What’s all this? What’s the point of even changing clothes!
Mu Zhan also noticed it, too. His eyes squinted slightly before smiling. “Do you need my help?”
Red in the ears, Wen Mingyu shook his head firmly. He then sat down on the long couch, lowering his head in a pretence of reading seriously. He also deliberately hunched his back, exposing the slender curve of his neck. His graceful neckline formed a beautiful arch, unconsciously drawing one’s attention.
Even if he sat like this without looking up, Wen MIngyu could still feel that burning gaze on him. It was intense, like his skin being ignited by a flickering flame.
Finally, the palace servants delivered the clothes.
But Mu Zhan was a step ahead of him and picked it up first.
Wen Mingyu’s body went rigid. A little flustered, he quickly spoke, “… I’ll do it myself.”
A faint smile remained at the corners of Mu Zhan’s lips as he replied, “I won’t take it from you. It’s just that… some things aren’t convenient for you to do alone. And I want to help you.”
Just as Wen Mingyu was about to respond, Mu Zhan added, “I just want to help you. I won’t do anything. Besides, this isn’t the first time, right?”
To be honest, Wen Mingyu was somewhat persuaded. After having gone through it once, it was much more acceptable. In fact, he didn’t really mind Mu Zhan’s help; he was just a bit embarrassed.
Ultimately, they still went behind the folding screen together. The screen was made of wood, with intricate openwork patterns at the bottom. Its artwork was elegant and luxurious. It was a multi-panel folding screen with delicate paper panels depicting a landscape of rivers, mountains, and flowers. The jade and gemstones inlay along the edges makes it more of an artistic display than a simple partition.
In the pond, a budding lotus peeked out through the openwork wooden patterns. One could see two pairs of long legs standing very close together, nearly touching. The silhouettes on the paper screen intertwined and swayed, hazy and indistinct.
Outside the window, the weather was just right.
The pointed tips of the lotus leaves were tender and fresh. One leaf’s tip trembled as a warm breeze blew lightly across them before dipping below the water’s surface. Clear and glistening droplets clung to its edge, gathering at the very tip, teetering, and about to fall. After a moment, as if it could no longer support the weight of it, the droplets eventually overflowed, falling back to the water’s surface and creating a ring of shallow ripples.
A dragonfly flitted by, seemingly enamored by the delicate, vibrant lotus leaves. It perched gracefully on the very tip, its thin legs clinging tightly. Its translucent wings quivered a little, and its tail was cocked up as it dipped its head, touching the tip of the leaf. It lingered there. The scene was breathtaking, like an ink painting of unparalleled beauty, and the mood was serene and captivating.
The budding lotus, the scent of flowers, and the dragonfly together painted a perfect portrait of summer, one that was too captivating to look away from.
Unfortunately, neither of the two people in the hall had the time to appreciate it. It was only after half an hour that they slowly came out from behind the screen, dawdling for an extremely long time.
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In contrast, Mu Zhan was completely the opposite. There was no trace of the slightest blush on him; rather, he stayed poised, standing tall and relaxed like a crane. His lips were curled in a shallow smile, and he revealed bits of fullness.
Right now, Wen Mingyu no longer had to worry about being found out or exposed. However, Mu Zhan picked up a lot of his milky scent. He even saw Mu Zhan lightly licking his thin lips, as if reminiscing the taste, making his mind explode like fireworks.
Wen Mingyu seriously felt that Mu Zhan was a total pervert.
He would absolutely not accept his offer of help next time.
He was thinking this when Mu Zhan happened to incline his head and give him a small smile.
Wen Mingyu was now dressed properly, his cap neatly in place, and he looked to be the epitome of decorum. But the moment he met Mu Zhan’s gaze, he instinctively pulled his lapels together as his ears became even redder.
He didn’t even bother to ask the emperor for permission to leave and just threw out a stiff, “I’m leaving,” then bolted out of the hall as if ghosts were at his heels.
Mu Zhan couldn’t help but chuckle as he reminded him, “Walk slowly.”
Wen Mingyu’s steps faltered. He didn’t turn back, but his speed did slow down. When he had gone a considerable distance, he sneaked a glance over his shoulder. Only when he realized no one was following him did he exhale and make his way to his workplace.
On the way, he also deftly activated one of a social animal’s essential survival skills, switching expressions in a second. He made himself return to his usual calm and composed behavior, acting as if nothing had happened at all.
He walked in once he arrived at the place. His colleagues saw him and were quite concerned about him. They all knew that Wen Mingyu had once again been summoned by Mu Zhan to do some tasks.
Someone sharp-eyed noticed the reddened corners of his eyes and couldn’t help but question, “You…”
Another colleague hurriedly pressed him back, preventing him from continuing, and consoled Wen Mingyu, “It’s okay. We’ve all been reprimanded by His Majesty before. It’s quite common.”
The others who hadn’t initially noticed anything amiss also reacted at this time, reassuring him and offering encouragement.
