozen loads of merchandise. When he was finished stocking shelves, he would take a short break behind the cash register when there were no customers. Tired, but not daring to sleep in order to be on guard against thieves, he could at most hug his arms and hang his head down for a while. Due to his thinness, his spine and shoulder blades would immediately become prominent when his back was arched as he rested, sharp and hard.

The bones were hard, and this person was also very rigid at first glance.

At that time, he never imagined that the days to come would be like this.

He never thought that he would completely remove his disguise and be so soft in front of others.

In a daze, Ye Ci didn’t know how long he lay there – probably more than five minutes. Suddenly, there was a hot aroma and the sound of something rolling, like a dining cart. Then, there was the light clink of ceramic tableware, and the fragrant smell of food became stronger.

Hunger overcame sleepiness as his empty stomach woke up first, his limbs and bones coming back to life. An ankle was gripped by a hot palm, and Ye Ci struggled instinctively, but the hand didn’t let go. On the contrary, it escalated and even caught his toes.

“Hold still.” Huo Tinglan pinched the toes that were as pale as green onions, put one cotton sock on him, and stroked the edges of the sock along the stretched arches. He was clearly waiting upon him, but he coaxed hoarsely, “I’ll put socks on for you.”

His hand was so strong that Ye Ci couldn’t pull his foot back. When he looked again, the other sock had been put on, the school uniform shirt and trousers were stacked at hand, and there was an exquisite blue dining cart parked not far away. A table was set up next to the bed so that he could have breakfast without touching the ground.

“It’s rare for you to act coquettish for me, so I’ll give you a little time to stay in bed.” Huo Tinglan glanced at his legs and smiled gently. “Do you……want to change your trousers yourself?”

Of course he would change his trousers himself!

Ye Ci shrank back like a wild cat and said in fear: “I’ll, I’ll do it myself.” He turned his head to look at the breakfast beside the bed. His emotions were complicated, and his conscience couldn’t bear it, so he mumbled, “You, you don’t have to……to spoil me. Just directly call me down.”

“How is this spoiling……” Huo Tinglan tightened his grip on the foot in his palm. His heart was on fire and his eyes were hot as he said firmly but gently, “I will love you very much from now on.”

This wasn’t spoiling? This was spoiling him to death!

Ye Ci was intensely embarrassed. He had never experienced this sort of thing before. The maternal love Ye Hongjun gave him was as gentle and delicate as a stream, the complete opposite of this thick, fiery love. He didn’t know how to answer these words, so he just tried to pull his foot back again.

As a result, he had barely twitched when Huo Tinglan pulled him over by the calf until he was almost sitting directly on Huo Tinglan’s lap.

“Baby,” Huo Tinglan clasped his leg and looked at him with a pair of passionate and pitiful black eyes. “Let me love you.”

If you wanted to love someone, to pamper someone, to spoil someone, you didn’t need the other person’s permission – you just had to do it. The initiative was in his own hands, but he forced him to agree and wanted to hear him say a “good” word.

The temperature of that gaze washed over him as if it was going to burn him through, piercing through his chest. There was no room to evade or shy away. Ye Ci lowered his eyes and dropped his head, pressing his forehead against Huo Tinglan’s shoulder. After a soft “En,” he added solemnly after a few seconds of silence: “We, we love each other, Huo-shushu……I’m still, still young, and I don’t have anything to offer. You……wait for me to get older, and, and I will treat you as well as you treat me.”

“Alright.” Huo Tinglan’s heart softened even more, and he vigorously rubbed that messy black hair on the back of Ye Ci’s head, saying softly, “I’ll wait for you to get older.”

As if he was afraid that this big talk would seem empty and wanted to provide some evidence, Ye Ci raised his head and glanced at Huo Tinglan with his bright apricot core eyes, but he couldn’t tell what he was thinking about.

Huo Tinglan smiled: “What……”

Before he finished speaking, Ye Ci suddenly leaned forward, tilted his head, and pecked him on the cheek as briskly as a spring swallow skimming water.

After the kiss, in the second that Huo Tinglan was momentarily stunned, he withdrew his leg as if fleeing for his life. For fear of going to school early in the morning with a kiss-swollen mouth, he leaned over the table and hastily stuffed a small steamed bun into his mouth. A drop of golden red crab oil dripped from the corner of his lips as he said, full of the desire for survival: “I still, still have to go to school soon, Huo-shushu.”

