Should he praise him for being clever or call him foolish?
Li Xuanming’s gaze slid from Yan Yihuan’s feigned helpless eyes down to his bound hands, then shifted to the brocade box.
Obviously, Yan Yihuan had chosen carefully. The warm jade inside the box was what Yan Yihuan was most familiar with and most accustomed to, so he believed that Li Xuanming couldn’t come up with other ways to torment him with it.
“Your hands are tied, but your feet can still move, right?” A faint redness had already crept into the corners of Li Xuanming’s eyes. His brows lifted slightly as he looked up from Yan Yihuan’s bare feet. “Your legs aren’t hindered either. Climbing up by yourself shouldn’t be a problem.”
“But I’ve already brought that over, I can’t do it myself.” A flush spread from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, then trailed down along his collar. He looked shy, but his words were not embarrassed at all. “Since your left hand can’t move, Your Majesty, why not trouble yourself to use your right hand?”
To be honest, Li Xuanming had not been fully satisfied these past few days either. Yan Yihuan was lazy at heart. Even if he liked it, he found it tiring. He would often start with enthusiasm but end hastily. If Li Xuanming had not wanted him to serve him personally a while longer, he would have already devoured him whole instead of waiting until today.
Yan Yihuan might really get annoyed if he continued pretending like this, so Li Xuanming quietly flexed his left arm and beckoned with his finger.
“Come here.”
Yan Yihuan felt a surge of joy and quickly shuffled a few steps closer, beaming as he leaned in.
“Then let me ask you, since you clearly find it tiring and troublesome, why insist on serving me yourself?”
Yan Yihuan hadn’t expected the emperor to ask this. Wasn’t this the perfect chance to show his loyalty? He quickly suppressed the look of anticipation on his face and said with a serious expression,
“Because Your Majesty saved me. If it weren’t for me, Your Majesty could have dodged that arrow. I feel both guilty and grateful, so it’s only right that I serve you well.”
He meant every word, but precisely because Li Xuanming could tell it came from the heart, he felt even more frustrated. “Only gratitude?”
What else could it be?
Yan Yihuan thought hard but couldn’t come up with any other proper-sounding reason. In the end, he could only say softly, “Didn’t I say there’s guilt too? After all, I misunderstood Your Majesty before.”
“Oh.”
That indifferent “oh” sent a chill down Yan Yihuan’s spine, filling him with unease. He thought his answer had been flawless, so why didn’t it work on the emperor? No wonder people said the imperial mind was hard to read, it truly was!
“Then you taking the initiative to do this every day, is that also out of gratitude?”
“I… there is some gratitude in it…” There was indeed a bit of selfishness mixed in, and being exposed made Yan Yihuan’s face flush as if it had just been steamed. “Isn’t it quite enjoyable? Besides, doesn’t Your Majesty like it too?”
Li Xuanming felt his chest grow even more stifled, his head starting to ache. Indeed, only those devoid of emotion and love could be invincible. After hesitating, he finally asked the question he had kept buried in his heart all this time,
“If it were someone else who could make you feel good, would you agree as well?”
Yan Yihuan froze. He had never considered that possibility before. Yet in that brief moment, he really started to imagine it. Before he had even sorted out his thoughts, his brows had already begun to knit together unconsciously.
Actually, in the past, he probably wouldn’t have minded as long as it was a beauty. But now, when he thought about it, if it wasn’t the emperor, he felt an inexplicable resistance, even a shiver of revulsion at the mere thought.
And what about the emperor? Would he be fine with someone else too?
The sudden thought made Yan Yihuan pause, a faint stab of pain rising in his chest. He wasn’t foolish. He knew that if he asked that question and the answer wasn’t what he wanted, even this fragile relationship they had might be impossible to maintain.
This was the emperor, after all. He was destined never to belong to just one person. He would have an empress, he would have concubines. By duty alone, it was impossible for him to belong to only one person.
Impossible to belong to only one person…
Yan Yihuan’s eyes widened slightly, the faint ache in his chest suddenly magnified several times over. The feeling was no longer unfamiliar, but only at this moment did he realize that every time he thought too deeply about the emperor, this would happen.
He quickly steadied himself, stopping his thoughts from going further, and shook his head seriously.
“No. I wouldn’t agree.”
Half-dressed, kneeling on the bed, the red silk binding his slender wrists stood out sharply against his skin. His flushed eyes were misted with moisture. Although he looked utterly enticing, he spoke with complete seriousness about only wanting him.
Even if it was only for this, Li Xuanming felt it was enough. As for the idea of not understanding love, it was too vague, and he himself doubted it.
Yan Yihuan might be a bit naive, but he lacked none of the emotions, joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. If one year wasn’t enough, then two, if two weren’t enough, then five. How could a living person never come to feel anything?
Under Yan Yihuan’s surprised gaze, Li Xuanming grabbed both his wrists, then suddenly felt dizzy and fell back onto the bed, pulling him down as well. The familiar sensation of being pressed beneath made Yan Yihuan’s breath hitch, yet also filled him with satisfied excitement. Although pinned beneath, his eyes shone brightly.
“Your Majesty, your injury has healed?”
He was asking a question he already knew the answer to, with a hint of smugness at his scheme succeeding. Even in such an intimate moment, he appeared spirited and radiant, making Li Xuanming want to see those eyes filled with tears of overwhelming desire.
He glanced at the brocade box, reached over to grab it, and with a snap opened the clasp. The faint sound made Yan Yihuan tremble involuntarily, his gaze instantly turning hazy, as if covered by a thin layer of mist.
It was already the height of summer, and although the nights were somewhat cooler, they could not fully dispel the heat, and the bedchamber still felt stuffy. But the rising heat at this moment clearly did not come from the summer air.
Yan Yihuan stared blankly at the canopy above, gripping the bedding tightly before finally managing to loosen his fingers a little. His whole body was nearly soaked with sweat. Inside the brocade box lay two smooth, warm jade pieces, while the missing one needed no explanation.
A faint rustling sounded by his ear. Why had the emperor suddenly stopped and gone back to the box? Yan Yihuan steadied his breathing, thinking surely not, two would be too much to handle. But when he turned his head, he saw those long fingers hook underneath and pull open a small hidden drawer.
A memory suddenly surfaced, and only then did he recall that the brocade box had a small drawer. He had opened it the first time he saw it, and inside was something like a needle.
Yan Yihuan’s expression changed slightly, and he instinctively shifted to the side. The first time he saw it, he hadn’t known what it was, and although he still didn’t fully understand its purpose now, it was definitely not something proper.
“Your Majesty, your injury hasn’t fully healed yet, right? How about I do it instead? I’ll do it myself!”
Seeing the slender jade needle held between the emperor’s fingers and the deepening look in his eyes, Yan Yihuan grew afraid. Once again, he regretted his actions. Next time, no matter what, he wouldn’t tie himself up!
“Don’t move.” The faintly threatening tone made him stop struggling. The next moment, darkness fell over his vision as the emperor produced a black cloth from somewhere and covered his eyes. “Since you chose this item yourself, it should naturally be put to full use. It may be small, but it’s very effective. Otherwise, you’ll harm your body if you do it too often.”
The darker it became before his eyes, the sharper his other senses grew. The moment he was grasped, Yan Yihuan couldn’t help but let out a strained sigh, allowing himself to be led into the mire of desire.
It was not that he could not escape, but that he was willingly sinking into it.
