Zhangcheng was a city bordering the territory of the Northwest Barbarians, travel there would only take a few days. Since they were Barbarians there was no need for ordinary customs that many merchants had to go through.
The Kingdom of Xia was rich in products, but the jade of the Barbarians was one of a kind. Along with a surplus of cattle, sheep, etc, there was also a huge supply of fur.
Xia Xi had stayed at Zhangcheng while he was travelling to the Barbarian nation to get married. He was somewhat excited after hearing that Chu Lan wanted to take him there because he knew it was a prosperous city.
The most excited one was Cai Huan, it had been five years since she had last seen anything related to Xia culture. She had grown from twelve years old to the romantic age of seventeen, although she didn't have many relatives left back in her home, she still wanted to go to places inspired by its influences. Too excited to sleep, she dug out the clothes she used to wear back at the Kingdom of Xia, Cai Huan wanted to change into it but found out that it was too small for her to wear. She couldn't help but feel a bit down, pouting, she said unhappily: "How can we go back to sightsee when we can't even wear the proper clothes."
Xia Xi smiled lightly and said: "You were only twelve years old when you came here, as old as Chu Lan. You're seventeen now, of course, the clothes you wore back then wouldn't fit."
Cai Huan bit her lip, "His Royal Highness, will we continue to dress like this? It's not that I find Barbarian clothes ugly; they're just a bit heavy, also matching colours with them is so complicated. The designs get so dull once you stare at it."
Barbarian clothes were indeed a bit cumbersome but Xia Xi liked it. His figure was different from a pure woman's, with these kinds of clothes, his flat chest didn't seem as obvious. Xia Xi thought for a while and said, "Princess Hui gave me some clothes before I left, I haven't worn them yet. You can try it out, maybe it'll suit your taste." Although Cai Huan wasn't as tall as him, she was just half a head shorter.
Cai Huan hurriedly dug out the box after hearing what Xia Xi said. The box was obviously very heavy, but Cai Huan had gained some strength in the past few years so it wasn't too difficult for her to move it alone. After opening it, Cai Huan was fascinated by the beautiful clothes inside and yelped in surprise, she couldn't wait to pounce on it. Looking at it one by one, she praised: "It's so beautiful and the material is so good, I've never worn such quality clothes. Even though it's been in storage for several years, the colour hadn't faded at all, Princess Hui's really kind to you."
Xia Xi smiled lightly, Xia Hui's beautiful face appeared in his mind. To be honest, when he first knew that he was going to replace Xia Hui as the bride, he had some opinions about her, but over the years his view of the matter gradually changed.
This was his fate, he couldn't blame others.
Xia Xi said: "Pick one you like and take it." What Xia Hui sent was women's clothing which Xia Xi didn't like. When he was still living in the Xia Palace, he didn't wear clothing for women, he wore men's. In his heart, he was a man, albeit a special one. Xia Xi had never lacked education, Concubine Yu taught him that if he ever lived a life as a civilian¹, whether he be part of the bourgeoisie or a farmer, he must uphold righteousness. Perhaps it was because of his nature, but his character had always been a little weak, not even as good as his late younger sister.
Cai Huan said with excitement: "Thank you, Your Highness!"
When Chu Lan arrived, he overheard the cheerful conversation between master and servant. He softened his footsteps and deliberately eavesdropped for a while; unfortunately, most of it was just the little maid blabbering and his gentle Queen responding from time to time. Even so, his heart still warmed listening to her <b>(T/L: Chu Lan still thinks Xia Xi is a woman)</b> soft voice. After doing this for a while, he walked in and asked, "What brings joy? Why are you gals so happy?"
When Cai Huan saw him, her face flushed, and she took a step back subconsciously. She bowed her head and sneaked a glance at him, whispering: "Her Majesty² rewarded this servant girl, which made this servant girl happy."
Chu Lan had already spotted the full box of clothes, he picked one up and observed it, asking Xia Xi, "Was this your previous clothes?" He felt the fabric and said: "The craftsmanship of the weavers from Xia is truly exquisite. The quality is much better than ours; you really can't compare the two, no wonder you like them more."
Chu Lan's tone was normal, but Xia Xi was frightened. He quickly explained: "It's because you said you would take us to Zhangcheng to play, that I dug up these clothes. It should be more convenient to wear light Xia clothing when exploring the city is all."
Chu Lan raised a brow at him, "So nervous, did I say anything frightening?"
Xia Xi was taken aback and shook his head, Chu Lan suddenly said, "You go change to a dress and show me," He picked out a goose-yellow dress from the box, "This one."
Xia Xi didn't dare refuse, he took the clothes and walked into the bedroom, wanting to change inside. Chu Lan followed him in and Xia Xi was immediately frightened again, reluctantly smiling, he said: "Chu Lan, I— I'll change clothes alone...."
Without the presence of outsiders, Chu Lan became a lot more casual. He looked at Xia Xi with slightly aggrieved eyes, "We're husband and wife, can't I watch you change clothes?"
"No, it's not that...." Xia Xi panicked and the back of his neck began to sweat, he didn't know how to deal with Chu Lan who was acting like this and just stood foolishly holding the dress. Chu Lan approached him and lowered his head to meet Xia Xi's eyes, he chuckled: "What? Should I change your clothes for you?" As he said that, he stretched out a hand to untie Xia Xi's belt. While untying it, he suddenly seemed to remember something and mumbled: "Speaking of which, I haven't seen you naked yet."
