Ever since Xia Xi came, Chu Lan's bathing matters have been Xia Xi helping him. The Barbarians didn't like bathing, it might've been because of their lack of water resources or just an ethnic characteristic. Chu Lan didn't like washing himself at first, he only allowed Xia Xi to wash him every three to five days. When he saw Xia Xi insisting on taking a bath everyday, Chu Lan also copied him and asked him to wash himself daily.
The bathtub was brought inside by the servants and was half full of hot water. Chu Lan quickly stripped himself naked and let Xia Xi untie his hair before stepping into the bathtub. Chu Lan was thirteen years old but seemed to be developing slower than his peers, although he had a strong figure, he still hadn't developed the characteristics of an adult male. Xia Xi felt shy when he first saw him naked but by now he was used to it and could put on a calm face.
He gently rubbed Chu Lan's back and carefully lathered him, Chu Lan against the tub and sighed comfortably as Xia Xi washed him. He suddenly raised his head and stared at Xia Xi with dark eyes, not being able to help but catch a strand of Xia Xi's hair. Playing around with it, he suddenly said: "In a few days, we'll set out and attack the thieves," The Barbarians had always referred to the people of the western Barbarian Country as thieves.
Xia Xi paused for a moment before asking, "Are you going as well?"
Chu Lan replied: "Well, I want to learn. Uncle also said that it would help me grow, I also want to see what a real battlefield looks like."
The light in his eyes was very bright, as bright as a young wolf, with some wildness in it. Xia Xi's heart trembled when the gaze fell on him, he avoided his eyes and murmured: "You must pay attention to safety."
Chu Lan grinned, "Uncle expects this war to end by autumn. Saha's rich in grapes, they'll be ripe by then. I'll bring some back for you to taste, the grapes there are sweet, grapes here can't compare."
Xia Xi smiled lightly: "Thank you."
Chu Lan was very happy and said: "When our territory has been completely recovered, I'll take you out to play. My father, the King, said that there's a beautiful lake there. They all call it Tianshang Lake. They say that the water's as clear as the most precious jade and that it originally belonged to a fairy. It's beautiful, you'll love it," He said a lot of sentences, Xia Xi quietly listened and occasionally responded with a few words, so the young man was extremely happy. The water he was washing in was about to go cold when he came out of the tub. Xia Xi carefully wiped the water droplets off his body with a dry cloth. Even while drying Chu Lan's crotch Xia Xi's expression didn't change, continuing until he had dried Chu Lan's hair.
Chu Lan rolled into bed naked and was coaxed by Xia Xi to put on trousers and a shirt. He eagerly watched as Xia Xi approached, when Xia Xi sat down next to him, he quickly entangled their hair together. Xia Xi took a red thread and took strands from each of their heads, he knitted them together carefully and then snipped them with scissors.
Chu Lan looked at their entangled hair and said in amazement, "Is this hair knotting?"
Xia Xi nodded gently, "It should be like this. I'll pack it inside a sachet and you can put it under your pillow."
Chu Lan said: "I want to take it with me."
When Xia Xi heard these words, he felt a bit soft in his heart for some reason, he said, "Alright," He took a newly embroidered sachet and put the hair in it carefully, tying the knot. It was Chu Lan's first time seeing the sachet, the sachet was extremely delicate, with embroidery on both sides. There was a flower he didn't recognize on one side and a mighty wolf head on the other. Chu Lan knew that it was something Xia Xi had made specially for him and felt happy in his heart. He tossed it back and forth several times and then pointed to the flower and asked, "What kind of flower is this?"
Xia Xi said: "Lotus flower, emerging from the mud."
Chu Lan smiled: "It's so beautiful, I'll make sure to see it someday."
_____
The Barbarians made plans for war, but implementing them took nearly ten times the time. It wasn't until three years later that the Barbarians completely wiped out the western Barbarian nation, punished all surrendered former rebels, and recovered their lost territory.
In the past three years, Xia Xi had become accustomed to living in a foreign country.
But he still hadn't gotten used to it completely. For example, because he ate fewer vegetables he would get more mouth ulcers. There was nothing wrong in other aspects.
After the army returned victoriously, Yudu naturally held a grand welcoming ceremony, Xia Xi attended as the Queen. This time, he met Chu Lan's mother, the former Queen Yue Ling'er. According to the barbarian rules, after the death of the King, the Queen must stay at the temple for three years and then marry another. If she didn't want to marry again, she must stay in the temple for the rest of her life and only appear during major festivals. Yue Ling'er had a deep relationship with her husband and was unwilling to commit herself to another, so after the former King died, she was determined to stay in the temple, not going out even at the day of Chu Lan's wedding.
Her appearance was a little different from what Xia Xi thought. She was not alike a delicate woman but looked rather valiant, not very beautiful. Her voice was quite loud and she spoke like a bell. She was obviously satisfied when she saw Xia Xi, patting him on the shoulder and saying: "My son's older now, I hope you can give birth to my grandsons with him soon and spread the branches and leaves of our family."