His studies were important. Even though Huo Tinglan’s desire was left unsatisfied, he could only stare at him from the sidelines with angry amusement.

Talking was delayed for a time, and Ye Ci had no choice but to thoroughly clear his plate. During these days, Huo Tinglan had taken good care of him. Not only had his face become softer, but he was not so thin in other places, such as his jaw and wrists. The knobs of his spine at the nape of his neck were less bony and sharp, and when Huo Tinglan held his calf and ankle just now, he also felt that it was more supple and sensual than before.

His body……could probably grow some more fat.

Unfortunately, it was invisible.

Just a moment ago, Ye Ci had given him a childlike kiss on the cheek.

But such a pure kiss could not wash clean his “dirty” heart.

Ye Ci was just a young deer restless with emotion, and it never occurred to him that his pious Huo-shushu was actually thinking about his body at this time.

……Otherwise the young deer would probably bang his head against the wall in embarrassment.

After eating, it was time for Ye Ci to change his clothes.

Huo Tinglan timed it right and, without waiting to be shooed away, walked into the master bedroom cloakroom to calmly pick out a shirt, as if he was also preparing to get ready and go out.

Ye Ci saw this and didn’t dare to say anything, for fear of drawing Huo Tinglan’s attention. Taking advantage of Huo Tinglan’s back being turned to him, he seized the opportunity to get naked and put on his school uniform in a panic.

In the cloakroom, Huo Tinglan flicked the rotatable full-length mirror in front of him leisurely, the corners of his lips curled up.

……Just like a jade orchid.^[1]

Round. White. Pink.

Meaty.

Good-looking.

The eagle-eyed eyesight of an A-level Alpha was indispensable.

……It was too indecent and outrageous to actually steal a peek at the little gentleman changing clothes.

Seeing that Ye Ci had fastened the last button on his collar, Huo Tinglan turned the full-length mirror back to its original position, smiled, and ruthlessly belittled himself in his heart.

. . . . . .

Ye Ci talked big in front of Huo Tinglan that morning, asking him to wait until he got older, and that he would be as good to him as he was capable of being in the future.

A boy’s teenage years were when his self-esteem was the strongest and most sensitive. This tough talk was aimed at the object of his love, and was easier to use than struggling through any vague and empty catchphrases. Not to speak of how close it was, he must show Huo-shushu good results in the upcoming final exam of the sophomore year of high school.

So on this day, Ye Ci’s studying was full of energy, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

During the recess in the afternoon, he summoned up the rare courage to go to the teacher’s office, stuttering as he asked a couple of questions – – Huo Tinglan’s lectures were undoubtedly good, but Ye Ci shouldn’t rely on him for all six subjects, and should ask the teacher.

It was the same after coming home from school. Ye Ci studied until eleven o’clock in the study room. Not only did he finish his homework, but he even did a lot of it by himself, and his eyes shined like a hungry little wolf who couldn’t get enough. If not for Huo Tinglan coming to detain him, he might have been able to study until he fell into a coma.

“Just, just one more question.” Ye Ci pitifully clutched one end of the pen that had been taken away and didn’t let go. “I just, just figured out how to do this type of problem, I need to, to strike while the iron is hot.” As he said that, he actually took advantage of the newly developed coquettish skills from that morning, softly begging, “Huo-shushu, you are the best.”

How could Huo Tinglan bear this? 

His bones were weak, and he stood aside with a smile on his face, looking at the high school student answering questions with enthusiasm.

Finishing a few minutes later, Ye Ci had nothing to say and went back to honestly rest in his room. Halfway there, he suddenly realized that he had gone in the wrong direction. This was not the way back to his bedroom, but to Huo Tinglan’s master bedroom.

“I’m, I’m going the wrong way……” Ye Ci turned his head and wanted to go back.

He thought sleeping with Huo Tinglan last night was a special case – – Huo Tinglan had said he had a headache and worked all night, and so on, and wanted to hold him and rest for a while, but he didn’t say that they would share a room in the future.

“I brought you a change of clothes.” Huo Tinglan smiled, blocked his way, and coaxed him softly, “Don’t sleep in a different room, baby.”

