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Ye Shu had a dream.
The sky in his dreams was overcast and it had been raining for days on end. He was holding in his arms a young man who was even skinnier and smaller than he was.
Drops of water seeping through the roof formed puddles on the ground. Outside the window, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, the young man in his arms trembling with each sound.
“So timid ah.”
With a smile, Ye Shu gently rubbed the young man’s cold fingers and cheeks. “A-Yuan will be the emperor in the future. There is no emperor in this world who is afraid of a resonant sound like thunder.”
The young man looked up, showing a pair of bright eyes. “…Can’t the emperor have something he is afraid of?”
“He shouldn’t,” Ye Shu said. “As a ruler, you ought to be strong yourself in order to make your state strong and make everyone acknowledge allegiance to your regime. Any hint of timidity and fear on your part could turn into a fatal weakness.”
The young man looked at Ye Shu in a daze. A sudden clap of thunder exploded in the horizon, and the young man recoiled and shrank back.
“Then…I’ll be afraid of this for once,” the young man gripped Ye Shu’s clothes, and with a vague voice added, “for once and for all.”
Ye Shu smiled and hugged the young man tightly.
The scene changed as the clouds parted to reveal the sunrise.
Ye Shu reclined against the railing of the nine-curved winding corridor, drowsiness creeping over him due to the warm sunlight.
“I’m so busy with that crappy enthronement ceremony, but you’re actually doing well, hiding here at your leisure.” The cold voice of a young man rang out. Ye Shu squinted his eyes and looked at the figure coming towards him from afar.
The young man was tall and upright, and despite a frown marring his handsome brow, he was still quite easy on the eyes.
Ye Shu grinned. “Calling the enthronement ceremony a crappy affair, beware of being heard by those old fools.”
The young man didn’t answer and walked slowly to Ye Shu’s side.
“Earlier I asked you what position you wanted,” the young man stood beside Ye Shu, his tall figure blocking most of the sunlight. “Have you thought about it?”
Ye Shu retorted, “Anything for real?”
“A ruler never goes back on his word.”
Ye Shu was silent for some time.
Heaven knows what he thought about in this silence, but after a long time, he softly said, “There is a vacant position for the left prime minister pending in the court. Is Your Majesty willing to bestow it to me?”
A hint of surprise thrilled through the young man’s eyes.
In a moment, the young man beamed. “Of course I’m willing.”
Through the bright red walls of the palace, the two walked onwards side by side.
“I thought you’d ask for a noble title with which you could also enjoy living in ease and leisure.”
“Who let me be a toiler,” Ye Shu hooked the young man’s neck, his eyes smiling. “I have to help my ruler unify the whole state ah.”
“You said it. It’s a deal.”
“Mnn, it’s a deal.”
—
Ye Shu woke up as the first faint rays of dawn lit the sky.
He opened his eyes right into the face of an incredibly handsome man.
Jin Wang was still asleep, fine black eyelashes drooping gently, covering up the sharp, narrow outer corners of his eyes. The tips of his brows were slightly furrowed, leaving shallow dents.
The A-Yuan in his dream was him.
The ruler of Changlu. Surname Jin, first name Wang; courtesy name, Ling Yuan.
It was the first time in a while that Ye Shu had dreamed of the past after transmigrating.
The original owner’s past was very vague in his mind, and most of what he knew came from the book, or bits and pieces of memories.
That dream for instance……
How come in these three years as the emperor, the longer he grew into the role of the ruler, the more he became a dog.
“What are you thinking about?” Someone asked softly in his ear.
Ye Shu thought nothing of it as he casually responded, “I’m thinking about why you’re such a—”
The word “dog” was about to blurt out of his mouth. Ye Shu broke out in a cold sweat as he met Jin Wang’s gaze.
Ye Shu smiled dryly. “Good morning ah, Your Majesty.”
“Morning,” Jin Wang’s voice was somewhat low and hoarse, jolting Ye Shu’s ears to tingles. “My beloved minister, say, are you thinking about Gu?”