Xia Xi panicked even more, his face alternated between red and white and his limbs were extremely stiff. Seeing that his outer coat was about to be taken off, he boldly took a step back and grabbed Chu Lan's hand, barely mustering a smile: "Chu Lan, you're the King, how could I let you change my clothes? I'll do it." He pretended to place the dress on the bed and backed off from Chu Lan to a certain distance, he took off his outer coat while facing Chu Lan with his back, he was still wearing a shirt and a pair of pants inside. He quickly wore the goose-yellow dress, his hands were shaking while he was putting on the dress and loosening the knots on his waist. Xia Xi adjusted his expression before turning around, he steadied his voice and said, "Chu Lan, I've worn it."
He hadn't worn Xia clothing for a long time and he didn't know what he looked like putting it on. Seeing Chu Lan's face, Xia Xi noticed a prevalent emotion.
Shock.
Xia Xi was confused, but his face gradually turned red because of Chu Lan's intense gaze. He lowered his head self-consciously and asked helplessly: "Chu Lan, what's wrong?"
Chu Lan said: "You're so beautiful," He walked over to Xia Xi, the 17-year-old boy was taller than him, with wider shoulders. He was no longer the little King who would get angry when frustrated, his prestige seemed stronger than ever. Xia Xi's heart couldn't help but beat faster, but he didn't dare to hide. Chu Lan grabbed his hand and stared at him deeply, "You look just as good as when I first saw you. Xi'er, I... I like you like this."
Xia Xi's cheeks were hot, he stared at Chu Lan, not knowing what to do. Chu Lan moved closer to him, he bent his waist deliberately and rubbed the tips of their noses. As if he couldn't help himself, he kissed Xia Xi.
The two of them couldn't count how many times they had sneaked off to have kisses during the past year. Chu Lan kissed him every night, mostly just 30 or 40 times a night, he would only reluctantly retreat once he got an erection. Chu Lan often wondered why they haven't conceived a baby yet, Xia Xi pretended to be ignorant and comforted him. But kissing was far from satisfying for the teenager, he always felt that there was something he needed to do in order for his heart and body to vent. He just didn't know how to do it.
At this moment, he pressed against Xia Xi's soft lips, Chu Lan's lower abdomen began to heat up again and that thing to harden, Chu Lan felt a bit painful because of it. He stared at Xia Xi's moist lips and couldn't help but kiss them again, this time their lips touched a little longer, but he still felt that it wasn't enough. He even had the idea of wanting to swallow Xia Xi in one bite.
Xia Xi noticed the changes in Chu Lan's breath. His breathing became messy and his eyes were misty, he whispered: "Chu Lan, it's still daytime."
Chu Lan grabbed his waist, not allowing Xia Xi to escape from him. He deliberately kept distance between their lower bodies, a bit ashamed at the idea of Xia Xi knowing that something strange was happening to his body, even though that might get him closer to his Queen. Chu Lan looked at his long eyelashes and the bright colour of his lips, he muttered: "It doesn't matter if we do it during the daytime, there's no rule saying you can't make children during the day, it's not enough to do it at nighttime only³." He kissed Xia Xi's lips, even rubbing heavily couldn't relieve the restlessness in his body. This time he finally couldn't help but open his mouth and gently bite Xia Xi's lips with his teeth.
With biting, he found another kind of secret pleasure. Doing it could vent a little bit of the heat and seemed better than just rubbing⁴, he was reluctant to use force on Xia Xi's lips so he could only roll it between his teeth or nibble. After doing this who knows how many times, Xia Xi finally couldn't stand it anymore. He opened his lips gently and subconsciously stuck out his tongue to lick the boy's lips.
Chu Lan was still trying to kiss Xia Xi, when he was licked by Xia Xi his whole person instantly seemed to be struck by lightning. A quaint pleasure spread directly from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head, and his eyes widened.
Xia Xi also opened his eyes, he started to regret it when he realized what he had done. He was about to take a step back, but Chu Lan roughly grabbed the back of his head and stuck out his tongue to lick Xia Xi's lips.
"Hmm..." Pleasure spread from the place of intimate contact, Xia Xi legs softened and he almost couldn't stand, he closed his eyes feebly and withstood the intense licking of his young husband. When their tongues entangled, he couldn't help but begin to respond.
This was the first real kiss between them.
The pleasure from a tongue kiss was so much better than a simple kiss, Chu Lan finally found the sweet spot. He plundered Xia Xi's mouth forcefully and skilllessly, licking his lips, licking his upper jaw, licking his teeth; he preferred to lick his tongue. When he tasted Xia Xi in his mouth, the young King swallowed him hungrily, as if he had been feed sweet jelly, then he immediately asked for more.
The kiss lasted until Xia Xi couldn't even stand. Both of their faces were flushed, one had shy eyes and the other had hot eyes. Chu Lan stared at Xia Xi and suddenly asked, "Did we actually need to do this for you to get pregnant?"
Xia Xi refused to answer him.
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<b>Notes:</b>
1- Literally translates to 'escape from the palace' but even if Xia Xi did escape from the palace he would still be a royal. Even after considering that the conversation may have been before the emperor knew about Xia Xi's existence, I still revised it because the thought was hard to follow.\n2- I don't know if you have noticed but Cai Huan used to refer to Xia Xi with female pronouns when she was young. After Chu Lan returned from the war she started using male pronouns to refer to Xia Xi in private. \n3- I think I butchered the meaning of the sentence, however, I couldn't understand it anyway. I tried my best. \n4- Same with 3.
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<b>Translator: I have a new story but I won't announce it yet till 1k. Hopefully, I'll be able to do it soon because it's quite interesting. Unlike Little King, it's quite cheerful but it actually might be even darker than both of my previous </b><b>works.</b>