Ye Ci was silent for a moment, and then took a step to the left, wanting to go around.

Huo Tinglan also moved to the left.

Ye Ci moved to the right.

Huo Tinglan smiled and also moved to the right.

Wherever Ye Ci went, he would block him.

Like a little scoundrel harassing an Omega at the school gate.

---

[1] Jade orchid: ⮐

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Chapter Thirty-Three<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Five

Ye Ci heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly asked: “What……what method?”

Huo Tinglan smiled softly, found an easy-to-accept entry point, and threw a line: “Did you sleep in my bedroom the day before yesterday?”

“En.” Ye Ci nodded.

“How about tonight too, then?” When Ye Ci opened his mouth slightly in surprise, Huo Tinglan added calmly, “I won’t do anything excessive. We can add a blanket, one for each of us.”

He kneaded his forehead wearily, once to sell his misery, and twice to imply that he was currently out of energy and therefore not dangerous: “I was busy all night last night, and I haven’t closed my eyes up to now. I’m exhausted. I just want to give you a good hug.”

Ye Ci was embarrassed, his mouth closed and his attitude wavering, but he didn’t show a clear expression of rejection.

– – Given a fright by the prior unacceptable outcome, he found himself thinking too much. After giving a sigh of relief, his rate of acceptance also increased briefly.

His negotiation skills were fairly basic, but practical.

Huo Tinglan looked like he was holding the soft nape of a kitten’s neck gently but firmly, with skillful ease, making the inexperienced kitten disoriented and confused.

“Your expression just now……” With a smile, the villain brought a suit against his victim,^[1] teasing in turn: “What are you thinking about?”

Ye Ci looked at him with clear eyes like glass beads, but didn’t try to defend himself, and only blushed.

Because he was indeed thinking wild thoughts.

He would prefer to not say a word and tacitly acquiesce, rather than expose the yellow trash in his brain to Huo-shushu and be teased. He didn’t want to lie to his lover, either. 

“What are you thinking, baby?” Huo Tinglan expressed his curiosity as if he was a big, innocent boy. “Tell me.”

Ye Ci suddenly had a sense of peril, as if he was being targeted by a carnivore – – if he didn’t tear off a piece of meat to sacrifice to those white teeth, he absolutely wouldn’t be able to escape tonight.

– – What was he thinking about?

He thought he was going to sleep under a blanket with Huo Tinglan like a real married person, and for a moment, even vaguely thought about “that kind of thing.”

But how could these words be spoken?

There was only one piece of meat left to tear off for the beast.

His throat tightened, and he forcibly skipped the question in order to compromise: “Then, then let’s add a blanket……”

In the master bedroom, a pair of pillows and two blankets were placed side by side, and the area between was still spacious.

Huo Tinglan went to wash up, and Ye Ci burrowed into his own blanket like a thief. His sleeping position was restrained, with the light blanket tightly covering him, pulled all the way up to the tip of his nose.

He secretly touched his mouth under the edge of the covers.

The painful heat had subsided, and the skin was not broken.

Suddenly, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

Ye Ci retracted his hand as if he had received an electric shock, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep.

With his temperament and under these circumstances, it seemed a little fake for him to be able to sleep without a care. He knew this, but hoped that Huo Tinglan would be as graceful as ever, seeing through it but not bringing it up.

The bathroom door opened.

The scent of men’s body wash slowly approached, sea salt mixed with cypress wood.

The side of his body sank down, something blocked the light, and then Huo Tinglan called to him in a low voice: “Baby, are you asleep?”

Ye Ci didn’t move. Not even his eyelashes fluttered.

He pretended quite well.

The corners of Huo Tinglan’s lips lifted slightly. He didn’t say anything, and didn’t turn off the lights. Lying down next to Ye Ci, he stretched out his arms and pulled the thin form wrapped in a light blanket into his arms.

That small sample of a kiss did not satisfy his craving. Instead, it evoked the memory of entangling with his lover in the last life.

Desire was like a shark sensing blood. It was better not to taste it, but once he did, he became mad with greed.

That graphite silk was as deep and dark as the sea. He cruised through it silently and sinisterly, coveting the creamy white flesh in that ocean. The marking period wasn’t over yet, and his Alpha glands began to stir.