“I was thinking about…”
Ye Shu’s eyes turned, and suddenly struck upon a way out as he exclaimed, “I was thinking about how Your Majesty could be so exceptionally gifted! This subject was filled with divine admiration and now regards Your Majesty with special esteem!”
Jin Wang, “?”
Ye Shu’s tone of voice laid out in earnest. “Your Majesty was majestic and heroic last night! This subject has never had such an experience in my life, it was a-a-amazing……”
“Does it feel amazing?” Jin Wang asked, face expressionless. “Gu didn’t touch you last night, don’t make it up.”
Ye Shu, “……Ah?”
He looked down and indeed saw the two of them fully dressed, everything on their bodies as per usual, not at all as if they had done it.
Hadn’t they reached an agreement to let him serve him?
Thanks to that, he had spent so much time in the bath!
Is this dog emperor impotent???
If Jin Wang knew that he was shouting in his heart like a thief brashly throwing around the pot, a severe chastisement was surely inevitable.
Last night, Jin Wang lost all bearings in a moment of pleasure and released too much faith incense.
But, of all people, he himself had forgotten that this man before him was a lightweight who would get dizzy with just the smell of it.
Even when he was already asleep, Jin Wang was unable to take his thing back, and had slept with it in the other party’s hand.
For the first time ever, the stately ruler of Changlu was sleeping with his most cherished family jewels grasped in someone else’s hand; and not just that, but having it grasped for most of the night, greatly compromising his peace of mind and nearly getting himself impotent.
Jin Wang, getting upset at the thought of it, coldly snorted and lifted the drapery to get up.
Ye Shu poked his head out. “Then what Your Majesty has agreed about the…”
“Agreed?” Jin Wang looked back in response. “What did Gu agree with you about?”
“The cats……”
You still have the nerve to mention the cats.
Jin Wang apathetically said, “No.”
“Your Majesty……”
“No, don’t even think about it.”
“Why are you like this?” Ye Shu sat on his knees on the bed, displeased. “Didn’t we reach an agreement yesterday that as long as I serv-……you’d agree to let me return home? A ruler never goes back on his word. How could you break your promise?”
Who on earth broke whose word?
Gu didn’t touch you anyway.
Jin Wang paid him no mind. Ye Shu shot off the bed in giant strides and chased after him with his bare feet on the soft carpet. “Your Majesty, just allow me this, alright? I’ll just go back and take a quick look, nothing more.”
“Please…A-Yuan.”
Jin Wang was tying the knots on his robe when his movements stopped.
Ye Shu seized the chance and walked around to his front and eagerly helped him dress.
Jin Wang looked at him without saying a word. Ye Shu helped him finish getting dressed and looked up to meet his gaze.
The two of them looked at each other for a moment and then Jin Wang suddenly raised his hand to capture Ye Shu’s jaw and then smiled. “Gu hasn’t heard this name for many years. It seems that you really want to go back.”
This smile of his was gentle yet dangerous, causing Ye Shu’s blood to freeze.
What the hell? Didn’t the original owner call him that, why is this tyrant suddenly so…angry???
So moody?
Jin Wang had learned martial arts and his hand didn’t save its strength, squeezing Ye Shu until it hurt.
Ye Shu was pained and frowned.  “Your Majesty…”
Jin Wang’s hand loosened.
He caressed the red mark on Ye Shu’s face with his fingertips, his voice gentle, “Don’t be afraid, Gu shall allow you.”
“But……Gu will accompany you.”
—
Located in the most populous and affluent area of the capital, the Ye Mansion was fully constructed three years ago under the supervision of the ruler himself, and was named Lin Ai Ju, which was quite a bit of an irony.
As Minister Ye had been in great favor those days, his mansion became the place where all the notable families and great clans in the capital rushed to visit and take refuge in.
The courtyard was once so thronged with visitors that the limelight it enjoyed was unrivalled.
But now, there was a brand new seal on the front door, and the plaque inscribed with the words “Ye Mansion” had been cut in half and randomly discarded in front of the stone steps, already damaged by rust.
Passers by didn’t even dare to take a second look for fear of being implicated.
Anyone who looked at it couldn’t help but lament at the impermanence of the winds of life.
