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Ye Shu moved to Yongshou Palace the next day.
No longer being watched constantly by Jin Wang‘s people and no longer having to be so worried about upsetting the tyrant’s life every day, Ye Shu’s life was finally at peace.
……My ass.
Ye Shu looked up at the gauze net above his head, his eyes surprisingly bright in the darkness.
He couldn’t even sleep.
During his days in Yangxin Hall, he slept on the same bed with Jin Wang, being held in his arms night after night. Ye Shu had never been that close to anyone, thus he was actually quite unaccustomed to it at first, but in order to keep his life, he had no choice but to bear it.
Months went by, and now he wasn’t used to not having someone beside him.
He wasn’t used to having no one to take his hair accessories off, no one to read to him at bedtime, and no one to take him into their arms and stroke his hair when his sleep was restless.
Blame it all on that dog emperor.
Ye Shu turned over in exasperation as he thought about it.
Perhaps because he had decided to give Ye Shu some space, Jin Wang seldom came to Yongshou Palace these days, only occasionally stopping by to have a meal and leaving afterwards, with no intention of spending the night.
Accustomed to seeing His Majesty and the noble consort’s sticking to each other like glue, the palace servants were even talking about it privately, whether the noble consort had fallen out of favour.
In fact, throughout the previous dynasties, even when it came to the late emperor who was so obsessed with beauty, there were few concubines who could spend the night in Yangxin Hall, not to mention spending several months there.
Living in the Yongshou Palace is what a favoured concubine ought to expect.
However, no one these days seemed to remember this.
The rumours of the noble consort falling out of favour even reached Ye Shu’s ears, which he simply dismissed with a laugh. The fact that the man in question didn’t object meant that he acquiesced, hence the rumours became increasingly prevalent.
By the third day of the rumour mill, Jin Wang finally couldn’t sit still.
Ye Shu was still asleep when His Majesty rushed to Yongshou Palace.
He did not take anyone with him, nor did he allow the palace servants to announce his arrival, and entered the chamber quietly by himself.
The earth dragons inside ran at an optimum temperature. Ye Shu was only covered with a thin silk quilt, his fair and fine ankles stuck out from the quilt. Jin Wang covered them with his hand and felt them somewhat cold.
Ye Shu merely stirred erratically and stayed asleep.
Jin Wang’s palm covered the other party’s ankle until he had warmed the small area of cold skin before slowly easing upwards.
Ye Shu faced the other side of the bed, leaving him with only a thin back.
Jin Wang leaned over and took the man in his embrace.
“Mhmm…”
Ye Shu murmured, seemingly sensing a familiar embrace in his slumber, and instinctively nuzzled towards Jin Wang.
Rather than waking up, he slept more soundly.
Jin Wang’s eyes softened as he gazed down at the man, his fingers stroking his hair idly.
“Yah!” After a long time, a woman’s cry of alarm broke the silence in the hall.
The current hour was already much past the noble consort’s usual waking time. The palace maid of Yongshou Palace brought in hot water as per routine, only to see His Majesty having appeared in the bedchamber thus exclaiming in alarm.
“Your—” The palace maid hurriedly knelt in salute. Jin Wang shot her a warning gaze.
The palace maid’s voice came to a halt.
But the noise was enough to rouse Ye Shu.
His brows furrowed and he gave a low groan of irritation, burying his face in Jin Wang’s embrace. “Jin Wang, be quiet……”
Jin Wang patted his back soothingly and said softly, “Mmm, no noise for you.”
The palace maid bent to her knees, not daring to look up, but neither did she miss the softly spoken words of His Majesty.
……It turned out that His Majesty still spoke in this way to the man.
Ye Shu was entranced for a moment before he finally opened his eyes slowly.
He looked up and met those handsome eyes.
Ye Shu’s vision gradually became clearer.
“……Why are you here?” Ye Shu sat up and rubbed his eyes.
Jin Wang said, “No matters arising at morning court today, so I came to see you.”
This was actually because His Majesty had heard the rumours from the palace servants when he got up this morning and was worried that his little consort would think too much about it, so he hurried over after the morning court session without even sparing time to take off his court dress. The wide sleeves of it had been pressed directly underneath Ye Shu and had now become crumpled.
Ye Shu looked at the wrinkles on his garb and was somehow somewhat embarrassed. “Then why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I couldn’t bear to do it, seeing how soundly you were sleeping,” Jin Wang brushed his loose hair behind his ear and said softly, “Get up and freshen up. When you’re ready, I’ll have someone serve the meals.”
The door of the hall opened wide, and a course of fine dishes were served on the table. Ye Shu dawdled out of the inner chamber, while Jin Wang was already seated at the table.
“Come here,” Jin Wang beckoned to him.
Ye Shu glanced suspiciously at the palace maids serving behind.
Jin Wang preferred to be alone with him and rarely had people serve the meals anymore.
Ye Shu didn’t say anything and took his seat next to Jin Wang.
Jin Wang gave him a piece of pastry. “This is your favorite, here, have some.”
“Not interested,” Ye Shu said disgustedly. “Want the kind made by Your Majesty.”
Jin Wang didn’t get annoyed and patiently persuaded him, “Okay, I’ll go and learn how to do it later.”
The pair had actually spent time together like this in the past, but they hadn’t had their servants serve them in the room before so nobody was aware of this to begin with.
During this meal, all the inner servants of Yongshou Palace were filled with astonishment. What was this about the noble consort being out of favour? Apparently he had been spoiled to the extent of being waited on hand and foot.