Wen Mingyu was stunned. He hadn’t expected them to think he had been scolded to tears by Mu Zhan. He wanted to laugh, but he was also moved.
Since their direct superior was the emperor, they naturally couldn’t curse him. However, many colleagues gave him food and shared their experiences with him. Of course, there were some ill-tempered seniors who made sarcastic comments, but before they could say more, others swiftly rebutted them, forcing them to stop unwillingly.
Wei Chen, who was watching from the side, was perplexed. His Majesty scolded Wen Mingyu to tears? It couldn’t be possible, could it? He was the empress.
He had observed how the Emperor and Empress interacted. It was more sweet and sticky than typical married couples, practically dripping with honey. How could he possibly have been scolded to tears.
Wei Chen was about to comment when Chu Shuli noticed and reacted. She abruptly and violently shoved two sections of orange into his mouth, effectively silencing him. Wei Chen’s face immediately crumpled up from the acid. That orange had come from Wen Mingyu’s desk. It wassupersour.
Meanwhile, their colleagues, though not daring to speak openly, couldn’t help but still spit in their hearts—His Majesty’s temperament is a bit extreme. This year’s new second-place scholar is very capable. There really is no need to set such high standards that he ended up scolding the person to tears, right?”
Unaware of their thoughts, Wen Mingyu was grateful to these seniors and, at the same time, embarrassed. After all, he was not reprimanded at all, but…
Wen Mingyu thanked them and then hurriedly immersed himself in his work, waving all those unspeakable images out of his head.
However, Wei Chen was persistent and stubborn in nature, and he later made an effort to find Wen Mingyu for a follow-up and get an accurate explanation. “I just knew you weren’t crying because of being reprimanded. Why exactly did you cry?
When people usually see others crying, they would feel compelled to comfort them instead of just standing by, but Wei Chen’s brain circuit was different. He believed that if he wasn’t the one who brought someone to tears, then it had nothing to do with him. The person responsible should resolve it. He didn’t know how to comfort others and most of the time just followed his instincts.
Like at the moment, he only sought to determine what was right and wrong.
Wen Mignyu choked. In a sense, this type of socially unaware straight ball question was the worst to deal with. Wei Chen wasn’t being malicious or nosy, he simply saw it as an unsolved riddle that he wanted to solve and wouldn’t stop until he did.
Wen Mingyu decided to shift the subject and make up an excuse.
“I was actually crying because of a book,” Wen Mingyu explained, then picked up a book from his desk and thrust it into Wei Chen’s hands. “The one that you like.”
It was Yu Mu’s latest volume. Wei Chen was considered a devoted little fan and had almost all copies of them without fail, often rereading them multiple times.
Sure enough, the moment he thrust the book to him, it worked like a charm.
Wei Chen’s eyes went wide with shock. “This is the third volume of the newest series! It’s not even available at the bookstore yet, how come you have it?!”
Wen Mingyu held out his hand. “Don’t ask too many questions. Do you want it or not?”
Seeing that he wanted to take it back, Wei Chen quickly drew back, cradling the book in his arms. As if that wasn’t enough, he slipped it behind his back with a swoosh. He eyed him warily. “You already lent it to me.”
Wen Mingyu raised an eyebrow. “Do you still want to know why I’m crying?”
Wei Chen paused for a moment, then resolutely shook his head. Clutching the book, he turned to go, but not a moment later, he leaned back and said, “Are you acquainted with Yu Mu?”
Wen Mingyu nodded casually. “Yeah.”
Wei Chen’s eyes widened even more. Just as he wanted to ask something again, Wen Mingyu suddenly continued, “Do you want to continue getting the latest books before everyone else? Then stop asking questions.”
After giving it a thought, Wei Chen nodded his head firmly.
Wen Mingyu had just casually tried it out, but he didn’t expect it to work so well. He couldn’t help but be a bit amused, especially when Wei Chen wanted to talk to him about the book. Since he was the one who wrote it, he naturally knew the plot inside and out, including all the underlying meanings of it. When Wei Chen was chatting with him, he naturally forgot about other things.
Wen Mingyu suddenly wondered how Wei Chen would take the news if he found out that he was the book’s author. Thinking about it was funny, and Wen Mingyu ventured a bit of teasing bad thoughts.
Time slipped by without realizing it.
Wen Mingyu’s tummy gradually became bigger, and the bulge was more noticeable. It wasn’t too obvious from the front, but a small curve was visible and held up his robes a little from the side.
At one point during the night, as Wen Mingyu looked down, he happened to see his belly making a kick.
He froze. Was that…
Wen Mingyu’s body reacted faster than his brain and slapped Mu Zhan out of impulse, telling him to look.
Mu Zhan reached out and gingerly placed his palm on Wen Mingyu’s tummy, and waiting for a moment, a slight but negligible movement passed through his palm.
A strange, almost magical feeling welled up in their hearts.
I’m going to be a father.
ChiFu: … that’s one way to say you’re sucking someone’s milk!cough