……Except for Ye Shu.
Ye Shu had no inner turmoil and even wanted to hurry back to the mansion.
Jin Wang wrapped him tightly in his embrace and spoke in a very gentle tone, “Where’s the cat that my beloved minister was talking about?”
“……” Ye Shu shifted away calmly, yet was tugged back hard by Jin Wang. He bowed his head obediently and said, “I-It’s u-usually here. Let’s wait.”
“Alright, we’ll wait.”
They both had changed into civilian clothes. Jin Wang was dressed in black with a black bone bamboo fan pinned to his waist, exhibiting the charm of an outstanding gongzi.
Ye Shu, on the other hand, was draped in a green garment, which made him look even more mellow and frail.
At the back door of the Ye Mansion was a narrow lane that rarely saw visitors and had now been overgrown with weeds.
The two waited in the lane for a moment before finally hearing a shallow meowing.
“Meow~”
Ye Shu followed the sound and discovered a yellow-white kitten crouching in the underbrush, revealing a pair of damp eyes.
He was just about to approach, when it slipped away and cowered behind the underbrush.
Ye Shu pondered for a moment then said, “Your Majesty, it won’t dare to come out if you’re here. C-Can you…please go out and wait for me first?”
Jin Wang didn’t answer. He gazed down at him for a long time and then slowly nodded. “Alright, Gu will go back to the carriage and wait for you there.”
The carriage was parked at the end of the lane. Ye Shu sighed silently as he watched Jin Wang leave.
At that moment, the kitten suddenly turned its head and ran towards the depths of the lane.
Ye Shu hurriedly caught up.
Not far from the back door of the Ye Mansion, there was an abandoned courtyard. Chasing the kitten into the courtyard, Ye Shu found it squatting outside a clump of shrubs in the corner, meowing at him.
Ye Shu cleared the underbrush away.
There was a litter of newborn kittens.
The kittens had only recently opened their eyes; their fur was soft and sparse and they were incredibly cute.
Ye Shu’s heart trembled from the cuteness and just as he was about to bend down to touch them, a strange noise suddenly came from the courtyard.
The door of the shed that was beside Ye Shu creaked open.
A damp and raw smell seeped out of the doorway. Ye Shu looked over, the tips of his eyebrows slightly compressed.
He hesitated for a moment before he got up and walked in.
The inside was densely covered with cobwebs and smelled of dusty, perennial rottenness.
Just as Ye Shu stepped inside, he suddenly felt a gust of chill air brush past.
The next moment, his neck went stiff.
A sharp blade was pressed against his throat.
Ye Shu’s eyelashes slightly trembled, but his voice was still steady and unruffled, “You really are here.”
“There’s nothing to be done, there are people hunting us down everywhere outside. There’s nowhere else to hide but here.” The voice came close to his ear and the man’s tall figure was reflected on the ground before him.
Ye Shu spread out his hands. “It’s not that I betrayed you all.”
The man behind him chuckled. “You think I’d believe that, when Minister Ye, who should have been put to execution, appeared here?”
Ye Shu was silent, thinking to himself that he didn’t think he still had the life to come back here either.
Who knew what that dog emperor thought about every day.
“If I really did betray you, the ones who came here today would have been the imperial guards.” Ye Shu said.
“That’s a fair point.”
As the grip on Ye Shu loosened, he turned back, and the man also put away his dagger.
The man standing before him was very tall, with deep features and eyes that shone brightly in the darkness, as if they carried some foreign blood.
This person was there in Ye Shu’s memory.
The original owner plotted the assassination by cooperating with this man.
From the state of Western Xia, Mu Jiuqing.
“Jin Wang is right outside. Let’s keep this short,” Ye Shu said. “I want to leave Changlu.”
To his surprise, the man didn’t ask any more questions, but simply nodded. “That’s possible. I’ll take you with me, but you’ll have to give us something in exchange.”
“What do you want?” Ye Shu asked.
“The emperor of Changlu killed many of my men, laying waste to our years of unsubdued operations.” The man gazed at Ye Shu with profound eyes.
“I want his life.”