Having finished their lunch, Ye Shu rested on Jin Wang’s lap, too lazy to move a muscle.
Jin Wang pinched his face. “You’re becoming like a sloth, you can’t go on like this.”
Ye Shu said calmly, “That’s just how I am. If Your Majesty doesn’t like it, then don’t come and see me.”
“How dare I,” Jin Wang shook his head, unable to laugh. “I haven’t stayed at the Yongshou Palace for just the past few days, and rumours are already circulating that I’ve deserted you. If I really stopped coming, who knows what sort of rumours would arise.”
Ye Shu narrowed his eyes. “So you came here today only to put on a show of affection with me?”
“Not at all,” Jin Wang stroked Ye Shu’s hair and said in a warm voice, “I don’t care at all what rumours are being spread outside. If one is presumptuous about the imperial family, let them be killed. I’m just worried that you might get wind of it.”
“You and I both know that the rumours are false, but I was still afraid that you would be angry upon hearing them,” Jin Wang lowered his head and looked intently into Ye Shu’s eyes. “I don’t want you to be unhappy.”
Ye Shu didn’t respond as he averted his gaze. “Your Majesty has over-thought it, why would I be unhappy about something that is nothing but empty talk?”
“No?” Jin Wang’s fingertips caressed Ye Shu’s cheeks, pausing for a moment before he smiled. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t mind one way or the other, I’m willing to coax you.”
Ye Shu pursed his lips slightly.
As a matter of fact, there was indeed some subtle unhappiness, which was why he did not deter the rumour from spreading and deliberately let it reach Jin Wang’s ears.
Ye Shu himself did not know exactly what he was upset about, nor did he think about why he had done it. However, upon witnessing that Jin Wang had rushed to coax him because he was worried that he would misunderstand, the subtle displeasure in his heart vanished into thin air.
As usual, this dog emperor was so easy to wrap around his finger.
Ye Shu leaned on Jin Wang’s embrace till he drifted off to sleep. Not long after, an inner servant came into the hall to report, “Your Majesty, the Lord Protector has been waiting in the imperial study for quite some time.”
“Got it.”
Jin Wang dismissed the servant, picked Ye Shu up and put him back to bed. “Be good, sleep a while more. The Lord Protector has returned to the capital, I have to go and see him first. I also heard that he has brought company. I will take you to see them later.”
Ye Shu yawned sleepily, then responded, “Alright.”
Jin Wang lowered his head and kissed him on the corner of his lips, tucked him into the covers and turned to leave.
The hall was hushed for a moment, then Ye Shu suddenly opened his eyes.
Wait, who did Jin Wang just say has arrived?
Ye Shu suddenly lost all his sleepiness and hastily summoned an inner servant to enquire.
The young eunuch of Yongshou Palace was well-informed and answered all questions. “It is the Lord Protector who arrived in the capital yesterday and has come to the palace today to meet His Majesty.”
Ye Shu asked, “The Lord Protector you’re talking about is Xiao Yuanfei, Old General Xiao?”
“It’s him, naturally. Where else can there be a second Lord Protector of Changlu?”
This Lord Protector was not appointed by Jin Wang, but by the late emperor.
Decades ago, Xiao Yuanfei, the ever great general of Changlu, fought for many years and achieved tremendous success in battles. He disapproved of the late emperor’s despotic rule and was stripped of his military power, given a title arbitrarily and sent away to his fiefdom, rarely being allowed to return to the capital.
When Jin Wang assumed power, Xiao Yuanfei had sent his old men to assist him secretly, thus Jin Wang had always had high respect for this Lord Protector.
But this wasn’t as important as the fact that Xiao Yuanfei had a daughter in the book, who was two years younger than Jin Wang.
In the book, Jin Wang had not married or had any children, and his emotional attachment remained blank towards the end. Even so, as the main lead of a Mary Sue, amassing power and conspiracy novel, there was never a shortage of people who would fall in love with him.
That woman was one of them.
If Ye Shu remembered correctly, the Lord Protector returned to the capital this time to introduce his daughter to Jin Wang.
Wouldn’t that be today?
Ye Shu had some trouble sitting still.
“Prepare the palanquin, set out for imperial study.”
The imperial palanquin was brought to a halt outside the imperial study, but no one came down. The guards couldn’t help but look over their shoulder several times, while the servant carrying the palanquin asked outside the curtain, “My Lord, the imperial study is here, aren’t you coming down?”
Ye Shu didn’t respond.
It was only when he reached outside the imperial study that he felt a bit like an idiot.
Not to mention that in the book, Jin Wang wasn’t interested in that woman, furthermore, the current Jin Wang plainly wasn’t into women, and even if there was really that what’s-her-name, the man would not put her in his eyes.
And… Why was he so on edge?
As an emperor, wasn’t it normal to have concubines or a harem of three thousand. What did it concern him?
Ye Shu pressed the space between his brows, thinking that he had been playing in this drama of palace intrigue for so long that he had gotten too deep into it.
He was about to order the servant to take him back when the door of the imperial study suddenly opened.
Jin Wang walked out together with a full-spirited gray-haired man, and behind them was a handsome young man.
Young. Man.
Or better yet, call him a Kunjun.
Ye Shu narrowed his eyes displeased.
(Mini Theatre)
Ye Shu: You have three seconds to come over and coax me, or your pup’s life depends on it.
Pup: ……What the hell did I do wrong again?
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TN: I apologize for the late update! In a nutshell, I decided to take a hiatus as there has been a health issue concerning my eyes I’ll be back (and update) at the earliest opportunity/when I’m back in shape! TAT