After being pacified by an Omega, the glands were supposed to be at rest.

But the painful experience of his spouse’s death made Huo Tinglan’s Alpha glands more sensitive and fragile than in the previous life, and their hormone fluctuations were difficult to predict using normal medical theory.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes darkened, and his hands circled around in front of Ye Ci.

His fingertip touched the blanket that was dampened by Ye Ci’s breath and traced along the line of his lips.

After a while, it stopped in the middle and played with them.

The small breaths gusting on Huo Tinglan’s fingertips suddenly accelerated.

Ye Ci panicked.

Afraid that his breathing rate would reveal his pretense, Ye Ci took a few breaths and then subconsciously held his breath, his body trembling slightly.

This was not pretending to be asleep, but pretending to be dead.

“Ye Ci,” Huo Tinglan suppressed a laugh, his fingers like bait as he rubbed the silly mouth with a poor memory that continued to bite the hook. “Are you really asleep?”

Suddenly waking up at this time would only be more embarrassing.

It was hard to ride a tiger,^[2] better to play the role to the end. Ye Ci resolutely kept his eyes closed. There was sweat on his forehead, and his eyelashes trembled.

“You really are asleep?” Huo Tinglan announced in a low voice, “Then I’m going to do something bad.”

Ye Ci: “…….”

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly in disbelief.

Huo Tinglan took the edge of the blanket and picked it up.

It was almost like lifting the hem of a skirt, but he could do it without appearing vulgar.

Under the blanket, the collar of Ye Ci’s pajamas was fastened to the top button, and Huo Tinglan flipped the button as if teasing a small fish.

Ye Ci’s eyelashes trembled and he thoroughly crumbled. Too embarrassed to open his eyes, he turned over, plunged into Huo Tinglan’s arms, and begged for mercy: “Huo-shushu, don’t, don’t do it……”

“You pretended to be asleep.” Huo Tinglan gently tugged Ye Ci’s bright red ear.

He saw through it and laid it bare.

No matter how foolish Ye Ci was, he realized that Huo Tinglan was not the same as before he confirmed their relationship. Besides, he wasn’t stupid in the first place. If someone else attempted Huo Tinglan’s actions, he would probably see through it within three sentences.

The fact that he could be hooked with one cast was due to nothing more than preconceived notions. He believed firmly in Huo Tinglan’s pure and good nature, and this filter was too thick to see through.

“Huo-shushu, why are you……” He clenched his fists and hesitated. “Why……are you like this?”

“What am I like?” Huo Tinglan laughed, and the deep vibrations of his chest tickled Ye Ci’s eardrums.

“Like,” Ye Ci struggled to retrieve a precise word that was not a curse, “You’ve become un, ungentlemanly.”

Ungentlemanly.

Huo Tinglan was stunned for a moment. In his life and in his previous life, he had never heard anyone make a comment about him like this.

Not only that, but he was often rated the opposite.

It was said that no one knew a child better than their mother, but even his mother, Lin Yao, often persuaded him to let go of the elite air of being alone all his life. Even if he couldn’t find a matching Omega, at least he could meet a Beta woman……

Moreover, the way he and Ye Ci got along in the last life was not the same as it was now.

Of course it wasn’t a compliment, but he felt a heat up his spine. Being provoked by the aggrieved little lover who vaguely realized he had boarded a pirate ship doubled his agitation.

“Xiao Ci,” Huo Tinglan moved back a little, looked at Ye Ci buried in his chest, and stroked his messy hair. Half coaxing and half serious, he said: “From the moment we established our relationship, you were officially my lover and husband, legally and emotionally. In front of you, I don’t think I need to, or should, put on the air of being a good gentleman. Just like you don’t have to try to be brave in front of me. You can talk to me, you can cry to me, and you can rely on me to your heart’s content……what do you say?”

With just a few words, he integrated his “hooliganism” with his true nature.

Extremely shameless.

Ye Ci wrestled with this for a while. He also pretended to be tough in front of Huo Tinglan. If it was wrong to say that it wasn’t the same, then he probably……didn’t count as innocent?

Besides, flirting with a lover seemed to be okay, it was just that the contrast……

“Do you still like Huo-shushu?” Huo Tinglan asked knowingly.

