The beds of the Barbarians were different from the ones in Xia, it was less of a bed and more like a large lounging couch. It was much shorter than ordinary beds and surrounded by a thick curtain, the bed was covered with a mattress but its sheets were woven fabric that wasn't very soft. It was still early autumn, the weather wasn't very cold so the two separate quilts on the bed weren't too thick.
After Xia Xi went back inside after washing his hands and disposing of the water, he saw that Chu Lan had already gotten inside one of the quilts, showing only two eyes. The young man's eyes were black and shiny, with an intense glare, alike wolf eyes decorated with sharp edges. Xia Xi felt uneasy being watched, his steps slowed down and he hesitated whether or not to walk over. He was still wearing the three-layered barbarian costume and not even one button was undone. But no matter how slow his pace was, the room was still small and he reached the bed after a while. While he was hesitating once again, the boy asked: "Aren't you undressing?"
Xia Xi quickly said, "Right, I will disrobe now," He walked to a corner, to a place where Chu Lan couldn't see him, and slowly took off his outer layers, he loosened the braids and jewels in his hair with deliberate slowness. After a while, Chu Lan asked again: "Finished?"
There was some tiredness in the boy's tone. Xia Xi quickly responded, moving faster, he finally undid the last remaining braid. He blew out the candle next to him and went to bed lightly.
This was their first night in the bridal chamber.
It was already much better than what Xia Xi originally imagined but it still couldn't give him a stable peace of mind. In this foreign country, his neck was under the suspended hanging tip of a knife. He didn't know when the sharp blade would pierce and completely obliterate him! He dove deeper under the quilt and tried to breathe more evenly but he still couldn't sleep. The temperature differences in the days and nights of Yudu was large and it was actually a bit cold. Xia Xi's feet were freezing but he dared not move, fearing that he would wake up the person who was sleeping besides him.
He didn't notice when the boy next to him rolled into his side and into his quilt. His hands and feet directly wrapped around him, hugging him tightly, and his warm cheeks were close to Xia Xi's neck. After rubbing for a while, he seemed to have found a comfortable position and stopped moving.
Xia Xi stiffened. He didn't have much experience in sharing beds with other people. He grew up in the dark and was an unknown existence, only occasionally would his sister take a nap with him. His happiest experiences were when he could sleep together with his mother for a night, but that didn't happen often. And now he was sharing a bed with a stranger, his husband, and the King of his country.
Xia Xi thought that it would be impossible for him to fall asleep, but didn't know when sleep started to slowly creep onto him. At least his limbs weren't covered in cold, they were warm, a bit hot even.
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When he woke up the next morning the oil lamps were unlit, but it was already bright enough that he could see his surroundings. Xia Xi felt stunned, his slender eyelashes trembled and he stared at the complicated patterns on the drapes of the bed overhead. His mind slowly came back to life, reminding him of his current situation. Soon, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see his young husband watching him with great interest.
The two of them were close to one another, Chu Lan didn't even bother to move his legs that were wrapped around Xia Xi's waist. He propped up his head and asked jerkily in Chinese, "Are all Xia people as good-looking as you?"
Xia Xi was stunned and quickly replied: "We're not all the same," He stiffened, afraid that the teenager would find out that he was different. He had an adam's apple, and although it wasn't obvious his chest was flat. Even though the male organ on his lower body wasn't big, the pants that he was wearing weren't thick enough to guarantee that one couldn't find any abnormalities. Fortunately, Chu Lan didn't notice. The boy got up neatly, he sat in front of a mirror and looked back at him, "You should get up too."
Yesterday, Xia Xi had been schooled about his responsibilities as the Queen. The rules of the Barbarians were different from that of the Xia kingdom. In there, everyone except the Emperor was his servant and needed to serve and obey his will. Although the Xia people advocated this, the concubines in the harem never really needed to serve the Emperor for there were no shortages of maidservants and eunuchs around. The population of the Barbarians weren't that large, even the servants of the Palace were few. Xia Xi, a Queen, only had six maids, these six maids had to do many things such as; cleaning, preparing food, washing clothes, waiting on him, and so on. The King wouldn't have a separate personal maid after marriage, all of the things like dressing and waiting on him would be done by the Queen 'herself'.
Xia Xi quickly got up and put on his coat hurriedly. Before washing his hair, he first dressed Chu Lan and styled his hair. The clothes weren't too hard for the clothes of the Barbarians were much easier to wear than Xia clothing, but he wasn't very good at styling hair when there was no other person to guide him. He could only slowly try to replicate the style Chu Lan was wearing yesterday according to what he remembered. While Xia Xi was styling his hair, Chu Lan kept peeking at him from the bronze mirror, he then suddenly said, "You have to get up earlier, we are a bit late today," he pouted slightly, "Though I also got up late today."
Xia Xi felt a bit flustered, he didn't know how to respond. He knelt subconsciously and said, "I- I know that I'm wrong, I'll definitely wake up earlier next time!"
Chu Lan didn't seem to expect such a big reaction from him. He was stunned for a moment, turning to look at him, "What are doing on your knees? You Xia people are so puzzling, kneeling at every little thing. You can't do it in the future. You are in my Barbarian kingdom now, you have to forget the previous rules you had to live by," he continued, "Besides, I don't blame you."
