When he noticed that he was still, Mu Zhan simply took the lotus pastry and handed it over, which Wen Mingyu reflexively clutched in his paws.
A snow-white rabbit with drooping ears and a pink lotus flower harmonized well with each other.
Mu Zhan looked at him while supporting his chin. His fingers moved, as if wanting to paint this scene.
The next second, Wen Mingyu, who was just mulling over not being able to eat it, opened his mouth to take a bite under the temptation of the fragrance. He ate the petal tip in one piece. But for him, it was already a big bite. Cheeks puffing out, he chewed vigorously, his mouth full of crunchy and crispy texture.
One bite, one bite, and another bite, the flavor was quite fragrant.
With great joy, Wen Mingyu clutched the lotus pastry and munched on it, which was just a bit smaller than his body. If he were in a 2D world, he would have tiny flowers floating around him.
Finally, Wen Mingyu finished off one lotus pastry. He licked his paws afterwards, not even letting go of the crispy bits on top.
He wanted to continue, but he had to give up because of how full his stomach was. He plopped down and yawned widely.
He was already worn out from practicing archery and horse riding for much too long today. Once he had consumed food, tiredness overcame him. His eyelids drooped twice before he fell asleep in no time.
When in human form, his sleeping posture was not very peaceful. Whether he was too exhausted or for some other reason, this time he became even more aggravated. He was so insatiable to the point that he almost shook a leg and danced at the imperial table.
He snored and purred as his four paws spread out in a ‘大’ character, showing a white, supple belly. Then he flipped over once more and casually kicked Mu Zhan’s hands, causing his palm to tilt and leaving a very thick ink mark on the memorial. Unaware, he continued to snore fitfully.
Mu Zhan smiled, gave a thoughtful look, and then took out a belt from somewhere. With expert finger movements, he wrapped the rabbit’s legs several times, then tied him up and fashioned a small bow. The red belt, cinched around the snow-white rabbit, created a striking contrast of beauty between the two colors, looking especially like a wrapped present.
After this was done, Mu Zhan studied him for some time before moving on to assess the memorials. He wasn’t really paying attention, though, and occasionally his eyes would wander to the rabbit in front of him.
Wen Mingyu was still sleeping, but with the additional restrictions on his body, it prevented him from rolling about freely, which significantly reduced his performance.
After some time, he finally stirred from his dream of being ensnared by a large dragon, only to discover that he was unable to move his arms or legs. There was a blurry feeling of not being able to tell if it was a dream or reality, and he was dumbfounded.
He blanked out for a moment and then started to stomp and struggle against the air. As he slowly came to his senses, he noticed that the object that was restraining him was a belt and that it looked familiar. It was the one he had given to Mu Zhan. He looked at Mu Zhan in disbelief. What breed of pervert are you? How dare you bind me with the gift I gave you?!
His attempts to escape his shackles were unsuccessful. This type of knot was the type that would get tighter and tighter with haphazard tugging, and thus he tangled himself up even more.
The lop-eared rabbit splayed out flat and very simply chose to give up. He just didn’t believe it—Mu Zhan would keep him tied like this.
Mu Zhan thought he would make a mess of himself, but after struggling for a while, as if he were too tired to move, he actually fell asleep once more.
Mu Zhan smiled a little, torn between laughing and crying.
Wen Mingyu couldn’t move as he slept; his eyes were closed, and he whimpered indignantly. Mu Zhan looked at the memorial for a while but eventually helped him untie it.
Once freed, a certain restless rabbit immediately started again and flipped over right away. His jio kicked Mu Zhan’s hand, grabbed Mu Zhan’s sleeve, and drew it over as his quilt. Then, not knowing what delicious gourmet he was dreaming of, he hugged the sleeve, opened his mouth, and bit on it, wetting a little patch of fabric.
When Mu Zhan moved a little, he immediately hugged and wrapped the fabric with his paws and jiojio and wouldn’t let go.
Naturally, this caused some delays in his work, but Mu Zhan enjoyed being glued on, so after disposing of the last booklet, he picked up the rabbit and took it to the bathing pool.
Wen Mingyu woke up and changed back in time. Their baths were, of course, requested to be separated.
When he finished washing and came out, Mu Zhan was sitting on the bed’s edge, holding a small chest. The porcelain chest has intricate patterns chiseled into it, making it look like a piece of art.
Wen Mingyu gave it two curious looks. People are inherently drawn to beautiful objects. As soon as Mu Zhan opened the box, the faint scent of medicine permeated the room.