How could he not like him because of that?

Ye Ci nodded in embarrassment.

“You like me even if I’m not a gentleman?” Huo Tinglan repeated with a smile.

Ye Ci gritted his teeth, and the corners of his jaw flexed sharply. After a few seconds of silence, he admitted: “I like you.”

However, the villain hadn’t even revealed one-tenth of his essence.

“Then……” Huo Tinglan paused. Meeting Ye Ci’s inquisitive gaze, he said quietly, “Will you help? The susceptibility period is about to be drawn out by you, so soothe me……”

Ye Ci was stunned, unable to argue: “I, I drew it out?”

“En.” Huo Tinglan choked back a laugh. His eyes were jet-black and bright, and he had a handsome appearance, but it was a pity that it contained a wicked thing that would toss a black pot to a child.^[3]

“You did……do you know how pretty your blush is?” The black pot smashed him in the face. “You’re still drawing it out.”

Was being inclined to blush a sin? What could be done about an abundance of capillaries?

Ye Ci had a rare rebellious thought and snatched the blanket from Huo Tinglan to cover his face. As a result, as soon as the bridge of his nose was covered, it was pulled back down to his chin. He covered it up again, and it was pulled down to his neck by Huo Tinglan. He was light and quick, half smiling, making them look like a playful and flirtatious couple. Ye Ci noticed that the atmosphere was ambiguous and didn’t dare to grab it again. His flushed face was exposed to the air, and he braced himself to “look good” under Huo Tinglan’s eyes, retorting in a whisper: “Wasn’t your susceptible period……more, more than a month ago? Usually an Alpha……is only susceptible two or three times a year. Besides, it also can’t be drawn out.”

He might know very little, but he had also been an Alpha, and couldn’t be fooled.

“I’m sick.” Huo Tinglan unexpectedly smiled. “I have a disorder.”

Ye Ci stared, going quiet.

Huo Tinglan really was sick – – the susceptibility period syndrome. Not every Alpha’s susceptibility symptoms were as severe as his, which could be considered pathological, and the frequency was indeed uncertain.

“Give me treatment, baby. Think of it like an essay on being a good person and doing good deeds, doesn’t that sound pretty good?” The more he said, the more ridiculous and unscrupulous it became. Holding back a smile, he continued to coax and deceive: “We had a deal to use a way you can accept, other than touching your lips.” He turned over, holding Ye Ci’s hot face like a handful of spring water as he pecked kisses across his red cheekbones, his sweaty hair, his blinking eyelids……

His word was truly trustworthy. Since he said he wouldn’t touch his mouth, he didn’t touch his mouth.

However, at the end, Ye Ci had to keep a deadly grip on his collar and not let go. With a clear, lively voice, he repeatedly emphasized that he was not to put his mouth on his neck. It was just that the collar of his school uniform really couldn’t cover the neck, and his classmates and teachers would see it at a glance.

This just barely saved his neck.

That night, he was only kissed on his face outside of his cocoon.

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[1] 恶人先告状. Literally means the villain sues his victim before he himself can be prosecuted. ⮐

[2] 骑虎难下: The idiom is, ‘If you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off,’ meaning it’s impossible to stop halfway. ⮐

[3] Throwing a black pot to someone is basically putting the blame on them/letting them shoulder the responsibility. ⮐

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Chapter Thirty-Two<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Four

“Baby.”

His blood was boiling.

Huo Tinglan couldn’t wait at all for him to get used to it. He only intensified and slightly bowed his shoulders, holding Ye Ci’s face to kiss him and crush those small lips out of shape. As if he wasn’t embarrassed enough, he coaxed in a low voice: “Baby’s lips are so soft……”

Just five words, ordinary lovers’ talk, but they were like some kind of spell with the power to drive a person crazy.

His heart suddenly soared into the air and smashed down again, beating desperately at his ribs.

Ye Ci’s eardrums were roaring and his brain was empty, steamed dry. The numbness that penetrated his chest rose and fell with his heartbeat, surging and ebbing like waves. The kiss he imagined was like a dragonfly lightly brushing the water’s surface, similar to a kiss on the face.

This was simply not the same at all.

He couldn’t take it anymore, and was so alarmed that he ducked away, but Huo Tinglan held his face and chased after him. Huo-shushu, who was usually so gentle and elegant, was at this moment so fervent that it was almost obscene, and firmly captured him!