Xia Xi could already understand most words of the Barbarian language. After hearing this sentence, his face became a little red and his heart also became a little worried. Chu Lan was sixteen years old, although it could be argued that he was still just a teenager, most of the men at that age in Xia were already married, some have even become fathers. But there had never been any deviant behaviour between them, the Barbarians were different from Xia folk. In the Xia royal family, both the men and women had specialized personnel to teach them about the secret techniques of the bedroom before reaching a certain age. Even Xia Xi had an old servant teach him quite few tricks a few days before he was married off, in order to prevent him from not knowing how to proceed. A female adviser also undressed in front of him, exposing her whole body and one by one instructed him where and how to serve his husband. The princes' teachings were even bolder, the palace would specially select suitable people to teach them personally, guided by eunuchs and maids, so that they could better appreciate the beauty of intercourse.
Although several years had passed since those lessons, Xia Xi still remembered it and couldn't help but feel shy while recalling it. He responded obediently and Yue Ling'er led him to the tower, just in time to see a brigade of military horses marching. The one who walked in front was Xia Xi's little husband.
They haven't seen each other for years, Chu Lan seemed to have grown taller. The legs clamped to the horse's side looked slender and his face was a little longer. After the baptism of war, he no longer looked as naive as before, there was even a vaguely mature aura around him. Xia Xi watched him intently, there was naturally joy in his heart, overshadowed by feelings of nervousness.
The people of Yudu came out to greet the king but the ceremony was not solemn, on the contrary, it was relatively relaxed. Everyone gathered together to light a bonfire and slaughtered sheep and cattle. Everyone ate barbecues, drank wine and sang and danced despite the cold air for half a night. There was a scent of cumin in the air. In the Palace, it was even more lively. As Queen, Xia Xi poured wine for the meritorious generals, he inevitably had to drink two bowls himself. When he finally returned to his room his cheeks were red and he was a little drunk.
Taking advantage of the time before Chu Lan come back, Xia Xi sat in front of the mirror. Cai Huan removed the heavy headdress from his head and untangled the braids for him. She laughed and praised: "His Royal Highness's so beautiful. Even after drinking you still look as ethereal as a painting. you look even prettier than if one would've smeared rouge. Many people in the Palace envy your skin, thinking that you're so beautiful with your peach cheeks. They ask around for blush but they've all got it wrong. Now they paint their cheeks red, like a monkey's butt, which looks absolutely ridiculous."
Xia Xi also smiled, the faces of the palace ladies that he had seen serving in the Palace appeared in his mind. He whispered: "So they were all painted rouge; I thought it was a unique custom of the people here."
Cai Huan smiled brilliantly, "Their faces are also already red, rouge will naturally look harsh."
Xia Xi said: "Well, that should be related to the climate here."
Cai Huan froze for a moment, she said a little panicked, "Then, if we stay here for long enough won't we also become like them? I... I don't want it, it's ugly."
Xia Xi said: "It's not ugly, it's not too much. It's actually very cute, like a red apple."
Cai Huan curled her lips in disapproval but soon became happy again, "Speaking of which, Your Majesty, the King really adores you. This time he came back and brought you so many gifts. I've seen them; there are jades of beautiful colours, precious stones, there's a separate box for grapes, it's like the ones you ate last year, very sweet and so very fresh, I'll show some to you now," She put down the hairbrush and came back holding a bunch of things. On the table, a plate of washed and clean grapes was served, "Taste it."
The grapes indeed looked very fresh, almost as fresh as the ones just picked from the vine. There wasn't a single bad fruit on the large bunch of grapes. The grapes were green like a gem, they weren't of the same varieties that could be seen in the Xia Kingdom, they were sweeter, as sweet as honey. Xia Xi saw Cai Huan's movements and quickly stopped her, warmly saying: "Wait, let's wait until the King comes back till we eat it."
Cai Huan pouted, "I want to try some."
Xia Xi laughed a little and said, "Would you mind quietly taking a bunch back to your room to eat then?"
Cai Huan's eyes lit up, "Can I?"
Xia Xi nodded and the little girl rejoiced, combing his hair happily. Cai Huan asked someone to bring the water in, prepared some clothes for him, and then walked out.
Xia Xi's body was different, he naturally had no one to wait on him in the bath. He took off all his clothes, slid into the bathtub, and washed his porcelain white skin. While he was washing his hips, Xia Xi's movements suddenly stopped and he tentatively touched his immature penis. He couldn't help but tremble and subconsciously slid down the tub. After a while, he got cold and came out.
Now, could he still hide his secrets? What would happen to him if he was discovered?
In fact, his appearance didn't exactly look like a woman. If he was still in the Kingdom of Xia, he would definitely be spotted. But almost all of the women in the Barbarian tribe were tough in appearance, not as delicate or soft as Xia women, so he blended in. He was more delicate than real women among Yudu, he dressed modestly and his throat wasn't very obvious. His voice was not low and it had helped him hide the secret of his body for several years now, but once he had sex with Chu Lan, how could he hide his abnormalities?
Whenever he thought about it, Xia Xi grew scared. He was worried about being treated mercilessly by the little husband who he had taken care of for several years, worried about his own life and Cai Huan's life that would be definitely be affected.
It would be great if his body didn't mature anymore; nought with the strength of a man or the fertility of a woman.
Xia Xi had already sighed it in his heart countless times.
He slowly washed his body and cleaned his hair. When he was about to go out of the bath, he suddenly heard movements outside, followed by Chu Lan's voice calling "Xi'er". Xia Xi was taken aback, he quickly got out of the tub and wiped off the water stains on his body, he then quickly put on clothes. Just after he had barely gotten dressed, Chu Lan had walked in, when he saw him, he revealed a bright smile, "So you were just taking a bath."\n