“Ointment? Is Your Majesty hurt?” Wen Mingyu questioned subconsciously and without much thought.
Mu Zhan, however, laughed. “It’s for you.”
Wen Mingyu tensed up briefly. Then he recalled his penguin-like steps. Yes, of course, he was the one who would use it. The corner of his mouth drooped as he said glumly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
When he tried to reach for the medicine box and walk behind the screen to apply the ointment, Mu Zhan deflected his hand. He couldn’t even touch the box’s rim and merely grabbed a mouthful of air.
Wen Mingyu: “…???”
Teasing him?
Mu Zhan smiled. “This one will rub it for you.”
Wen Mingyu: “…!!!”
His scalp tingled as he heard Mu Zhan say he would help him, remembering what had transpired with the false pregnancy… No need, really no need!
Wen Mingyu gave him an insincere smile. “No, Your Majesty is so honorable. How can you assist a nobody like me to apply medicine. To you, this is absolute blasphemy, so I will just help myself. I shall not trouble Your Majesty in any way.”
Mu Zhan’s lips curled slightly at the corners. His bewitching smile adorned his handsome features. “This one doesn’t mind being desecrated by you.”
Wen Mingyu was left speechless.
“In that place, you find it difficult to self-medicate; you must be handling it in a messy way. Do you still want to walk into the Imperial College in that state?” Mu Zhan spoke calmly and persuasively, as if he had no hint of ulterior motives and was genuinely kind and courteous.
The noodle-like softness of Wen Mingyu’s appearance was no match for Mu Zhan. He was immediately subdued. He gently administered the ointment. Despite the fact that the ointment was quite chilly and felt great on the skin, the whole process was psychologically excruciating. His face was scarlet, like a boiled shrimp that was unable to curl up.
As soon as he was finished, he couldn’t wait to put his clothes on. Mu Zhan caught his wrist and stopped him, saying, “Don’t move, or the ointment will smear all over your clothes and will require another application.”
Wen Mingyu was left with no choice but to rigidly lay there in an atmosphere that was as ambiguous as hell, undressed.
He avoided making eye contact with Mu Zhan, but he could keenly feel Mu Zhan’s gaze settling on him. He inclined his head, but his ears, which were concealed by his raven hair, grew increasingly redder.
Once he felt prepared, he scrambled to gather his clothes, rolled to the inner side of the bed, and announced, “I’m going to sleep.”
Without saying much, Mu Zhan also lay down, and they both fell asleep.
The ointment turned out to be effective. Wen Mingyu awoke the following morning and appeared less like a penguin cub when walking. It didn’t appear that anything was wrong, as long as he didn’t move too quickly or in a hurry.
When he got to Imperial College, he couldn’t help but laugh when he noticed some of his classmates were walking in the same manner he did yesterday. They all made fun of one another, and none of them looked any better than the others.
During breaks, the group discussed their class work. Yet, it didn’t take long for the topic of conversation to start veering off into horse riding and archery, followed by discussion about the novel they had read numerous times. Of all, it was still Yu Mu’s book, which had just been published and had a depressing BE ending; as a result, they found it difficult to go on and dragged Yu Mu for a whipping every now and then.
Shao Yan listened mostly in silence. When the conversation came to one of the righteous ardor’s climactic plot points, he couldn’t help but speak, “A man like Tang-shangshu is what I desire to be in the future, with my heart for the nation and its people, to bend my body and expend all of my energy to work until death do us part.”
He spoke with extreme earnestness, and no one in his surroundings jeered at him. All of them were young teenagers with a heart that was red-hot and full of sincerity to be useful to their people and serve their country.
Others also shared their future aspirations and goals, with some citing Chen Yunzhen as their inspiration, while others cited their father as their role model. All of them had extremely ambitious aspirations.
When it came to the future, there was obviously more to it than just a career. Teenagers were budding adolescents with curiosity and a longing for love. Someone said, “What a shame that Tang Yiyuan and Chen Yunzhen have never wed in their lives. It’s too lonely.”
“But fortunately, they have each other. Although they were rivals, they knew each other best. They would undoubtedly be the best of brothers if their camps weren’t different.”
“Ah, that’s right! Every time I read them drinking with other people, I can’t help but think that it would be nice to have the other man beside them there, and they must have been especially in tune with each other as they composed poems and paintings together.”
Alongside him sat Chu Shuli, who also participated in the conversation. Since the precious incident, she has improved her relationships with her classmates and has become more integrated into the class.
She was listening to what the others were saying at this time, appearing more perplexed and suspicious, and although she wanted to speak, she just swallowed her words. Someone noticed and asked, “Chu Shuli, what is it? Say it out loud. We are all just chit-chatting, so no need to worry about anything.”