“Huo-shushu,” Ye Ci’s head was about to explode, and he faintly begged for mercy, “Huo, Huo-shushu……is it enough?”

His heart was beating to death, and his nose was obviously working, but he was holding his breath without realizing it.

His mouth was sore from being rubbed, and his lips were so hot that the skin seemed to be broken.

It didn’t seem like he should have confessed in that way……

He regretted it a little, but it was too late.

He twisted like a small silverfish with wet scales. If Huo Tinglan didn’t let him go, he would slide away along the crack in the wall, slip back into the water, and never bite again.

Finally, Huo Tinglan straightened up a little. Brushing the thin cartilage at the tip of his nose, he reminded in a low voice, “Breathe.”

Flustered, Ye Ci took a few big breaths.

Huo Tinglan waited for him to breathe, and then tilted his head again……

“You’re still, still kissing?” Ye Ci shrank back, and rounded those watery apricot seed eyes.

“What?” Huo Tinglan caught Ye Ci’s shock, suppressed the fire in his dark eyes, and brought out his innocent “good shushu” mode, smiling softly. “Wasn’t it just one kiss?”

Ye Ci couldn’t believe it, and repeated, “Just one……”

So, so many actions counted as just one?!

He became increasingly bewildered, unable to speak. After a long while, he licked his red lips, looking stunned and pitiful, as if he was being bullied by a trusted person, pierced by the hook hidden in the sweet bait.

“Can, can you not kiss……a second time, Huo-shushu.” The more he spoke, the quieter he got. “My……my lips are broken.”

“Broken?” Huo Tinglan didn’t believe it, and pushed away Ye Ci’s hand to check carefully.

Where were they broken, they weren’t broken at all, he knew what he was doing. They were just red and hot, giving them the illusion of “broken skin.”

“Not broken.” He told the truth, not choosing what children would like to hear.

“……” Ye Ci drooped his head, not even letting him touch them.

“But you’re in pain, I’m sorry.” Huo Tinglan took a step back and let Ye Ci slip away.

When young teenagers fell in love, if they hadn’t encountered an Alpha who was particularly anxious and confused, they would probably go to school and leave together, accompany each other to do their homework, touch each others’ heads, hold hands, and kiss shallowly and carefully, even more hazy than the moonlight.

The issue was……

Huo Tinglan felt that he was also as hazy as moonlight.

He didn’t even stick his tongue in……

Was that not hazy?

But Ye Ci had been rubbed so hard that his soul flew away, sitting on the small sofa and covering his mouth in a daze.

To Huo Tinglan, it was the touch of a dragonfly upon water, but for Ye Ci, it was a stormy sea.

Huo Tinglan walked over and knelt on one knee in front of the small sofa, tugged at the cuffs of Ye Ci’s pajamas, and coaxed gently: “Are you mad at me?”

Ye Ci hurriedly shook his head: “No, I’m not mad at you.”

It was impossible for him to be angry with Huo Tinglan.

“What happened……can you describe it to me?” Huo Tinglan set the tone for a serious discussion.

“Just,” Ye Ci pursed his lower lip and tried to describe, “My heart was, was beating like I was dying. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I……” He glanced at him timidly, and with a pure and innocent voice, spoke words that could kill a person: “I, I like you so much, I can’t stand the excitement. You let me slow down and take it easy, okay?”

Huo Tinglan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and repeated, “Slow down……”

A lifetime of perseverance was consumed in this moment.

“Xiao Ci, I’m twelve years older than you, I’m a mature Alpha, and my thoughts and needs regarding these things might be different from yours.” His tone was sincere and apologetic, with a somewhat rare embarrassment. “Maybe my needs will be more than yours. Sorry.”

Ye Ci licked his still aching lips, and with a red face, he unexpectedly gave Huo Tinglan a round of sex education in turn: “Don’t, don’t apologize. What you said is, is actually normal……”

“En, you’re right.” Huo Tinglan smiled, and then, as if it was difficult to speak about, laughed softly at himself. “So what should I do? I have a lot of needs……otherwise,” he teased softly and mischievously, “Is there another method that you can accept?”

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Chapter Thirty-One<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Three