Xia Xi still felt worried, he slowly stood up. He bowed and said: "Yes," he then continued to weave and style Chu Lan's hair.
Chu Lan said: "You're still new here, if you really can't get up early, you should go to bed earlier. I won't blame you," his face flushed and he awkwardly said: "After all, we are newly married."
Xia Xi didn't dare to change the expression on his face and responded 'yes' in an composed manner. With dexterous fingers, he put on the boy's hair crown and finally finished. Orderly making room for a water basin, Xia Xi washed Chu Lan's face again with his cloth towel. Chu Lan didn't seem to be used to it, frowning: "Do you Xia folk do this? Always washing your face?"
Xia Xi's movements became lighter and he asked in a low voice, "Do you dislike it?"
Chu Lan stared at Xia Xi and said: "You continue to wash me, it's quite comfortable," He really did seem quite comfortable, closing his eyes and raising his face to meet the washcloth. Xia Xi had already finished washing him. but Chu Lan looked at him with an expression that said he was still looking forward to his face being washed. And so, Xia Xi washed his face twice. After washing, a maid brought in breakfast, Chu Lan thoughtfully pulled Xia Xi to eat with him but Xia Xi whispered: "I... I haven't washed..."
Chu Lan stood still and said: "Then you wash, I will wait for you." Chu Lan still felt that everything about Xia Xi was novel, staring at him as he combed his hair, washed his face, and held a strange device towards himself. When Xia Xi put the 'strange device' inside his mouth, Chu Lan couldn't help but ask: "What are you doing?"
Xia Xi vaguely said, "Brushing my teeth," This was the first time someone stared at him while he was brushing his teeth since growing up. He felt both spooked and shy, and his movements became faster than usual. After making sure that his mouth was cleaned, he explained the 'strange device' to the curious Chu Lan in detail: "This is a toothbrush, and this is called tooth powder. Brushing your teeth once in the morning and evening will be good for your teeth."
Chu Lan took the toothbrush in his hand, observing it carefully for a time, frowning: "There is nothing akin to this that can be found in my Yudu. We only need to use salt water to gargle every morning. You Xia folk are really fussy," Chu Lan seemed to be very interested in the toothbrush, he looked at Xia Xi expectantly, "Can I try it?"
Xia Xi said, "Of course, the King can try it," in the kingdom of Xia, toothbrushes and tooth powder were something that only the nobility could afford. Xia Xi remembered having brought a few along and said: "I'll go get a new one. Please wait but a moment, King."
Chu Lan looked a little puzzled, "Can't I use yours?"
Xia Xi was stunned, Chu Lan said to him in a more serious tone, "Are we not husband and wife, so why can't we share?"
Xia Xi couldn't refuse now so he just nodded lightly. He prepared the tooth powder and toothbrush and whispered: "Open your mouth," The boy sat in front of him, his mouth opened expectantly. Chu Lan's teeth were white and neat. Xia Xi gently stretched the toothbrush inside his mouth and brushed his teeth. Chu Lan seemed a little uncomfortable but found it more novel and fun. He didn't move and let himself be at Xia Xi's mercy. Xia Xi had finished brushing his teeth, he handed him a cup of water, saying: "Contain around one mouthful inside your mouth and then..." he hadn't finished speaking yet. Chu Lan had quickly took the cup from him, downing it all in one go and swallowing with a loud 'gudong'.
Their eyes meet each other and both were surprised.
Xia Xi's astonishment quickly turned into horror, he whispered nervously: "This... you need to spit it, you can't- you can't drink it..."
Chu Lan glared at him with bulging cheeks: "You were too slow! It tastes bad!"
Xia Xi whispered: "I'm sorry."
But obviously, the boy wasn't really angry. He just said, "You will brush my teeth in the future," He then took Xia Xi's hand and dragged him to the dining table.
The diet of the Barbarians consisted of more beef and mutton and less green vegetables. Even breakfast consisted of a large slab of meat that appeared to be deliciously grilled, it was now emitting a strong bewitching fragrance. Chu Lan had a good appetite, he reached out to grab pieces of meat and delivered it into either his mouth or Xia Xi's plate, "You eat this."
Xia Xi saw something that looked suspiciously like blood at the corner of the meat and shook his head in panic, "I- I can't eat meat in the mornings..." He picked up a piece of naan and said, "My Lord, can I eat this?"
Chu Lan looked puzzled but he nodded and took back the pieces of meat he gave to eat himself. The naan cakes were perfectly baked and smelled very fragrant. Xia Xi's appetite obviously wasn't good, eating in small bites. As a result, he got prematurely full before even finishing the whole naan cake. Chu Lan was obviously not satisfied and said: "You eat too little. I heard people saying that a woman who eats little can't have strong children."
Xia Xi felt a bit panicked and thought it was a bit funny. He didn't know if he could even conceive a child, but for the time being, he definitely couldn't have one. After all, his husband was too young to understand the business between men and women. But he couldn't argue that, so he just quietly said: "I'll try to eat more in the future."
Chu Lan nodded satisfactorily, he happily ate half a plate of meat and said: "Wait, I will take you to ride on horseback."
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<b>I feel so tired... I don't know why though.</b>
<b>I've decided that updates are going to be </b><b>Monday, Thursday, </b><b>and </b><b>Friday.</b><b> See you soon with another (maybe double... </b><b>maybe</b><b>) update!</b>