Chu Shuli was at first a little hesitant. Hearing this, she spoke up.
“It’s out of the question for Tang Yiyuan and Chen Yunzhen to take a wife because they were fond of each other.”
The moment she dropped her words, the room became quiet, and everyone was frozen in place.
“…???”
What? Who is fond of whom? Were their ears damaged in some way?
“No way. Aren’t they rivals? How can they be that way while they’re still fighting and potholing for each other in the courtroom?”
They were all stumped and had that straight-guy look of confusion.
Then Chu Shuli pointed out a few details to further clarify them: When Chen Yunzhen looked at Tang Yiyuan, he rarely smiled, but the vast bulk of his smiles revolved around Tang Yiyuan. The verses they referenced in their arguments had special connotations and were taken from a love poem in the first place. Upon learning the news that Chen Yunzhen had been hurt during an attempted assassination, the teacup in Tang Yiyuan’s hand dropped to the ground and shattered. Later, he continued to be easily sidetracked while working. How could his mind suddenly and abnormally stray away from his daily routine…
Wen Mingyu was also listening beside her. He was more and more amazed as he continued to listen. Some of the details were indeed his way of conveying the underlying ambiguity between his protagonists, yet some even he, the author himself, did not foresee or consider. This was definitely a microscope girl.
If Chu Shuli could have heard his thoughts, she would have argued that she had figured everything out with her best friend. She was reading the book when the sweetness of the sugar rush nearly knocked her unconscious. The two protagonists kowtowed and saluted together in the courtroom, meaning—they paid respect to heaven and earth. Holding one’s waist and rounding it up meant—they were going to bed. The two were never officially together from beginning to end, so they had to choose their own candy for their CP. However, the author had hidden a number of little candies; when they picked them up, each penny was a priceless treasure, which delighted them to the fullest.
Chu Shuli said a lot of things, and the teenager’s three world views were completely turned upside down. Some were already persuaded, while others were still skeptical and turned to their copy to gather proof to counter it. But after hearing what Chu Shuli said and reading it again, some of the exchanges were really not quite right. Once it was established that they were into each other, all the details that they had previously thought a little dubious made sense.
Now they had to believe it, too.
Although it was a bit shocking and unforeseen, this dynasty’s culture was more accepting, and male homosexuality was a common practice and not taboo, so it wasn’t too difficult to accept. The crucial thing was that both of the major characters were talented and beautiful, which, when put together, made them a good match for one another.
Suddenly, Wei Chen asked, “Between them, is it a romantic attraction?”
The others stood still for a second before firmly covering Wei Chen’s ears to prevent the young child from hearing stuff like this.
Unreconciled, Wei Chen struggled unwillingly, insisting that, as an adult who had reached maturity, there was nothing he could not hear. They then all had a good, hearty laugh.
Wen Mingyu was among them, a group of youths buzzing with activity. He had no idea what would await him when he returned.
At this point, Mu Zhan and his ministers concluded their deliberations. Zhao Dequan then reported to His Majesty that a treasure had been obtained and was specially offered to the emperor. Mu Zhan happened to be free, so he said on a whim that he would go and take a look at it and see where it could be put.
Mu Zhan took the men with him to Penglai Hall, and after dropping off the sumptuous ornaments, he didn’t immediately leave but instead strolled aimlessly, taking an interest in the remnants of Wen Mingyu’s life that had been left behind. When he saw the beauty couch, he imagined him lazily lying on it and resting on it; when he saw the table, he imagined him relishing pastries; and when he saw the bed, he remembered the image of the two of them leaning on the bed together, conversing and reading scripts.
Mu Zhan sat down and smiled as he lowered his eyes. He wanted to see if the script they had read illustrating Luo City was still there.
He opened the hidden compartment at the head of the bed and saw the script. Picking it up, he was just about to flip through it when he noticed that there seemed to be something else underneath—what looked to be a stack of papers.
Did he take the script and press it against the paper on purpose because he didn’t want anyone to find out?
Squinting his eyes slightly, Mu Zhan took them out of the hidden compartment.
ChiFu: …was it the inner thighs? Anyway, I’m so sorry, really! For being slow and slow etc. xd
Besides studying for the summer class, I have to look for some side hustles to cover expenses XD so yeah, thank you for your understanding! Waaa, I’m really so tired, but hey, I almost have tl-ed 60 chaps! Sometimes, I just want to upload them and dump them all, despite being unedited…but no, I must persevere!